Page 64 of What Are The Odds?
“Whatever,” I conceded. “But I’m heading there now. I’ll meet you at the pool.”
I mumbled a farewell to the rest of the team and then I was out of there. Luckily the barn and pool were on the same part of campus. Within a minute I was walking into the meet. The smell of chlorine hit me like a two-hundred-pound defenceman. At least I wasn’t hungover today. My dick twitched, remembering the last time I was in this pool with Grace. I’d be lying if I said seeing her in a swimsuit wasn’t top of the pros column to coming to this meet. I stiffened at the sight of Ryker on the bleachers. Fucking Richardson. What was he doing here? Had Grace asked him? I made my way over. If Grace spotted him in the crowd, I wanted to know she saw me too.
“Holloway,” he clipped when I sat down.
Right next to him.
“Richardson.”
“Thought you had practice.”
“We wrapped up early.”
Ryker was dressed in his casual football uniform. They had a game tonight.
I cleared my throat. “Just so you know, Grace and I had a talk last night.”
“About the weather?” he jested.
“We’re exclusive.”
I studied him for a reaction, a flicker of anger or surprise, but I got nothing other than a mumbled, “If you say so.”
I did my best to keep my temper in check. I didn’t see Ryker as competition, I really didn’t. I trusted that Grace wouldn’t do anything with him. At least not without talking to me first. She’d taken the exclusive chat well last night. Thank God. If she’d refused, I would’ve begged her. That didn’t mean I trusted Ryker to keep his distance though. He owed me nothing. And if roles were reversed, an exclusive agreement wouldn’t stop me from going after Grace unless she told me herself to stay away. As much as I wished I could ask her to do that, I wouldn’t. I had no right. Our school team was huddled by the locker rooms. I found Grace’s fair hair. She was dressed in her swimsuit. The one piece wasn’t anywhere near as exciting as the lingerie she’d swum in last time, but it still left little to the imagination. I could see the clear curve of her perfect tits, the outline of her narrow waist and the lines of her ass cheeks. Several heads snapped to the door when my friends walked in. Dressed in their casual hockey sportswear, they stood out. Rather than head straight to me, they sought out Grace. She looked surprised to see them, but glad. I think. Tripp lifted her off the ground to squeeze her. Damn. I should’ve gone to her as well. Had Ryker? She asked Will something. He replied, before pointing in my direction. Grace followed the line, a smile crossing her face when she saw me. I waved. So did Ryker. The fucker. The guys climbed the bleachers. Tripp was dressed in socks and Crocs. I was mad at him for getting on the bandwagon the freshmen on the team had coerced him into. And I was even madder that he somehow didn’t look like a total douche wearing them. He sat beside me.
“Hughesy is up first,” he said.
“Do they have any snacks here?” Ryan grumbled. “I’m starving.”
Usually our post-training routine resulted in us getting food. It’d have to wait today. When Grace walked up to the stand, I couldn’t focus on anything else. Even with her swimming cap on, I knew it was her. I could spot those legs in a crowded frat party. Especially given they’d been hooked over my shoulders this morning. She jumped on the spot a few times before swinging her arms back and forth. After a long whistle, she climbed onto the podium. She shook out her body before getting into position.
A voice came over the speaker. “Take your mark.”
I was nervous, which was new to me. Nerves had been something I cancelled out a long time ago. Another noise sounded, then Grace dove in. For a few seconds all contestants were beneath the surface. When they emerged, the crowd started cheering. I focussed on Grace. She was nothing but elegance in the pool. I’d got a glimpse the other day. But now, I watched in awe as her arms sliced through the water like it was ice and she was a skate. She reached the other end of the pool quicker than I could probably run. After turning, her name was cast on the scoreboard as leading place. She was 0.27 seconds ahead. That was good. I think. I knew fuck all about swimming. I needed to learn. Stat.
“Let’s go, Hughesy,” Tripp murmured beside me.
He was on the edge of his seat. Literally. As Grace neared the end, it was hard to tell who was in front. I held my breath as she reached out in front of her and touched the wall. Gripping the edge of the pool with one hand, she slid her goggles off with the other, resting them on her head.
“In first place we have Grace Hughes from Phil-U. In second place we have–”
I didn’t hear the rest.
Tripp jumped to his feet. “Fuck yeah, Hughesy.”
His loud voice echoed, causing every person to look our way. Even Grace heard from the pool. She craned her head in our direction. Out the corner of his eye, Ryker was studying Tripp. He clearly didn’t know what to make of my friends being here. Particularly Tripp being this invested. A few more events happened, none of which I paid attention to. My eyes kept wandering from the pool to Grace, who was sitting among her team, eating a granola bar. She only had one other event today. The 4x 100m freestyle relay. When it was time, she gathered her things, tucking her hair back into the swimming cap and slipping off her jacket. I was excited to watch her again. Stella was up first. She stepped onto the podium while Ava, Grace and one other girl hovered behind.
The voice came over the speaker again. “Take your mark.”
The swimmers dove in.
“Remind me again why we’ve never watched swimming,” Ryan thoughtfully said.
Will punched his arm. “Stop being a creep.”
I’m sure Stella was a good swimmer. But watching her was like watching anyone else on TV. I was only captivated when it was Grace in that pool. When it was her legs kicking. When it was her arms moving. As Stella approached the end, Ava got into position. Both Ava and the team in the lane beside Phil-U dove into the pool at the same time. It was close. Too close. And by the time Grace was stepping onto the podium to wait her turn, our third swimmer had slipped into fourth place. The moment Grace dove into the pool, she began making up lost distance. I slid forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. It’s the same way I sat during overtimes. When everything was on the line. By the time Grace reached the turn, she’d already swum back to second place.
“She’s coming after her,” Will said.
