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“Uurgghhh.”
I try to lower myself down on the bench slowly, but instead my tailbone meets the hard wood with a distinctthunk.
“You okay there, Hayes?”
“Shove off, Simpson.” I playfully scowl at my teammate, giving him my middle finger as the locker room fills with laughter.
Coach was all over me today, making me do an extra-long session in the weight room before letting me get into the pool. My legs are dead, and I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to manage to drag myself all the way back home. I consider calling up Cabe to come get me, but then I decide the ribbing from my team would be nothing compared to my packmate. Maybe I could go sit in the steam room for a while to gather my strength ...
We have a big meet coming up against Ouray College in a few weeks, and as the captain, it’s my responsibility to lead our team to victory. I don’t particularly enjoy being in the spotlight, but coach insists I’m the right man for the job. I’m pretty sure he only says that because I’m an alpha, and alphas aresupposedto lead. A designation doesn’t automatically make someone a good leader—despite some of the beliefs still out there.
Still, as a senior, this season will likely be my last doing any kind of competitive swimming. Might as well make the most of it.
I decide food sounds better than the steam room at this point, so I finish drying off after my shower and slowly ease into some clean sweats.
“Hey, Alvarez! You’re late!”
I look up to find Leo standing at the door to the locker room looking a little sheepish. “What’s up, man?” I ask as he walks over to join me. “I thought you were going to be out for a while.”
“Yeah, might be able to come back next week, though I may need to play things by ear a bit still. Just wanted to come check in.”
This is Leo’s third year on the swim team, and he’s damn good. Super-fast on the short sprints and our secret weapon on the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. We need him if we want to win against Ouray, but he called me last week to tell me he had a family emergency and would be missing from practice for an undetermined amount of time. I figured he’d gone back home for a while.
“Everything okay with your family?”
“It will be,” he responds, and I see his eyes darken in apparent anger for a moment before clearing up again. “Coach said you’d give me a rundown of what I need to do to make up for missing practice this week.”
“Sure thing, but there’s no rush if you need more time. You know we’d love to have you against Ouray, but Samuels has been making progress, so we’re not dead in the water without you,” I tease. Honestly, I really want him back, but family comes first.
Leo grins at me. “Can’t have a freshman taking my spot,” he teases back. “Let me make up my conditioning this weekend, and I’ll check with Espy to see if she’s okay with me joining practice again on Monday.”
“Espy?”
“My sister,” he explains, and I’m glad my expression is hidden as I pull on my sweatshirt. I’ve heard him mention a sister once or twice, but her showing up after Leo told me he had a family emergency has my alarm bells going off. Did something happen to his parents? Is he now the guardian for a younger sibling?
“Want to walk and talk?” I offer. “Coach had a sadistic streak today, and if I don’t get food in me soon I’m gonna collapse.”
Being a late Friday afternoon, most of the guys have already cleared out, but we say our goodbyes to the stragglers and make our way out of the athletics center. The sun is just setting, but the temperature has already plummeted, so I stop to pull my jacket out of my duffel bag.
“Think it’s gonna snow?” I ask.
“Nah, too early. We’re not that high up in the mountains. I bet we make it until Halloween at least.”
“Then the temperature should ease up,” I joke.
Despite having lived in the area all my life, I still hate the cold. Probably something to do with the fact I often have wet hair from swimming. When we were kids, my brother and I used to dunk our heads in a tub of water and then run around outside until our hair had frozen in spikes. Then we’d come back inside and chase our sisters around and spar with each other like freakin’ bighorn sheep. Speaking of family ...
“So, your sister’s visiting?”
I can see the question makes Leo uncomfortable, but to his credit he answers me anyway.
“Yeah. She’s ... going to be staying with me for a while.”
“With you and Tanner?” I prompt, picturing their small dorm room with a frown.
“Yeah. Or ... hopefully. We’re actually gonna test that out tonight, see how it goes.” He blows out a heavy breath that lingers in the cold air.
I’m not a gossip, but I am his team captain, and it’s my job to know what’s going on with my guys. I decide patience is the best approach, and we continue walking in silence for a while.
