Page 94 of Salto

"Seems official enough."

His hand clasped mine across the table in a normal handshake, and I could feel the calluses on his palms from years on the rings and high bar. Then he shifted his grip, hooking his pinky around mine.

I laughed softly.

"Friends," I said.

"Friends," he repeated.

Then he signed the napkin.

ROVE

Instead of leaving it on the table, he folded it carefully into neat quarters and slipped it into the pocket of his sweatshirt.

“Ready to head home?” he asked, like nothing significant had just occurred.

“Yeah,” I said, grabbing my bag and feeling a sudden need to escape the cloud of tension that seemed to shroud the booth.

He held the diner door open for me, and I stepped out into the cool evening air.

As I walked past him, the word echoed through my mind.

Friends.

CHAPTER 34

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Multiple trucks, maybe.

I groaned and rolled onto my back, immediately regretting the movement when every muscle in my body protested.

I'd given it everything yesterday. Combined with the last week of training, I was officially suffering the consequences.

Everything ached. Even my toes and fingers were sore. How? I don’t even know.

For a long moment, I stared up at my porthole in the ceiling, gazing at the morning sky and watching the clouds drift past. I debated whether standing up was worth the effort.

Eventually, my need for caffeine won out, and I dragged myself out of bed. Inch by inch, I got to my feet and shuffled to the tiny kitchen, letting out a few dramatic groans in the process.

I reached for the ibuprofen first and then started the coffee. As I waited for the mug to fill, I checked my phone to see if there were any messages I’d missed.

“Oh my gosh,” I said, seeing over ten missed messages. Panic threaded through me. My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario.

I relaxed a little when I saw they were mostly from Laney, Mia, and Jenny.

Jenny: You alive? I haven’t heard from you in forever.

I smiled. We hadn’t talked since she’d helped me move in. I quickly responded.

ME: I’m good. Elite is just insane, and I barely have time for a life outside of it.

JENNY: I get that. Medical school is about to be that way.

ME: Have you taken the MCAT?

JENNY: I got a 518.

We texted back and forth for a while, and then I slipped into the other messages I’d also missed from Laney and Mia.