Page 78 of The Best Friend Power Play

I spin around.

Culver smiles warmly. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You're in."

"I'm in."

He readjusts his hands, curling his thick fingers around mine. "We can stay here for as long as you like."

"Thanks."

I look around.

A few people are doing laps on the other side of the pool, and there's a family with two small kids near us.

I can't remember where my fear of the ocean came from. There are some old photos of me at the beach and in the water with Mom and Dad before the twins were born, so I must have been okay going in as a child.

But I don't have any memories of going to the beach after Mom passed. At least not for a good five, six, maybe seven years.

Maybe there's something about the water that represents a lack of control? I don't like tumbling in the crashing waves, and I have no idea how to read the swell, so I'm terrified of getting pulled out to sea.

But I'm in a controlled environment here. I'm safe. I'm in ocean water, but the open water is on the far side of the pool perimeter.

And Culver is with me.

I slide my hands out of his. "I'm going to swim. Will you…stay here?"

"Of course. I'll be watching you."

I smile. "Thank you."

I take a deep breath and dive into the water. I didn't bring goggles, so I keep my eyes closed until I resurface. I swim a few laps until all my nerves disappear, and then I rotate and float on my back, staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

After a few minutes of peaceful bobbing, I look over at Culver. He waves and smiles. A few moments later, he's next to me.

"You did it. You swam in the ocean!"

"I did."

"How does it feel?" he asks, joining me as he floats on his back.

"It feels…freeing."

"I'm picking up that that might be a theme for you this summer."

"Yeah. Even the concept of if it feels good, do it started off feeling so foreign to me."

"And how does it feel now?"

We turn our heads to face each other at the same time.

"Now it feels like a pretty good way to live."

"I'm happy for you."

Our eyes stay locked, holding the moment as time stands still. We stay like that, bobbing away gently in the water just looking at each other for I don't know how long.

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