Page 56 of In Too Deep

There’s a pause, and then the latch unhooks, and the door opens. We peek inside to see Katie standing there with her bathing suit on, but it has slashes all the way through it, showing her bare skin.

We both gasp, and heat boils inside of me as anger rages through every vein in my body. “Who did this?”

“I don’t know. I put it on, and it fell apart.”

“Here,” Caro cuts in and starts to strip.

“What are you doing?” Katie asks, opening her eyes wide at Caro’s naked body.

“I’m not letting Marta win. Now stop ogling my tits and get my suit on.”

Smiling at Caro, she nods at me as Katie grabs the suit from her and hands her bag to Caro, which I’m assuming has her uniform in it for Caro to change into. I turn around and let them both get changed and then we quickly run out to the marshalling area just in time for the lineup.

Marta spots Katie wearing a full suit and huffs.

“Thank you for coming to find me,” Katie whispers.

“No worries. We’re teammates. Us Aussies gotta stick together, right?”

She tips her head as we line up and walk out into the stadium. The crowd cheers. They’re always so much louder for finals. I scan the crowd and spot the Hughes family. I smile. Trinny waves then places her hand over her heart. I give a small affirmative motion at her message.Swim from the heart.

My stomach is somersaulting.

My entire body is shaking.

This is it.

My time to shine.

No one can win this medal except for me.

I step up to the starting block, my insides quivering as I try to calm my breathing, which is currently completely out of control. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, thinking about Coby’s face, his caress, and the way he ignites a fire inside of me. My nerves settle slightly. I open my eyes again as peace washes over me.

With Coby and my friends by my side, I can do anything.

I canbeanything.

I canlivethe dream.

Iamthe dream.

Icando this!

“Take your mark.”

Bending down, my nerves wash away, and a sense of Zen washes over me. My stomach butterflies stop. My panic fades, and all I can think about is the job at hand. Determination grips me. The need to beat Marta overpowers my nervousness. The way she’s carried herself through these Games is unacceptable. I have to stop her from getting a medal.

A grin crosses my face as my heart pumps faster and adrenaline spikes. My need to be in the water almost overpowers me. The starting signal blasts, quenching my desire, and I fire like a rocket into the water at lightning speed.

The warm liquid hits my face, and it’s like the drug I’ve been needing, which only fuels the flame inside of me. It spurs me on, and as I come up for air and pull my arms over my body, the surge to power through the water and keep moving through it is the fuel I need to survive. A fuel that’s cascading through my veins. My inner strength has erupted, no longer a flickering spark but a blazing inferno, consuming everything in its path. I’m not just striking the match—I’m fueling a wildfire, unstoppable and all-encompassing. Every molecule, every fibre of my being, is ablaze, feeding the relentless surge of my desire to win.

As I hit the wall, I turn and push off even harder for the final fifty.

I’ve never had this drive before.

My muscles clench, they ache and tear in every direction possible, but my drug, my fuel, is pushing me even harder. My lungs nearly collapse, but I won’t give in as I strive to beat Marta. I don’t even care about the gold at this point as long as I’m in front of that bitch—it’s all I care about. The roar of the crowd only adds more fuel as it pumps through my system, overloading me with a need…a need to get through this race.

Iwill notfalter.

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