It was like a flashback to the Sydney games. Everyone was having sex with everyone else, and condoms were being shipped in every half hour on the hour. Someone once said that more sex equaled more gold medals. But if that were the case, then everyone in the village (including spectators) would have some gold in their suitcases.

This was, of course, a ridiculous notion for there was not enough gold to go around.

That and the fact that there were several people who were not so enamored by the Grecian sun...or perhaps they were, but they weren’t taking the same sort of advantage of it.

Juliet was sitting in-between her friends, her head resting in her hands as she leaned forward, watching the race below them.

When she let out her fourth sigh in the last twenty minutes, Ella leaned over to her, her eyes narrowed. “Jules. You shouldn’t be sighing whilst we’re watching such gorgeousness below us.

Juliet picked her head up and she looked witheringly at her friend. “I’m sighing BECAUSE of the gorgeousness. Not in spite of.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay, then.” Ella nodded cheerily and turned back to the pool. She was a normally chipper person, which often annoyed Juliet to the point of craziness, but most of the time Ella was the person you’d want to have around when you were down in the dumps because you were in Greece, at the Olympics, and you were in love with a swimmer from afar.

Ava, the oldest of the three (by about a month), was perched on Juliet’s other side. “Did you see that?” She asked, her blue eyes widening as she leaned closer to the pool (which was a good few hundred feet below them).

“See what?” Juliet asked, perking up slightly.

“Pieter van den Hoogenband just totally slapped Ian Thorpe’s arse.”

Juliet burst out laughing. “He so didn’t.” She leaned over Ava to address Ella. “Ava’s on that lying rampage again.”

“I am not,” Ava retorted haughtily. “I may have dozed off momentarily and had a fantasy. That’s all.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

The Three Musketeers (as they were known back home in California) had been the best of friends since the age of fourteen. Juliet had been born and raised in Nothern California, but the other two had been bred in Europe and scooted across the world at a young age, both due to parental problems (Ella’s mom wanted away from her dreadful father in London, and Ava’s father got a promotion).

The girls were close to graduation now and Ava’s family had offered them their villa in Greece for the summer so they could get away from it all and have a much-needed vacation. The girls, who had been planning to go to the Olympics for the full two weeks anyway, were ecstatic that they’d have more money to spend on souvenirs.

Juliet sighed again, as the other two girls were watching the swimmers congratulating each other.

“If you want to meet him that badly, Jules, we can go down there and wait around outside for about eight hours until he comes out.”

Juliet cast Ada a disgruntled look. “Thank you, but no. I’d prefer to sit here and mope.”

Ella rolled her eyes (something that was rarely done). “Juliet Elise Evans, you are being the most---”

Ava raised an eyebrow, and Juliet, for the first time in an hour, looked intrigued. Ella had never sworn in her entire life (at least not in public and not very often in front of them).

Primly, she sat up straight and concentrated on the poolside area. “Oh, look. The next race is starting.”

“I’m going to get a drink,” Juliet announced, standing up and trying to get past the other people in their row without trodding on too many feet.

“Non-alcoholic,” Ava called after her, grinning. Juliet, in turn, stuck her tongue out and continued on.

“She can drink if she likes,” Ella commented once Juilet was out of sight.

“Yes, but it’s the middle of the afternoon and I really wanted to go to that bar we saw last night on the way home.”

“And you’re afraid if Juliet starts drinking now, she’ll be too pissed to go?”

“Exactly,” Ava nodded. “Who is that blond fellow going out towards the stands, there?”

Ella followed her friends gaze, shading her eyes from the blinding sunlight. “I don’t know, but he’s got quite nice hair.”

“Yes, and a lovely bum.”

“Ava Calliope Moutopoulos!”

Ava shot her a disgusted look. “Please don’t middle name me, Eloise.”

Ella groaned loudly. “Don’t call me that, Ava. You know I hate it, and I only allow my grandmum to utter it aloud in my presence.”

“Sorry,” Ava muttered, looking disgruntled.

“Eloise,” Ella mumbled, sighing. “Honestly.”

“Eloise Lousia Thomas,” Ava reminded her, hiding a grin.

“Ava,” Ella used to her warning voice, which was something that normally got Juliet to keep quiet; it didn’t work on Ava…as almost nothing did. “I could kill my mum.”

Ava snorted, and then tried to cover it up with a very unconvincing yawn.

*

“OUCH!” Meanwhile, Juliet was getting her foot stepped on; people were jostling by the stand selling drinks, and she was in the middle of it. Being rather short (or shorter than lots of people, anyway) she was more prone to being stampeded. Especially when she was in a long line. This was why she avoiding baseball games, soccer games AND football as much as possible. (Ella only succeeded to get her to one soccer game before Juliet swore she’d never do it ever again.)

“I’m so sorry,” someone’s voice entered her consciousness over the din of the crowd; suddenly she was pulled out of harm’s way (a pack of tourists with impossibly large cameras were stumbling by). “Are you okay?”

Juliet was busy leaning down and massaging her aching big toe (which was easily stompable since she was wearing flip flops). “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “Jesus, a person can’t even get a drink in this place without wearing riot gear.”

A man’s laugh made her look up suddenly; for some reason, she hadn’t really been aware of her rescuer until then.

“Maybe you should consider carrying them in your purse at all times,” he suggested with an easily smile that brightened up his blue eyes. Juliet held up her purse soundlessly, and he nodded knowingly. “Ah, a tad on the small side. You’ll have to invest in a big bag…something like a duffel.”

Juliet laughed a little. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She looked around awkwardly, the pain in her foot now dull. “Thanks for…saving me from…that horde.”

He smiled down at her. “No problem. You looked like you could use some saving.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “You’ve no idea. Of course, you saved me AFTER you broke my foot. So, really----”

“Is it broken?” He asked, interrupting and leaning down to peer at her foot. Self-consciously, she hid it, curling it behind her other leg. “I can’t tell if it’s in hiding.”

Juliet was looking down at the top of his head (a mess of blondish curls). “I’m pretty sure I’ll live.”

He stood up, shrugging. “You should have it looked at. It might fall off.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s not funny. I have nightmares about my feet falling off.”

He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “You’re not laughing at me, are you?” She asked, looking at him skeptically.”

“Of course not,” he assured her quickly.

Juliet, who wasn’t quick to trust people easily anyway, continued to look at him dubiously.

“The line’s thinned out now,” he said, pointing behind her. “It’s safe to go out there.”

Her lips, which had been pursed in a thin line, broke into a tiny smile. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” He paused momentarily. “You want me to grab you something? You can stay here, out of harm’s way. And you can sit,” he said, indicating a nearby bench, “so you don’t ruin your foot.”

Juliet laughed slightly. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“I insist,” he insisted, flashing her a charming smile and gently prodding her onto the bench. “Be back in a sec.”

She watched him order two waters and pay the man behind the stand, and then sidestep another mob of people to get back to her; all the while, she was thinking about why she had been sulky before. How can you be so down in the dumps when there is such hotness surrounding you?

Juliet, when he took the seat beside her and opened her water before handing it over, decided then and there to cheer up.

Or at least TRY to enjoy herself. No matter how hard that would prove to be.