A Whole New Crowd(53)

“Oh, come on!” Austin cried out.

“Go,” I ordered. They went, but Austin flicked me off—it was becoming his favorite gesture—just as they slipped out the door. I didn’t even waste my time wondering if Shelly saw that. She wouldn’t reprimand him anyway so I turned to the girls. “Grab your pieces and head downstairs. I’ll hold them off for a while.”

They didn’t wait a second longer. They grabbed their pizza and ran downstairs.

“Well,” Shelly gave me an appraising look, “I didn’t even think of that.”

“I’m a girl and I remember what it was like when I was that age.”

Pretty soon, the guys bounded back inside, each with a twenty-four pack in their arms. Unloading them on the counter, they grabbed another piece of pizza, but I tapped one of the boxes. “These can go in the pantry, where the soda always goes.” I gave Austin a pointed look. The kid was testing the boundaries right now; he knew where they went. Shelly was letting him get away with it.

Grumbling, Austin showed them where to go—half of the guys knew where they went anyway—and when they came back, I saw his hand slowly raising, his finger was inching upwards…

“If that finger touches the air, you’re computer’s going to come down with a virus and all your porn’s going to be gone.”

The finger stayed in place, and the hand was lowered back to his side, but he still glared at me. The rest of the little dudes inched away from me. The one who tried to touch my ass suddenly looked like the pizza had gone down the wrong tube.

“Whatever.” Austin shrugged, grabbed the rest of the pizza, some soda, and headed back downstairs.

Shelly was fighting back a grin and burst out laughing the second they were around the corner. “Oh, dear. I shouldn’t be laughing, but I’ve never seen Austin handled like that. I’ve never been able to get him to do anything.”

I gestured to the door. “I’m going swimming. I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Oh. You swim?” When I didn’t stop to answer, she yelled after me, “Okay. Have fun!”

The water felt great. No one else was there and I took longer than normal. I lost track of my lap count after the first hour and when I finished an hour later, I saw a guy sitting at a table in the corner. Pulling myself out, I went to grab a towel, and said to him, “That’s not creepy.”

He was in an area that wasn’t lit so I couldn’t make out who he was, but I saw his teeth when he smiled. He stood and came over. As he drew closer, I noticed he was wearing a Rawley High School staff shirt with a whistle around his neck. He was in his mid-forties, trim, with specks of grey mixed in his black hair. He nodded to the pool. “You’re a good swimmer. Is that the fastest you can do?”

“No. That was fun tonight.”

“Can you go faster then?”

“I can go a lot faster.”

He nodded, narrowing his eyes at me. Then he said, “I’m the coach. Our season is starting up soon. Can you try-out?”

“I’m not into team sports.”

“Yeah, but swimming doesn’t have to be all-team. You do your own thing and I see the fight in you. My gut is telling me you want to try-out because you want to see if you’re the best.”

“I doubt I’m the best. I just started swimming again.”

“Yeah, I’m still going with my gut. You’ve got an itch in your eye. You’re a fighter. Swimming for fun, alone, on a Friday night won’t satisfy you for long. We’ve got try-outs Monday. I’ll pitch you against my best swimmers. You can tell me then if you’re interested or not.”

He nodded again, going to an office door in the corner. Before he shut it behind him, he said again, “Try-outs are on Monday. Here. 4:00. I’ll see you then.”

I wasn’t going to do it. I already knew I wouldn’t, but I couldn’t shake his words. He had a gut feeling. I was a fighter. I wouldn’t be satisfied with swimming alone. Maybe… No.

I stopped thinking about it. When I got home, the house was dark. The lights were still on in the basement, but I went upstairs. It wasn’t long until I heard Shelly take Austin’s friends home. When they returned, she told him in the hallway, “Go to bed, honey. I’ll give you a ride to Patrick’s tomorrow.” Then she knocked on my door. “Taryn?”

“Yeah?” I was at my desk and I closed my computer when she opened the door.

She smiled, skimming over me. She leaned her head against the door. “How was swimming?”

“It was good.” I tried to suppress the small surge in me when I saw her warmth. My throat swelled up. “The swim coach was there.” Why did I tell her that?