Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
BLAKE
She'd sucked me under her spell, just like she had Morgan and Jax. I hadn't been able to get her off my mind in the first place, but now that I'd tasted her sweet lips, it was all I could think about.
We had to keep our guard up around her though, since she continued to do things to get back at us. It was child's play compared to what we'd done to her, but Jax had gotten the worst of it with his car and room being destroyed.
I had been wondering when it would be my turn after she led Morgan to believe his dick was diseased, and sure enough, only a day after we made out, she struck.
Somehow, she had convinced the freshman who cleaned my car to fill it with packing peanuts and then wrap the entire car several times with plastic wrap.
I had thought it was brilliant at first until I had to clean up the packing peanuts. Little flakes were still everywhere.
I slammed my gym locker shut and grabbed my cap and goggles. We had a meet in a few days and this would be our last practice before then. Not that we needed to practice.
Walking out to the pool, Jax handed me a suppression tablet that prevented our genes from taking over. While we had some control over shifting, water always made it more difficult. The pills just took the edge off.
I didn't know what I'd do without swimming. Sure, we could jump in the ocean any time we wanted, but we were on a strict program to train our bodies to last longer periods of time without shifting. The suppression tablets allowed us to still get our water fix without ruining our progress.
The new school counselor, Mr. Gale, was standing in front of the bleachers with the principal.
Mr. Gale had only started on Monday, and he was already becoming a thorn in our sides.
He came into classrooms to sit in the back, circulated in the cafeteria during lunch, and now, here he was at swim practice.
"What the fuck is going on?" Morgan looked over his shoulder with a confused expression as we headed up the steps of the bleachers where the swim team was talking in hushed voices.
We followed him to some empty spaces and we sat waiting to see what this was about. Coach Davis was never absent. In all four years of our time at Salinity Cove High, he'd never even taken a sick day.
"Let's quiet down, ladies and gentlemen." I hated the principal, Mr. Lee. He was so disconnected from what went on at his school. Which was both good and bad. Good, because he left us alone, but bad because he had no clue when shit was getting dicey with students.
"He might as well call us boys and girls." Morgan snorted.
"A few hours ago, we received word that Coach Davis was in a major car accident." The little bit of side talk had stopped and we were all silent. "The last update we heard from his wife was that he is in surgery to relieve the swelling in his brain."
Morgan fisted his hands next to me, and I put a reassuring hand on his. We all cared about Coach Davis, but Morgan had let him on the short list of people he allowed himself to care about since his parents died.
"We know this will be a difficult time for all of you. Mr. Gale has expressed to me that it's important when dealing with tragedy to keep routines consistent." He clapped Mr. Gale on the shoulder. "For now, Mr. Gale will take over as your coach."
Everyone started talking at once and Morgan got up and left. Jax and I exchanged looks but didn't follow him. He needed to be alone and probably would head home to swim out to sea for the rest of the day.
"I'll understand if any of you want to skip practice today, but I think Coach Davis would want you to stay and get ready for your meet on Saturday." Mr. Gale had a loud voice that projected over the noise.
A few students headed to the locker rooms, visibly shaken, but the rest of us stayed sitting. Jax stood. "No offence, but what credentials do you have to coach a swim team?"
Mr. Lee held up his hands. "They're all yours, Dylan." He headed for the exit, leaving our new interim coach with us.
"I swam in high school and college, and was a coast guard rescue swimmer." He crossed his arms over his chest and the corner of his mouth turned up. "Jax West, am I correct?"
Jax mimicked his stance and I stifled a laugh. Jax was an alpha triton through and through. He wasn't going to let some human try to intimidate him. "I am and I'm the captain of this team. I'll run practices and you can supervise."
Mr. Gale's smile didn't fade. "How about this, captain, we race, and whoever wins runs the practices."
Jax walked down the bleacher steps and stopped in front of him. "Deal."
They stared each other down before Mr. Gale backed up a few steps and unbuttoned his shirt. The guy was more ripped than we were, and when he turned his back to us to take off his pants, there was a giant tattoo of a kraken sinking a ship.
Even I had my mouth open in awe as his pants fell to the cement, revealing a Speedo and the rest of his fit body. Despite what he looked like, there was no chance in hell he was going to beat Jax in a swim off.
"One hundred meters freestyle good for you?" Mr. Gale walked to a bag and pulled out a swim cap and goggles.
"Let's do this, old man." Jax put on his cap and goggles and got on a block.
As soon as a teammate blew the whistle and they dove in, I knew he was good.
He cut through the water effortlessly, and at the turn, he was slightly ahead of Jax.
I was thankful Coach Davis had the rule that everyone had to leave their cell phones in the locker rooms because it was a viral video in the making.
As they touched the wall nearly at the same time, everyone was awestruck. Jax had let himself swim a little faster than normal, and I didn't have a timer, but it looked like it was bordering world record pace.
Fuck.
They both ripped their goggles off, and Jax looked at me, his eyes stormy with anger. Without the sensor and the timer on, it was a draw. Jax pulled himself out of the pool and headed to the locker room, fuming.
"Shall we get started?" Mr. Gale stood there looking like a damn Greek god.
Who the fuck was this guy?