Three Years Later

by Casey McMillin

Thanks to Jamie, I now only look at girls as possible one-night stands. I think she scared me away from the whole girlfriend thing for a while. The girl from the lobby crossed my mind again, and I couldn't help but reject the idea of a one-night stand with her. I was perplexed by my own thoughts; perplexed by not being able to get the freaking lobby girl with dark hair out of my head. I told myself I met girls like her all the time, and it was true, I did. I tried really hard to convince myself there was nothing really special about how she looked, but I found that I just couldn't get the picture of her out of my head.

  I thought about her at the most inopportune times that night. At one point in the night, there was a girl, a cute girl, who acted like there wouldn't be strings attached. I should have been able to act on the impulse to get to know "Victoria" a little better, but I couldn't.

  I hung out with the rest of the guys until about midnight, when I ended up heading back to the resort with Josh. Three different people asked who is she when they heard me tell Victoria I was leaving.

  I told myself they were crazy for asking and I was just leaving because I was tired, but that didn't stop me from going through the main lobby (even though I didn't have to) just in case she was there.

  Josh went with me and thankfully didn't ask why we took the detour. Needless to say, the girl wasn't in the main lobby. In fact, aside from a few employees, Josh and I were the only people in there at all.

  I had to tell myself it was unrealistic to think I'd even see her again in a place this size. And what did it matter in the grand scheme of things? A girl is a girl, is a girl, is a girl, right?

  Back in the room, Josh and I spaced out on our cell phones with Animal Planet on the TV serving as background noise until we both eventually passed out.

  ****

  The official swim season doesn't start until September, but most of the team came to Los Angeles for the Disney Showcase every summer. We'd have to be crazy not to. The NCAA people who organize the whole thing always put us up in one of the resorts, where we get treated like royalty. Plus, we get a season pass to the park. Most of us didn't really use the passes too much after showcase week since it's a bit of a trek from San Diego, but it was a cool bonus nonetheless.

  The coaches never came with us on this trip, which left the team captains (myself for one) in charge of keeping the team organized. I had been running workouts this week, and up until now, I'd taken it really easy on them.

  They were shaking in their little swim boots when we got together for practice the next afternoon, though. Most of the Cal team, twenty-two guys, stood lined up at pool side, as rigid and disciplined as a bunch of Marines.

  "Okay, I'm gonna let you have that one." I said, and all of their facial expressions shifted from tense to relieved in an instant. "Let's just act like nothing even happened last night. But I'm serious… that wasn't pleasant, and it won't happen again. I met a cute girl in my jammers with no coverage." Audible sighs of horror and compassion came from the team before I continued, "Yeah, so I have one good story, that's all I need. Never again, we clear?" A lot of heads nodded in unison. "Berkley needs the pool in an hour, so let's get going. After the last showcase tonight, we're done with our obligation to Disney. The rooms are good through tomorrow night, though. I think most of you knew that already, right? More head nods came, along with a few confused faces that told me this was news to them. "Try to enjoy the next few weeks off before season starts because I've met the new trainer, and let me warn you now, you're gonna wish you'd never been born after he works you out."

  We finished practice at three o'clock, which gave us a few hours to kill before we had to meet back at the sports complex.

  Chapter 3

  Rachel

  I had to hand it to her… my mom did a good job of planning our trip. She worked it out where our first full day at the resort would be really low-key. She knew we'd still be zonked after the long day of driving, so there was nothing on the itinerary the next day except for checking out the resort's pools and restaurants.

  It kind of stunk not having Brit there to hang out with me, but my parents weren't so bad, and honestly I'd always done pretty good on my own.

  My mom made "a nest", as she calls it, at one of the outdoor pools. She had a big beach bag full of snacks and towels and everything we needed. She stayed in that spot for most of the day, saying she was content to just read and soak up some sun. I didn't really know how much sun soaking she was doing since she practically bathed in SPF-80 sunblock.

  My dad, who is an adrenaline junkie from way back, couldn't get enough of the waterslides. He went on one after another like a twelve-year-old. His excitement was actually really cute. My own eagerness was somewhere in the middle, some of the time I ran around with my dad, sometimes I lounged next to my mom, and sometimes I found a quiet place to text my friends or surf the web from my phone.

  Several times throughout the day, I thought of the guy I ran into in the lobby the night before. (He was on my mind more than Nick, actually, which should've made me reconsider the idea of getting back together with him.)

  I had seen and heard enough around the resort today to know that there was something going on with college swim and dive teams at a sports place close by. I didn't tell Brit this, but the resort was full of super hot, college age guys. Most of them had on warm-ups or street clothes, but you could easily spot groups of them walking around. They were all extremely tall, like basketball players.

  I figured the lovely spandex number the guy in the lobby had been wearing was his uniform. I thought back to the coverage I'd seen of the Olympics, and felt pretty good about assuming he was part of one of the college swim teams.

  The simple fact that he was so much older than me was enough to make me count myself out of the running for his attention. I didn't have a bad self-esteem or anything, but I was definitely a realist. I'm an average seventeen-year-old girl and he's a, not even close to average, older, college athlete. Let's just say I knew I wasn't the type of girl that older guys try to hook up with. I was on vacation with my parents, after all.

  If Brit were here, she'd be the one wanting to take chances with approaching one of them. She'd have some kind of plan that would probably involve dropping what she was holding like a damsel in distress and seeing if any would-be heroes went for the bait. Me? I was content to hang with and/or ignore my parents until the week's end.

  We had a long day of lounging, and were now sitting in the front of a restaurant while they got a table ready for us. At that very moment, I was doing my best to ignore Jimmy and Rita. I wasn't in a bad mood or anything; I just didn't feel like talking.

  I was staring absentmindedly out a window when I saw him. It was definitely the guy from last night. I spotted him easily, even though he was fully dressed this time and walked with other guys who all had a similar appearance. He had on jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt that said U Cal. He was carrying a duffel bag. I could see his V-shaped swimmers body even with his T-shirt on.

  The restaurant we were in was connected to the main lobby and I watched as he and four other guys walked by. A few times I saw him craning his neck around as if he were looking for someone. I figured he was looking for the rest of the team. He must have decided not to stick around and wait for them because they all just kept walking and went out the front doors.

  "You okay, sweetie?" The sound of my mom's voice made me return from la-la land.

  "Yeah, I was just wondering about those guys, I think there are a bunch of swim teams here or something."

  "Yep," my dad said, like he was an authority on the subject. "I rode the tornado with a kid who said he was here to watch his big brother swim in the NCAA Swim and Dive something or other. I think it's a big deal."

  "I think we should go check it out," I surprised myself and my parents with the announcement. Up until now, I'd just been along for the ride.

  "Uh, yeah, sure sweetie. We'll ask the people at the front desk what's going on, and maybe go check it out after dinner.
"

  Just then, we heard "Coleman, party of three". We followed the hostess to a booth in the main dining area. It was a family style restaurant… one of those with vintage memorabilia. Only this was all Disney stuff. I didn't care at all that enjoying myself at a restaurant like this probably made me seem like a little kid.

  When the server came to bring the check, my dad asked, "Do you know what's going on with all the swim teams?"

  "Yeah. It's one of our biggest weeks of the year." She laughed and stuck out her tongue like she was pooped from the hoards of people coming through the restaurant. "Most of our guests this week come specifically for the showcase. We're filled to half capacity with the swimmers, divers, and their family members alone." She faked a punch to my shoulder and said, "I bet this one here wasn't disappointed to have the resort full of beautiful boys."

  I gave a goofy laugh in response fearing she could see right through me. "Naahh, I have a boyfriend, well sort of."

  Mom gave me a why didn't I know this look while dad carried on a conversation with the server.

  "How do we get tickets for whatever's going on?"

  "Oh, you know what?" The server said as if something very crucial just dawned on her. "I think tonight's the last night. And you'll want to be heading there right after you leave here because I think it's starting soon." She scurried off to run our credit card and get a to-go box.

  My mom, who had been silent while my dad spoke with the server, looked at me and said, "Did you and Nick get back together?"

  "No, we're talking, but we probably won't… no, I doubt it." I didn't know the answer to that question, but I usually don't talk boyfriend with the parents so I tried to shrug it off. Mom looked across the table at dad.

  "If you two are planning on going to the swimming thing tonight, I think I'll pass. I got into a good book when I was sitting by the pool today, and I'd like to get a bath and try to finish it up."

  "Sounds like a plan," Dad said, clapping his hands together like a coach. Then he gave Mom a carefree wink like he was all gangsta or something and said, "Get room service to bring you a couple glasses of wine."

  "Why, Jimmy, whatever did I do to deserve a prince like you?" She batted her eyes at him.

  My dad breathed onto his fingernails and polished them on his shoulder.

  My parents crack me up sometimes, but I was only half-hearing them because I was antsy to get on with it after the waitress made the "last night of the swim show" comment.

  "You ready, Dad?"

  "Sure sweetie, I guess we get a date." He stood from the table and held out an arm for me.

  "Bye Mom."

  "Bye honey," Dad bent to kiss her on the cheek, "Hope it's a happy ending."

  "I wouldn't read a book with any other kind," she said.

  We parted ways. Mom headed for her happy ending, and Dad and I headed for… well, we actually had no idea what for. We'd have to figure it out together. My dad had pretty good common sense with making his way around new places, so I was confident we'd make it to the right place. One stop at the front desk, and we were off.

  Two doors down from our hotel, we found the place. It was an absolutely gigantic sports complex. I'd never seen anything like it. I was so thankful to my dad for leading the way because the place was so sprawling and breathtaking in design that I was way too distracted to find the pools. There were also a ton of people, and I'm not nearly as comfortable in crowds as my dad.

  Most of the chaos was near the set of doors that led to the pools. We handed our newly acquired tickets to one of the workers armed with a portable ticket scanner before pushing our way inside.

  A wave of hot air carrying the scent of chlorine hit us as we walked in. Bleachers covered the entire length of the nearest wall, and although it was packed, Dad and I easily found an empty spot to squeeze into.

  We had no idea what to expect. The closest I'd ever been to anything like this was watching the Olympics on TV.

  The athletes were meandering around the pools. The only way you could tell them apart was by the colors of their shorts and swim caps. Otherwise, they all looked alike. Just like the Olympic swimmers we've all seen on TV and Wheaties boxes, these guys were all in amazing shape.

  Most of them had on the skin-tight shorts I'd seen on the guy in the lobby, but some of them had on itty-bitty Speedos. My dad figured it out. It was a diver versus swimmer thing that made the difference in what they wore (the divers wearing the itty-bitty ones).

  The event turned out to be more of a "show" then I had expected. I assumed they'd be racing, which they were, but the whole thing was staged so that the host (a guy with a Hawaiian shirt and hair as big as his personality) was constantly throwing in ridiculous twists that the athletes had to deal with. The playfulness of the host combined with the athlete's willingness to deal with his antics made for a hilarious show. The guys were all really good sports about the whole thing.

  The grand finale of the show was a winner-take-all relay race. The catch was, all the teams were mixed up. The host called ten captains to the side of the pool were they did a schoolhouse pick for their teams. Members of their own swim team were off limits, so team captains got stuck with the guys from other teams. Before they chose teams, the host went down the line and introduced each one of them.

  My heart started beating rapidly when he got to the third guy in line. It was most definitely the guy I ran into in the lobby. I thought I had spotted him a few other times during the show that night, but I couldn't be sure with the goggles and swim cap and everything.

  "Everybody give it up for Collin from U Cal." The host was patting him on the back as the crowd erupted in applause.

  Lobby Guy, Collin, gave a wave and a smile to the fans. He bantered with the host a little bit off the microphone while the crowd finished the round of applause.

  Even from this far away, I recognized his smile. Something about it made my insides do a flip. Even though I'd barely even met him, I felt a certain sense of pride at him being a team captain.

  Now that I knew for sure which one he was, I even got a little nervous when he jumped into the pool for his leg of the relay. Collin was swimming last on his team, and I surprised my dad by yelling and clapping when he came from behind for the win.

  He looked at me with one eyebrow quirked as if to ask what made me all excited.

  "I just like U Cal," I lied. "Not that I'd go all the way to San Diego or anything. I guess I just like their colors." I was such a terrible liar that I decided the best thing for me to do at this point was shut up.

  "That was fun, don't you think?"

  "Yeah, I'm glad we came, thanks Dad."

  "My pleasure, sweetheart."

  I linked my arm in his and we made our way through the crowds back to the resort. All right, so maybe the guy didn't run headlong into the bleachers and sweep me off my feet like I imagined him doing, but at least I learned his name.

  Collin.

  Chapter 4

  Collin

  I saw her, I knew it was her, and I couldn't do anything about it. I could see her dark hair and eyes from across the pool. She was like a gypsy girl, a gorgeous little gypsy. I wanted so badly to talk to her, but it wasn't like I could just call a timeout or anything.

  I had to swim the very last leg of the very last race of the night, and by the time I got out of the pool, I'd lost her in the crowd.

  I practically ran to the locker room to get dressed, thinking if I made it back to the resort in a hurry I'd see her in the lobby again. I told myself she'd come to the showcase to see me tonight, but I knew it was just as likely she was here to see her brother (or boyfriend for that matter).

  "Where you going, Collin?" Josh, laid back as always, was really questioning why I was in such a rush.

  "I thought I recognized someone. I'll see you back at the room."

  "Woah, okay," he said. He drew the words out, not bothering to hide his surprise and curiosity.

  "It's probably nothing, but I'll tell you lat
er," I assured him.

  There were always a few kids waiting for autographs after this thing, and I stopped to sign a few before I could make it out of the building.

  After all that rushing around, I was frustrated to discover my girl wasn't in the lobby. I decided to hang out for a few minutes just in case. Finding a comfortable spot on a couch, I took out my cell phone to tap out a few texts. I looked up every few seconds, but never saw the girl.

  Back at the room, Josh was chomping at the bit to get back home to his girlfriend, so he decided to make the three-hour drive back to San Diego that night. I knew he'd be leaving before I did, but his hasty departure meant I'd be rooming alone for two nights instead of just one.

  "You wanna head back with me?" Josh was just being nice. He didn't care what I decided. He just wanted to be on his way.

  "I can't, remember? I've got like six of the guys riding with me. We're planning on going to the park tomorrow."

  "You staying tomorrow night too?"

  "Yeah, I figured I would since the room's paid for."

  "All right, I'll see you back home. Text me and we'll hook up sometime before school starts."

  "Sounds good, drive safe." I offered my fist and Josh bumped it with his own before turning to leave the room.

  Huffing out a long, defeated breath, I sat back on the couch thinking just get her out of your head, it's okay if you don't see her again, people have little connections with other people all the time, she's just a girl.

  I couldn't believe myself. It was so unlike me to get all wrapped up in a girl. But I wanted her. Even my past desire for Jamie paled in comparison to what I instantly felt for that little gypsy.

  She had said she was just getting to the hotel when I met her last night, so I knew I still had some time. I had to have her, that's all there was to it. I'd see that girl again, even if I had to sit in that lobby all day to find her.

  ****

  Mark and Calvin, brothers and sprinters on the team, gave three loud raps on my door at 9:02 AM. I had plans to go to Disney with about ten of the guys from the team.