Once I’ve changed into my swimsuit and sweats, I join Levi in the stands next to the pool. His nose is buried in the paperback he’s reading.
“Hi,” I say, sitting down so close our hips touch.
His eyes don’t leave the words on the page, but he smiles. “Hey, Mags.” He gently pats my knee. Part of me wishes he’d leave his hand there, to calm my nerves, but he uses it to turn the page in his book, which, based on the cover, appears to be about a trio of warlocks and their girlfriends on a beach vacation.
The heavy double doors to the aquatics center open, and in march swimmers from Knoxville and Memphis, the Krakens in silver sweats and the Marines in green. Roxy leads the Marines to the stands. When climbing the stairs past me, Roxy pretends to trip, ramming her foot into mine.
“Ow,” I say.
Levi looks up from his book, giving me a weird look. Then he sees her.
“Hi, Levi,” she flirts, moving to a seat directly behind us. We ignore her.
“What are you doing here, Maggie?” Roxy asks. “I thought this was a session for elite swimmers.”
“I know, right?” I say. “Considering I’m way better than you, this session’ll probably be a waste of my time.”
Levi smirks at me sideways.
Coach Josh blows his whistles. “Okay, everybody, settle down. Everyone put your phones on silent please.” Coach waits as everyone quiets. “Levi, put that book away.”
Levi grumbles, snapping his paperback shut.
Coach introduces Ms. Kennedy, a woman dressed in a white polo shirt, blue track pants, and tennis shoes. “Susan was an assistant US women’s coach for the 2012 London Olympics. We’re lucky to have her here today.”
As we applaud politely, Levi points out a man sitting several rows away. “It’s the sports reporter I met with last Friday. The guy who’s doing the story on me.”
I crane my head to check him out. Wow. It’s amazing that a reporter from the Tennessean, the biggest newspaper in the state, is here covering the session with Ms. Kennedy. With the press here, it will be crucial to be on point today.
Ms. Kennedy begins by giving us a pep talk about how we’re the future of this sport. “The main reason I’m here is get a sense of your training and make sure your form is correct. Any one of you could be a future gold medalist. The next Michael Phelps.”
“Well, not me,” I whisper to Levi. “Because I have girl parts.”
Levi laughs at my joke, earning us glares from Coach Josh and Ms. Kennedy.
“I can’t wait to see the talent here today,” Ms. Kennedy says. “Everybody line up by the pool. Before you dive in, tell me your name.”
One by one, Ms. Kennedy watches every swimmer swim each stroke. Jason and Susannah head to the rear of the line. Levi and I end up in the middle, with Roxy right behind us. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she’s trying to get his attention. And really, who could blame her?
He’s hot.
Levi strips out of his blue New Wave sweats. I should be concentrating on psyching myself up to impress Ms. Kennedy, but Levi looks so good in his Speedo. His abs are perfectly defined. His torso is a flawless V. Seeing his golden body reminds me of last night, how he explored me but avoided my touch.
“Good luck,” he says to me, before diving into the pool.
Levi demonstrates his freestyle stroke for Ms. Kennedy, moving through the water at a rapid pace. She consults her stopwatch as she jots down notes on her clipboard, looking impressed.
When Levi emerges from the pool, she declares his form “Flawless.”
He removes his goggles, smiling. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in Omaha this summer.”
Levi and I beam at each other, excited USA Swimming is keeping an eye on him.
“Next up,” Ms. Kennedy says.
I walk up to the blocks. “I’m Maggie King.”
“Nice to meet you, Maggie,” she replies with a smile. She makes a checkmark on her board. “Whenever you’re ready.”
I leap from the blocks into the pool, swimming free like a fish through the warm water. At the other end of the pool, I flip into my turn and change to breaststroke for my return. Next I demonstrate butterfly and end with backstroke. Ms. Kennedy walks alongside the pool, examining my every move.
I climb out of the water, hopeful she’ll say “Flawless” like she did with Levi. Instead, she motions for Coach Josh to join us away from the other swimmers. “Maggie, your freestyle looks great. You have a lot of potential there, but I want to see your starts in back again. Can you jump back into the pool and do a few more for me?”
I furrow my eyebrows. It’s embarrassing to do this in front of Roxy, but I follow Ms. Kennedy’s instructions. I demonstrate five starts, then climb back up to join her.
She’s chewing the end of her pen. “Three of those were perfect, but two worried me.”
Oh no. This is my favorite stroke. My best stroke. “What’s wrong with it?”
“When you shoot off backward from the wall, you’re a little too high above the water. This is causing your feet to drag. It’s slowing you down.”
“Oh. I never noticed that.”
Ms. Kennedy smiles kindly. “Unless you fix it, I’m afraid you’ll spend entire races making up for the ground you lose at the beginning. You’ve got great power—that’s what’s kept you competitive. But if you want to reach the next level, you need to improve your start.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll work on it.”
Coach and Ms. Kennedy trade ideas, suggesting videos that I should watch, along with some exercises to correct my form. But I’ve been pushing off the wall the same way for ages. It’s like asking me to change how I breathe.
Once she dismisses me, I look around for Levi. I find him gazing over at me. Lines of concern crease his forehead.
Without thinking, I beeline for him and lean against his side. He wraps an arm around my shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to work on my starts in back.” I relay what Ms. Kennedy told me. “My form sucks.”
“We’ll fix it.”
“That’s like telling me to start writing with my left hand.”
“Mags.” He takes me by both shoulders to look me straight in the eye. “We’ll fix it.”
Someone splashes into the water. I turn around to see Roxy’s aggressive freestyle racing across the pool. I bite my lip. She’s getting better and better.
It seems Susan Kennedy agrees with me. Roxy climbs out of the pool to get her critique.
“Flawless.”
• • •
The newspaper article about Levi comes out two days before regionals.
We’re tapering again today, so we have lots of leftover energy. Between sets when I’m leaning against the edge of the pool, Levi tickles me under the water.
“Stop it,” I say, but he tickles me again.
I push him away.
He dips his head to whisper in my ear. “Want to play sharks and minnows? See, now you’re a little minnow swimming along and I’m a big, hungry shark.” He touches my waist under the surface where no one can see. “And when I catch you I’m gonna eat y—”
“Maggie, Lucassen, get going!” Coach Josh says, pointing toward the other end of the pool. It’s a good thing break is over because my face is on fire at Levi’s words. He says the naughtiest things. And I kind of love it.
After finishing my morning laps, I climb out of the pool to find Coach Josh poring over the newspaper. I slip my feet into my sneakers and walk over to him, toweling off at the same time.
“Is that it?” I ask, smiling widely. I can’t wait to see what the Tennessean wrote about my friend. I reach out a hand to take it from Coach, but he snatches it away from me.
“In my office. Now.”
Okayyy. His reaction is kind of over the top. I tried to grab a newspaper from him, not his wallet.
I glance over at Levi, who shrugs at me as if to say, Yeah, Coach is a weirdo, but he’s a talented weirdo, so put up with him, we must.
I slip my hoodie and pants on over my swimsuit, and follow Coach into his office. Could he have heard what Levi whispered about me being a minnow and him being a shark?