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The announcer called for the backstroke swimmers to ready themselves, and the bleachers erupted with cheers. The noise level that was already high skyrocketed a little higher.
I smacked Lars on his Speedo-covered ass. “Go get ‘em.”
He went back to the bleachers to tug on his cap and goggles, then paused to take another generous sip of his coffee. I was starting to think he was superstitious and thought he needed it to swim faster.
I couldn’t tear my eyes off his powerful lateral muscles as he walked to his lane, recalling easily how they felt beneath my hands. Really, though, the backstroke did a whole body good because Lars’s was a work of art. There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t defined and strong, which I appreciated as I dragged my eyes down his waist to his tight ass.
I continued to stare as he got into the water, backstroke swimmers having one of the most difficult starts because they had to begininthe water, performing a backward dive to start off their stroke.
As he grabbed onto the starting wedge, he slipped and had to catch himself. He recovered quickly, pulling up into the ready position, which was feet planted on the wall, hands gripping the starting wedge.
He seemed to be having a bit of trouble holding steady and keeping his knees at a firm ninety-degree angle. I watched him closely, not paying attention to the announcer or anything else going on around me, and just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Just before the start time, one hand came off the bar, and he put it up to his mouth like he was coughing.
The whistle blew, and all the swimmers dove back, the crowd going wild. My heart was hammering so fast it felt like I was running at an impossible speed. Anxious, I glanced to the bleachers to where Lars had been sitting, to where his coffee sat… unsupervised.
Panic, swift and sharp, cut through me, and I swung back to the pool. Lars’s form was way off, his body starting to sink. I watched in absolute horror as he fell out of form completely, arms flailing over his head, water splashing everywhere as he reached for the surface that wasn’t there.
I shouted and ran toward the pool. A whistle blew, and Coach started yelling.
Everything around me went silent, my mind shutting off, as the splashing stopped and Lars sank unmoving beneath the rippling surface.
No.
The scream was so loud in my head that my ears rang, the noise in the pool slamming back into me like lightning.
“No!” I roared and rushed forward as a lifeguard jumped in my path. I didn’t think, just reacted, shoving the body out of the way, and then leaped into the pool, letting the icy water drag me down into its depths.
38
Lars
The ticklein my throat was barely there at first.
But as I got down into the water to ready to swim, it became ominously familiar. I cleared my throat, trying to calm the panic surging in me, trying to steal all rational thought.
This isn’t my allergy. It isn’t.
I hadn’t eaten anything different. There had been nothing unsafe.
It’s just nerves. Your mind trying to psych you out before swimming.
My tongue seemed to swell, taking up far more space in my mouth than normal. I swallowed, the action extremely difficult, as I planted my feet on the wall.
Now is not the time for this.I didn’t eat anything.
My lungs seized, and I thought of the coffee over on the bench. But it had been fine. I’d drunk more than half and was fine.
Then you left it on the bleachers. Then you walked away and came back. You took another sip.
The tickle in my throat turned to a burn, and it was hard to draw in a full breath. I pressed my hand to my mouth, coughing, trying to dislodge the thick feeling in my throat.
The buzzer blew, and my body reacted, diving back into the cold water. The water seemed colder somehow, a shock to my burning body. I tried to relax into the stroke, to perfect my form, but my body was sluggish…
I wheezed, the action dragging water into my nose. Suddenly, I began to choke, and terror had me clawing at the water, trying to find purchase. Trying to find air.
My body started to shut down, my limbs going still first and my entire body slipping into the water, waves pushing and pulling against my prone form.
