Page 24 of Poolside

Chuck’s laugh was loud in the delicate quiet of the early morning, the sun brightening half of the sky to a beautiful, pale purple color that reminded Chuck of faded bruises or the lavender flowers that his mom used to grow in their backyard.

But the way Tommy’s own face transformed, that full, unguarded smile stretching his mouth wide and flashing his teeth while his brown eyes crinkled in the corners like rumpled sheets,thatwas maybe the most beautiful thing Chuck had ever seen.

“Come here,” Chuck said, and he hadn’t meant for his voice to go all soft and raspy, butfuckhe couldn’t help it.

There was something else in Tommy’s expression as he moved through the water towards him, but Chuck focused on his hand, which he rested, palm up, just under the surface of the water between them.

“I want you to lay back and rest your head on my hand,” he explained. “I’ll keep you from sinking. I promise.”

Tommy looked between Chuck’s hand and his face, and then shrugged. “I trust you,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Clumsily, Tommy maneuvered his muscular body so his head tipped back into Chuck’s palm. It left Tommy awkwardly tilted back, with the rest of his body under the water.

“Can you hear me?” Chuck asked, as he firmed up his grip on the back of Tommy’s head. When he nodded, Chuck went on. “I want you to push off of the bottom of the pool like you’re going to float on your back on the surface.”

Tommy complied, but his chin tucked and his body folded in half like a book, immediately sinking. Chuck scrambled and managed to scoop one of his arms under Tommy’s broad thighs, cradling him like a baby, but keeping his face above the water.

Tommy looked up at Chuck, unimpressed but still adorable in his swim cap with his goggles pushed up above his forehead. “So, maybe I need to take back what I said about trusting you.”

Chuck shook his head. “You need to keep your head back. Imagine you’re trying to look at the sky: not above you, but the horizon back behind you.”

“And that’s going to help me float?”

“Yep.”

Tommy sighed. “Alright. Put me down and let’s do this fucking thing.”

This time, Tommy did as Chuck had instructed, craning his head back as he pushed up from the bottom. And, just as Chuck had predicted, the rest of his body rose to hover right at the surface of the pool.

Chuck smiled, lowering his hand just a little bit so Tommy could feel the way the water held him. The way his bulky body was resting on the surface of the water.

“Holy shit,” Tommy breathed, and Chuck could see the moment he relaxed. It was a moment Chuck could remember living through a million times, something he still experienced every time he surrendered himself to the water and trusted it would hold him.

Chuck let him lay there for a few seconds before tapping Tommy softly on the back of the head.

Tommy surfaced, and looked over at Chuck like he’d just changed his life. “Dude,” he said, grinning and obviously proud.

“Told you so,” Chuck said, ducking on instinct when Tommy splashed him. “Now that that’s done, go grab us those two kick boards.”

Minutes later Tommy held the kick board in front of himself with two hands while his legs kicked behind him.

They needed to fix Tommy’s breathing before anything else.

Chuck patiently explained that Tommy needed to keep his face down in the water while he swam, and then rotate his head to the side without lifting when he needed to breathe. That he needed to keep his opposite ear in the water.

They did a few laps like that, with Chuck making little adjustments as they went. Tommy was a good student, taking every suggestion and applying it like he really cared about getting better at swimming and winning his ridiculous race.

Once Chuck felt confident Tommy was getting the hang of it, he grabbed his own kick board and they started out on a 200 meter kick with both arms resting on the kick board so all of the work was focused on their legs. Tommy had big legs,builtlegs even, but Chuck knew from experience how little that strength translated from the weight room to conditioning in the pool.

“I still can’t believe you know Wade Johnson,” Tommy said, a little breathless as they finished their first length and turned around at the wall.

“He’s my friend,” Chuck said, still amused by the fact that Wade was someone Tommy fanboyed over. “I had no idea he was a celebrity. I mean, I knew he played pro hockey, but didn’t realize what a big deal he was.”

Tommy let out an amused breath. “He’s a huge deal where I’m from. I had his poster on my wall in high school.” He went quiet, and Chuck glanced over at him, catching the way he swept his tongue over his lower lip. “He told me a little bit about his life. About being bi.”

Chuck wasn’t sure how to react. “Yeah?”

“It was interesting. Made me think.”

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