There’s silence for a moment, the wind rustling the flowers around us. Then he reaches out and tousles my hair, like he always used to when we were kids. “As long as you’re happy, May. That’s what’s important. Now let’s go. I have something special to show you.”
He takes me to the farthest side of campus, where the gym building stands between the academic quad and the football field. He flashes his I.D at the door and shows me down several flights of stairs, which is when I smell the familiar scent of chlorine. It reminds me of home.
“I figured you’d like this,” he says, grinning to himself the way he do
es when he’s proud of something. “I know you’ve always been really into swimming.”
And then he brings me inside the pool room.
The pool is enormous, at least twice as big as the one where I swam for the team at my old college. The water clean and glassy. I almost sprint back to my dorm room and grab my bathing suit, it looks so inviting—and only a single lane is occupied.
I turn to Tanner, ready to squeal with excitement, but his expression stops me short.
A shadow has darkened his face. I follow his gaze and realize he’s staring at the one occupied lane.
The person swimming is fantastic, I notice that right away. His lithe arms cut through the water in sha
rp, flawless strokes. His body moves through the water like a knife, barely causing any ripples but going so fast he does two lane lengths in the amount of time it takes us to watch him. He’s not wearing goggles. His eyes are closed, but he knows exactly when to twist and turn when he reaches the side of the pool, and as he does, I catch a glimpse of his face—frozen in focus so intense he almost looks like he’s in pain.
A shiver runs down my spine, the same sort of shiver I get when I watch Olympic swimmers on television. I’ve always wanted to be that good.
“Come on. Let’s go,” Tanner says, but even the annoyance in his voice can’t shake me out of my reverie. “I have to take a piss.”
Normally I’d make fun of him for that, but I can’t stop watching that man move through the water. He uses his body like a musical instrument. “I’ll be right after you. I just want to check out the pool for another minute. Please?”
He hesitates, scowling. I can tell he’s reluctant to leave me here, but I tear my eyes away long enough to do my best puppy eyes, and he gives in. “Fine. But hurry up, okay?”
I watch him disappear into the locker room, and when I turn back towards the pool, the swimmer has stopped. I almost
protest, but then I notice that he’s resting his forehead against the concrete rim, his shoulders shaking very slightly. I wonder how long he’s been swimming like that to make him so tired. Eventually, he lifts himself out the pool in one fluid motion, stands, and finally sees me.
I should probably say something, but all I can do is gape. He’s beautiful. He’s got a perfect swimmer’s body, muscular without being too
broad—more toned, like a panther. His flat stomach rises and falls as he pants. He takes a few steps toward me and I’m stunned by his eyes—golden-brown and flecked with silvery gray.
Stop staring like an idiot, May, talk.
“You’rearageswma.”
No, talk with words.
“You’re a really good swimmer.”
He stares at me for another second before he scoffs, a tiny sound that lets me know all I need to—he thinks I’m a moron. He slings his towel over his shoulders and starts toward the locker room, water running between his shoulder blades in torrents.
“I’m the best,” I hear him say as soon as he’s no longer facing me.
I can’t let this guy think I’m a total loser. I’ve never seen anyone swim as well as him. I’m burning to know more about his technique. “How’d you get to be so good?” I ask, realizing too late that I’ve got the dopiest smile on my face
.
He stops. Then he turns and approaches me again, getting close enough that I can see the water dripping off the ends of his
dark hair. My heart does this stuttering thing. “I’m May—”
“I don’t care what your name is,” he interrupts. His voice is low and cutting. “
The only thing I’m interested in is why you think you can come here. This is my practice time. Nobody interrupts that. Everyone else seems to get it, so I’m curious as to why you don’t?”
I’m still smiling like an idiot for a few good
seconds after he stops talking, before I really realize what he’s said. He raises an eyebrow. “Are you deaf as well as a moron?”
“I’m s-sorry.” A hot blush spreads
down my neck. “I didn’t realize you could reserve the whole pool—”
“You can’t,”
he says coolly, water trickling in rivulets over his ribcage. “
I
can.” He turns sharply, back towards the pool. “Don’t come here again.”
His voice contains so much contempt that suddenly my embarrassment
solidifies into anger. “And why are you so special that you get the pool all to yourself? A pool is supposed to be shared.”
A fraction of surprise momentarily breaks up his icy expression, but he quickly recovers it. “I don’t share. The pool is mine when I say it is. That’s some
thing everyone accepts if they go to this school. If you have a problem with it, I suggest you transfer.”
His tone is so biting that I can’t think of anything to say in return—all I can do is tremb
le with anger. Who the hell is this guy?
He
strides toward the locker room door, but Tanner opens it. He doesn’t get out of the way.
“Everything all right, May?” he asks loudly.
I’m still so stunned that I can barely remember how to talk, but Tanner is glaring at the swimmer like he’s prepared to deliver a punch. The problem with Tanner is that he has a terrible temper. Even in middle school, he’d blow up at anyone who looked at him the wrong way. Right now the air in here is thick with tension. “Yeah, everything’s fine. You coming?”
On his way towards me, Tanner nearly shoulder-checks the swimmer, who’s been standing with his back perfectly straight.
I catch a hint of that sneer on his face, but mostly he just looks tired. Then he disappears into the locker room without a backwards glance at us.
“Congratulations,” Tanner says bitterly, throwing his arms out in a grand gesture as we step back outside into the luxurious Florida warmth I’m still not quite used to. “You’ve just met the biggest asshole at Rothschild University.”
The guy was definitely an asshole—he spoke to me like I was barely worth acknowledging. And yet…when I think about the way he swam, I get those shivers down my spine again. “What’s his name?”
“Oh, not you too,” sa
ys Tanner in disgust. “Please tell me you have more taste than that.”
The sun’s starting to set, and yellow-pink light streams over the g
leaming tops of the buildings. I shield my eyes, feeling defensive. “What do you mean, not me too? I just asked what his name was.”
“Sebastian Crane.” Tanner kicks an empty soda can out of his way, frowning like the name itself offends him. “
I can’t stand the guy. Nobody can. And that’s why he has zero friends and spends all his time at that stupid pool. I was hoping he wouldn’t be around today, but I guess my bad karma’s catching up with me. Anyway, what I meant was that all the girls around here secretly drool over him. They won’t talk to him, though. Nobody’s that stupid. Except you, apparently. You’re probably the first person around here who’s dared to say more than two words to him in ages.” He softens a little as he looks at me. “He didn’t say anything douchebaggy to you, did he?”
“No,” I lie, though I’m not sure why I’m bothering. Maybe it’s because I feel a twinge of pity for Sebastian Crane. “I feel kinda sorry for him. It can’t be fun to always be alone.”
Tanner snorts. “Oh, trust me, that’s the way he wants it. He made that real clear to everyone on his first day here. Say hi to him and he glares at you like you’ve personally poked him in the eye. Real charmer. Listen, May, don’t worry about him. Everyone else around here is nice, I swear.”
Tanner keeps up a steady stream of chatter on our way back to the dorms, even when we stop by the Admissions Office to pick up my dorm key and student I.D card. His jokes are
a little forced—he’s trying to turn the subject as far away as possible from Sebastian. But it’s not that easy. I feel jarred to my core. Every time I blink, I see those golden-brown eyes narrowing at me.
How can someone swim so beautifully but be so cold?
CHAPTER TWO
SEBASTIAN
Beautiful girls don’t faze me.
I stare at myself in the fogged-up mirror, my hair dripping water down my forehead. I’m used to beautiful girls watching me. But only when my back is turned. As soon as I face them, they look away. Leave. Before I say a word to them.
Because I’m Sebastian Crane.
People know to stay away. I smile ironically at my reflection before turning. I can only stand the sight of myself for so long.
She’s new. Tha
t’s the only explanation. She has yet to hear about me, and that explains the lack of fear in her eyes. Why she shouted at me. Nobody’s done that in…
A long time.
But she
will
hear about me. She seems friendly enough. Normal enough. She’ll make friends like anyone else with a trace of humanity left, and they’ll tell her to avoid me. Tell her what I am.
That’s the way I want it.
MAY
When we get back to the halls, I realize I’ve been almost entirely silent sinc
e we ran into Sebastian, and that Tanner is looking more worried with every step. I break into a quick grin. “Hold on. What about that booze you promised to provide to convince my roommate I’m worth having around?”
He claps, pressing his hands together for a second so the muscles in his forearms bulge. “There it is! I was waiting for you to ask, milady. I’ll run to my room and be back faster than your roommate can put on pants, which is apparently like, ridiculously fast.”
“How about you just not say anything that relates to her being in her underwear,” I hiss, giving him a little shove to start him off in the right direction. I already like Opal. I can tell she’s a sweet person. And I’d really like to make a friend here.
For some reason, I flash back to
Sebastian again—the way his chest glistened with water. Except he made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested in being friends with me. It’s just that, at my old school, I spent so much time going home for my mom that I didn’t make a lot of friends. I can’t imagine how lonely it must be to not have any at all.
I notice that someone’s written my name on a piece of paper and taped it to my door.
May
, surrounded by flowers. For some reason it makes me want to cry—it’s tangible evidence that this is really my new home.
When I go inside,
Opal’s at her desk, paging through a biology textbook. She’s braided her hair, something I’ve never quite gotten the hang of doing, and put on earrings. She sees me and pushes her chair back, smiling. “Can I help you set up?”
Twenty minutes later, we’ve got everything unpacked and my side of the room really looks like
me
. My green-patterned bedspread, my ancient teddy bear I deliberated about bringing but finally decided it might help me keep from getting homesick, a framed photo of my mom—my dad’s arm is around her shoulders, but he’s been clipped out—a wall hanging I got at a yard sale, a few other odds and ends. The sunset light streaming in from the window illuminates it all, making it look much nicer than it ever did in my dingy room back home. I’m so excited to be here. I’m going to be happy here, whether or not some guy named Sebastian Crane hates me.
Right as we finish, Tanner bursts through the door, a six-pack visible under the bulging flap of his bag. He’s changed into his favorite shirt, which is years old but stretches across his muscles just
the way he likes, and—oh, duh—he’s trying to impress Opal. He slings the beers on my new desk and cracks his knuckles. “Sorry for the wait. My douche of a roommate drank all my booze and I had make a run for the store. Shall we?”
We sprawl in a circle on
Opal’s shag carpet, which is somehow clean, despite the fact that the old shag carpet in my room at home sucked up more crumbs than a vacuum cleaner. The beer’s not even cold, but Tanner downs two in the time it takes me to pop a tab.
“So how was your tour?”
Opal asks, propping her chin on her hands. Out the hallway, I hear drunk hollering. I guess all colleges are the same like that. “Did you like campus?”
“Yeah!” I say enthusiastically. “
It’s really beautiful. I especially like that garden over by the dining hall. And the pool completely blew my mind. Your swim team must have an awesome budget.”
Tanner snorts into his drink.
Opal fidgets, toying with the end of her braid. “Yeah, they do really well so the school gives them a lot of money. You were at the pool? Did you run into—”
“Sebastian,” groans Tanner, flopping onto his back and scratching his chest with his free hand. “Don’t even talk to me about that guy.
Whenever I see him around I just wanna—” He cracks his knuckles again.