Page 93 of Salto

I, Salt, promise to stay friends with Pepper while he’s my coach. Both parties agree to stay friends for as long as those roles remain intact.

RED

I signed it with a flourish and slid it across the table.

He stared at it for several seconds.

Then, to my surprise, he uncapped the pen.

He didn't sign it.

Instead, he started to write more.

Rules:

• Gymnastics comes first. Always.

• The friendship cannot affect coaching.

• Nothing that could reasonably be mistaken for a date.

• If either person wants more than friendship, this agreement ends.

He slid the napkin back to me.

I read through the rules he added.

"The third one." I looked up. "'Nothing that could reasonably be mistaken for a date?'"

He nodded.

"I still spend time with some of my old teammates from Vanta. We grab food after practice sometimes. We hang out in groups." He gestured around the diner. "A place like this isn't the problem."

"So no romantic candlelit dinners is what you're saying?" I fought a smile.

He nodded. "Exactly."

"And the second one? Are you worried I would expect special treatment?”

"I know you wouldn't ask for it. But that doesn't mean people won't assume you're getting it."

"So..." I looked back down at the napkin. "You'll probably be harder on me."

The corner of his mouth lifted just a little.

"Probably."

I looked back down at the napkin one more time, my eyes lingering on the last line.

“And if either of us ends up wanting more than friendship…”

"The agreement ends." His tone was unwavering. "We go back to being strictly coach and athlete."

If this was the only way to know him outside the gym, I'd take it.

"Should we shake on it?" I asked, holding out my hand.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.