“Who said I’m avoiding it? Just not taking lessons from you. I have a plan to learn this summer,” I informed. “I have to learn now. It’s kind of mandatory.”
He looked intrigued. “A plan? Care to share with the class?”
I said nothing, trying my best not to look like I was bluffing. What I actually had was a rough draft of sorts. And that draft involved me enrolling in an early morning beginner’s class on the far side of town. Except, the only beginner’s classes on the other side of town were for kids, so I would have to convince the instructor to make an exception.
“Why’s it mandatory now?” he probed.
“My parents… they want to do this charity swim relay thing,” I explained. “It’s gonna be a family thing.”
Leo made an understanding hum. “The Wylan Scholarship Foundation?”
“You heard of the race?”
“Yeah, I’m supposed to be swimming in it, too. Freestyle.”
I nodded. It made sense they’d invite another alumni swimmer to promote the event. Nate had already shot a few photos and videos for social media to promote the race online.
“So maybe we could help each other,” Leo proposed. “You seem to have a list of things to do for the summer.”
“It’s just reminders.” I tucked the crumpled Post-it into my back pocket, safely out of reach.
“Let me help remind you, then. I can tell you do the bulk of keeping track of things around here.” He nudged his chin in the calendar’s direction. “I’m sure it gets exhausting, doing it on your own.”
I studied him, suspicious of his accurate insight. “What do you really want?”
I crossed my arms over my chest as I waited for his response. The movement made my forearms brush against his torso. The hardness of his body made me want to move again just to have an excuse to feel him. He readjusted himself too, placing his hand lower on the wall so his wrist brushed my shoulder. Nothing about touching a shoulder seemed sexual, but the small pressure of him on me made my body ready itself for something that would never happen.
“A trial basis is what I want,” he said. “I’ll prove I won’t break a promise to you ever again.”
“That’s kind of lofty for a guy with a poor track record.”
He smiled. “Maybe. But I know I can pull through this time. When I do, I want to ask you for something in return.”
“What would that be?” My breathing felt shallow when I caught him glancing at my mouth when I spoke. For a split second, I wondered if his thoughts were similar to mine whenever my gaze trailed lower than it should.
I chewed on my bottom lip, nervous under his gaze. Leo surprised me by sighing. The sound would have been near impossible to hear if he wasn’t standing so close.
My heartbeat picked up because he looked like… I felt. He looked like he wanted something he couldn’t have. Except, Leo never liked me that way, the ignoring for years made that much clear. So, I tried to attribute the sigh to something else. There were a whole host of things that could elicit his response.
“I want your help with training,” Leo confessed, eyes refocused on mine.
I blinked, not expecting that would be his request. “Swimming?”
“Yeah, as an accountability partner. You’re disciplined and nice,” he said. “I need someone like that right now to make practicing… bearable. No trainer’s going to do that.”
“How come Nate isn’t a better option? Even with Richard involved, practicing with them is smarter.”
“Smarter? Sure. But not bearable. And you know how Nate can get when he’s in the zone. When he thinks I’m not doing my part to keep up.” Leo looked a little saddened by the last part of his sentence.
“He means well when he’s hard on people.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I know but I don’t want that this summer. I want to spend the extra time with you, though. I’ve already made my mind up on the matter.”
My stomach flipped because out of context, those words gave me unnecessary excitement. I kept a calm voice as I said, “I’ll think about it.”
He nodded and pulled away. “Alright. Even if you decide against it, I still would like to teach you.”
“Good to know.” I carefully considered what I was going to say next. “If I accept your offer, you promise not to give me a hard time about the other things on my list?”
