CHAPTER SIX
Call me a bitch, but I got my food and left the restaurant, not the least bit remorseful for having turned Rob down flat.
It was better to do that than to keep his hopes up and then leave him hanging. At least that’s how I resolved it in my brain.
I headed home, the smell of the Chinese food filling my tiny car. It just made my stomach growl louder.
I reached into the bag, tore open one of the boxes, and plucked out an egg roll.
It was steaming hot, but I bit into it anyway and chewed with my mouth open.
I suddenly remembered that I’d promised my dad that morning that I would pick up a box of his favorite donuts for his breakfast over the weekend.
I was going to pass our favorite donut place on the way home, so I would just stop in and grab a dozen. Or two.
As I pulled into the lot, I realized the new Mexican restaurant Christina had talked about was right beside the donut shop.
That fact almost made me skip the donuts, but I’d promised dad. I’d just duck in and duck out quickly. What were the odds I’d run into Christina and the others from the team?
Mustering my courage, and telling myself the team had probably already eaten and left, I went inside the donut shop. After a few minutes, I came out with a dozen donuts in one hand and my keys ready in the other.
No sign of Christina or anyone from the swim team. Good.
I slid in behind the wheel and set the box of donuts on the passenger seat. I was about to close the door when I heard Christina’s voice from a few feet away.
“Leave me alone, Greg,” Christina was saying, sounding distressed.
“Why?” the guy named Greg asked. “Give me one good reason why you won’t go out with me.”
“I already told you why.”
“Tell me again.” His voice cracked.
“Because I’m busy.”
“That’s not a good enough reason.”
Whoever this Greg was, he sure was persistent.
“I can’t go out with you,” Christina said, her voice pleading to be left alone.
“Why not?” Greg was getting pushy now. I decided I did not like Greg.
Christina wrapped her arms around herself defensively, and said, “I just can’t.”
What? Was she playing hard to get? Something, however, told me that was not the case.
“There’s someone else, isn’t it?”
“No, yes…it’s…complicated. It’s not you, Greg. It’s me.”
How cliché.
“All right. Fine. I guess I’ll go drown my sorrows in tequila.”
“I guess I’ll go drown my worries in tequila,” I imitated in a sing-song voice.
Men were such babies.
I had to admit that was a surprise, though.
I thought Christina was the kind to collect men and keep them drooling over her. Obviously I was wrong. Or maybe she just didn’t like pussies like Greg.
I watched Greg huff away.
Christina dried her eyes and got into a small Toyota and locked the doors.
As I drove past, our eyes met briefly.
She forced a smile when she saw me.
I didn’t smile back.
I still didn’t like her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“It’s not like her to skip practice,” Coach Banks said the next day when Christina didn’t show up at the pool. “She’s really passionate about swimming.”
“Is she?” The words just blurted out of my mouth.
Coach Banks shot me a look. “She’s as passionate as you are, Janet.”
My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe Coach Banks was comparing her level of commitment to mine. After all, I was here and she wasn’t. In my mind we were nothing alike.
I wanted to argue, but said nothing.
She was probably just upset about dumping that pussy Greg. Or she decided to go out with him after all and they were together right now.
Or maybe she felt so bad about it that she, too, drowned her sorrows in tequila and woke up with a nasty hangover.
Or maybe she just decided to go back to her old school so Greg wouldn’t bother her anymore.
Whatever, it wouldn’t break my heart to never see her again.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I knew it was too good to be true.
I did see Christina again.
And in the most unexpected place.
When I went to feed the dolphins with Stacey, Christina was there, sitting near the edge of the pool.
What the hell was she doing there. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. My dad said the new marine biologist had a daughter who was the same age I was.
And that daughter was Christine.
Son of a bitch…
“Janet?” Christina looked as surprised I was. “What are you doing here?”
I shook my head in disbelief as I sat down beside her. “Your father is the new marine biologist,” I said, head still shaking. “What are the odds.”
“How’d you know?” she asked, a confused look on her face.
“My dad runs the place,” I said. “Small world, huh.”
“Yes it is,” she said quietly. I could tell by her eyes that she’d been crying.
“Coach was looking for you at practice.”
She sniffed and looked away. “I wasn’t feeling well.”
“You should let her know next time. She’s pretty anal about attendance, especially the week before a meet.”
“I will. Thanks.”
I leaned forward to pet one of the dolphins that had nuzzled up between us.
“Has Stacey fed them already?” I asked.
Christina nodded. “She was waiting for you, I think, but then she said she had to go and the dolphins were getting hungry.”
“Sorry, I’m late,” I said, rubbing Flipper’s snout.
“You come here to help feed them every evening?” Christina asked, watching my interaction with great interest.
I nodded. “Every night that I can.”
“So this was where you went last night, rather than coming out with us.”
I gave her another nod.
“And here I thought you were with your boyfriend,” she said with a smile that seemed to take all her energy.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Why not?”
My expression told her it was personal and none of her business.
She realized it and quickly said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“I saw you last night with Greg,” I said, turning the tables. “What happened there?”
“Nothing,” Christina answered. “He wanted to go out with me and I didn’t want to.”
“Because?”
It was her turn to give me the look.
I gave her a smile. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Christina turned her attention to the three dolphins in the pool behind us. She reached out a hand and one of them raised its snout to her touch.
“They’re so cute,” she said.
“They’re beautiful,” I corrected.
“You love dolphins?”
“I do. I hope to maybe work with them someday, just like your father.”
“That would be great,” she said. “It’s important to have a dream.”
“How about you?” I felt like I had to ask.
“I’m not that smart,” Christina answered. “I’m majoring in phys ed. I’d like to coach a swim team of my own some day.”
“I see.” So that was what Coach Banks meant when she said Christina was as passionate about swimming as I was.
“I still need to get better, though,” Christina added. “I’m not nearly as good as you.”
“Well, there’s no way to go but up.” I gave her a genuine smile. In my head I could hear ice breaking.
She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “That one over there is so cute. Will she let us pet her.”
“That’s Ripper, and he�
�s a boy,” I said, standing beside her. “He’s a little stand-offish until he gets to know you better.”
Christina moved closer to the pool’s edge. She knelt and reached out her hand. “Hi, Ripper. Won’t you let me pet you?”
I rolled my eyes. I wanted to say, “He’s not a puppy, for pete sake!” Then I noticed that she was teetering close to the edge of the pool. Before I could say anything she lost her balance and fell in with a splash!
I quickly moved to the edge of the pool, thinking I’d have to dive in and save her. After a few seconds, she surfaced with a big smile on her face.
“See, I’d make a terrible marine biologist,” she said with a silly grin. She moved to the side and braced her forearms on the tile.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have worried. This was a pool, after all, and Christina was a swimmer like me. She would be just fine. In fact, she seemed like she was having fun.
And I was getting envious.
“I think you should come out,” I told her.
“Why don’t you come in instead?” she said, flexing her eyebrows. “Swimming with dolphins is so much fun. My dad and I have done it dozens of times.”
I tried to think of a reason not to join her, but in the end, I took off my sweater, and slid into the water next to her.
My dad would kill us both if he caught us swimming in the dolphin pool, but I wasn’t about to let her have all the fun.
We swam for nearly an hour, playing with the dolphins and racing them and each other.
I had swam with the dolphins before, but somehow, it had never been this fun.
I was almost sorry when my Dad finally showed up and ordered us to get out.
“You know better than to do this, young lady,” he said in that tone that meant I was in trouble. He put his hands on his hips and scowled at Christina. “And I suppose you’re Dr. Mallory’s daughter?”
“Christina,” she said in a small voice. She gave me a way look and I just rolled my eyes. No fear here, sister.
Dad kept harping. “The two of you shouldn’t have been in that pool.”
“Oh come on, Dad,” I said as I dried my hair on a towel from my gym bag. “Surely, we can enjoy the perks of our fathers’ great jobs.”
“It was my fault, Mr. Collins,” Christina said. “I fell in like a clumsy idiot. Janet just got in to make sure I was okay.”
I looked at her. Why was she standing up for me?
My dad finally sighed and waved a hand at us. “I’ll let it go this time, but it shouldn’t happen again. Otherwise, neither of your fathers will have jobs.”
“I understand,” I said.
“Go on, hit the showers,” he said. “You both smell like fish!”
We headed to the locker room, going into adjacent stalls. For a while, we were quiet as the shower washed the stink off of us.
As we sat on the bench, still wrapped in towels, Christina squeezed water from her hair and said, “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said honestly. “I’m glad you convinced me to jump in.”
“I’m glad I fell in.”
“And thanks for trying to take the blame, though you didn’t have to.”
“Your dad seems pretty cool. He had to pretend really hard to be mad.”
I grinned. “Yes he did. What about your dad?”
She thought for a moment, then shrugged.
“Great guy, but kind of weird.”
I chuckled. “Well, he is a scientist.”
She gave me a smile and narrowed her eyes. “So you’re going to be weird one day, too?”
“Am I not weird enough already?”
“Maybe,” she said with a laugh.
“Where’s your mom?”
Christina’s laugh faded quickly. She lowered her eyes and said, “She got breast cancer when I was eight and never recovered. What about yours?”
“She died in a car accident when I was ten.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Me, too.”
Coach Banks was right.
Christina and I did have a lot in common.
And I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t so bad, after all.
CHAPTER NINE
That was the start of our friendship.
Christina and I never took a dip in the dolphin pool again, but we did continue to meet there, helping Stacey feed the dolphins or simply hanging out, talking about all kinds of things.
We hung out all the time, going out for coffee or dinner, watching movies, studying together at my house.
And of course, we hung out at the pool at school.
We practiced together.
We raced each other, trying to beat each other’s times.
The rest of the team saw our hard work and they worked harder, too. The result?
We ended up winning our first tournament, thanks to everyone’s hard work.
We celebrated at my house by eating and drinking and dancing the night away. My dad spent the night with a friend, giving us the run of the place with just two rules: NO BOOZE, NO BOYS!
We didn’t invite boys over, but we did raid my dad’s beer stash in the basement fridge.
When the other girls had fallen asleep in the three bedrooms, Christina and I sat on the balcony, talking as we enjoyed the night air and looking up at the stars.
“I can’t believe we did so well,” Christina said.
“You were amazing,” I told her. “You left the others a full length behind.”
“That’s because you helped me.”
“Maybe I helped a little.” I said, bumping her with my elbow. “I can’t believe we’re best friends now.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t like you very much when we first met.”
She pretended to glare at me. “How can you not like me?”
“Because you were better and prettier than I was,” I admitted.
Christina chuckled. “That’s so not true.”
“You won two races today and I won just one. There’s your proof.”
“I mean the prettier part. You’re much prettier than me.”
“Nuh uh. My eyes are brown. Yours are blue.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“I always wanted blue eyes because they were the color of the ocean.”
Christina smiled. “I think brown eyes are beautiful, too.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “I guess that’s another thing we have in common.”
“Yeah,” Christina agreed.
“And I guess we’re both drunk because we’re complimenting each other and not being so modest anymore.”
Christina laughed. “Well, since we’re complimenting each other, let me also say that you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met. I can’t understand why you don’t have a boyfriend.”
I frowned at her. “You need a boyfriend to be amazing? Or are you saying a boyfriend is proof of your amazingness?”
“I’m saying a girl like you deserves to be treasured and loved in the most special way,” she said.
“I don’t think there’s a guy out there who can do that,” I told her. “All guys are jerks. That’s why I don’t trust them. That’s why I don’t think I’ll ever fall in love.”
Christina fell silent.
“Christina?” I gave her a look of concern. “What’s wrong?”
She suddenly yawned and pushed herself out of the seat. She held out a hand to help me up and said, “I’m sleepy. Let’s go inside.”
CHAPTER TEN
We went inside, only to find every bed already taken by two or three girls. I had an idea. I led Christina down to the basement and we crashed on the big sofa my dad kept down there.
Christine plopped down and told me to lie down beside her. I did as I was and Christina draped an arm over me. I nuzzled in close, drunk and sleepy.
Christina put her chin on my shoulder and breathed
quietly in my ear. It didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.
I dreamt that someone was holding me tight and planting little kissed on my neck. I heard a voice softly say, “I love you.”
I had no idea that the next day everything would change.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
When I woke up the next morning, Christina was gone. I tried calling her cell, but it went directly to voicemail. I looked for her all over town, but she was nowhere to be found.
No one had heard from her or knew where she was.
I drove to her house and knocked on the front door. Her dad answered. He was on his way out, but told me that Christina was in her room and to go on back.
I knocked on her door and said, “Chris, it’s Jan. Let me in.”
“Please, just go away,” she said from the other side of the door. Her voice sounded like she’d been crying.
I shook my head, not understanding what the hell was going on. “Chris, just tell me what’s wrong, please. I thought we were best friends.”
“I thought so, too.”
“And what? You no longer think that way? Why not? What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything. It’s not you. It’s me.”
I sighed and leaned my forehead against the door. “Isn’t that the same speech you gave Greg?”
“Just leave me alone, Janet. I’ll be leaving at the end of the semester and you won’t ever see me again.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s for the best.”
I slammed my palm to the door. “You’re not making any sense. Just open the door and we’ll talk face to face, heart to heart.”
“I can’t do that. If I open the door, I might not be able to stop myself.”
Now I was really confused. “Stop yourself from doing what?”
Christina didn’t answer.
“Christina, if there’s something you want to tell me, just go on and tell me. I promise I’ll listen.”
She didn’t answer.
“You’re saying this is for the best, but you’re hurting me right now. And I can tell you’re hurting, too? How can that be any good?”
Still nothing.
“Please,” I begged. “You’re my best friend. No matter what you say, that won’t change.”
In Too Deep Page 2
