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RYAN
“Come on,dude. You’ve got this. I want to see one more in under a minute.” Jace claps me on the back, staring at me with that enthusiastic gleam in his eyes. He’s eager and excited for me, something I appreciate to no end.
I let out a harsh breath. “Last time?”
His eyes widen, and he nods. “Last time, dude, so give it your all.”
Since Coach isn’t here today, Jace and I have been training by ourselves. I was anticipating a chaotic day, but it was actually pretty decent. But now I’m ready to finish up and head home, so I can check Harper’s flight to make sure she makes it back in one piece.
“Come on, up on the block.” Jace wraps his towel tighter around his shoulders.
I do as he says, stepping up on the starting block and getting into position. My mind’s on Harper.
The faster you finish this round, the faster you can get out of here.
Jace blows the whistle, and I propel myself off the cold material, diving into the water with my outstretched hands, ready for one more round. Even though my muscles are tired, I work them hard, wanting to tap out the one hundred meters in under a minute one more time, just like Jace said.
I catch some air, and my lungs expand, my body satisfied with the breath, willing to try a little harder this time. When I made the decision to come out of retirement to train for one more Olympics, it was mostly out of boredom and a sense of wanting to prove to myself and the rest of the world that I’ve still got it.
Now that Harper and our baby will be in my life indefinitely, I also want to prove to them I can do this. I want to make them proud. The idea of being able to show my child what I’ve achieved in life is quickly turning into my new motivator. Visualizing that moment feels a little strange but it also feels right.
My turn on the other side goes smoothly, and I shove all concerns out of my head, pressing off the wall to do my second fifty meters. My legs work hard on their kicks while my arms sweep in and out, perfectly in sync. I’m giving it my all, my body getting one more energy rush.
This is not just about me anymore.
I’m going to work my ass off to leave the best legacy possible.
The water moves easily around me, such second nature to me that I barely ever think about it anymore. The second my fingers touch the wall, a hand lands on my head, giving it a tight squeeze.
I rip off my goggles and cap and stare into Jace’s face. He laughs, the sound almost vibrating around me as he holds out the stopwatch toward me. It’s so close, the numbers turn blurry. I blink and lean back until they come back into focus. Fifty-nine point fourteen. My gaze snaps up to Jace who beams at me and nods.
After he holds out his fist for me to bump, he gets his phone from his pocket to take a photo of the time with me in the background. I don’t even care if this might seem weird to others or what, but this is my lowest time in years—since my last Olympic Games, right before I retired—and Jace knows what a big deal that is for me.
He might be a lot younger than me at twenty-eight, but even that is already almost ancient in swimmer years. There are always a lot of young ones waiting in the shadows, ready to gnaw on your heels and come at you with new record times. We all know how that goes.
My current time might not be enough to break the last world record, but I still have over a year to push myself to that level. And I will get it. I have to.
I heave myself out of the pool, my tired muscles screaming at me.
Jace claps me on the back several times. “That was killer. Good job, dude.”
Taking the towel he holds out, I wipe my face. “Thanks.”
My lungs are still trying to catch up, my chest heaving with the effort it took me to get this time.
We get our things from the bench and head to the locker room. I stand under the spray for a while, letting the heat relax my body. Once I’m dressed, I grab my phone and look up Harper’s flight. She still has one hour to go. Enough time to get home and eat something.
Jace walks up and peeks over my shoulder just as I’m closing the flight tracker. “You flying somewhere?”
Sneaky bastard.
I put my phone in my pocket and shake my head. “Nope. Just checking something.”
Turning my back to him, I reach for my gym bag in the locker and make sure I have everything. When I face him again, Jace hasn’t moved an inch, still watching me.
I brush back my hair. “What?”
He purses his lips and shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with you.”
