I push off the wall and focus on my breathing—two strokes, breathe, two strokes, breathe.
As we reach the wall, Adriana and I pop up at the same time, both panting slightly. “So,” she says, already adjusting her cap for the next lap, “how’s Gabriel?”
I smile, pushing my goggles up to my forehead. “Slammed with practice and training and everything,” I sigh. “So busy, like me.”
“That’s what happens when you date a soccer player.” She sticks her tongue out playfully, adjusting her goggles. “So unreliable.”
I shoot her a pointed look, smirking. “Right. Because hockey players are so different?”
She grins. “Hockey players do appear to be the superior athletes.”
“Oh really?” I say, “Do elaborate.”
“What can I say,” she tells me. “They answer when you call. They respond to your texts. They go out of their way to spend time with you. A girl like me could get used to it.”
A laugh slips out of me. “Please tell me that is not where the bar’s been set?”
“Definitely not. But you know what they say. Strong communication is the cornerstone for any good relationship.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “So it’s turning into a relationship, hmm? Sounds like Kenji might be a keeper.”
She shrugs, trying to play it cool. “We’ll see.” But the soft curve of her lips gives her away.
“I’m happy for you,” I tell her. “You deserve someone good in your life. And since I’m your best friend and therefore need to get to know any guy who might have an actual chance of sticking around, you should bring him with you when you come over for the barbeque at Gabriel’s on Friday.”
“Ladies! Get moving.” Coach Cho’s voice slices through our conversation.
“Shit.” We adjust our goggles and dive back in. But when we pop back up at the other end, our conversation continues despite the fact that we’re both breathless.
“Barbeque?” Adriana asks, “Those are usually family affairs. You know, just the guys.” I don’t miss the longing in her voice as she says it, and I remind myself she used to be a part of their friend group back in high school.
“They’re doing a team thing,” I tell her. “So there will be a lot of people there. I already cleared it with Gabriel the other day. He said you could come.”
Her eyebrows shoot up, excitement flashing in her eyes before she frowns. “Really? He didn’t seem put out by it?”
“Nope. He said I could invite whoever I want, so … will you come? I don’t know if any of the other players are bringing girlfriends, and I don’t want to be the only girl there. Please.”
She fidgets with her swim cap, chewing on the inside of her cheek—typical Adriana. Always in her head, overthinking everything. “Okay, okay. I’ll come. But if it’s lame, I’m blaming you.”
I splash her. “Fair enough.”
“What would you do without me?” she jests.
“Probably drown and wallow in boredom,” I confess.
“Mmm. So true,” she says with a grin, finally letting go of her worry. She splashes me back before pushing off the wall again for another lap, and I race to catch up with her.
The water rushes past, muffling everything but the sound of my breath and the occasional splash of Adriana’s strokes beside me.
As we finish our set, she treads water beside me and we wait for the rest of our team to wrap up their drills. “You seem excited about this BBQ,” she notes, as we hoist ourselves onto the pool’s ledge.
I shrug, trying to play it cool. “It’s just … I feel like I barely see him.” I trail off, biting the inside of my cheek.
“Because of his practices?”
“Yeah, and swim, and coursework, and Austin crap,” I say, my tone sharpening at the end. “It’s like we’re both just ... busy. And I don’t know. I miss him, I guess.”
“That’s disgustingly adorable,” she says, her gaze drifting to the pool deck for a moment. “You two don’t get a lot of quality time, huh?”
