Chapter 28 #3
All it takes me to forget that my car is basically DOA and parked on the other end of campus is one night’s sleep.
I head to my first class and doddle on my way back, indulging in one of those iced coffees with the swirl of cinnamon and caramel on top.
I’m in a sugar coma bliss when I cross through my dorm’s lobby and step out into the parking lot.
“Oh shit!” The lack of my car in the spot where it should be brings it all rushing back. And the thing that gives my panic an extra edge is the fact that Coach texted me thirty minutes ago about sharing my role as captain with the team today. Before practice.
Regretting my Birkenstocks and the weight of my backpack, I suck it up and kick off my shoes, holding them in my hands as I sprint along the gravel pathway that cuts up the hill and into the swim center.
My feet feel the sting of a thousand Legos underfoot thanks to the jagged stones I can’t seem to avoid, but I make it into the locker room with minutes to spare.
My nervous energy comes out in my bouncing knees as I sit in front of my locker and wait for the rest of the team to arrive.
Thankfully, when everyone files in and Coach announces my new role, it’s met with cheers and even a few handshakes from the girls I worried would resent me most. I guess being Allison Kelly’s daughter has conditioned me for the worst. It’s going to take a lot of deprogramming to kick this.
I take my new role on with vigor when we hit the pool, giving tips when I can to cut times for some of our younger swimmers, and when I suggest that we swap the order on one of the relays Coach has mapped out, she agrees.
She urges me to challenge for one of the spots, but I’m not quite ready for that big of a takeover just yet.
And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think my times are there yet.
Part of leading is making decisions for the team above myself.
And maybe that’s what attracts me to this job so much.
I’m the last one to finish my laps, and I promise Coach I’ll shut off the lights and punch in the alarm code when I leave the locker room. Since I’m alone, I set my phone on the bench and dial Rowan while I change out of my wet suit. Just like yesterday, he answers the moment it rings.
“Yes, Captain?” he teases.
“That’s the best you could do?” I drop my suit in the spinner and begin combing out my hair.
“Oh Captain, my captain?”
“That one’s solid. Much better,” I say, slipping into the long-sleeved gray T-shirt he gave me the first day I hung out at his garage.
“How was the first day on top?” I don’t hear the usual echo when he talks, so he must not be in the garage tonight. I wonder if he’s done early, in bed, or out lying on his car, staring at the stars. We spent a lot of summer nights together doing just that.
“I think I’m really going to like it. I’m honestly less invested in improving my times than I am in improving the team overall.”
The spinner dings with my dry suit, so I snag it and tuck it in the top of my backpack. I think I’ll keep my Birkenstocks on for the walk back, so I flop them on the tiled floor and slip my sore feet inside. I did a little damage on my barefoot trail run.
“Looks like someone found their calling,” he says, and I sit with that thought for a beat before opening the door to head outside.
“Maybe. It’s the right fit for now.”
“Fair enough.” I stop when I realize that his voice is hitting me from two directions.
“Hey, are you—” I step around the corner to find the familiar trailer bed with my vehicle clamped down for the long ride back to Rowan’s garage. I walk along the length and then there he is, leaning against his Camaro, parked where my car spent the night.
I drop my backpack to the ground and say fuck it to my shoes and feet, kicking them off so I can sprint to him. He catches my full force leap into his arms, and my lips begin kissing his neck upon impact. I don’t even care that he’s salty.
“We couldn’t even make it three full days,” he chuckles.
“Hey, I think this counts as four,” I contend.
He quirks a brow, and I shake my head and wave him off.
“Whatever. Now kiss me.”
His hands slide up my head and into my wet hair, tangling into the strands as he spins until I’m sitting on the hood of his car. It’s my favorite place to be, and I nearly forget where we are when he bends me back just enough to drop kisses down my throat.
“How would Megan feel if you maybe slept somewhere else tonight?” He bites the center of my shirt, well . . . his shirt.
“I don’t think Megan is sleeping there tonight.
She met a guy. So, she’ll feel just fine,” I say, pulling his waist snug against mine.
I feel him hard between my legs and briefly flirt with the idea of reckless behavior.
There are cameras literally everywhere, though, and I really do like this captain gig.
“Then the lodge awaits, my captain,” he says, taking my hand and helping me back to the ground. He gathers my tossed shoes and slips them back on my feet, then hands me his keys.
“Oh, I don’t drive her. That’s your baby,” I say, promptly giving them back.
But before I can, Rowan wraps his hand around mine, forcing the keys into my palm.
His gaze holds onto mine for a few seconds as I mentally work through this gesture, at first tilting my head then nearly tearing up when he nods.
“Rowan, I can’t take your car,” I protest, though not very hard. I want to take this car. I fucking love this car.
“It’s yours now,” he says, stunning me. I thought he was letting me borrow her, not keep her as my own.
“Rowan, I don’t know. Isn’t this your most favorite thing?” I lean against the driver’s side door as he rests his hands on either side of me and leans in close, dusting my lips with his before pulling back just enough to meet my gaze.
“It was. But I have a new favorite thing now. And it isn’t even close.”