by Aimi Myles
“Well, you sure did trick me. That really hurt. Then you said you never wanted to see me again. You moved away.”
Kaz sighed. “There was no excuse for what I said. I was wrong. But I’m not in that same mind frame anymore. I’m not sad or angry. I found hope and realized what real love was. I’ve changed, and I’ll prove that to you.” He rubbed my back. “Give me the chance to prove it to you. Please.”
“I don’t know, Kaz,” I said. “I might be just another one of your girls. The last one on your list.”
“No, you are never that. I want you to be happy Mauri, with or without me.”
I didn’t have anything else to say. Either I trusted him, or I didn’t.
“Come here,” he said and reached his arm around my waist. He reeled me in closer with little effort and looked me dead in the eyes. “I want you.”
---
At Dusty’s New Year’s Eve party that we attended that night, I got a little more aggressive. Kaz and I barely separated. Tired and not wanting to be alone, Kaz didn’t have to do much convincing to get me to stay at his place.
“We can’t deny it Mauri,” Kaz said, once we were back at his apartment. He got up in my personal space and smelled delicious like, I don’t know. I wasn’t good at picking out the scents of colognes, but I had trouble keeping my hands off of him all night.
“I’m not sure about this,” I said.
“Let’s just pretend it’s like old times.”
“Just pretend it’s like old times?” I said. “Remember when you made out with me and forgot about me after?”
“I was a boy. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve changed.”
I yawned. “I doubt it.”
“You want to put money behind that?”
“Yeah—”
Kaz didn’t let me finish. His lips were secured around mine. Tongue exploring my mouth. Hands wrapped around my face. That session simmered into Kaz kissing me on my neck and down to my chest then back up again. I grabbed hold of his strong arms as we continued, rushing every moment. After a little while, Kaz left me to remove his shirt. He returned and I held onto him, letting my lips and fingers feel the sensations that I had dreamed of for so long. I didn’t know why, but he denied me more pleasure when he finished caressing my skin. He took another break. When I reached out to bring him back, he blocked me.
“What are you doing?” I said.
He laughed. “You’ll see.”
Chapter 10
Mauri
“Kazy!” I yelled. He was about fifteen meters on his way back to the other side of the pool.
“Kazy?” Mark said. “So that’s what you call him these days?”
I felt as though I was heating up. “I meant, Kaz.” Kazy wasn’t a nick name. It just slipped out. And it feels kind of strange with Mark pointing out how close we’ve become over the last few months.
It was spring. The next season was the Olympic trials. I was confident that Kaz would go back and establish his presence in the water again if he could just get those turns right. Kaz kept himself afloat on top of the water, facing us.
“Kaz,” I said. “You keep turning early. You’re leaving a few seconds on the table.”
“And you’re not fast enough yet to give up that time,” Mark said. “And we don’t want to give up that time anyway. You’re in the position for a world record here.”
“I thought I had it,” Kaz said. “If I take one more stroke, I’d be too close.”
“You won’t,” Mark said. “We need you to add another one.”
“I don’t understand why he…” I said to myself. “Alright.”
“Speak louder, Mauri,” Kaz said.
I pulled the t-shirt off over my head and went to the side to take off my shoes and jogging pants. Over the months I built up enough nerve to wear my swimsuit again. Well, not exactly the same one. I was a couple of sizes curvier.
“Am I seeing what I think I am?” Mark said.
“Yep,” I said.
I went over to my purse and pulled out a cap and goggles. “Maybe if you have some competition, you’ll start turning at the right time every time.” I got in the water. “This is so cold.”
Kaz laughed at me. “Do you remember how to swim?”
“Shush,” I said.
After a few races, I was tired. It was kind of funny because I had the giant head start. It didn’t work because Kaz still was turning early.
“Wait a minute,” I said and took of my goggles. I handed them to Kaz.
“Try mine,” I said.
“I had my eyes checked after the accident,” Kaz said.
“But your vision could have changed,” I said.
“I’m going to be seeing double, but I’ll try it.”
The next lap, Kaz wasn’t better but agreed that maybe it was time to get his eyes checked again.
---
Kaz
“What happened?” Mark asked us the next day at practice.
I waved my goggles. “Slight prescription. He said I didn’t need to wear a pair of glasses all of the time.”
“So we should make some headway on these turns today,” Mauri said.
“Alright,” Mark said. “Let’s see.”
While warming up, I practiced my turns, leaving Mauri and Mark cheering. They said I still was a little hesitant, but we had a couple of months, and I’d have it down by then. My time had already begun to improve that day.
In the middle of a breast stroke swim, I knew something was wrong. It was only when I turned to come back did I see a few more people join us. A few strokes later, I recognized them—Dakota and Brayden. Great. I hopped out once I got to the other side. Mauri stood with her arms crossed while Mark was arguing with his wife about being there.
“Dakota, you know good and well what you’re doing,” Mark said.
“Oh, hey Kaz,” she said, in a cheerful tone. “Haven’t seen you in a while either.”
“Why are you here?” I said. “Y’all have that big, new pool.”
“Wanted to stop by and say hello,” she said.
“You wanted to try and intimidate,” Mark said.
“We don’t need to be here to do that,” Brayden said. “My times do it all on their own.” He set his eyes on me and smiled.
“I’m not worried about your times Brayden,” I said. “I swim the best I can, and I win. Your times have nothing to do with that.”
“Well, then you wouldn’t mind if we raced here would you?” Brayden said. “Show me how you’re much better.”
“We were leaving,” Mark said.
“Funny,” Dakota said. “Kaz was in the middle of a swim, and I know your schedule.”
“I’m not—” Mark said.
“Fine,” Kaz said. “One 100 meter freestyle. Then you two leave.”
“200,” Dakota said. “Then we come back tomorrow.”
Mark huffed.
“Shall we?” Brayden said. He took off his warm ups and jumped in the pool to get used to the water.
“Did Vincent put you up to this?” I heard Mark ask Dakota. “You need to let him know nothing has changed. And I know you came to spy on Kaz’s progress.”
Brayden pushed himself out of the water and was ready to swim against me. They wanted to simulate a meet, so we got onto the diving boards and Dakota told us to get set then go.
I dove in, using what I practiced with the dolphin kicks to go further under water. I took breaths to my left, away from Brayden as I swam. The flip I performed was almost perfect. I wasn’t as slow pushing off.
On the way back, I saw that Brayden was ahead of me. I couldn’t swim the same pace and expect to win. Thinking about how I needed to use just enough energy, I sped up a little. Brayden always swam a little bit too fast. If you stayed close enough, you could get him in the end.
The next two flips were OK, and I had managed to not slip back any more from Brayden’s lead. At about thirty meters, I sped up, but it was too late. Brayden’s endurance had
improved. I touched the other end a second later.
“You gave it your best,” Brayden said. “And I did ninety percent.”
That dude really got under my skin with those sarcastic comments, but I knew not to show it. “You got your match Brayden. Now it’s time for your end of the deal.”
“OK,” Brayden said. “But remember we’re going to be teammates if you make it. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily in the future, especially at camp, the end of June. I know you’ll be more than delighted.” He swam over to the stairs and got out. Dakota brought his towel to him, and Mauri and Mark stared them down until they left.
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “They’re starting to play their games.”
“At least you get to practice the psychological side beforehand,” Mauri said. “That’s a plus.”
“Yep, but this tension,” I said. “There’s a great chance we’ll be relaying on the same teams. That could be a disaster.”
“So,” Mauri said. “How was it? Swimming competitively with those new goggles?”
“Great,” I said. “I thought I got those turns down for the most part.”
“You did,” Mark said. “Tiny tweaks. That’s all we have left to do. But you were slower than normal. Mauri, you might be jumping back in the water.”
“That’s because we didn’t get to the best part yet,” I said.
“You’re kidding?” Mark said.
“Nope,” I said. “Brayden may have been swimming at ninety, but I was giving it about eighty percent.”
---
The next few weeks some of the most uncomfortable things happened. Dakota found me in the grocery store parking lot, as did Brayden’s mom, Abby. It happened on two separate days. Brayden’s mom was friendly. We strolled into the store together, talking about how nice the trip to the Olympics was going to be.
“I can’t wait to visit some of the shops there,” she said.
“I’ll see what I can when I’m done,” I said.
“That’s right, you’ll be wrapped up the whole week,” she said. “You know if you asked me four years ago… It’s not the same—you and Brayden were the best of friends, staying up all night, excited about what was next to come. The tone this year is much more serious; I don’t really care for it. It’s not as fun.”
Admitting anything to her wasn’t going to happen. I nodded.
“How is Mauri?” she said. “I miss her too. We were planning this trip for all of us to go together.”
“She’s good.”
“Good!”
It was time to find a way out of the conversation. “Well, it was nice seeing you Mrs. Reed.”
“Oh please,” Mrs. Reed said, and patted me on the arm. “Call me Abby. ‘Mrs. Reed’ makes me feel a little old, now that y’all are all grown up.”
Out of aisle five, Mr. Reed surprised, more like scared, us. Mrs. Reed didn’t know he was there? Mauri had relayed stories about him and his tendencies. I laughed about them, but experiencing them in real time wasn’t something to joke about. It was in the middle of the day, and that man ran a marketing company. His clients were simply everyone.
“Kaz,” Vincent said and faked a smile. “We’ll see you at trials.”
I nodded.
“Honey,” I heard Mrs. Reed saying as they walked away. “I didn’t know you were off of work. We could have come together.”
That encounter wasn’t as bad as the next. I was on my way out of the store that time.
“Hey, Kaz,” I heard Dakota say. My pace back to the car quickened. “Kaz!” she said and had to have jogged up to me with the bag of groceries in her hand.
“I didn’t get to ask how you were in the practices we had together,” she said. “And now, you all have devised a plan to have secret ones?” She was speaking of the practices that Mauri and I put together separately, without Mark because he knew Dakota was going to keep irritating us.
“Like we said before,” I said as I reached my truck. “We really don’t have anything to say to each other.”
“But we can,” she said and smiled. “I miss you Kaz.”
“Dakota, why won’t you stop this? I’m not interested in you. And you’re married.”
“Kaz,” she said. “I’m only eight years older than you. I was a younger coach, remember.”
“Number one,” I said. “My parents weren’t hiring you, they hired Mark.”
“We were a team, Kaz,” she said. “I was in that meeting too.”
“Number two, I don’t care what your and Mark’s business is; just leave me out of it.”
“This is about Mauri isn’t it? That girl, she always seems to be around.”
“Leave her name out of your mouth.”
“Wow,” she said. “So it’s like that. You’re just going to push away someone who gave you all of those tips? Who helped you get a lot better when Mark was preoccupied with everyone else. I saw the champion in you from day one.”
I gritted my teeth. “I thank you for helping me, Dakota. But right now you’re way out of line. And I’m not the one to cross them. Good day,” I said and hopped into my truck.
As soon as I got back home, I was so glad to see my baby, Mauri, sitting on my couch, watching footage of me swim, in those short shorts she wouldn’t dare wear outside. I ran into the kitchen, slammed the food into the refrigerator, and was by her side.
“What are you doing, Kaz?” Mauri said. “You can save that speed for the pool.”
I took the computer out of her hands to place it on the table. “You look so sexy right now with these shorts on,” I said in her ear. I slid my hands up and down her thighs and kissed her lips tenderly a few times.
“Kaz,” she said.
“Shhh,” I said and found her lips again.
“What happened?”
“I love you.” Another kiss.
Mauri slid back. “Kaz, is this about your birthday?”
“I want you to know I’ll never leave you. I’ll always protect you.”
“Kaz.”
I pulled my shirt off over my head then tasted her lips again.
The “Kaz” she said softly was sweet music to my ears. I secured my arm around her back.
“You’re always taking care of me,” I said and kissed her some more. “So let me take care of you.”
Chapter 11
Mauri
“Come on,” Kaz said. “Let’s go out.”
I sighed. “I haven’t changed in that aspect, Kaz. I agreed for the New Year’s Eve party.”
“It’ll be fun. You’ll be with me. We’ll dance. We’ll party. Then we’ll be back home, and you’ll want to go back the next day. Besides, you kind of have to do what I say. It’s my birthday.”
“And your present.”
“I already have my present.” He kissed me on my lips. “Please.”
“For your birthday.”
He smiled.
At the club, Kaz received a hero’s welcome as we walked in. The owner made his way over and hooked us up with a VIP booth. On the way, people yelled his name and grabbed at him. Some said happy birthday. Everyone was all smiles. As soon as we reached the area, I grabbed my seat. Kaz noticed me and pulled me back up to dance with him.
After a while, I took a break to sit down and Kaz stayed on the floor. I was focusing on catching my breath when Sam appeared.
“Mauri!” Sam said, and waved from behind the little perimeter they set up for Kaz. I waved for him to come on over and take a seat with me.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” Sam said and gave me a hug.
“I know,” I said. “I’ve been busy.”
“I see.”
We laughed.
“So you decided to stick with the swimmers,” Sam said. “Couldn’t have it any other way could you?”
“Well, it just happens.”
“Too bad there isn’t any Olympic sport for coffee.”
I chuckled.
“I’m glad for you Mau
ri,” Sam said. “Kaz is a pretty nice guy.”
“Sometimes.”
“Well, if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask,” Sam said and smiled.
“I won’t,” I said. “How have you and Stella been?”
“Stella,” he said. “She’s good. She’s a good worker.”
“You know what I mean.”
“She’s a beautiful woman just not the one for me.”
“She adores you,” I said.
“As I adore you.”
“But you two would be great together. You ignore your subconscious feelings. Isn’t she always working when you’re scheduled to work?”
“My dad makes the schedules.”
“He likes her for you,” I said.
“He likes that she’s on time, is a great worker, and goes beyond what she is asked to do.”
“And he said that she’s a great match for you.”
He nodded. “Pretty much.”
“You need to look into that Sam. I think she’d really appreciate it.”
“But I like swimmers,” he said.
“I’ll teach her to swim.”
“She hates the water. There’s no way you can convince her to get her hair wet.”
“See, you already know some intimate things about her.”
He closed his eyes. “I don’t know, but anyway.” He took a look at the crowd. “This is a great view.”
“I know,” I said. “It makes me want to people watch.”
“But you like dancing. Don’t be embarrassed. You’re a good dancer.”
“I danced some.”
“Well, I guess I will be dancing some more right now,” Sam said. “I’ll see you later.”
“You’re going so soon?”
“You don’t see Kaz eying me over there?”
I peeked up and Kaz was dancing and glancing back from time to time. “Kaz.”
“I’m not crossing ways with him,” Sam said.
“You can stay, Sam.”
“No, I’ll see you around okay?”
“Okay, see ya.”
