Page 3 of Beyond the Stroke

I’ve been back in Coral Cove for twelve hours and I’ve been inundated with messages from Daphne, and now my mom. It’s clear they’ve formed a reconciliation task force.

Tossing my phone onto the couch next to me, I don’t reply only to keep up the appearance that it’s not just Daphne I’m not responding to.

My phone buzzes again, this time continuously as a call comes in.

Beside me, Logan glances at the screen.

“Oh, shit. Daphne is calling you. Did you get back with her?”

Charlie chokes on the protein shake he found in my refrigerator. “What? Please no. She’s terrifying.”

“She’s sweet, but if you get on her bad side, then she’s terrifying,” Logan confirms.

“Yeah,” Charlie concurs, “and when Rory broke up with her last year, we were on her bad side by default.”

“What’s that animal that looks all cute and sweet, but will rip your limbs off and beat you over the head with them?” Logan asks.

“A honey badger?” Eli offers.

“Yeah,” Charlie nods, “that’s exactly how Daphne is.”

“I’m not back with Daphne,” I confirm.

We fizzled out a long time ago when she complained I was prioritizing swimming over her, which I was, because I’d always put swimming first, and I made that clear to her when we starteddating. It was over a year ago when I finally called things quits. I’d hoped that the breakup would allow her to move on and find the things she wants in a relationship, things I wasn’t ready to give her then and have no intention of giving her now or when I do finally retire from competition.

Daphne’s father and mine are business partners at Atlantic Freight & Logistics, a logistics company specializing in transporting goods through North Carolina’s ports and managing supply chains for major companies. Our families see a marriage between me and Daphne as a way to turn AFL into a family business.

Logan lets out a breath. “Thank fuck.”

“So, we’re all single, then?” Charlie asks, before directing his attention to Logan. “Logan?”

Logan grabs another chicken wing out of the bucket and waves it around. “Is that a serious question?”

While all of us have had girlfriends before, Logan is the king of no commitment. He says it’s because he doesn’t want to be tied down, but I have a different theory that involves a certain team trainer.

“Eli?” Charlie asks.

Eli doesn’t respond but instead points to the box on the coffee table. “What’s in the box?”

A smile splits across Charlie’s face. “Team shirts.”

He opens the box and tosses each of us a shirt. They’re in Carolina Current blue with our last names on the back. I turn mine over and read the front.

“In hard, out wet.” I read the white print.

“That’s this season’s theme.” Charlie smirks. “I came up with it myself.”

“Did Owens approve these?” Eli asks, referring to the head coach of the Carolina Current, Bob Owens.

“More like, did you get permission from Vivi?” Logan snickers.

The color drains from Charlie’s face. Eli and Logan are messing with him, but it’s clear that the thought of disappointing Vivi messes with his typically unflappable demeanor. They’re lighthearted shirts that are meant to be funny.

“Don’t let them give you shit.” I stand to clap Charlie on the shoulder. “The shirts are great.”

“If we can’t give each other shit, what is the point?” Logan laughs.

“Where are you going?” Eli asks.

---