“Did not.”
“Did, too.”
“Prove it.”
“I can’t prove it.” My voice trails off when Tanner breaks the distance of the rope, easily swooshing through the water toward me.
With his nearness, my body floats back to the tile wall.
“Exactly. So, ask me,” he softly says.
His lips are mere inches away from me as he corners me against the wall.
I swallow deep, unable to tear myself away from his soft green irises.
“I’m not sure I have a question,” I lie, losing all the confidence I showed earlier. I’m too fearful that I won’t get the answer I’m searching for.
“You don’t have anything you want to ask me, Piper?” His hands grip the wall behind me, his arms shielding my body with his.
I swallow again. “I don’t think so.”
Inching closer to me, he whispers, “You don’t think so?”
“I’m afraid.” I look down at the water.
He places his finger under my chin, bringing it back up. “Ask me,” he prods.
I deeply inhale. “Why now?” I ask, my hand rises to my mouth, and I start biting my nails, hoping that I’m not blowing my chance by questioning his intentions.
“I honestly can’t stay away anymore.” He doesn’t falter in his response. More nerves begin to surface. “Anything else?”
“I only get one question,” I kid.
He smiles. “Hmm . . . well, you have until Saturday to think of more.”
As quick as he swam to me, he slides to the side and pushes up on the edge of the pool, his muscles flexing with his movement.
God, he fills out a Speedo nicely.
“Saturday?” I inquire to his rippled back as he walks away.
He turns around, back stepping while looking right at me. “Yeah, when I take you to dinner at Carsen’s. We’ll leave after your meet.” He acts as though he just told me to swim ten laps. He twists around and disappears into the locker room.
My mouth hangs open, and my feet stop treading. Right before I’m about to sink, I grip the wall and gain my voice back. “Did Tanner McCain just ask me out on a date?” I whisper. I bite my lower lip before plunging under the water.
four
SWEAT BUILDS UP ON MY scalp from rushing to get ready for a date in a locker room with a pool ten feet away—not ideal conditions. Although I’ll choose a date with Tanner any way I can have it, I wish for the comfort of my even temperature apartment. Knowing Tanner, he’s pinpointed a plan, and he has a reason for leaving right after my meet.
The meet sucked because I couldn’t focus with him in the stands. All dressed in his dark jeans, a gray buttoned-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his hair perfectly gelled in place. With his amazing appearance, he’s the perfect heartthrob.
Anger built inside of me when some girls from the opposing school cozied up next to him in the stands. Even though Tanner has witnessed me swim billions of times, I couldn’t focus today, which left me in fourth place. The only medal I earned was for the relay race when I swam second, so Susan and Bianca could make up for my horrible finish.
“Where are you going?” Bianca, our best swimmer, comes alongside me, staring at me through the mirror.
I run my eyeliner across my lid, unsure if I should trust her. If Brad finds out, he’d . . . well, I have no idea what he would do, but I’m positive his reaction wouldn’t be good.
Since I don’t answer, she persists. “You aren’t getting on the bus, right?”
“No. I’ve already cleared it with Coach.” I hope this ends the conversation. Pretending I’m searching for a specific item, I focus on my makeup bag.
“I saw Tanner in the stands. Why do you think he came this way to see the girls swim?” Wet sprinkles hit my face as she combs her hair next to me.
I peek up at the mirror, noticing her vision pierced at me. “Um . . .” I stall.
She cocks her eyebrows at me. My insides twist with her perceptive look.
“Is Brad here, too?”
Will she ever relent on her constant passive-aggressive interrogation?
“No,” I answer, pulling out my mascara to begin swiping along my lashes.
“So, how are you getting back to campus?”
She’s drilling me with way too many questions, confirming that she assumes something.
Widening my eyes, I focus on my eyelashes. I try to force my voice to a casual state as I say, “Tanner is my ride.”
Her hands still on her head while she twists her long dark and wet hair into a bun.
She leans into my personal space, her closeness alarming to me. Bianca is known for her cutthroat, cold personality. Not the warm teddy bear type.
“I always knew there was something between the two of you,” she whispers.
Thank God she’s quiet. I wish I could blab every detail on how she’s right and that I wish for tonight to be a start. But if I’m keeping Tanner and I from Brad, I can’t chance anyone else knowing. It’s bad enough I haven’t told Bea. Thankfully, her family came to the meet today, so she’s already showered and gone. Otherwise, the two of them would hammer questions at me until I broke.
“It’s not like that. Brad was supposed to take me to our parents,’ but he sent Tanner instead. He’ll drop me off at my parents’ and drive back to campus.” Lying comes easier than I thought.
Now, I pray her inquisition ends.
“Oh. Well then, maybe I should try my luck with Tanner.”
My blood level rises, and I try to conceal any emotion from her statement, but my lips fall to a straight line.
She laughs, her hand touching my arm. “Relax, Piper. I don’t make it a habit to go after unavailable guys.”
She passes behind me, and I release a deep breath.
“He’s available,” I call out at a last attempt to leave her assuming nothing.
She swivels back around. “Trust me. He’s unavailable.” She shoots me a crooked smile and exits the restroom.
Bianca’s departure only calms me temporarily. Then, I catch my beet red face in the mirror. Zipping up my bag, I double-check my make-up. Smoothing out my light-pink dress, I tighten the wrap of the built-in belt to not reveal too much cleavage. Just enough to entice Tanner.
I tiptoe across the slick tile room floor and shrug off my flip-flops. After shoving them into my gym bag, I replace them with my iridescent heels.
The rest of my team files out of the locker room with side-glances, questioning what I’m doing and where I might be going. When Bianca passes me, there’s a small smile on her face. I quickly turn away from her, so she doesn’t witness the blush rising up my neck.
Waiting five minutes for my team to climb into the bus and head back to campus, I sit and contemplate tonight. Taking a huge breath and whispering a pep talk to myself, I open the door of the locker room, and there he sits. Tonight, he isn’t my brother’s best friend or the forbidden treat I’ve stayed clear of. Tonight, he’s my date, a date requested by him. Finally believing he’s taking the step for us, I’m unable to hide the smile of contentment forming on my face.
When the locker room door shuts, his attention steers away from his phone, focusing my way, and he stands up, shoving it into his pocket. It’s just Tanner and me in the secluded hallway, but an enormous amount of tension is filling the empty space. Closing the distance between us, he holds his hand out for mine. I clench my fist, praying it stops shaking, before reaching out to join his.
“Piper . . . you look”—he shakes his head—“stunning.”
Due to his compliment, the heat starts at the base of my neck before creeping up to my face at warp speed. “Thank you.” I absorb his whole appearance even though I fully indulged in it earlier. “You look very handsome.”
“Thank you.” His lips turn up in satisfaction. “Are you ready?”
He squeezes my hand once, and I nod.
“Yes.”
He slowly lowers my gym bag from my shoulder before swinging it around to land on his opposite one.