After a lifetime of devotion, Ben Thornton tries to focus on gold at the 2012 London Olympics. Unfortunately, a British tabloid reporter sets his sights on outing a famous athlete, namely Ben, who is just now accepting his sexual identity himself.
Meanwhile, someone crushing on Ben reveals himself via a mysterious love note. Is best friend and teammate Richie Stoker the one, or maybe Richie’s twin brother, Adam? Team members Steven, Vijra, or Cory could have authored it. Then, there’s Ben’s ex; the exe’s sibling; friend with occasional benefits, Booger Fisher; and also Ukrainian weightlifter Iggy, who follows Ben around the Olympic Village. It could also be a trick perpetrated by the gossipmonger, Ben fears.
Will the pressure of the media circus interfere with Ben’s competitions, or will Ben leave London with gold and the man of his dreams?
“A love note?”
Kat read it aloud. “I’ve been admiring you from afar far too long. Let’s get closer. XXX.” Then, she showed Ben the screen. “And a heart.”
The XXX was followed by the less than three kind.
“That’s ...” Ben wasn’t sure what it was.
“Romantic? Sweet?”
Both Kat and Ben plopped down onto the bed.
“Intriguing? Sexy?” She had a plethora of words.
“Weird?”
“Who’s it from?”
The sender’s phone number was unfamiliar. “No idea. Maybe some --”
Kat gasped. “Igor Koshulynsky!”
“Stop!”
“Okay. If not him, who?” She jumped up. “Let’s make a list.” Kat went to the nightstand. “Now then ... Taylor, maybe?” XXX Olympic notepad and pencil in hand, she sat back down. “She might still be carrying a torch. No pun intended.”
“She was obsessed with hearts and how the symbol came to be.”
Beyond her Olympic caliber archery skills, Taylor Hin was an artist. Anytime she and Ben were naked in front of one another, he was usually on the opposite side of the room, so she could sketch him with charcoal on paper.
“Taylor always thought it was the male anatomy that started it. She made me stand on my head a lot, so my balls would flop upside down. Picture it.” Ben could tell Kat was.
“The universal symbol of love and romance is my Piglet’s upside-down balls?”
Ben shrugged. “I can see it. Butts, too. And vaginas. Sexual organs. Makes sense, right?”
“I guess.”
“Even the head of my dick looked like a heart to her.”
“Let me see.” Kat glanced at Ben’s crotch.
“That’s what the internet’s for,” he told her.
“Fine. Be that way.” She tapped her pencil against the pad. “Who else? I wrote down Igor and Taylor.”
“Why are you writing down guys?”
“Because, deep down, if this is the start of something for real, we want it to be a guy, don’t we?”
Ben didn’t answer.
“Don’t we?”
“Maybe. The only one of my teammates definitely into guys -- guys and girls -- is Freaky Deaky Daha.”
“Would you do him?”
Ben twisted his lips into a pout. “Definitely, but…”
“But?”
“Vij wouldn’t be into hearts and romance. It would all be about ...”
“About body parts shaped like them.” Kat got the gist.
“Exactly. And he’s already propositioned me. He’s propositioned everyone I know.”
“Oh!”
Ben feared Kat’s exclamation might have done permanent damage to his eardrum.
“What about a certain British ice dancer we both know and love? You hear from Booger Fisher lately?”
Ben smiled just thinking of Booger Fisher. “Booger Fisher.” He smiled bigger when he uttered the name.
Ben met Booger Fisher one summer when Kat’s mother signed on as Booger’s and Jenn Brand’s ice dancing coach. Ben was older by then, and Booger was a couple years ahead of him in age and life experience. The wild hair, the British accent, the European and worldly ways, Ben was smitten right away. If Kat and Ben were besties, Ben and Booger were like kissing cousins. They didn’t see each other more than a few times a year, with Booger in New York and Ben in California, but when they did, there was often kissing involved.
“Booger Fisher ...” Kat wrote down the name. “He’s here. His second home. First home, I guess, and the XXX is a British thing, right? Like XOXO in the US.”
“Right. Considering where we are, anyone could have added that just because. On the other hand, Booger did take my virginity.” The pencil upside Ben’s head hurt. “Ow. You could put an eye out.”
“Now, I am shocked. When? Where? How?”
“The last time we were all in New York. In the back of that van your mom keeps at the rink. And the how ... Look it up.”
They said it together. “That’s what the internet’s for.”
“I guess I should have known.” Kat brushed Ben’s cheek. “Considering you two were always naked around each other.”
“I’m naked around men all the time, but I’ve only ever fucked one.”
“I’m crushed.” Kat’s pout seemed put on. “How could you not tell me?”
“I wanted to.”
“I get it.” Kat nudged him. “Have you done anything with a guy more than once?”
“Kissing ... and ...” Ben looked down on the floor.
“Nice.” Kat made him look at her. “Booger?”
“Yeah. While I was still supposedly with Taylor.” Ben had to look away again. “I’m a jerk. She and I were rarely in the same state. Still ...”
“We’re all flawed,” Kat said. “You’ll explain it. She’ll understand.”
“I hope so. Someday.”
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