Going for Gold (An Olympic Medal Romance Book 1) by LV Lewis

Chapter One: Gunnar
    “I can’t believe I’m in bed with the Gunnar Kingsley.”
    Gunnar opened his eyes to his bedmate staring at him. He forced a smile. “Morning.”
    “Good morning, Mr. Olympic Hopeful.”
    Damn it. This was bad. Very bad. He must have fallen asleep. That’s what he got for hooking up with a girl at a party. He’d been exhausted from practice, but the girl had been a welcome distraction from the pressure he was under. Sex—the best stress-reducer known to man.
    Coach was working him harder than ever since Rio was only weeks away. He had to be at his best. There was only one sure way of relieving the pressure felt by an elite athlete operating at his zenith. Now he was regretting every moment, particularly his penchant for fantasizing about a certain Brazilian beauty during the act, and waking up to someone who literally paled in comparison to her. The girl in bed with him was a tall, pale blonde with pale blue eyes, while his dream girl was petite with warm olive skin, sexy curves and expressive brown eyes.
    The girl’s gaze rolled over him as she smiled. The way she eyed him like a prize she’d won creeped him out. It took everything in him to hold back an annoyed groan.
    This was why he didn’t date jock magnets. They only saw him as an Olympic potential. No good relationship could come out of dating a fan.
    He knew this would happen. It always did, but he couldn’t help himself. Being an adrenaline junkie came with the athlete territory, train hard and play even harder when the day was almost over.
    Part of him enjoyed how excited people got when they were around him. He was the town pole-vaulting celebrity ever since coming in first for the championships. Now that he had a shot at being part of the U.S. Olympic Team, everyone wanted a piece of him. It certainly didn’t hinder his woman-catching abilities.
    Then he woke up to the same giddy excitement he saw in Barbara’s eyes. Or was it Betty? Hell, he couldn’t remember. That only meant it was time for him to go before she—
    “Can I have your autograph?” she asked, easing closer to him.
    Shit. He sat up and searched around for his clothes and noticed her bedroom clock displaying the time of a little after six in the morning.
    “Sorry,” he said, searching for his jeans. Where the hell had he tossed them? “I have practice early today for trials, so I have to get going.” He found them halfway under the bed and grabbed his t-shirt from the corner of the bedroom.
    “It’ll only take a minute,” she said, jumping out of bed. She didn’t seem to mind being naked in front of him as she tumbled through her nightstand drawer and then scurried to the dresser. “It won’t take long. I’m sure I have a picture of you around here somewhere.”
    He got his shoes on and made his way towards her door. “This was...great, but I have to go.”
    Gunnar closed the door behind him, and he made his way towards the closest exit. He opted for the stairs instead of the elevator to keep from waiting too long. He was thankful she lived in the college dorms, since he could disappear easily.
    The University of Michigan was big enough for him to get lost in if he wanted to, but recently more and more people were recognizing him. A flock of admirers was the last thing he needed. No one was stirring around since it was so early, which made it easy to avoid running into anyone else.
    There was no time to run back to his dorm, so he went straight to the track. He needed to be the first one there to make sure he had his head on straight.
    After a quick shower, he made it to the field just as day was breaking through, which gave him some time to do laps before the other athletes arrived.
    Running helped to still his mind. He didn’t think about the upcoming trials and what it meant. Instead, he focused on why he did it in the first place.
    Track and field had always been a part of him since high school. There was something about running and soaring