The subtle change in his tone of voice made me freeze. I’d have to get used to his teasing because it sounded a lot like flirting.
I cleared my throat. “Perfect. That’ll make being your trainer easier.”
“Trainer?” He looked amused. “You just said we were going to be partners.”
“Yeah, partners, when it comes to helping me learn how to swim and chill out. But when it comes to your practice, I think you’re going to need a firmer approach.”
“Why’s that?”
“You respond to authority.” I picked up the trimmer again. “You respect it and seem to enjoy it when it’s around.”
Leo didn’t argue, instead watched in silence as I snipped at a few branches he’d butchered. It was natural for athletes to feel comfortable in a system that centered on hierarchy. I watched Nate for years and noticed he always felt calmer when he had someone to guide him. His coaches were the key thing that kept him on track. I followed hierarchy in a certain sense, too. My authority was order. Perfection in every sense of the word. I liked to find out what things fit and make sure they stayed there.
“I never thought about it like that, but yeah, I guess you’re right,” he finally said, looking a little too contemplative for his own good.
“Don’t pull a me and overthink it,” I teased. “I’m not saying respect is a bad thing. Calling elders ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’ is nice.”
“If only nice won championships,” he mumbled.
I stopped cutting. “Last I heard, you were neck and neck with Nate at school. I’m sure you have plenty of championships under your belt.”
“You must have stopped listening.” He laughed when I considered the statement.
“Yeah, I tuned out some things when everyone graduated and started moving on. It was hard to hear about successes when I was still trying to narrow down what university I wanted to apply to.”
“I get it.” Leo’s voice softened. “I was the same way once I got to the dorms. Everything was just go, go, go. And one day, I stopped trying to keep up.”
“Is that why you said practicing was…”
“Unbearable,” he filled in for me. “Yeah, it’s become a nightmare to push myself.”
“I know you said you wanted someone nice, but Nate’s always waking up early for runs and spending late nights at the pool,” I reminded him. “Might be motivating to join in?”
“Your brother’s a machine, Kira. And I say that in the most respectful way possible,” he assured.
“Some might say I am too.”
“Yeah, but this summer… Let’s just say you’re not the only one trying to push yourself to try something new. Asking you for help was the whole reason I came to the block party to begin with. I didn’t go by it the right way, obviously. I’m learning, though. How to be better at this whole conversation thing.”
The confession surprised me enough to lower the hedge clippers. He smiled when I looked at him. Without saying a word, Leo moved closer. He removed the clippers from my hands, fingers brushing mine as he did so.
“Thank you,” he said in a low voice. “For giving me another chance to get to know you.”
I shrugged. “I should thank you for taking the first step. I was ready to leave it alone.”
He gave me one of his wider smiles. The one they made his eyes brighten like the sun at its highest peak. I always wished to be on the receiving end of one of these. Now that I was, I didn’t want him to stop giving them to me. Close-lipped smiles would forever feel like the water down version.
“So, I know you’ve probably already started planning our schedules out,” he teased, voice still low like we had secrets to keep even if no one else was around. “When do we start?”
I took a breath, trying to remind myself that there was no world where Leo and I could actually be Leo and I. So, I should relax. “How soon do you want to start?”
“Tonight?” He raised a brow when I laughed.
“Really?”
“The sooner the better.” He shrugged. “But it’s fine if you want to take your time.”
“No,” I said, quickly. “I’m free. Tonight sounds good.”
