Page 71 of His Daggered Heart
“Why do you call hersweetness?”
He laughs loudly.
“Don’t you dare!” Alex says, making her way down the stairs with Cora hot on her heels.
“Why can’t I know?” I ask her.
“Because I don’t even know and he has never told me. He avoids it every time.” She huffs a sigh.
My gaze shifts to his and he’s laughing. “I may take it to my grave.”
“You asshole!”
“Alright, alright, alright,” Levi shouts, clapping his hands together and grabbing all our attention, “Kohen and I have about fifteen minutes before we have to go, so pull up a chair, grab some orange juice, and let us feed you.”
Both girls settle in and Alex pours them both some juice while they chat and wait for us to serve them.
Chapter 46
Alex
CoraandIenjoyedour morning. Kohen and Levi said we didn’t have to show up to the convention center until noon and surprised us both with a spa trip. We have gone through so much this last month, good and bad that we were more than happy to accept. We had massages and did a seaweed wrap facial, and then ended it with manis and pedis.
There were bags in our temporary suite when we were done and the boys had a bag left for us with cute shirts that match. Maroon and gold for TSU but to support them individually too. Cora’s shirt saysLevi’s Sunshineand mine saysKohen’s Angel.
We giggle like giddy school girls and put them on. Our hair and makeup were done after our facials so we don’t have to worry about anything but getting dressed and getting to the center. They really wanted us to be comfortable, so they packed us both black leggings from Aerie and the new slip-on Uggs everyone is raving about.
“They really are creating monsters,” I tell Cora.
“Yeah,” she agrees. “Imagine if we have daughters, oh my gosh.”
We both pause, contemplating what that would look like for us.
“They will be best friends just like us,” she says, tears in her eyes.
I feel them well up in mine too. “Hell yeah, they will.” I pull her into a hug. We finish getting dressed and text the driver that we are ready. We’re ready to see our men bring the gold home.
The roped-off section is reserved for Cora and me this time. No Raymond in sight, thank fuck.
Kohen hired security just in case because he doesn’t want anything to happen to us while he and Levi can’t be with us. I keep telling him he didn’t fail me but he is even more possessive and protective now, and I don’t blame him.
We watch the last events of the team from France, and then they announce the USA team. Now, we are Texas girls through and through, so we grew up in a football geared state. Of course, we yell and holler, cheering them on and everyone around us looks at us like we are crazy.
We watch as the entire team competes and we are so damn proud. We aren’t really sure if the team did well but they have moved on to individual routines. I know Kohen mentioned that their team in particular only had him and Levi competing individually, and one woman, but he said they are scored separately.
Levi walks out first. He goes through the motions and does great. He’s scoring well. I think I’ve learned that anything under six isn’t good, and anything above six is great. The last apparatus, as Kohen calls it, which I think is stupid- I might add- is the parallel bars and that’s what he is the best at.
My heartbeat accelerates and Cora must be feeling it, too, because she’s standing up, her hand over her heart as if it could stop beating at any moment. Levi mounts the bars, lifting his legs in front of him. In the next second, they are straight in the air, and as if gravity is pulling all the strings, he slowly drops the other way, the momentum pushing him through to the other side. He twists and turns from one arm to the other with his legs straight up into the air, and then he starts to spin into a flip. One, two three…and his hands release. Cora gasps as he spins and grabs the bars again.
“I’ll admit that one scared me,” I say.
“Me too. How does their family do this regularly?” she asks.
“No clue, C, no fucking clue.”
Levi continues to perform his routine on the bar. He does one last trick flip with his legs in a wide V as he flips mid-air and then catches himself. He twists and turns and spins to the end of the apparatus. Then takes on the final flip off, dismounting and getting the perfect landing.
We clap and cheer again, not caring who is watching us. Levi doesn’t look our way but his smile is ferocious. Sunshine rips through the huge room, warming us to our cores. “That’s my best friend!” I shout.