by Abi Josselyn
“You have someone special in your life, I assume from the phone call,” Beth said inquisitively.
“Yes, that was Lizzie and she has become the reason I get up every day. She has been a pleasant surprise in my life.”
“You look happy Ben and if Lizzie has something to do with it then congratulations.”
“Thanks, hopefully someday you’ll know what it’s like to love another person as much as I love Lizzie. I would have her with me but with school, it’s better if she stays in Colorado.” Beth noticed the dreamlike look in Ben’s blue eyes when he talked about Lizzie.
Beth was jealous because Ben’s love life appeared idyllic while hers was non-existent. Lizzie, whoever she was, represented what Beth wanted. A person who she could count on and someone to love completely – more than Olympic medals. She was convinced Trevor was that person and then Elijah but neither were everything she wanted as Ben had apparently found.
“Enough about love and finding the one, let’s get to work. A shortened stretching session is what I need, if there is such a thing. I’m convinced there’s a better way to stretch than I’ve done in the past.” Beth said changing the subject.
“We’ll come up with an efficient program but I’m no magician and there aren’t any shortcuts. I’m big on hydro workouts so I hope you have a swimsuit.”
“I’m going to have to rely on one that Apex supplies because all I have are bikinis.”
“I hate wearing anything when I swim but I’m forced to comply. My favorite swimming hole is in a remote location and I can skinny dip there for hours,” Ben said.
Beth was tired hearing about Ben’s idyllic life but it was too soon to complain. She would stand her assigned physical therapist for as long as she possibly could. They made their way down to the facility so Beth could pick up her Apex gear and they could gather baselines. Ben would have to know her weight and all her measurements that he would share with Seth. He would be in charge of monitoring her speed on the track and they would work as a team to maximize Beth’s performance. Apex was a high-tech organization and their goal was to create fast humans. They walked in the door and the smell of chlorine smacked Beth in the face.
“I take it there’s a pool in this building,” Beth commented.
“Observant. We’ll be there tomorrow; today I’m just taking your measurements and I want to feel that knee of yours. I hear they performed miracles and your case is one that orthos will be talking about for decades.” Ben glanced at his watch. “It’s been an hour and we haven’t beaten the crap out of each other – this may work.”
“We’ll see.” Beth wasn’t so optimistic. They had yet to really talk about CCU and it was only a matter of time until their pasts caught up with them.
Ben got the stats he needed and did a thorough inspection of Beth’s knee which had been poked and prodded too many times to count. No one cared about her ear that was sewn back on or the fabulous dental implants she received. It had been a long year of recovery and the mental part of her was still a long way from healed. Sailing off a cliff (6-foot ledge), Beth saw her life flash before her eyes. That had always sounded like a figure of speech but it was a reality. The saddest part was that Beth wasn’t satisfied with the life she saw. She wanted to accomplish everything that she didn’t like win a gold medal, fall deeply in love, run a marathon and have a kid. The first one was something in her near future but the other three would take time. Finding a person who would complement her was not as easy as going to the mall and picking one up. Running came naturally but a distance as long as 26.2 miles was a goal far out of reach. Having a child was a dream but she might have to settle for adopting a dog.
“Beth.” Ben said loudly when he realized Beth was in a different world. “You haven’t listened to a word I said.”
“Sorry. I tend to check out when I’m tired.”
“It’s been a long day. I asked if you could tell me what type of brace you’ve been wearing and when you wear it?”
“I have it back at my room. I always wear it on the track because my patella’s slippery. I also have a neoprene one that I’m supposed to wear around the clock.” As they chatted Beth noticed that Ben’s touch was soothing, which she thought was taught in PT school.
“You can relax Beth. I’m almost done feeling my way around you knee and surrounding tendons. You’re tense and I can’t believe you’ve been running a 4:14 mile like this. I hear they used a 3-D printer to create your artificial patella.”
“They had no choice because my own patella was shattered and all that was left was powder.”
“Sounds gnarly. The massage staff is going to do wonders with you. Time will shed off your PB when these muscles are loosened up”.
Beth was disappointed that Ben wasn’t going to be doing the massage because he knew what he was doing. As a former runner and a good one, he knew a runner’s body.
“Are we done here? I’m exhausted and I might have a suite mate by now that I’m anxious to meet.”
“O.K, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon and we’ll start with a rubdown. Good luck with the new mate.”
Chapter Four
Beth didn’t have a suite mate yet and she was homesick so she picked up the phone to call her former coach and friend Jonathan.
“Hey lady! How’s Utah?” Jonathan answered in his always cheerful tone.
“Lonely and scary. My coach is a ball buster and I know my physical therapist from years ago.”
“That’s good Beth because it means you already have a friend,” Jonathan said optimistically.
“More like an enemy but you never know because maybe he changed.”
“Or maybe you did. You’ve been through a lot in past year and you aren’t the woman you once were.”
“I guess but Ben has it all together with a girlfriend and a steady job. He even looks better than I remembered.”
“Do I note a sense of jealousy over Ben’s girlfriend?” Jonathan asked.
“It only makes me jealous that Ben has with Lizzie; what I wish I still had with Elijah. How’s he doing Jonathan because you see him every day at the track.”
“He seems good but we aren’t in eighth grade; why don’t you give him a call?”
“We didn’t leave things that way because he wants me to move on and forget about him. He thinks that he’ll hold me back. It’s probably a relief to Elijah that I’m gone. I sensed that he was ready to end our relationship and my leaving presented him with a perfect excuse.”
“I can see where he’s coming from as far as not wanting to hold you back. You have a real shot at a gold medal and you don’t want a single thing distracting you. Elijah wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he turned out to be that thing.”
As Beth and Jonathan were talking, the door to the suite opened and Beth looked up to see her new suitemate.
“Hello, you must be Beth Barker.” She extended her hand. “I’m Heather Morgan.”
“Hey Heather. I’ve been following your career since you were a young phenome and then you fell off the map. I didn’t know you were running professionally or what happened to you.”
Heather was 18 and from Texas. She was an up and coming sprinter when she was 13 who was expected to have a long career ahead of her.
“I took time off but now I’m back and ready to compete again in the 400. I started to develop when I was 15 and I lost some of the speed that took me out of the game. I was rediscovered by the right coach and he got me into this program, which wasn’t easy because I hadn’t been competing much.”
“Congratulations on your comeback; it’s odd to say that to someone so young. I’m making a comeback also, which is from a biking accident. I was in the news a lot but now I’m here and ready to compete for gold. We can motivate each other.” Beth smiled.
“How’d you mess up your knee so badly riding a bike?”
“It was a bike tour that I was doing through the state of Oregon. I lived in the state for most of my life and wanted to see the pl
ace close up. I always knew there we mountains in the state but I was out of my mind to think I could climb them on two wheels. It was actually descending that was the hardest part because I didn’t like flying down a hillside at 40mph. I like to say that I lost control and dropped 50 feet off a cliff but it was more like a few feet off the side of the road.”
“I’ll have to make a note to myself, not to get on a bike.” Heather threw her bags into the empty room. “This place is sweet and it looks like we’ll have plenty of privacy if we entertain the opposite sex – if you know what I mean.”
“No men for me Heather.”
“Do you prefer women? I shouldn’t assume.”
Beth laughed. “No. I’m straight but I’m choosing to focus on running. There’ll be plenty of time to find Mr. Right in the future.”
“Not me. Having a guy in my life gets my juices flowing not only off the track but on it to.”
Beth felt like an old lady around Heather and she reminded her how she used to be. Heather was fearless and confident to a fault. She was ready to bulldoze anyone who got in her way. Beth wished she was still brash and cocky. It was the way Ben probably remembered; if that were the case he would be in for a surprise because she had grown up.
“The dining common serves dinner until 8 and I haven’t had time to lay in groceries so I’m heading over. Any interest?” Beth asked.
“Absolutely. I’m dying to check out the male athletes. Give me a minute to freshen up and take my supplements,” Heather said as she popped a few horse pills.
Beth was going to ask what she was taking but she would assume that it wasn’t a banned substance. Apex ran a clean program and they tested regularly. Beth took no supplements because she was paranoid that something would be tainted. When it came to taking ibuprofen, Beth only took her own that she had bought from the store that she herself had unsealed. Heather took her long blonde hair out a messy bun and threw on some black running tights and a sports bra. Heather was hot and she knew it. Beth followed in running tights and a t-shirt as she didn’t want to compete with her oversexed roommate.
Chapter Five
The dining common was unlike the one she remembered in college or even the one from the last Olympic village. It was set up like a restaurant you’d find in a five-star hotel at a ski lodge. A wall of windows gave an awe inspiring view of the mountains. A person was set to take your order when you entered, from a healthy menu. You couldn’t eat poorly if you tried and Beth got the feeling that everything she ate would be recorded and sent to the coaches. Heather pointed to a far table next to an exceptionally good looking group of men, which weren’t hard to come by at Apex. She pointed out one in particular that Beth recognized immediately as Ben Knight.
“That’s where we’re headed Beth. You might start reconsidering your no romance policy.” Heather said as she bounced over to the table. Beth followed wishing that she had held off on eating until breakfast. As the women approached, the corners of Ben’s mouth curled up and his blue eyes fixed their gaze on Beth or Heather, which was troubling. Beth felt a twinge of jealousy when she thought of Heather and Ben together but it went away when she remembered he already had Lizzie in his life.
“I see that you met your suitemate Beth. I actually already know who the lovely Heather Morgan is.” Ben Stood up and shook Heather’s hand while checking out her nubile teen physique at the same time.
Heather was immediately smitten with Beth’s PT. It seemed that he was similarly attracted to Heather, which made him an ass because he had told Lizzie he loved her earlier that day. Beth had no idea why she cared but she did and that was troubling. She hardly knew Ben and she was still hung up on Elijah.
“Can we share your table? It looks as if you have room,” Heather asked. “I see you know Beth, explain that one.”
“I’ve been assigned to Beth as her PT. I work for Seth or Coach Mulligan as you may know him. We both work for the female middle distance runners. That’s how I know Beth currently but I know her from college before she bolted and turned pro. Isn’t that right Beth?”
“That’s right Ben but we really just met because I’m not the person I was in college.”
“How so Beth?” Ben asked her directly. It was as if they were the only ones at the table as they looked at each other intensely.
“Missing out on the gold and then my accident changed me. You might say they humbled me but don’t worry, I haven’t completely lost my edge.”
“The edge must be why Seth insists why you see the Apex shrink,” Ben blurted out confidential information.
Beth’s eyes widened. She considered the fact that she was seeing a sports psychologist private. “I’ll do anything to improve my time. All you have to be concerned with Ben is the shape of my body.”
“You’re right Beth. I’ll have no problem focusing on your body. I see from your plate that you haven’t met with the nutritionist yet.”
“They don’t serve anything here that’s not approved by the food police. I already had Seth tell me that I have to lose weight, which isn’t true so off my back Ben.”
“There’s the edge you were talking about. Check the attitude because we produce winners but only with athlete cooperation.” Ben was taking every chance to belittle Beth.
“I lost my appetite Heather, I’ll see you back at the room.”
Beth stormed out of the dining common. Ben and Heather called her back but she kept moving. It was a good thing that all they could see was her back because tears welled up in her green eyes. She was frustrated that Ben held the power to drive her to tears. It was likely because she was a diva in her late teen years and she regretted it. She was the mean girl and now her horrid behavior was coming back to roost.
****
“Sorry that I left in a huff Heather. It’s been a long day and Ben Knight touched a nerve. I’ll see what I can do in order to get a different PT because I’m sure there are plenty of qualified people here at Apex.” Beth was resting on the couch in the living room when she heard the front door open. “Heather, you’re welcome in here and I promise not to bite.”
“Sorry to disappoint but I’m not Heather.”
Beth sat up ramrod straight to find Ben Knight standing in her living room. “My bad Ben. I didn’t expect you to be standing before me and I never would have told you directly that I don’t want to work with you.”
“I didn’t mean to startle you Beth. I came by to apologize for blurting out that you were ordered to see an exercise psychologist. It was way out of line and I realize that I’m having a hard time getting over being pissed at you years ago,” Ben sat next to her on the couch.
“So, you must agree that Seth should pair me up with someone else.”
“No Beth, I don’t agree with you. With a clean slate, I know we can make a good team and put you up on that gold medal podium.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to work with present day Beth and not think of me as the 19-year old bitch.”
Ben smiled, “A very beautiful red haired 19-year old bitch. You broke my heart every time you ignored my romantic overtures and that was many times.”
“Come again, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“You’re kidding right?” Ben asked. “The way you left CCU wasn’t your best moment but I knew you were seeking greener pastures and I would have done the same thing. I had a huge crush on you Beth and you treated me like crap. I got over it but when I saw you, it all came rushing back. I wished that you had gotten ugly but that didn’t happen because you went and got more stunning.”
Beth laughed. “I thought the same about you. I wished you had a gut and went bald. I was a snob but it was more of an act than anything else. I’m sorry Ben but now you have Lizzie and seem very happy.”
“Yeah, Lizzie is the best part of me.” Ben looked out at the mountains and smiled as he thought of Lizzie.
“I’m sorry Ben; who knew how stupid I was because you turned out better than I dreamed. It seems as thoug
h we’re both very different people than we were seven years ago so let’s agree to work like crazy on our common goal.” Beth threw out her hand to shake on it. Ben hesitated and then scooped her up in his arms and kissed her passionately. Beth jumped back and remained speechless.
“That’s something I always wanted to do. Now I think we can move forward with a clean slate. See you tomorrow at the pool.”
Ben smiled as he walked out the door, leaving Beth breathless.
Chapter Six
Beth was up early the next morning and saw Heather as she was gathering her things for the track. She had thought about Ben from the moment her head the pillow and only Heather’s voice was able to disturb her thoughts both sweet and sour.
