The pool here at Lockwood is outside, unlike ours, and today is kind of chilly by Southern Florida standards, which probably explains why the Glenmont team is already using its half of the pool to warm up, but we, dedicated winners as we are, are lurking around in our sweatshirts on the deck and looking at the water like it might be lava.
Mike gives me a big smile when I walk over to join them, while Mom and Dominic make themselves comfortable in the stands. “You're not late!” he says.
“I know, I didn't have the heart to tell my mom that I'm supposed to be late for everything. As part of my charm.”
“You told me that was a Cuban thing! Isn't your mom Cuban?”
“I say everything people don't like about me is a Cuban thing,” I say. “Then they can't get mad about it.”
He looks confused.
“Because then it would be a hate crime,” I say. He smiles extremely hesitantly, nd before I can reassure him there's a tap on my shoulder. Here's my person. He smiles at me like he didn't know it was me until I turned around. “You're on time!” he says.
“I know, it's very exciting for everyone. Hi.”
Mike nods hello to Theo and then goes off to talk to Elisha, and Theo leans into me a little and says, voice low, “I was hoping no one from our school would be here so I could kiss you in public.”
“Me too. But the rest of the team showed up.”
“I hate them,” he whispers.
“Me too.” I give him a little nudge on the shoulder. “And you couldn't kiss me in public anyway because my mom's here.”
“She is?” Theo has never met my mother, but he's been to my house plenty of times when she and Dominic aren't home, so he's seen all the pictures he has of her hanging all over the place (very adorable) and because of that she's something of a celebrity to him.
“Right there,” I say, nodding my head towards the bleachers a little without looking at him. He scans the bleachers, and I watch him and see the moment when he spots them.
“She's so pretty,” he says.
“She is, yeah.”
“Looks just like you.”
I twist my toe against the pool deck to give myself something to look at besides his bottom lip that I must. Not. Touch. “Mmm, maybe a little,” I say.
“Is that your stepdad?”
“Uh-huh.”
“He's quite...hmm. Dashing.”
“Do you want to kiss him in public instead?”
“Kind of!”
I make like I'm going to push him into the pool, and he slap-fights me off a little and we otherwise make completely audacious flirting fools of ourself in front of a hundred people and we should really stop that right this minute, especially since another person comes up behind me and says “Taylor?”
I've never been to this school before and I'm pretty sure I've never been this popular before, either. Maybe this is a magic place. Maybe I'll build a house here.
It's just Lucas, though, holding Alexis.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hey!” Lucas gives me a hug with the arm that isn't holding Lexie on his hip. “Good luck!”
“Aw, thanks. Hi, Lexie.”
“Hi,” she says. She's sucking her thumb a little and leaning against Lucas's shoulder, looking younger and sweeter than she ever does with me. But she does smile at me, and it makes me feel so damn good, in an overwhelming way that I was absolutely unprepared for.
I clear my throat. “You guys remember my friend Theo.”
Lucas gives him a nod, and Theo returns one and says, “Hi, Alexis. Remember me?”
She takes her thumb out of your mouth. “Your car is dirty.”
“She does remember me!” Theo says.
“She's not a goldfish,” I say.
Lucas tickles her belly a little. “Glub glub glub.”
“Are you sitting with my parents?” I say.
“Uh, I guess...” He looks up at the stands. “That might be weird.”
“Eh. It's not like the ex-wife is your real mom. You don't have to be on her side.”
“That is true,” Lucas says, but Alexis scowling at me now and looking like she might cry, so wow, way to go, Taylor. Pretty sure no one's ever shot good favor in the face as quickly and thoroughly as I just did.
“Ugh,” I say to Theo, as Lucas and Lexie disappear over to the bleachers. “I am possibly the world's worst sister.”
'When my aunt was a kid she set my mom's car on fire.”
“What?”
“I'm just saying. You're not the worst sister.”
“Your family is messed up.”
“Oh, you just say that because you only hear the fun stories. I can change that. Today my mom made oatmeal. My brother has a toy truck.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“My house has a refrigerator,” he continues. “Our roof adequately protects us from bad weather. We typically don't wear any sort of exciting hat when we're indoors.”
“I get it. Hush now.”
He does not hush now. “Our furniture is pointing towards our television. We own a screwdriver. Louis got a Lego set for Christmas.”
“Ha ha ha, you messed up,” I say. “I love Legos. Legos are never boring.”
“You should come over more, then,” he says. He's looking down at me, eyes all warm and brown like something you could drink right up. “Come see the Legos.”
I drink him the hell up. “Maybe I should.”
My coach blows his whistle and starts yelling at us to stop lurking around the pool and actually get in to warm up. “Gotta go,” I say.
“Swim fast,” he says, and he winks at me before he goes and sits in the stands, alone.
I feel like I could break records.
That feeling dissipates when I'm standing on the diving blocks, waiting for the take your marks, and realizing their butterflier that everyone's given me hope of beating is at
