Page 49 of Let the Games Begin
Zeke watched them go. When he turned around, Olivia was on the other side of the room looking out of the window. He walked over to see what she was looking at.
“That’s the Village over there,” she said, pointing out into the distance. Zeke looked through the window and saw it too. It was a few miles outside of the city, built in the countryside, but so bright and sprawling that it stood out on the skyline.
“It feels like the center of the universe when you’re in it, but from up here it’s just buildings and lights,” he said, pulling his eyes away from her for a moment as he looked at the stadium in awe.
“It is beautiful, though. Everything is from up here,” she said wistfully. “There’s the Acropolis up on that hill.”
The ancient ruins were illuminated with a golden light so majestic that it looked otherworldly. But it was Olivia that really took his breath away. She told him stories of the city with a wide-eyed wonder that made him want to see history through her eyes. Whenever she spoke about something she loved, Olivia was animated and unselfconscious. She told him about places she’d watched documentaries about and still wanted to visit, and Zeke could imagine nothing better than exploring with her. He marveled at the way she saw the world, how he felt whenever he was around her.
Zeke took in the way her face lit up and her eyes crinkled a little at the sides when she smiled. The way softness and edge converged in her facial features to create something that felt too delicate to hold. She had the kind of eyes that made him want to tell her all his secrets. He held her gaze for a moment, feeling the electricity between them crackling in the darkness, the magnetic force between them drawing him even closer.
Zeke was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe it was the intoxicating nature of summer nights. Or maybe it was just Olivia. Zeke knew for certain now: he was falling for her.
“I could finish those dishes?” he said, glancing over at the sink.
“You could. Or I could show you an even better view of Athens from the balcony,” she said, pausing for a moment. “In my bedroom?”
40Olivia
EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, DAY SIX OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
When Olivia opened the big glass doors and stepped out into the summer night air, a silence fell between them. The view from her balcony was magical. The sky was a deep, dark blue that perfectly contrasted with the warm yellow lights of the city. Olivia could see the tiny shapes of people walking down the main roads of Athens and crowds moving down the brightly lit streets of the city center. She could hear the faint sounds of music leaking out of the late-night restaurants and see a group of performers dancing in the middle of a distant square. The jacaranda trees and bougainvillea bushes below them were decorated with warm twinkly lights. It felt like the whole city was celebrating.
She looked over at Zeke. He was gorgeous, the lights of the city reflecting on his skin, and he seemed completely content, more relaxed than she’d ever seen him inside the Village. And he was looking at her like they’d known each other for much longer than just a few days. She was a thousand miles away from London, but with Zeke, she felt right at home.
“This is my first time coming into the city at night, you know,” said Zeke.
Olivia fixed the sight of him in her mind, because she knew that her future self would want to come back to this moment over and over again.
“Really? Are athletes not allowed to leave the Village at night?” she asked.
“We are, it’s just not really recommended until the Games have ended. You can’t predict what a crowd is going to be like,” he said with a shrug, remembering what brought him up to the apartment in the first place.
“Or if paparazzi will follow you to a club,” she added.
“Or if a strange girl is going to lure you into her bedroom to ‘see the balcony,’” he said.
She could feel them drifting closer toward each other.
“It’s late,” she said.
“It is.”
“And I start at seven a.m. tomorrow.”
“You do.”
“And you have training in the morning.”
“Yeah,” he said, taking a step nearer.
“So why did you stay?” she asked softly, but with a sliver of danger in her voice. It was less a question and more a challenge. “You didn’t follow me out onto the balcony because you wanted to see Athens, did you, Zeke?” The air felt even more charged.
“Olivia,” he said, his voice so deep and rough that it sent a hot, delicious thrill down her spine. She touched his shoulder and felt his muscles contract at her touch. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone and so her hand moved gently across hisshoulder, grazed his neck, and slowly began to make its way down the bare patch of skin on his chest. Before she could overthink it, she placed a finger on one of the buttons on his shirt and undid it. He looked down at her with an intense look of desire that almost stopped her in her tracks. But she knew what she wanted. She moved closer, until their lips were just about to touch. His hands slid a trail down her back and around her waist. He slowly guided her away from the balcony and back into the dim, warm light of her bedroom, the lights of the city getting farther and farther away.
“Is this okay?” he asked, as he led her inside until they were standing next to her bed.
“Yes,” she said, as he slowly wrapped his hands around her waist and then laid hot, breathless kisses along the length of her arm, from her hand all the way up to her shoulder.
