Page 47 of Let the Games Begin
“Hey,” he smiled.
“I’m Aditi,” she said as she smoothly put her hand out to shake his, “nice to meet you, again.” There was nothing she loved more than flirting with new people.
“Haruki. The pleasure is all mine,” he said, leaning toward her, all charm. It was a fascinating scene; the energy between them was palpable.
“Okay, I see you improv class meet cute!” laughed Valentina.
“What can I say, I’m a romantic,” said Aditi with a grin.
“Get to the point, Aditi!” Olivia laughed.
“Um, I need consent, Olivia,” she teased. “Yes, Haruki is a very hot athlete and gorgeoushigh-fashionmodel, but that doesn’t mean I can just walk over and kiss him.”
“Youcankiss me,” Haruki said gamely.
Aditi smiled, leaned over, and then the two of them kissed. For much longer than they needed to for a simple dare.
“Wow,” said Olivia as they parted lips.
Aditi came back to her seat next to Olivia and cast her a “we have to debrief” look.
“Whose turn is it?” said Valentia, looking around the circle until her eyes landed. “Olivia, truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Olivia said, after weighing her options.
“Where is the weirdest place you’ve ever hooked up, or almost hooked up?” Valentina asked.
Olivia surprised herself by responding immediately. “Almost, an elevator,” she said with a shrug to a raucous round of cheers from Aditi and Valentina, who were having entirely too much fun. As Olivia held back a smile and picked her glass up to take a sip, she locked eyes with Zeke.
39Zeke
EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, DAY SIX OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
Zeke liked to think that he was a pretty smart guy.
His whole career revolved around strategy, looking at a situation, calculating the risks, and making bold decisions for a maximum payoff. When he’d come back from the kitchen earlier, he’d noticed Aditi and Haruki swapping phones as they talked about the outdoor cinema that they and Olivia were planning on going to on the weekend. So, in trying to solve the issue of having to tell Haruki the truth, he made a gamble.
“Haruki, truth or dare?” Zeke asked.
“Uh… dare,” Haruki said.
“I dare you to call the last number saved on your phone and… ask them out on a date,” Zeke said, certain that person was Aditi. He watched as Haruki picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and pressed call. Zeke was proud of his strategy for exactly one second, because his gamble immediately revealed itself to have been a mistake.
First, he heard the dial-out sound on Haruki’s phone. Then heheard a phone vibrating from somewhere else in the room. But then he heard the ringtone. It was “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey.
“Oh, plot twist,” said Valentina, putting her head in her hands and watching the scene unfold like she was watching a TV show.
Zeke felt his stomach drop as he watched Olivia get up and walk around the room, hunting for the sound of Mariah’s high notes. Olivia picked up the phone as if everything was perfectly fine, and to her, it probably was.
“Hello?” she said, making a pantomime of acting like she hadn’t been expecting the call.
“Hey, it’s… Haruki,” he said, clearly a little bit embarrassed.
“Oh, Haruki from art class?” Olivia said, still playing along.
“Yeah, I was just wondering, do you want to go out on a date or something?” Haruki asked nervously. Zeke could feel the guilt rising up; he should have never postponed telling Haruki the truth. But now it was too late to stop the chaos unfolding before him.
“Well, you’ve just kissed my best friend,” said Olivia playfully.
