Page 86 of Forever Yours

I stood up, smile in place. A genuine one. I was looking forward to getting back in the water. The last time Jayson and I met up at the pool was well over a month ago.

Mr. Winters and I shook hands.

“Glad to have you on the team.”

Me too.

“Glad to be here.”

Checking my watch, I had about twenty minutes before Antonne arrived. Might as well get a few laps in.

Entering the main pool complex was a religious experience made more profound by the lighting reflecting off the unnaturally blue water’s surface. I half expected angels to appear on the diving platforms, belting out Medievala cappella.

There were a few people doing laps in the designated lanes, a few others just hanging out poolside and chatting. I padded over to the starting blocks on the far side of the pool, set the folder down and kicked off my flip-flops. After a few minutes of light stretching, I dove into the water.

It was like coming home.

Doing two full laps of freestyle, I switched to breaststroke, then back to freestyle. I was breathless and dragging after four laps, but I didn’t push myself because my body was still healing. Once I was one hundred percent, I was going to work my ass off to get back into competitive shape. Didn’t matter that I wasn’t competing. Maybe I’d finally join Julien on his morning runs. Make it a daily thing, not just a once-in-a-while-when-he-begged thing.

Arms and legs burning, I flipped over onto my back and did a lazy backstroke to the end.

“You look good in there.”

I sloped my head and was surprised to see David looking down at me. Shirtless David was pure eye candy. David in tight swim trunks was a whole other story.

A dark cloud fell over him when he looked at me… well, at the faded contusions on my face.

“I wish you’d tell me who did that so I can go beat the shit out of him.”

“I promise I’m good. And Fallon handled it.” That was all I would say on the matter. Propping one hand on the edge of the pool, I raked the excess water from my hair. “What’s up?”

He sat down cross-legged in front of me and leaned back on his outstretched arms. All that did was highlight every bump of his six-pack.

“I’m here for my session.”

Brows furrowed. “You’re Antonne?”

He grinned, his teeth a brilliant white. “That’s my first name. I go by my middle name. I saw you were on the roster of swim instructors. Hope you don’t mind that I asked for you personally.”

For some reason, the universe kept throwing us together, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I could admit I was attracted to him. Everything about David was appealing. Not just because he was gorgeous, but I also liked him as a person. David was the whole package. In another universe where Julien didn’t exist, I would have been tripping all over myself for a shot to date him and explore the chemistry we clearly had. But that reality didn’t exist because I was completely, to the depth of my soul, in love with Julien. Didn’t mean that David and I couldn’t be friends. I just needed to make sure he knew that was all we could be.

“Nope. Hop on in and we’ll get started.”

He peered down at the water, his face going a little green.

“There’s another reason why I requested you. I knew you wouldn’t make me feel stupid.” He chewed on his lower lip. “I, uh… I don’t know how to swim.”

Oh. That changed everything. I’d taught terrified kids at the Y how to overcome their fear of the water and learn to swim. Doing that with an adult shouldn’t be any different. I hoped.

I grabbed the foam kickboard I had brought out with me.

“We’ll go slow. First, I want you to dangle your feet in the water.”

He exhaled a huge breath of relief and nodded. Using the kickboard to float, I moved back to give him room. He unfolded his legs and inched to the edge of the pool. The guy looked terrified.

As soon as his feet were submerged, he asked, “What now?”

“Now, we talk.”

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