Chapter 14

A few of his teammates are already in the water by the time he changes to emerge from the locker room; others mill around Coach Sweeney, checking their rankings. Today’s heats are the last official placements before Saturday’s competition. Rory doesn’t have to check with her to know he’s still seated in top position—all he has to do is glance at the scoreboard on his way to the starting blocks.

The name under his comes as a bit of a surprise, though he tells himself it shouldn’t. Given Chase’s talent in the water—and out of it, too,he adds silently with a grin—Rory should’ve known sooner or later C. Cohenwould stay up there in the number two slot. What draws him up short, though, is the average swim time besideChase’s name, because it’s dangerously close to Rory’s time. Each semester, their averages zero out, so even though Rory’s been on the team longer than Chase, it’s still fairly early and the new recruit has managed to close the gap between them in no time.