“I think I made too much,” I said, looking down at the piles of spanakopita. “Is anyone even going to come? Who comes to Rehoboth in May?”
J.J. rubbed my back. “I have a feeling we’ll at least get a few customers. Let’s go open up.”
“But what if we run out of Tzatziki?” I was spiraling. Opening a restaurant was the most stressful thing in the world. Now I knew how the contestants on Project Runway felt when they only had one day to design an avant garde outfit.
“It’ll be fine. Come on, our hungry customers await.” J.J. pulled me into the dining room of the Greek Jellyfish.
I took a deep breath and was about to flip the CLOSED sign to OPEN when someone grabbed my shoulders.
“Congrats!” yelled Kristen.
“Ah!” I screamed. “You made it!”
“Of course I made it. You think I was going to let some random person be your first customer? You must be crazy.”
“But what about volleyball?” Kristen had just learned that she was going to be part of the U.S. volleyball team at the International Tournament of Athletes.
“What about it?” she asked. “Stuffing my face with gyros isn’t going to make us miss out on winning gold.” Kristen walked over to the counter. J.J. was standing there looking like a Greek god. Seriously. He was wearing a toga and everything. That was as close as I could get to making him wear a shirt during work.
“What can I get for you today, miss?” asked J.J.
“One gyro. And a spanakopita. And some souvlaki. Hell, just give me one of everything.”
He laughed. “One Gluttonous Kristen coming right up.”
“Is one of everything seriously called the Gluttonous Kristen?” asked Kristen.
J.J. pointed to the listing on the menu.
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “That was all J.J. He assured me that you’d order one of everything the first time you came.”
“Well of course I would. But I would have preferred that you called it the Beautiful Gold Medalist. Or really anything without the word gluttonous in it. You try going through a week of volleyball practice and not consuming 8000 calories a day. It’s literally impossible.”
“Bring home a gold for the U.S. and we’ll change it,” said J.J.
“Deal,” agreed Kristen. “Now go get my food. I have to talk to Mila in private.” She shooed J.J. away.
We took a seat at one of the adorable white and blue tables I had picked out.
“God, this place is amazing,” said Kristen. “I feel like I’ve been teleported to Santorini.”
“That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear. But save that for when J.J. is back. I want the juicy details on whatever you had to send him away to talk to me about. Oh my God, you have a new boyfriend, don’t you?”
“I have lots of new boyfriends.”
That makes sense to me.
Kristen pulled a binder out of her purse.
“Please tell me you don’t actually have a binder full of men.”
Kristen’s face lit up. “I do. And not just any men. The hottest men.”
“I thought you were supposed to be celibate during training?”
“I am. Which is awful, by the way. But the reward at the end will be so worth it.”
“Winning gold would be pretty awesome.”
“Psssh, who cares about winning gold? These are my rewards.” She opened the binder and showed me the first page - a picture and bio for some Spanish soccer player. “In just a few weeks I’m going to be surrounded by all the hottest athletes on the planet. And I’m pretty sure they will have had the same sex ban as me. Now, help me choose my targets.” She flipped through a few more pages.
“Is that a binder full of men?” asked J.J. as he approached with a platter full of food.
“It is,” said Kristen. “I guess you can help me choose too.”
“Looking at men isn’t really my thing, but I’ll tell you right now...that guy is definitely gay.”
“What?” squealed Kristen. “There’s no way Tim Wood is gay.”
“How about Bryce Walker?” I suggested. “He kinda looks like J.J.”
“Oooh, he’s yummy. And speaking of yummy, this gyro is freaking fantastic.”
We flipped through the rest of the athletes as Kristen finished her feast. By the end she had narrowed it down to a dozen that she was going to try to “get to know.” Which definitely meant bang.
“If you two are done, we should probably open for real now,” said J.J. “It’s almost lunchtime.”
I smiled up at him. “Okay. But first I have a surprise for you.”
“You do?” he asked.
“I do. Close your eyes.”
“Should I be here for this?” asked Kristen. “If it involves a Thanksgiving turkey or a rolling pin, please let me leave first.”
I laughed. “That would be entirely inappropriate to do in our brand-new restaurant.”
“Not to mention a potential health code violation,” added J.J.
Kristen gave me a sassy look. “You mean to tell me that you two recreated Greece and dressed each other up in togas and didn’t end up banging on the floor? Or better yet, in front of that mirror? What a waste.”
Of course we did. I gulped as I flashed back to when J.J. had me pinned up against one of the pillars.
“Oh my God,” said Kristen. “You guys did do it!”
“What? No.”
“Can I open my eyes yet?” asked J.J.
“No, come with me.” I led him out the front door onto the Rehoboth boardwalk. Just as I had requested, my present had been delivered this morning. “Okay, open ‘em.” As he opened his eyes, I pulled the sheet off the statue I had commissioned of him wearing a toga and standing in a heroic lifeguard pose. It was everything I had hoped for and more.
“Whoa,” said J.J.
“Does that mean you like it?” I asked.
“Penis!” yelled Kristen.
J.J. laughed. “Why is there such a visible outline of my penis?”
I had been focused on the face and the abs. But they were absolutely right. “I guess the shorts you were wearing in the reference photo were a little clingy.”
“Well I love it,” he said with a huge grin.
“Really? You’re not mad about the penis?”
“No one could be mad about a penis like that. Is it for real that big?” whispered Kristen.
I shrugged. “Try not to be too jealous.”
“You’re going to be the jealous one after I come back from the games with Lebron James on my arm.”
“He’s married,” said J.J.
“Fine. Bryce Walker.”
“Way out of your league.”
“Because he looks like you?”
J.J. nodded.
“Alright. Then definitely Tim Wood.”
“Wasn’t that the gay one?” I asked.
“I hate both of you.”
“We love you too. Seriously, I’m sure you’ll find someone perfect for you. Just like I did.”
J.J. pulled me into a hug. Even though he’d been working nonstop to help me get the Greek Jellyfish open, he still smelled like saltwater. Like summer. Like my lifeguard.
* * *
Keira’s right…that lifeguard is going to break some hearts. And it’s going to be hotter than a summer night. Read all about it (and see more of Keira and Rory) in GOING FOR GOLD!
Alina - The rumors you've heard about the
summer games are true. I mean...what do you expect when you put a
bunch of sex-starved athletes in the best shape of their lives
together in one small village? But it doesn't matter to me. I'm
focused on winning gold. Who cares if the hottest guy at the summer
games seems intent on winning me over? Because I'm focused
on...wait, what was I focusing on again?
Bryce - I need to win gold. I've been training my whole
life for this moment. The prize money will be life changing. But
there's a woman with golden hair that my eyes keep wandering to
instead of the gold medal. I can't get her off my mind. But winning
her over is the only game here I don't know how to win.
Or if you can't even wait, just keep reading for a special sneak peek of GOING FOR GOLD.