Chapter 8
Lindsey
I’d won plenty of heats before, but this time, it had felt amazing. I knew why. It was because Tanner was there watching. I heard him shout my name, and it was exactly the boost I needed to push that much harder to really kick some ass.
The feeling was hard to describe. I guess some might call it walking on air, which was kind of what I felt like. My win and Tanner’s declaration that I was the best lay he ever had was making me a little giddy. I know Tanner had a lot of experience and there was a long line of women left in his wake, but I was the best.
Maybe he was only saying it to make me feel good, but it didn’t matter. I believed him. I was going to hold on to that. Thinking of Tanner had been my favorite pastime this weekend. I did little else. I didn’t go out on Saturday in favor of sitting home with a pint of no-sugar ice cream and my thoughts of sex with Tanner. If only there had been more to work with. In all the fantasies I had, it had always been a long, marathon sex session, not the ten-minute quickie in the pool.
I wanted him something fierce. Thinking of his dick buried deep inside me had a way of making me instantly wet. I wanted him. Again. What could be wrong with two healthy, young people choosing to be with one another? My brother needed to get a grip. The fact Tanner had been at my meet and Brian hadn’t, even though he was in town, said something.
My phone alarm beeped, telling me it was time to head to practice. I couldn’t wait to see Tanner, so I had been pacing my apartment, ticking off the minutes. For once, the coach had seemed pleased with my performance.
“Thanks,” I said when one of my teammates congratulated me on the way out. I didn’t want to waste even a minute and kept walking past. I had a date with Tanner.
When I walked into the pool area, there were several other swimmers in the pool. A single trainer was working with them all. I was a little disappointed to see we had company. I had hoped to have Tanner all to myself with no witnesses.
Tanner came in behind me. “Bummer. Why don’t we do some toning and strengthening? We don’t need to be in the pool.”
I shrugged. “Works for me. Where?”
“We can use the gym here, but it would probably be better if we went to a better equipped gym. Do you still have that gym membership?”
“Yes, not that I use it all that much.”
“You will. That is going to be part of our regular training. You need to strengthen your muscles. It will increase the power in every stroke, propelling you faster and farther,” he said.
“Fine. Let’s go. Are you driving or me?”
“I am not crawling into that tin can you call a car. We’ll take my truck.”
We headed to the gym. When we pulled into the parking lot, he stopped me from getting out. “Wait.”
“What’s up?”
“Let me take you out tomorrow.”
“What?”
Now I was confused. He went from not wanting anything to do with me to wanting to take me out. Hot and cold much?
“I want to take you out. Like, dinner, you know?”
As if I had to think about it. “Sure, that’d be great.”
“Good. Now let’s get in there and get your money’s worth out of that membership.”
I had to keep myself from bouncing across the gym parking lot. I have been crushing on him for years, and yeah, we’d had a nice quickie in the pool, but it wasn’t exactly the dream. A real date. Did that mean he wanted an actual relationship? So many questions and no answers. There was no way she could come right out and ask him about his intentions. Brian had made it very clear guys hated that.
We worked out for a couple of hours before heading back to the pool. Brittany was there, waiting for us.
“Finally. Where’d you two go?” she asked.
“To the gym,” I told her.
She nodded, looking at me and then at Tanner.
“I think we’re done for now,” Tanner said. “I’m going to head out. I’ll text you later,” he said, giving me a telling look.
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” I said, doing my best to hide the excitement in my voice. I didn’t want to appear too eager.
I grabbed my bag and made my way to the locker room.
“What was that?” Brittany squealed, following me into the locker room.
“What was what?” I asked, doing my best to play the innocent.
I was quickly changing into the shorts and T-shirt I had in my bag.
“Uh-uh, you are not getting off that easy. You got something to tell me, and I want to hear every detail. They better be dirty details. Hurry up and get dressed. I’m starving. Let’s get a pizza and then go back to your place,” she said, holding out her painted red nails.
I shook my head, “Why do you insist on getting manicures when you know the pool is going to destroy it.”
She shrugged. “Because I like nice nails. So do men, Lindsey. Maybe you should try it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I’m ready; let’s go.”
We stopped by Papa Murphy’s and got a thin-crust veggie pizza to cook at my apartment. I popped the pizza in the oven, set the timer, and grabbed a couple of Diet Cokes out of the fridge.
“Okay, now tell me everything,” Brittany said, stretching her feet out to rest on my coffee table.
“What do you mean? I don’t even know what you keep insinuating,” I said with my most innocent expression.
“Bullshit, girl. I have known you way too long. Is there something between you and Tanner? There were literally sparks flying between you. I was a little afraid I’d get burned in the crossfire.”
I laughed. “No. Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Liar. Spill.”
I sighed. It wasn’t like she was going to run and tell Brian. Hell, we’d both been lusting after Tanner since we were like ten and he had hit puberty.
“I slept with him,” I said, only a little embarrassed.
She looked at me, stunned at first then squealed, “You did! No way! You bitch. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I laughed. “Uh, because I didn’t feel like bragging about a quickie in the pool.”
“Gross. Not our pool, I hope.” She wrinkled her nose.
“No, actually the school pool.”
She didn’t look all that appeased but brushed it aside. “And?”
“And what?”
“Details, girl. Give me details. Is he big? Is he good? I bet he’s good. With as many women as he’s slept with, he has got to have picked up some really good tricks,” she carried on.
I sighed. “It was over and done really fast,” I started.
“No! Don’t ruin my image of him. Seriously? He’s a minuteman?” She groaned, acting as if her world had been forever ruined.
“Not like that. It was, I don’t know, like heat of the moment. We were in a public place. It wasn’t like we had a lot of time for foreplay. And it was fabulous. Brief but amazing,” I said, slightly dreamy.
“You’ve got to do him again. Give him a chance to redeem himself,” she said with authority.
I took a long drink from my soda can. “I want to, but he says we can’t.”
“Oh my God. What did you do?” she asked in horror.
I rolled my eyes. “Not that. He says Brian would not be okay with us having a thing.”
“Bullshit,” she said, flicking invisible lint from her shorts.
Now I was feeling a little offended.
“He said I was the best he ever had,” I said in a haughty tone.
She threw her head back and laughed. “And you believed him?”
She had confirmed what I had been too afraid to believe. What if it had been a line? What if he was placating me? Tomorrow was a “too bad you’re a crappy lay” dinner.
The timer beeped, and I jumped up to pull the pizza out of the oven, grateful for the distraction.
“I’m happy for you, Lindsey. Really. I think he’s into you. You’re going to get him. You’ll see,” she said, winking before taking a bite of pizza.
I secretly hoped she was right. I didn’t want to start having feelings for him, but if I was being honest with myself, I already had them.