Fins 4 Ur Sins (10 page)

Coach steps back at my words.
“What? Why?”

“What are you dense?” I ask.
“Why—”

“I think I know the reason,”
Lakyn says, touching my arm. “She doesn’t have to swim here today, Coach.”

I turn to look into Lakyn’s eyes.
They’re heart-meltingly tender, but the moment he smiles at me, I thrust out my
chin defiantly. “Don’t even,” I say in a tone that could
cut
glass
.
“BTFO.
And give me back my photos.”

“What?” His smile shifts
slightly, but he nods, undaunted. “You’re afraid.” Then he casts a glance at
the pool. His warm hand trails down to my hand. “The water can be a fearful
place, but you’ll be with friends.
Part of a team.
My team.”
He looks back at me. “It’s important I’m there
when you train. If you like, we can make it a permanent thing.
Just the two of us.”

“Train with you?”
I ask
incredulously.
“And what about my photographs?
Why did
you take them?”

“Evidence.”
He beams and swishes back his hair. “And yes, train with me. I’ll meet you at
your house after school today.”

My face screws up.
“Evidence?
What for?
And why my house
after school?”

“Why are you repeating everything
I say? I’ll talk to you about it after school at your place.”

“I don’t want to swim, Lakyn. And
I don’t want to train with you.”

He frowns, but waits until we’re
alone. “It might be the only chance we have to save your life,” he says
cryptically and then saunters away to re-join his group.

21

“YOU’RE MAD,” I utter, “Stark, raving—
deranged.”

Humour peaks Lakyn’s eyebrows and
deepens the gorgeous dimple in his cheek.
“How’s that?”

Does he really not know? He was
the one to pay for a taxi to take us to the beach. “Didn’t they say this beach
was closed?”

“Did that stop you yesterday?” He
counters with devastating logic. “From your pictures I’ve noticed things have
gotten worse, but you’re familiar with this area, so it’s a good place to
start.”

“What do mean things have gotten
worse?” I ask, fearful he knows about my hair. “Yesterday, I had no intention
of swimming.”

I take in a deep breath. The
breeze smells sweet this close to the water, like air from a candy store. A
spear of longing and terror wedges into my chest. The way I feel about the
water is a dangerous, disturbing mystery to me. I dig my hands into the pockets
of my jeans and fake statue it.

He widens his stance, and the
sight of him in black jeans and a soft cotton shirt is like a sexy blockade.
“You said yes at the house.”

I nod, conceding the point, but
my body shakes. “My mother will kill me when she finds out. She’ll be back
soon. I don’t know why she wasn’t home or answering her phone.”

“Call her again,” he suggests.
“But we don’t have a lot of time left to see what getting back in the water
does to you.”

Why, because I’d died?
And because I have to join the swim team?
I think up
polite refusals and some not so polite ones as I search for escape routes. The
endless blue almost pens me in. There’s up of course, to the perfect, cloudless
sky where airplanes zoom overhead. I don’t have wings. I consider going back
over the rocks behind me and getting a permanent limp from the sharp stones.
Or maybe along the strip of golden sand and into the receding
water.
Swim away.

I swallow at the hard lump in my
throat.

No . . . back over the rocks it
is.

“Sometimes your face reveals all
your thoughts, did you know?” He laughs, shucking his shirt. His biceps bunch
and the sun
glistens
on his muscled chest and bronzed
abdominals. White hairs shine on his forearms in the light.

I suddenly think he’s older than
he appears. My mouth dries, and I blink at the sharp V line revealed by his
jeans, then glance the other way, trying not to ogle. There’s no way I will
take off my clothes while he watches. I’ll make him look the other way. I don’t
have a perfect figure and I know it.

“You can turn back around now.”
Amusement creeps into his tone. “It’s safe.”

Older,
definitely older.

He tosses the shirt onto the
sand, reaches into his black duffel bag and pulls out a long gun with a wickedly-sharp
metal spear.

“Oh, hell no.
I’m outta here.” I wave my hand, grab my towel and stomp toward the rocks,
regretting my choice of footwear. I should’ve worn reef sandals, but
noooo
,
I chose my blue Vans instead. The
soles don’t bend properly around the rocks. Just one stupid decision on top of
another—chalk it up to experience. I’ll monkey climb my way out if I have to.

“Ellie, wait!” He catches hold of
my arm before I can get to the rocks and spins me around. “Listen, I know
you’re terrified, I’d be blind not to see that, but I came prepared.” An easy
grin splits his face, as if he’s expecting me to clap for his forward thinking.

“Are you kidding? Prepared for
what?” I point with a trembling hand to the spear gun on the sand. My heart
races so fast my ribs shake. “Killing a tiger shark?
A
whale?”

“No.” He glances back at the
spear gun. “You would need something bigger for a whale.”

“Oh.”
I slap my forehead.
“This is so not going to happen.”

“Yes. Yes it is, Ellie.” He turns
back, gently squeezes my upper arm and then says, “It’ll be OK,” in an obvious
attempt to get through my fear, yet it only makes me more aware of the vast gap
between his wants and mine.

“No.”

“How did it feel in the pool?
What did
you
feel?”

Damn. My lips tremble, burning,
and tears sting my eyes. I shake my head and run a hand through my hair. I
can’t tell him everything. Truth is a hot swamp in my chest, pop, pop, pop, but
I can’t let it all out, even if I might explode with the need of release.
“Strange.”

He smiles tenderly.
“Of course.
Ellie, look at it this way, if I don’t teach you
and something bad happens again, I’ll never forgive myself. You need to refine
how you swim. That’s where I come in. Call it a trade.” He grins. “You teach me
the technology here for the ability to save yourself.”

“The technology
here?
”
I frown at him. “Bethany’s better at that stuff.”

“You’re with me for a reason.” He
strides back across the white sand and then reaches into the bag. He pulls out
wide straps and then positions more spears onto his back. His biceps flex as he
adjusts the black straps that crisscross his naked chest. He looks back at me
and his blue eyes sparkle. “Come on, Ellie. Be brave. I know you’ve been brave
before.”

Fear grips me. “Why do you have
to sound so happy when you look like some kind of X-Men scuba diver?”

“If I was grim and unhappy would
that make it easier for you to get into the water?” The light hits his face in
a way that highlights the stark message in his eyes. “I will keep you safe.
Believe it.”

Words die in my throat. Silence
echoes with the hush of the water lapping the shore. I nod and step lightly
across the sand, pull off my shoes and socks and then dip my toes into the
water. “How far out?”

“Wait up, first—” he reaches into
his duffel bag again and pulls out another black steel contraption, “—let me
set this up.” He opens up the tall pyramid structure and places his iPhone on
the Velcro stuck there, then starts rolling the video. “Am I doing this right?”

“You’re filming us on a tripod?”
My mouth dries.
“What for?”

“I need to . . .” He glances up
at me and arches an eyebrow. “If something happens to either of us, wouldn’t
you want others to be able to see the evidence?
Your mother
for instance?
I have to be sure what I’m dealing with.”

“Oh, all right.” That makes a
kind of weird sense. “But your phone won’t pick up everything.”

“Enough for me.
When are you getting your swimsuit on?”

“It’s under my clothes. When you
look the other way, I’ll be ready. And you’re still wearing your jeans,” I
point out.

“Right.”
His hands move to the snap and then he draws down the zipper. His head dips and
he parts the top of his jeans.

“Oh. Oh.” Maybe it isn’t so bad
to have his figure on film. I look away again, muffling a laugh behind my hand.

“Your turn.
I’m facing the other way.”

I check over my shoulder and
stare at his broad back, my gaze roaming lower to the black Speedos. Damn. His
smooth, tanned skin stretches over sculpted muscles. I drool a little and turn
back, yank my shirt over my head and then pull down my pants. I toss the lot
onto my shoes, but leave my hair up. Better he doesn’t see how long it’s grown.
“Ready.”

He whirls around and rakes his
piercing gaze up and down my body, lingering on my breasts. I meet his gaze, my
cheeks heating. He suddenly squints against the light and a hint of fire
flashes across his eyes. His face grows serious.

“We’ll start out small, get you
used to using your, ah, legs and arms, but don’t be surprised if you go farther
than you ever have before.”

I inhale deeply and roll my
shoulders. “OK. Some more
backstroke
shouldn’t be too
hard.”

I can do this, I just have to be
strong, but I wish Bethany swam with me. When I told her about the training
Lakyn had planned, her lips had curved in a secret smile, and she said her
mother wants her to go to her grandparents’ house anyway. So here I am with an
incredibly hot, funny, mysterious boy who makes me think jumping off a cliff is
the easy part.

I do some quick stretches to warm
up my body.

He stands in front of me, his
profile strong. “I swim well enough to save you in any conditions. With me,
you’ll be safe.”

Tension dissolves in my throat
and chest at the stark message in his eyes. He means it. I can feel the truth
in his words. Honesty; I can reach for that.

“Follow me.” He dives into the
water in one clean, experienced leap. He doesn’t go underwater as far as he did
at the pool, but surfaces a couple of metres away. “Let’s start here,” he
shouts back. His arms skim the surface, making the blue water ripple and eddy.

I frown at the iPhone recording everything,
and then sigh, walking deeper into the water, up to my ankles. And in my head,
a coiling unwinds. My thigh muscles relax.
Ahh
. . .
this is what I came for, what I’ve been searching for, but can never find. A
sputtering gasp flutters out from my enraptured lungs and burning lips. The
water feels perfectly cool, silky and soft. I gaze out at the sea and it
sparkles like a gauzy Hollywood dress in full theatre lights.
Comforting.

I crouch in the water, my knees
squishing two dents into the dense sand and then I creep out farther until I’m
up to my chin. It’s a giant pool, a wonderful, sweeping pool that’s alive.

“See where the water changes to
dark blue?” Lakyn moves his gaze out to sea and smiles. “Let’s swim out there
and back again.”

My head dips below the surface.
Tendrils of my blonde hair spread out in a creeping, wet aura, but most of it
is all tucked away. Lakyn’s dark silhouette swims beneath mine.

What? How deep are we? Rays of
light filter through the water, and I can still see his wide smile as he mouths
the words, “We’re here.” Then all I see are his toes and bubbles. He’s gone to
the surface.

My head pops up on a downward
roll of a small wave. Unexpectedly, a stabbing pain twists in the centre of my
chest. “Lakyn,” I gasp and suck in a mouthful of water. I choke and splutter,
unable to grab onto anything.

He grips my arms, saying over and
over, “Ellie. I’m here. I’m here.
Breathe
.”

Oh God, it feels like a heart
attack. I shudder and shake, then
gurgle
water in my
throat. Something stings fiercely behind my ears, as if raw, naked flesh has
split open. I cry out, sure I’m bleeding, but I can’t breathe or even move from
the pain. The only thing keeping me grounded is his death grip on my body.

Easy now.
Lakyn’s voice comes again, but a roaring fills my ears.
You have to stop
screaming. Come back under the water with me. Maybe that will help.

Something collapses, moves
completely inside my chest. I drink in more water, and then a murky saltiness
burns my throat. He holds me tight beneath the surface, but that makes the pain
worse and bubbles stream out of my mouth and nose. Mini explosions erupt up and
down my spine.

My hands flail until I grab his
shoulders. Then suddenly, something in my chest clicks into place. I suck in
another gulp of water and the pain is blessedly gone.
Relief.
I stare into his eyes, unable to comprehend that we’re both underwater or what
happened.

With a ferocious kick, he sends
us shooting upward to the disc of light on the surface. We break through, and I
gasp for air, but my breathing sounds horrible and raspy.

“Are you all right?” he asks.

I pant and brush the hair from
face. “Not sure. Did I drink the water? What just happened?”

“Panic attack, maybe.” But his
hands shake and the skin tightens over his angular jaw. “I had to take you
underwater so your screams wouldn’t scare everybody. We can rest here for a
moment; let you catch your breath. I’m sorry if you thought I was trying to
drown you—”

“No, it’s OK. You helped.” I look
down at my chest, to my bright blue bikini top. “Did I breathe in water?” I
ask. “Something moved in my chest,” I whisper. “I’m sure of it.”

“Did it?” His smile, even and
white, contrasts with his tanned, worried face. “Let’s move over to the rocks,
you can sit there and relax.”

“My ears hurt. Why do they hurt
so much?” I rub a finger behind my ear and the folds of skin feel all weird.

“Ellie, I’m never going to let
you go out here. No matter what happens. But . . . maybe you should expect—”

“What? How did you kick up like
that?” I stare at him. Droplets of water gleam on his chiselled face and his
blue eyes are penetrating in their intensity. “You held me so steady. You’re
strong in the water. How do you get that kind of control?”

“I’ll teach you,” is all he says.
“After you get your breath back.”

I paddle over to the rocky
outcrop; cough a little to expel the water from my lungs. But the time I take
to catch my breath is for nothing anyway. My chest feels too full and air is
too sharp. It tastes strange. All the while Lakyn stares at me with his unsettling
gaze.

“Come underwater and swim with me
again,” he says. “It will be better.” He releases my arms and floats back a
bit. “You look confused. Swim down there beside me and let’s see if your chest
is all right. You know the freestyle stroke?”

I nod.

“Well, I don’t want you to do it.
That’s the—” he coughs, “it will slow you down. You just need to float and let
your body get used to the water.”

“I’m not a baby. I know the
basics of swimming.”

He shakes his head. “You need to
flick both legs in unison deep beneath the water. Use breast stroke for the
moment. But keep your legs together.”

I frown. “OK.”