GrandSlam Read Online Free Page B

of
cedarwood and vanilla, perhaps with a hint of mint, lingered long after he’d
gone.
    I sighed and shut my eyes. Wondered why he never had a woman
on his arm at any of the events he attended. No anxious beauty in the family
box biting her nails and sipping Pimm’s. No one to make a mad dash for after
each victory to hug and celebrate with. He appeared to be a loner, and after
listening to him today, talking about everything but his feelings, I wondered
just who he had to open up to. Because one thing I was sure of, everyone had to
have a someone . It was impossible to get by without that.
    I decided to take Austin up on the invitation to use the
academy’s gym on my lunch break. I was tired, yes, but the thought of getting
the restlessness out of my legs was very appealing. Maybe I was overtired and
that was why they felt so agitated.
    After slipping into the correct changing room and pulling on
Lycra shorts and a crop top and swapping my stilettoes for trainers, I headed
into the workout area. My mind was set on finding a cross-trainer, or
elliptical as they called them here; that way I could work upper and lower
body, a double whammy.
    The place was half full, mostly girls and a couple of guys
on the weights. I looked twice. The guys were Travis and Peter.
    Damn. I’d do my best to ignore them. Didn’t want Travis
thinking I was stalking him. I seemed to be everywhere he was the last
twenty-four hours and in a big place like this, that was getting kind of
suspicious.
    I found a cross-trainer at the far end of the long gym,
flicked my iPod to a workout playlist and slotted the earphones in. After
hitting start I set to my task, hoping it would settle my equilibrium.
    I quickly built up speed and a sweat, staring out the window
across the L.A. skyline and thinking about the cool surf splashing over Santa
Monica Beach in the distance. I imagined I was running there, my arms and legs
working hard to take me to the ocean. Once there I’d sink my body into the
coolness, be at one with nature. It was a relaxing visual when I was building
up a burn but it hit the spot and I steamed onward and forward—and it certainly
did the job of distracting my thoughts from Travis Connolly.
    Or at least it did until a movement on my right caught my
attention. I glanced sideways and saw Travis stepping onto a cross-trainer two
down from mine. Peter was fiddling with settings, chatting as he did so. Travis
was waiting patiently, not adding to the conversation. He looked across and
caught me staring.
    I gave the briefest of smiles and turned away, wishing a
bead of sweat hadn’t been balancing on my nose at that very moment. Not a good
look.
    But he hadn’t bothered to smile back anyway. His mouth just
stayed in a tight, serious line, his body held stiffly as though his muscles
were pumped up after the weights.
    My music quieted between tracks and the rhythmic grind and
swish of the machines filled my ears. I risked another glance. Travis was
gaining speed, his arms and legs power demons as he pushed and pulled. His skin
shone with a sheer coating of sweat and his hair was shoved back, messily
spilling over a black headband.
    “Hey, Marie. How you doing?” Peter stepped toward me,
harnessing my attention.
    “Oh Peter, er, hi,” I said breathlessly and a little too
loudly. Quickly I slowed my pace. I’d done nearly twenty minutes, that should
just about do it. “I’m good, thanks.” I pulled out my earphones and let them
hang around my neck, making sure to reduce the volume of my voice.
    “Have you recovered from the journey?”
    “Well, not really, but hopefully a workout will help.”
    “Always does.”
    I smiled and glanced at Travis. He was staring straight
ahead, a frown creasing his forehead. He’d obviously been training hard and was
ready for it to come to an end too. He hadn’t bothered with his iPod, his
earplugs hung around his neck.
    “So,” Peter was saying, “if you’re up for it that would