by Aria Ford
I checked the stopwatch. She kicked ass, and I couldn’t wait to congratulate her.
Once the meet was over and her team received all the congratulations they deserved for winning, I walked over to her.
“Great job, Lindsey. You were on fire today!”
She was grinning ear to ear. “Thanks, Tanner. It felt good. I felt good. I shaved off a whole second on the fifty and got my best time ever on the hundred meter.”
I hugged her. A completely appropriate, brotherly kind of hug.
Her friend Brittany sauntered over. “You ready?” she asked, throwing a heavy bag over her shoulder. “Are you okay with Jennie hitching a ride with us? She’s offered to help me with that stupid physics homework.”
Lindsey moaned. “Seriously? Mine’s done, and I really don’t want to revisit it.”
“I can give you a ride,” I offered.
She looked at me. “Really?”
“Well, yeah, it isn’t like I have anything else to do.”
As if on cue, my phone chimed. It was Brian’s ringtone. It was like he somehow knew I was with Lindsey. I ignored it.
Lindsey looked at Brittany. “Is that cool?”
Brittany looked at me. She always looked at me like a woman sizing up her next victim. It was slightly unnerving. We had all grown up together, and there had never been anything between us, but it wasn’t for lack of her trying. She was a little too high maintenance for me. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and was a little too stuck-up for my tastes.
“Whatever. I’ll call you later. Maybe we can go out or something,” Brittany said, still looking at me.
“All right, then, let’s go.” I headed out, basically running from Brittany’s very intense stare.
“Thanks,” she said, climbing into my truck. She was wearing the track suit that identified her as a member of the San Diego University team.
I drove to her apartment, barely speaking along the way. We had arrested some of the sexual tension, but it would never completely go away.
“Uh, did you want to come in?” she asked in a voice that said she was a little unsure.
I hesitated. Every part of me wanted to go in there and have wild, passionate sex with her, but I knew I shouldn’t.
“Brian.”
“What?” she asked, a weird look on her face.
“Brian. I forgot he texted me earlier.”
I quickly fished my phone out of the holder and read the message. “Shit. He’s in town and wants to go out. I should go. Sorry, but, uh, thanks.”
She jumped out of the truck, “Bye, see you Monday.”
I watched her walk away before calling Brian.
“Meet me at the pub,” he answered. “I’m already here.”
“Be there in about twenty minutes,” I said, hanging up the phone and heading over.
I found him, sucking down a draft beer with a plate of fries in front of him.
“Dude, what’s up? It isn’t like you to be here so soon. Everything okay?” I asked.
I did my best to hide my guilt. It was hard to look him in the eye.
“My dad. The company. I’m sick of it,” he said.
“Hey, if you’re not happy, get out of the business. I think your dad would understand. But I don’t know, you always seemed like you enjoyed the thrill of taking small, unknown software developers and their ideas and making them into something big. What changed?”
He groaned. “I do enjoy it. I mean, I did. I just hate all this intern bullshit. I swear to God they get dumber by the minute. It’s a lot of micromanaging, and I don’t like it. I want to go back to what I was doing.”
“Tell. Your. Dad.”
He shook his head. “I can’t burden him with this. I’m sure it’s some kind of test. He’s seeing if I can train new people. At this point, I don’t know that I can.”
“Brian, take a minute. Talk to your dad. Ask to be a part of the process in picking interns,” I said, proud of what I thought was really great advice. I felt very adultlike. Very responsible and not at all the schmuck who had banged his sister.
He looked at me. Like really looked at me. Fuck, he knows. How could he know?
“You’re a great friend, Tanner. Thanks. Oh, and thank you for looking out for Lindsey. I know I should have gone to her meet today, but I got in town later than I thought I would. Did she win?”
I laughed. “Damn straight she won.”
Brian smiled and nodded. “Good. So, how’s everything going with the two of you?”
I gulped, nearly choking on my beer. “What?”
“The training? How’s it going?”
“Oh, good, great, only a couple days into it, but it’s great.”
The guilt was burning a hole in my belly. I wanted to come clean, but that would be disastrous. I’d have to live with the guilt for now. Hopefully it was a onetime thing with Lindsey, and I would never have to admit to what we did.
But I wanted more. I don’t think one time was enough.
Chapter 8
Lindsey
I’d won plenty of heats before, but this time, it had felt amazing. I knew why. It was because Tanner was there watching. I heard him shout my name, and it was exactly the boost I needed to push that much harder to really kick some ass.
The feeling was hard to describe. I guess some might call it walking on air, which was kind of what I felt like. My win and Tanner’s declaration that I was the best lay he ever had was making me a little giddy. I know Tanner had a lot of experience and there was a long line of women left in his wake, but I was the best.
Maybe he was only saying it to make me feel good, but it didn’t matter. I believed him. I was going to hold on to that. Thinking of Tanner had been my favorite pastime this weekend. I did little else. I didn’t go out on Saturday in favor of sitting home with a pint of no-sugar ice cream and my thoughts of sex with Tanner. If only there had been more to work with. In all the fantasies I had, it had always been a long, marathon sex session, not the ten-minute quickie in the pool.
I wanted him something fierce. Thinking of his dick buried deep inside me had a way of making me instantly wet. I wanted him. Again. What could be wrong with two healthy, young people choosing to be with one another? My brother needed to get a grip. The fact Tanner had been at my meet and Brian hadn’t, even though he was in town, said something.
My phone alarm beeped, telling me it was time to head to practice. I couldn’t wait to see Tanner, so I had been pacing my apartment, ticking off the minutes. For once, the coach had seemed pleased with my performance.
“Thanks,” I said when one of my teammates congratulated me on the way out. I didn’t want to waste even a minute and kept walking past. I had a date with Tanner.
When I walked into the pool area, there were several other swimmers in the pool. A single trainer was working with them all. I was a little disappointed to see we had company. I had hoped to have Tanner all to myself with no witnesses.
Tanner came in behind me. “Bummer. Why don’t we do some toning and strengthening? We don’t need to be in the pool.”
I shrugged. “Works for me. Where?”
“We can use the gym here, but it would probably be better if we went to a better equipped gym. Do you still have that gym membership?”
“Yes, not that I use it all that much.”
“You will. That is going to be part of our regular training. You need to strengthen your muscles. It will increase the power in every stroke, propelling you faster and farther,” he said.
“Fine. Let’s go. Are you driving or me?”
“I am not crawling into that tin can you call a car. We’ll take my truck.”
We headed to the gym. When we pulled into the parking lot, he stopped me from getting out. “Wait.”
“What’s up?”
“Let me take you out tomorrow.”
“What?”
Now I was confused. He went from not wanting anything to do with me to wanting to take me out. Hot an
d cold much?
“I want to take you out. Like, dinner, you know?”
As if I had to think about it. “Sure, that’d be great.”
“Good. Now let’s get in there and get your money’s worth out of that membership.”
I had to keep myself from bouncing across the gym parking lot. I have been crushing on him for years, and yeah, we’d had a nice quickie in the pool, but it wasn’t exactly the dream. A real date. Did that mean he wanted an actual relationship? So many questions and no answers. There was no way she could come right out and ask him about his intentions. Brian had made it very clear guys hated that.
We worked out for a couple of hours before heading back to the pool. Brittany was there, waiting for us.
“Finally. Where’d you two go?” she asked.
“To the gym,” I told her.
She nodded, looking at me and then at Tanner.
“I think we’re done for now,” Tanner said. “I’m going to head out. I’ll text you later,” he said, giving me a telling look.
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” I said, doing my best to hide the excitement in my voice. I didn’t want to appear too eager.
I grabbed my bag and made my way to the locker room.
“What was that?” Brittany squealed, following me into the locker room.
“What was what?” I asked, doing my best to play the innocent.
I was quickly changing into the shorts and T-shirt I had in my bag.
“Uh-uh, you are not getting off that easy. You got something to tell me, and I want to hear every detail. They better be dirty details. Hurry up and get dressed. I’m starving. Let’s get a pizza and then go back to your place,” she said, holding out her painted red nails.
I shook my head, “Why do you insist on getting manicures when you know the pool is going to destroy it.”
She shrugged. “Because I like nice nails. So do men, Lindsey. Maybe you should try it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I’m ready; let’s go.”
We stopped by Papa Murphy’s and got a thin-crust veggie pizza to cook at my apartment. I popped the pizza in the oven, set the timer, and grabbed a couple of Diet Cokes out of the fridge.
“Okay, now tell me everything,” Brittany said, stretching her feet out to rest on my coffee table.
“What do you mean? I don’t even know what you keep insinuating,” I said with my most innocent expression.
“Bullshit, girl. I have known you way too long. Is there something between you and Tanner? There were literally sparks flying between you. I was a little afraid I’d get burned in the crossfire.”
I laughed. “No. Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Liar. Spill.”
I sighed. It wasn’t like she was going to run and tell Brian. Hell, we’d both been lusting after Tanner since we were like ten and he had hit puberty.
“I slept with him,” I said, only a little embarrassed.
She looked at me, stunned at first then squealed, “You did! No way! You bitch. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I laughed. “Uh, because I didn’t feel like bragging about a quickie in the pool.”
“Gross. Not our pool, I hope.” She wrinkled her nose.
“No, actually the school pool.”
She didn’t look all that appeased but brushed it aside. “And?”
“And what?”
“Details, girl. Give me details. Is he big? Is he good? I bet he’s good. With as many women as he’s slept with, he has got to have picked up some really good tricks,” she carried on.
I sighed. “It was over and done really fast,” I started.
“No! Don’t ruin my image of him. Seriously? He’s a minuteman?” She groaned, acting as if her world had been forever ruined.
“Not like that. It was, I don’t know, like heat of the moment. We were in a public place. It wasn’t like we had a lot of time for foreplay. And it was fabulous. Brief but amazing,” I said, slightly dreamy.
“You’ve got to do him again. Give him a chance to redeem himself,” she said with authority.
I took a long drink from my soda can. “I want to, but he says we can’t.”
“Oh my God. What did you do?” she asked in horror.
I rolled my eyes. “Not that. He says Brian would not be okay with us having a thing.”
“Bullshit,” she said, flicking invisible lint from her shorts.
Now I was feeling a little offended.
“He said I was the best he ever had,” I said in a haughty tone.
She threw her head back and laughed. “And you believed him?”
She had confirmed what I had been too afraid to believe. What if it had been a line? What if he was placating me? Tomorrow was a “too bad you’re a crappy lay” dinner.
The timer beeped, and I jumped up to pull the pizza out of the oven, grateful for the distraction.
“I’m happy for you, Lindsey. Really. I think he’s into you. You’re going to get him. You’ll see,” she said, winking before taking a bite of pizza.
I secretly hoped she was right. I didn’t want to start having feelings for him, but if I was being honest with myself, I already had them.
Chapter 9
Tanner
I took one last look in the mirror, something I had done three times already. I had no idea why I was putting so much effort into my looks. I already knew she was into me. The woman had seen me whine when I scraped my knees and saw my heartache when my high school girlfriend dumped me. Maybe that’s what was so great about Lindsey. She had seen me at my worst and was still interested. We knew everything about each other. There was none of that weird mystery that you always had to worry about when you were dating someone new.
We were cheating today by going out for dinner and skipping practice. We both knew it, but in my mind, we could make up for it. Maybe do a two-a-day or train on Sunday. Tonight was important. I wanted to show her I thought more of her than a quick fuck in the pool. Even if we could never have a real relationship, there was no way I wanted her to think that’s what I thought of her. I would kick any guy’s ass for treating her the way I had. I had to make up for it.
I pulled up to her apartment, took a deep breath and headed up the stairs to the second floor. I knocked, fighting back the little bundle of nerves currently in residence in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t felt like this since I’d been in high school. It was weird, and I didn’t think I liked it.
“Hi,” she said, pulling open the door.
I lost my breath, literally lost my breath, when I saw her. She was fucking hot. How in the hell had I not fucked her before last week? I stepped back to take in the sight of her wearing a red mini skirt paired with a black halter. She had her hair loose and hanging down her back. I could tell she was wearing a little more makeup than usual, but I didn’t mind.
“Wow,” I muttered, not sure what else to say, unable to find the words that would do her justice. “You’re beautiful, Lindsey. Truly gorgeous.”
She smiled, revealing a set of perfectly white, straight teeth. “Thanks. Ready?”
“Yes.” I nodded, but maybe saying that was optimistic. No man would have been ready in their fantasies for the way she looked tonight.
She grabbed a tiny black purse and shut the door. I waited for her, motioning for her to go in front of me. I placed my splayed hand at the small of her back and guided her down the stairs. Once we reached my truck, I opened the door and helped her get in. The skirt had ridden up her thigh, and it had been a darn short skirt to begin with.
I jogged around the front of the truck and jumped in.
“Where we going?” she asked.
“A little place I think you’ll love.”
“That sounds mysterious,” she said, her voice light and airy.
I drove to a little pub that overlooked the beach. It was off the beaten path. Tourists didn’t know about it, which meant it remained one of our best-kept secrets in the area. I loved to go there. It was relatively quiet, and th
e view of the ocean was spectacular.
We pulled into the dirt parking lot. “Oh, this is nice,” she said in a tone that was very obviously fake.
I laughed. “Trust me. You’ll like it. Fish and chips, clams, or even steak. These guys are master chefs.”
She nodded. “Sure, sounds good.”
I helped her out of the truck and once again placed my hand on her back in a protective gesture. We found a private booth toward the back of the relatively small pub.
“Hi, Tanner,” one of the waitresses said.
“Hey, Marge,” I greeted the middle-aged woman who had clearly smoked too much and drank one too many whiskeys.
“The regular?”
“Yep. Times two, please,” I told her.
Lindsey looked at me, more than likely not used to someone ordering for her.
“You’ll like it. Trust me.”
It was probably a little overbearing, but it was me. I wanted Lindsey to know the real me. I was alpha, aggressive, and maybe a little too domineering. That was me, and she needed to know all of me.
Marge brought back two cold Bud Lights in bottles and a platter of oysters, “Here ya go, hon. The rest will be out shortly.”
Lindsey looked at the beer and then at me. I thought she would scoff and demand a real restaurant. Instead, she surprised me by picking up the beer and taking a long swig.
“This reminds me of parties from high school days,” she said.
I laughed. “You didn’t do keg stands or use the beer bong?”
“I did, but then I graduated high school and realized I could drink beer from a bottle. Much more convenient,” she joked.
Our conversation glossed over my years in college, but Brian’s name was never mentioned.
“You kicked some ass at that meet on Saturday. I think you have a real shot at medaling,” I said, wanting her to know I was truly proud of her.
She smiled. “Thanks. It’s weird, huh? I mean, remember swimming at my house? We were all half-fish, but you and I, we seemed to have fins. At least that’s what my parents always said.”
“We’ve come a long way. I think your parents thought you were a little crazy. I don’t think even they could have imagined you would have really committed to swimming.”