Healing Us: Sports Romance, A Comeback Uncovers Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

reassigned you with no problem. I have
my roommate and acquaintances here but you’re my only true friend – you are my
friend right?”
     
    “Your friend and your physical therapist. I don’t want you
to overdo it on your first day so let’s move over to the Jacuzzi where you can
continue telling me about the years since CCU. Tell me about the last Olympics
and what it was like standing on the podium.”
     
    Beth climbed out of the pool and shook her head like a dog.
“It was idyllic except for the fact that my medal was the wrong color; don’t
get me wrong, I know now how fortunate I was to even be on the podium. Being a
track athlete, except for the relay is far from being a team sport. At the
games there was a sense of comradery and national pride that cannot be felt
anywhere else. It gives me goosebumps just talking about it. I left CCU early
and missed out on dorm life and frat parties so the Olympics gave me that
experience that I didn’t have.”
     
    Beth and Ben were comfortable touching each other so she
thought nothing of it when he started massaging her shoulders. Their
relationship was evolving beyond just professional but it didn’t need to be
discussed. It was natural and inevitable like a wave on the ocean. “Were you
with your fiancé at the time?” Ben asked.
     
    “No we had just ended our relationship. As I said, he was
unfaithful but it was because I wasn’t emotionally available or physically when
I think about it. It takes someone special to understand the intense focus of a
professional athlete. Trevor is a high school teacher and he couldn’t
understand my 24/7 schedule. He has summers off and I was never there to relax
when he had vacation or a weekend free. Enough about me and my horrible love
life; tell me about you and Lizzie.”
     
    “I’d rather not Beth. I don’t mean to stonewall you but I’m
guarded when it comes to Lizzie.” Ben ran his hands dangerously close to Beth’s
breasts and she arched her back. “Does that tickle? Sorry.”
     
    “No, it’s good, very good in fact.” Beth looked back at Ben,
smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Their desire was palpable but neither was
going to make the first move for fear of where it might lead. “We should towel
off before we both become prunes.”
     
    “Good idea although I could spend hours sitting in here
talking to you. Can I walk you back to your building?” Ben chuckled. “I sound
like a teenager asking if I can walk you home from school.”
     
    “I think it’s sweet. I’ll meet you out front after I shower
and change. The chlorine is bad for my hair and I have to rinse it off or it’ll
break off.”
     
    “Don’t want that to happen; your hair is your crowning
glory. Can’t get that color out of a bottle and with your green eyes – well, I
won’t go there. I was trying to give you a compliment.”
     
    Beth laughed. “I got it. See you in about 10.
     
    Beth walked into the shower stall and breathed deeply. Ben’s
hands on her body were all she could think of and she imagined him in the
shower beside her. He would kiss her neck leading down to her breasts and
beyond. Beth pictured him kissing his way back up to her mouth and pinning her
against the tile wall. She began to stroke herself as the thoughts of Ben
intensified to the point of no return. Beth was alone in the shower with
fantasies of Ben so real that she forgot he wasn’t pressed hard against her.
She returned to reality when the water went cold and she heard Ben pounding on
the bathroom door.
     
    “Are you O.K. in there Beth. It’s been 20 minutes and
they’re getting ready to lock the facility for the night.” Ben said from behind
the door.
     
    “Be right there. I received a cellphone call and lost track
of time.” Beth regained her composure and pulled on her yoga pants and a green
t-shirt. She walked out to find Ben waiting.
     
    “It’s no myth that women take forever to get ready. Can I
use your phone because I have to