Sticking two hot heads who've had it out for each other since day one didn't seem smart. But yet that's exactly what happens. Roman and Will didn't "click" together, the closest they were to having something in common was their swim team and their n...
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2 weeks later
Breath.
Just breath.
Roman could hear the roaring of voices, echoing against the beats of the pool. He felt the excitement and jitters reeking off his teammates. He felt the cold air on his arms as he waited for the bell to ring. He felt his legs tremble with a quiet thrum of nerves.
He was hanging off the edge of the pool, his grip and gaze tight on the cement- trying to focus on the clutching water surrounding him. The shimmer of the water would sometimes reflect in his cornea by the warped reflection of the sun beaming into the arena.
It was their swimming tournament. The one. It was simple, one 12 hour tournament of groups of 10 with 3 different events all packed into the same day: 100m freestyle, 200m butterfly, and 400 relay.
He's done this before, so he knew what he was doing. Just go from there to here. One length, one touch, just one more minute of his life. Simple. Then his concentration broke when a name was calling out his name.
"Ro."
The name cut slick against the heavy noise, the sound soft and warm but it beat hard against his eardrums.
His head snapped up, his 2 other teammates in the relay smiling at him expectably with grinning thumbs up.
But one of them.
God.
Will.
He had let his blond hair fade into something softer and duskier, leaving him a warm brown color that framed his face. His freckles had darkened by the sun and dusted heavily on his collarbones like some constellation. He looked leaner, tanner, sharper- still holding that damn smile curling at its edges like he knew what he was doing.
Will stood there in his cap and skimpy shorts, his thumbs raised and teeth shining right at Roman. Roman tried to suppress his smile but failed as he grinned and locked eyes with the hazel-eyed boy.
The bell rang and he was flying into the water and starting his strokes down the 200-yard line.
He cut through the water, stroke after breath after stroke, one thing kept him going. He needed to make it count on Coach for putting up with his ass, to his aunt that always seemed to support him, for him.
Because he changed everything.
"Ro, I... I don't know." Will responded in a hushed whisper.
"You don't know what?" He slurred, wide,and terrified eyes at the blond.
"I don't know if I can." His voice was low, unsure of what he was even saying. It was better than rejection.
Roman persisted, "I know this is weird. But it'll feel weirder if I don't say anything at all and we never talk again."
"Ha." Will chuckled softly, looking down at his numbed fingers, "There's no way in this world where you can't stop talking." He paused to look out at the house, "God this beach house... It's changed everything."
