What's the harm in a little flirting?

Chapter 1

Feeling the boat glide in the water, the air brush against her face, the sun hit her back, that feeling- that was her safe haven. On days she needed to relax she would take a single scull out onto the water and just row. She would row until she could feel the burning sensation in her lungs that made it hard to breathe. She would row until her hands throbbed and she could feel the blisters threatening to tear. She would row until she couldn't row anymore until her body physically couldn't take anymore.

To any normal person, it would be hell. Any normal person would think she was crazy. But to her, it was relaxing. She was able to clear her mind for two hours. Two hours of the smooth glassy feel of the water as the sunrise reflected off of it. Two hours of hearing nothing but her oar hitting the water at a steady rhythm and the birds singing. Two hours of relaxation and meditation mixed with pushing her body to the limit. Even with all the pain, it was a time to relax, a time to be at peace with herself. To her rowing was beautiful. A beautiful kind of pain.

Maybe it had to do with how she was raised. Always told to push her limits. That she hasn't started until her legs scream to stop and her lungs were bursting. That when she felt that feeling, not to quit, she had to push through it because she was already in pain, she was already hurting, and she might as well get a reward for it. That to give anything less than her best was to sacrifice her gift. But whatever the reason was, she craved the satisfaction she got from her family. The satisfaction she got from her teammates. The satisfaction she got from her coach. And especially the satisfaction she could see on her own body and from her times when erging or running.

That's what she was doing today. She got to the boathouse around five in the morning and immediately went to the rack of single sculls, finding the one with the name Woods printed on the shell. Her family had been donors for years and had always let the team name the boats, but this one in specific was Lexa's. It was the team's boat, but her grandparents had specifically gotten it for her, their way of accepting that she was gay. She was embarrassed at first when a boat with her last name on it and the pride flag on the blades of the oars showed up at the boathouse one morning, but after a few months, it soon became her favorite boat in the whole house. So, she grabbed her favorite boat with the rainbow oars and went out on the water.

Any stress about the upcoming race was gone as her boat glided through the water. As her boat moved faster she became happier. She felt free. She felt like she could do anything. Rowing was her sanctum, it was what made her feel good. So, she kept rowing for as long and as far as she could until her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest and her lungs tightened making it almost impossible to breathe. When she felt that feeling she slowed down until her boat was drifting with the current. She let her hand drag threw the cold water, watching as her oars dragged through the clear water, listening to the splash the birds made when landing in the still water. She stayed like that, watching the sunrise, as her breathing and heart calmed down. And once it finally did, she turned around and headed back to the boathouse.

She had about two miles left once she passed the men's boathouse when something caught her eye. Someone to be more specific. The men's rowing team volunteer doctor to be even more specific. She could tell who it was by the blonde hair that was flowing in the wind, which only made her row back over to her.

"Why do the boys get such a young hot doctor and the girls get some grumpy old lady?"
"Good morning to you too Lexa," Clarke said with a soft chuckle. "And don't talk about my mom like that."
"Tell her to be nicer then, all my rowers are afraid to tell her when they're hurt."
"Then stop making everyone work so hard. They're human, they need breaks."

"Every day they have to earn their seat, I have to push them or they won't get anywhere."
"Trust me, they don't want to go anywhere besides to sleep that early in the morning."
"They need the push and they love me for it. Now, what are you doing this early anyway? The boys don't start practice for another few hours."