Miss you already.
Three simple words and Elise had pressed her phone against her chest like a teenager and laughed at herself.
Camille slid into the water and waded over. "So. We should talk about the elephant in the pool."
"There's no elephant."
Camille tilted her head, water lapping at her collarbone. "There's a giant elephant and it's wearing a lab coat and rectangular glasses and you're in love with it."
Frankie appeared at Elise's other side. "We've been polite for weeks. Weeks, Elise. Do you know what that's cost me? I'm not built for discretion."
Elise kept her face blank. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You hugged her on the bench yesterday," Frankie said. "On the bench. In front of cameras. In front of Mara."
"It was a professional celebration."
Frankie crossed her arms, water dripping from her elbows. "You had your face in her neck."
"My face was near her neck. There's a difference."
Lou had stopped swimming and was treading water at the edge of their group, watching with quiet amusement. Dani had opened one eye. Even Rowan had abandoned her handstands and was drifting closer with poorly concealed curiosity.
"Fine." Elise leaned against the pool wall and crossed her arms over her chest. The water was warm against her stomach. "Yes. Sienna and I are together."
The cheer that erupted was loud enough to echo off the aquatic centre's glass ceiling. Camille clapped. Frankie pumped a fist. Rowan said "Finally" and then blushed. Dani opened both eyes and nodded serenely, as if she'd been waiting patiently for the obvious to be confirmed.
"How long?" Camille asked.
"A few weeks."
Frankie waded closer, water sloshing against the lane rope. "How is it?"
"It's good." Elise kept her voice even but her face betrayed her. Heat rose in her cheeks and the smile pulled at her mouth and spread through her chest. "It's really good."
"Define really good," Frankie said. "We need details. Nutritional information. Star rating."
Elise shook her head. "You're not getting details."
"Not even a hint?"
"Not even a hint. She's a private person and I'm going to respect that." Elise crossed her arms, firm on this point.
Frankie groaned and sank lower in the water until her chin touched the surface. "That's annoyingly mature of you."
"She's worth being mature for."
Camille nudged Frankie with her knee beneath the water. "Can you at least tell us if it's better than average?" Frankie persisted. "A nod will do. A facial expression. A subtle hand gesture."
Elise pressed her lips together, but the smile was already forming, the kind that started in her chest and worked its way up, and her face must have said everything because Frankie groaned and threw her hands up and Camille let out a low whistle and even Lou, who had been pretending not to listen, paused mid-stroke.
"Look at that face," Camille said. "Absolutely gone."
The teasing paused. The shift was subtle but real. Frankie's grin softened. Camille's eyes went warm. Even Lou, who expressed affection through silence and proximity, moved a fraction closer.
"You love her," Camille said. Not a question.
Elise looked at the water. The silver light played across the surface, shifting and reforming. She thought of Sienna in the cove at sunrise. Sienna crying on the sofa. Sienna sayingthank youas if two words required all her courage. Sienna's mouth on hers in the dark. Sienna's voice on the phone last night, sleepy and warm:I love you. Sleep well.
