I held the ice pack and a bandage in my hand. I threw it in the nearest trash can I passed on the way to my building. I was staying two down from Sierra. I didn’t bother to shield my face from the rain as I emerged into the storm.

As I walked from one tower to another I heard the athletes talking about all the events canceled today. There was no rowing, canoeing, or soccer. The lightning took the weather to a whole other level of safety issues for the Olympics.

It seemed as if I wasn’t the only one trying to kill time today. I could head to some of the other Team USA events and cheer on my fellow athletes. Swimming was always popular, and I knew the men gymnastics needed support. But after what happened in Sierra’s room, I didn’t think I was in the mood to cheer on anyone.

I was still in a state of shock. Had a woman ever told me to leave? Had a woman who was clearly that attracted to me ever turned me down?

I took to the sidewalk cautiously, careful not to put much pressure on my knee as I stepped up. A cute ginger held the door for me and giggled. I hardly noticed her as I brushed past. My head was still in Sierra’s room. On any other day I would have stopped to talk to her, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what the trainer had said about Eric.

If he had something to do with her being on Team Italy, I wanted to know what it was. I took the elevator to his floor, skipping over the level where my room was.

I pounded on the door. “Eric, you in there?”

“Hey, how’s the knee?” He opened the door and smiled.

I walked past him into the room that looked almost identical to Sierra’s.

“What did Larry say about it? I haven’t had a chance to check in with him yet. We still don’t have a time for the match tomorrow. Scheduling is a nightmare. So far all the matches today have to be postponed.” He sat in front of his computer. There were several different boxes pulled up on the screen with dates and times in bright colors.

“I haven’t seen Larry, yet.”

He whipped around. “Why not? We need you to be healthy.”

“I want to know about you and the Italian trainer. What’s the deal between you two?”

“Why? What did she say?”

I was getting pissed. No one was talking. There was obviously something they were both keeping from me.

“She didn’t. That’s why I’m here.”

Eric’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.”

“Good? What in the hell is going on? Why is an American with her talent working for the Italians?”

He chuckled, leaning back in the seat. “You noticed her skill level?”

“She knew what was wrong with my knee in less than five minutes. We need her on our team. Larry naps in between sets.”

Eric shook his head in disapproval. “Give me a fucking break, Pierce. You don’t give a shit about her resume. You took one look at her and wanted to add her to your list.”

Sometimes Eric and I didn’t agree. He wanted Scott and I to work on plays we knew wouldn’t work. He wanted to back off when we wanted to be aggressive. He wanted us to train when we knew we were too exhausted for another round of reps. But I’d never felt the need to fight him so adamantly as I did right now.

“Bull shit.”

“All right. You want the truth?” He crossed his arms.

“Damn straight I do.”

I sat in one of the fluorescent green chairs next to the wall. I wasn’t over how gaudy some of the decorations were around here.

He pressed his elbows into his knees. “Ok, here it is. She did apply when we had an open position.”

“Then what the fuck, Eric?”

He held up his hand. “Some people aren’t the right fit. She wasn’t going to work on our team.”

“Why not? Did you fuck her?” I was instantly mad thinking he had his hands on her. I wanted to punch him for touching her creamy smooth skin. For his lips pressing into hers. It was irrational, but I didn’t give a shit.

“No, but I was worried you would.” His eyes flared.

“What?”

“She’s too pretty. Gorgeous, really. I couldn’t have that kind of distraction on the sideline. You’d screw her over night one and then what? I’d have to hire a new trainer anyway. I decided to go with someone a little less easy on the eyes.”

“Fuck, Eric. That’s a shitty answer.”

“It’s the truth. You’re already interested in something with her and she’s on the Italian team. She’s completely off limits and yet here you are asking about her.”

“I’m asking about her because she knows what the fuck she’s talking about. My knee already feels better.”

“What does that mean? She looked at it for five minutes on the sideline.”

I looked at the ceiling. Fuck.

“I went over to her room for an assessment.”

“A what?” he roared. He stood from the chair, slamming his laptop screen in the process. “You need to stay away from her.”

“You can’t tell me what to do or who to see. This isn’t high school. And you sure as hell aren’t my dad.”

“I’m your coach. And I’m not interested in getting a violation from the Olympics committee because you screwed some trainer from another country.”

“I screw lots of people from other countries.”

“Yeah, exactly. But not this one.”

“Why are you so protective of her? Why do you care? Did you have something with her and you can’t man up to it?”

“It’s not like that, but I feel like I need to look out for her. And you are exactly the kind of man she needs to stay away from. She’s not built like your models or athlete hookups. She’s a kind, genuine person. I doubt she’s ever had a one-night stand.”

“And just how do you know so much about her?” I believed him less and less. He had an emotional attachment to Sierra. It was as visible as the USA flag embroidered on his coach’s hoodie.

“Because she’s my best friend’s little sister. Ok? I’ve known her since I was in college. Although back then she had pigtails and braces. She’s off limits.”

The relief hit me first followed by the realization that Eric was dead serious about me keeping my distance from Sierra.

“You’re telling me your best friend’s sister applied for a job on our team and you turned her down because of me?” I wanted him to feel like a total shit for putting this on me.

“I helped her get the job on Team Italy. I think she’s doing fine.” He flipped the screen open and the boxes of schedules reappeared.

“Well she’s not a little girl anymore, Eric. And I don’t think it’s your place to play big brother.”

I rose, heading toward the door.

“Stay away from her,” he warned.

“You’re my coach and I’ll listen at practice. I’ll listen during the matches, but other than that I don’t give a fuck what you say.”

I slammed the door behind me.