I didn’t smile.
Dean pulled a bench over. “Hey. You okay?”
“Not really. What are you doing right now?”
“I was helping Kai on his drive, but he’s done for the day. You want some help?”
I nodded, the need to row growing into an urgency. “I want to push the pace as hard as I can.”
Dean frowned. “Mmkay, but just remember, the big boys in the engine room aren’t going to be as fast as you.”
“Tough shit.”
“Oooh, spicy. All right, let’s work out some of this aggression and then you can tell me what’s actually bothering you.”
The erg was state-of-the-art with air resistance that would increase based on my effort. Dean set the damper to medium resistance to start, but I shook my head.
“Higher.”
“All the way up to eleven, eh? Your funeral.”
He pulled out his digital metronome, and I began to pull to thetick tick tick.But soon I was outpacing it, and Dean had to keep adjusting.
“Xander, take it easy,” he warned, but I ignored him.
I pulled the erg’s handle up to my chest, its coiled wires making a zipping sound with every pull, while my thighs worked to move the sliding seat back and forth. I pressed my feet into the footrests, driving against them with everything I had. Within minutes, my shoulders, abs, and quads were screaming, my lungs aching and throat raw. Dean stopped trying to slow me down and watched, wide-eyed, increasing his metronome.
Tickticktick…
Sweat stung my eyes, and I grunted with every pull.
“How long?” Dean asked.
“Fifteen,” I managed.
“Dude,no.”
Fifteen minutes, the length of an elite five thousand meter. I wanted to test my endurance, build stamina for my crew, but mostly I needed the adrenaline and endorphins to shove every hard thought out of my system. I made it to eight minutes at the most punishing pace I’d ever attempted, and then my stomach seized.
I let the handle go with a snap and staggered off the erg to vomit into a dirty towel bin. I heaved until there was nothing left, gasping for breath, and then Dean was there with a clean towel and a bottle of water. He guided me back to the erg to sit and straddled the bench beside me.
“Welp, you’re not going to make any friends with the custodial staff,” Dean said while I sucked in huge drafts of air and then chugged half the bottle of water. He waited until I’d caught my breath. “Better? Okay, now you want to tell me what’s really going on?”
“I told Emery I loved her and spent the night with her, and it was fucking perfect.”
Dean sputtered a nervous chuckle. “How is that a bad thing? Did she not say it back?”
“She did.”
He glanced around. “Am I being pranked? You’re sleeping with Emery Wallace, the most beautiful girl in school and quite possibly the tristate area, and she told you she loves you.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Hm, yes, I can see how that’d be rough.”
I put the towel over my head. “I’m fucked, Dean.”
“Why?” I felt his hand on my shoulder. “I’m here, man.”
With a sigh, I stripped off the towel and told him the whole story, including my offer to marry Emery should she need the complete divestiture from her family. Dean’s eyes widened and then he gave a low whistle.
“So that…is a lot.” He frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”
