He chuckles. “Fuck, I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” I deflate. I hate how much I mean that. And I hate that the sentiment means something completely different to him. God, I’m pathetic.
“So what’s going on?” JJ asks.
“I, um…just wanted to tell you that…” My throat tightens, making it hard to speak. Eyes closed, I take a deep breath. Why am I acting weird? Let the man get back to his random hookup. “I made the Olympic team.”
“Adeline! Holy shit that’s incredible.” He barks out a laugh. “I’m getting on a plane.”
An incredulous sound escapes me. “What?”
“We need to celebrate.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re celebrating enough for the two of us,” I mutter, that envy seeping back in.
“I’m coming home.”
“JJ.”
“Adeline. You’ve been working toward this your entire life. I need to hug you. Need to—fuck.”
“You need to play in Michigan tomorrow night,” I remind him.
He sighs like it physically pains him. “I know.”
“When will you be home?”
“Um…” He’s quiet for a minute, like he’s looking at his calendar. Then he grunts. “Not until next week.”
My heart drops. “I’ll be in Minnesota then.”
“What?”
“I have to report for Olympic training on Sunday. It’s in Minnesota.”
“Fuck it, I’m coming home.”
I roll my eyes, even as butterflies erupt in my belly. “JJ, stop.”
“Adeline, I can’t not see you for four fucking months. We need to celebrate.”
I smile, tears pricking at the backs of my eyes. “We will, when my team wins the gold medal.”
His exhale gusts over the microphone, sounding staticky. “That’s months away.”
“And you’ll be busy kicking ass during that time. We’ll talkbetween my training and your games,” I promise, forcing myself to sound upbeat, though I feel anything but.
It’s what we’ve been doing since we went our separate ways after graduation. For the last three years, we’ve done our best to see each other when we’re both in town, but he’s so busy that sometimes we’ll go months without anything but texts and a few FaceTime calls.
And it’s not like we’re dating. JJ does enough of that for the both of us.
“I hate this,” he mumbles.
“I know, but we’re doing what we both dreamed of…” I sigh. “JJ, I’m going to the Olympics.” When the words are out, excitement rushes through me again.
“Yeah, you are. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
I smile. “Me too. I’ll let you get back to your date.”
