I think we can all use a refresher so let's recap:
Tristan had a "secret" meeting with Jessica after school that he didn't tell Sierra about. But when she found out about it from Reggie, it validated her fear that Tristan still loved Jessica and she was a rebound. Sierra decided it was best for them to separate and she stopped going to her swim lessons.
Tia sees her friends are struggling with being apart so she decides to talk some sense into them. She reveals some personal info about Sierra and how her mother's death affected her to Tristan who finally realizes he needs to fight for his girl. Now he's on a mission to prove once and for all to her and to the world that Sierra is the one for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Sierra~~~~~~~~~~~
"Homeboy gave you his car?!" Tia yelled loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. She walked around Tristan's car, running her fingers along the hood. The car gleamed in the moonlight. She called Tia when the smoke cleared and she finally grasped what Tristan had done. Tia insisted on coming over to see for herself.
"I know right? Tristan keeps acting like it's not a big deal," Sierra said.
Tia opened the passenger side door and got in. "Oh no, this is a huge deal. Tony won't even let me near the driver's side of his old ass Nissan. He is so annoying. I'm like, seriously? I can't even sit in the driver's seat?"
Sierra laughed and joined her friend inside the car. It felt so good being with Tia. Her life was beginning to feel normal again. She hadn't realized how bad things were until now. It'd been weeks since she laughed. And after everything she put her friends through, she was lucky to still have friends.
"Tia, I'm sorry for being a jerk."
"Don't worry about it. We're good. I'm just glad you're back. You really had me worried for a minute. I thought I was going to have to camp outside your door again."
"That bad?"
"Girl, yeah. You were on some exorcist shit. I didn't even know who you were."
Sierra saw where Tia was coming from. These past few weeks, she didn't even recognize herself. "Tia, I'm so sorry."
"You can stop apologizing. Nobody's mad at you. Except maybe Reggie," Tia laughed.
Oh no, Reggie. Sierra didn't think it was possible to feel any worse about how she acted. She was wrong. No one deserved an apology from her more than Reggie.
"He's still mad?"
Tia smirked. "No, he's not mad. He's pissed. I think he finally got the message that you're not interested." Tia saw Sierra's face and quieted down. "Don't stress about Reggie. Just hit him with the puppy dog eyes and all will be forgiven. The important thing is that you're okay. I'm so happy you and Tristan finally worked things out."
"We didn't exactly work things out. I'm just giving him a chance to prove that he's changed."
A pause. "Are you joking?"
Sierra frowned. "No."
"I thought since he gave you his car that things were official." Another pause. "Does he even know he's on probation?"
The way Tia said that made Sierra think twice. "I think so."
"You think so?" Tia repeated for effect. When Sierra didn't answer, she shook her head and placed her hand on her forehead. "Oh my God."
"What?"
"Nope. I am not doing this. You had a point before when you told me I have to stop telling you what to do, so I'm butting out. I need a break from your drama anyway."
Sierra almost burst out in laughter. "My drama? You're the most dramatic person I know!"
Tia shrugged. "I may be dramatic but at least I got a man."
Sierra wished she had something to throw at Tia's pretty, little face. But she did have something Tia wished she did. She started the Toyota's engine. It purred like it was brand new. She shifted the car into drive. "Tell me that story again about how Tony won't let you sit in his driver's seat."
Tia's jaw dropped. "No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did. Don't talk smack about me and Tristan."
"Whatever. Fine."
Sierra knew Tia had a point but she didn't feel like analyzing her relationship with Tristan with her nosy best friend. She was in a good place for the first time in a long time and didn't need anybody judging her. Beside, right now, she had other plans.
"Put your seatbelt on," she said.
Tia's eyes lit up and she strapped herself in. "That's what I'm talking about. Where we going?"
"I don't know yet. All is I know is that we're going to go there really fast."
Sierra gripped the steering wheel and pushed the gas pedal to the floor.
***
Tristan was already in the water when Sierra walked into the pool room for her lesson later that day. She never tired of watching him swim. He was born to be in the water. Swimming, for her, was still super technical. Move your hands like this, kick your feet this way; there were so many things to remember. Her fear of drowning didn't make things any easier.
She watched Tristan disappear beneath the water's surface not caring that the water was too deep to stand in. He didn't seem afraid of anything.
She strode down the stairs into the shallow end. Tristan swam over to her and was by her side by the time she hit the four feet marker. She looked over to the deep blue part of the pool and her breathing sped up. Tristan noticed and moved closer. His face was reassuring.
"It's been a while, it's normal to feel rusty," he said. "If you can remember the basics, you should be golden. Try to relax and remember what I taught you."
Sierra nodded. "Can we start with floating first?"
"Sure. You want help?"
"I'd like to try on my own first."
Tristan moved out of the way and gave Sierra room to spread out. She lifted her feet and was surprised when she didn't sink right away considering how stiff she felt. Tristan circled her and placed a hand under the small of her back, slightly lifting her middle. She tensed even more and began to sink.
"Relax, Sierra. Head back. Let the water do the work," he coached. "That's it. Control your breathing."
She tried to listen, but he was too close, making relaxing nearly impossible. After a few minutes, Tristan exhaled heavily and stepped back. Sierra got to her feet.
"You can float, Sierra. I've seen you do it a million times. And I know you're not scared of the water, so why are you so stiff?"
"I can't help it," she admitted.
He met her gaze with a weighted, green stare. After a moment, he said, "Come here." Sierra stared at the hand he offered. "Don't overthink it."
That's exactly what she was doing. She didn't know how to shut her brain off. It only ever stopped working when that was the opposite of what she wanted. She took his hand.
"Close your eyes," he told her. She did. "I want you to focus on the present. No thinking about anything going on outside this room. It's just you and me."
She exhaled and tried to ease her restless mind. "Okay."
"How does the water feel?" Tristan asked keeping his voice low and relaxed.
"Cold."
"What else?"
"I don't know. Wet?"
He snorted. "There's no right or wrong answer, but try to dig a little deeper. Right here, in this moment, how does the water make you feel? Are you scared?"
"No."
"Then tell me."
Sierra tried to think and then she stopped herself. Tristan was trying to get her to stop thinking. She kept her eyes closed and let her senses take over. The water swirled in imperceptible waves all around her.
"I feel surrounded," she said.
"Better. Anything else?"
"Not really."
"What about when we're under the water, how do you feel then?"
She said the first thing that came to her mind. "Weightless."
"Now we're getting somewhere. Hold on to me and don't let your mind wander. I'm going to take us out a little further."
Her grip on him tightened.
"I'm right here," he reassured her. They stopped moving some time later. "I'm going to let you go, okay?" She felt Tristan's hands leave her but she held on.
"Don't," she said.
"I've got you." He removed her arms but he kept a hand on her middle. She felt his other arm beneath her knees guiding the rest of her body to the surface. "Remember that you're weightless and surrounded."
In that moment, she truly was. She could feel the water all around her. It seemed to be holding her up rather than Tristan. Then she didn't feel Tristan holding her at all.
"You will never sink if you remember to feel how you do right now."
It was puzzling to her how he did that. He always made it seem so easy to do things she thought seemed impossible on her own. And she loved him for it.
**********Tristan***********
Tristan calmly brought Sierra back to the shallow end of the pool, careful to keep her from losing focus. He didn't understand how she could trust him with her life, but not her heart. Didn't she know he would never let anything happen to her in or out of the pool? Soon, she won't have a reason to ever question how he felt about her. And as hard as it was to wait for the right time, today's focus had to be about swimming. Soon, he promised.
"Are you ready to really get started?" he asked.
"Yes."
Tristan planned to work on treading water with her today, but he was motivated to try something different. He climbed out of the pool.
"I'll be right back," he said. He quickly returned with his training fins. "Here, put these on." He handed Sierra the large clear and black flippers.
"What are they for?"
"You'll see. Try them on."
Sierra sat next to Tristan on the pool's edge. She placed the large fins on her much smaller feet.
"They're too big," she said.
He knew they would be, but it was all he had. "It was either these or Jillian's purple, little kid fins. And those are too small. Maybe if you like using these I can get you a pair of your own."
She shook her head. "You don't have to do that."
"We can talk about it later. For now, try them out and see how they feel."
Sierra hopped back into the pool and Tristan followed.
"Try gliding underwater with the fins," he said.
"Okay."
Sierra attempted to walk in the fins to the middle of the pool where they were before. Tristan bit back a laugh. She looked silly as the fins made it close to impossible for her to move forward, especially since she'd never used them before.
"Those aren't for walking," he teased. "Try swimming where you want to go. The fins will help."
She hesitated and he floated over to where she stood. "I don't know what to do."
"That's why I'm here. Trust me," he said.
Tristan submerged with her and showed her how to kick to move forward. She was a natural. He took the lead as they swam from one side of the shallow end to the other. They were mostly side by side with Tristan only slightly ahead so he would be close enough to help. She had good instincts and it didn't take long for her to figure out how the fins worked. Her form was relaxed and her kicks were clean and strong. They came up for air when they reached the other side.
"Good work. One more time," he said.
This time, he picked up speed to see if Sierra could keep up. He discovered she could. They surfaced at the other end. Sierra looked at Tristan and smiled right away. He wanted to kiss her so bad.
"You've been holding out on me. Why didn't we ever use these before?"
He smiled back. "Does that mean you like the fins?"
"I never want to take them off! It didn't feel like before where you swim and I just tag along. I was actually swimming with you."
"I noticed that, too. It was surreal."
"No, it was unbelievable, incredible, amazing. I never thought I'd feel this way."
"You want to go again?"
She looked across the length of the pool and a smile spread across her face. "Yeah."
Over the next hour, Tristan taught her the basics of the backstroke and showed her ways to improve her kick for a longer glide. Teaching soon turned into playing and before he knew it, they were in the middle of a huge water fight. They'd just reached a standoff, each of them preparing to attack the other.
"Do you give up?" Tristan taunted.
"Never," Sierra said and kicked her flipper up, splashing Tristan in the face.
Damn, she got him good that time. He swiped the excess water from his face and tried to look menacing, which was hard to do with the huge smile plastered on his face. "You are so dead," he promised.
Sierra shrieked and made a run for it. Tristan couldn't stop his laugh from escaping this time. Did she forget she had the fins on? He caught her in three strides.
"Okay, truce. Truce." Sierra pleaded, but it was too late. Tristan picked her up and dropped her, dunking her head beneath the water's surface. Sierra came up coughing and laughing at the same time. He splashed her one last time for good measure. She looked like she got rained on but she still looked beautiful. She'd always be beautiful to him.
She choked on a laugh. "Ugh. You are going to pay for that," she said.
"Maybe, but I think you're all talk, baby."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
The door to the pool room opened and Tristan spun around when he heard someone come in. He rolled his eyes when he saw it was his kid sister. Suddenly he was tackled from behind and Sierra climbed onto his back.
"Oooh, can I play?" Jillian giggled.
"No ..." he said.
"Yes ... " Sierra answered at the same time.
He hit Sierra with a seething look. "What?" she mouthed.
Sierra hopped off of him and he was tempted to dunk her again. Instead, he turned his attention to Jillian. "What do you want?"
"Sierra's dad is here."
Caught off-guard, Tristan felt like he was the one who just got dunked.
"Has it been two hours already? I must have lost track of time," Sierra said and hurried out of the water and started to pull off her fins. "Jillian, can you tell him I'll be there in a sec?"
"You're not staying?" Jillian asked.
"Not today."
"When?" she pushed.
"I don't know yet."
"Why don't you ever stay over anymore? You used to come over all the time."
Tristan watched Sierra become uncomfortable. He was with his sister on this one, but this was one of the many times that his sister needed to mind her business.
"Jillian, do what Sierra asked you to."
"But –"
"Go," he ordered.
"Fine," she said and marched away.
Sierra looked at him relieved. "Thanks."
"She has a point," Tristan commented moving to the pool's edge where Sierra was sitting to remove the fins.
"You know why I'm not staying."
"I wouldn't say that. Why is your dad picking you up anyway? Didn't you drive here?"
She paused working on the fins. "About that," she said not looking at him. "I can't keep the car."
"If you're still worried about me, don't be. I told you I want you to have it."
"Tristan, my dad is making me give it back."
Damn, he didn't think that part through. "I'm sorry, Sierra. I really wanted you to have it."
"I know. I still can't believe you gave me a car."
He frowned. "Why? Don't you know how much you mean to me?"
She blushed. "I had fun with you today."
She changed the subject. Why? He wanted to push her about it but her had to remind himself to stick to his plan. He watched her push the fins aside and kneel on the floor front of him. He stood to his full height putting them eye to eye with each other. He played with the chain at her neck. The one he gave her for her birthday. He turned it in his fingers over and over, lightly grazing her skin. It did things to him to see her wearing it.
"I'm glad you showed up," he said. "Being in the pool hasn't been the same without you."
Her cheeks colored with guilt. "Tristan, what I said to you about the swim lessons that day at school ..."
He knew exactly what she was talking about although he wished he could forget it. She'd told him she would find someone else to teach her to swim when she knew it would hurt him.
"We both said some things we shouldn't have."
"Still, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry – "
"I forgive you," he cut her off.
"You didn't let me finish," she smiled. Tristan didn't return it. He didn't want her to leave. He placed his forehead against hers.
"Deep down I knew you didn't mean it. What we do here is sacred. It's a part of us," he said, his voice low. "You can't stay away anymore than I can."
Sierra raised her hand to his cheek and caressed it with her thumb. "You're right. I couldn't do this anyone else." Tristan closed his eyes and turned his face into her palm.
Her hands fell to his waist and his pulse raced. "Kiss me goodbye?" she asked.
"If I kiss you, your dad is going to have to come in here to get you. You probably don't want that. I'm guessing he's already ticked off about the car."
"I don't care," she breathed.
"Why don't you just stay? Make something up so he can pick you up later. Or even better, I'll take you home when we're finished."
She shook her head. "Tristan, I -"
He sensed her pulling away. He wanted to play it cool, but he'd never forgive himself if he let her leave without kissing her and she never asked him to again. He grasped her hand at his waist and pulled her in. Her lips readily met his. He placed one hand on her hip and ran his fingers of the other up the length of her arm, across the top of her shoulder, up the curve of her neck, and bunched into her ponytail. He used his mouth to try to convince her to stay.
She was still too far away. He needed to be closer. Close enough to feel her heartbeat against his chest. He gently pulled her back into the water to close the gap and fused his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck. and went to her toes.
In that moment, he thought, screw the timeline. Screw his plan. No more games. He pulled back.
"Meet me here after school tomorrow," he said on a breath.
Sierra's head fell to his chest. "Why?"
He closed his eyes and held her, breathing her in. "Because I asked you to."
His hands went to her face. His fingers traced her lips. He kissed her again. Sierra pulled back, breathless.
"Okay. I will."
***
A/N: Man, oh man, is it good to be back. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to finish this book before I disappeared, but I am on a mission to get this puppy done. I have some other things in the works for you guys that I'm eager to work on. It's really hard getting back into a groove when it's been so long so please talk to me and let me know your thoughts on this chapter.