Drew said before hitting the showers.
He stripped off his trunks and crumpled it at the entrance to the locker room. The hot water hit him like hot lava spewing from the shower head. While the pool was his main therapy, hot showers were his after-therapy. The hot water pounded his sore muscles and cleaned the chlorine off his skin and out of his hair. It burned his body and left him red hot, reminding him that he was still breathing.
As the buzz of the practice session wore off and the shower was stretched to its end, the memories threatened to overtake his mind again and Drew could feel the cloud start to settle back over him. The last four years had been a waste, but he was determined this would be his time.
*****
Chapter Two
“Why are you so vested in him?” Alice asked.
James stared at his beloved friend and topped her wine glass in lieu of an answer. Her gaze didn’t let up and he settled back into the recliner.
“He’s one in a million,” he said eventually.
“He dropped you bad,” she said. “But then everyone deserves a second chance,” she conceded.
“Are you playing devil’s advocate and representing the state at the same time?” he smiled, referencing to her tough legal persona.
“I just don’t want to see you waste another four years of your life,” she said finally.
He knew his good friend was only looking out for him. But he couldn’t let it slide.
“Drew just barely missed out of the qualifier,” he said. He knew he sounded defensive, and visibly relaxed.
“You spent four years getting him to the USA Swimming Olympic Trials Swim Meet and he messed it up in the worst possible way. He missed it by a millisecond. It was your shot just as much as his. He didn’t just disappoint himself that day,” she said. “He only has a short window left to compete, to really compete. You know this. He’s got one more, at the most two more chances, then he’s basically out of chances,” she said.
Drew knew all this, better than his assistant district attorney friend.
“I can get him to the Olympics,” Drew said finally.
He sounded confident, almost as confident as he really felt. He believed in Drew, and believed in his talent. If only he could get the kid to step out of his own head.
“I’ve seen hundreds of swimmers in my years Ally, gifted swimmers, but none like him.”
“As long as you’re sure,” Alice said, “you’re not getting any younger yourself,” she finished.
“Is that another thirties joke?” he said.
He tried to scowl at her but was too tipsy to care and smiled instead.
“Once you hit the big three zero, it’s just downhill from there,” she said. “Believe you me.”
“Well, we’ll always have our Wednesday nights,” he said and topped up his own glass of wine and smiled, oblivious to the sadness behind his friend’s eyes.
*****
“You’re late,” James said.
“Barely,” Drew said as made his way past.
“You know the rules,” James said. He knew he sounded tough, but it was necessary too, he knew.
“Seriously, dude, I know you mean well, but back the hell off.”
He could see something was up with Drew, but he was a firm believer in leaving your shit at the door and stepping up to the plate when needed.
“You couldn’t let me know you were going to be late? Just because you’re father’s paying my fee doesn’t mean I’m fine with having my time wasted. I’ve got a waiting list the length of my arm of serious athletes waiting for my call,” he said.
“What the fuck? It’s the first time I’ve been late all season,” Drew said defensively while hurrying into his swimming gear.
“And it’s damn well going to be the last,” James said, annoyed by his charge’s bad attitude.
Having a bit of a headache from the leftover hangover of the night before, he made his way over to Drew and grabbed hold of his
He stripped off his trunks and crumpled it at the entrance to the locker room. The hot water hit him like hot lava spewing from the shower head. While the pool was his main therapy, hot showers were his after-therapy. The hot water pounded his sore muscles and cleaned the chlorine off his skin and out of his hair. It burned his body and left him red hot, reminding him that he was still breathing.
As the buzz of the practice session wore off and the shower was stretched to its end, the memories threatened to overtake his mind again and Drew could feel the cloud start to settle back over him. The last four years had been a waste, but he was determined this would be his time.
*****
Chapter Two
“Why are you so vested in him?” Alice asked.
James stared at his beloved friend and topped her wine glass in lieu of an answer. Her gaze didn’t let up and he settled back into the recliner.
“He’s one in a million,” he said eventually.
“He dropped you bad,” she said. “But then everyone deserves a second chance,” she conceded.
“Are you playing devil’s advocate and representing the state at the same time?” he smiled, referencing to her tough legal persona.
“I just don’t want to see you waste another four years of your life,” she said finally.
He knew his good friend was only looking out for him. But he couldn’t let it slide.
“Drew just barely missed out of the qualifier,” he said. He knew he sounded defensive, and visibly relaxed.
“You spent four years getting him to the USA Swimming Olympic Trials Swim Meet and he messed it up in the worst possible way. He missed it by a millisecond. It was your shot just as much as his. He didn’t just disappoint himself that day,” she said. “He only has a short window left to compete, to really compete. You know this. He’s got one more, at the most two more chances, then he’s basically out of chances,” she said.
Drew knew all this, better than his assistant district attorney friend.
“I can get him to the Olympics,” Drew said finally.
He sounded confident, almost as confident as he really felt. He believed in Drew, and believed in his talent. If only he could get the kid to step out of his own head.
“I’ve seen hundreds of swimmers in my years Ally, gifted swimmers, but none like him.”
“As long as you’re sure,” Alice said, “you’re not getting any younger yourself,” she finished.
“Is that another thirties joke?” he said.
He tried to scowl at her but was too tipsy to care and smiled instead.
“Once you hit the big three zero, it’s just downhill from there,” she said. “Believe you me.”
“Well, we’ll always have our Wednesday nights,” he said and topped up his own glass of wine and smiled, oblivious to the sadness behind his friend’s eyes.
*****
“You’re late,” James said.
“Barely,” Drew said as made his way past.
“You know the rules,” James said. He knew he sounded tough, but it was necessary too, he knew.
“Seriously, dude, I know you mean well, but back the hell off.”
He could see something was up with Drew, but he was a firm believer in leaving your shit at the door and stepping up to the plate when needed.
“You couldn’t let me know you were going to be late? Just because you’re father’s paying my fee doesn’t mean I’m fine with having my time wasted. I’ve got a waiting list the length of my arm of serious athletes waiting for my call,” he said.
“What the fuck? It’s the first time I’ve been late all season,” Drew said defensively while hurrying into his swimming gear.
“And it’s damn well going to be the last,” James said, annoyed by his charge’s bad attitude.
Having a bit of a headache from the leftover hangover of the night before, he made his way over to Drew and grabbed hold of his
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