Page 64 of His Daggered Heart

“I’m going to get you some water,” she says, walking back to the kitchen.

I fall back onto my ass and wait, making sure another wave doesn’t hit me.

“Gross!” I yell. I hate throwing up more than anything.

Cora returns with the water. “What the heck was that?”

“I don’t know,” I say, one hand reaching for the water and the other clutching my sore throat.

“I feel fine, so it wasn’t the food. Have you been around anyone who is sick?”

I think back to the dance rehearsal. “Well, I remember feeling sick at dance rehearsal but I chalked it up to nerves.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re pregnant,” she jokes. “It would be insane if we were pregnant at the same time.”

Something sparks in my brain. “What day is it?” Panic rushes through me.

“It’s Saturday, duh,” she confirms, not quite understanding the gravity of the situation.

“The date Cora, the date,” I say, rushing to my feet. Dizziness hits me and I catch myself on the counter.

“Oh my god, Alex. I’m calling Levi.”

I stop her. “No! We cannot bother them. I’m fine. Just, please- what is the date?”

She eyes me curiously. “It’s the twelfth”

“Fuck!” I shout. “Text the driver. We need to go get a pregnancy test.”

Her blue eyes go wide. “Oh fuck,” she says quietly.

“Yeah, fuck!” I repeat.

Chapter 42

Kohen

Ilookoutintothe stands for Alex and Cora. Levi and I are impatiently waiting for them. They should have been here by now and the fact that we are both here and not with them is driving us mad. Usually, at least one of us is with one of them. We came to the realization that they are magnets for trouble and bad luck.

“They are fine,” I say to him. “They’re just running late as always.”

“Nah, man, Cora is never late. She is one of the most punctual people I know,” he argues.

“Yeah, but factor in Alex, food, and pregnancy brain.” I pause. “I think that’s what she’s been calling it,” I laugh.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agrees.

“Look, there they are.’ He points to them out in the far corner. You can’t miss Cora, she is tall as fuck. It also helps that they look like the sun and the moon. Cora has a bubblegum pink sundress that sits right above her knee, patterned with white daisies. My Angel is wearing a plaid skirt that’s mid-thigh and a black cropped T-shirt that shows a sliver of her abdomen. She is so fucking sexy. My mouth waters at the sight of her.

The energy between us evaporates now that we know they are here, safe and sound and in one piece. We head back to the locker room and get our equipment together.

We have six events we need to prepare for. The vault, floor exercise, pommel horse, the parallel bars, the high bars, and the rings. We have to make it through four phases and today is qualifications. We are competing as a team, and Levi and I are the only ones competing individually out of our entire team. The one saving grace is that he specializes in parallel bars and I moved to rings. It’s going to be a long day.

The announcer begins to speak, “Welcome to the 2023 Olympic Qualifier.”

Levi and I slap hands and Levi leads us in a prayer. When we head out onto the floor, a guy shouts Levi’s name and he tenses.

“Levi, I did not know you would be here,” he says in a French accent. “This is unusual for you, no?”