Chapter 19
Aaron met Allie on the balcony as soon as he
could. He was still dripping wet from some swimming practice he had squeezed in,
and Allie was still dressed from her practice.
"You okay? You didn't sound good on the phone." Aaron said,
moving to take her into a reassuring hug. Allie moved away from him, holding out
the magazine instead.
"I guess we can't keep this a secret." Allie said, her voice
as soft as a whisper.
Aaron's face fell as he looked over the cover. Then, he
opened up the magazine, flipping through to the article. He quickly glanced over
it, seeing generic pictures of them in Spain- him helping with swimming and her
just exploring the town. Across the top, however, were the pictures of them from
after the interview. There were ones of them smiling at each other, them leaving
and more of the hug the two stole before leaving.
Aaron's mind was reminding him of the hug as he looked at the
pictures. He had missed her, and he wanted to hold her. But, to try and keep the
relationship private, they had settled for a hug. And they had tried to convey
all their feelings in that one hug.
"So we don't keep it a secret then." Aaron suggested.
"But then we'll spend all this time in Athens dodging
questions about us instead of answering stuff about our events." Allie said.
"I've done that before and hated it."
"You have?" Aaron asked, surprised. Jules had said Allie
always kept her personal life personal. But, Allie had apparently let the press
into her relationship with one guy. "With who?"
"With Michael." Allie said.
"Michael? Michael who?" Aaron asked. The only Michael he
could think of was Michael Phelps.
"Phelps." Allie said, not even looking at Allie. She took a
seat on one of the chairs on the balcony. "It was a year or so ago. And we ended
up letting it slip to a reporter. And it was one of the worst mistakes of my
life. And I don't want to do it again." Allie said, looking up at Aaron.
"You dated Phelps?" Aaron asked.
"Yes." Allie said.
"You dated my teammate?" Aaron asked.
"Can you not get past the fact we dated?" Allie asked.
"It's just interesting to know that my girlfriend dated a guy
who people are calling God's gift to swimming. What happened to have you two
break up? Are you against swimming? Did he not wear his Speedo enough? Was the
distance too much?" Aaron asked.
"No!" Allie felt like screaming her answer at him. "It wasn't
anything like that. It was all my fault. I felt like I was dragging him down. I
wasn't growing up and he was growing up so fast. He was capable of so much more
without me." Allie explained.
Aaron shook his head. He shouldn't have been so mad about
Allie having dated Michael. He had dated girls that he hadn't told Allie about.
But, for some reason, he was mad.
"I just don't want what happened to Michael and I to happen
to you and me." Allie said.
"So you're breaking up with me to save me from having to
answer questions about us?" Aaron asked.
Aaron knew his answer when he saw a few tears escaping down
Allie's cheek. Aaron turned and left, slamming the door onto the balcony.
Allie curled up on the chair, making herself into a little
ball. Her back was to the door, which explained why she didn't know Jules was
there until Jules spoke. "I just passed Aaron, what's wrong?" She asked.
Allie didn't say anything. She just cried harder.