How could he explain it to her? This need to be with his father despite the risk? He didn’t understand the hungry yearning inside him, so how could he explain it to anyone else?
50. Skinny Dipping
The next day, Leo finished warm-up and looked over to see Matt wiping his forehead, sweating — even without the workout — in the late-May heat. “We’ll keep building our aerobic base today,” he informed them. “Four fifteen-hundreds.” Leo groaned along with his teammates. The four-mile set would take almost two hours to complete — the rest of practice. This was one of their last high-school practices together, yet Leo wouldn’t allow himself to even look at Audrey. How could she have tattled and gotten him grounded?
He pushed off in a tight streamline to begin the first mile, taking smooth, easy strokes. By the third mile, he was actually enjoying the set. He felt himself drop deeper into a relaxing trance with each pull and kick.
Once the long set was over, he leaned back against the edge of the pool and ignored Audrey’s stare. She final y pul ed herself out and left Leo by himself.
“SW, come on over.” Matt beckoned.
Leo approached nervously. Had he disappointed Matt somehow?
“What the heck’s going on with you and Audrey?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“I think I saw her crying during that set,” Matt said softly. “One of those cries where you have to dump tears out of your goggles.”
Leo sighed. “I’m mad at her. She went behind my back and told my mom something that got me in trouble.”
“What’d she tell her?”
Leo squinted in the sun. “Audrey saw me with my dad. He’s been training me for the Academy.”
Matt whistled through his teeth. “And you think she should’ve kept that a secret? Get your head outta your butt. If I caught you with your father, I’d have your mom on the phone in seconds.” Leo lowered his head.
“I have less than one month as your coach. I don’t want any time lost to bruises or broken bones. I don’t think you can afford to lose any more organs, either,” he added.
Leo looked up to find his coach smiling.
Matt cleared his throat. “I, uh, I’m going to miss you, Leo.”
“I’ll miss you too. You…you don’t suck as a coach.” Matt laughed. “I’m glad to hear that. You don’t suck as a swimmer either. Well, I better go…got a date tonight.”
“I thought you said women sucked out your life force?”
“I did. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but Jason set me up with this chick he knows, and I actually like her. She doesn’t take any crap.
Her taste in music does need some work, though.” Leo chuckled. “You need someone to broaden your horizons beyond the Dead, Matt. Good luck with that…you’ll need it. Heck, she’ll need it.”
“No kidding. You and Audrey have been dating for what, almost three years? That’s longer than any relationship I’ve had in my life, and you’re half my age.” Matt gave him a stern look. “Don’t screw it up, Spleenless Wonder.”
“Yes, sir.” Leo headed for the locker room with a smile.
“Leo?” his mom called from inside the house.
“Nope, it’s just me.” Audrey walked into the family room to find Mrs. Scott cleaning up papers after her tutoring session. “Matt was still talking to Leo when I left practice.”
“How was your day?” Mrs. Scott asked.
“Fine.” Audrey played with a strand of wet hair.
“Fine, huh? You don’t sound fine.” Audrey moved on to twirl the string on her shorts. “Leo’s not speaking to me.”
Mrs. Scott tapped the sofa cushion. “My son’s an idiot sometimes.
You did the right thing, telling me what you saw.” Audrey sat on the sofa, a safe distance from Leo’s mother. Mrs. Scott patted her knee.
“Maybe Leo will come around when he hears I’m not grounding him any more.”
“You’re not?”
“I talked to Marcus Shale today and told him what happened.
He said this probably isn’t as much about Leo’s dad as it is my fear of letting Leo go. It’s time for him to make his own decisions.” She sighed. “Marcus is right. I’m scared, but I need to let Leo go.”
“But what if his dad hurts him?”
“The truth is if James wants to hurt Leo, he’s going to do it.
Keeping Leo in this house won’t make a shred of a difference. I lived with my boys for years and was never able to stop him from hurting them.”
Her eyes shone with sadness. “And I’m worried that keeping Leo away from his father will draw James to this house, where he could possibly hurt you too.” She shuddered. “I just have to hope James has finally learned his lesson.”
“Mrs. Scott? Why did Leo ask his dad for help?” Audrey asked after a moment.
“I won’t pretend to understand their relationship, but I think Leo felt like he had to reach out to his father. He didn’t have a choice.”
“Yes, he did!”
“Audrey, your father’s been convicted of murder, yet you continue to stand by him. You continue to see him and support him. Is this any different?”
Audrey felt anger flare within her, and it was all she could do to stay on the couch. But then she knew it was true. Even if there were incontrovertible evidence proving her father murdered another man, she’d never believe it. She needed her father and he needed her.
“Do you think my father’s guilty?” Audrey asked softly.
“I honestly don’t know. He never seemed like a murderer to me,” she said. “Then again, James didn’t seem like an abusive father when I met him. I’m realizing there’s a lot I don’t understand in this world. But I know your father loves you, and I think it’s wonderful you stand by him.”
The alarm clock showed a little after midnight, and Leo thought he’d waited long enough. Surely his mother was asleep by now, and he hoped Audrey wasn’t. He crept down the hallway to her bedroom.
He’d been rehearsing a speech, and he was frustrated they hadn’t had any time together tonight. Audrey’d gone to dinner with Elaine while he talked to his mother, and after that she’d kept her distance, even in the same house.
“Audrey?” he whispered.
At first she played dead but then rolled over to face him. He felt sick when he saw her tearstained cheeks and practically leaped onto her bed. “Oh, Audrey Scott.” He gathered her in his arms. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk. I could never stay mad at you.” She sobbed and clung to him like a life raft.
“I just wish you’d come to me first.”
“Sorry.” Audrey rolled away and turned on the lamp next to her bed, lighting the room’s pink wallpaper and highlighting the shine of her eyes. She grasped his hands. “I was just so scared when I saw your dad yelling at you. I — I didn’t know what to do.” Leo nodded. “I can’t blame you for being scared of CS. I know what that’s like.”
“Then why, Leo? Why’d you go to him?”
“You didn’t see him in April! He looked awful, Audrey. The social worker said he was going to kill himself. I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
“So what if he killed himself? After what he did to you, he deserves to be dead.”
“I probably should see it that way, but I don’t. He’s…my dad.
He’s my blood. As much as I hate him, I can’t turn my back on him.” Audrey looked down. “Your mom told me we’re the same. We both stand by our fathers despite them doing awful things.” Leo considered this for a moment. “Maybe. One big difference, though, is your father’s probably innocent. My father’s guilty as hell.” He exhaled. “Our dads sure screw things up for us. I never want them to come between us again.”
When Audrey looked up to smile at him, Leo had an idea. “Let’s get out of here. Vámanos.”
“¿Adónde vamos?” she asked.
He rested his finger on her lips. “Es un secreto.” Hauling her off the bed, he pointed to her flip flops. “Zapatos.�
� He led her to his room where he slid on his own deck shoes and scooped up his car keys. They held hands and tiptoed past his mother’s bedroom.
Audrey began giggling when the front door closed behind them, and once they’d cleared the block, Leo gunned the engine and cranked the radio.
“We’re seniors!” Audrey screamed, the rushing wind stealing her words through the open car windows.
“No more stupid high school!” Leo shouted in turn. He reveled in the freedom of their joy ride, just the two of them. It felt for a moment like the speed and whipping wind could carry away their troubles.
“Tell me where we’re going.”
He grinned. “Patience, my little pet.” She watched careful y as he made a few turns. “I do believe you’l need to judge my routine from the water this time.”
“I wanted to surprise you!” He sighed. “You’re too smart for your own good, you know that? Maybe I should’ve been dating a blond cabeza hueca all this time.”
“Maybe an airhead would better appreciate your stupid jokes.” Leo pouted.
He pulled into the empty school parking lot and cut the engine.
“What if someone catches us?” Audrey asked.
“Really, is there anything worse that could happen this year?
Compared to my Oxy addiction, your alcohol binge, and our pregnancy, a little pool break-in’s small potatoes.” Audrey laughed. “So true. Let’s do this. I’m going to knock the judge’s socks off with my routine tonight.” Leo looked down at his feet. “I’m not wearing any socks. But your routine might knock off some other items of clothing.” He entered the security code on the touchpad, relieved to find Matt hadn’t changed it.
Darkness shrouded the pool, and he led Audrey to the diving well.
They kicked off their sandals and stood with their toes curled over the edge. Leo felt strangely self-conscious. A light ocean breeze wafted across the surface, leaving small ripples in its wake. It was dead quiet.
“I’ve never gone skinny dipping before,” Leo admitted.
“You haven’t? It is the best feeling in the world.” She grasped the bottom of his tank top and lifted it over his head. “It’s a feeling of total weightlessness and freedom.”
“Like going commando?” he asked.
“Um, yeah, I wouldn’t know about that.” Audrey traced her fingers over his chest. “I think I’ll like skinny dipping with you a little better than with Elaine.”
Leo cocked one brow. “Maybe we could call Elaine and invite her? A little three-way action?”
Audrey swiftly shoved him, plunging him into the pool with a resounding splash. She stood on the deck laughing as his head emerged from the depths. “You need to cool off, pervert.” Leo’s eyes never left hers as he nonchalantly sculled closer to the wall. Quick as lightning, he launched himself out of the pool.
She shrieked and sprinted toward the fence, but he soon overtook her. He threw her over his shoulder as she squealed and squirmed.
He headed straight back to the pool and leaped off the deck, crashing their bodies into the water together.
Audrey came up giggling. He kept himself afloat with an egg-beater kick, and she did the same. As she slicked her hair back from her face, her smile faded into a longing gaze. He watched her tongue sweep across her lower lip.
“Let’s get these wet jammies off you, shall we?” Leo reached over to tug on Audrey’s long nightshirt. She smiled invitingly and then submerged, allowing the thin material to slide up off her body. Leo whipped the waterlogged cotton to the pool deck.
They were even now: he clad in his boxers, she wearing only lacy panties. Kicking closer, he enveloped her and held his lips close, mesmerized by flecks of copper in her eyes.
He molded his mouth to hers and tasted a hint of her toothpaste.
As he ran his fingers over her wet hair, he felt her chest press against his. Underwater kicks kept him afloat, and the effort accelerated his heart rate even beyond the excitement of touching her.
She grasped the elastic of his shorts and pushed them down his legs until he caught them with his foot. In turn, Leo skated his hands down her belly and hooked a finger around her panties as she wriggled free.
Unencumbered by sopping clothing and unburdened of family worries, Leo felt what Audrey had tried to describe: liberated and uninhibited. Catching his breath, he continued to kiss her, stroking her back as she caressed his stubbly hair.
“Argh!” he wailed, breaking away suddenly. “Do they make water-proof chastity belts? ’Cause you’re gonna need one.” Audrey snickered. “I think the metal might rust.”
“It’s so hard to follow my promise to your dad!”
“No kidding,” she breathed, glancing under the water. She swam closer to whisper in his ear. “There are many things my dad forgot to mention.”
“Would you show me?”
She smiled at him and drew his face close, plying him with tender kisses as they submerged. Blinded by the chlorine and darkness, they relied only on their sense of touch to pleasure each other. There was a bout of giggles each time they surfaced.
As he tugged his wet boxers back on, Leo glanced at his shivering girlfriend. “I think I have a towel in the backseat.” He wrapped his arm around her and led her to the car.
Audrey squeezed some water from her hair, tossing it behind her. “How’d I do, judge?”
“On a scale of one to ten, I give you an eleven,” Leo said. He planted one last kiss on her lips. “I’m giving you a standing ovation as we speak.”
51. Bon Voyage
Their fervent hug lasted longer than a cruise ship’s pull away from the dock.
Audrey seemed to have trouble catching her breath. “I hate the Navy for taking you away,” she cried.
Leo tried to memorize the feel of her in his arms and the sweet smell of her tousled hair as he felt his shoulder dampen with her tears.
He couldn’t believe he was doing this, willingly separating himself from her. Yet he refused to go into debt. Attending Florida State would bring a financial debt to his mother and an emotional debt to his father. He knew he couldn’t look CS in the eye if he didn’t follow through with his promise. The senator who’d recommended him wouldn’t be too happy either.
As he held her, all the events from the past month flew through his mind: their exhilarating skinny dip, Audrey’s class salutatorian speech at graduation, his birthday dinner — a relaxed gathering that had included his mother, Mr. Shale, Jason, Cameron, and Audrey, followed by cake at Audrey’s house with Elaine and Alex, and grueling workouts with Audrey, who’d replaced his father as his fitness instructor.
Except for a phone call yesterday, his father had been noticeably absent through it all. Leo hadn’t seen him since that night on the track.
Though he’d sloughed off his mother’s concern about the effect of his father’s absence, inside it really hurt that CS had abandoned him.
Leo wiped away Audrey’s tears. “I’ll talk to you every chance I get. And you and my mom are visiting before you leave for school, right?”
“But that’s six weeks away.” She sniffed.
Jason cleared his throat. “Hey, buddy, we got a long drive ahead of us, and I need to be back Monday.” Leo looked over. “For your new job at Child Protective Services?”
“Yeah.” Jason squeezed his arm to his chest, bulging his biceps.
“I’m the muscle on the investigative team.” Leo turned back for one last look at Audrey before breaking away and approaching his mother. He gathered her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re back, Mom.”
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded, leaning into him.
“Me too. Take care of yourself, Leo.”
“I’ll make you proud.”
“I’m already proud. Just do your best.” Leo took a deep breath. Forcing aside his swirling emotions, he got into Jason’s car. His brother instantly hopped in as well, as if to prevent Leo from stretching out the goodbye any further.
As they
backed out the driveway, Leo locked eyes with Audrey, who stood next to his mother. He’d packed the framed picture she gave him away in his gym bag, but he held his other birthday gift from her: a tiny baby bracelet. Little white beads spelling “Scott” interspersed with pink and blue beads.
When he’d opened the box in her bedroom, he’d looked at her with shock. “This isn’t your way of telling me you’re pregnant again?” She giggled. “No.”
“Because I couldn’t be the father this time.” His eyes narrowed.
Audrey’s grin faded. “This is a reminder of me, a reminder of us — what we shared this year.”
He looked down. “But I don’t want to remember the bad times.”
“This isn’t just about the past,” she said. “It’s about the future. I don’t want to get all emo, but someday, Leo, I want to have a baby with you. When the time is right.” She took the bracelet from his hands and cradled it. “This is my promise to you, for the future.” It was the best birthday gift he’d ever received.
Leo leaned back in the seat and looked out the window, jiggling his knee in the car. “So, is Cam mad you’ll be gone this weekend?”
“Nope. She and her mom will be house-hunting the whole time.
They say their house is too big…too many memories of her dad.” At a stoplight Leo turned to him. “Jase, can I ask you a question and you promise not to get angry?”
“That sounds like a giant setup.” He looked over. “What is it?”
“I…I want to make one last stop before we head north. Maybe you could turn left at the next light?” Looking ahead to the next street, Jason’s face hardened. “No. I’m not taking you to see Constipated Stool-sample.”
“Please, Jase? I promised him I’d say goodbye.”
“You’re talking to him again?” Jason’s voice rose.
“You said you wouldn’t get mad!”
“And you set me up.” The light changed, and Jason edged the car forward. “Mom would be ticked off if she found out I took you to see Cat’s Sandbox.”
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