False Starts

Chapter 5

RYAN spread out his cards on the table with a smile. “No jeah for you, boys,” he said, smirking at Conor and Cullen. “Full house.” The other two groaned and Conor threw his cards down in disgust. 

      It was the night before the second to last day of trials, and the three were playing cards in Ryan’s hotel room, something they often did during meets. It was a way for them to de-stress between event days.

      “You know you wouldn’t be winning if Phelps was here,” Conor commented as Ryan listed the tally on a hotel pad. They were playing for laps at training camp and Ryan had collected a 100 lap total from both.

      “Well, it’s not my fault he’s not here, is it,” Ryan said, shortly.

      “Actually, it kinda is,” Conor joked. “If you and Abbie would just get together already, we wouldn’t be having this problem.”

      Ryan made a face and a “pfft” sound, as if the idea of him and Abbie getting together was the most ridiculous thing ever. “Whatever, man, you’re just pissed off ‘cause you’re losing,” he jeered.

      Cullen shook his head. “Man, that is the third time Phelps has ditched us,” he muttered. “I hope he’s having fun.”

      “Of course he’s having fun, he’s on a date,” Conor said with a laugh.

      Ryan didn’t say anything. He didn’t really want to think about why Michael had not joined their nightly card games for three nights in a row now.  So he just dealt the cards again to end the conversation and they went on playing.

      An hour later, Conor and Cullen had left and Ryan was sitting on the bed, staring at his phone. Neither Abbie nor Michael tweeted or even texted all night and it was bothering him more than he wanted to admit. Despite her promise that they would spend time together in Omaha, the only time Abbie had hung out with Ryan was the night of the 400 IM final. He had hardly seen her since, as she was busy taking photos of the meet, working with Noel on the articles, and… going out with Michael.

      The way those two talked about each other, it was like they’d been dating for a year. It grated on Ryan’s nerves just thinking about it, which surprised him. When did he start caring about Abbie’s lovelife? She’d had boyfriends before, although most of them were assholes who never treated her right. It was easy to be mad at those guys. But this was Michael, one of his closest friends. He shouldn’t have a problem with Abbie dating him. Right?

      He thought about Conor’s dig earlier and somewhere in his brain a question popped up: was the idea of him and Abbie getting together really so ridiculous?

      Ryan didn’t know. He’d never thought of it before. He loved Abbie, he knew that. But what kind of love, exactly? He didn’t know that either. He’d known her for nearly eight years. Apart from his family, she was the most important person in his world. There was hardly anybody away from the pool that could centre him the way Abbie could. She made everything better, just by being around. Every time he thought about her, whatever memory it was, he smiled.

      Did that mean he was in love with her?

      He spent a restless night trying to figure it out, but there was no calming his mind down. Since Abbie was unavailable, he would have to do what he usually did when wanted to clear his head: swim.

       

Michael stretched his arms upward before picking up his gym bag. He felt energized, happy. He only had the 100 meter butterfly final left, so he could afford a little down time. Plus, his date with Abbie last night went incredibly well, even if it was just dinner. Michael didn’t really care what they did; all he cared about was that she was with him.