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Coach abused the whistle again, then dropped it from his lips. “Practice is over!”
Before I could haul myself out of the pool, his eyes landed on me, and I groaned. “Three more laps.”
Despite the exhaustion in my limbs, I nodded.
“Why you gotta do us like this, Coach?” Jamie complained.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“You talk to Wes, you talk to all three of us,” Ryan said.
“What he said.” Jamie agreed.
“If you want to swim, I’m not stopping you.” Coach shrugged. “But no half-assing it.”
By the time I was halfway through the third lap, my arms were shaking and my heart pounding. It took sheer will to drag myself the rest of the way down the lane, and I knew damn well my form looked like shit.
Gasping, I threw my arm up over the side of the pool, lungs desperate for air.
Coach grunted. “I’ve seen corpses swim better than that.”
I pulled up so my chest was lying across the tile, my lower body still in the water. Lifting my head, I said, “Corpses float.”
“Well, you sure as hell don’t.”
“I’ll do better tomorrow.”
Ryan and Jamie appeared over me, the water dripping off their bodies and falling onto mine. Leaning down, they each grabbed an arm and hauled me the rest of the way out of the pool. When they let go, I flopped onto the tile.
“Just let me lie here.” I groaned.
“Drama queen,” Jamie muttered.
A red Gatorade appeared in front of me a few moments later.
“Bless you,” I said, and Ryan laughed.
Grabbing the drink, I sat up and downed half without taking a breath.
“First couple swims back are always hardest.” Ryan sympathized as he toweled off his dark hair.
I nodded, mentally embracing the suck it was going to be to get back into it. There was definitely suckage, but I still loved it. Most of the team was heading out by the time I got up on jelly legs and grabbed up my towel.
“I’m starving,” Ryan complained.
“Can we eat at the campus eatery today?” I asked.
“Already told the girls,” Ryan answered.
“Thanks. Not sure I’m ready to deal with Veronica, especially after Coach shredded me in the pool.”
“Bro, what was up with that anyway? She was acting like she was gonna claw Max’s eyes out.”
My stomach twisted. The thought of her blaming Max for something that wasn’t even his fault didn’t sit well. Especially after seeing that wild look in her eyes. “Have you seen her since the other morning?”
“No. We haven’t been back. None of the team has,” Ryan replied.
That surprised me, and it must have shown on my face because they both laughed.
