There she was.
White-blonde hair a beacon in a sea of color, Darcy was present and accounted for. By unspoken agreement — and quite a bit of sheer bullheadedness on my part — I had stayed at Darcy’s apartment the last three nights. Things had been platonic between us; me sticking to the couch while she took the bed, but it didn’t mean I had forgotten what I walked in on. Or the fact it had been my name on her lips. While she seemed to have regained her health, she had been so consumed with writing her article I had taken it upon myself to make sure she was fed, caffeinated, and generally looked after. We had fallen into a kind of domesticity I had only ever dreamed of. But still, I wanted more. So I had made a deal with myself. Come first in this heat, and I would ask her on an official date. No more of this fake bullshit. If I made the team? When I made the team? I was going to commit to convincing her to marry me. I felt invincible, and couldn’t believe I had ever thought of her as a bad luck charm. Her head whipped up from where I knew she was typing on her laptop, as though she had sensed my attention, and I grinned. It was the kind of big, dopey grin you saw on a dog who had just spotted their owner. Damn, what a comparison that was. But she did own me, didn’t she?
She waved just as my name was called, and with a herculean show of strength, I refocused on the pool, pulling my goggles into place as I stepped up behind the block. At the signal, I climbed up and took my mark. Time slowed. The water beckoned me, a seductive song as I traced the black line at the bottom of the pool. My breath eased out through slightly parted lips, my muscles coiled tight as a spring. The crack of the starter gun called the eight athletes to action and my body sliced into the water before the echo had faded. I was a bullet, shot from a gun. My body undulated as I encouraged my streamlined body to go a little further. Keep the peaceful place just a little longer.
Then my head broke the surface.
I gasped a breath as my arm arched, fingertips grazing the water before reaching in front of me, dragging me through the water as my feet propelled me from behind. Four strokes and a breath. Nice, easy pace for the first hundred meters. The far wall came at me sooner than I expected, and without missing a beat, I threw my body into a tumble, shooting off the wall seconds after making contact and forcing my body further down the pool. Back and forth I flew, and quick glances when I could spare them told me I was ahead of all except two. One was Xavier fucking Greene.Not this year, I thought, pushing myself harder as I came out of the final turn. The five-hundred-meter freestyle had always been my sweet spot. I had the endurance for the longer swims, and the speed for the sprints. This gave me the best of both worlds. Forty meters to go. Twenty-five. Taking a lungful of air, I put everything into my stroke and caught him as we passed beneath the flags. I could breathe when I won. Kick harder. Stroke faster. I hit the wall on a slap that threatened to carry my body into the tile as water in my wake crashed over my shoulders. Did I win? My breath sawed in and out of my lungs as I cast around for an answer. I ripped my goggles off and turned to the stands to see Darcy going wild. Jumping and screaming, I could hear her voice above the rest of the crowd.
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “Great race, man. Well done.” Xavier was grinning as he squeezed my bicep, panting and treading water beside me. “I won?” I asked, still not quite sure why my mind wouldn’t focus. Xavier laughed and slapped me on the back once more before ducking under the lane rope and hoisting himself out of the water. Following suit, I left the pool on a powerful shove, stepping clear of the poolside as Coach came at me like a freight train. “That’s what I’m talking about. A PB time, and I think with a little more training, we can get you up to world record territory. Now, your next heat is in two days…” As Coach started planning, my attention drifted back toward the crowd, where a white blonde head was edging toward the aisle. Nothing was going to stop me from taking that woman out on a real date now.
She met us at the entrance of the change rooms, throwing herself into my arms with no regard to the fact I was still drenched.
“You did it! That was amazing! I thought Xavier had you in the last leg, but that last split has to be some kind of a record. Oh my god, Kane, you’re going to make the team!”
I couldn’t help it. Her excitement was contagious, and I wanted to absorb it. Drink it in and hold it close. I dropped my mouth to hers and felt her smile against my lips, her arms tightening around my neck. Behind us, there was a small cough, and then the sound of the changing room doors opening and closing. Coach could think what he liked; I was in too good of a mood to be brought down by any negativity he wanted to throw my way. He’d never been particularly fond of Darcy, which was part of what made it so bizarre he had organized the whole fake dating thing in the first place.
I curled myself around her, loving our height difference as she went limp in my arms. “Get a room,” Mateo yelled, slapping my ass as he passed us on his way out to the pool. I flipped him off behind Darcy’s back, breaking the kiss just enough to smile down at her. “I want to take you on a real date.”
Darcy’s pale skin was flushed from my attention, a light rash on her chin from my beard making my chest swell as though I had marked her. Claimed her.
“When?” she asked, her eyes unfocused as she pushed her hair out of her face with an unsteady hand. I loved that I affected her this way.
“Tonight. I’ll wrap things up with Coach and meet you at your place.”
She nodded and I pulled her in for another quick kiss before I headed back for a quick shower and debrief with Coach.
* * *
The debrief took longerthan expected, and I was glad Darcy hadn’t waited around for me. My race was one of the last of the day, and the bleachers stood empty, banners and plastic cups strewn around, waiting for the weary hands of cleaners to see them to the trash bins that were easily accessible all over the building. People were lazy. A soda can crunched under my sneaker as I rounded the corner onto the exit ramp and I barely missed a step, swiping it off the ground and taking a shot at the nearest trash can.Nothin’ but net. Waving to the reception staff as I headed for the door, congratulations followed me like verbal pats on the back. If I could keep performing like I did today, I’d have the national team in the bag. Of course, Coach wasn’t ready to jump for joy and count our chickens. His idea of celebrating was getting an extra hour in the pool for the rest of the week, and adding extra conditioning exercises. At least he had okayed an increase in my daily calories. I was going to use them all up tonight when I took Darcy out. The thought of my girl had me grinning stupidly as I slid into the back of my waiting Uber. In no time, we were at my apartment, and I promised double the tip for the guy to hang out while I ran upstairs and changed into the only good button-down and slacks combo I owned. Shame I had no shoes to go with them. With a sigh, I slid my sneakers back on and prayed she wouldn’t notice the gray and white boats on my feet. At least they weren’t the blue ones I’d previously owned. Without bothering to head back to the bathroom for a mirror check, I hightailed it down to the waiting Uber, bringing up a restaurant guide to the area around Darcy’s place.
As we pulled up out front of the building I was coming to know so well, I decided on a French bistro a block away that had an impressive number of positive Yelp reviews. After adding the promised tip to my Uber app, I bid the guy a good night as I slid eagerly from the car and headed inside to meet my date.
Darcy answered the door wearing the black dress I’d been obsessed with since the moment I first saw it on her. Back when she thought Randy the college footballer was a better option than yours truly. Randy. I sneered at the name.
Darcy cocked her head at me expectantly. Shaking myself back to the present, I realized that standing in her doorway silently sneering about an ex nothing’s name was probably not the best way to start our first official date. When we were teenagers, we had never really had the chance. Not unless you counted the party at Evie’s parents’ place.
“You’re beautiful,” I said, unable to think much past getting under her dress with the thoughts of our first time together so fresh in my mind.
Her smile was immediate and radiant as she took me in with a leisurely sweep of her eyes. “Nice shoes.”
I dropped my head with a grin. Should have known I wouldn’t get anything past her. Instead of making apologies for a lack of appropriate footwear, I crooked my arm for her as she locked up.
“Where are we going?” she asked, tucking her hand into mine instead of accepting my elbow. I shook my head, content to keep the secret for the stretch of time it took us to walk to our destination.
“You were amazing today. I think I already said that. I haven’t seen you race before. You’re so fast in the pool.” I smiled at the compliment, even as a pang tightened my chest. She was supposed to see me race when we were in high school. She never showed. Reminding myself we were kids back then, I refocused on present Darcy, leaving the brooding in the past, where it belonged.
“I just love being in the water. Racing adds another element to it, I guess. Competing to see who has the best relationship with the element.”
She nodded, as though she understood where I was coming from. Maybe she did. She’d always had a way of understanding more than anyone else in the room. Particularly when it came to sports.
“How’s the article going, anyway?” I asked, shifting the conversational ball back into her court.
She grimaced. “It’s… going. You’re a hard subject to report on, you know?”
I laughed. “I think I’m pretty simple, actually. What you see is what you get. Ask me anything and I’ll answer.”
I meant it… mostly. There were things I couldn’t imagine telling her. Mostly about my family and growing up in that house. Shit, I didn’t know if Darcy even knew I had a sister. Probably not. I should introduce them sometime. Or maybe not. If Layla decided to interfere, who knew what kinds of things Darcy would learn about me. About how weak I was. About how I could turn out to be just like my father.
