“Let me take you to dinner tonight,” he says. “You can ask me whatever you want.”
I blink. “Dinner?”
“A date,” he corrects with a smirk. “Can’t fake-date properly if nobody sees me taking my girl out around town.”
Heat crawls up my neck and I try to suppress my smile, failing miserably. “Alright, cowboy,” I laugh softly. “Dinner it is.”
His grin widens as he picks up the ice pack again, reminding me of why I came here in the first place.
“Oh right,” I say, backing toward the door. “Gabriel wants you downstairs.”
His grin drops. “Do I have to?”
“Yes,” I say with a laugh. “Unless you want him taking his anger out on all of us at practice tomorrow.”
He groans and falls backward onto the bed. “Fine.”
I giggle and point at him as I open the door. “See you later, cowboy.”
He winces and smiles at the same time, and that makes me laugh even harder as I head down the hallway, far too excited for tonight than I should be.
EIGHTEEN
COLTON
I stareat the meeting room door, mentally preparing myself for the ass-chewing Gabriel’s about to hand me, but before I can lift my first to knock, the door swings open.
Gabriel leans against the frame, one brow raised. “Are you planning on standing out here all day, or are you coming in?”
I clench my jaw and step past him into the room. The room lights are painfully bright after the dim hallway, and the faint smell of fresh coffee clings to the air. Gabriel shuts the door behind us before rounding the long table and dropping into the chair behind his desk.
I take my usual seat across from him—the same one I sit in during team meetings—and brace my forearms on my knees.
Gabriel sighs. “What you did today was reckless,” he says flatly, folding his hands together on the desk. “It could’ve cost us our first gold of the season.”
I roll my eyes before I can stop myself, and instantly regret it when his expression hardens.
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of losing that gold,” he says, pushing back from his desk. He starts pacing slowly across the room, restless energy radiating off him “Do you?”
I shrug, trying to come off indifferent. “We drop from first place on the leaderboard.”
Gabriel gives a humourless smile. “That’s part of it.” He stops pacing and turns toward me. “What happens to the team ranking affects the individual rankings too.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He walks over and perches on the table, clasping his hands together.
“Let’s use Kairi as an example,” he says. “Say she’s tied in points with a girl from another team at the end of the season. The judges start looking at tie-breakers.”
I nod slowly.
“One of those tie-breakers is team performance. So, gold medals and consistency.” His eyes lock onto mine. “If we’d lost today because of your stunt, there’s a real chance Kairi could’ve lost her shot at the World Surf Tour.”
My stomach drops so fast it feels like the floor disappears beneath me.
“What? When did that rule come into effect?”
“The rules change every year,” Gabriel says. “So I hope you understand how serious this is.”
