“What was that about?” Raul asks.
“You ever had that one other athlete that hates you? Well, meet mine.”
“You do a different version of hate than me.”
Chloe laughs at the fact she can fight with someone while being nice to them. It may just be an American thing or at the very least, a woman thing. Raul is laughing now too.
“I think, after we finish here I do need to do a few laps at least. It has been a while since I did some really good swimming,” Chloe admits.
“No problem, I just wish we could have spent some more time out tonight.”
Chloe nods along as their food arrives. They both eat in silence, but Chloe’s mind is whirring through her strokes and laps she is going to do shortly. She is going to defeat Natalie no matter what.
Chapter Eight
Chloe has her bag sitting on her lap while riding with Kylie to the Aquatics Center. Kylie is getting in the mood for her qualifying by listening to Meghan Trainor and Chloe is thinking about how her date kind of ended on a sad note. Raul probably thinks she doesn’t actually want to go out with him again. Stupid Natalie for distracting her.
“What is going on with you?” Kylie asks.
Kylie removes her headphones and stares at the utterly silent Chloe. Chloe just shrugs her shoulders and stares out the window of the bus. Other cars are passing by, seeming to have no cares for anything.
“You need to tell me; it is throwing me off.”
“I think I gave Raul the wrong impression,” Chloe admits.
“How so?”
“I ended our date early so I could train and he looked like a sad puppy.”
Kylie breaks into a laugh, a hard chortle. Other passengers look over at her and some of the USA swimmers just roll their eyes at the expressive teammate.
“You care about him, oh my gosh. You really care about him.”
“Well, yeah.”
Chloe ignores the still laughing Kylie and pulls out her phone, checking to see if Raul has texted. He hasn’t and now she thinks maybe she should text him. What if he responds or worse, what if he doesn’t want to go out with her again?
“You are in trouble,” Kylie sings.
Chloe rolls her eyes at her friend and puts her phone back away. They are pulling up to the Center and everyone is getting ready to get off. Kylie is packing her own music back up and smiling from ear to ear at Chloe.
“I can’t believe you are doing this,” Chloe says.
Kylie just shrugs her shoulders as she stands up and heads off the bus. Chloe follows and walks past her friend who is in the process of doing a happy dance. People are staring at Kylie and some look to Chloe for reasoning, she just shrugs and continues on. Kylie runs to catch up.
“You going to ask him to the race tomorrow? We can all go to the beach afterward and celebrate the fact you now have a crush on a guy.”
“You are terrible. I no longer want to be your friend.”
Chloe opens the doors and turns to go to the practice pool. Kylie follows and pulls her music back out.
“Just text him and I will lay off you until after your next date,” Kylie admits.
Chloe turns around to see Kylie plugging her headphones in and blasting the music again. She just walks right on past, no doubt going to keep her promise so long as Chloe texts.
Chloe pulls her phone back out and looks up Raul’s number. Before thinking any better, she dials his phone. He answers after three rings.
“Olá,” Raul radiates over the phone.
“Hey Raul, it’s Chloe,” Chloe states over the phone.
She chides herself on being so clinical and not as easy going as she was on their date.
“Chloe, I thought you were going to practice?”
“I am at the Center now, but first I wanted to ask if you want to come with me to the race tomorrow. Kylie is pretty certain she is going to be in it and I want you to come with me. You can bring Flavio for Kylie if you want, make it a group thing.”
Chloe punches her own arm for her foolish word vomit. She cannot be that nervous to actually ask a guy out when she has already been out with him. Apparently she is.
“I would love that. I will even bring Flavio for Kylie.”
Chloe does a success dance in the hallway, and checks herself before someone sees her.
“Great, I will meet you out front tomorrow around eight?”
“That will work, have a fun workout.”
“You too,” Chloe blurts.
The phone clicks off and Chloe stares at it in wonder. She really, no she couldn’t have, she just told him to have a good workout too. She is completely insane, but she has another date with Raul.
Chloe continues down the hall and into the locker room. Kylie already has her swimsuit on and is putting her clothes into her bag. She looks up to the goofy grin on Chloe’s face.
“Where were you?” Kylie questions.
“I have a date with Raul tomorrow. I just got off the phone with him, and you have one with Flavio.”
Chloe goes to the other side of the lockers, just out of Kylie’s eyesight and begins changing.
“You did what?”
“I didn’t want to go alone again, and you said to bring Raul tomorrow night so I told him to bring Flavio.”
Chloe works her suit on and comes around the corner to stuff her clothes into her own bag. Kylie is scowling at her. Chloe offers a small smile before heading through the doors and into the practice area. She turns the small shower on before pulling her hair up into a ponytail and into her cap. Kylie follows suit, boring a hole into the of Chloe’s head.
“It is not going to be that bad, think of it as a group of friends going out,” Chloe tries.
“Didn’t we have a version of this conversation last night? I believe I caught you this morning trying to sneak out of it.”
Kylie splashes the cold water from her shower onto Chloe and then turns it off. Chloe shrugs her shoulder and heads to the chairs around the pool. She puts her bag on one and then stretches out.
“We may have, but my mind has changed,” Chloe tells Kylie.
“Mine hasn’t and it will not. Flavio is not a great guy.”
“Please do this for me. Besides you will make him feel small because you will have way more medals than him.”
Chloe goes for the angle that she knows will work.
“I guess we could talk about swimming while you talk with Raul about who knows what,” Kylie admits.
“I will love you forever,” Chloe chimes.
Both women get into the pool, doing laps back and forth, Chloe going for longer than her friend and doing a plethora of different strokes, trying to find her marathon rhythm.
Chapter Nine
Raul is sitting next to Chloe in the stadium, both wearing warring colors. Chloe has her American flag gear back on and Raul is displaying Brazil all over. Flavio is only wearing regular colors, but he is also not involved with Chloe and Raul right now.
“I will root for Kylie when she comes up later, but for now I am rooting for my own people,” Raul announces.
“That’s fine, like they could win against our people though,” Chloe counters.
Raul scoffs and turns back to face the pool where the men are lining up. Chloe has her flag up and ready to cheer her teammates on. Raul is pulling her hand down, but she keeps putting it back up. Flavio clears his throat, catching the couple’s attention before rolling his eyes at them. They both laugh at the exasperated Raul.
The gun goes off as soon as the arena is silent and the men are off. Chloe jumps up and cheers her two racers on. Raul is cheering his own teammate on and still trying to steal the American flag from Chloe who is jumping up and down as the race nears the end. America is in the lead and just barely makes it through at the end. Brazil did not medal.
“Have you eaten your words yet?” Chloe gloats.
“I will take that flag away by the end of the night,” Raul counters.
“Don’t y
ou dare steal Old Glory from me, we have been through a lot.”
Raul just shakes his head and sits back down. Chloe stays standing, still cheering for America. Flavio mentions going to stand for a bit, but Chloe isn’t paying attention to him anymore.
“Kylie is up next,” Chloe tells Raul.
“Can I borrow Old Glory?”
“No, I cannot trust you with my precious. You will throw her away and then I will cry.”
Chloe sits back down and smiles up at Raul who smiles down. She has him pegged and they have been like this all night. Chloe has just felt like she belonged with Raul since he waved at her at the front of the building. They both have forgotten about Flavio a few times throughout the night and he has made it known.
“There she is,” Chloe chimes.
Chloe and Raul stand up and do a cheer for Kylie before sitting back down and quieting. Chloe is on the edge of her seat. Kylie is guaranteed for first now that Katie Ledecky isn’t racing against her. The gun sounds in the air and Chloe shoots up in her seat.
Raul holds onto Chloe’s hand as she silently cheers her friend through her laps, each time gaining and losing the lead. Raul is also right there doing the same squirming movements for each change in the race. It finally does come to a close and Kylie just beats her competitor to the win.
Chloe and Raul both shoot up in excitement and cry out in pride. Kylie now has a medal of each metal and she is probably just as excited. Chloe hugs Raul and they get a few looks from the people around them. They spent the majority of the night messing with each other, but now they are celebrating.
“We are definitely going to celebrate tonight,” Raul says over the din of the crowd.
“You thought we wouldn’t?”
Flavio comes back down to his seat and trains his eyes on Kylie who is looking around for Chloe. The friends wave at each other and blow kisses. Raul and Flavio wave to Kylie too, who has the largest grin painted across her face.
“She is better at swimming than you, Flavio,” Raul jokes.
Flavio grumbles something unintelligible and Chloe ignores him. He has not been in a great mood since they arrived. She wants to know why, but doesn’t care right at this moment.
“Let’s get going, they are going to start the medal ceremony and I want to be waiting for Kylie when they finish,” Chloe announces.
The guys follow her up the steps and to the landing where they watch as each race gets their medals. Chloe cheers out louder than anyone else, in her opinion, when they present Kylie with the gold.
The anthem plays and Chloe feels her eyes well up with tears in pure pride for her friend. It has been a long road for Kylie and Chloe was there for every step, cheering and watching.
Raul puts his arm around Chloe as she wipes the tears away after the anthem and they move to go wait for Chloe in the lobby.
“Are you that happy for her?” Raul asks.
“She and I grew up together, so I have seen her struggle through past injuries and her own family. It was beyond tough. This stopped being her dream for a long time.”
Chloe looks up at Raul and smiles and he returns it back to her. Flavio is moving away from the couple, shaking hands with a few of the Brazil swimmers.
“Stop with the goo goo eyes and let’s get going,” Kylie calls out.
Chloe looks over to the door and sees Kylie racing over, her gold medal on proud display. The friends hug and jump together. Chloe looks over the medal and breathes on it to clean it. Kylie let’s her giggle overflow.
“I have been asked to go and talk with Ryan tonight, if you guys want to come. We can go out afterward.”
Chloe is already nodding and so is Raul. Flavio is making his way back over to the group. He gives Kylie a hug and a kiss on the cheek, making Chloe raise an eyebrow. Kylie brushes it off.
“You want to come, Flavio?” Kylie asks.
“To where?”
“To watch Kylie be interviewed by Ryan Seacrest? We will probably go out afterward,” Chloe says.
“Sure, why not,” Flavio says.
Chapter Ten
Kylie is laughing it up with Ryan Seacrest while Chloe, Raul, and Flavio sit on the beach and watch her. It has been one epic night for them all. Chloe is still buzzing with excitement.
“So, Chloe, what are you planning to do to the poor, innocent, Raul?” Flavio questions.
Chloe looks away from the interview and straight at Flavio. She cannot tell if he is joking or if he is being serious. She is hoping for the joking.
“Leave her alone, Flavio,” Raul demands.
“No, I want to make sure she is not going to hurt you,” Flavio admits.
Chloe thinks about it for a moment. What does she want with Raul is a question she does not have the answer for yet. Chloe apparently takes too long because Flavio stands up and huffs at her.
“You don’t even know what you want? Then why are you stringing him along?”
Chloe stands up and crosses her arms over her chest. She keeps her voice low so no one else except their small group can hear.
“Well I was not the one who decided to hit on a couple of girls at the beach. I was not the one who offered to walk a girl home and just happened to get mugged. Do you want to know my intentions, well then you need to let me figure out my brain because we are in Rio and at the Olympics. Would you be able to figure a relationship out while competing?”
Raul looks between his friend and Chloe before grabbing her hand and pulling her down onto his lap. Chloe lets out a little squeak as she falls and then laughs when she realizes that Raul approves of her response.
“Leave her alone, Flavio,” Raul commands again.
Flavio stomps off, away from the couple and closer to the interview area. Chloe nestles in closer to Raul and watches her friend lap up the attention. Raul is lightly running his fingers through her hair, humming something.
“I am going to be honest with you,” Chloe starts.
“Okay,” Raul continues.
“I don’t know how to feel about you.”
Raul is quiet for a while, just running his fingers through her hair. Finally, he even stops that and leans back, away from her sitting on her lap.
“I don’t really know how to feel about you either. When I was on that beach all I wanted was a good lay, but after seeing how brazen and funny you were I wanted to get to know you.”
Chloe stands up and holds her hand out to Raul who grabs it and pulls himself up. They keep holding hands and move further away from the commotion. There are barely any people out away from the filming and it feels really intimate for the couple.
“It is hard for me to be in relationships, always has, and I don’t know how to do this or how to feel.”
Chloe takes a breath after her declaration and turns to gage Raul reaction. Her mind races with the idea that this may be too early for this admission, or that he doesn’t see this relationship the same way.
“Can I ask why?”
“Well, I always played along with whatever the guy I was with wanted, but I made a promise to myself after my last relationship ended that what I do will be for me, but I don’t know what I want.”
Raul is quiet again and sits down in the sand. Chloe remains standing, hoping that she hasn’t just ruined everything that was just built in a few days.
“I get it; we can go at whatever pace you want.”
“I haven’t freaked you out?”
“No, I like that you at least know you want something,” Raul breathes.
Chloe feels a weight leave her chest that she didn’t know was even there. Raul actually wants to let her figure herself out in this new, strange relationship. Chloe sits down next to Raul and looks out at the ocean. It has a rough surf tonight, but Chloe loves the noise. It is calming her down.
“I definitely was not expecting to meet a spitfire American who would make my heart pound,” Raul whispers in her ear.
“So, I make your heart pound?”
Raul rumbles out a
deep laugh and Chloe can feel it from where she sits. She scoots closer to Raul and leans her head on his shoulder.
“Would you want to get dinner with me tomorrow night? Somewhere nice?”
Chloe looks up at Raul and smiles lazily. She is spending nearly everyday with this man and she wants to keep spending her days with him. The thought crosses her mind that it is just the air in Brazil, but she dashes that away quickly.
“I would love to get dinner with you tomorrow,” Chloe whispers back.
Raul smiles down at her now and puts his arm over her shoulder, rubbing her arm to keep her warm in the cool breeze.
“So long as Kylie doesn’t question me like Flavio did you, I feel our future dates will go well.”
“Look who is back to being his cocky self.”
“I can’t help it. There is this beautiful woman who just makes me want to show off, to impress.”
Raul laughs at himself and Chloe only smiles. She is actually beginning to like the fact he is this confident. She doesn’t know where it came from, but she doesn’t care right now either. All that matters is the fact that he is willing to work with her and deal with her weird conditions.
Chapter Eleven
Chloe and Raul are walking down the street toward the Village, holding each other’s hands. The night has painted the world around them in black with only the light from the signs and the streetlights around them.
“Did you really like the restaurant?” Raul asks.
“To be completely honest with you, not really,” Chloe admits.
Raul stops walking and pulls Chloe off to the side, tilting his head. Chloe meets his eyes with a sheepish smile and tries her best to soothe the feelings she knows she just hurt.
“I just prefer simpler food. Nothing deconstructed would be really great. The food was good, but I felt like I was totally out of place. Pretty sure they were waiting for me to break something, too.”
Raul breaks into a laugh and kisses Chloe on the forehead. She wraps her arms around Raul and lays her head onto his chest.
“I was worried you didn’t have a good time with me,” Raul calmly says.
Romance: The Bad Boy Affair: A Second Chance Romance Page 107