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Crouched at the edge of the pool, Jamie reached down and tapped someone in the water before standing up to come over.
I met him halfway, and we smashed out fists together.
“You come to see Wes?” Jamie asked, thumbing over his shoulder at my brother who was hauling himself out of the pool.
Glancing over his shoulder, I waved at Wes. He smiled back, his cheeks bunching up around the tight seal of the goggles on his face.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, ripping them off along with his swim cap on his way to snatch a towel off the bleachers.
“I’m the new intern,” I told him and Jamie. “Just met with Russell to get my schedule.”
“You do realize you’ll have to drag your snoring ass out of bed at like five a.m., right?” Wes teased.
“I do not snore.”
“He so snores,” Wes told Jamie.
“Video evidence,” Jamie quipped.
Ryan came over, his bare feet slapping on the tiles as he rolled out his shoulders. “Bro, what’s up?”
I felt my eyes narrow on the place he was favoring. “You hurt yourself?”
“Nah,” Ryan said. “It’s just sore.”
I stepped up to him, holding out my hands. “You mind?”
“Go for it.”
His skin was icy, muscles taut. I kneaded around the area of his shoulder, finding the knot in his muscle and pressing against it.
Ryan groaned, his body partially sagging. “Fuck.”
I laughed and pressed a little harder, feeling the knot quiver under the pressure. As I worked on the tight spot, my vision strayed to the pool. A fissure of something moved through me, upticking my heart rate and making my breaths come a little faster. Two swimmers were executing the backstroke, and it created this well of homesickness within me.
The feeling was so overwhelming I couldn’t look away. My attention zeroed in on one swimmer in particular, which seemed ridiculous because it was impossible to tell who it was. He had on a cap and goggles. The way he moved and his position in the water made it nearly impossible to make out any of his features.
Yet I was drawn to him anyway. I couldn’t look away. He was so familiar. Achingly so.
It’s not him.
Ryan blew out a long breath, and I refocused on him, realizing the knot surrendered to the pressure I’d applied. I had to fight not to look back at the water after tearing my gaze away.
Gentling my hands, I pulled back. “Trigger point is released. You should probably be done in the pool for the day. Do some stretches before you hit the shower.”
“That actually helped,” Ryan said.
I flashed him a smile. “Sports med, remember?”
“Win is going to intern with the team,” Wes told him.
“Yeah? Sweet,” Ryan replied, moving to grab a towel and Gatorade off the bleachers.
My eyes went back to the pool. Two hands slapped onto the edge, and a body lifted, water pouring off his form as he moved. The second he unfolded, my breath caught.
Ignoring everyone else, I took a step forward, still staring. He looked so much like him. The swimmer rotated, and it was like a punch to my stomach, almost making me wince.
Awareness flooded me. The goggles pulled away. The swim cap yanked free.
