River nodded and Newt carefully supported him so that he could shift to a sitting position.
“I don’t like him,” Newt said. “He’s a bully.”
River gave a tired shrug.
“Is he why you were in a bad mood this morning?”
A nod was his answer.
“What do you want to do? Lie down upstairs for a while? Go for a swim? Swimming might help your muscles.”
River took a deep breath. “Riv…er. Newwt. Sss…sswoo.”
“Swim.” Newt exaggerated what River needed to do to say the word. “Swim.”
“Swww…swim.”
“Yes. Swim. Well done. We can go for a swim but I don’t have any trunks. I’ll have to wear my boxers, so I don’t make you green with envy.”Shit.Maybe that wasn’t an appropriate joke. It wasn’t as if Newt had a huge cock. He was just average. But River chuckled.
He lowered his feet to the gym floor and steadied himself before he tried to walk. As River limped towards thedoor to the pool, Newt didn’t think he looked strong enough to swim. He followed quickly, ready to catch him if he fell. River opened the cupboard below the towels, pulled out two pairs of trunks and handed him a pair.
“Thank you.”
When River went into the bathroom to change, Newt quickly stripped and put on the swimwear. He had to wait a few minutes for River to emerge.
“No more than a hundred lengths,” Newt said.
At least that made River roll his eyes. He sat on the edge and slipped down into the water. Newt did the same. He didn’t take his eyes off River, nor did he stray far from his side. For a while, River did little more than float, so Newt floated with him.
“I want to tell Max what Jorge is like. I don’t think he’s good for you. I know physio is a sort of necessary evil… Maybe that’s not a fair description because I understand that it has to hurt a bit to get muscles working properly again, but Jorge’s attitude is wrong. He shouldn’t be shouting at you. He should stop when you yell out in pain. Go more gently.”
River started to swim breaststroke down the pool and Newt swam alongside. Back at the shallow end, River stopped at the steps. He was breathing heavily and looked despondent.
“Ninety-eight to go.”
“Fuck off.”
Newt laughed. “Yeah. I couldn’t do that many anyway.”
River pointed to himself and gave a fierce nod.
“You could? Wow. Hey, you had a horrible accident. You have to give yourself time to get better. I know you’re frustrated. I would be too but you swam two lengths! That’s an achievement. Swimming is great exercise.”
River turned and tried to climb out of the water. He only got as far as the first step before his shoulders went down and he stopped moving.
“Let me help,” Newt said.
River was clutching tight to the rail and struggling to lift his right leg. For a moment, Newt couldn’t figure outhowto help him. Push from the back, lift his right foot, or maybe get out of the water and pull him up? In those few seconds of indecision, River slipped, falling back against Newt, sending them both under the water. River flailed and hit Newt on the face. Newt pulled him up and made sure River had his feet firmly planted on the bottom of the pool before he let him go.
Newt blinked water from his eyes. “Still breathing?”
River lifted his hand, brushed Newt’s hair from his eyes and said, “So… So…” Then groaned.
The breath caught in Newt’s throat.Oh, you are so gorgeous.Newt couldn’t help smiling at him, but River didn’t smile back.
“Were you trying to saysorryorsoap?”
River glared.
