“We don’t have that here,” he says, without bothering to check.

“Jasmine, this isn’t the fanciest place,” I say quietly, nudging her.

She grimaces. “Another vodka soda, sure.” Under her breath, she mutters, “Great bar.”

We take the drinks over to the edge of Ryan’s crew.

“These are Ryan’s friends?” Jasmine asks, looking curiously at the group.

“Yeah, anyone you recognize?” I ask.

The gymnastics world is tiny—I wouldn’t be surprised if she had crossed paths with anyone here.

“No, I’m just… interested, I guess. These are guys our own age,” she comments.

“Don’t get too excited,” Sara warns.

I feel uneasy—not sure what to say to Ryan, too awkward to say hi to Goose or Melissa, and too nervous to strike up a conversation with any of his other friends. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. But then, the high-pitched ding of a knife against glass cuts through the noise of the bar.

“Can I have everybody’s attention for a minute, please?” Ryan asks.

He steps on a chair so he’s high above the crowd. Conversations fade out, and people turn to face him.

“I wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight. As I’ve mentioned, all proceeds from the drinks go to a really great organization called the Elite Gymnastics Foundation, which supports elite gymnasts like the very talented athlete I’m hopefully taking to Tokyo this summer,” he says.

“Whoop, whoop!” Goose calls out.

Ryan raises his glass. “So please, drink up, and don’t worry about how you’ll feel tomorrow morning. Okay? And while I have your attention, the founders of the foundation are here—let’s give a round of applause to Avery Abrams and Jasmine Floyd.”

He raises his drink in a toast, and everyone else follows suit.

It’s a strange sensation, having people clap for me. It’s happened before, of course, at plenty of competitions, but that was different. Back then, crowds cheered me on because of what I had been trained to do. Tonight, they’re cheering me on for what I’m doing for others. This is new for me, but I like it.

Ryan hops down off of the chair and joins us.

“Hey there. Not a bad turnout, right?” he says.

“Pretty good,” I say. “I really appreciate the effort.”

“It’s pretty cool that you did this,” Jasmine says. She purses her lips. “Especially now that you’ve chosen to hang around better company.”

He raises his hands in defense. “I know, I’m glad I turned down the job,” he says. “You’re going to Tokyo, right?”

“Yep. You haven’t booked your flight yet?” she asks.

“Nah. It doesn’t really make sense to book it until we know for sure if Hallie is going or not,” he explains.

I’m in the same boat.

“Well, I’ll be watching from home,” Sara says.