Page 50 of In Too Deep

“C’mon, Cobes,” I murmur. He pulls away just slightly, just enough to be an arm’s length in front of the other swimmer while I bounce on my seat. He reaches under and slams against the wall, coming in first at 3:41:07. I jump out of my seat and clap—he was so close to beating the Commonwealth Record.

I pace the floor, waiting for him. I want to be here when he comes in, so I watch him approach and bounce on my toes as he races up to me, pulling me in for a tight hug. I pull back and kiss him quickly, very quickly—we don’t want to be seen fraternising, or we could get in trouble.

“I’m so proud of you,” I say.

He lets me go, and we walk to the back of the room. “It was all that good luck you gave me beforehand.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “It’s all your hard work and determination, Coby. You earned this.”

His hands slide up and down my arms, sending warmth through my chilled skin. “You’re freezing,” he murmurs, concern lacing his voice. “Let’s get changed. Meet me in the athletes’ area after you’ve had a hot shower. Warm up, okay? Your arms feel like ice.”

A small laugh escapes me as I nod. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

Coby leans in, resting his forehead gently against mine. His smile is soft, unspoken words lingering in the moment between us.

Then, as if reluctant to let go, he steps back, releasing me. We head to our respective change rooms, the warmth of his touch still lingering on my skin—a comfort in the stillness of the moment.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I’m in the marshalling area with Coby as we ready ourselves to swim again today. Me for my semi, he for his final. He’s on just after me again, and we sit together as my knee bobs up and down in nerves for the both of us.

“Be confident and swim hard. You’re in the final. You can get this gold not just for you but for Australia,” I say, trying to give him some confidence.

He appears a hell of a lot calmer than I am right now. “I got this, Butterfly. But I should be pep-talking you, you’re up first—”

“Mine’s only a semi, yours is thereal deal,Coby.”

He smiles, and it’s as if it has finally sunk in. “I’m going for gold, Lacy.”

I chew my bottom lip and grab his hands. “Yeah, you are.”

“100 Fly line up, please.”

Taking a deep breath, Coby smiles as he squeezes my hands. “You’ve got this, Butterfly.”

I dip my chin, and he brings my hand up, kissing the back of it, seeing as the room is full of marshals and officials. He lets my hands go, and I take a deep breath and walk over to my line. There are a couple of girls, and then Marta is next to Katie, and I am on the other side, then there are a couple more after Katie. The lineup has some awesome swimmers, and I’m not sure how this is going to go, but I’m going to swim my hardest. I turn to Katie, and she smiles at me. I have to admit, I’m a little confused by the turn in Katie—I’m almost a little suspicious of it, seeing as how she was so horrible at the trials. But then again, I guess being pulled in by the Board might change a person. Who knows?

We walk out. I turn back one last time to Coby for that final boost of confidence. He smiles, giving me two thumbs up. I smile back before facing the front and walk out with a renewed boost in my step. We take our positions and wave to the crowd as our names are called.

Ineedto get through this race to qualify for my spot in the final.

Ineedto be that step closer to gold.

The buzzer sounds, and we step up to the starting block.

I focus all my thoughts on my mantra and nothing else, reciting it over and over. I need to light the match as soon as possible and maybe stoke the fire again in the last fifty.

“Take your mark.”

We all bend down, and I’m focused so hard on hearing the starting signal when I faintly hear someone murmur bang. Not loudly, just enough to unsettle me. I almost jump into the water but stop myself. The girl next to Marta falls for it and dives into the water. My heart sinks for her.

The buzzer goes off, making the rest of us stand back up.

We witness that girl’s Olympic dreams shatter, and my shoulders slump.

What’s going to happen now?

Meanwhile, the Chinese swimmer gets out of the pool, tears streaming down her face. She takes her seat. I check if anyone’s going to say anything. Was the bang in my head? Did the Chinese girl hear it too? It could have only come from one place…Marta.

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