Page 18

Chapter 18

GAbrIEL

“ I ’m going to need you to man up.” I had the phone pinched between my head and shoulder as I simultaneously scolded my friend and wiped down my massage table. “I thought you were over your issue with oceans.”

“It’s not an ocean issue,” he said, laughing. “I just don’t see the appeal in getting thrown into a body of water with thousands of other swimmers so we can all fight our way forward.”

“Beck, you’ll be fine. You are one of the strongest swimmers I know.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I visualized his smirk on the other end of the phone.

“What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“You know what, never mind. I’ll ask someone else.”

“Why does this even matter to you? You don’t need me for a relay. Isn’t this race like a half version of the bullshit you normally do?”

“Yes, but this isn’t about me.” I paused, not wanting to overshare April’s problems.

“I’m listening. ”

“I have an athlete,” I said, hand-picking my sentence. “And she’s having a hard time with the mental game of an Ironman. I think this will be the confidence boost she needs.” I could nearly hear the gears churning as Beck considered. “Please. I’ll buy you a double meat from Whataburger,” I offered, thinking about how he’d offered me the same when we were just kids, and he was looking for pointers after a swim meet.

There was a long pause and then a groan. “Fine. Make it a triple, and you have a deal.”

I laughed. “Sure.”

“I gotta go. Emily wants me to help her plant the fall garden today.”

“Tell her I said hi.”

“Alright. Later, man.”

I looked at the time as I hung up. I had an hour until my next massage appointment. I could have just called April about my idea, but the thought of seeing her reaction in person made me pull my keys out of my pocket.

“Welcome to Just Tri!” Billie called without looking up from her phone. “Where you can suck at three sports instead of one,” she said with mock enthusiasm.

I was pretty sure that was not the designated tagline for their store, but Trevor and April were a little too occupied to notice. Trevor was mid-conversation with a customer in the shoe section, and April’s eyes were locked onto the chain she was threading. Not wanting to break her concentration, I waited until she had it on to say, “I think I found a loophole. ”

She jumped, and her hand knocked against a tire, shaking the entire frame.

“Woah, sorry!” I said, grabbing the stem to steady the bike. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, it's okay.” She put a hand to her chest, and I could only imagine the hummingbird of a heart beneath her palm. “I’m just a little jumpy today.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before continuing. “Now, what about a loophole?”

I carefully released my grip on the bike stem. “You said something is holding you back from finishing an Ironman. What if we did a relay for the Galveston half? All you have to do is focus on one discipline—your favorite—cycling. My friend will do the swim. I’ll do the run. We finish and break your Ironman curse.”

April’s eyebrows pinched. “That feels like cheating fate.”

I shrugged. “Maybe it is. But if the universe has been playing dirty, I don’t see why we can’t.”

April’s hand reached up to the little butterfly necklace she wore. She rolled it between her thumb and pointer finger for a moment before her features relaxed into a smile. “Let’s do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, great!” I noticed an open container of fettuccini alfredo on the counter, which, by the clumpy appearance, looked like it hadn’t been microwaved. I was eating into her limited lunch time. “I’ll let you get back to work. Will I see you for the ride later?”

“Later, as in tomorrow, right?”

“No. Did you not get the group message?”

She sighed. “I haven’t gotten any messages. My phone is in rice.” She put up a hand to stop the question on my lips. “Don’t ask. It’s a long story.”

“Okay. Well, they moved the ride to later today because tomorrow's weather looks bad.” In fact, it looked bad all week. I was excited about the cold front, but the idea of indoor exercise for a week gave me cabin fever. “Tell me you don’t have to work late,” I said. “This is our last chance to get outside for the foreseeable future.”

“I—can’t, today.” How she said it made me think she had plans she didn’t want me to know about, but that didn’t make any sense. I was her coach, not her boyfriend. If she was going out, that was her business. Still, the idea did make me feel hollow. “I’ll do the workout,” she continued. “I just can’t make the group ride.”

“Okay.” I tried not to sound deflated. “If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll save your spot as my riding buddy.”

She gave me a half-hearted smile, making me mentally replay the entire conversation about the upcoming ride. On the drive to the clinic and while with clients, I kept trying to figure out what I’d said wrong. Then, I checked the calendar to reschedule an appointment for a customer. The date may as well have been luminescent for how my vision locked onto it. No wonder why April wasn’t going on any outdoor rides.

It was Friday the Thirteenth.