His father’s departure typically cued a deep exhale, and Leo felt tension drain from his shoulders once he stood alone. After a moment he loped down the stairs to the empty kitchen. Mom must be at one of her classes. He scrounged around the refrigerator until he located some leftover lasagna, which he piled onto a plate and slid into the microwave. Enjoying the peace of the empty house, Leo munched his dinner and watched TV.
Later that evening, as he packed his swim bag in his room, he was overcome by excess energy and emotion when one of his favorite songs came on. He cranked up the volume.
He gave a fantastic air band performance, lost in the lyrics, until he turned to find his mother standing in his bedroom doorway.
Registering her frown, Leo clicked off the music immediately.
His mother’s face was flushed, likely from the exertion of climbing the stairs.
“I didn’t hear you come in, ma’am.”
“No wonder — the walls were shaking,” she said sternly.
“Sorry, Mom. I really like that song. I guess I got carried away.”
“What do you like about the song?” she asked suddenly.
Leo’s brow furrowed. His mother hadn’t asked him a question like that since before the accident, and he wasn’t quite sure how to approach her now that she was actually acting like his parent again.
She’d changed a lot since January — replacing some of her Oxycontin doses with acupuncture, massage, and yoga, and updating her teaching certificate at the community college.
“Uh, I don’t know…I guess the stripped down guitar riffs at the beginning…and the hollowness of the lead singer’s voice. They make it really intense.”
“Go on.” She nodded.
He swallowed. “And…the lyrics…they’re, like, so poetic. She says she’s going under, but you just know she’s fighting like crazy.
She won’t let them get the best of her.” His mother’s lips trembled. “You’re talking about…your relationship with your father?”
Leo looked away.
“I remember the reason I dragged myself up here,” she said after a moment. “Well, besides the opportunity to learn such fascinating information about a song you like!” Her smile faded. “The kitchen’s a disaster zone. I want you to put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher.” Leo hesitated. He’d become used to doing what he pleased in the rare moments when CS wasn’t around. But he couldn’t refuse her. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll get those dishes right now. Do you need any help down the stairs?”
“That’s all right, sweetheart. Just come down when you’ve finished your packing.” As she turned to go, struggling a bit with her canes, she added, “Leo? Good luck at the meet. I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Leo felt butterflies dive-bomb his stomach. He was ready to swim fast. He knew it.
29. Shaving Party!
A vibration on the hotel bed jarred Audrey awake. She opened her eyes to find Elaine bouncing like an ADHD poster child.
The energizing effects of taper had made her even more boisterous.
“Wake up, girl! Time to shave down.”
Audrey groaned, rolled over, and stuffed a pillow over her head.
But the pillow didn’t stay there for long.
“If you wake up, Audrey, I’ll help you shave those hard-to-reach spots.”
She bolted upright and saw Leo and Alex grinning at her. Leo’s lanky body slouched against the fake wood dresser, and he held a Styrofoam container.
Audrey finger-combed her hair as she climbed off the mattress and sniffed the food. “How was dinner?”
“Blech.” Alex stuck his tongue out. “If I have to eat bland pasta one more time, I’ll gag.”
“Alexa, not everyone has your snobby culinary tastes,” Leo said.
Audrey had stayed behind with a stomachache while the team went to dinner. Her abdominal pain had ended once she was able to throw up, but then dread had set in. Was she getting the flu right before her big meet? Audrey had simply decided she wouldn’t let il ness impede her swimming performance. And now she’d almost forgotten about getting sick. She was ravenous.
Closing in on Leo, Audrey reached for the container. “What’d you order for me?”
He pulled it from her reach. “You think this food’s for you? It’s for me, for when I get hungry later.”
“Hand it over! I’m starved!”
Leo transferred the food from one hand to another behind his back as she lunged for it.
“Give it to me!” She lost her footing and careened into him.
He gave a low laugh as he held her in his arms, the food now safe on the dresser. “I should know better than to stand between a hungry swimmer and food.”
“Darn straight.” She leaned in for a kiss. “I think I’ll have you for my appetizer.”
“Ugh.” Alex winced. “I know when I’m not wanted. C’mon, Laney, let’s go to my room.”
“Okay, let me grab my razor.”
While Elaine rifled around in her bag, Audrey scooped up the container and sat on the bed. Soon she was shoving forkfuls of pasta into her mouth.
“I’ll be right back.” Leo followed Alex and Elaine out the door.
When Leo returned, he held electric clippers. Audrey continued inhaling linguini carbonara as she watched Leo buzz a path through his tightly coiled black hair.
“Is Alex shaving his head this year?” Leo chuckled. “No way. Alex says a shaved head looks stupid on him.”
“It is all about fashion,” Audrey said with a laugh.
After guzzling water, she flipped on some music videos on the way to the bathroom, where she set out towels, shaving cream, and her razor.
As she peeled off her clothes and stepped into an old training swimsuit, she heard Leo’s voice. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yep, that nap was awesome.”
She emerged from the bathroom to stare at Leo’s newly shorn head. His face appeared almost gaunt, and his blue eyes popped with an even brighter intensity. He looked like a badass, which would come in handy trying to intimidate competitors behind the blocks.
She smiled. “You said something about helping me shave?” Leo’s eyes floated down her body, and she hoped her melon-colored suit showed off her suntan. He took a step toward her and cocked one eyebrow. “Yeah, you’re pretty hairy, so it’ll probably take two of us to do the job.”
Mouth open, she pushed him with mock distain, then moved her hands down to his waist and lifted his T-shirt over his head. It fell to the floor in a heap. Audrey sauntered into the bathroom, glancing behind her with beckoning look. She turned on the faucet in the tub while Leo stepped out of his cargo shorts and joined her, clad only in his boxers.
They sat on the edge of the tub, with the pounding water drown-ing out the sound of the television. “Let’s shave our legs first,” Audrey suggested.
Leo seemed entranced as she soaped her legs. He squeezed shaving cream onto his palm, and the calming scent of lavender filled the air.
“Gimme that beautiful leg.” He placed Audrey’s foot in his lap and smoothed the shaving cream over her leg. Audrey closed her eyes as Leo’s fingers skated across her skin. She dipped her razor into the tub and slowly dragged it through the foam, leaving sleek smoothness in the sharp blade’s wake.
“Yay, I get to be a girl again!” Audrey smiled as she rinsed her razor and went back to work. “It sucks not getting to shave all season long.”
“The sacrifices of swimmers,” Leo mused. “Finally my sweet hair-ball gets to shave her legs.”
She whisked her hand through the water and splashed him. “Get going, baldy. You’re the hairy one.”
“Okay, okay.” He lathered cream over his legs, extending them into the tub with his feet toward Audrey.
Audrey turned off the tap and hummed along with the music floating in from the television as she started on her arm. “Are you nervous?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m pretty jacked. You?”
�
��I definitely feel butterflies. But I’m also kind of enjoying this — our last state meet. I want to go out with a bang.”
“That’s what she said.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m dating a ten-year-old.” A few minutes later her legs were slick and slippery. “Leo? Will you, um, will you shave my back?”
He sighed dramatically. “I guess. If I have to. C’mere, little swimmer.”
She slid down the edge of the tub and swiveled her back to him, shyly pulling down her swimsuit to her waist. There was hardly any hair on her back, but you could never be too careful, so swimmers shaved it all.
Audrey closed her eyes as Leo massaged shaving cream over her back. He slowly drew the razor over her skin, and she shivered despite the heat.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.
She reveled in the glide of the blade across her skin, interspersed with light splashes of water. Her eyes were still closed when she heard him say, “Okay, I think I’m done here, but let’s make sure your entire back’s smooth.”
Leo skimmed his hands across the small of her back, using gentle pressure as he massaged up to her neck and shoulders. Audrey moaned. The sound increased in volume as Leo planted wet kisses down her spine.
Turning to face him, she pressed her lips to his. Leo let the razor drop into the water, freeing his hands to embrace her in a fervent meeting of lips and tongues.
Suddenly there was a pounding on the door, and their kisses were replaced by looks of alarm. Audrey instinctively pulled up her suit straps. “Who could that be?”
“Leo? Are you in there?” came a deep voice.
Leo’s eyes widened. “That’s CS!”
Audrey scrambled out of the tub. “Hide in here. I’ll get rid of him.”
“No, Aud. Maybe he’ll go away if you don’t answer.” More pounding at the door soon squashed that hope. Audrey stepped out of the bathroom and tossed Leo his clothes. They exchanged looks of desperation as she closed him in.
Audrey trembled as she opened the door and looked up at Leo’s father. She hardly ever saw him in civilian clothing. She followed his gaze as he scanned down her swimsuit and noticed haphazard patches of shaving cream on her arms.
CS cleared his throat. “Miss Rose, I’m trying to locate Leo.” Smiling sweetly, Audrey shrugged. “He’s not here, sir. I’ve been shaving down and haven’t seen him since he brought me some dinner.”
“You didn’t eat with the team?”
“I’ve been feeling a little sick.”
He took a step back from her. “I stopped by Leo’s room, but he wasn’t there.” His frown turned into a conspiratorial grin. “I think I interrupted something going on between Alex and Elaine. I didn’t know they were dating.”
Audrey suppressed a laugh. “That’d be news to me too.”
“Well, if you see Leo, tell him to report to room three twelve.”
“Yes, Commander.” Audrey shut the door and leaned back against it. She realized she was shaking.
Now dressed, Leo stuck his head out of the bathroom. He crossed the room in an instant and swept her up. “You’re an awesome girlfriend.”
Feeling steadier and calmer in his arms, Audrey giggled. “Guess who CS thinks is dating?”
Leo pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Who?”
“Alex and Elaine.”
“Oh, I’ll make sure they never hear the end of that.” Leo let go of Audrey to grab the ice bucket. “I’ll tell CS I was getting ice…Mr. Cold-as-ice Shark will certainly understand that. I should get going. What room number did he say?”
“Three twelve.”
“Drat, I really wanted to finish this shaving party…” His eyes twinkled. “But I better go.” He leaned in for a lingering goodbye kiss, then held their foreheads together for a moment. “Sweet dreams, Audrey.”
She smiled. “Sweet gold medal dreams, Leo.” He opened the door, peeked into the hallway, and was gone.
30. The State Meet, Day One
As soon as Leo jumped into the crowded warm-up lane, he grinned.
He loved the feel of his shaved body. Last night he’d shivered as he slid into bed, the smoothness of his skin gliding under the covers.
Now surrounded by cold water, every nerve ending in his skin tingled.
Popping to the surface, Leo took only a few strokes before he arrived at the opposite end of the pool. Swimmers littered the wall, draped over the gutter, and Leo squeezed in a flip turn.
The sun had decided to grace the Ft. Lauderdale International Hall of Fame Pool. The meet format for Friday and Saturday involved morning preliminary races, which would qualify swimmers for evening finals.
Almost finished with his warm-up, Leo waited in a line behind lane one to do a sprint off the blocks. Surveying the scene around him, he saw a familiar face. “Hey, Gary.” Leo smiled, shaking the hand of his closest competitor from St. Petersburg.
“How you been, Leo?” Gary Gable’s shoulder muscles rippled as he gripped Leo’s hand. Gary was shorter and more compact, and his ebony skin stretched taut over his pectorals. Their minority status in a sea of white swimmers had helped forge a friendship between them.
“I hear you got a scholarship to UF,” Leo said. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, man. And where are you headed?”
“To the Naval Academy. I hope I get time to train with the crazy schedule they have for plebes.”
“That’s so awesome. With all this Mideast stuff going on, I’m really impressed you’d do that. You’re a better man than me.”
“We’ll see ’bout that. Who’s gonna win the fifty this year?” Gary grinned. “It’ll be one of us touching out the other by mere hundredths.”
“So it’ll be just like last year’s meet then,” Leo said as his turn arrived. “Good luck, dude.”
After his warm-up, Leo grabbed his towel, water bottle, and racing suit from his bag. He noticed Matt timing Audrey on some pace fifties as he headed for the locker room. They appeared to be having an intense discussion, and Matt had leaned down close to the water.
Leo’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the cool semidarkness of the locker room. Ducking into an open stall, he stripped off his drag suit and stepped into his high-performance racing suit. Aware of its hefty price tag, he was careful with the technical material. If he ripped the suit before getting even one race in, Cheap Spender wouldn’t be happy.
The meet began with the girls’ 200 medley relay. Elaine, Audrey, Susan, and Kelly gathered behind the blocks, looking jittery yet optimistic about making the top eight. Sure enough, they gave a strong performance — an auspicious start for the team.
After her cool down, Audrey came to sit next to Leo, whose first race wouldn’t begin until she’d completed both her morning swims.
“How was your split in the relay?” he asked.
“Okay — twenty-nine-two. I want to get under twenty-nine tonight.”
“I thought you stayed underwater for your pullout a tad too long.”
“Hmm…I’ll practice some starts tonight and play around with it a little. How’d you feel in warm-up?”
“Pretty good.” Leo smiled. He’d actually felt amazing but didn’t want to jinx himself by saying it out loud.
“Well, I better go for my IM.”
“What’s your heat?”
“Heat three, lane four,” she told him over her shoulder.
“Kick some butt!”
She looked back with an impish smile.
Leo watched her fidget as she approached the blocks. Where was her confidence? She’d won this event at last year’s meet.
“Hey, Leo.”
He looked up to see a blonde hovering over him. “Oh, uh, hi, Marcie.”
Marcie Sayer was Audrey’s nemesis in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, and he hoped she wouldn’t catch him talking to her. Audrey claimed Marcie hit on him at meets.
“You’re lookin’ good, Leo,” Marcie said with half-closed eyelids.
She lick
ed her lips. Did she actually think she could seduce him?
He tried to think of a response. “What heat are you in?”
“I’m in heat…heat four.” She leaned closer, the wet strands of her hair almost brushing his shoulder. “Right after Audrey’s heat. Which one of us do you predict will win tonight?”
“Audrey, of course.”
Marcie pulled back, emitting a slight hiss. “We’ll see about that.” After she walked away, Leo snuck a look at Audrey and felt relieved to find her oblivious to the interaction. Audrey stretched behind the blocks, her graceful limbs like a ballerina’s. A tense ballerina.
Leo watched her take the race out smooth and easy, but she seemed to fall off the pace. The other girls began to close the distance, and Audrey barely held them off to win the heat. Leo looked up to the clock and saw 2:03, a full three seconds off Audrey’s best. He knew she’d be disappointed.
Audrey grasped the gutter for a few seconds, her back heaving.
She dragged herself out then almost stumbled to the cool-down pool. Marcie’s heat started, and exactly two minutes later it ended.
Audrey wouldn’t be happy to know her rival had bested her by three seconds in the prelims.
Ten minutes later Audrey sat back down next to him.
“What did Matt say?” Leo asked.
“He said I died on the breast and free. I told him I didn’t feel right in warm-up!”
“It’ll go better tonight. I gotta get ready for my fifty, okay?” Audrey nodded. “I hope your swim goes better than mine, Leona.” He laughed and grabbed his goggles.
Despite her best hopes, Audrey stared at the clock, dumbstruck after her swim in the evening finals. Had she really just swum that slowly? Last year she’d won the 200 IM in two minutes. This year, her senior year, the year she was supposed to have the meet of her life, she swam a 2:04 and ended up in third place. Marcie had swum an incredible 1:58, setting the Florida state record, and a freshman from Sarasota had snuck in for second place with a 2:03. Not only had Audrey failed to defend her title, she hadn’t even finished in second place, which lost valuable points for her team.
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