Текст книги "Love Surfaced"

Автор книги: Michelle Lynn

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

two

“GOOD NIGHT, BEA.” I HUG her good-bye and watch her stagger up the stairs to her house before I proceed toward my apartment building with Tanner.

Two seconds later, my cell phone dings.

Bea: Hmm . . . curiosity will kill me tonight. Do the deed, and worry later.

I hammer back a quick response, shielding the lit screen from Tanner.

Me: Don’t worry about me tonight. Have fun with Roger Rabbit.

I giggle, and Tanner suspiciously eyes me but asks nothing.

Bea: Just take notes, smart-ass.

Letting the texting cease, I tuck my phone into my back pocket.

Tanner and I don’t talk much on the short distance back to our apartment building. Yes, we live only two floors away from one another. It was a must for my parents. In order for me to have my freedom, I had to be close enough for Brad to watch me. I’m not sure there’s been a time in my life when my parents didn’t put the responsibility of my safety on Brad.

“You sure you don’t mind me crashing at your place?” Tanner breaks the silence.

Goose bumps rush up my spine when his hand brushes mine as we walk side by side.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I doubt Wendi would want you in her bed—”

Tanner quickly interrupts me, “I wouldn’t say that.” He cocks his head to the side and lifts one shoulder.

I roll my eyes and continue, “So . . . I’ll sleep there, and you can have my bed.” I inwardly cringe. I should have waited to bring this up later instead of planning our play-by-play for the night. Why can’t I be the take-charge girl who seduces a guy into what she wants? I’m constantly surprised by how I can be outspoken to others, but Tanner McCain quiets me every time.

“I can take the couch if you’d like.” He’s so matter-of-fact, it’s hard to tell what his expectations are tonight.

“Okay.”

We reach the apartment door, and Tanner swipes his key card along the sensor before pulling the door open for me to walk through first. Steadily stepping past the archway, I press the Up button on the elevator. It’s eerily quiet in the lobby. I guess it’s still early, being only one in the morning. Most college students haven’t even made their trip to the Euro Gyro, the after-hours restaurant, yet.

Once in the confined space of the elevator, we separate like strangers to opposite corners. Why is it incredibly weird now? We appeared to have some sort of silent conversation back at the party. Did the plans change because the alcohol is wearing off? Now thinking of it, I never saw Tanner with a drink, which isn’t like him. He has to be as tipsy as I am to spout all those sexual innuendos toward me, right?

We exit into the dim hallway, and I dig my key out of my front pocket, ready to open the door before heading into what I’m positive will be more awkwardness. He leans against the wall, and my heart thumps from him watching me while I nervously fiddle with my key in the lock.

The damn super sure is taking his own sweet time to fix it after Wendi’s call last week.

“Having a hard time fitting it in?” Tanner teases.

My face heats up from the double meaning of his words.

I glance over at him, and a smile engulfs my face due to his smirk. Tanner and I have always maintained an easy friendship, but maybe it’s because he’s so likable.

“Maybe you’d have better luck,” I prod him, holding the key up in the air.

He pushes off the wall and plucks it from my hand. “I’ve never found a hole I can’t fit in.” He chuckles loudly at his own joke.

As much as I don’t want to hear about the girls he’s been with, I prefer this banter side of our relationship rather than the uneasy one from seconds ago.

“First of all, ew. Second, spare me your sexual escapade stories.” I roll my eyes.

Tanner’s laughter never falters as he easily twists the key and opens my door to silence. Without warning, the vacancy of my apartment makes everything more real.

He steps back, allowing me to pass through first, but places his hand on my wrist to stop me just past the doorframe. When I turn around, his hands are on either side of the door, and he leans his chest forward. I hold my breath, afraid to release it with him so close.

“You have a dirty mind, Piper Ashby.”

He lingers with his feet in the hallway, and I’m just about to let out my breath when he grips my wrist tighter.

“Breathe now,” he whispers.

The air deflates from my lungs while our eyes fix on each other.

What are we doing? Playing with fire—that’s what.

I should deny him further entrance because once the door shuts, nothing will stop the chemistry brewing between us.

Quickly, I step away, and, Tanner hesitates for a second in the hallway. I wonder if the same questions are swimming through his mind. There’s no going back if his foot crosses over the metal piece separating the hallway and my living room. Just when I think he’s changed his mind, I watch his hand splay on the door, pushing it open. He walks across the threshold, and my pulse quickening. As fast as I questioned if he should come in, trepidations surface that I won’t be enough for him.

Unable to hide my anxiety from Tanner being in my apartment, I twist around and head to the kitchen. He’s been here before with my brother or when he needed to borrow my biology notes but not after we’ve been drinking and flirting with each other all night.

I scour the kitchen for a bottle of anything. Since Wendi is more of the study group person, I usually party up at Brad and Tanner’s or over at Bea’s. If I’m going to have the guts to go through with this tonight, I’ll require at least another dab of alcohol in my veins.

Following me, Tanner takes a seat on the barstool. I sense him looking at me as I open and shut every cabinet, coming up empty-handed. When I whirl around, his lips are curled at the corners, and his hands are clasped together on top of the counter as he intently watches me.

“What?” I ask. I use the counter behind me as my support system because his predatory gaze weakens my knees.

“You.” His sight remains fixed on me.

“Me?” I swallow a huge gulp when he swivels in the chair and stands up.

I watch him walk over to me, and my palms dig into the edge of the countertop. My ankles cross and then uncross, unable to remain still while he closes the distance between us.

Once we’re chest-to-chest, my heart is beating so fast that a faint feeling comes over me. He cups my face in his strong hands and tilts it to look up at him.

“You, Piper,” he clarifies and my shoulders fall.

I sink into his burning eyes filled with desire for me.

This is it. He’s going to kiss me, and all will change in our lives. I want this, and I’m going to take it—or him in this case.

In slow motion, he bends down, and my eyelids close in response to his actions. The softness of his lips brush against mine, and my hands lose their grip, falling to my sides. He manipulates my head to bring me to the exact angle he wants. I follow willingly, and my mouth parts, silently giving him the signal that I’m all in. His tongue sneaks through, and my mouth explodes with the taste of his peppermint breath.

My body leans in closer, and Tanner matches the motion by stepping into me, our bodies resting against each other. I wrap my arms around his neck, and a moan whimpers out of me when his tongue mixes with mine in a slow and delicate pace. The fact that he’s treating me so gingerly swells my heart.

Then, out of nowhere, he surprises me when his lips press harder, his tongue digging deeper. My hips rock into him, and my fingers tighten their hold on his wavy strands. He groans into my mouth as his hands move down to my hips. He pushes me against the counter, and having no choice, I open my stance. He slides into the miniscule space while our tongues find our groove. One might think we did this all the time with how easily we come together.

Tanner’s tongue slows, and his lips close. I inch forward, not wanting to stop the kiss, but his lips travel to my chin and along my jawline.

“Piper, you’ve—” he whispers.

“What’s up, guys?” Brad bursts into the apartment.

Tanner flies off of me as I push him away at the same time. He stumbles into the counter on the opposite side, and I quickly turn around, wiping my mouth.

“Nothing,” Tanner mumbles, casually walking to the armchair. “Just trying to find something to drink.” He plops down like he didn’t just ravish my mouth making me hungry for more.

I open the fridge and lean my head in, letting the air cool down my heated skin.

“Hi, Piper,” Taylor alarms me.

When I turn to her, her whole face is lighted up like a damn Christmas tree. My brother might be blind to Tanner and me, but it’s clear that she’s not. I’m assuming that she knows what they just interrupted.

“Hey, Taylor. I thought you guys were staying in at Brad’s apartment?” My voice is purposely loud, so my brother can overhear me.

“I’m sorry,” she quietly apologizes. “Your brother wanted to party a little more, I guess.”

We both know why they’re down here. My brother isn’t blind to Tanner and me, but Brad’s acting like he can stop the gas leak before it ignites.

“It’s okay. I’m probably going to go to bed soon anyway.” I shrug off the imposition, but when my eyes catch Tanner’s across the room, we share a glimpse of disappointment.

“Bed? No way are you going to bed,” Brad hollers over at me from the couch, giving away his perked-up dog ears on our conversation.

“I have nothing to drink,” I counter, throwing my hands up in the air for dramatic effect. He won’t stay without the presence of alcohol, and it’s too late for one of us to run out to the nearest liquor store.

“We don’t need to get sloppy drunk. Let’s play a game or something.” He sits up in his seat.

Taylor joins him on the couch. Man, he’s pulling all the stops to guarantee that Tanner and I aren’t left alone tonight.

“Let’s just go back upstairs,” she attempts to divert Brad. “You know, we haven’t done that thing I was telling you about.”

Her hand runs on top of his forearm, and her seduction proves successful when he shoots her a glance. Maybe I underestimated Taylor. She’s taking one for the team here.

I bite my lower lip, and Tanner leans back in the chair, putting one leg over the other one, while he tries to hide his glances at me.

“Nah, I want you to hang out with my two favorite people.”

Tanner and I cock our heads as Brad stands up and opens the media cabinet under the television. He pulls out Monopoly. Of course, he picks a game that will take the longest. The three of us played for five hours one time because I refused to go bankrupt. By the time we quit, Brad had passed out on the couch while I bankrupted Tanner.

Taking a seat on the floor as far away as I can from Tanner, I shake my head at Brad’s choice. “Really, Brad? Monopoly? What are we? Twelve?”

“Come on, Piper. I’ll let you be the dog.” Brad smiles like I should appreciate him offering the game piece that was never mine.

“She never liked the dog. She was always the thimble,” Tanner clarifies. He winks at me while scooting up to the edge of the chair to help Brad set up the game.

“I thought she was always the dog.” Brad shrugs his shoulders, disregarding that his best friend just schooled him on my preferred Monopoly piece when we were younger, and then he begins dividing up the money.

I underestimated Tanner, I guess he pays attention to the little things.

“Um . . . no, the culprit was usually Jimmy from down the street.” Tanner laughs.

I join in shortly after. “Remember that time he took it home with him, so none of us could have it?” I add.

Soon, Brad is reeling in laughter, too. “Tanner and I sneaked out that night and climbed into his window to steal it back.”

He slaps his knee, and Tanner points to him as though he forgot.

“You guys did? Why didn’t you include me?” I pretend to whine.

They look at each other, laughing harder.

“You would have told on us.” Tanner raises his eyebrows at me, calming down from his amusement.

“Yeah, you were always such a tattletale. Thank God you grew out of it.” Brad snickers and knocks Tanner on the shoulder to agree.

“It was payback for always making fun of my height. It’s not my fault I had inches on both of you.”

Tanner winks at me, his lips sliding into a crooked smile, and my body relaxes.

Brad turns to Taylor. “She was like the Jolly Green Giant.”

He laughs, and she cackles, making my hand itch to slap him.

“Then, you stopped, and we continued on.”

I tilt my head side to side with a sour look on my face. The memories of torment from when we were younger reminds me of times with a very different Tanner. He could be so cruel to me, always siding with Brad.

The laughter calms down by the time we have piles of money in front of us. Tanner grabs his usual race car, and Brad snatches the shoe. Taylor contemplates for what seems like hours until she picks the top hat.

“I’m starving, Piper. Don’t you have anything to eat?” Brad walks into the kitchen and rummages through my cabinets. “What do you guys eat around here?” he complains.

I crawl up to help him before I have to reorganize all the cabinets. Wendi, the control freak, won’t talk to me for a week over her stuff being moved everywhere.

“Why don’t you bring something down from your apartment?” I follow him around the kitchen, shutting cabinets behind him.

He opens the freezer. “Not even a frozen pizza.” He shakes his head in disgust. “We should have planned this after-party at our place.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be coming over. You were going to your apartment with Taylor, remember?” I counter.

He intently stares at me for a second, the easiness of the conversation quickly vanishing. Then, his eyes shift to Tanner and slowly back to me. My stomach churns, waiting for him to call us out. Did he notice a touch or a stare earlier tonight that turned him into Detective Ashby?

“I wanted to see what you guys were up to.” He stalks away from me and heads back to the couch. He leans over to kiss Taylor on the cheek before claiming the seat next to her again.

As his back is to me, Taylor gives me tight lips of apology. I’m starting to like her.

My feet remain planted in the galley kitchen. “I can order a pizza, Brad,” I tell him.

His face lights up.

“I’ve got Geppetoos on speed dial.” Tanner pulls out his phone and orders the pizza.

AN HOUR LATER, BRAD IS beating everyone’s ass at Monopoly, and I can’t stop yawning. Taylor is already curled up on the couch, having sold all her properties to Brad just to get out of the game. I wish the competitive side of me would taper down, so I could relax on the couch like her. Instead, Brad, Tanner, and I are deep in discussion about needing Park Place and Boardwalk to win the game. Tanner’s been holding on to the properties for dear life even though he basically only has the Railroads. There isn’t much hope that we can beat Brad, but neither one of us will hand the win over. All three of us are fierce competitors when it comes to even the insignificant things. Whether it’s a board game, a lap across the pool, or a silly bet of who can eat six saltine crackers in a minute, we don’t give up. Each of us thinks we know the right way to accomplish everything.

Snagging another piece of pizza, Brad piles it into his mouth before tossing money at me to buy another damn hotel.

“Don’t throw shit at me, Brad.” I chuck the red plastic piece at his face, and it bounces off his forehead before landing on the board. My testy side is getting the better of me. With the alcohol buzz dwindling down and my night alone with Tanner not happening, I’ve become ornery in the past few hours of playing.

Brad doesn’t respond but stares at me with intensity, acting as though he can intimidate me. Then, a small smile begins to form on his face. “Let me win, and your turmoil can be over.”

That sentence could have two meanings if Tanner stays after they leave.

“Since when have I ever lay down for you, so you can get your way?”

Brad cocks his head to the side, and those matching chocolate eyes challenge mine. “You should listen to me, Piper. You don’t stand a chance.”

I watch his chest rise and fall as his elbows rest on his knees. I can’t help but sense that he’s not only talking about Monopoly, which pisses me off at his idiocy.

My hand clenches the money. “You don’t know everything, Brad. Why don’t you let me make my own decisions?” I straighten my back from the tension he’s building in my shoulders.

I’m embarrassed that Tanner has to witness me behave this way. He’s seen our fights before, but we’re twenty-two now, and Brad needs to grow the fuck up.

“I know what’s best for you, Piper.”

Brad’s incessant need to put me down in order for me to stay clear from his best friend infuriates me.

“Are we still arguing about Monopoly?” Taylor scoots up on the couch and peers between the two of us. “I’m tired, Brad. Let’s go to bed.”

I’ve never been more thankful that Brad is dating a whiny girl.

He moves his hand and rests it on her bare knee. “Almost, babe. Give me five minutes to annihilate these two.” He challenges.

I stand up, tossing all my properties and money on the board. “Game over!” I yell. Then, I retreat to my room, slamming the door behind me.

I have no idea why I’m this upset or why I’ve embarrassed myself with the outburst. Once I’m in the safety of my four walls, guilt roars its ugly head because I acted like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Worst of all, Tanner observed the childish act.

After only a few minutes, I hear the shuffling of feet passing by my door and then the click of the door shutting. Believing they left, I’m hurt that Tanner didn’t stay, witnessing how upset I am. There has been a change between us lately. We aren’t acting like childhood friends any longer. It’s deeper, and I know the shift is surprisingly to him, as well. I refuse to sit back and allow him to manipulate me if he’s only going to push me away later.

Then, a light tap on my door has me jumping up from the bed. When I spring open the door, disappointment sets in again. Instead of the mouthwatering boy I thought I was going to get lucky with, it’s a tall blonde with a fake-as-hell smile across her face.

“Taylor,” I say, exasperated.

Her smile falters by my tone. “Um . . . Tanner wanted me to check on you.” She shuffles her feet back and forth, clearly uncomfortable.

“I’m fine, Taylor. Thank you. Go ahead and join Brad and Tanner upstairs.” I leave my room, finding the game tucked away and the pizza no longer on the countertop.

“Piper.”

I turn around to face her.

“I don’t mind staying. Do you want to talk?” There’s no pep in her voice. She’s reserved and concerned.

Damn it, she’s a keeper.

I shake my head. I’d better not grow close to her because Brad will ruin their relationship before anything serious happens anyway.

“Don’t sweat it, Taylor. I’m used to fighting with my brother.” I toss my hand in the air because it’s the truth.

Brad, I can handle. Tanner’s the one winding me into a ball of knots.

“Well . . .” She stops moving, staring at me for a few seconds. “If you ever want to talk, I’m always here.”

I watch her slim and gorgeous self tentatively walk to the door.

She stops when her hand grips the doorknob, and she turns my way. “I really like your brother. Not sure why I’m telling you, but thought you should know.” One side of her mouth quirks up.

I wish I could take back my bitchy behavior when she’s been nothing but nice to me. “Taylor,” I say, grabbing her attention, my heart warming toward her, “I know, and I think he likes you, too.”

Her usual huge smile begins to erupt, and she nods her head. “Thank you, Piper,” she softly says. Then, she retreats through the door.

I hate it when I’m wrong about people, and I’m pretty sure I pegged Taylor wrong.

When the click of the door echoes through my empty apartment, loneliness sets in. Tanner leaving with Brad shows just how important—or shall I say, unimportant—I am to him. He was ready to cross the line with me until we were interrupted. The worst part about Tanner’s actions is that they bring truth to Brad’s words. Maybe I don’t stand a chance.

three

BY THE TIME I WAKE up the next morning, my eyes are red and puffy, and there’s a stack of used tissues next to my pillow. I loathe my pitiful self for allowing a guy to bring me to the point of tears.

For some absurd reason, I thought Tanner had the same desires for me as I do for him. I thought we were in this forbidden affair together, but I guess I’m alone, and that’s what upsets me the most. I trusted him, only to be pushed aside for my brother time and again.

Why do I continue to disappoint myself, thinking I could be more than second-best in Tanner’s eyes? I’m stronger than this, and from this point forward, I need to prove that I am when Tanner’s around.

Needing to purge myself from this funk, I throw my covers to the side and sit up in bed. My body itches for the release to erase all my worries. I shrug on some yoga pants and a sweatshirt, grab my bag, and leave the solitude of my apartment.

The orange sun is starting to peek over the buildings when I unlock my bike and hop on, swinging my bag across my body to stay in place. Pedaling as fast as I can, I breeze through the empty college streets. I forget how quiet it is after seventy-five percent of the population has been out until the wee morning hours.

The closer I come to the pool house, the more peace calms my body. I’m practically able to smell the chlorine, the cool tile on the bottom of my feet, and the warmth of the humidity. I imagine diving into the water, it cocooning around me, and the clear liquid holding me as I propel and kick through it.

Rushing through the vacant locker room, I disrobe and change into my black one-piece swimming suit. It’s definitely not attractive, but it’s a necessity to obtain the workout I need. Otherwise, I would be constantly adjusting my top or digging the fabric from my ass. Although I don’t want to take the extra time to rinse before sinking into the pool, I reluctantly press the knobs on the shower, squirting water over my body as quickly as possible.

Once I leave the locker room, the familiar scent of chlorine fills my nostrils and swarms me like a blanket. I release a breath as I admire the uninterrupted still water walled in. It’s my home, my solitude, my safe place, my therapy. I choose my usual lane in the middle of the pool, the plastic ropes lining my path.

Shaking my arms and legs, I warm up my muscles. I tuck my hair under my cap, position my goggles, and climb on the starting block.

I allow my imagination to whisk me to a meet, my sweaty palms from the anticipation of the gun shooting off, and I dive into the water. As soon as my hands ripple through the water, I go full force. My arms instantly move in a constant motion while all my issues with Tanner flow through my mind as I swim back and forth from side to side.

The longer I swim, the more my head clears from the turbulent situation. I ponder how the tension has escalated these past few months. The casual friendship we’ve always had has now twisted into a flirtation spiraling out of our control. For some reason, Tanner can turn it off and on like a damn faucet, whereas I’m in a constant state of want.

Soon, I’m unable to focus, and I have no choice but to take a break to recoup some energy. Gripping the side of the pool, I toss my goggles on the cement and lay my head on top of my hands, leaning over the edge of the pool. Mentally tormenting myself on my recent obsession with Tanner McCain, I’m surprised when the echo of someone else in the pool alerts me.

There goes my therapy for today, I think to myself.

Hastily, I grab my goggles and rest them on my head. I glance up to see if the person is one of my teammates, but what I find halts my breathing. Tanner snakes into the water, gracefully picking up each plastic rope and ducking underneath, until he reaches the lane right next to me. I gulp down the last of my saliva when he casually swings back and forth on the lane separator closest to me.

He’s breathtaking with his goggles resting on the top of his head and his strong biceps holding his body up in the water. “I thought I’d find you here.” His classic smirk from last night is back in place.

“You did?” Immediately, I hate my timid and unsure voice. Even worse, the hopefulness it’s laced with.

“Want to race? Loser chooses Truth or Dare?” He doesn’t make eye contact with me. Rather, he peers across the empty pool.

“So I can lose?”

Every swimmer from here to California beats themselves up on their workouts, imagining their fingertips on that tile wall before Tanner’s.

He chuckles. “You know I only use half of my energy when I go against you.”

I cup my hand and drag it across the pool, splashing his face. He shakes his head, water droplets spraying off his divine features.

“Jackass,” I say, my back against the tile wall. I purposely don’t allow my body to win the fight to break the distance between us.

“I’m kidding. Come on.” His head nods toward the other end of the pool. “One lap.”

Then, out of nowhere, a confident creature rises within me. I want to pick his brain and dig through the layers to discover exactly why he sought me out in this pool so early in the morning and why his hands roamed places on my body they never ventured before last night. Most of all, I want to know how he left me without even a goodbye.

“What do I get if I win?” I raise my eyebrows at him a few times for competition.

Tanner is a wimp with Truth and Dare—for being a daredevil, so to speak. He’ll always choose truth.

Brad would pick dare, like ringing neighbors’ doorbells and running away or climbing trees before jumping into the pool naked, whereas Tanner would answer question after question. My friends would ask him what he wore to bed, boxers or briefs, while wanting to know whom he liked would be the question on the tip of my tongue. But I’d always shy away, too scared for the answer.

He stares down at his legs swinging them through the clear water before gracing me with all his attention. “What do you want?”

That’s a loaded question.

“Let’s start with truth.” I watch his lips slowly move up at the corners.

“Perfect.” He slides over to the middle of his swimming lane and positions his own goggles.

Staring over at me, he nods, and I nod back.

“One . . . two . . . go!” he says.

My feet push against the hard tile, and my legs automatically close and move through the water like a mermaid tail. From my peripheral vision, I catch Tanner instantly pulling ahead, but I try to disregard the sinking disappointment of loss so soon.

Coming to the surface, my arms propel, and I repeat my coach’s instructions in my head, Less wake and faster movement.

My breathing labors, and I can only focus on Tanner swimming in front of me in the next lane. He’s more than five strokes ahead. My arms slow down because I’ll never beat him, and I instintly face defeat. I tap the wall and sink under the security blanket of the water to gain my composure before Tanner can ask me a question.

I break through the surface, gasping for oxygen. Tanner’s already laughing as I swing my goggles off and toss them on the concrete edge of the pool.

“That was a close one. You’re improving,” he compliments me.

I hate the swell of happiness his remark entices.

“Not enough obviously.”

“Don’t do that to yourself.” He swims through the water and sways on the plastic rope again. He’s easy and casual at all times. “I gave a hundred percent on that one.” He laughs.

“Thanks.” I cock my head from his choice of sarcasm.

“Seriously, I wanted to win the bet because I have a question.” The humidity of the pool doubles just from his divulgence.

I nibble on the inside of my cheek, racking my brain for the question he might want to ask me. “O-okay,” I stutter.

He smiles, studying my face for a few seconds, and my heart beats faster.

“What’s your favorite restaurant?”

I laugh and crinkle my nose. “Favorite restaurant?” I question.

“Yeah?”

“I guess it’s Carsen’s.” It’s the local steak house in our hometown of Marlowe.

“Should have guessed you’d make it hard.” He shakes his head and retreats back to the wall before positioning his goggles back on.

“Make what hard?” I ask.

He gives a firm head shake once more.

“Again.” His strong muscles pull as they extend from the wall.

Confused but willing to try again at an impossible feat, I set into my starting stance after my goggles are secure.

“One . . . two . . . go!” he says.

This time, Tanner is either allowing me to stay with his pace, or he’s tired. I’m positive it’s not the former. Tanner McCain doesn’t let others win.

When my fingers touch the black tiled number six, I don’t plunge one last dip before surfacing. “You’re making this a close race, so I’ll do it again.” I point to Tanner.

He tries to display a straight face while adamantly denying my accusation, “No.” He doesn’t expand, but he wades back over to the plastic rope, never passing over into my lane.

“Ask.” I lean back on the other rope, relaxing my muscles.

He knows how to work me. By giving me a slight taste of winning, I’ll continue to strive toward victory.

“So eager,” he jokes.

“Let’s have it.” I open and close my legs through the water in an easy rhythm.

When I focus back on Tanner, I notice he’s staring intently on my movements, so I abruptly stop, clasping my legs together and tucking them down.

His eyes snap back up to my face. “What time is your meet on Saturday?”

“Why are you asking me a question you could look up on the pool wall?” I nod my head toward the schedules for the men’s and women’s swim teams hung up outside the locker rooms.

He shrugs his shoulder.

I answer, “Three.”

Just like before, he swims toward the wall and prepares himself for another round. “Last one?” he asks.

“This is pointless, Tanner. You’re going to win, so you might as well just ask me another question.” Exasperated, I don’t grab my goggles, but I remain swinging back and forth on the rope.

“It’s never pointless. Figure you’re getting your workout in. Plus, you never know. You could beat me this round. I feel a leg cramp coming on.”

“If you let me.”

I cock my head, and he chuckles. This—the banter of friendship volleying back and forth—is Tanner and me at our best.