Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I was nervous as hell as we changed in the locker room, and given how quiet Bailey was on the way to the pool deck, maybe he was feeling it too. The pressure in my chest, the different buzz under my skin because this was college-level swimming, and holy hell, totally anxiety-inducing. I threw a swift glance into the stands, spotting my parents and my sister, Zoey. Now that she was able to wear an insulin pump, her health had stabilized—well, at least it was better managed—and she’d become involved in high school clubs and soccer and had a busy schedule too. But my parents always made an effort to attend both our activities whenever they could, and they must’ve thought my first college swim meet was pretty important. Important enough to bring Zoey too, which only made me feel more on edge.
My family sat a couple of rows behind Mrs. Duval, who’d gotten her blonde hair cut shorter in a new style. Mr. Duval hadn’t shown yet, and Bailey seemed guarded, glancing toward the entrance to the pool several times. But his dad had never missed a home meet in high school, so he must’ve been running late. He was always busy with work but usually made time for important family stuff—mainly his son’s sporting events.
The swim team lined up on the bench. Coach gave us a last-minute pep talk and showed us the heat sheet again, listing the sequences, which were a mix of individual and relay events. Over Coach’s shoulder, I watched Remy walk up the stairs to join Mrs. Duval, and I held in a gasp. I thought for sure he’d steer clear of our meets, especially since he’d kept his distance from us since that night at Shenanigans.
Today there was nothing in his hand, no sketch pad in sight, as he greeted Mrs. Duval with an embrace. Likely this was an opportunity to see his mom while also supporting his brother, even though Bailey would feign he didn’t need it.
I wouldn’t pretend Remy had shown up to support me too, but part of me secretly hoped so as we all gathered around Coach Reynolds and placed our hands in the center. “Let’s go Kings!” we shouted in unison, then broke apart.
“Good luck,” Jordan said as we reached for our goggles on the bench. It was in that flirty voice that, by now, I knew was harmless. If only Bailey would stop buzzing in my ear about him.
“Thanks. You too,” I replied with a fist bump. “Is your family here?”
“Nah, they live in Arizona,” he said, wiping his brow with his towel. The pool area was always humid, which made our first jump in the water refreshing. “It’s all cool though. I’ll talk to my parents tonight about how I did.”
When I next scanned the stands, Remy was looking in our direction. I was desperate to know what he was thinking. If only we could have a normal conversation without Bailey having a ridiculous response like he did that night at Shenanigans. Like we were all still in grade school instead of adults. I’d turned nineteen last month, and Remy was twenty-one, for fuck’s sake. Bailey needed to get his head out of his ass.
Right then, my mom lifted her hand and motioned to me, so I waved back.
“Go, Alex!” Zoey shouted, and I could feel my cheeks burning. Remy grinned and looked back at my family. He and Mom bent their heads to have some words. Mrs. Duval joined in their conversation, and they all laughed about something. It was all so surreal.
Bailey’s dad showed up soon after, and even from this distance, I could feel the tension rolling off Remy. Mr. Duval sat a row below Mrs. Duval and Remy, whose greetings were somewhat stiff. His mom was a trooper for being civil, but I supposed she needed to be if they wanted to both attend events like this. Damn, that would be hard, and with Remy sitting there as a reminder of the infidelity, it probably made it worse.
When the first heats began, I cheered for Tim and Dave in their individual races, and before I knew it, it was time for my first event. I lined up on the block, my heart hammering. With my hair under my swim cap, I placed my goggles over my eyes and bent into my starter stance to wait on the buzzer.
By the time I dove into the water, I was in the zone, blotting out the whole world and hyper-focused on my arm movements and breathing. All I could hear was the water sloshing in my ears and some noise from the stands whenever my head was above the water line. I ignored that distraction and focused on my pace and managing the air in my lungs. I felt like I was doing pretty well as I turned upside down and pushed off the wall to swim back to finish.