Unmasked

by Magan Vernon

  Chapter 11

  Blake

  I felt Liam’s hand cup my shoulder. “Tough break, man.”

  All I saw was red as I turned, swinging my arm back before my fist connected with his jaw.

  Liam’s head snapped back before he put his hand to the side of his face. “What the hell, man?” He snarled.

  Erik stepped in between us, holding his hands out, stopping us from getting any closer. “Everybody calm down now!”

  Liam spit out some blood on the hardwood floor. “Tell it to the fucker who just hit me. I have finals tomorrow. A black and blue face is gonna be great to explain to the press. What should I tell them? My asshole roommate decided to hit me?”

  “Kind of like how I just had to try and explain why your assholish self decided to tell Kelly she was a bet?” I snarled, not holding back.

  Liam put his hands up. “Hey, man, you’re the one who agreed to the bet, don’t get mad at me for calling you on it.”

  I blew out a big breath and raked my fingers through my hair, stepping back and shaking my head. “Fuck, man, fuck. I didn’t even want to do this shit. I agreed to it for you guys to get off my back and now I’m fucked. Totally fucked,” I muttered the last part.

  “Don’t tell me you actually like that stuck up chick, man?” Liam asked, but it was more of a statement.

  I glared at him because I wasn’t sure what else to say and Liam shook his head, a broad grin crossed his face. “Aw, man, never thought I’d see the day Blake Tremblay would get pussy whipped by a girl. Especially not some American bitch.”

  I lunged forward, ready to beat the shit out of him, or at least get in another good punch, but Erik stepped in between us. “Both of you, stop. This is fucking ridiculous on both your parts. I don’t know why you guys are acting like a bunch of teen girls and fighting like we’re in the cafeteria, but grow the fuck up. I don’t know why either of you made the bet because it’s not like we had enough shit going on at The Games. Why don’t you too just drop this and move on?”

  “Hey, I’m not the one who attacked his buddy here,” Liam said, shrugging out of Erik’s reach.

  “Blame doesn’t help either one of you. I know you both are give’rs and do everything one-hundred-and-ten percent, but does that mean you two need to get in a kerfuffle over a girl?” Erik asked, looking between the two of us.

  “This isn’t kerfuffle about a girl. This is about Liam making the stupid bet in the first place then instead of being a decent guy he goes and tells the sweet girl she was a bet,” I muttered.

  “Why the hell did you do the bet in the first place then? If you have such a hard on for this girl?” Erik asked.

  “Because I didn’t think? Okay? You guys just kept talking, and I wanted you to shut up, so I gave in. I didn’t think anything would happen with Kelly and it did. Now instead of my head in the game, it’s all twisted, and I sound like a pussy for even saying it out loud,” I groaned, raking my hands over my face and stepping back.

  “Why didn’t you just tell us you wanted out of the bet? You would have just owed me a lot of money and been done. Though, technically you did win,” Liam said with a smirk.

  Instead of getting into another kerfuffle, I shook my head. “Whatever,” I muttered and pulled my phone out of my pocket, walking toward the door.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” Liam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I’m calling another Uber to take me to the village,” I grumbled, looking at the app and seeing it would be almost an hour before anyone got to me.

  “Then what? You try and make some grand romantic gesture and make yourself look like an ass?” Liam asked.

  I’d tried to get Kelly’s attention so many times. Using the media or her parents or whatever else I could so she wouldn’t say no. The only time I’d gotten her to fully open up to me was when it was just the two of us. But there was a slim chance I’d ever get that to happen again. And I didn’t have any ideas in how the hell I was going to make this all up to her. If I even could.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. But I gotta try.”

  ***

  I ended up at the village almost two hours later; I had absolutely no idea what I was going to say or do as I stared up at her dorm. All of the looming buildings looked the same like the skyscrapers did to me in New York. But I still remembered standing in front of Kelly’s dorm that night after dinner. I remembered the way she looked at me full of genuine concern. The way she held onto my arm and laughed as we walked in the freshly fallen snow. She really seemed to care about me and was interested in what I was saying. I wasn’t a bet to her. I was real. Like she was to me.

  While I could remember everything about that night meeting her parents, I couldn’t even remember what room she was in. The one I drunkenly slept in that first night. I should have thought about that before I took the long trip to the village. I stared at my phone in my hand. I was within the range of Wi-Fi so I could message her, or maybe even Logan, or Becca, but then what? If she’d already gone back to her room and told them what happened then, they would just think I was an hoser. I’m sure they already did. I wouldn’t have put it past Becca to hit me either.

  Just as I was about to pull the door open of the dorm and try to figure out what to do and how the hell to find Kelly or her room, I came face-to-bitchy-face with Alexis.

  “Blake! I didn’t expect to see you here,” Alexis practically purred, her eyebrows raised as she exited the dorm. Maybe she was supposed to be smiling, but her face always stayed in that same half-scowl.

  She must have been on the way to the arena with her red track suit, hair in a high bun, and a book bag over her shoulder. She would be living at the same place that Kelly was and competing. Maybe even getting ready in the same locker rooms. I didn’t think the two girls actually talked, but I wondered how their conversation would go. If Kelly would talk about herself being a bet and then Alexis would take it as her chance to get back in bed with me. Or maybe they’d both be smart and laugh about my stupidness and find someone else to occupy their time. But I couldn’t think about that option. Not when Kelly’s naked body and sweet smile were still in the forefront of my mind.

  “Yeah. I was just in the neighborhood,” I muttered. I didn’t want to go into the details of was going on with Kelly, and it wasn’t her business anyway. If she found out later then so be it, but I wasn’t going to be the one to open up that wound.

  “Walk me to the arena? My hair and make-up artist are waiting, but I can take some time to walk with an old friend, especially if you buy me a cocoa.” Her lips pursed together.

  I wanted to tell her ‘no’ and to get the fuck out, but I didn’t have any other plans on what to do with Kelly, so I found myself nodding. And figured that it would give me some time to think and I’d be at the arena anyway. I’d figure out what to do once I got there. At least I hoped I did. “Yeah, okay.”

  “No double double?” I asked, referring to a coffee with two creams and two sugars, very popular in Canada but Americans acted like we were hosers when we ordered it at the coffee shops there or anywhere in the village.

  She laughed. “No caffeine before a performance. Gets me antsy.”

  That was the exact opposite for me. I needed the energy drink or coffee to get me pumped up. Not that adrenaline wasn’t already coursing through me, but there was something about downing a few energy drinks in freezing weather then powering down a mountain to make you feel alive.

  Almost as alive as I felt on that mountain with Kelly. I shook the thoughts of her out of my head as I headed into the small coffee shop with Alexis and ordered her a cocoa and myself a double double, using the American wording.

  “So, were you at the dorm hoping to catch that American girl or me?” Alexis asked, taking a small sip of her cocoa as we exited the coffee shop into the cold air and walked side-by-side to the arena. It wasn’t too far of a walk, but the way my head was buzzing, it felt like an eternity. There were too many athlet
es around. Too many smiling people with cameras. Too many people that had no idea I may have just made the biggest mistake of The Games by taking that bet, and it had nothing to do with winning a medal.

  “I think you know her name, Alexis,” I muttered before taking a big sip of my coffee.

  Alexis nodded. “I do. I’m very familiar with Kelly Johnson. I think the media likes to call her my biggest rival, though I’ve hardly spoken to the girl, to be honest.”

  “We always hate the people we compete against, especially those damn Americans who always seem to get on top,” I grumbled, thinking of the cocky redhead who took gold in giant slalom.

  “Then why hang out with the blondie? I mean, I get it, she’s gorgeous, but if we’re all competing here, then why her? Was it to make me jealous?” Alexis asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I laughed, shaking my head. That statement was one of the most ridiculous things I’d heard all day. I’d known Alexis for years. Romantically and otherwise. The girl didn’t get jealous of anyone. She just took what she wanted, and if she didn’t get it, she acted like she didn’t and was going to get something better. “Wouldn’t have a reason to make you jealous.”

  “So, all of those nights at the ski lodge were nothing? I hardly believe that seeing as you kept coming back to my room at all hours of the night and morning,” Alexis said with a smirk, taking a small sip of her cocoa.

  I shrugged. “You know sometimes things just happen. Hookups are hookups.”

  “We were definitely more than a hookup.”

  I stopped, turning toward her. “Look, Alexis, I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here, but I’m sorry if you thought we were something more. I never thought that. And yeah this is going to sting, and it probably sounds dickish of me, but we’re not gonna happen.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “So, what? You think because after ten years you finally qualify for The Games and you can be a hoser? Chasing after stuck up American girls? You know when this is all over you’ll be texting me, and you know what? After this, I’m not answering.”

  “That’s fine, Alexis. I was trying to be the nice guy and kill some time before heading to the arena anyway.”

  “You can kiss that sponsorship goodbye without me you know?” She glared.

  Those words were the one that slapped me harder than any other. Silver in giant slalom wasn’t going to get sponsors crawling at my door, I’d have to get gold in parallel, which was a possibility, but what if this mess in my head had me screw up my moves? What if I didn’t make the podium? Then where would the sponsors be.?

  “Maybe they like me for my charm,” I smiled, trying to add some light-heartedness to the conversation.

  She rolled her eyes. “I think I can walk myself to the arena.”

  I put my arm on hers. I used to get some kind of jolt at least, or at least my dick did, from touching the tight little skater’s body, but now it did nothing. Absolutely nothing for me. “I’m sorry. I’m having a rough day. I didn’t mean to be an ass.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “What’s with this Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde thing?”

  I shrugged. “Game pressure I guess.”

  “If you want this sponsorship or anything, we can’t just be fighting on the streets like this. We’re supposed to be a team, not that stupid little hashtag you came up with, with the American girl. What was that about anyway?” Alexis asked, putting her hands on her hips.

  I couldn’t think of a good answer, so I just shrugged.

  Alexis rolled her eyes. “I think you’ve hit your head on the slopes one too many times. You’re not even making sense. Maybe that’s why you’re saying so many crazy things.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  I was at the end of my snowboarding career. I couldn’t make enemies with anyone in Canada if I wanted to keep up some kind of presence in the winter sport world. As much as I wanted to tell Alexis to fuck off, I also knew that I needed her.

  “Can I still walk you to the arena?” I asked.

  She smiled and looped her arm through mine. “Of course.”

  Chapter 12

  Kelly

  I didn’t look at anyone passing by as I got out of the Uber and ran into the dorms. I wiped all of my tears on the sleeve of my coat and sucked in a deep breath as I got off the elevator. I didn’t want to think about what my makeup or hair looked like. I just hoped that a paparazzi didn’t sneak in and make that the big story of The Games. The ice queen falls apart was all I needed to see as a stupid headline.

  Becca’s game was earlier in the day so she’d be back in our room if she wasn’t with her teammates. For the first time ever I would have to tell my sister why I was crying and that it was over a boy. A boy who she probably knew would screw me over but pushed me toward him anyway even after I broke down and told her everything about Joe.

  I unlocked the door of our room and turned the lights on. I thought for a brief second that maybe Becca was gone, but then I heard some whispered swearing in a male’s voice.

  I put my hand over my eyes and stepped further into the room. This definitely was not what I wanted to come home too. We needed to come up with a system if this was going to happen again and this was the last thing I wanted to come home to after what I’d just been through. I groaned. “Becca, if you have a man in bed with you, can you both please cover up? Or I’ll go wait in the bathroom or something.”

  “Um, yeah, just a sec,” Becca said, whispering and then I heard the guy muttering something back.

  I kept my eyes on the ground with my hand shielding what was in front of me. That was when I spotted something very out of place on the ground. It was a Team USA warm-up jacket, but not just any warm-up jacket, this one had Logan’s name embroidered on the front.

  “Um, Becca? Is there a reason Logan’s jacket is here?” I asked, hoping my first thought was wrong and he wasn’t in her bed. Maybe she got cold at the arena, he happened to be there at the same time for some reason, and he let her borrow it. Even though my sister never got cold and I didn’t know when they’d be at the arena together at the same time. That thought at least sounded better than the other option of my sister sleeping with my skating partner.

  “We’re just getting dressed then Lo-, uh, the guy is going to leave,” Becca sheepishly said as I heard the fumbling of bodies and zippers.

  I sighed and dropped my hand. “As if my day couldn’t get any worse,” I muttered and looked up to see Logan in nothing but his sweatpants with his hair tousled every which way and Becca in nothing but her bra and underwear.

  I wanted to scream at both of them or be even more upset by the fact that my sister was sleeping with my skating partner, but instead, I just sat on my bed, defeated enough by the enormity of everything that happened with Blake.

  “Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting,” Becca said, the side of the bed creaking as she sat down next to me.

  “Have you been crying?” Logan asked, walking toward me as he put on his t-shirt.

  “This is a weird conversation to have right now, maybe a weird one to have ever,” I muttered.

  “Do I need to put on a shirt? Will that make it better? Maybe even pants?” Becca asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

  I shrugged. “That probably couldn’t hurt.”

  Before Becca could even get off the bed, I sighed, mentally and physically exhausted. I’d done seventeen-hour days training for most of my life but nothing tired and pained me more than the revelation with Blake. “I was a bet. Nothing more than a stupid bet,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “What did you just say?” Logan asked, kneeling down in front of me. I almost forgot he was in the room then the wave of nausea hit me that I just walked in on my sister and skating partner in bed together.

  I covered my face with my hands. “This has been the most messed up day ever,” I muttered and laid back on the bed, my head hitting the very scratchy comforter that reminded me of the flannel blanket in the back of Blake
’s van. The van I thought we had incredible sex in. Sex that was meaningless. Not just meaningless, but nothing more than a wager between a bunch of Canadian buddies. And the fact that it meant something to me. That it was more than just a fling or connecting of our bodies. That I was really falling for this guy and giving my all to him was the thing I thought would bring us closer together. Not tear us apart.

  I found the tears streaming from my eyes again, and Becca was at my side, pushing my hair away from my face. “Kelly, shhh, it’s okay. You don’t have to talk about if you don’t want to,” Becca murmured.

  “Like hell, she doesn’t. That guy made a bet? Is that what you’re trying to tell us? Like one of those bad romance novels or some frat boy move where they take a wager on who can sleep with a girl?” Logan growled from the end of the bed.

  I raised my head to see Logan’s hands clutched into tight fists at his side. People always gave male figure skaters a hard time about not being masculine enough, but they’d obviously never met a real male figure skater. Logan was tall, lean, and could lift me effortlessly and I was one-hundred and ten pounds. Then that made me think about how he was lifting my sister, and the bile rose in my throat again.

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s basically what happened. I was a bet. A bet to de-ice the ice queen,” I said, doing air quotes with my fingers.”

  “I’m going to go to the mountains now and sucker punch that dreadlocked, maple-syrup chugging little prick and his little buddies. Who the hell do they think they are?” Logan snarled, heading toward the door.

  Becca was off the bed in a flash, her hand to his chest as she put her body between him and the door. I saw a flicker of something almost carnal in Logan’s eyes as he looked down at her, licking his lips, but then looked back to me and he sighed.

  “Logan, if you do that, you know it’s just going to get you in more trouble, and you two have to get to practice before your program,” Becca said, keeping her hand splayed on his chest.