Chapter Seven

I woke up to my alarm. The sun was barely up which meant it was time to get ready for school. I dressed in my usual t-shirt and shorts outfit and shoved my bathing suit into my bag. I grabbed my hair brush and slid my sandals on as I went to the mirror. I brushed my long hair, which was a mixture of brown and red now. I tied it into a ponytail and went into the kitchen, with my bag on my back.

"Here." My aunt handed me several pieces of folded cloth. "They're skirts so you don't have to worry about losing your shorts in the water."

"Oh, thanks." I shoved them into my bag then glanced to the clock. "I am so late." I grabbed an apple and ran out.

* ~~ * ~~ * ~~ * ~~

I didn't see Jason until our first class had started. It was science. I pulled my notebook out, ignoring him out of embarrassment as he came in and sat next to me.

"Hey." He smiled, his black hair pulled back in a messy bun.

"H-hey." I blushed.

"Are you two going to fight?" The teacher stood in front of us. I remembered Friday when I yelled and slapped Jason.

"No, sir. We just had a small misunderstanding last week. That's all." I replied.

"Well, good." He nodded and walked away. I sighed, rubbing my head.

"Are you feeling okay?" Jason leaned closer, his arms on the black topped table that we shared.

"Yeah, yeah." I nodded. "Just thinking." What had my uncle told him after I left? The teacher handed us our assignments.

"About last night?" His eyes connected with mine. I could see hints of gold in the green of his eyes.

"You're my best friend, Jay. I don't want to make anything awkward." I looked down at my paper. He didn't say anything for the rest of the class or anything in the next. The last class came and I changed into my bikini. Most girls had them. Mine had a seashell print on the top and a shell print on the bottoms. "Ironic." I exhaled, looking at myself in the mirror.

"You're swimming?" Samantha gasped. "I thought you hated water."

"Not anymore." I looked to her.

"You have an attractive body." She stated bluntly. "You usually have a baggy shirt on...." I felt slightly uncomfortable. I have never really been complimented on my appearance.

"Come on, girls!" Coach called. She looked at me. "You're finally getting in. I'm proud." We went to the pool, meeting with the guys. Jason's eyes were on me, surprised to actually see my body. It made me smile. My baggy shirt hid my abs, breast size, and curvy figure. I was pretty skinny for a 17 year-old.

"Damn, girl. You've been holding out on me." Brice licked his lips.

"Alright, everyone. Find a partner!" Coach yelled. Brice grabbed my arm as Jason approached me.

"Let her go." Jason's voice was low and intimidating.

"Find your own partner." Brice pulled me. Jason pushed him back as I pulled my arm free from his grip.

"You better back off of her before I break both of your arms." Jason growled.

"Do we have a problem over here?" Coach approached us.

"No. I just bumped into the wrong person." Brice backed away, glaring.

"Alright. Today is the endurance test. Let's see how many laps you can do!" Coach clapped her hands together. There were only 12 of us so we fit into the large pool comfortably. There was a lot of space between us. She blew the whistle and we jumped in. At about seven laps, most of the class had stopped and watched Jason and I battle for the top. We swam at a normal pace so no one was suspicious.

"Are you tired yet?" I laughed. We had reached 25 laps.

"No. Are you?"

"Not even close." I could hear people cheering. "Are you trying to beat me?" We made 50 laps.

"Maybe." I could hear the smirk in his voice. "My most is 130 laps. I stopped because it was just me."

"I'm going to beat that." I smiled.

"She's going to stop us at 100." He informed me. My legs started to become weak. "And you're not used to chlorine. It's different than salt water. Drains you faster." At 80, I stopped in the middle of the pool, huffing. My body ached as I tried to keep my body above the water.

"Jason won!" Everyone cheered. He swam next to me as we exited the pool, pulling me against his chest.

"Good job." He smiled.

"You won." I rolled my eyes.

"You're the second best swimmer in the school." He replied. "Second in the school and first in my heart."