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“It sounds wrong. You don’t have to thank us for sharing your house with you.” I loosely grasped her shoulders and pointed her toward the basement. “Go. Work. We’ll bring your stuff in from the car and leave it in the foyer.”
Did I watch her ass as she walked down the stairs? Damn straight. What she did to a pair of business slacks was incredible, but today I had the added bonus of picturing what she would’ve looked like lounging on the beach in a two-piece. I dragged my gaze away, and Colin and I headed out to bring her luggage back in, then our own stuff.
Of the two rooms available to us, one had a full bathroom, and the other looked like it was meant to be an office, but a bed had been crammed in the corner. I let Colin have therealbedroom. I’d be spending enough time at the pool that I would shower there as often as not.
Speaking of, “I’m going to do some laps before class this afternoon,” I said. Theif you want to join mewas implied.
“Cool. I’ll catch up with you in a few hours.”
Colin’s answer didn’t surprise or concern me. We both loved swimming, but I had a bit more time invested.
I grabbed my gym bag and headed out. It was mid-morning on a Monday, late enough the commute was over but early enough lunch traffic hadn’t started, so my drive was casual and quick. It also meant the private pool where we taught was mostly empty.
Perfect. That would make it easier to push myself without interruption. Eight years ago, I’d been lucky enough to make the Olympic swim team. When I tore my rotator cuff during one of my first races, I was furious at myself for being stupid enough to get hurt.
The injury had healed, but I’d been told I’d never compete at that level again. Four years later, I was so far from making the cut, it wasn’t funny. According to all the data, I’d been past my peak then. I didn’t care—I was going to make the team this year. This was my last chance to live that dream.
I just had to shave three-quarters of a second off my fifty-meter crawl.
I changed into my suit and rinsed off in the shower before stepping into the main pool area. The scent of chlorine was familiar and oddly soothing, and I inhaled the humid warmth. The easiest way to check my time when I was alone was with a waterproof camera on a tripod. I set the device up at one end of the lane, took a few deep breaths, then one to hold, and dove in.
When I burst from the water at the other end, I gasped deeply. A quick check of the recording told me I was still missing my goal. I swam the lane again and again, but no matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t shorten my time. In fact, the longer I tried, the more milliseconds I added to the clock.
My bad shoulder was tight and my lungs burned. I stretched to work through the pain. One more try, and I’d have to call it quits and get ready for our first class.
“Tanner,” the pool owner’s call shattered my focus.
I shook off the irritation at being interrupted, and turned to face John. “Hey.” I kept my smile pleasant. “What’s up?”
“I’m not making this public knowledge yet, but since you and Colin have been renting from me for so long, I wanted to give you a heads-up. I’m putting the place on the market, and I can’t guarantee the future owners will honor existing contracts.”
I barely heard the last part of his sentence because inspiration lit up my thoughts atputting the place on the market. Was this the opportunity Colin and I were waiting for? A chance to own our own pool? Grow our business to something more than a couple of guys offering coaching a few hours a week? “Do you have any offers? What’s your asking price?”
“Nah. It’s just been listed.” He gave me a dollar amount.
It was a lot, but far less than we’d pay for our own, and we weren’t far from having the down payment for a loan like that. “Thanks for the heads-up.” I wanted to addI’ll be in touch with you and your agent, but not until I talked to Colin.
Now was the perfect time to push hard for funding.
And balance that with me getting ready for the Olympic swim trials, which were less than a month away.
But there was plenty of time for both. I was sure of it.
3
colin
I wasjealous that Tanner insisted Daria stay.
Which was fucked up onso manylevels. This was her house. Duh, of course she was going to stay here.
And Tanner was my roommate and business partner, so we saw each other more often than we saw anyone else; this week wasn’t special, despite it feeling like a mini-vacation.
Besides, it wasn’t as though I was going to tell him how I felt, after all this time. I could picture it now, and it went down the same way it had the billion other times I’d imagined my confession.
Hey, Tanner. I love you. As more than a best friend. I’m talking in an I-want-to-be-the-person-sucking-your-cock-for-the-rest-of-our-lives kind of way.
To which imaginary Tanner always replied,you know I’m straight, right? I’m sorry, man.
