Page 90 of The Older Brother
“Babe, that’s incredible!” I hear the rolling sound of his board across the garage floor, and I picture him sitting up, legs outstretched, face smudged with oil.
“You might piss a few people off,” he says, his mind going right where mine did.
“Yeah, but what’s new, right?”
He chuckles and adds, “True.”
I push my key into the ignition and turn my car, but rather than the welcoming sound of the whir and rumble, I get nothing but a quick ticking sound. Like a bomb.
“What’s that?” Rowan’s ears are too good.
“Nothing. It was me. I’m sure I just . . .” I crank the engine again, and this time, the ticking stops and turns into nothing.
“Damnit,” I mutter.
“Where are you?” His tone is urgent, and I picture him pacing and searching for his keys. In fact, I’m sure that’s what he’s doing right now.
“I’m at the swim facility. It’s fine. I’m like a quarter mile from my dorm, and there are a ton of people around. I can leave it here and walk. It might be good for me to get the exercise this week anyhow. I was a bit gassed after my laps.”
I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder before locking my car and heading toward the main path that cuts through campus.
“Hmm, I doubt you were gassed. I’ll be up Friday to give it a look,” he says, and I smile, noting he moved his visit up by a day.
“Okay, so tell me about this captain gig while you walk. I want to stay on the phone with you.” I hear the wheels slide along the garage floor again through the phone, and I picture him resting the phone on his chest as he slides back under his latest project. My voice and his passion building him the perfect bubble to escape to. I love that I’m part of his formula.
“Well, I don’t know much yet,” I start. Rowan asks me a few questions about the team, none of which I can answer after only a day, but he keeps me talking for the seven-minute walk back to my dorm. He makes me put him on speaker to say hi to Megan, and then makes me take him off it so he can promise to do dirty things to me on his first visit.
All it takes me to forget that my car is basically DOA and parked on the other end of campus is one night’s sleep. I head to my first class and doddle on my way back, indulging in one of those iced coffees with the swirl of cinnamon and caramel on top. I’m in a sugar coma bliss when I cross through my dorm’s lobby and step out into the parking lot.
“Oh shit!” The lack of my car in the spot where it should be brings it all rushing back. And the thing that gives my panic an extra edge is the fact that Coach texted me thirty minutes ago about sharing my role as captain with the team today.Beforepractice.
Regretting my Birkenstocks and the weight of my backpack, I suck it up and kick off my shoes, holding them in my hands as I sprint along the gravel pathway that cuts up the hill and into the swim center. My feet feel the sting of a thousand Legos underfoot thanks to the jagged stones I can’t seem to avoid, but I make it into the locker room with minutes to spare.
My nervous energy comes out in my bouncing knees as I sit in front of my locker and wait for the rest of the team to arrive.Thankfully, when everyone files in and Coach announces my new role, it’s met with cheers and even a few handshakes from the girls I worried would resent me most. I guess being Allison Kelly’s daughter has conditioned me for the worst. It’s going to take a lot of deprogramming to kick this.
I take my new role on with vigor when we hit the pool, giving tips when I can to cut times for some of our younger swimmers, and when I suggest that we swap the order on one of the relays Coach has mapped out, she agrees. She urges me to challenge for one of the spots, but I’m not quite ready for that big of a takeover just yet. And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think my times are there yet. Part of leading is making decisions for the team above myself. And maybe that’s what attracts me to this job so much.
I’m the last one to finish my laps, and I promise Coach I’ll shut off the lights and punch in the alarm code when I leave the locker room. Since I’m alone, I set my phone on the bench and dial Rowan while I change out of my wet suit. Just like yesterday, he answers the moment it rings.
“Yes, Captain?” he teases.
“That’s the best you could do?” I drop my suit in the spinner and begin combing out my hair.
“Oh Captain, my captain?”
“That one’s solid. Much better,” I say, slipping into the long-sleeved gray T-shirt he gave me the first day I hung out at his garage.
“How was the first day on top?” I don’t hear the usual echo when he talks, so he must not be in the garage tonight. I wonder if he’s done early, in bed, or out lying on his car, staring at the stars. We spent a lot of summer nights together doing just that.
“I think I’m really going to like it. I’m honestly less invested in improving my times than I am in improving the team overall.”
The spinner dings with my dry suit, so I snag it and tuck it in the top of my backpack. I think I’ll keep my Birkenstocks on for the walk back, so I flop them on the tiled floor and slip my sore feet inside. I did a little damage on my barefoot trail run.
“Looks like someone found their calling,” he says, and I sit with that thought for a beat before opening the door to head outside.
“Maybe. It’s the right fit for now.”
“Fair enough.” I stop when I realize that his voice is hitting me from two directions.
