Playing at Love (8 page)

Chapter Nine

“Once more from the top,” Tess said, flipping back her sheet music to the first page. The choir was right on track and Penny sounded great; her case of nerves seemed to be history. Tess had a new song in mind after watching Penny at tonight’s rehearsal, one that was really going to challenge her. It would be perfect for the next halftime show.

When they finished going through the song once more, Tess called it a night. They’d been practicing for three hours. Tess knew taking that much time after school cut into homework and studying. And she didn’t want the kids to burn out.

She worked with Penny alone for another thirty minutes, tinkered with the arrangement of a piece for her beginning choir class, and was just gathering up her things when she walked past a window. She could see up the hill to the gym. There was only one car still parked there—in the football coach’s spot—and the light was still on in one of the offices. Jack’s.

Tess dropped her bag and stared out the window. Had she really yelled at him yesterday? And for what? For saving her from being attacked and who knew what else? She looked down and ran a hand over her face, feeling utterly ashamed. Had she even thanked him properly? Sincerely?

No, she’d been a royal hag and stormed off. She hadn’t even been angry at him, not really. The whole budget thing had come raging back, with Jack as its face. And that hadn’t been fair. After another glance out the window, she grabbed her purse and her bag, turned off the light in the music room, and headed up the hill.

The main door to the gym was unlocked, but it was dead quiet. Tess couldn’t remember ever hearing such silence in the huge building before. It was a bit unnerving. Instead of turning to the right toward the girls’ locker room, she headed left. Though she hadn’t been there in years, she knew the coaches’ offices were about halfway down the hall. The first one she came to was open and the light was on, but it was empty. She saw a gym bag on the floor and a sweatshirt draped over the back of the chair behind the desk.

“Hello?” she said, hearing her own echo. “Jack?” When there was no answer, she stepped through the next door, which led deeper into the office suites. But that room was empty, too, except for some long benches and lockers. Maybe this was the football locker room. Or maybe it was private, meant only for the coaching staff.

“Jack?” she repeated. Again, no reply, but there was a stream of light coming from behind one last door. Tess had never been this far back in the gym offices and she felt a little like a trespasser in her own school. The second she pushed the next door open, however, she knew exactly where she was.

The low ceiling of the previous room shot up fifty feet, and while the overhead lights were off, the lower lights were illuminated, causing wavy beams of yellow to reflect on the walls. The air smelled strongly of wet concrete and chlorine. When she heard a faint splash, she took a few steps forward, her eyes adjusting to the light.

She could see a long figure under the water, taking smooth, sweeping strokes. He was swimming her way, toward the shallow end of the pool. When he came up for a breath at the wall, he spotted her.

Tess opened her mouth to say something, but watching Jack pull himself out of the pool in one strong, easy movement made her suddenly tongue-tied. He wasn’t in a Speedo—thank goodness!—but the red swim trunks he wore hung low off his hips. She had taken special notice of his arms that morning at the park, but she had no idea such a body was hiding beneath his football T-shirts and khakis. His stomach was a ripped six-pack. Or was it an eight-pack? Wasn’t that what the kids were calling it these days?

He was walking toward her, his bare feet leaving a wet trail behind him.

“Tess?” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” She looked directly at his chest. It was muscular and sprinkled with dark hair. Tess couldn’t stop her gaze from following the arrow down. In the nick of time, she snapped her eyes away.

Jack chuckled softly as he grabbed a towel off a nearby bench and wiped his face. The pool lights cast a wavy shadow across him, catching the cut of his jaw.

What was he doing? He couldn’t just display his body like that for the world to see. This was a school; there were children present!

No, there weren’t, she realized. Not right now, at least. Tess willed herself to stop blushing.

“Hey,” Jack said, standing right before her now.

“Hey,” she said, looking only at his eyes.

“Anything wrong?” he asked.

“No,” Tess said, finally waking up. “I came here to say thank you for yesterday.”

Jack lowered his towel and looked at her.

“And to apologize for my behavior afterward. You were right—you saved me, and then I was completely ungrateful. I’m sorry about that.”

“You’re forgiven,” Jack said. And when he blinked, little drops of water clung to his long lashes. Tess swallowed. “And you’re welcome.” He draped the towel over one shoulder. “I’m sorry, too, for getting so upset with you.” He looked past her out the big windows. “I got caught up in the moment. But I had no business telling you what to do.”

“That park was voted the safest the last three years,” Tess offered conversationally, making an attempt at lightening the mood.

“I know. I looked it up online a few hours ago,” Jack admitted, lifting a tiny smile. “But shouldn’t you at least carry pepper spray or wear some kind of whistle?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “I’ll remember that next time.”

Jack’s smile faded and he took a step toward her. Tess could smell the chlorine on his skin. “You sure you’re okay, though?” he asked. “I mean, I got to you in time?”

“Yes.” She nodded, fighting back the memory. “Only just.”

“I’m going to say this one more time and then never again. You really shouldn’t be there alone.”

“I’ve been running that trail at six o’clock almost every morning for the past seven years,” Tess said. “And I’m not going to allow one isolated incident to scare me away from doing something I love.”

Jack seemed to be pondering over this for a moment, then he nodded. “Fair enough. But pepper spray. You’ll consider it?”

Tess couldn’t help laughing. “I promise. So,” she said, turning toward the water, “you’re allowed to swim after hours? I didn’t realize the football coach also had keys to the pool.”

“I don’t. Not officially, anyway. Swimming helps me relax. This week has been extra…” He glanced at her. “Stressful. For some reason.”

“Ahh.” Tess nodded sagely. “Got it.”

“Anyone tape anything shut today?” he asked, draping his towel over the back of a chair.

“No, but I did hear about some rather creative mementos left right outside the field house door last night,” Tess said.

Jack chuckled. “Ah, yes. The ever-popular bags of dog poo. A classic.”

“Who stepped in it?”

“Who didn’t?”

Tess cringed sympathetically. “Kids.” She shook her head. “What are we going to do?”

“It’s just pranks. Harmless so far.”

“Famous last words,” she said, walking toward the edge of the pool. “I used to swim here when I was a kid. I was the first in my tadpole class to go off the high dive.”

“Impressive.”

“And I got my water safety instructor certification my senior year.” Tess slipped off one heel and dipped her toe in the water. It felt cool and refreshing.

“Why don’t you come in?” Jack suggested.

“No,” she replied, “I can’t. I have to get home. Long day tomorrow. Thanks, though.”

“It’s relaxing,” Jack pointed out. “You could probably do with a bit of relaxing, I think.”

“Jack.” She laughed softly and shook her head. “I can’t swim here alone with you. How would that look?” Jack didn’t answer, and Tess couldn’t make out his expression in the dark. All she could see was how curly his hair was when it was wet. “Anyway, I don’t have a suit, so…”

“I don’t know about
your
side of the locker room,” Jack said, “but the men’s office is lined with shelves of school-issued trunks from the nineteen eighties.”

Tess bit her lip and gazed toward the lapping blue water. It did look relaxing—and exquisite.

“Come on,” Jack said. “We know what kind of situation the school is under when it comes to money.” He gave her a wry smile. “Who knows how much longer the pool will be operational? This might be your last chance to show off your mad tadpole skills.”

Tess gazed a bit longingly toward the other side of the pool. “I haven’t gone off the high dive in years.”

“So, I’ll meet you in the deep end.”

“I shouldn’t, really,” Tess said, knowing she was fighting a losing battle against herself.

“Ahh, Tess.” Jack took a step toward her. “You know you should listen to me.”

Tess tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. “And why is that?” she asked.

Jack waited a beat and then pulled back a crooked smile. “Because I’m older than you.”

…

Jack swam three lengths of the butterfly and three of the crawl while he waited for Tess to change. His muscles were stretching and his head was clearing—which was one of the things he loved most about being in the pool. Something about holding his breath and gliding made him feel like he was flying. At least that’s what he used to think when he was a kid.

When the closing of a door echoed through the room, he looked up and saw Tess. And it wasn’t the laps across the pool that suddenly knocked him breathless.

The blue one-piece bathing suit was probably twenty years old, and rather threadbare, but it worked on her. Boy, did it work. She was a sweet hourglass of curvy and narrow in all the right places. The cut of the suit made her legs look a million miles long. She had a towel draped over her shoulders and her dark hair was pulled up. Jack couldn’t take his eyes off her.

As she passed him, Jack moved his gaze up to her face. The delicate, almost shy smile she gave him knocked him breathless all over again. Wordlessly, she walked the length of the pool to the high dive. After looking up and seeming to assess it for a moment, she let the towel slide off her shoulders and Jack watched it drop to the tile floor. The next moment, she was climbing the ladder. In the shadowy light, she looked like some kind of heavenly vision. When she reached the top, she stood on the platform for a moment, then slowly walked to the end of the board. After a few tentative bounces, she made one big spring and was airborne.

Jack found himself breathless once again as he watched her soar through the air, jackknife, and slip seamlessly into the water with barely a splash. When she broke the surface a few moments later, he immediately swam out to her.

“You’re a ten,” he said without thinking.

“What?” Tess asked, sweeping her hair back from her face. She was wearing a huge grin, high from her dive.

“That.” He gestured toward the board. “It was a perfect ten.”

“Oh.” Tess threw her head back and laughed. “I thought you were talking about me in this nasty swimsuit.” She reached for the shoulder strap that had slipped down. “I think it’s about to come apart.”

Even though Jack was submerged in cold water, he felt himself heating up, almost to the point of discomfort. “Let’s hope it…stays together,” he said after a throat clear. “So, what’s your best stroke?” he asked, needing to keep on the move. “I’ll race you to the wall.”

…

Tess was better at the crawl but Jack kicked her butt at just about every other stroke. And even though he did a better platform dive, he couldn’t touch her when she took the high dive. After a botched cannonball, he deemed her the winner.

“I think I broke something that time,” Jack said, treading water at the deep end.

Tess couldn’t help laughing as she swam out to him. “Poor baby,” she said, then laughed even harder, noticing how red his face was. “Next time, try not to hit the water headfirst.”

“Very funny,” he said, splashing her.

Tess squealed and splashed back.

“Oh.” Jack lifted a crafty smile. “Is that how it’s going to be? What were you saying earlier about pranks?”

Tess squealed again as Jack made a move toward her. “Stop. No!” She started kicking backward, splashing Jack in the face. He grabbed for her feet but she kicked him away. While Jack took a moment to wipe his eyes, Tess rolled over and took off swimming. Her escape might’ve been faster had she not been laughing so hard, swallowing water as she pulled herself forward. She could hear Jack closing in on her, muttering playful threats between his own fits of laughter.

When she could finally touch the bottom of the pool, she turned around, but Jack was gone. A moment later, she felt something grab her legs. She was able to suck in one breath before he pulled her under, dragging her back out to the deep end. A second later, he let go of her legs only to swim up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. This might have been enough to make Tess lose all her breath, but then Jack gave her body a tug and they broke the surface together.

His eyes were sparkling with mischief when she turned around, his arms still encircling her.

“Cheater,” she said, poking him in the chest.

Jack chuckled. “You started it.”

“Did not,” she said, poking him with her other hand.

Then her hands kind of settled on his shoulders. She could feel the hard muscle under his tan skin and was very aware of being clasped in his arms. Her legs were kicking to keep herself afloat, but that was probably automatic, because all Tess could concentrate on was the wonderful feeling of Jack’s arms around her and the feel of his smooth skin beneath her fingers. She took in a sharp breath when Jack tilted back, causing Tess to float above him. Instinctively, she stopped kicking and just hovered, their legs touching right under the surface.

Her heart pounded as she moved her hands up his muscular arms and around his neck. She searched his face, his eyes, those gorgeous lips. Her heart was beating fast, throbbing in her chest.

“Tess,” Jack whispered. Then his smoldering brown eyes dropped to her mouth.

…

One second ago, she’d been locked in his arms. And now she was a good two feet away, staring at him while treading water. The expression on her face was unreadable.