“Yeah.”
I’m not sure how this is going to work out. Not me teaching Daniel; that isn’t an issue. I could do that in my sleep, that’s how confident I am, but where I’m confident in the water, I know he isn’t.
But I know it’s more than lack of confidence. He’s terrified.
I still don’t know or understand why, and while he didn’t vocalize it, I could feel his fear. It’s been exactly a week, but I still remember feeling his vigilant eyes tracking my every movement in the pool as I swam. That isn’t me assuming; it’s me knowing because somehow my body has become aware when I have his attention. It’s odd, my stomach flutters and my heart, well…I’m still not sure what’s going on with it, but the point is, it wasn’t that kind of situation.
This is different and even though I would have preferred to stay longer in the water, I didn’t. Once I sat next to him, I could feel his tension ooze off, his stiff posture laxed and his pretty, easygoing smile plastered back on his lips.
After paying, I grab the bag and step out of the store.
Every few seconds, my gaze flickers to the bag as I walk back home. I’m second-guessing myself and my abilities to help Daniel. I’ve taught many people to learn how to swim, but they’ve all been kids.
Daniel isn’t a kid. He’s an adult who’s two hundred pounds of pure muscle. It’s very evident in the way he felt when we danced. And if that wasn’t a given, his abs and thick, toned arms and thighs were.
It’ll be okay. I’m sure I’ll find a way to?—
My thoughts get disrupted when someone calls my name. The moment I detect who it came from, I regret acknowledging it.
“Josie,” Bryson calls my name again, but I pretend to not have heard him. But he’s dead set on getting my attention because he says it a little louder and then is walking next to me. “Josie, hey.”
I keep walking and unfortunately, he still follows. “Yeah?”
He exhales a resigned breath. “I know you’re mad about Friday. I shouldn’t have said that. I’d been drinking and you know me. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Do you ever?” I shoot back.
He sucks in a deep breath. “What do you want from me?”
“To leave me alone. I’m not sure how much clearer I need to be,” I grumble. I really should’ve brought my bicycle.
“Josefine.” He grabs my arm and ushers me to the side.
“What’s wrong with you?” I jerk my arm away from his hold and take a few steps back to add distance between us. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
I walk away, but his next words freeze me.
“I know it was you. I know you slashed my tires.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I toss over my shoulder. I’m not worried or scared of him finding out it was me but I’m also not going to admit it.
He stands in front of me and that’s when I notice a purple bruise on his cheek and a gash on his lip. They’re both swollen, but his lip is more.
I’m not sure what happened and I genuinely couldn’t care less, but he must mistake my silence for concern. He was always good at interpreting things the way he wanted to see them and not for how they were.
“I promise I’m okay. It’s really not as bad as it looks.” He softly rubs his cheek, smirking like he’s all right, but I don’t miss the slight wince or the way his eye twitches as if he were in pain. “It was a fly ball.”
“What’d you do, catch the ball with your face?” I can’t fathom how he managed to get hit that bad when he’s playing D1 baseball.
He looks sheepish, like he’s thinking about that day. Something about it feels off, but I don’t ask. I’m done with this conversation.
“Something like that,” he replies as he removes his hat and drags his fingers through his dirty blond hair.
Makes me think of Daniel and how thick and long his brown hair is. Never cared for guys in hats, but somehow, he’s made himself the exception.
“Okay, well, bye.”
“Josie, wait.” He follows my step, blocking my path. “I don’t care that you slashed my tires. I don’t care about the drink you threw at me. I just want you back.”
