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She frowned. “I’m concerned.”
What?
“How can we help?” Tanner’s somber tone matched hers.
“I’m glad you asked. You can take my mom out on a date, so she stops being sad.”
Tanner coughed.
I didn’t know why he was the least bit surprised to hear Alana be so direct. “We can ask. She has to sayyes, though.”
“She will. I already told her to.” Alana sounded confident.
This conversation was both surreal and buoying, and a very large part of me wanted to be enough a part of Daria’s life—of her girls’ lives—that conversations like this were the norm.
Alana held up a finger. “But keep in mind, if you make my mom sadder, I’ll find a different team to swim for, and you’ll not only have to replace me, but find someone who thinks they can beat me, and good luck with that.”
No wonder she loved having Tanner as a coach.
I half crouched, so I was at her eye-level. “I promise you, the last thing I want—that either of us wants—is to make Daria sad.”
“In fact, you and Harmony should join us sometimes when we take her out, to make sure,” Tanner added.
Alana seemed to consider this. “You can’t bribe us with presents.”
“We wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.
“But that shouldn’t stop you from trying.” Her words tumbled out quickly.
This wasn’t a conversation I expected to have today, but I was glad we had. I extended my hand. “It’s a deal. We agree to all of your terms.”
“Good.” She shook my hand and then Tanner’s. “My mom is outside, and she’s lonely because she’s not swimming. You should do something about that.”
I had no arguments.
When we stepped outside, it was as if we were minor celebrities. The friends Alana had invited were almost all students, and everyone wanted to make sure we were all right.
The concern was nice, but I wanted to break away and go talk to the woman standing back from all of it, watching us with amusement playing on her face. She was wearing a one-piece suit and a cover-up that did nothing to hide her gorgeous curves.
“Why isn’t anyone swimming?” Dustin called. “I thought this was a pool party.”
Daria’s smile grew.
Sometimes older siblings were an utter embarrassment, but sometimes they were just the best. The latter was especially true in adulthood.
The group disbursed, and Tanner and I headed toward Daria.
“Hey,” she greeted us softly.
All this build-up, and I had no idea what to do next. “Hey.”
“I’m glad you made it,” she said.
“Like we were going to miss the fun?” Even Tanner sounded a little hesitant. He sighed loudly. “I can’t do this. Can we talk about the elephant in the room, and move on?”
I laughed. “And this is one of the reasons I love you.” The words slipped out without thought, thanks to the last few days of being immersed in each other.
Daria’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. “Did you just— Are you two— Fuck me, it’s about time.”
