Leo made a whistle of relief when he found the schedule. He turned the phone to me without so much as another glance at my leg on his.
“Would you be down to do some dry land workouts too? Those are the absolute worst without a partner.” He offered me his phone to hold. “I know waking up early during the summer to run is probably asking a lot. I’m not sure if you do it anymore.”
I cleared my throat, making sure there was no residual swooning in my lungs before answering, “I haven’t run for recreation since high school but I could give it a shot.”
“Building up stamina could be good for both of us. I’m thinking your swim lessons with me could be an hour and a half, three times a week? Kind of like a crash course to make sure you’re ready for the charity race,” he explained. Almost mindlessly, Leo’s fingers found my ankle again and brushed circles across my skin. I imagined his hand moving higher.
Good grief, I needed to go on a date. Something, anything, that would make a simple touch not feel like the end of the world.
“These are your goals?” I asked as I read the bullet points underneath his calendar. My voice sounded a little strained due to the fact that his fingers moved to the back of my ankle, tracing warm lines that sent tingles through my entire leg. Leo noticed my change in tone.
“You alright?” He wondered, hand still on my ankle, but fingers stopped moving. “Do you want something to drink?”
“I’m fine.” I waved my hand, but he got up anyway to get me something. Once he was out of earshot, I set down his phone and sucked in air through my mouth. I readjusted my top with sweaty fingers. The heavy air mixed with Leo’s light touching made my skin feel ablaze. I fanned myself, trying to cool down.
“I forgot to ask what you wanted,” Leo said when he got back. He offered me a glass of iced water and a large sports drink.
“Both are fine in this heat.” I took the drinks from him with a smile.
“It feels pretty chilly for a summer night,” he mused as he reclaimed his seat across from me.
I took a few sips of the water before setting the cup near my feet. “Maybe it’s just me.”
“Want to head back inside? We could hole up in my room until the food comes,” he offered.
His room? Absolutely not. “Nah, I kind of like it out here. The vibe’s nice.”
I placed my hands behind me, leaning back a little in the chair. Leo watched me as I watched the lights in the pool.
“How long do you think it’ll take for me to learn,” I broke the silence.
Leo took a moment to answer. “Depends.”
“On?” I raised an eyebrow.
“How much time you’re willing to put into it.”
“All the time,” I shared. “I have all summer. Beside Anderson Lawn, I have little going on.”
“Depends on how much you trust me too,” he added in a lower voice.
“I trust you just fine.” I brushed invisible lint off my shorts to have something to do with my hands.
Leo rested his elbows on his knees, closing the gap between us so that I could feel the warmth of his body and spot a few freckles on the bridge of his nose. “Your third wish says otherwise.”
“So, we’re discussing them now?” My mouth made a fine line.
“I think we should.” He nodded. “Just so I can understand exactly what I need to do to keep you accountable. Does that bother you?”
“No,” I mumbled, still brushing at non-existent lint. “I just figured all my wishes were fairly self-explanatory. No deep diving necessary.”
“The first one’s easy enough,” Leo agreed. “Stop being a carrier pigeon for Claire and Nate.”
I nodded, eager to share some triumph. “Kind of have that one on lock. I’ve been putting my foot down with both of them. Even ignored a few texts from Claire earlier - that kind of sucked.”
“Nice. Already killing it,” he encouraged with a grin, and I smiled back at the simple praise. “Next, you want to ‘chill out’ long enough to learn how to swim.”
“My body tenses at the mere mention of swimming.” I clenched my fingers in a fist to show and made a stern face to go along with the gesture. Leo’s laugh was everything. “I need to be more like you in the water. You’re even more comfortable than my parents.”
