Chapter 9Coach’s speech, the private story with a not-so-hidden message, got to us. By the time the swimmer I dreamed about beating walked for the closing ceremonies, coming away with six medals—four gold and two silver—as the most decorated athlete for the third Olympic Games in a row, something was definitely different between Mathias and me.
“What if he’s right? I feel we’re already not as close as we used to be.”
“We do everything together but shower, sleep, and f**k, Reed. How much more togetherness could we stand?”
“That’s the point. Remember the night you pushed our beds against the walls so we could feel like we were sleeping together? Now you sound like you’re sick of me.”
Mathias rolled his eyes. “You’re imagining any kind of rift and being overly dramatic.”
That in itself w
