Strings of Fate

Part title

DISCLAIMER: I AM STILL WRITING THIS CHAPTER. HOWEVER I WANTED GO POST WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN WRITTEN. So, feel free to come back when this chapter is complete or read now 💗🫶🏾.

It's 4:15, and Lucas still is not out of the locker rooms. I hope I'm in the right place. Maeve told me he was probably in the aquatic center. I hope she's right. A few guys pass by in their red Woodland Academy zip-up jackets and whistle as they pass by. One of them pivots and turns towards me.

"Hey," he says. His hair is blonde, and his face is covered with acne. "What's a girl like you doing outside the locker room at this house?"

I fold my arms over my chest. "I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?" He spits.

"It's none of your business," I tell him.

He places his hand above my head and leans against the wall. "Well, maybe it can be..."

I turn my body, sliding from under him. As I reach for the door inside the locker room, Lucas appears. He's wearing some Woodland Academy sweatpants, and his hair is dripping wet on his face. His shoulders are broad. He's much bigger than the other boys, taller too.

"What's going on?" He asks. His voice is strong and echos.

"My bad." The blonde dude holds his hands up. "I didn't realize she was yours."

"Doesn't matter," Lucas says, stepping toward his. He's so close in his face that I'm scared for him. "Maybe if you focused on your timing instead of girls you don't have a shot in hell with, you wouldn't have been bumped down to JV."

The blonde boy's hand shakes. I can tell he wants to say something to Lucas's face, but he doesn't. Instead, he mumbles, "asshole," and walks away.

Lucas turns back to me; his brows are knitted."You should've waited in your car or something."

"Well, I wouldn't have been standing out here so long if you would've been here on time," I shout.

Lucas shrugs, "Coach asked me to help lead some drills. I couldn't just leave."

"Whatever," I say.

"Come with me," Lucas pushes open the locker room door. "I have to grab my stuff and put some equipment up."

I follow him inside the aquatic center. The air is warm and sticks to my skin. There are large windows overlooking the pool. Lucas leads the way, and I sit on one of the bleachers while he places some cones into a closet. After a few minutes, he returns and dives into the pool. His lean and muscular body glides through the water.

I approach the pool's edge, "I thought we were leaving after you put away the equipment?"

Lucas swims closer to me, propping his elbows on the edge. "I always swim a few more laps after everyone leaves. Just give me a few minutes."

"I gave you more than a few minutes when you left me outside!" I shout.

Lucas laughs and dips himself underwater. When he rises again, he shakes the water from his hair and lifts himself from the pool's edge.

Sloane was right. He does have the body of a Greek God.

"You don't have to stare," he says teasingly.

I take a deep breath. "I'm not."

"Doesn't seem like it," Lucas smirks. "Why don't we go for a dip? Just the two of us?"

Lucas lift himself out of the water and makes his way behind me. I can feel the warmth of his body next to mine like there's a vibrational force between us. I close my eyes, not because I'm thinking of him, but because I'm thinking of Ethan. The boy I could never hurt and, more importantly, who would never hurt me.

I feel Lucas's hands on my hips. His grip is tight and keeps me steady. I take a deep breath, and my legs are in the air; I propel them back and forth. "Put me down!" I shout, jabbing his rib.

We are in the air and crash into the water. The waves in the pool form around us, and I kick my legs. There's a sinking feeling in my chest as I reach for something to grasp onto. My uniform is soaked and clings to my body. Lucas laughs.

"I can't swim," I tell him, gasping for air.

"What?" He asks, surprised. "Here, grab on to me."

I swing my arms over his shoulders; they're rugged and sculpted. Our gaze meets, and I catch him glancing at my lips. Our gaze catches for a moment, and I notice the panic in Lucas's eyes. His eyes search across my body like he's solving a puzzle. I smile at him and pull my body up from his, using the weight in my palms to push him beneath the water. He quickly escapes, splashing me. "What was that for?"

I swim towards the opposite end of the pool, and he follows, picking up speed. "That's for making me jump with you."

Lucas swims towards me faster than I have ever seen anyone. His lean and tan arm treads through the water, gliding him across the pool. He catches up to me and grasps my ankle. "You're not getting away from me that easy."

"Let me go!" I tell him. I must sound more severe than I intend because he lets me escape his grip. We're both in the water, pushing our arms and floating in place.

"Do you trust me?" He asks, running his fingers through his hair.

"We just met," I say, kicking my legs.

"That doesn't answer my question."

I take in a deep breath. "I don't know you well enough to trust you."

Lucas inches closer to me, the water ripples, brushing against my skin. Our gaze meets, and there's a burning in my chest and chills down my spine. I focus on staying afloat and not looking directly into his blue eyes. I don't want to feel like this around him, the trembling in my fingertips, the racing of my heart. I wish I didn't feel this way, but I do.

"Just come with me," He whispers. I follow him towards the ladder of the pool. Once he is out, he reaches for my hands as I climb the step. "Up there," he says, beaming at the diving board.

"No," I say firmly.

Lucas sighs. "Why not?"

"I'm afraid of heights," I say flatly. "That's where I draw the line."

Lucas smirks. "You don't seem like the kind of girl whose afraid of anything."

"Well, then, I must not be who you thought I was," I take a deep breath. "We should go."

Lucas begins climbing his way up the diving board. It seems miles high, but he doesn't turn to look back. His tan legs stroll to the edge before he jumps into the water, creating a force around him. When he reached the water's surface, he smiled back at me, "Did that look so bad?"