The Best Year - 46. Chapter 46

“Get your asses up,” growled Tony from the other side of my hotel room. Scaring the fuck out of me, I fell out of the bed taking the sheets with me. Charlie grumbled and I felt him tugging on the sheets and I regretted staying up late talking to him and Drae. I had qualifying and event finals today for my sprint distance swims, the one hundred meter freestyle and the four by one hundred meter medley. I already qualified for my event finals in my bigger race, the eight hundred free yesterday. There were never enough relay teams to fill ten lanes in Districts either, so we automatically qualified for that one. Knowing Aiden and Matt might fuck it up, I was glad we got a free ride into that event. I doubted they would do that here though, Pete wasn’t here. I still had him to look forward to in Regionals, if he makes it.

Stretching as I fought my way out of the sheets I pushed myself up off the floor. Glancing over at Charlie, curled into a ball, his hair a messy cotton ball of freshly bleached hair, I turned to see Drae already headed to the bathroom. Looking at him, he smirked and rolled his eyes.

“You’re the newbie, you wake his ass up this year,” Drae said, his voice huskier than normal and I caught myself staring at his ass as he closed the door behind him.

“Charlie get up,” I said as I picked the sheets up off the floor and tossed them onto the bed.

“I’ve got time, piss off,” Charlie grunted, reaching behind himself until he found the sheets and pulled them over himself. “I have morning wood anyway, sleeping with the slab of meat I slept next to last night.”

“Fuck you,” I groaned trying not to laugh. I had morning wood too, but I wasn’t about to admit to it. I just hoped Drae hadn’t noticed as he went to piss.

“Get back in bed then, I won’t complain,” he said as his eyes fluttered open and he turned his head to smile at me. His eyes were slightly pink and puffy and when he yawned and stretched he pulled the sheets back off himself with a sigh. He was wearing baby blue briefs that made his skin look soft and tan, his body was completely shaved like mine, but a slight stubble was growing back, a lot darker than the hair on his head.

“What is your natural hair color anyway?” I asked and he cocked an eyebrow as he reached down and readjusted himself.

“Brown,” he said, “a little lighter than your hair, actually. If you need proof I can show you.”

“That’s alright,” I said, shaking my head as he shrugged and sat up in bed.

“You never looked all those times we showered together?” He asked as I turned away from him so that I could start looking around for my shorts. We had all been brave and comfortable enough to sleep in our underwear and even though we had only been here two days, the place looked wrecked.

“I probably did,” I answered as I found my shorts and pulled them up over my boxer briefs.

“That fucking cut me deep, Jackson,” Charlie said and I turned around to see him laying back down on the bed, his arms crossed and resting under his head.

“Sorry,” I offered chewing on my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Charlie had a great body, not as big and toned as Drae, but none of us compared to him. Charlie was still growing though, being a year and a half younger than me. He had grown a bit lanky, a leaner sort of toned. He definitely looked like a swimmer and water glided over his body in the pool.

“I looked at you enough to know you have a small mole right below your right ass cheek,” he said and then smiled as I immediately tried to look behind me and down at it. It would be news to me, having a mole there. Reaching down I pulled up the leg of my shorts and felt with my fingers and when I didn’t feel anything I looked at him to see him trying not to laugh.

“You fucking suck,” I said as Drae came out of the bathroom glancing in our direction before going over to his own bed. Unlike our side of the room, Drae had kept things as neatly as he could. Our dirty clothes had made it over to his side, but he wasn’t put out enough by our mess to say anything.

“Come on guys, five minutes,” Tony bellowed as he walked back by our room.

“Check your shit twice,” Drae said as he stood and stretched then pulled on a pair of shorts over his briefs.

“Yes Daddy,” Charlie countered as he sat back up then stood. I went over to my swim bag and made sure I had my nose guards and goggles in there. Finding them where I always put them I found my racing shorts and made sure I had my back up shorts in there as well. Charlie took his turn in the bathroom and when I was satisfied I had all my stuff together I grabbed my clothes bag and rummaged through it until I found a t-shirt. Tony expected us all to wear our warm ups from the hotel to the high school. Districts has been hosted by Highland Heights High the past five years. It was a private school full of deep pocketed donors. It was a second home to me at least, and it took some of the weight off everything this weekend meant.

This was where Scott was, even though I hadn’t seen him yet. Emily likely told him to stay away from me, wanting me focused. After qualifying last night, I had hoped I would see him. I hadn’t been in contact with him since the invitational and that seemed like ages ago. This was the only scholarship I still had left on the table, only schools that were desperate would still be interested in someone like me. If Georgia fell through, I wouldn’t know where I would end up. I knew I couldn’t ask Luke to come with me without knowing where the fuck that was.

When Charlie came out of the bathroom I side stepped him and entered it. Like the bed room, the bathroom also looked well lived in for a hotel. Towels were on the floor and hanging on the shower. Our deodorants and toothpastes and brushes were scattered all over the counter. Finding mine I brushed my teeth and didn’t bother with the deodorant since we would just be showering it off when we got to the school anyway. After emptying my bladder I washed my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. After Luke left the morning after they all surprised me, I got my hair cut short again. I didn’t want to take any chances, it was more of a ritual I did every year by now. Luke’s frown the next time he saw me told me that he wasn’t a fan of my new haircut, but he didn’t say anything. I had already promised to try and grow my body hair out after Regionals, but I didn’t know how long I would be able to stand that. It always got itchy after not having hair anywhere for most of my life, I had barely been able to grow it before I started shaving it. I actually didn’t know how hairy I was.

“We’re heading down, Jack,” Drae said and I took one last look at myself in the mirror before I opened the bathroom door and grabbed my bags as I slipped on a pair of sandals. I grabbed my wallet and pass to get into the school before I followed them out of the door.

When we got to the lobby we were naturally the last three to get down and with a look from Tony somewhere between a snarl and a grimace he pointed to his watch. He had his clipboard and waved it with his other hand prompting all of us to start moving out and onto the bus. I expected a quick lecture, but the look he shot us was bad enough. The diving team was already out and on the bus with Jackie, their Districts would be over after this morning. Emily was seated just behind the driver and when we all filed on I was last to enter and sat across from her. She offered me a small smile as Tony bounded up the stairs and stood in the aisle.

“Now you listen here you little shits,” he said and we all heard Jackie clear her throat from just behind Emily. I glanced over to see her shaking her head, but Tony pretended not to hear her. “Like yesterday there will be a breakfast buffet, I don’t want to see a damn pancake or waffle on any of your plates, protein and smart carbs.”

“Yes sir,” Charlie offered from the seat behind me.

“Not a word, Charlie Masters, you were late,” Tony countered and I heard the girls snickering from further back in the bus.

“I tried,” Drae offered and I heard a muffled ouch from Charlie and smiled.

“I want you showered and changed by half past the hour. Charlie, Shay, and Jackson, you have your last qualifying races first, so you three need to be in the warm up pool ten minutes before you’re posted to go.”

“Can you tell us where we have to finish to qualify for finals?” Shay asked and when Tony differed to Emily I looked across the aisle to see her flip a page for the preliminary event sheets.

“Let’s hit the road,” Tony ordered and the driver shut the door and the bus lurched forward. Tony was prepared for it and didn’t move a muscle, but made his way down the aisle and sat with Jackie as Emily continued to look at her clipboard.

“Shay, there are fifteen entered in your last one hundred meter breast,” Emily answered, looking up to smile at Shay. “You basically just have to finish fifth or better in your heat.”

Emily glanced at me ready to answer, but I only shook my head. I knew my one hundred free would be a packed race. It was the most popular by far and I already knew I had to win or place second in my heat to make the finals. Charlie’s last qualifier was for his best event, so it didn’t surprise me that he didn’t ask her either.

Tony picked the closest hotel to the school, he booked the rooms months ago knowing where we would end up. It was probably the fullest the hotel ever booked, with swimmers from all over the district coming in to swim here. When we pulled up and the bus driver killed the engine Tony stood again. He waved his arm for us to follow him and I grabbed my bag and followed him and Emily out as Jackie waited to fall in line with her girls. Outside, I squinted against the morning sun, but looked around at the cars parked in the parking lot. I doubted I would see Mom’s car or Heather’s huge assed SUV in the mess of the place, they all promised me they would be here today, but I also knew they went to the first bonfire of the year last night too at Troy’s field. It was a pre-prom party for Alison and Lily to get votes and I hated that I missed it.

After walking inside, I looked around, the crowd wasn’t separated by schools they were cheering for, but I easily found Mom. She was bouncing up and down on the stands, one hand holding her stomach. I had made an effort not to notice the trail of hickies along her neck the morning before I left. She hadn’t done the best at hiding them, wearing a dressing robe being the first tip off that something was odd with her. She rarely, not even when she didn’t have to go to work, was not fully dressed by the time I woke up. Before I left, I had to tell her that I noticed them though, I couldn’t have my own mother showing up at Districts with love bites on full display. The glare she shot me as she shoved me out the front door made it worth it though. What did surprise me though is that Luke was with them and along the same bleachers were everyone else in various stages of hangover recovery. Even Olivia and Connor.

“Go and get changed guys,” Emily ordered and I realized I hadn’t moved from the edge of the aquatic center just past the entrance. “Remember, Shay, Charlie, and Jackson all need to be showered and in the warm up pool first.”

“Okay,” I offered when she patted me on the shoulder. Still not mentioning Scott on purpose, I sighed and didn’t look back towards the stands for him. He would be harder to spot and the crowd had grown from the first night when there weren’t many event finals.

Following Charlie to the locker room, I sat my bag down and sat beside him on the bench. I kicked off my sandals and pulled my shirt off over my head. The room was hot and smelled like chlorine and sweat. It was mandatory that we showered before we entered the pool, so I stood and pulled down my shorts. Charlie was obviously nervous, not talking with me as he undressed, but he did manage a wink in my direction just before he pulled off his briefs.
“You’re up before me, right?” Charlie asked and I shrugged, Highland had an announcer and a screen that had the schedule. It was what Rick told me to rely on, since it was made by the race officials.

“You’re going to be fine,” I said reaching over, I playfully elbowed him and he laughed when he turned and my elbow caught his bare ass.

“If I don’t make one event final, it’ll be okay,” he said, glancing around the room before he grabbed his racing shorts and a towel. He had the most grueling schedule, with the most variety this weekend. It wasn’t surprising that Scott wanted him, probably wanted him more than me if I was honest with myself.

“Go get your dirty ass clean,” I said as he slung his towel over his shoulder, not caring that he hit someone passing behind him as he walked. The guy just looked at me and I smirked as I stood and pulled down my boxer briefs. Unlike Charlie, I slid on my racing shorts before grabbing my own towel and zipping my bag closed just as Matt and Aiden came into the locker room with Drae trailing behind them.

When I turned the corner, I saw the showers were all occupied, but instead of waiting I slid in beside Charlie. Opening one eye as he held his head under the spray of water he offered me a crooked smile and stepped slightly to the side. I was still very aware of the fact that he was bare assed naked, but as he made room for me to get my own hair wet, I closed my eyes and let the lukewarm water wash over me. It had the same subtle chlorine smell the pool water had and I just washed myself off with my hands for a few minutes and stepped back out. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything and when I grabbed my towel I dried my hair, then my chest as I walked back to the benches where my bag waited. The locker room was getting more packed with more schools showing up. Drae was naked and Matt and Aiden were waiting for a shower head to open up. Making a point not to make eye contact with either of them I shouldered through the crowd and grabbed a second towel, this one from the towel cubby. I tossed the other one into the designated basket underneath, what looked like actual granite counters and grabbed my bag.

“Good luck,” Drae offered, looking over at me with a smile. “The little shit head is waiting for me in the showers, right?”

“Probably,” I answered laughing when he shook his head and grabbed a towel. I watched him push himself between Matt and Aiden who were still waiting. I guessed Charlie staying in the shower was more strategic than cheeky, making sure that all of us had space to shower in the packed locker room with people waiting.

Stepping back out into the pool area I took a deep steadying breath. The cooler air sent goosebumps racing over my skin and I fought a shudder as I looked around for our designated prep area. Tony wasn’t hard to miss in his bright red, white, and gray warm up. He had the girls in a semicircle talking to them with Emily standing just behind them with a smile. She was the first to look around and see me and when she waved me over I started walking again.

“Five minutes and you’re in the warm up pool,” she whispered and we both glanced up to look at the screen. I was in heat one, lane three. It wasn’t the best scenario, I would have rather watched the first heat to know what time I would need to make the top ten. At regionals, the one hundred meter free would have upwards of four heats or more, depending on how many sign up for it. It was the race I hadn’t been able to make to the event finals over the years for that reason, but I felt better.

“Jackson!” Tony yelled after dismissing the girls. Shay bypassed me and headed to the warm up pool while the other four girls, already showered and in their warm up suits, took seats. Tara was putting in her earbuds and when she caught me looking at her, she smiled and I nearly tripped over a chair as I made my way over to Tony.

When I got up to where he stood he offered me a wide smile and clapped me on the shoulder. I had been expecting a lecture about being late this morning. Or not getting extra minutes in the warm up pool, or maybe grilling me to see if I second checked all of my equipment. Tony smiling at me came rarely, but when I returned his smile, his faded back to the usual and I felt the sting of his palm on my shoulder.

“Get my ass in the warm up pool?” I asked and when he fought a smile and nodded I sat my bag down at the closest chair. I sat down and unzipped it and when I found my cap, goggles, and nose guard I zipped it back up and pulled everything on.

“You’ll need to finish top four based on time to guarantee a good lane in finals,” Tony said as he sat down beside me. “You have it in you to win this event, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I’ll try not to,” I offered fighting a smile as I adjusted my goggles then pulled them up to rest on my cap.

“And if I see you scanning the crowd for Scott again I’ll kick your ass,” he said as he glanced at his watch then back towards the locker rooms. “Where the hell is Charlie?”

“I think he was holding the shower open for Drae,” I answered as I stood and when he dismissed me with a nod I made my way around the chairs and the prep area to the warm up pool. Emily was there, with Shay resting on the edge. Having long and thick hair, Shay had to wear multiple caps to even her line out. When they saw me they both smiled and I hopped into Shay’s lane, knowing that every one of us will have to share a lane with someone else. That’s just how it went during the end of the year championships.

“I’m so proud of you both,” Emily said as she knelt down to our level. Her whistle dangled away from her chest as she leaned forward and patted my shoulder. “Do a smooth ten laps then one of you hold the lane for Charlie.”

“Alright,” I said as I swam to the beginning of the lane. I watched Shay swim to the opposite end and when she pushed off the wall, I pushed off as well. The first time I shared a lane back when all this started, I collided with the other swimmer. It didn’t take me long to learn lane sharing etiquette, which was more or less keeping your own ass on your side of the lane. You either hugged the wall or hugged the lane divider. I gave Shay the divider, no one liked swimming against the concrete wall, the bounce back and choppiness the wall caused wasn’t ideal, especially with twenty people in the water with you.

Shay had already been a couple laps into her warm ups, but it took me a couple of passes to realize that she was no longer in the pool with me. She had been replaced by another girl, tall and lanky. When I got my ten laps in, I looked up and saw Charlie waiting, so I pulled myself up and out of the water. He handed me a towel with a smile as he carefully slid into the water, courteous enough not to disrupt the girl he’ll be warming up with.

“Let’s go cheer on Shay, she’s up,” Emily announced just as I got back to our seats. Everyone was finally together and we walked over to the viewing platform as Shay climbed up onto her block. She had lucked into the center lane and I glanced up to see that my heat was five minutes after this race. When the announcer readied them up, the only noise was coming from the stands as parents yelled for their girls waiting to start. Hearing a booming voice chanting Shay’s name, I looked at her to see her smile just as the buzzer sounded and everyone exploded off the blocks and into the water. It was a one hundred meter race and I edged myself farther up, standing slightly on my tip toes so that I could see her technique in the water. She was in the last heat for this event, and as she turned for home Tony slid his clipboard under his armpit and started clapping as he yelled her name. Watching him cheering I smiled and stood silently as she surfaced, a clear half body-length ahead of second place. All she had to do was keep her pace and she would win the heat. They were based on times, more than finishing order, I glanced up at the official time playing out on the screen. Her split was just as fast as the first heat qualifiers and when I looked down at the water as she hit the closing fifteen meters, I heard Emily and the girls start cheering. Holding my breath I looked back up at the screen and when Shay’s name popped up first, I looked back down and saw her pulling her goggles off and laying on the dividing line. The race steward bent down to tell her if she raced a clean race or not, but she smiled and looked up at the screen then slapped the water before climbing out. Emily grabbed a towel and wrapped her in it as the girls converged on her.

“Nothing to worry about, I told you,” Tara said as they walked by leaving just Emily and Tony standing with me. Aiden and Matt had barely walked up to the platform and when I looked behind me, they were already back and sitting down. Charlie was still sitting by the warm up pool and Drae looked like he was swimming some laps.

“You’re up,” Tony said as he glanced up at the screen. It was showing the finalized times for the one hundred meter breast for Shay. She had finished first based on times and had the center lane for event finals. I watched him smile before he jotted down her time on his clipboard and turned back to me.

“How are you feeling?” Emily asked as she stood on my other side. When I turned to her, she smiled and playfully leaned into me just hard enough for me to adjust my balance.

“I feel alright,” I answered as she grabbed my shoulder and shook it.

“Loosen up a little,” she said as some of the swimmers in the first heat against me started lining up behind their blocks.

“Go ready up,” Tony said as he briefly grabbed my shoulder, he gave it a not-so-gentle squeeze before turning me loose again. “This is by far your most competitive event, if I see you killing yourself in this heat, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Nice pep talk, Dad,” Emily said and I laughed as I slid my nose guard on and walked up to lane three. Both guys that were racing next to me were already there. One of them smiled and offered me a fist bump. I returned it with a smile as I dropped my towel next to the block and started stretching my arms. After flapping them out in front of me and then behind I rolled my neck and slid on my goggles as the stewards stepped up between neighboring blocks.

“Ready up,” the steward beside me said and I climbed up on the blocks and did a last second stretch and roll of my shoulders. Then I reached up and made sure my goggles were securely on my head.

“Set up,” the race official said and I got down in my stance and looked out at the water. It was already smooth as glass, the ceiling lights reflecting on the water. Smiling, I looked at the opposite wall just as I heard my name coming from the crowd. I easily recognized Toby, recovered enough from last night to yell.

The bell for us to get down on the blocks refocused me and I listened for the sound of the starting buzzer. When it came I pushed myself off the blocks and the rush of the cool water washed over me, waking me up like it always did. Starting my kicks I found the fifteen meter lines and when I was about to pass them I surfaced and fell into the rhythm that Emily hardwired into me the first day she met me. Being a down and back race, I didn’t really bother looking around or worrying much about my positioning until I approached the wall and dived for my turn. Underwater and starting my kicks, I looked around and I was ahead of the two people on either side of my lane. The decent looking guy that fist bumped me was just coming into his turn, the other guy that didn’t look my way at all was just coming out of his. I was half a body length ahead of him and before he could start chopping the water I realized I was in a solid second. When I got to the fifteen meters I surfaced again with a breath and started my strokes, even and longer, getting more out of each one that didn’t waste as much energy as I would have last year. As the closing meters approached I moved my arms faster, keeping myself from breaking rhythm, I picked up my breathing and when I got within the last fifteen meters I tucked my head, finding my distance line under the water on the bottom of the pool, I charged for the wall and did a quick dive and slammed my hand against it before I surfaced. I heard Tony cheering me on and when I looked over at them Emily was already walking towards me.

“Clean race,” said the steward and I pulled my goggles up then looked up at my finish. Seeing J. Forrest listed first I smiled as I accepted another fist bump from the guy next to me. I didn’t know his name, but he was smiling as he turned and pulled himself up out of the pool. Catching my breath I reached up and pulled myself out of the pool and accepted the towel from Emily and she clapped me on the back, a lot gentler than Tony had before.

“You looked awesome,” she said as I tried to even out my breathing. “You were just over your record setting pace.”

“Nice swim, Jackson,” Tony said as he grabbed his clipboard out from under his arm and then glanced around for Charlie. After the second one hundred meter free, he would be up next to qualify for his last event finals. Then I would have to look up and see when my first event final was.

“Take some easy cool down laps, Tara should be holding a lane spot for you,” Emily instructed playfully shoving me towards the warm up pool.

When I got there Tara had just finished a lap and looked around. When she saw me she smiled and slid up onto the wall. I handed her my towel and she took it as I slid into the water and waited for the person already warming up to pass me.

“You looked great, in the replays,” Tara said as she pulled off her cap and let her hair fall down in red curls along her shoulder. She smoothed her fingers through it and I looked past her to where I last saw Mom. She was too far away for me to really see her, but I definitely remembered what Luke said about Tara reminding him of my Mom. I still didn’t see it, but I knew it was a bit of a joke with some thinly veiled jealousy. Feeling my face warm I edged myself towards the wall and offered Tara another smile feeling suddenly tongue tied as I dove under the water and started my cool down laps. Under the water I saw her legs leave as she stood and I focused on not running head on into the guy warming up or cooling down in the lane with me. We met in the middle and I felt his wake as water bounced off the wall and into me on the other side. The race didn’t tighten me up any, so after a handful of laps I hit the wall with my fingertips then surfaced and pulled myself up and out of the water. Charlie was waiting for me to take his cool down laps so I slid out of the water. He was dripping with a towel hanging on his shoulder and when I stood he pulled it off and handed it to me.

“Easy as sucking dick,” Charlie whispered as I passed by him. I let out a half choking noise that I didn’t think was humanly possible. Charlie snickered as he slid into the pool and I shook my head as I looked down at him.

“I think I’m going to miss you the most,” I said as I draped the towel around my neck as he readied himself to start his cool down laps.

“Don’t talk like that until after Regionals, okay?” He said as he splashed water in my direction then pulled his goggles down and dove under the water not really caring about his lane partner.

When I got back to our designated area I sat down next to my bag. Drae was already completely zoned out listening to his music and texting Shay-with-an-e. Looking around I saw Tony and Emily talking amongst one another and I glanced at the upcoming swims. I saw my eight hundred free on the list, but it wasn’t for another thirty minutes or so and on the bottom. I knew that walking up to the stands was completely out, so I slid into my bag and grabbed my phone.

“Go eat, Jackson,” Tony barked, surprising me just as I zipped my bag back closed. I realized that I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, we had been a little bit late arriving. Glancing around I laid my phone in my lap and took off my cap, goggles, and pulled my nose guard out of the band of my shorts and stood. I laid all of them back in my seat and walked towards the line of people queued up to eat. Falling in line I unlocked my phone and looked through my unread texts. They were mostly pictures from the party last night. Toby had double funneled a couple of beers and they had a keg. In the videos I could hear music blaring and people laughing. Smiling and rolling my eyes I kept swiping through the increasingly drunk, ‘I wish you were here, dipshit,’ messages until the words stopped making sense and the pictures got worse. I stopped opening them when a bare ass, with a very red handprint popped up on my screen. Instead I opened a message and sent a quick, ‘Hi,’ to Luke, hoping he’d realize it was okay to text me back right now.

‘Hey,’ he replied and I smiled as I took a half step forward to keep up with the moving line in front of me.

‘We have time to talk, I’m ‘bout to start eating,’ I sent, and looked to the head of the line to see what was left of the breakfast buffet. I doubted there would be much of anything Tony approved left for us. I also wondered if I was one of the last ones to eat from our group.

‘You looked great out there, the guys are getting bored though,’ he said and I smirked, shaking my head.

‘They still feeling the bullshit from last night?’ I sent as I stepped forward and saw that I was still third from the table. The ladies working the buffet were moving people along pretty quick though.

‘Yeah and the girls are scheming something,’ he responded and I cocked an eyebrow just as someone pecked on my left shoulder. Looking up I felt my stomach turn and my butthole clench when I saw Cindy standing beside me. I hadn’t seen her earlier when I scanned the bleachers, but I never would have thought she would have come. Swearing at Mom for not sending me a warning text, I blinked and flipped the screen completely around and dropped my hand to my side.

“Hi Jackson,” she said without a hint of a smile.

“Hi,” I said as I swallowed and felt the person behind me press into my side. I looked up to see that I should have already moved forward in line and when I did Cindy moved with me. “I didn’t really expect you here.”

“Well I had to come see what all the fuss was about,” Cindy said as she turned slightly away from me to look towards the stands. “My husband and son were coming, so we made a day of it.”

“Henry is here?” I asked and when Cindy shot me a glare I knew I stepped in some shit, but I didn’t know how.

“Insisted,” she answered as the lady commanding this line of the buffet cleared her throat. I turned and saw her holding up a thick plastic lunch tray.

“Strawberries, cheese, and some of the ham,” I said as I glanced around the table. She offered me a smile and put nice mounds of food on my tray before handing it back to me.

“What do you want to drink?” She asked as she stepped up to a large cooler. “We have water, gatorade, milk, or apple juice.”

“Gatorade,” I answered and glanced at Cindy who wasn’t finished with me from the look she shot me. My phone was vibrating in my hand, but I didn’t dare turn it over to see who was texting. We were hidden by a block wall that separated the bleachers from the entrance. I watched the lady place a small jug of Gatorade on the tray and when she handed it to me I took it and stepped out of line.

“And these uniforms, or lack thereof,” Cindy said, shaking her head as I made my way around the table with her following me. I hoped to see doors that led to a designated eating area where she couldn’t follow. Instead I saw fold out tables lined up with people spread out as they ate. There weren’t that many people milling around over here, knowing time wasn’t something we had a lot of out here. “I’ll be looking into that, there has to be better alternatives.”

“I have a speedo in my bag, if you like,” I countered as I found a table by myself, not knowing where this conversation was going. “And our school doesn’t have a swim team, these are standard racing shorts.”

“You’re always hilarious, aren’t you,” she said as she walked around the table and sat down a few chairs away. She was in my direct line of sight, so I had to look at her as I ate. When I didn’t start eating she made a hand motion towards my plate and I picked up my bottle of Gatorade and unscrewed the lid.

“Why are you talking to me?” I asked after taking a drink of my Gatorade, it settled some of the tension in my throat, so I felt confident my voice wouldn’t crack.

“You might have Luke and Henry fooled,” she said and I knew I had pushed her just enough to get this over with. “What I want to know is why you bothered?”

“Why I bothered with what?” I asked, knowing exactly what she meant, but I had to buy myself some time to think. I needed something that would leave her storming away from me and not blaming Luke for a second of it.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she answered, crossing her arms as I laid my phone face down on the table. The vibrating and the chimes had slowed down, but I couldn’t help wondering how desperate Luke was getting not receiving any responses. “You are you and Luke isn’t anything like you.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked, feeling my face getting warm.

“Stop deflecting and just tell me,” she answered, her cold blue eyes unwavering. Nothing took her attention away from me, not the cheering, the noise, or the guys wrestling and throwing food a table away. “Why does Luke insist on you being his friend?”

“Maybe you should ask him that,” I answered, shaking my head. “I don’t really have time to answer your questions, Cindy.”

“I have asked him,” she countered as if I didn’t say anything else. “He told me that you’re different from his other friends, but what I don’t understand is why that matters.”

“Maybe because they’re stuck up bible thumpers,” I said shrugging as I picked up my packet containing a plastic fork and a napkin. “And he wants friends that aren’t.”

“Why do you put up with a bible thumper like him?” She asked as I freed my fork and stabbed a strawberry. I looked at it just long enough to see that the leaves had already been plucked away so I shoved it into my mouth and smiled across the table at her as I started chewing. She rolled her eyes and sat up straight in her chair, but waited for me to swallow.

“To piss you off, I guess,” I answered, “it obviously does, so why the hell not?”

“That’s not the answer,” Cindy countered, cocking an eyebrow and for the slightest of moments I had to admit that Luke looked like her. He could never look at me that coldly though and I was thankful for that.

“That’s the one you’re getting,” I said as I put my fork down and picked up my slice of ham with my hand and bit off a chunk of it.

“Fine,” she said as I swallowed my food and took another drink of my Gatorade. “You have proven my opinion of you.”

“I never had a chance to begin with,” I countered as she stood with enough force to cause her chair to screech against the tile floor. The people around us got quiet for a second or two before the noise slowly picked back up. “Maybe Luke is a better person than you, because he gave me that chance.”

“I’ll figure this out, this senseless friendship you have with my son,” she said, her voice falling to a whisper. “Good luck on your other swims this afternoon, I hope you do well.”

“Thank you,” I said as I slid my tray away from me, no longer hungry. I watched her smile as she walked around the table and I flipped my phone back over to see a series of texts from Luke, but I didn’t have it in me to read them right now.

‘Heads up, your mom cornered me and I pissed her off, pretend you don’t already know,’ I sent and knew I still had to focus on my event finals and I hoped I had time to get my head back into swimming before the first one.

‘What did she say?’ He responded and when I turned the corner carrying my Gatorade I looked over to see Cindy climbing up the stairs and heading back to the stands. This time I scanned the crowd around Mom and saw Henry seated three rows higher happily eating popcorn.

‘Nothing, I’m sorry if I get you into shit, I’m turning my phone off now Tony will kick my ass,’ I responded then powered down my phone as I started walking back to where we were stationed.

“Where the hell have you been?” Tony asked just as I entered our area.

“Eating,” I answered as I returned to my seat.

“All this time?” He asked, his eyebrows shooting upward, his forehead wrinkles hid the vein that was threatening to pop out on his forehead. “Is there any food left?”

“Sorry,” I offered as I reached down and grabbed my goggles, caps, and nose guard from my chair.

“What happened?” Tony asked, his voice changing from coach to concerned. Hearing the change, I hated myself for not being able to hide things from anyone anymore. I used to smirk and get people too pissed off to know what I was really feeling. I missed being able to hide behind that and I didn’t exactly know when I lost that defense mechanism, I knew I had Luke to blame for it, too.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders. “I need to warm up for my eight hundred.”

“You have time,” he said as he took a seat beside me. “I don’t want you in the pool if you’re not focused.”

“The water will focus me,” I said looking over at him as I slipped my phone back into my bag. “Today’s not just about me anyway.”

“Shit Jackson, just tell me,” he said and I looked straight ahead, it put me in the line of sight of the other teams and swimmers waiting their turns to enter the pool. Most were zoned into their usual routine, others were happily talking. Everyone here had unfinished business, me included.

“Luke’s Mom is here and she hates my ass,” I said, glancing at him just long enough to see if he heard me or not. “She cornered me in the buffet line.”

“Where is she?” He asked and I looked back over to see him looking past me and towards the crowd. We were too far away for me to pick out anyone in particular, but I knew the section they were in.

“Sitting three rows above my friends,” I answered, squinting at him, “why?”

“I’ll have her damn ass thrown out of here if it gets you focused,” he said and I smiled as I shook my head.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I countered, trying not to laugh. “We call her Cindzilla for a reason.”

“People can’t tell you who you are, Jackson,” he said as he stopped scanning the crowd. He sat his clipboard into an empty seat beside him and grabbed my shoulder. I felt myself shrink a little, not liking the attention, but I nodded fiddling with my goggles.

“Thanks,” I offered when he let go of me.

“Now get your ass up and get warmed up,” he said and I watched him snatch up his clipboard and snap his fingers at Matt or Aiden, I didn’t wait around to see which one. Instead I stood and pulled my cap back over my head, slid on my goggles, and grabbed my nose guard.

When I got to the warm up pool, there wasn’t a lane open for me, so I stood and waited for someone to stop and climb out. We had lost our lane holding strategy somewhere along the line. When I looked up at the screen, my swims were higher up on the list of upcoming swims in the schedule. They were a bit closer together than I would have liked, but the eight hundred was my only swim at a distance. It was something that Scott needed to see, that I am more than a sprint swimmer. I had been able to qualify yesterday easily enough and I drew lane seven.

“Fuck this place is packed,” Aiden said, I jumped not hearing his approach. Glancing at him just enough to acknowledge that I heard what he said. “How long have you been standing here?”

“Not long,” I answered as he sighed and laid down his towel then handed me a second one.

“What’s this?” I asked as I took it.

“Tony saw you walk off without it,” he answered as he crossed his arms. “Don’t fucking think I did it on my own.”

“Never would,” I said smirking, but wondering why the hell he was talking to me. We hadn’t said more than ten words to one another after the fight we had during tryouts.

“So why did you come back from eating all pissed off?” He asked and I half turned to look at him. Seeing me paying full attention to him he shrugged, but didn’t break eye contact.

“Why the hell do you care?” I asked, dropping the towel he gave me and tucked my nose guard into my shorts.

“I saw a woman talking to you, I thought it was your mom,” he said smirking, “she looked pissed off too.”

“Aiden stop paying attention to my ass,” I countered and when he laughed I wanted to punch his face and shut him up.

“You’re just always the center of attention,” he said, rolling his eyes. “And I’m tired of this fucking shit.”

At first I thought he was talking about me, but he walked over to the edge of the pool and started slapping the water. When the swimmers in the lane got close enough to notice the splashing they surfaced and I watched Aiden point to the screen that had the schedule. The first swimmer waved his hand and flipped him off and started another lap, but the girl climbed out and grabbed her towel.

“There you go,” Aiden said, turning to look at me. “Get your ass in the water.”

“Thanks, I guess,” I said as I reached down and scooped up my towel and walked over to the lane that was now open for me.

“Look around, most of these idiots are from the host school,” he said and I scanned the swimmers and saw the maroon and gold suits currently dominating the warm up pool. “They’re just being assholes.”

As I slid into the lane and took the side next to the lane divider on my right I watched Aiden start slapping the water in the next lane. Shaking my head I pulled my nose guard out of my shorts and pulled and sealed my goggles over my eyes. Then I pushed off the wall and started my warm up laps. The water was starting to become murky with the constant change of bodies in this pool. Taking smooth, long strokes I tried to focus on the eight hundred and not running into my lane partner. Aiden had already pissed him off and I didn’t want to be in the middle of it and as I turned at the wall I looked up towards the opposite side and saw that Aiden was coming my way swimming against the divider closer to me. He had talked the other person out of the lane and as he passed me I smirked when he broke his stroke to flip me his middle finger.

Feeling my body had loosened and smoothed out in the water enough I stopped and climbed out of the water. Glancing up at the screen Aiden had his one hundred butterfly just before mine and as I was toweling off he climbed out of the water and I followed him over to the main pool.

“Cutting it close, Townson,” Tony growled as he took the towel from Aiden and followed him to the blocks. Aiden had drawn lane four and the person he pissed off was racing next to him. Matt and the girls had actually come over to the viewing area and Tara nudged me with her shoulder smiling.

“You missed our epic relay,” she said and I wrinkled my nose. Relays were always awesome to watch. Our relay was twenty minutes after my eight hundred.

“Sorry,” I said, “did you win?”

“We broke the school record,” she answered, her smile widening. “Highland came in second, it was close until Shay’s closing twenty just before me.”

“Nice,” I said, “how many swims do you have left?”

“One more,” she said as she reached up and combed through her hair with her fingers. It was getting frizzy and I could tell she was getting self conscious about it, when she caught me watching her she smiled and I looked towards the pool.

“On the blocks,” the race stewards announced and I watched Aiden stretch his arms and jump a few times then climb onto his block. The race official hit the bell for them to get down in their stance. When the buzzer sounded the crowd woke back up and started cheering again as the guys dove into the water. The waves of their entrance bounced the lane line dividers and when they hit the fifteen meters and surfaced the water really started to get choppy. From here it was difficult to see where Aiden was in the race, but he had two full laps to complete.

Turning away from the race I looked out at the place for the first time since being here. Since it was familiar to me, I took it for granted. This would be the last time I would be swimming here though. The girls will leave here with their names on a banner, one that the home team would focus on and try to win back in the coming years. They will get to defend that title next year, all four of them being Juniors. The school itself had a proud legacy in this district and I hadn’t really paid attention to see which schools were doing well here or not. We were really getting into the meat of things now. I still had all four of my swims left and they will be coming at me pretty quickly. I didn’t know how many everyone else had, I didn’t know how Charlie managed his loaded schedule at all. If I made it to Georgia, I knew I had more events and more conditioning coming my way. I would be stepping into a new place as a new guy again. It would be the last time I would have to start over though and I couldn’t help feeling bittersweet about that. Swimming had been all I focused on, my grades were great, but I didn’t have a plan for after. In the school career aptitude tests, I scored high for Education and teaching, and I rolled my eyes. The number of times I ended up in Welker’s office being lectured told me I didn’t belong teaching kids anything.

“He’s not going to win,” Tara hissed, grabbing hold of my shoulder bringing me back to the race. Turning I found Aiden’s lane. He was leading the race, but was fading and the Highland guy was catching him with each stroke.

“He’ll get there,” I said standing on my tip-toes still wanting Aiden to pull this out despite everything. When the Highland guy drew even I saw Aiden look over as he took a breath. On his next stroke he shortened it and sped up his stroke intervals and by the next breath Aiden had regained the lead. I looked over to see Tony slapping his hands together as he urged Aiden on, so much so that the Steward had to hold out his hand to back him up a few steps. Tony backed up, not wanting to get Aiden disqualified and when the closing meters disappeared and I saw Aiden disappear under the water as he dove for the wall I looked up. The screen read A. Towson and the Highland guy R. Brooks had identical times down to the millisecond. When the replay of the finger touch crossed the screen there was a mixture of groans and a new eruption of cheers, mostly in the corner where I knew Mom and everyone sat. Aiden won by a fingertip and when he slapped the water and yelled before climbing out of the pool I smirked. Tony clapped him on the back and draped a towel around his shoulders and we all started following them away from the pool.

“Where are you going?” Emily asked as she grabbed my shoulder.

“Oh shit,” I said and when she rolled her eyes I allowed her to guide me back to the pool. I was up next and my heart rate picked up. Like before she shook my shoulder and I took a half step back shaking my head.

“The first four hundred, don’t push the pace,” she said as we waited for the officials to announce the next event. “There’s a lot of early speed, don’t let that bother you, the pace will even out.”

“Right,” I said, nodding my head.

“Remember to rest your legs and not depend on them,” she added and I rolled my eyes that immediately earned me a slap on my shoulder. I couldn’t help laughing.

“I will,” I said as the official time from Aiden’s race was posted. He kept his fingertip victory and my event was announced so I took a few breaths as Emily followed me to my block.

“You’ll do fine,” she offered as I started stretching out my arms and rolling my neck. It was easy to stiffen up in a long race, keeping your shoulders loose and your back muscles relaxed took more concentration. Being the first one at the pool I watched as everyone filed up to their lanes.

“Ready up,” the steward beside me announced. I stretched and flapped my arms into my chest and back behind me then stepped up onto the blocks. When the bell sounded I leaned into my stance and grabbed the block and when the buzzer followed I dove into the water.

Emily wasn’t wrong about the early speed, we had eight laps and a whole lot of strategy. Continuous kicking runs the risk of leg cramps, but not enough slows you down and puts more strain on your upper back and arms. It was a constant trade off of pressure and pace in the longer races. Some swimmers needed an early fast pace to put distance between late closers. In the past I tried to just out swim the pace strategy, not really thinking about it. After a few sessions with Emily, she held me back and I became more of a closer. As long as I stayed in touch with the other swimmers and felt strong, I knew I had a chance at the end. There were ten people in this event and it looked like half of them were going out hard early. Both swimmers on either side of me were fast off the block and by four laps I gave up most of a body length to them.

As the race went on and I was approaching my fifth lap, I had already reached the feet of both of them without a lot of extra effort. Diving and hitting the wall for my turn, I kicked off it and looked around, searching for the race leader. In the bubbles and the turns from the swimmers just ahead of me, I had trouble seeing the whole race, but by the fifteen meter marker I was up to the waist of them. Surfacing, I took a breath and focused on being ahead of them going into the next lap so I could see more of the pool in the cleaner, less choppy water. Kicking stronger and breathing a little more, as I approached the wall completing my fifth lap I was caught up and hit the wall then turned and pushed off again. This time I could see that I was sitting third, lanes one and two looked to be about half a body ahead of me. Resting my legs a little allowed the two guys beside me to catch back up, but I didn’t allow them to get ahead of me and when we all hit the wall together, I kicked harder and went back ahead.

Surfacing, I started feeling the burn in my lungs, demanding more oxygen. We were in the last one hundred meters though, so I started kicking more than I had the entire race and picked up my stroke speed. Water glided across my body more evenly than it did and the wake I left spread farther. Looking and breathing over my left shoulder until I found the leaders I saw that I was still where I was, third, sitting around their waist. Gritting my teeth I pushed forward, hitting the water with each stroke. I started feeling the burn in my legs and ass as I hit the far wall strong and turned for the last time. Looking around underwater I saw that I had made ground and when I surfaced the roar of the crowd, finally waking up for the long race could be heard. Hearing my name I smiled and when I entered the last fifteen meters I tucked my head not daring to breathe. Finding the wall I dove strong into it and when my fingers hit it, I surfaced and allowed the rest of my body to glide in the water against it. Finding the foot hold for the backstroke, with my foot I rested my left one on it and pulled my goggles up and out of my face. Wiping away the streaming water I searched for the race steward.

“Clean race,” he said just as Tony bypassed him and I looked up at the screen. Seeing my name at the top I smiled, too out of breath for much of anything else.

“Climb on up, son,” Tony said as Emily joined him carrying my towel. Reaching out his hand for me, I grabbed it and climbed up and out of the pool.

“We didn’t think you had it until the last five,” Emily said smiling. “You looked strong going into the wall though.”

“That’s good,” I said, feeling the warmth of exertion slowly taking over from the cool water.

“Three of you were just over the district record,” Tony said shaking his head, “this race was more stacked than what it looked like on paper.”

“Nice,” I offered as Drae clapped me on the shoulder as he walked by. I started drying my shoulders and chest as Tony left my side to join him. Being a little later in the afternoon, our races were pretty much guaranteed to be back to back. I got the big one out of the way, now I just had to keep form for my three other events.

“You didn’t overdo it, did you?” Emily asked stopping me to look me over. My legs felt a little heavier than they did in my practice runs of this event, but races were always different. I was working against more than just myself.

“I’ll be alright,” I answered, offering her a brief smile between breaths.

“Well your unknown race is out of the way at least,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “Go cool down in the pool, then put on your warm up suit.”

“Okay,” I said and she gave my shoulder a squeeze and another smile before she too left me for Drae. Glancing over my shoulder just as the first bell rang, I turned back and walked down to the warm up pool. With a new event just starting, the lanes were a bit more open and I smiled when I saw Charlie warming up by himself so I walked over and pulled my goggles back down then eased myself into the water. Pushing off the wall I started my slow cooldown laps, still feeling the strain in my muscles and the heaviness in my legs. Taking deeper breaths, I let my legs rest and just lazily kicked enough to keep myself horizontal in the water. Going into the eight hundred meter free, I didn’t know if I was going to win. Now that I did, I felt a small release in my stomach that I think I’d been holding all day. I didn’t know what Scott would expect once he got me on campus, I already felt like I was slowly specializing into freestyle races. I never had the strongest breast stroke and I didn’t exactly feel comfortable in the backstroke, my next best stroke by far was the butterfly. Swimmers have made careers out of one stroke though.

After a few laps my legs slowly came back to me and my breathing slowed, Charlie left not long after I started my laps. I was joined by a girl and I was two laps in before I realized they had our school colors on. It was one of the younger swimmers, Kelsie, the quiet one of the five that I never really had a chance to get to know.

Feeling better I climbed out of the pool and glanced up and saw the relay was my next race and I had a short turnaround between it and my four-hundred-meter medley. Pulling my goggles completely off my head, then my cap. I tucked my nose guard into the waistband of my shorts and dried off as I went. My skin was starting to wrinkle with all the ins and outs of the water and when I entered our area I collapsed onto my chair.

“Here,” Shay said and I glanced over to see her holding out a bottle of water. Smiling, I took it from her as she sat down beside me.

“Thanks,” I said as I unscrewed the cap and popped it off then downed half of it. Screwing it back on, I offered her another small smile. She was in her warm-ups and remembering what Emily said I leaned over and unzipped my bag and pulled them out. They were wrinkled from having been stuffed inside my bag and when I pulled on the pants up to my knees I stood and pulled them up over my ass.

“There’s lunch at the buffet,” she said after I shouldered into my jacket and I looked over at her wondering if I could get away with not zipping it.

“I probably need to eat, I didn’t get a lot of my breakfast down,” I said, glancing over at the crowd milling around. “I don’t have a hell of a lot of time for anything now.”

“Yeah I saw,” she said, smirking. “Funny story, three little white girls cornered me as I left the buffet.”

“What?” I asked, turning back around. “Did they say anything to you, who was it?”

“They said they were from your school,” she answered, her smirk widening out to a full on smile that twinkled in her eyes.

“Oh fuck,” I groaned shaking my head, I remembered Luke saying they had been planning something. “What did they want?”

“Well they said something about you being Prom King, that you can’t go without a date,” she said and when I threw my hands up into the air she laughed. Turning to look towards the stands where they were seated, I hoped to see a flash of bright pink or something to zone in on. I hoped they had a better view of me and could see me glaring at them from across the center.

“I don’t have a date,” I said, turning back to her. “I just haven’t gotten around to it this year.”

“Well why not take Luke?” She asked and this time I laughed as I fiddled with the plastic bottle cap. She must’ve read into my laugh as she put her hand on my arm just above my wrist. It stopped me from twisting the cap.

“That’s not, it can’t happen,” I said looking up from the cap to her, offering her a small smirk.

“You guys can come to our school’s prom, Juniors can bring guests,” she said smiling when I wrinkled my nose.

“I’m not ready to bring a guy to my prom,” I said, shaking my head. “Even if I was, there are two people that would be completely against that.”

“Parents?” She asked and I felt her hand squeeze my wrist before she let go of me completely.

“His Mom and Luke actually,” I answered smiling. “I don’t need prom to be anything special, I’m sure we’ll have better things.”

“But you still need a date,” she said, “according to your friends.”

“Yes, I do,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “And you don’t have to sign up for that.”

“Why not?” She asked, her smile still unwavering. “I think Tara and I would have a lot of fun.”

“Really?” I asked, unscrewing the cap and finishing off my bottle of water.

“Yeah,” she answered, shrugging. “It will give us a chance to scope out some new guys.”

“Not really, you’ve done seen the best,” I said grinning as I dropped the plastic bottle and started flexing my muscles. Laughing she slapped my shoulder as she rolled her eyes. People turned to look at us and when Matt and Aiden stopped talking and glanced in my direction I relaxed in my chair.

“Give us an answer soon so we can find dresses,” she said and we both looked up at the screen as Drae came back to the group. He had a shorter turnover between his race and the relay, just Charlie’s race and then we were back up.

“I will,” I said, nodding my head. I know I’d have to ask Luke before I gave an answer, even though it would just make things easier if we brought them as dates. People wouldn’t bat an eye with me bringing someone from out of school, people knew I swimmed with an independent team. If I paid enough attention to gossip and gave a shit, I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t already rumors going around about me dating a girl outside of school. It would be better than feeling pressured into taking Emma Camp or Ella, I would actually have to try to give them a good night. At least with Shay and Tara, the night would come easier.

“Alright you’re all up,” Tony said as he appeared on my other side. Jumping I looked over and saw him waving his fingers for us to hurry up. Drae just had grabbed himself some water, but he was back to breathing normally. He anchored the relay so he would go fourth. Pulling off my jacket I draped it around the back of my chair. Shay stood and walked over to Tara, I watched her whisper something into her ear. When Tara looked over at me, I felt my face warm and I looked away and bent down and pulled down my pants. Stepping out of them I put them on the seat of my chair and gathered up my cap and goggles. Pulling my cap on I made sure my nose guard was still tucked in the waistband of my shorts.

Falling into step behind Matt and Aiden, I felt Drae behind me as Tony herded us over to the pool and we fell in line in our lane. We drew lane seven and this was a full event. The host school got the middle lane. Seeing Aiden’s new enemy pulling on his cap, I looked over just in time to see Aiden wave at him.

“Aiden,” Tony growled and I heard Drae snort behind me.

“How’d you do?” I asked, glancing behind me. Drae smiled and stepped around to stand beside me.

“Won of course,” he answered, shaking his head. “Charlie slapped me on the ass as he got ready for his race.”

“Really?” I asked, shaking my head.

“He won too,” he answered, “we’re the only team with a clean slate.”

“We need to pull rank on him and teach him a lesson,” I said, glancing around for Charlie, but he must’ve been back in the warm up pool.

“I’m sure he’d make it kinky and it would backfire bigtime,” he countered and I laughed just as the bell sounded and I turned to see Matt on the blocks and ready for the buzzer to sound. When it did I slid my nose guard on and got in line behind Aiden. The whole place was yelling, relays always being the highlights of these meets. Looking around, it was a packed house, something that never really happened at the normal meets. I couldn’t imagine Tony’s place ever looking like this. Some colleges around here didn’t have a set up this nice. Catholics knew how to build an aquatic center, I guessed.

“Ready up,” the race steward said and I watched Aiden climb up on the blocks. Matt was a distant fourth, but was closing nicely. Highland wasn’t fairing much better in the middle lane and when Aiden dove into the water I helped Matt out. He slapped his fist into the block after looking up and seeing his time, but took the towel Tony offered him. I did some quick stretches and climbed up on the block and watched Aiden turning and heading back towards me. He looked like he made up some ground and was pressing into the pace on his way back.

When he hit the last fifteen meters I got down on the blocks and waited for him to hit the wall. When he did I dove into the water and began my kicks. The water was a choppy mess and the team beside us on the left was in last place. I ran into the bubbles from their leg kicks just as I surfaced and started my strokes. Not wanting to lose our first race as a team this whole meet, I kicked hard and shortened up and quickened my strokes. In the water I struggled to cheat my breathing so that I could look around to see where everyone was. I thought I had gained and was now swimming second and as I dove and hit the wall for my turn I kicked strong, looking around for the leader. Not seeing them in the wakes and bubbles from the other swimmers coming into the wall I surfaced. I fell back into a strong leg kick, but decided to lengthen my strokes on the way back knowing I had two more events after this one.

As I approached the final fifteen, like I always did, I tucked my head and stopped my breathing. I quickened my strokes again and when I reached the closing meters I dove and slammed my hand into the wall. Drae exploded into the water behind me, his wave slapping me in the face as Aiden helped me out of the pool. Trying to catch my breath I looked up at the screen and saw that we were in second behind a school named Carrollton High, knowing the name from all the other years being here. I looked down to see Drae’s explosive racing style chopping our lane and sending the lane divider rolling as he passed. Out of the water I could see him closing in on the anchor from Carrollton with each stroke and when he turned, Drae was turning too.

“If this was the one hundred free, your split would have broken the district championship record,” Emily said as she came to stand beside me. “So please tell me you have another race like that left in the tank.”

“I probably do,” I answered shrugging. “I hope I do.”

“You better,” she said, elbowing me as she started clapping for Drae as he came home. Stepping forward it was going to be close. When Drae tucked his head and the wake of him swelling at the final fifteen I started yelling his name and when his hand hit and he surfaced my head shot up to the screen. Drae had just edged himself into first and when he saw it he let out a yell and pumped his arm pulling his goggles completely off his head. I leaned down and offered my hand and then had to brace myself when he grabbed hold of me and climbed out of the pool. He surprised me when he crashed his body into me and wrapped me into a hug. I felt the water dripping on my skin and trailing down my back.

“I didn’t think we had it,” he mumbled as he let me go and I glanced over at Matt and Aiden standing off to the side with Tony. He was talking to them now and when they caught me looking at them I turned back around and followed Drae to do cooldown laps. The meet was winding down, a lot of swimmers were finished with their schedules or about to be. I still had two races so I knew I needed to stay as loose as possible. The hug was the first time I ever saw Drae lose control and be spontaneous, he was typically centered and showed little emotion. I’ve only seen him pissed once, but that was when Matt and Aiden pulled that stunt for Pete.

Sliding into the pool with him, I pulled my cap and goggles back on and waited for him to do half a lap and turn for the wall before I started mine. When he passed me the wake he left jostled me and I smiled, shaking my head. He didn’t really have the body to be a swimmer, he was a powerhouse meant for the football field or wrestling circle. He wasn’t lanky like me and Charlie or tall like Aiden. He pushed the water out of his way, and willed himself to finish first. I doubted a tornado could lift him off the ground if Drae willed himself to stay put.

When I felt good and loosened up I did a slow lap and surfaced after hitting the wall. Drae took a few more laps as I dried off and glanced back up at the screen. The girl’s fifteen-hundred meter free was just finishing up. Glancing over at the pool, Tony and Emily weren’t there so I knew none of our girls had this race so I made my way back to our designated area and slouched down in my seat. I wanted to feel relaxed, for most of the day I did. Cindy being the only hiccup in my day and I would have to deal with the aftermath of that when this was over. I just hoped I didn’t cause Luke too much trouble. My phone was off and I was tempted to turn it back on, but I also knew I’d catch hell if I was caught with it on. Drae used his to listen to music and zone out between races, glancing in his direction I saw him slowly bobbing his head with white Airpods in. Tony would see right through that with me though, he knew I didn’t rely on music, that I liked to goof off and talk. Mostly with Charlie, but when I looked around I didn’t see him or Tara and Shay. I wasn’t feeling up to talking to Matt and Aiden and I couldn’t remember the last time I talked to the other girls.

The next race was the one that Scott wanted me to do well in. It was the one that actually highlighted all four strokes, it was my only race that I had that deviated from freestyle. There wasn’t a qualifying heat for this race, there were only ten of us here with this race on the schedule. Not because it was particularly difficult and no one wanted to swim it, I was only doing it because it was the easiest one to fit into my schedule. At regionals, I could imagine the four-hundred-meter medley to be one of the more popular races. I would expect double the number of guys signing up than what is here now.

“There you are,” Emily said and I jumped not seeing her approaching from behind me.

“I’m where I’m supposed to be,” I countered, shrugging as I looked up at her. She offered me a smile as she slid her cell into the pocket of her warm-up jacket that Tony insisted all three of them wear.

“I was outside talking to Scott so Dad wouldn’t catch me,” she said and hearing his name I straightened up in my chair as she stood in front of me. Seeing me perk up she rolled her eyes and held up her finger.

“I’m going to ask, so get over that,” I said, shaking my head. “Did he tell you how I’m doing?”

“I just wanted to know where we were going for dinner, Jackson,” she answered, but I knew Emily well enough to know she was lying. She was the one person I knew the best out of all of them, Charlie aside since he always says what he’s thinking.

“You’re not eating with us?” I asked, half smirking. “I think Tony even said something about Mexican food since we’re finished.”

“Gross, I can only imagine the mess that might come from that idea,” she countered, wrinkling her nose.

“What did he say?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Where’s your warm up jacket?” She asked and I looked down to see it had fallen from my chair to on top of my bag.

“Don’t change the subject,” I said, but when she glared at me I grabbed the jacket and pulled it over my shoulders, not bothering to put my arms through the sleeves. I would be in the pool after the next race anyway.

“I’m not discussing Scott with you,” she said as she stepped to the side and sat down in the chair beside me. “You’ve been my project all season, I know how your mind works too, you know. So stop being a little shit.”

“Really?” I asked, “a shit, you called me a shit.”

“I did,” she said, trying not to laugh. “A little one, in fact.”

“Well fine then,” I said, side-eying her wanting to know what Scott said, because I know the phone call was all about me. I didn’t have to be a semi-narcissistic asshole to know that. “You could have said you called your mother.”

“My mother?” She asked laughing and I looked over to see her pointing. “The woman sitting right over there?”

“Fine, whatever,” I said and I hated the groan in my voice and the fact that it made her laugh harder. Jackie and the divers had finished up their events, all huddled together in a small semi-circle talking with one another. Jackie always had the same soft smile, even when she was scolding Tony for his choice of words whenever he fussed at us. Some of the girls were wearing medals, but I could only see the ribbon part around their necks. They were all dressed in their warm up suits and their hair was mostly dry.

“Let’s go,” Emily said and I looked up to see that my medley was up next.

“Good luck,” Charlie said and I looked back down to see all three of them returning with a bottle of water. Charlie had food on his face and Tara pointed at it and grinned.

“Nice to see someone getting to eat around here,” I said as I slid my jacket off my shoulders and dropped it back onto my bag. Then I did a quick check to make sure I still had my nose guard tucked into my shorts. Seeing it, I smiled and reached up and slid my thumb over what turned out to be ketchup or barbecue sauce on Charlie’s face. He didn’t even flinch, like I wanted him to, he just smiled, then grimaced when I wiped it on his arm.

“You assholes let me walk around with that on my face?” He asked turning to the girls as I turned and followed Emily up to the main pool. Tony was waiting for us and when I got there he offered me a small smile.

“We’ll see how this goes,” he said, scanning the swimmers already there stretching. “Lane two and seven, know where they are at all times.”

“I’m in lane eight,” I said as I stepped up to my block and started stretching. My heart was starting to race in my chest. I knew why Emily chose not to tell me what Scott said, I had won my two races, so there wasn’t much to tell. This was the race that he would be watching though, this was the one that would make me or potentially shatter all of my future plans.

“Don’t overextend your butterfly and don’t be afraid to do cheat strokes,” Tony added and I nodded at both of them as Emily grabbed my shoulder. “Top two will pretty much guarantee you making it to a regional qualifier.”

“Okay,” I said as Emily let go of my shoulder and I offered them a smile. “I guess I’ll just win this race then.”

“Ready up,” the steward standing next to me said and I pulled down my goggles and slipped on my nose guard. I did a few flaps of my arms and rolled my neck and shoulders before I climbed up onto the blocks. I glanced over to see the guy down and ready in lane seven next to me. He was wearing an all black suit that made him look massive. When the bell sounded I turned and got down on the blocks flexing then relaxing my toes.

As the buzzer rang out I dove into the water and started kicking and watched as the fifteen meter lane marker approached. When I breached it, I surfaced and fell into the wide arching butterfly, my feet kicking together as I dove under the water and slapped the water on either side of my head with my arms. Like Tony instructed, every third or so stroke I cheated and did a smaller half stroke to take some of the strain off my shoulders and the middle of my back. It also meant that I was staggering my breaths in the churning water. It wasn’t a natural feeling stroke, not to anyone, starting out it felt like I was struggling to keep from drowning while learning it with Rick. It took me months to realize that I was stiffening up my chest and going rigid in the water. That I needed to push myself higher out of the water. Then Emily worked with me on my wingspan and how to use my arms the right way and to cheat my strokes better.

Hitting the wall I looked over and saw that I was pretty much tied with the guy in lane seven. Kicking underwater and past the churn of the water and the bubbles I tried to find Tony’s other target in lane two. Not seeing him didn’t worry me yet, the first stroke wouldn’t break me, I had a much improved butterfly. It was the breaststroke that I hated, but I had the backstroke in between them. I just had to compete with everyone until I got to freestyle, that was where I knew I would shine.

Approaching the wall I hit it before I twisted underwater and launched myself off the wall with my feet. The first thought that always crossed my mind was how the backstroke scared me when I was younger. I was too worried about the wall, not paying attention to the backstroke markers on the lane dividers. Then how peaceful it is to kick underwater on your back, once you get the hang of it.

Surfacing just as I hit fifteen meters I breathed and fell into the long strokes of my arms, my eyes focused on the lane divider and the swimmer on lane seven. He was the easiest to see and I had a better backstroke than him and naturally got ahead of him without much of an effort. The old school full body suit made him look like a large black blob in the water, like a squid spraying ink with pale tentacles stretching out ahead of him.

When I saw the turn marker in the lane divider I dove under the water and rolled into a ball and exploded back off the wall with my feet. Kicking back under I saw the ceiling lights and the metal industrial rafters, swirling and darting with the movement of the water and when I surfaced I found the lane divider and saw that I was now a full meter or so ahead of him. Glancing to my other side the lane looked empty, and I could see the other swimmers arms as they cycled around with their circular strokes. I was at worst, fourth by the looks of things and seeing that I picked up my pace knowing what followed as I got within the closing fifteen meters of my backstroke.

Seeing the wall indicator on the lane divider I dove into the wall and when my fingers touched I twisted my body under water and pushed off the wall with my feet. Dreading my worst stroke, I used up all of my fifteen meters before I surfaced. The breast stroke relied solely on shoulder and chest movement and relaxing your hips so that you could kick without straining your lower back. Rising out of the water, just to dive under and press with your arms out, almost like trying to attempt a push up underwater and then a dive. Keeping my head forward, I focused on keeping my rhythm even and my kicks, almost like a frog swimming through the water. Emily had to lengthen my breast stroke under the water, when we worked on it. If she had it her way, I would be racing this stroke more, until I had everything ironed out with it. I almost thought she would win that argument with Tony, but he had allowed me to stay in freestyle.

Feeling the strain in my lower back as I hit the wall and turned in the water then pushed off with my feet, I kicked under water, looking around to see if I lost time. I knew I had been edged out by the guy in lane seven, but I had stayed on his shoulder, I was starting to feel the pressure. The guy that disappeared during the backstroke had reappeared on my other side and I still didn’t have eyes on the guy in lane two. Not feeling comfortable with my position I started shortening my strokes, rising out of the water and diving back under quicker. I was able to get back up and just ahead of the swimmers on either side of me by the closing fifteen, but I felt the burn of that exertion and when I touched the wall with my fingers I turned and smiled under the water as I kicked myself off the wall and headed back down for the last one hundred meters.

This part of the race is what I was waiting for and when I surfaced I felt the strain in my lower back ebb away after a few meters. I saw that it was a tight race now as I moved my head around to orient myself to where I was. The guy in lane nine was already fading and I had edged up and past the guy in lane seven. I had clean water in front of me again and when it evened out more, I knew I was gaining more separation as I approached the fifty meter mark. I was tired, having strained myself during the breaststroke, my breathing was more ragged than I would have liked and I felt heavy in my legs. I charged the wall though and dove under the water and when my hand hit the wall I turned for the home fifty. Looking around I had made up time, but I was still behind. Feeling the pressure I kicked harder, despite the strain that railed against me.

Surfacing I shortened my leg kicks and focused on elongating and stretching my arms, keeping them smooth in the water. I was having to breathe more than I liked and I felt myself drifting away from the underwater line indicator and towards the divider. I still had clean water around me, so I didn’t feel either guy making a comeback on me and holding my breath I looked around to see if I had gained on the leaders. Thinking that I was, I took a few breaths and found the approaching wall. I started kicking my legs harder again, grimacing in the water as I quickened my strokes and relied more on my hips than I would like. When I passed the final fifteen meters I tucked my head and didn’t dare take a breath as I closed in on the wall with a dive until my fingers hit home.

Surfacing, spewing water I reached over and grabbed the lane divider and pulled myself up on it. Looking up I saw my name in second position. Swearing under my breath as the guy in lane seven leaned over the lane divider to give me a congratulatory hug I offered him a quick smile and when he broke the hug I reached up and pulled my cap and goggles off my head as I made my way to the wall and climbed out of the water, tossing them onto the ground.

I ended up needing a hand up from Tony and when I hit solid ground I felt my legs heavy at first, but as I caught my breath they came back to me. I watched Emily pick up my goggles and cap as I pulled my nose guard off and tucked it back into my shorts.

“I thought you had him,” Tony whispered as he handed me a towel. I looked back up at the screen to see that I only lost by less than half a second. “Then I thought you were going to fade and you didn’t.”

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice failing to a breath as I ran the towel over my head feeling the heat of my body temperature radiating off me.

“You gained on him with every stroke, it was a really close race between him, you, and the guy in lane one,” he said and I looked up and saw him grinning despite me being the only loss on the card so far. I watched him write my time down on the clipboard as Emily caught up to us and handed me back my stuff.

“You need to cool down,” Emily said as she grabbed me and steered me towards the warm up pool. Grimacing, I glanced over at her to see her smiling as well.

“What the hell are you two smiling about, I lost,” I grunted and Emily half snorted as her smile widened.

“I won the season long argument is all,” Emily said and I saw her look towards Tony. “And you’ll be practicing that horrible breast stroke from now until you start at Georgia.”

“If he’ll have me,” I said as Tony parted from us, I watched him closing in on Charlie, Shay, and Tara. They looked like they were trying to wake Drae out of his zone, or at least talk close enough to him in hopes of him actually paying enough attention to join in.

“Was it that bad?” I asked as I reached the edge of the warm up pool. There were more than a couple lanes completely empty and I looked up and saw that I had the last race on the board, there were two races ahead of mine.

“Towards the end, it was, you reverted back to old habits,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “Because you were feeling the pressure and not being confident, you were fine until then.”

“I didn’t feel it,” I said, shaking my head.

“You were maintaining, if you had relaxed and hit your freestyle strong and rested, you would have won, no doubt,” she said, slapping me on the shoulder. “Now get in the water and put it behind you, it was a strong overall race.”

“Okay,” I said, glancing up to see them taking the times down from my race to get ready for the start of the next one. It was the same race, but on the girl’s side and when I saw both Tara and Shay getting ready I felt myself wanting to leave and go watch them. I wouldn’t be able to with Emily standing right there cheering them on though. One of them had to lose, so it wouldn’t be only me losing. Finishing first and second wouldn’t feel like a loss for either of them though, there was still a lot of pride almost sweeping the event.

Finally deciding to slide into the pool I slid my cap and goggles back on and retrieved my nose guard. Taking it easy, still feeling the strain in my legs and lower back. I focused more on slowing my breathing and keeping my body cool in the water and slowly allowing myself to loosen up.

I stayed in the pool until I felt my legs coming back to life and my lower back ease. I no longer felt the strain in my shoulders and my breathing was back to normal. The water by this stage was more green than clear and a few degrees warmer than it was at the start of the meet. Dirt and god knows what else was swirling around me as I finished my last lap and climbed out of the pool. Looking around I saw that Tara and Shay were a few lanes away, cooling down from their race. I looked up and saw that Shay had just edged Tara and they were able to place first and second.

Turning around I grabbed my towel and wiped off my chest and legs before tossing it into a wet towel bin no longer needing it. I made my way back over to our area, the first person to notice me being Matt, who smirked, then Aiden, who grinned. Not wanting to let off my lingering disappointment on those two asses, I found my seat and saw a protein bar and a Gatorade waiting for me. Grabbing them up before I sat down I sat everything down in the empty chair beside me, only to have it picked back up by Charlie who came to sit with me.

“You know I’ve swam with Drae for four years and it still annoys me that he zones himself out like that,” Charlie said, offering me the protein bar. “I’m starting to take it personally.”

“You probably should have by now,” I offered as I accepted the bar and ripped the plastic wrapper off it. Taking a bite I closed my eyes, my stomach reacting instantly with a growl that Charlie heard and smirked.

“You don’t really have good meet management, do you?” Charlie asked, leaning against my shoulder.

“Shut up, I was interrupted during breakfast,” I countered playfully, pushing him off me with my shoulder. He unscrewed the cap of Gatorade for me and when I finished off the bar, I took it and took a few drinks before I held out my hand for the lid. When he gave it to me I put it back on and leaned down to sit it next to my bag.

“So the girls tell me you’re thinking about asking them to prom,” he said and I watched him chewing on his bottom lip.

“Did they?” I asked, shaking my head. “I don’t know yet.”

“I am taking Simon to prom,” he said and I wished I went to his school, just so I could see what that would look like.

“I don’t want to take Luke to prom,” I said, glancing down at my lap. “I don’t want to suddenly be out to people that think they know me.”

“They will know eventually,” he said, shrugging. “Are you even gay?”

“No,” I answered looking back over to him. “I don’t really care either way.”

“I knew when I was like three,” he said smiling. “Well I didn’t know that me wanting my cousin’s ken doll to have a full on dick was me being gay until way later.”

“Fucking hell,” I said laughing as I grabbed the Gatorade again and took the cap off.

“Tell me how you ended up with Luke then,” Charlie said and I blinked as I leaned back in my chair. I looked up to see my race edging towards the top.

“We just kind of fell into it,” I said, shrugging as I decided that I had enough Gatorade, not wanting to fill my stomach with much of anything right before my last swim. “He kissed me when I was trying to teach him how to swim and I didn’t punch him.”

“Wow,” he said, his eyes going wide as he snickered.

“Yeah,” I said smiling.

“Get stretched out, Jackson,” Tony said as he passed by behind us. He had finally unzipped his warm up jacket. Standing I rolled my shoulders then reached down as I lifted my left leg and grabbed my foot and pulled it backwards. I expected to feel burning and a strain, but when I didn’t feel much I smiled and switched legs. I would have been back in the pool if I did. I looked down to see Charlie watching me and he didn’t look away when he saw that I had caught him. Instead he winked and reached up and ran his finger down my stomach. Still having hold of my leg I jumped backwards and nearly fell before my dumb ass let go of it. He laughed, which earned a warning glare from Tony and I stepped out of our area and made my way towards the pool with him.

“Do you need to warm up?” Emily asked as she joined us and I shook my head. Being the last race for any of us I heard Charlie and the girls fall in line behind us and when I glanced over my shoulder Drae was being pulled up by Shay. He looked like he had dozed off, but Matt and Aiden hadn’t moved from their spot.

When I looked up and saw my name highlighted in lane five I smiled, the golden lane finally. Then when I reached for my nose guard, I realized I hadn’t brought my cap or goggles. Swearing I turned and was about to go back when a closed fist stopped me. It was Aiden and when I looked down I saw that he had my goggles and cap. Nodding my head I opened my hand and he dropped them into it then turned and left the group to go back and sit down.

“Well,” Charlie said under his breath as Tony snatched me out of the group and I walked with him to my lane. I had raced against some of these guys already this weekend. Unless someone was holding back and coasting into the finals, I had won pretty easily so far.

“I know the way this day planned out, it was unfavorable for you,” Tony said, looking past me to the stewards, even though it was the race officials that designated when the races were scheduled. They were in the overhead viewing booth up above the stands, the one way glass reflecting the lights when I looked up at it. It all felt too high tech for a private high school, but swimming was important here. Important enough to have an elite level regulation pool. “If you feel any tightness or possible cramping, say it now and I’ll scratch you.”

“I’m good,” I offered and he studied me, then nodded his head.

“Ready up,” the steward told me for the final time tonight. Looking over at him and really seeing him for the first time, I realized it was a young guy. He had a tattoo peeking out of his shirt collar that snaked sharply around his throat.

Climbing up onto the blocks I didn’t look around, I settled in and waited for the first bell. When it came I got down in my stance and looked out at the water. It looked like clear glass, finally still from the last race. The lane dividers here were the gold color of the school with deep maroon of their secondary color, like it has been the last few years I came here.

When the buzzer sounded I dove into the water and kicked strong, not feeling the weight of the night and my future anymore. The races before were the ones that I felt that pressure, this, the one hundred meter freestyle was the one I felt completely at home with. Just one lap down and back and my Districts would be over and I will start checking my phone or e-mails for any signs from Scott and Georgia.

Surfacing after fifteen meters I took a breath and fell into a comfortable stroke rhythm still half-assed surprised that my legs weren’t screaming at me to stop. Feeling the clean water on either side of me, I glanced around as I approached the closing fifteen meters before my turn. I saw that I was in a comfortable lead with the swimmers on either side of me. Tucking my head I didn’t breathe until just before the turn and when my hand hit the wall I flipped and twisted under the water, feeling the tickling bubbles against my sides as I pushed off the wall and headed for the final wall of the night. Not looking around to see if I had any competition, I surfaced and just let myself fall back into what got me here. Being the last race, I could hear more of a roar from the crowd. Parents wanting to be home, probably, and cheering for the end of the weekend too.

Twenty-five or so meters down, my legs still with me and my breathing back to normal I started pressing the pace, the two swimmers on either side of me still hadn’t made an appearance and I looked past their lanes as I hit the last fifteen meters then tucked my head again and when I found the wall I dove strong into it and surfaced to the crowd still screaming and for a brief moment, I thought I had totally fucked it all up and let a home swimmer beat my ass.

“Clean race,” the steward said and I glanced up and I saw my name flashing in first. After the third or so flash the words, ‘New District Record,’ started to appear and I smiled and slapped the water as I felt arms wrap around me and I looked over to see the guy from lane four had swam over the divider. I briefly hugged him back as he congratulated me in my ear. When he released me I endured a second hug before Emily was there with a towel and I climbed out of the pool. Charlie clapped me hard on the shoulder and I looked over to see Tony scribbling down my time with a broad smile on his face.

“You just sent a statement to everyone heading into regionals,” Drae said as I unfolded the towel and started drying my chest. “Pete better watch his ass.”

“You just broke your own record,” Charlie said, shaking his head as Tara and Shay both hugged me at the same time. I knew it was more that we were all finally done and the weight of the weekend was over and we had a decent night. Only two losses.

“Go hit the locker rooms and get changed,” Tony ordered and we all dispersed and I followed Drae to our designated area to gather up our bags then to the men’s locker room. Halfway there Charlie half tackled me, half hugged me, then draped himself against me until we had to part to fit through the door and hated that we only had a handful of weeks left together.

Wanting a quick shower, but not getting one due to all the guys cramming themselves into the locker room at the same time, I got dressed and stuffed all of my things into my bag. I was the first one out and when I got back to our area I saw Tony and Emily waiting. Jackie and her divers were nowhere to be seen and most of the crowd was gone. Security was trying to entice the others to leave, but they were probably parents waiting for their kids. I scanned the smaller crowd, seeing Mom and Dad I gave them a wave and Mom motioned with her arms, but I didn’t know fuck all at what she was trying to tell me. When Dad put his hand on her shoulder and started guiding her towards the exit I gave them another wave as everyone started filing back out and joined us.

When we were all there we headed back to the bus together and the drive back over to the hotel was quiet with the full weight of the night hitting us all. Tired, I had to wake myself up when we were let off at the entrance to the hotel.

“Do we stay or head back, your call guys,” Tony said as we waited for the elevators in the lobby.

“Let’s go home,” Drae said and he turned to me and winked.

Since he was the only one that answered, Tony took that as the only answer he was going to get and told us to meet back down in fifteen minutes. When the elevators came, me banking on Drae still having his door card paid off and once inside Drae walked over to a bag he already packed and grabbed it then slipped it over his shoulder. Charlie and I scrambled around the room, sifting through both of our messes to find our own clothes and shoving them in our bags. Then we rushed to the bathroom and grabbed our deodorants and toothpastes and brushes and I slid them into a side pocket. Drae took one last scan around the room, found a lime green pair of underwear that belonged to Charlie, and surprised both of us when he shoved it over Charlie’s head.

We were late getting back to the lobby, but Tony probably expected it and didn’t say anything to us and we all shuffled out of the hotel and back onto the bus. I leaned my head back and watched the streetlights become fewer as we left the town. By the time we hit the curvy roads back home I had fallen asleep, only waking when the air brakes scared the hell out of me. We were back at Tony’s and I knew I still had an hour or so drive so I gave them all a small wave and walked to my car. Fishing my keys out of my bag I hit the unlock button and opened my driver’s side door. That’s when I realized I still hadn’t turned on my phone and after I slid into the driver’s side and closed it behind me I powered it back up. The buzzing that told me I had unanswered texts waiting for me and when I looked at the screen I saw that most of them were from Luke. I glanced at a couple of them and after I realized most of them were from earlier, when he was frantic and worried about his mother I smirked and backed out of the parking lot and headed home.