Similar Pages

Seventeen Days of Gold Chapter 5 The weather was overcast and snowy. Matched my gloomy mood. The day seemed to drag on and on. Apolo and I were doing our damndest trying to ignore each other. A couple stolen glances, and I would snarl at him, which kept him quiet. Practice and breakfast was over, and he and I wandered about in the snow, shopping. Why the hell did he want to go shopping? I wore my headphones, listening to tunes to drown out my thoughts of last night. We stopped in a small music store. I browsed the albums, looking for a replacement for my Journey CD. Apolo was searching the same section, but grabbed a JaRule CD and made himself scarce when I approached. Not finding anything, I asked the girl at the counter, but she just cracked her gum and shrugged. Disappointed, I went back to the entrance to wait for Apolo to finish his shopping. We walked around aimlessly for a little while, before Apolo nudged my arm. I stopped walking, took off my headphones, and just looked at him. "Look, Mica, about last night--" He started. "I don't want to talk about it." I sighed. "You won't even hear me out?" He asked. "I don't really care." I replied. He was quiet for a moment. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what came over me." "I'm thinking it was the alcohol." I offered. "But I still want out of this." "Are you still going to ask for a transfer?" "Yeah." I responded half-heartedly. I wasn't about to tell him I had already talked to Chuck this morning about a transfer and was flat out refused. Just the thought of being stuck in this made me angry once more. "Please don't." He implored. "Why? So you can embarrass the shit out of me again?" "I said I was sorry." "Oh, and that makes everything hunky-dorey?" I said, my voice growing louder. "I suppose I'm just supposed to say, 'oh yes, Apolo' and 'everything is OK, Apolo'?" "No....." "Well, finally you're right about something. You think you have everyone wrapped around your finger, but not me. I still don't see what the world is so obsessed about with you. You're just some speedskater with a bad attitude. And you're not even that good." That was a lie, and I knew it. But it made for a good argument. "What?" He said, coldly, his eyes aflame. Ooh, I hit a tender spot. "You heard me." I pressed on. "You may think you're hot shit, but you're no better than anyone else." "How would you know?" He said, scowling, his hands balled into fists at his sides. I laughed cruelly. "I know a thing or two about speed skating, and you, my dear, are just a one-hit wonder." I could see he was so angry. I should have stopped, but I was thirsting for revenge maybe just a little too much. "I told my lieutenant from the beginning you weren't worth the trouble. In fact, the Koreans are probably right. I don't think you deserved the silver." That final punch did it. He started to say something, but just sucked in his breath and stormed away from me, bumping into my arm as he passed. "You can't just walk away from me, Apolo." I said laughingly, following him slowly. He wove through the crowd, walking faster, then broke into a run. "Apolo! Dammit!" I yelled, and ran after him. My duster flapped against my legs as I tried to keep up. He was fast for such a little guy. And with that black Olympic jacket on, he blended in with almost everyone else. Suddenly, I lost sight of him and a panic washed over me. Shit, what did I do? I shouldn't have said that, no matter how pissed he got me. If something happens to him, Chuck and the whole Olympic Committee will have my head. I saw a glimpse of his blue bandana as he headed around the corner of a store. I cut across the street and caught up with him quickly, pushing him from behind so that he lost his balance and fell into a high pile of snow. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" I asked, standing over him. He threw a handful of snow at me as he got up. "Just get the fuck away from me!" He said, trying to get past me again. I grabbed his arm with my left hand, but he pounded his fist down hard on my forearm. I let go and rubbed the now probably bruised spot. "Ow! Hey! Get your ass back here!" I said, and quickly gripped his arm again with my right hand and spun him around, slamming his back against the wall of the store and knocking the wind out of him. I pinned his left hand behind his back and held my other arm against his neck, keeping him immobile. "Just give me one more reason...one more reason, and I swear I'll do the Koreans' job for them!" I said gritting my teeth and staring him down. He glared back, his nostrils flaring and his lips pulled into a tight line. "I hate you." He growled. "The feeling is mutual." I replied. Just then, I heard someone coming toward the building, their feet crunching in the snow. "Shhh...someone's coming." I whispered. "I don’t care! Let me go!" He said, twisting his hand that I still held behind his back. “Shut up!” I hissed. If someone saw us fighting like this, I’m liable to be arrested and this whole girlfriend act would be blown wide open. I looked around and tried to quickly think of a way to make this look nonchalant. “No, I--" He began. I silenced him by pressing my lips hard against his. I moved my left hand down to his chest and released my grip on his arm a little. I kept one eye open, looking off to the side to see who was coming around the corner. Then, I had a strange realization: Apolo wasn’t struggling anymore and I was beginning to feel the tension in his body release. I opened both eyes and looked at him, our lips still touching. He had closed his eyes and was actually trying to kiss me. I relaxed my mouth…this felt…rather nice. His lips were warm and soft and having an unexpected effect on me, as I could feel my anger drift away. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, moving my lips against his tenderly. I trailed my arm down to circle around his waist and pull myself a little closer. My mind chastised me—I knew this wasn’t right, but it just felt so good. Just then, I heard someone close to us. We stopped kissing and I was genuinely surprised to see a police officer and a couple patrons standing there. Well, I thought, without really trying, I’m sure we made that look pretty real. "Is everything OK here?" Said the officer, eyeing us suspiciously. "Someone said they heard some commotion back here." "Oh, everything is fine." I replied sweetly, with a little giggle thrown in. "Don't mind us." "I see...my apologies." He said and departed, shooing the ogling patrons along. I laughed, then looked back at Apolo and fell quiet. We stood there, staring at each other for a moment.  I didn't know what to say—it was pretty real. We were in the heat of an argument a few minutes ago, saying we hated one another, but now....I was truly confused. I bit on my lower lip, which still tingled. I put my hands by my sides and stepped back a little from Apolo. He looked at me, cocking his head to one side, then suddenly pushed me backwards into a snow drift. He laughed lightly. "Ok, ok...touché Monsieur Pussycat." I replied, dusting the snow off my sleeves. He leaned over and extended a hand to help me up. I looked at him inquisitively. "No funny stuff?" I asked before I accepted his help. He assured me that he wasn't going to pull anything, and lifted me up out of the snow. We made our way back to the hotel in silence. Scene music: "Giving Yourself Away" by Ratt Copyright material TMS2002 Chapter 5, pt. 2 Return to Home Back to Chapter 4, pt. 3   page created with Webpage Designer (NS)