The chlorinated water of the Olympic length pool below glistens as the sunlight hits its surface, the pool deck feeling cold beneath my bare feet. I stand over the edge in my one-piece suit, my cap and goggles tucked into the hip band securely. The lanes stretch out for what seems like miles. I carefully dip my toes into the clear blue water, wanting to test the cooling temperature.
"Nervous?" I hear my pool mate ask as I shake out my limbs.
A small chuckle leaves my lips at her obvious question.
The team hoodie reaches past her hips, and her jeans cover most of her tanned legs. Her flip-flops squeak as she follows me in step around the pool deck.
"Of course, I am. Today is only one of the most important days of my life." I jut my chin out, gesturing toward the scene gathering across from us.
The bleachers across the pool fill up with the school's guests. Our families and friends gather to watch our meet, but most importantly, the University Officials, who are here to represent their schools, bringing a key to a scholarship with them. They have traveled to our small town in search of an athlete to take in for their professional teams and grant the student an athletic scholarship in the process.
That is if they're impressed by their performance.
Our school is very well known for our swimmers. We live near a beach, which means we practically grew up in the water. It's no surprise to me they'd be searching in our town, and more specifically, our school. I've always taken pride in the medals I've won for the school. Swimming is a passion for me, but competing is another story.
"Well, you shouldn't worry, Astrea." Ashley snaps me out of my thoughts with her reassurance.
"You're a strong swimmer. They'll think greatly of you. I'm sure of it."
She winks at me as her hand finds my shoulder. I chuckle once more, this time at the compliment. She has a point. I'm the school's strongest and most impressive swimmer.
But the fact doesn't exclude the reality of the pressure on me. I must compete, not only against my own teammates but the other highly represented swimmers of other schools around us as well.
"Thanks, Ashley. I needed that." I look over at my teammate beside me, a reassuring smile on her face. "Now go take a seat, please. The pool deck is wet and slippery, and you don't have the best balance at the moment."
She lets out a humorous laugh before hobbling off to be seated behind the bleachers and away from the slippery deck and another possible injury.
Much to our disappointment, Ashley won't be swimming with us. She had worked so hard and swam for countless hours, only for her knee injury to get in the way of her achievements. She had fallen off a ladder from a great height, helping her father fix up the roof of their house, so she'll be sitting this race out to cheer us on.
The rest of our team quickly walk out of the lockers, the girls gathering in hushed whispers before Coach Raithe begins the roll call. Raithe had chosen our strong swimmers for this meet, and at first glance, I'd say it'd be a challenge to defeat any of them. But I've spent countless hours in this very pool, swimming and improving my techniques-no simple task.
"Astrea, step up to the first lane."
Right on cue, Coach Raithe calls me to step up to the diving block in front of us. The silver whistle sitting on her chest, catching the light as she moves to stand beside my lane.
"Cap, please." I press the silicone to my forehead and dip my head in front of Ashley. She quickly secures my swim cap over my head before I tighten my goggles.
"Beat their asses, but don't leave everyone in the dust." She smiles and taps my back, her humor bringing a smile to my face.
"Splash anyone who Boo's." I laugh and turn to walk toward my lane and my Coach.
I release a short breath, attempting to control my nerves once more as the crowd erupts in cheers. I scan the bleachers in search of my family. I locate my father and wave toward him, my heart dropping slightly at the empty seat beside him.
My brother usually attends my meets and is easily my number one supporter, but this week is filled with final exams and has probably sucked him into another three-hour-long exam.
Shaking off the lingering nerves, I carefully step onto the diving block. The sandpaper surface, sprinkled with small droplets of water from the ghost of a dive.
"Twenty-eight seconds, Astrea, that's your goal." Coach Raith's grey eyes storm with anticipation, the stopwatch in her hand ready to take our times. "I've seen you hit better times."
I nod and position myself for the dive. Twenty-Eight seconds, I can do this. My toes hug the edge of the diving block as my right foot positions itself behind me to push off. The tips of my fingers graze the edge of the block, anchoring me to stay focused.
A moment passes as the crowd quiets down, my ears ringing with the thumping of my heart.
The sound of coach Raithe's whistle rings in my ear. I force myself not to flinch and quickly push off the diving block, tapping the edge to mark my spot. Chin tucked neatly, arms pressed beside my ears, and my toes pointed, I dive smoothly into the water below. Adrenaline pumps through me as I break through the water's surface.
I pump my body through the water, relishing the feeling of the cold water awakening my skin. Here in the pool, I come alive. It was more than just an algorithm I had memorized. The pool had always felt like my safe place, where I could release bottled-up stress. I love it as my passion.
I tuck my chin when the black line below signals for my flip turn, my body curling up into a vertical fetal position. Planting my feet firmly against the wall, I push off and spin as I streamline, my fingers grazing the surface and breaking the tension. A few laps later, I soon found myself back at the start of the pool.
Panting like a dehydrated dog, I pull my goggles off and glimpse at the lanes beside me. The other girls finally reach the wall, hanging onto the edge for support and out of exhaustion. We all laugh gleefully for having completed the race. We cheer for one another, clapping our hands in congratulatory gestures.
Swimming in short breaststrokes, I reach the ladder by my lane. I hoist myself up as my head spins with the change in air pressure, and I feel a burning sensation on my back as if someone were staring intently. I reach the last step and look back and toward the crowd. I furrow my brows, gripping onto the ladder and hugging it closer.
I swallow and narrow my eyes to catch a better look at the figure in the crowd, my curiosity sparked. Their far-out gaze landed on the spot where I sat. I take note of the outline of their build, tall and masculine. He leans against the door by the entrance, overseeing the pool.
The feel of fluffy fabric pressing against my shoulder cuts me out of the trance. I snap my face above me, Ashley's curly head of hair in my sight.
"Astrea, you were incredible out there. I didn't know you could swim so fast, so effortlessly." Her loud voice yells as she crouches to my level, holding out my white pool towel. "You've been holding out around me."
"It's my specialty." I stick my tongue out at her and laugh as I wrap the towel around my cold shoulders. She quickly hooks her arm into mine as we walk toward the front to check the scores.
Coach stares down at her clipboard, carefully writing down the times and final scores she took with the stopwatch settled at the top. The pool assistant comes up behind her and has her record the rest of the times with her watch.
"Coach, what are my times looking like?"
"Astrea, twenty-seven point eight seconds for the 50-freestyle relay, and two minutes and ten seconds for the 200-freestyle relay."
Ashley and I gasp as she casually reads out my times. I had given it my all and felt it as I swam, but I never expected to crush my preset records today.
"Holy shit, Astrea. You just broke all the records there."
Coach Raithe smiles up at me as she finishes up the final scores, the pool assistant walking out of the office holding the medals.
"Congratulations, Astrea." She grabs the gold medal before announcing the winners to the audience. "First place."
I squeal in excitement, hugging my teammate, then Mrs. Raithe speaks up again.
"Go rest up, stay hydrated, and watch what you eat! Can't lose my best swimmer." She grasps my shoulder and leaves me to walk back to the change room.
I dismiss myself, wrapping my towel around my shoulders tightly.
"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Coach. I couldn't have done this without your motivation in training me."
Ashley hands me my water flask before I forget it and turns back to our Coach, wanting to speak to her about her injury and when she'll be able to get back into the pool for water therapy. She hands me my water flask before I head to the change room.
I quickly dry off my pale skin and toss my sundress on along with my squeaky flip-flops, eager to go home and eat my favorite sandwich, tuna.
With my damp hair pooling around my shoulders, past my waist, I stare down at my phone, looking for the right track to play as I head for the exit to the building to find my family. Within Temptation? No, not feeling that one just yet. Sirenia? Sounds about right.
As I exit the building through the front entrance, I'm welcomed by the crowd of families. I sift through and thank everyone congratulating me, eager to find my family among the small crowd. A smile breaks across my face as I locate a familiar head of sandy blonde hair. Dylan, my brother.
He must have felt my gaze from afar as he turned around to meet my small form quickly approaching him.
"Look at the fish fresh out of the sea."
"Hi, Dylan." I laugh as he engulfs me in a hug.
"Where's Dad?" I ask and look around him in questioning. Usually, he and dad are right there in the forefront to greet and congratulate me.
"He's talking with Principle Barmon." He shrugs and gestures toward the front of the building. "He's with some random guy too."
"Oh," I respond, sounding disappointed. "Is anything going on?"
"He'll be here soon. I'm sure it's university talk or something." He reassures me, rubbing my arm in the process.
"Congratulations for practically outswimming a shark. I swear I don't think I saw you breathe for like an entire lap."
My head snaps up at that.
"You were there?" I gasp. "I was so sure you wouldn't be able to make it. I didn't even see you in the crowd."
"I almost didn't make it. But I was not about to miss this race." He chuckles, and we make our way to the front of the building. "I finished up my exam as quickly as possible. I could hear the crowd from where I was."
"I hope I didn't rush you. Wouldn't want you to fail because of me." I frown. "I wish they could have rescheduled the race. Why'd they have to jam both important events into one day?"
"I did just fine, Astrea. I studied for weeks, practically flew through it." Dylan rolls his eyes and scoffs.
"All I'm saying is if you fail that exam, I'll feel guilty."
We stop short, coming to a stop before the front entrance. He takes a moment to locate our father.
"There's Dad." He exclaims and gestures toward the side of the front entrance where the large blossom trees have sprouted. Dad stands beside the principal, deep in conversation and oblivious to his children just a few steps away.
I stop abruptly and swallow at the stranger beside the two. The man is tall, handsome even. His golden skin glows against the sunlight, and his wind-tossed midnight-brown hair blows against a soft breeze. His lips look supple, soft even. My skin tingles as my gaze fixates on this gorgeous man across from me.
"You okay?"
Dylan snaps me out of the trance, and I shake my head to dismiss the mental haze. I ignore him and pretend nothing just happened between myself and this stranger, gripping his wrist and walking up to Dad and Principal Barmon.
"We'll handle it just fine. Nothing should step out of line and create further hysteria." Principal Barmon stops himself from continuing the conversation, passing my father a knowing look.
"Honey, you were incredible out there." My father engulfs me in a warm hug, bringing a wide smile out of me. "I'm so proud of you."
I smile shyly at him and take off the medal around my neck, placing it in his hands for him to both inspect and boast about. I turn toward the principal, the wrinkles on his forehead prominent from the stressful week on his hands.
"Astrea, congratulations on your accomplishment. You've greatly impressed the University Officials." He smiles knowingly.
I quickly thank him and hug myself as I feel the presence of the stranger from before as he steps around my brother and me to stand between Barmon and my father, my eyes darting everywhere but his.
"Xander, this is Mr. Pine's daughter. She was the remarkable swimmer from the meet today."
My lips part, and my mind becomes a haze as his defined face comes into view. His eyes draw me in with the captivating look behind them and cause a ring in my ears as the blood rushes to my face.
"Xander. Xander Blackwood. It's a pleasure." He introduces himself, his deep masculine voice vibrating through me.
"Astrea."
His lips curl into a smile at the sound of my name, eyes twinkling with amusement. He holds out a single hand for me, a polite gesture.
Our hands meet, and he gently grasps my knuckles, my gaze landing on his. I'm met with the deepest onyx eyes, causing me to swallow back the newly found dryness. His skin feels warm and smooth against my chlorine touched hand.
A small blush creeps up my neck, staining my face with a pink tone. I take a step back and tuck the loose strand of hair that fell on my face behind my ear, clearing my throat in the process.
He runs his fingers through his wind-blown midnight-brown hair, captivating me with the soft glow of his skin. My gaze travels down to take in his appearance, a taunt plain grey muscle shirt hugging his frame, black jogger shorts, and a strange tattoo on his right arm - taking up most of his upper to mid-bicep.
"It's been a pleasure, Astrea." Principal Barmon breaks the silence, making me slightly jump. "But I'm afraid I must attend to private matters with Mr. Blackwood."
"Of course. We must get home ourselves." My father says, nodding in understanding. "We have a family dinner waiting for us."
Principal Barmon holds an apologetic smile and dismisses himself and Xander. Sending my family another set of congratulations before the two walk away. I distract myself with Dylan as he grabs the medal from our father to inspect it, running his fingers down the '1st Place'.
"Let's not waste any more time. Victory dinner awaits us both." I laugh as Dad wraps his arms around us and walks us back to the family car.
"Can I get my sandwich first? I'm starved."
"What would you do without tuna, Astrea?" Dylan chuckles and opens the back door to the car.
Tuna fish sandwich, here I come.
* * *
The ride home was short, both my thoughts and the music playing through my earbuds, keeping my mind occupied and from wondering to a certain stranger. As soon as we unlock the front door to our beach house, I quickly step in and toss my duffle bag aside, both hunger and exhaustion taking over my body.
My father had bought the house after marrying my mother, quickly turning the vacancy into what we call home today. But that was back when she was in the picture.
"Astrea, don't leave your wet stuff on the floor," Dad calls out to me as I begin ascending the stairs to my room. "Take it to the washroom downstairs, don't make me tell you twice. And take a shower."
I groan and turn back around to tend to my swim gear, knowing very well the awful smell it'll fester if I leave it in the bag overnight.
The rest of my night turns into a blur as my warm shower rinses the chlorine off my skin, tossing on my tank top and runner shorts.
Back downstairs in the kitchen, Dad had prepared his famous pasta dish for us, our favorite fish fillet recipe. The servings didn't last long with all our hunger, barely leaving our father any leftovers for work tomorrow.
I quickly got ready for bed, brushing my teeth and finishing up my skincare. As my body welcomes the warmth and comfort the sheets provide, my thoughts wander to a certain midnight-brown-haired someone.
"Xander. Xander Blackwood."
I sigh and shift onto my side to look at the moon peeking through my curtains, the wind softly blowing them through the small gap of my open window. Xander's calculating onyx eyes clear in my memory, the outline of his jawline and thick neck flexing in thought. I groaned into my pillow, turning over to hide away. Get out of my head, please.