by Croix, Ada
By the time her shift ended, all Allie was thinking about doing in bed was sleeping. She’d been running throughout the morning, making sure all the volunteer badges were distributed and then going on a mad hunt for a lost microphone. After that, she’d been on her feet staffing a booth with her smile for hours upon hours.
It wasn’t actually that hot since the breezes were coming off the spring-chill ocean, but between the sun and the sand Allie was feeling sapped. She said her goodbyes to her shiftmates and headed out into the crowd to look for someplace to get a drink and a seat. There was some time to kill because Violet had texted saying she’d be tied up for a while longer with her assignment.
The beach was crawling with people. There were competing athletes and young hopefuls, their family and friends as well as the general public come out for a nice day at the shoreline with the added entertainment of world-class sportsmanship. Announcers echoed calls over the speakers and music blared between games.
In her time at Colorado’s training center Allie had gotten used to the sight of fans circling athletes. It didn’t particularly catch her eye, especially not at a venue where advertizing had emphasized the international-caliber competition that would be on the sand that day. She had to do a double take when she noticed that it wasn’t one of the volleyball players being mobbed, but a more familiar figure towering above the crowd with a bowed head of dark hair.
“Marc?”
There were a pair of bikini-clad girls making eyes at him who pouted when Marc looked over their heads to focus on Allie. “My cover’s been blown.” His mouth held only the slightest curve but she knew it was merely the edge of a greater smile meant only for her.
“What are you doing here?” Allie turned her path to approach him slowly. She tried to ignore the looks the girls were giving her. She couldn’t quite refrain from tugging to be sure her polo collar was straight and fussing needlessly with her braid.
“A day off. Old friends.” Marc shrugged, not even looking at the girl whose red, white, and blue brochure he handed back. “Allie, I’d like you to meet Doctor Seinder.” She hadn’t noticed the other man behind him, but Marc brought him along to shoulder through the dispersing bubble of fans. “I played with Chip at college.”
“Hi Ch— Doctor Seinder.” Allie put on her smile and held out her hand, though it was difficult to refrain from slanting a curious glance at Marc.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Allie. I’m afraid I was partially responsible for the hold up. My son started the fuss over Marc. The kid has caught water polo fever early I’m afraid.”
“Are you saying I can’t draw a crowd on my own?” Marc was deadpan as he cocked a look at Chip.
His old teammate just chuckled, clapping a hand to the taller shoulder beside him. He didn’t let his attention get distracted from Allie. “I understand you’ve been interning with the national committee’s sport scientists?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Allie tried not to let her confusion knit too strongly on her forehead.
“Marc was telling me about a research project you were involved with.”
Allie started to suspect the significance of the man introduced as doctor. A brief dodge of her gaze picked out Marc’s close attention. “I’ve been assisting on an inflammation study with Doctor Kaitech, based out of Colorado. It’s a fascinating project. It’s really confirmed for me that I want to work in research.”
Chip was nodding deeply. “I guess you’re looking to apply for grad school?”
“That’s the plan. I thought it’d be good to get some clinical experience first, and one of my teachers made me aware of the training center’s internship, and …” Allie gestured out her hands.
She was interrupted from further comment on the fatefulness of it all by a little girl in a rash guard who came bounding up right in the middle of their conversation. “Daddy, Daddy. Momma says you have to help take me swimming,” the child promptly demanded of Chip while tugging on the cuff of his shorts.
“She did, did she?” Doctor Seinder took his daughter’s hands, duck-walking so as to not tread on her feet as she pulled him in the direction of the waves. “There’s no arguing with the boss.” He lifted a rueful smile back up to them. “It was nice to speak with you, Allie. You should come visit my lab sometime. I could show you what we’re up to.”
“I’d like that, thank you.”
“Marc has my number. Marc, make sure she gets it. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Hand in hand with his little girl, Doctor Seinder headed off down the beach towards where a woman in a broad-brimmed hat was shepherding a pair of boys.
Allie watched them go for a moment, puffing a sigh of air through her cheeks. She tilted a look up at Marc. “Hi.” Tentative uncertainty kept her smile from its full bloom. She tucked her hair behind her ears self-consciously. “So … where did that come from?”
“He sent me a text when we won. I hadn’t really kept in touch after school, but he went on to get his PhD. Turns out he’s now starting a lab up at the university. We were never all that close, but.” Marc shrugged. “When your friend Violet let me know she could hook up extra tickets for today, I gave Chip a call to see if he wanted to come out and meet up. He’s angling to do a water polo clinic with a local kid’s league, so I maybe said I could see about roping in a few of the other guys and make it a thing.”
“You mean you’re bribing him.” For me. The last words stuck silent on her tongue. Allie reached a hand for his arm. “Marc. But you hate all that promo PR stuff.”
Marc not only stopped, he turned to better face her. “The point of being part of a team is to help each other out.”
The faint-knit edges of Allie’s wariness melted away beneath the spread of her smile. She swept her hand over the muscled curve of his shoulder until her palm rested over his chest. “You know, you didn’t have to do all this to score with me.”
“I wanted to do it. I want you.” Marc looped his arms around her waist. “I want you to be happy.”
The deep breath she took was shaky, but Allie’s nerves rang purely with delight. “I’m happy you’re back.”
“When can I take you home?”
Allie smiled. Home. It didn’t matter if it were her apartment or his. It was wherever they’d be together.
44
It didn’t seem possible that the team could train harder, but with the spot for the summer games secured things shifted into even higher gear. At the same time, Allie’s internship term was nearing completion. Once Violet returned to Colorado she was able to help Allie look at her options, pulling up the policies and clarifying what Allie’s obligations were. With a better idea of her status in regards to the central office, Allie sat down with Everett to determine how to transition her role working with the water polo team’s staff.
Marc laughed at her when Allie was surprised that Lindsey offered her a position working directly out of her clinic. She thanked the physical trainer profusely, but asked if she could consider the offer for a few days. She had another lead to follow up on.
With Marc’s help, Allie had been in contact with Doctor Seinder. She put together her CV and emailed it to him. After looking it over, the associate professor invited her to come up to campus to speak with him one afternoon.
Allie squirmed under the look Everett gave her while he handed over the keys of his car. “I expect that Marc will be in practice tomorrow, and is not planning on going with you.”
“I’m going on my own,” Allie confirmed with a definite nod. She hoped that her blush wasn’t too obvious.
From visitor parking, Allie had to walk through two different buildings before she finally found the directory with Doctor Seinder’s lab listed. Luckily she had left herself plenty of time. Marc’s old teammate was welcoming, getting up from his desk to give her a tour of the lab and introduce her to the current students working there. Afterwards a number of them joined in for a small walk through campus to grab lunch in the northern quarter and talk further about the pro
jects going on in the lab.
They finished up back in Doctor Seinder’s office. Allie noticed a water polo ball on his shelf near the copies of scientific journals and his graduate dissertation. “Do you still play?”
“There’s a pick-up game here on campus that I make on occasion,” Doctor Seinder said with a grin. “Mostly it makes me feel rusty. Though I was never as good as Marc.”
“No one really is,” Allie said without thinking.
Luckily it just made the professor chuckle. “Yeah, he was always good in the water. It was the rest that seemed a problem for him. Maybe I got a different view than most, being in the same major.” He must have noticed the startled widening of Allie’s eyes. “You didn’t know that? I guess he doesn’t seem like your typical bio major.”
“He’s never mentioned it.”
“I’m sure it was hard for him, realizing that he couldn’t hack it. He never would ask for help. Didn’t want to depend on anyone, I guess. He was a pretty messed up kid.” Doctor Seinder took a moment’s pause to consider Allie. It returned a smile to his face. “Anyway, I’m glad that he seems to have sorted that out. He seems happy.”
“Yes.” Allie couldn’t keep hold of Doctor Seinder’s eyes. She looked down at the fiddle of her fingers in her lap, her smile flickering. “He does like to rely on himself. But I don’t think that’s any way to get through life. We have so much to offer each other.”
“Indeed.” The professor shifted in his chair. “And speaking of offers. One of my staff is leaving for a postdoc this summer. I will need someone to pick up those projects and carry them forward.”
Her chest tightened with nervous anticipation. The invitation to tour his lab had seemed like a good sign, but she hadn’t been expecting Doctor Seinder to make a job offer that afternoon. Allie nodded. “My internship is ending next month so I’ll be looking for at least a summer position, if not into next year.”
“Great. If you’re interested, I’ll keep your CV and will speak with the department office. I have funds on one of my grants for a research assistant. It’s part-time work, but if it sounds like something you would consider I can get you some hard numbers of what the arrangement would look like. Of course, many of our research assistants go on to apply successfully for graduate programs here and elsewhere.”
Allie was more than interested. It was exactly the kind of experience she hoped to get, and a chance to directly prove herself to a member of the faculty at one of her dream institutions. Most importantly, he seemed like a good teammate to have on her side. “I would appreciate that, Doctor Seinder.” She started to collect her things and held out her hand to shake. She’d spent so long trying to be professional, perhaps she’d forgotten that it was the people who made everything worthwhile.
Instead of muffling her smile she let her joy spread full wide. “I’ll look forward to talking to you soon.”
45
That night, after having a promised dinner with Kelsey, Allie slunk over to the guys’ apartment and knocked on the door. Adam answered in a towel. His blond hair was a partially-dried chaotic crown. “Hey, Allie.”
“Evening.” Allie didn’t bother suppressing her grin. “Is Marc in?”
“Pretty sure the old man went to bed already. But I don’t think he’d mind you visiting.” Adam stepped back to hold the door farther open and welcome her entry with a flourish. “I’ll turn up my movie so we can pretend I don’t know you’re doing it.”
Allie wasn’t sure whether to be mortified or laugh. She leaned towards the latter. “You’re such a gentleman, Adam.”
She wasted no time in heading down the hall to crack the door to Marc’s room. In the spill of light she could see the bulk of him beneath the blankets. “It’s me,” Allie called in a soft voice as she slipped in. After only a moment’s indecision she stepped out of her shoes and stripped naked. Scampering across the floor on tiptoe, she grabbed the edge of the sheet and wriggled beneath it to curl up against the warmth of Marc’s bare skin.
He shifted when her arms reached around him, twisting to face her. His ankle slid between hers to lock her close in a latch of knees. “Did you have a good day?” His voice was a low rumble cottoned with sleep.
Allie nodded her head against his shoulder. “I had a nice visit with Doctor Seinder.” Her fingertips mapped their way along his side, finding their place fitted against his ribs. “I think he’s going to offer me a job.”
Marc hummed into her hair. “If you accept a position in Chip’s lab, would you move closer to the campus?”
She hadn’t really thought it through that far. Holding on to Marc a considering moment, Allie felt the deep waves of his breath and inhaled the cherished familiarity of his scent. She burrowed more tightly against him, knowing her answer. “I want to stay with you.”
The shape of his smile kissed against her temple. “Maybe you and Candi can carpool.”
“Maybe,” Allie agreed. She fell silent awhile to listen to the lulling cadence of his heartbeat. “Marc? He said … I didn’t know that you were a bio major.”
There was a brief well of quiet. “Yeah. I had some idea I was going to revolutionize the transplant world.” The shape of his mouth twitched rueful against her hair. “Except it turns out that fucking around all through high school doesn’t set you up so well to ace competitive classes.”
“Transplants?” Allie frowned. She nudged her chin upwards so she could try to find his gaze. It wasn’t hard to guess that it might be difficult for him to talk about. And yet he could have deflected the conversation with a simple ‘yes’. The fact that Marc had given her any details at all was enough to prickle her fine hairs to stand in awareness of his uncommonly-granted trust.
Reluctance still ticked through the strong line of his jaw. “They said my parents died instantly, but my little sister was in the hospital after the crash. They said they did everything they could. But. It wasn’t enough.”
“Oh, Marc,” Allie breathed. She touched his face with tender fingertips and then fiercely clutched him into the tightest of hugs.
“It was a long time ago.” He’d said that before. There wasn’t much more inflection this time. Like the words were worn thin. “I told you I wanted to do your inflammation study.” That sounded more honest.
“I didn’t know,” was all that Allie could think to say. It was all muffled anyhow since she was leaving no space between them for so much as breath. He was tired, she could tell, because his arms weighed heavily where they wrapped her waist.
That was okay. It didn’t matter that his frame was much larger than hers—Allie promised through the straining embrace of her arms and the tight twine of her legs that when he needed her, she could be strong enough for the both of them.
Marc exhaled a hollow chuckle. “I know you just thought I was being altruistic. Considering how I’m a model teammate and all.” His fingertips grazed sleepy whorls over the dips of her lower back. “I talked to Blake about doing a water polo clinic with a foundation he’s part of,” he said after a minute.
Allie blinked in surprise and craned her neck to look at him.
The opening of his eyes was slowed by the effects of his long days of practice. In the dim lighting Marc studied the shape of her features. “If I can get sponsors, it will be easier for me to stay stateside.”
“I don’t expect you to do that.” Allie’s reflexive response was a little breathless.
“This is where I want to be.” Marc swept the warmth of his palm over her curves. “Near you. You’re who I want to come home to.”
Allie was totally lost in his dark eyes. “I want that, too.” She wanted it so much that it hovered like something huge had entered the room, made real by their paired confessions. It was a dream turned substantial—suddenly all those things once hazily out of reach were now waiting to be explored and experienced in all their daunting complexity. The both of them, together.
The weight of it caused Allie to duck her head in a shy nuzzle against his sho
ulder. The promise of all their tomorrows was overwhelming when even a moment with Marc could make her feel more than she’d ever dreamed possible. Her hand stroked from the solid spring of his ribs, over his hip, to the meat of his thigh. She squeezed in an attempt to achieve a more playful grip on the conversation. “I want you to come to me.”
“Oh yeah?” There was a curl of something brighter in the chest-caught echo of his voice.
Allie hummed affirmative. With a further twist of her shoulder she took him in hand, her fingers teasing along his length. She wondered if she would ever get used to having so much brute power twitching captive beneath her touch.
With a rustle of blankets Marc tipped open to her efforts. Allie pursued him, arching into the grab of his fingertips at her rear. She caught his lip in her teeth before delving in for a savored kiss. The way he hardened within the cuff of her palm twitched her into a needy grind where the tangle of their legs left her straddled at his hip.
His shoulders began to rise beneath her, tipping towards the nightstand. Lost in the pleasure of what she was doing, it took Allie a second to replace her hand to his chest and shove counter to his motion. She was licking at her kiss-plump lips when Marc met her eyes from beneath the faint knit of his brow.
“I’m on the pill.” Allie held his gaze and watched as Marc’s confusion melted into a desire-sullied grin.
“Well what are you waiting for?” Marc dropped his shoulders flat to the mattress and whipped the blankets away with a toss of his forearm. He tugged at her knee to pull her into a proper straddle. “Get on up here.”
The press of her palms stabilized against the firm planes of his chest and Allie swayed to a high balance on her knees. Her smile flared wide as she looked down at him from beneath the loose tumble of her hair. “Just up here?” Her innocence was starting to ring false.
“If that’s what you came over here to do.” The placidity of his comment was a lie. Marc grabbed her hips and shoved her counter to the rising flex of his belly so that her budding wetness dragged against his hardened length.