Holding On To Heaven (Allendale Four 2)

“Divers, ready!” They folded over, fingertips on the edge of the block, magnificent backs exposed.

Bang!

The starter gun went off and all eight men dove into the pool. Anderson’s dive was perfection, long and clean under the water. He emerged last but farthest down the lane. His shoulders heaved out of the water, hands arcing over and crashing into the crystal clear pool. He was a beast and I was utterly transfixed on his graceful yet competitive movements.

He wasn’t alone, a solitary swimmer chased him through the water. His opponent’s yellow cap bobbed milliseconds behind.

“Who is that?” Samantha asked.

“Bobby Lee from Virginia Tech,” Oliver replied. “He’s beaten Anderson before at the Junior Nationals Finals.”

The cheering echoed in the aquatic center, bouncing off the high ceilings. I wasn’t cheering, though—I was petrified, breathless, in awe.

Anderson’s turn was perfection, easing back down the lane toward the finish. His legs moved in tandem, dolphin-kicking away from the wall. His stroke was steady. The rest of the swimmers faded away, lengths behind him, but Lee persevered, chasing after him. His lean body bobbed off the waves Anderson created with his massive force.

I hadn’t dared look at the clock—I couldn’t bring myself to. It was less about beating Lee than beating the clock, although both were important. Anderson inched closer to the finish and the boys hopped out of their seats, dragging me with them. The cheering reached epic levels and Jackson muttered words of encouragement under his breath.

“I can’t look,” I said, but that was a lie; I couldn’t tear my eyes away as he reached the finish line, both hands crashing into the touch pad a millisecond before Lee. Anderson spun and looked at the clock, his coach bent and talking to him already. Our eyes followed his and his time blinked from the top slot on the chart.

1:52

He killed it.

“Oh my god!” I shouted, Jackson picked me up in giant bear hug, his strong arms crushing me. I squawked and he laughed, releasing me.

“Come on,” Oliver said, heading down the bleachers. We raced after them and at the edge of the final one, I jumped down the final step and Hayden grabbed my hands and helped me down.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“I was so nervous.”

He brushed my hair out of my face. “We really don’t deserve you, you know that?”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re so good to us; supportive and always there. I know you’re stretched thin with school and your own stuff, but you always make time for us.” His gray eyes penetrated mine. “You’re A++ girlfriend material.”

I glanced behind me, happy to see that Samantha had already followed the others across the deck. Anderson pulled himself out of the pool, water running down his body like a river.

“I love you, too.” I touched his hip and he responded to it with a mega-watt smile.

“Go see him.”

I pushed through the crowd of teammates and coaches. Anderson’s parents had come down for the event and his mom gave him a huge hug. I eased in to the side, catching his eye. His lips curved into a grin when he saw me, his eyes so intense that my skin prickled.

I felt the eyes of everyone on me—his coach, his parents…Samantha, but I pushed past the worries over them seeing me. I was here to support my friend. No one needed to know anything else. He broke away from the others, pulling his cap off his head, revealing his mop of coppery-brown hair.

When he got close enough I lunged for him, slamming into his soaking-wet body. “You did it!”

“I know,” he said, pulling me to his chest. “I can’t believe it.”

“I knew you could,” I said, lifting my chin. “I knew it.”

“That’s the best time I’ve ever had. I broke the school record. It’s just a smidge higher than Phelps,” he said, rambling in his excitement.

“You’re only going to get better.”

He bent down so his mouth was close to my ear. “That thing you did before the meet? I told you—you’re my lucky charm.”