“Exactly.”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” he asked softly. She just nodded. He gently took her hand from the other side of the table. “I like you, and I’m pretty sure you like me, too. Isn’t that a good enough reason to try?”
“I don’t know.…” she began, because a hundred thoughts were swirling in her mind all at once.
“Can you give me one good reason why we should leave this date and never see each other again?”
“We have less than ten days before the Games end.”
“That’s more time than we had on New Year’s.”
“When it ends—” she began.
“Ifit ends,” he interrupted.
“Whenit ends, Drew, we’re going home to opposite sides of the ocean, remember?” she said. His smile wavered for a moment but then it lifted.
“Okay, fair. But a lot of really great, life-changing things end. That’s no reason not to start.”
“It could get messy,” she said.
“Let’s be honest,” he laughed. “It already is.”
She racked her head for more reasons, but they all seemed weak. As Drew looked over at her with that soft, gentle smile, her mind listed reasons to stay. They sat in silence for a moment before he nodded, quietly let go of her hand, and sat up in his chair.
“We should take that photo you wanted,” he said. “But not for the internet, just for us. It will either be a good story one day, or something to remember each other by.”
As Drew asked a waiter walking past if he could take a photo of them, Ari quieted the voices in her head telling her not to get her hopes up. She shuffled her chair closer to Drew’s, and he did the same until they were side by side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they turned toward each other at the same time, their cheeks brushing for a fraction of a second before they both gently pulled back. Ari heard the click of the shutter and felt the pace of her heartbeat go up. The waiter gave the camera back, but neither of them moved.
“Do you remember those photos you took of me on New Year’s?” she asked, giving in to the pull.
“Yeah, I printed them this morning so I could give them to you.”
“Where are they?”
“Back at my hotel.”
“Can we go and see them?” she asked.
He looked over at her. Up close, she could see the tiny flecks of gray in his bright brown eyes and the way the skin around them softened as his expression settled into understanding. He nodded and paid the bill. Then they stood up, grabbed their coats, and headed out into the snow together. Ari knew it was a bad idea. But surely it couldn’t hurt if she’d already accounted for the ending?
32Ari
DAY SIX OF THE 2026 OLYMPICS
When Ari and Drew stepped outside, the sky was clear. Their surroundings were bathed in moonlight. The early-evening clouds had left behind a fresh white blanket of snow, and although they were in the center of the Village, it was surprisingly quiet. All she could hear were the gentle sounds of her and Drew’s footsteps crunching in the snow as they slowly walked along the pavement. This time he gave her his scarf without question, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her, sweet and slow.
Sometimes Ari could feel herself forming a memory in real time. Experiencing a moment knowing she’d return to it in the future. So, she focused on all the details she knew she would one day remember. The warm streetlamps that lit up the path, the stars bright enough to map out constellations, the trees dusted with a light layer of snow. She knew that one day, she’d get lost in a daydream and remember the song playing in the lobby asthey walked into Drew’s hotel. Her mind would latch on to the longing glances exchanged as they rode the elevator and the tension in the air as they walked across the landing. The sound of Drew’s door clicking shut and the quiet rustle of coats and scarves coming off.
It looked just how she imagined Drew’s hotel room would look. It was clean and cozy. There were cameras, hard drives, and freshly printed film photos laid out on his desk. A wardrobe full of sweaters bearing his university logo. Polaroids scattered across the top of his dresser. Most of the photos were of the athletes he’d been assigned to, but she noticed a set of photos of an older couple. The woman had Drew’s eyes, and the man had his smile. Ari realized they were probably his grandparents. Drew had been in the Village for only a week but he’d somehow already made the place feel like home.
“And here’s what I took on New Year’s,” Drew said as he walked over to his desk and picked up an envelope labeledFOR ARI.
Ari approached him, moving closer until they were only a few inches apart. He handed her the envelope, and she pulled out three photographs. The memory of that night came back to her with startling clarity. The photos were dimly lit, but she could see every detail. First a frame of her looking out at the London skyline, her hair blowing in the wind as her silhouette broke up a sea of city lights. She was surrounded by skyscrapers and distant cars speeding across a bridge, but she looked serene. She turned to the next photo. This time, she could see the faraway look on her face. An expression filled with both wonder and worry as she stared out at the last night of the year. In the third photo, she was directly facing Drew. Her face was lit up by the fairy lights on the roof, and her expression was one of amusement and curiosity as she looked beyond the lens and up at the man holding thecamera. He’d somehow managed to capture her exactly as she’d felt that night: a little bit lost and overwhelmed but hopeful too.
“You’re good at this,” she said as she landed on the final photo.
“You’re easy to photograph.”
