Page 62 of In Too Deep

I bounce in my seat as he ducks and hits the wall.

My head shifts, and I focus on the board.

He’s just in front of the American.

I squeal as I turn to Coby, who beams. We both bounce in our seats with excitement.

East pushes hard, but the American is gaining, and they’re neck and neck.

“C’mon, East,” Coby chimes and grips my hand a little tighter.

We can both see he’s falling behind. Chewing my bottom lip, I bounce on my seat. The crowd cheers for East. He and the American dive, aiming for that elusive wall. I hold my breath, and the screen lights up.

The American gold and East silver.

I slump.

Coby sighs.

“Silver is amazing,” I say.

“Hey, any medal is fantastic at the Olympics. I just hope East sees it that way.”

Nodding, I gaze down at the pool to see East climbing out and patting the American on the back. At least he’s being a good sportsman about it.

They clear the pool deck, and Caro’s lineup walks out. I’m even more nervous than I was for East. I hope Caro can pull out something spectacular because she’s competing against Marta and Anna from England.

“Let’s hope Caro can smash Marta out of the water.”

“Fingers crossed. Let’s hope Anna beats Marta, too. That would certainly rub it in.”

Laughing, I cuddle into Coby’s side.

Caro takes her mark on the starting block, and my stomach twists.I hope Marta didn’t try any of her scare tactics on Caro before the race.But from the lack of black eyes on Marta, I’m assuming she didn’t. Caro isn’t like me. Shewillfight back, but more with her fists than with her mouth. God love her.

The starting signal sounds, and they all dive into the water.

My muscles stiffen and clench with anxiety as Caro stays under the water longer than anyone else. My knee agitates up and down on the spot as I watch her finally come up for air, taking a breath and stroking out from her chest into a perfect breaststroke. Her legs kick out like a frog, and her form is flawless. Tuck will be so proud.

She races ahead of Marta and Anna, and I jump up and down on my seat as she’s out by half a body length.If she can keep this up, she will have it in the bag.They push to the wall, and Caro turns a second before Marta to continue with her great lead.

I can’t stand the pressure, so I stand up, and Coby follows me as we continue to hold hands and move from our toes to our heels in excitement. “C’mon, Caro, don’t fall behind,” I shout without caring who hears me. Trinny, Harry, and the boys are here somewhere, cheering just as loud.

“C’mon, Caro.” Coby grips my hand.

“She’s gonna do it, Cobes,” I murmur, and he chuckles.

“I think she is.”

My stomach somersaults as she approaches the wall, Marta still half a body length behind her and Anna behind Marta. Tears fill my eyes as I hold my breath. She dives into the water, her hands hitting the wall and the screen lighting up.

Caro wins Gold!

“Oh my God!” I scream as I skip on the spot, and Coby turns, wrapping me in his arms. “She did it. She actually did it!”

He pulls back as I cry. “C’mon, let’s go down to the athletes’ area to celebrate with them.”

Coby takes my hand, and we race off through the crowd, down toward the athletes’ area to find East, and to wait for Caro. Finding East is easy—he’s the one dry-humping the pole.

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