SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 12: Underwater

I gazed around and took a few long minutes to recover from the shock of that beautiful space.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this place?"

"Because it's just for leads," Heather said with a grin, swimming toward me.

"Just for leads, huh? So unfair."

"I knew you'd say that. But hey, you're here now, right?" She rested her arms on the edge of the pool and lifted her head to look at me. "Wanna join?"

I hesitated. "Sure...?"

"But?"

"Two buts," I began. "First, it's been years since I last swam, ten-year-old Grace was the last to hit the water. Second, and maybe more importantly, I don't have a swimsuit."

"Two no-worries," she said. "First, tell ten-year-old Grace you never forget how to swim. Second, I may have stolen an extra swimsuit from the Narval Equipment Stock."

Interesting.

I kneeled on the edge of the pool, close to her. "Are you saying you became a thief... for me?"

She laughed. "Who says I wasn't already a thief before?"

"I thought you always followed the rules."

"My own rules."

She kept a smirk as she climbed out of the pool, and when she stood... Her physique. I mean, I knew she was athletic, I'd noticed her arms before. I'd noticed her legs too. I'd noticed her back, her perfect skin, her hair, of course, her warm hands... But noticing is not the same as seeing. Definitely, NOT the same. She walked over to a nearby locker with her wet hair clinging to her shoulders. And me... well, let's just say I did my best not to seem overly focused on her. But, you know... I'm not exactly great at hiding stuff.

"There you go." She said, pulling a swimsuit from the locker and handing it to me.

Don't stare, don't stare.

"Thanks."

She nodded and then returned to the pool, diving headfirst with hardly a splash as if she were a water creature. She definitely knew how to swim, like, really swim.

I ducked behind a locker to change. The swimsuit was the same as hers, dark blue with silver stripes on the sides and the Reg Triangle under the chest.

When I finished, I approached the pool and cautiously dipped my toes in. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold either. I'd say it was the perfect temperature for a swim.

"Come on." She called from the other side.

Surprisingly, I remembered how to swim, and when I finally got in, I made it to where she was way faster than I'd expected.

"See? Like a fish." She smirked. "Wanna race?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you making fun of me?"

"No."

"Then why would you challenge me to a race?"

"Because it's fun."

"Fun, huh?" I nodded, pausing for a moment as if giving it some thought. "Alright then, but we'll race my way."

"Your way?"

"Yeah. Like this."

I pushed her off the edge of the pool and then shoved her under the water, sinking her for a second. When she resurfaced I was already swimming as fast as I could.

"You're so paying for that!" She yelled.

I thought I had the advantage, but the moment I glanced back, there she was, already right on my tail, swimming way too fast. Unexpected? Not really. She won, of course, and when I reached the other side, she was already waiting for me her elbows leaning back to the edge of the pool looking as if she had been there for hours.