Accidental Love (Accidental Crush #2) (13 page)

Chapter
14
: Something New

I make it through the weekend, barely. Shane and Sid are great and keep me pretty distracted
, but being back at the pool without Todd is just as difficult as I thought it would be. I find myself looking forward to my walk back from the house so I can see him because our paths have always crossed, and then I remember he's not here. Lunch is the worst. Now it's just me and Casey since Todd and Ryan are gone. I've been going through the motions of the day without really talking to anyone.

I
'm staring straight ahead, deep in thought, but not really thinking about anything until I see Casey's hand waving in my line of sight. I finally zone back into reality for a second to hear what he's saying.

"
Earth to Ashley."

"
Sorry. I was just thinking."

"
You miss him, don't you? I mean, I know you're not this upset over your brother," he says softly with a twinge of sarcasm.

He takes me off guard
. I didn't realize I was that obvious or that Casey even cared, but then I remember what Todd said and how angry he'd be if he saw us sitting here alone. So I simply press my lips together to avoid truly answering the question. I know I need to pull it together and change the subject.

"
No, it's not that."

"
Then what is it? Something is obviously bothering you." He scoots closer to me, his proximity instantly making me feel uncomfortable yet safe.

"
Nothing."
Think, Ash.
That is exactly it, so you need to think of something fast.

"
I was just thinking, maybe you were right and I should start competing again."
Shit. Why did I say that?

"
Really?" He seems genuinely surprised.
Now who's been taken off guard?
Although, I'm genuinely surprised, too. Why did I say
that
of all things?

"
Sure. Why not?"

"
Well, there's a meet this Saturday. I can help you train. I think you'll be ready in a week. You're already in great shape." He lightly brushes his fingers over my forearm and internally my skin reacts to his touch.
Why?

I look down and
smile, partly embarrassed by his comment and partly for the way my body has reacted to his touch. "Let's do it."

"
Great." A smile spreads across his face, revealing his perfectly white teeth. "Then it's done. I'll talk to George—he's running the meet, but I'm sure it'll be cool. He already knows you're a great swimmer."

"
Awesome. Thanks, Casey."

"
We train today. After our shift." He starts to get up from our lunch table. "Hey, do you need a ride home? I mean, if we stay late to practice, now that the boys are gone?"

"
My mom was going to pick me up, but I can text her and tell her I need to stay later."

"
Tell her you have a ride, too." He gives me a sly grin. "I'll take you home." He runs his hand through his wavy, blonde hair. Now that he's been in the sun for a few weeks, it's almost a platinum blonde.

"
Okay," flies out of my mouth before I realize what I'm saying. My heart sinks. It's only been one day, and I'm getting a ride home from him.
What am I doing?

As I walk back to the break house
, I keep telling myself this is a good thing. I need a distraction and training will be perfect, but for some reason, it still feels wrong. Todd has never asked me to be careful with anyone. I just wish he had told me why. Casey seems harmless.

When
I grab my phone out of my locker to text my mom, I see Todd's name staring back at me. I squeeze my eyes shut before I open it, almost afraid to read what it says.

Hey Ash! Miss you. They are already kicking our asses. No phones until after practice. Will call you t
onight. Love you!

My heart sinks. What is wrong with me
? He is perfect and he's killing himself at camp trying to get a scholarship while I'm sitting at a table alone with Casey—the one person he asked me to stay away from—and now he's giving me a ride home. I have to get out of that at least. I text Mom that I need a ride a little later than planned. Now I just have to break it to Casey. I'll blame my mom.

***

Speaking of kicking asses,
Casey is totally kicking mine. He's not cutting me any slack. It’s been a few years since I've competed
,
couldn't he at least ease me in slowly for the first day
?
No
, he's pushing me that much harder. I officially hate him. I didn't realize just how out of shape I am
. T
here's nothing like swimming timed laps to prove it to you. Luckily
,
swimming is second nature to me; so it all comes back really quickly.

Casey is standing at the other end of the pool
,
holding a stopwatch
.
T
he ridiculous smirk of concentration on his face is driving me crazy. It's making me want to push even harder to beat my last time.

With every stroke
,
I think about how much I hate him
,
yet by the end of day
,
I've already shaved ten seconds off my time. I'm utterly exhausted and truly feel like I might drop right here on the cement. I bend over to hang my head between my knees, hoping I don't vomit in front of him.

"
Not bad." I can hear the grin in his tone without even looking at his face. I finally glance up at him, and sure enough
,
he's still wearing a ridiculous smile. "We just might win with you on the team." He
tosses
a towel at me.

"
Ok
ay,
my turn." He effortlessly slides his t-shirt off.
What
,
do boys practice this move?
I try hard not stare at his perfect abs. Before I can respond
,
he's already in the pool. "The stopwatch is over there." He gestures to the other side of the pool with his head
,
but he senses my hesitation
.
"What's the matter
? A
fraid I'll beat your time
?
"

I finally feel like I can actually speak without revealing just how out of shape I am
.
"Ha! I'd be concerned if you didn't beat my time."

"
It was your first time back in the pool, Ashley Taylor. You'll get it back." Since our first day working together
,
he almost always uses my first and last name. There's something about it that I like, though.

I
've seen him swim this summer
,
but I haven't seen him swim in competition mode
. H
e's incredible. He glides through the water effortlessly. It's clear his body was designed to do this. His time is laughable; I'd be surprised if he's ever lost. He's pure perfection in the water.

"
Not bad
,
" I say
,
acting unimpressed as he pulls himself up out of the pool.

I toss him a towel
, and he just gives me that flawless white smile that glistens against his sun-kissed skin. His green eyes are sparkling like the pools surrounding us.

"
Thanks." He roughly runs the towel over his platinum blonde hair. Then he gestures behind me with his messy, freshly towel dried head
.
"I think your ride is here."

I glance back in that direction
, and sure enough
,
Mom is standing there
,
waving frantically, like she hasn't seen me in weeks. Why are parents so embarrassing?

I give a microscopic wave back
, but she doesn't take the hint; she keeps humiliating me with her over-exaggerated waving.

He walks closer to me
, still wearing his smile. "Are you going to introduce me?"

"
No," I say so quickly it comes out as a shout.

"
Wow," he says, a little stunned. As he wraps the towel around his waist, I can't help noticing how his defined muscles flex. I quickly try to cover that I was staring. I'm not even sure if I really was; I was in a daze of flawlessness.

"
Okay, I'm gonna go. See you tomorrow." Just as I approach my mom, Casey jogs up behind me and extends his hand to her.

"
Hello, Mrs. Taylor. I'm Casey. It's nice to meet you."

My mom shakes his hand back
before she glances over at me with wide this-is-unexpected eyes. "Nice to meet you, Casey. Are you a friend of Ashley's?"

He flashes her that same perfect smile
. "I guess you could say that. Are we friends, Ashley?"

My stomach drops to the ground
as I feel my heart start to pound. Why would he say that with that tone, and why is my body reacting like this.
Why
?

"
Casey is my partner. We both work the same pool. And I might race this weekend, so he's helping me train."

"
Might?" Casey raises his eyebrows to me.

"
Oh, you're going to compete in a swim meet? Ash, that's fantastic." My mom is beyond overjoyed.

I clench my teeth together
. "Okay, let's go, Mom." I grab her by the arm and pull her toward the parking lot. "Bye, Casey. Thanks for today." I give him a look that says I'm going to kill him. He is definitely going to pay for this tomorrow.

Of course my mom can
't just let this go. It is all she can talk about the entire way home, and I mean, the entire way.

"
He seems like such a nice boy, Ashley. And it's wonderful he invited you to compete. It's about time you started really swimming again."

I only respond with sounds
, no words. You'd think she would get the hint, but no, she doesn't stop through dinner, either. You would think Casey was the second coming with the way she's carrying on. Finally, the house phone rings and it's Ryan calling from camp.

Thank God for Ryan
. For once, his timing has saved me. My mom now has something else to think about for a second. My heart starts to pound because, if Ryan is able to call home, so is Todd. My parents'
'no cell phones at the dinner table'
rule is yet another challenging obstacle in talking to Todd, so I quickly excuse myself and promise to be right back to clean the table.

As soon I check my phone
, I see a missed call from him and my heart sinks. When I text him back to say I'm in my room and can talk, my phone rings within seconds, and just the sound of my ringtone makes my heart start to race.

"
Hi!" I can barely contain my excitement.

"
Hey, Ash!" I can hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"
How are you?"

"
Pretty beat. They weren't kidding when they said they were going to kick our asses. Every part of my body hurts."

"
That sucks. How are Ryan and Brian holding up?"

"
About the same. Brian has been icing his arm since we got home."

"
Did you get to see the school or anything? Are you liking it there?"

"
We haven't really had time to do much other than football. It's like military camp. And so far, I've gotta say I'm not loving it."

I laugh because I know he
's kidding, or at least I think he is
.

"
How are you? I hear you're going to compete in a swim meet this weekend."

"
Wow, word travels fast."

"
Well, me and Ry are in the same room. We kind of hear everything."

"
Good to know," I say with a twist of sarcasm.

He gives me a small laugh
. It's the first time I can detect any happiness in his voice. "I think it's great you're doing it. I wish I could be there to see you race."

"
If I don't die this time, I'll do it again and you can see me," I say with a giggle.

"
I miss you, Ash." He says like he remembered just how much he missed me with my joke.

"
I miss you, too."

"
How's the pool?"

"
Good. Same."

"
So what made you decide to race again?"