Sprint

Chapter six

So far, I've only watched Archer practice with the other college kids on the Wolverines.

Seeing him swim with the medley team is something entirely different.

He's got a lane for himself, racing down the narrow strip of water with such impressive technique it's captivating. It's like there's another sense of belonging to him, a sense of self-assurance that he's earned his place here, and he knows it.

He somersaults, pushing off from the edge, and glides under the surface. I watch, eyes widening at the underwater work he's performing. It's... impressive. I've always excelled in that category, and it's what's allowed me to become such a good back crawl swimmer. I'm fast and paired with the underwater work of a dolphin, I managed to outswim my competition and set that world record in March.

Archer doesn't breach the surface until way past the fifteen-meter mark. He'd never get away with it in a competition, but at practice, many US coaches allow their swimmers to stay submerged longer to build endurance and skill. It's why we're so good at it, and Archer... well, he's better than most. It's especially impressive because I just watched him go neck to neck with Sennels in a hundred-meter freestyle race, which means his lungs should be burning something fierce.

I have half a mind to remove my goggles so he'll become some unspecified, blurred blob in the blue pool, but I can't tear my eyes away.

It's beautiful.

"Ready to join in?" Lewis asks, appearing beside me, and I jump in surprise.

"Yes, Coach," I say. I'm flustered and unsure what to do with my hands, so they end up behind my back. I wonder if she saw me gawking at Archer. The thought is mortifying.

The only saving grace is that Archer couldn't possibly have noticed, as he was in the zone.

"Good. We're starting with different exercises, and then the guys will do a few relay run-throughs, which you're welcome to watch," she says, smiling in a way that lets me know she isn't used to that. I haven't worked much with her yet, so I'm still getting used to her coaching style. "But for now, you can just jump in and do some warm-ups. Take any lane."

It's weird being in the Canham Natatorium with only four other swimmers in the water. Usually, we're seventy-something people fighting for space. But the medley team has a few special practices a week where they get the pool to themselves. During these, Archer is exempt from any Wolverine-related workouts. Now, so am I.

I'm grateful to the coaches for suggesting I practice with the guys occasionally. They're all fighting for the same thing I am: a place on Team USA. It makes me feel less alone. Less like it's this insane pipe dream I came up with. Hell, Sennels, Davis, and Mitch have already managed it before. It's possible.

I sit on the pool's edge, letting my feet rest in the water as I put my cap on. Archer reaches the end of his lane and stops to come up for air. When he catches sight of me, his focused expression transforms into a scowl.