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But Matthew? He didn’t ask for any of this.
“McClaren was quite angry.”
I made a rude sound. “Yeah? Tell him to get in line.”
“I’ll deal with his anger. It’s not as if he’s ever been pleasant anyway. The important thing is that if he comes at me again, it will be direct and won’t involve you or your boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with him,” I said. “But I do appreciate you keeping Matthew out of this.” I cleared my throat. “And me too.”
“That’s a father’s job.”
“Tell that to McClaren.”
“Yes, well, some people shouldn’t procreate.”
“As much as I hate that man, it’s the one thing I’m glad he did.”
Dad laughed. “You really are in love.”
“I guess I am.”
Someone in the background called out, and my father lowered the phone and replied. “I’m sorry to cut this short, son, but I’m needed for a meeting.”
“Thanks for calling. For everything.”
“Call your mother,” he said.
I don’t know why he always told me to do that. I did it without reminders.
“I will.”
“Let me know when that boyfriend of yours is ready to have dinner. I’ll reschedule everything on my calendar.”
“Okay.”
After saying goodbye, I ended the call and shoved the cell into the pocket of my black Louis Vuitton bomber jacket. Look, a lot of people say LV is overdone these days, but that jacket looked good with my black-and-white track pants with the white logo printed all over the black fabric. Plus, the inside was all white and buttery soft. Perfect for Matthew to steal. And he would be stealing it. It had become a habit for him to take whatever I wore the day before to dress himself because it smelled like me.
Inside, Eli yelled for me, and I jogged into the booth.
“Thanks for starting it off for me, bro. I owe you one.”
“Yeah, you do,” he affirmed, and I got to work.
33
Prism
Swim season was over and now championships were too. But I would still be swimming. At the end of the semester, the majority of Elite would be heading home for the summer. For swimmers who do that, it becomes a sort of honor system that they won’t let themselves get out of shape. Taking any lengthy amount of time off from the pool is asking to fall behind. And while it was against Westbrook policy for Coach to insist swimmers stay here over the summer to train, he liked to remind those who headed home that the two steps forward gained over the season were pointless if we took three steps back over the break.
I didn’t need to worry about taking three steps back this summer because I was staying in Westbrook. My swim bros were staying too. Jamie, Ryan, Wes, and Lars lived here. And now with the rental of our townhouse, Kruger and I did too. Rush was from California, so he’d probably split his time, but with Landry living here, I knew he’d be around. Coach already inboxed us with a summer training schedule, and as daunting as it was, I was glad for the consistency and routine. I’d go home to visit Gram for a while, but even then, I would train.
Off-season also meant a lot of cross-training to make sure our stamina and bodies were strong in all areas. So while I might not be hitting the pool for two-a-day swims, I was still gonna be busy.
I was also pondering a summer job but was struggling a bit with it. I’d only had one job, and that was in high school. It only lasted three days.
I didn’t know what possessed me to think I’d be able to handle a job in fast food. It was loud, chaotic, and people were rude. Not even just the customers but the management and employees too.
I did my best, I really did, but on day three, I might have punched one of the guys on the burger line, and well… it didn’t go over well.
