Somehow I could tell that Lindstrom was watching me.Sure enough, when I turned around in my seat she was looking right at me, a bright smile on her face.Why was this woman always so happy?I knew for a fact that her parents were both Swedish.Shouldn’t she be more stoic?She couldn’t possibly be any happier about our room assignment than I was.
After a forty-five minute drive, we arrived at the dorm that would be our temporary home for as long as we stayed in the Games.We all walked single file down a dark hallway, searching for our rooms.Mine and Toni’s room was about a third of the way down, not too far from the bathroom.
Using the key that Coach had given me, I pushed the door open and turned on the light.The room was small, but clean, with a large window along the far wall flanked by two medium sized dressers and a shelf with a hanging bar that I assumed passed for a closet.Apparently university students in Italy didn’t have a lot of clothing.
One side of the room had a table with two chairs and a little charging station, and along the other wall was… a bunk bed?I just stared at it in confusion.I hadn’t slept on a bunk bed since I was seven years old and had a sleepover with my neighbor.
“Do you want to be underneath me, or do you like to be on top?”
My head swung around to Lindstrom, my mind going to a very dirty place.Again.
“What?”
She cocked her head, studying me.“Do you want the top bunk or the bottom, Volkova?”
“Top please,” I said.
“You got it.”
Lindstrom dropped her bag on the floor and practically threw herself into her bunk.She didn’t bounce.
“Oh my God, this bed is like a piece of foam on a concrete slab!”
She popped up again and pulled the thin mattress off the bed, revealing a thick piece of plywood underneath.She sighed.
“Maybe those cardboard beds would have been better after all.”
She patted the top bunk.“Hop on Volkova, see what you think.”
I climbed the two step ladder, thankful that at least the ceiling was high enough for me to sit up on the bed without hitting my head.It would make me feel less claustrophobic.
“It’s hard,” I confirmed.
Lindstrom burst out laughing, and for a few seconds all I could do was stare at her sunny smile.It lit up her whole face.It made me want to make her laugh all the time.
“You are the master of the understatement, Volkova.”
I lowered onto my back to stare at the ceiling.Something about this woman was dangerous I realized.She was like the sun and something deep inside made me want to move closer.But somehow I knew that like that guy who flew too close to the sun in those old mythology stories we studied in school, getting too close to Lindstrom would destroy me.
Toni
IlistenedtoYvonneshiftaround up in her bunk and suppressed a smile.She was super stoic about it, but I knew she was as unimpressed with these beds as I was.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing a room with her.For some reason I’d always been fascinated with her.
Yvonne and I had been rivals forever.We’d been frequent competitors in our college days, competitors for the draft – I went first and she went second, thank you very much – and since we’d gone pro we’d spent our entire careers playing for teams with a bitter rivalry.
The truth was, I didn’t really know her.We’d run into each other at league events from time to time, and she was always icily polite.The kind of person who’d never start a conversation or say hi first, but her manners would kick in if you approached her first, even if you got the sense that her politeness was grudging at best.
Despite her ice queen reputation, she was hot as hell.Wide hips, thick thighs, slim waist, and breasts that were a perfect handful – she was the full package.She wore her dark hair short in some kind of pixie cut, which I suspected was more about ease of care than committing to a style.She seemed kind of no-frills like that.
She was strong, but feminine, which stood out in a league where quite a few people presented as masc.When we were at social events, she’d wear a bright red lipstick on those full lips of hers, and I had to confess that I’d daydreamed about kissing it off of her on more than one occasion.
Unfortunately, she seemed to hate me for some reason.Even my teammates had noticed the way her enmity seemed focused more on me than anyone else.
I didn’t even know if she was into women.I’d never once heard of her dating anyone, man or woman.That was unusual in a league where people loved to gossip.Maybe she was ace or something.It was too bad, because I wouldn’t mind having a little fun while I was here in Italy.The Games were famous for being a pick-up market.Then again, these bunk beds wouldn’t make it easy to hook up with anyone.
A beep sounded above me and Yvonne climbed down to the floor.
