Synchronized Swimming

Chapter 32: The Kiss

Sang

I expected to feel happy after swimming with Raven, but instead I just feel... incomplete. I could tell that Raven and I swam amazingly well together; we just lacked chemistry. After we finished swimming I glanced over at the boys and noticed the tense atmosphere. Luke looked particularly moody- a striking contrast to his normal exuberance.

"Great swim Zayka." Raven murmurs besides me. I give a small smile before returning my attention to the boys. They appear to be arguing about something, but quiet down when Mr. Blackbourne barks an order at them. Kota pulls out his phone and searches for something on it before handing it to Sean, who plugs it into the sound system. Kota nods at Nathan and they walk up to the deck together.

Curious, I approach the boys. "What are they doing?" I whisper.

"They want to show off their duet they swam earlier in the year." Sean explains. I sigh. Why do boys always have to turn everything into a competition? I swear, next thing you know they'll be calling up the judges to determine who swam the better duet.

"Does anyone else have a duet they'll be showing off?" I ask sourly. Sean looks at me in surprise before carefully moderating his expression.

"No, we only have one duet a year so that they don't compete against each other. This year it was Kota and Nathan's turn, but they stopped swimming it after the first few meets to focus on team." he says.

"Next year it's North and Silas's turn." Luke adds helpfully.

"Last year it was Luke and Gabe." Victor pitches in. I mentally run through the boys to figure out which one hasn't swam a duet recently.

"When do you get to swim one, Victor?" I ask him. He looks down for a moment before meeting my eyes. When he does, his cheeks are tinged with red.

"Besides team, I only swim solos." he murmurs. He says it like it's a bad thing, but I love solos! Granted, they're the only thing I've ever swam, but still...

I want to ask Victor to elaborate, but Kota and Nathan's music starts playing so I turn to watch them. From the moment they dive in, they are slightly off from each other. It's clear that they are out of practice, which is to be expected but from their confidence going in I assumed that they would be better.

"This isn't a very good swim." North mutters.

"No kidding!" Luke exclaims.

"I've seen ten year olds swim better." Silas jokes. I giggle at his comment; I have seen some amazing ten year olds who could beat this duet...

"Be nice!" Mr. Blackbourne admonishes us. I hastily wipe my smile off my face and replace it with a contemplative look.

I refocus on the swim just in time to see one of their legs lifts crash and burn. Nathan was pushing Kota, who I presume was supposed to lift his legs up and arch over, but he didn't quite make it and instead fell to the side. Their next move is a boost facing each other, and since Kota started from an awkward body position he pitched forward.

Right into Nathan.

They collide with each other. In one heart stopping moment, I watch as Kota gets closer and closer to Nathan. Nathan's mouth widens into a surprised 'o' shape, creating the perfect target for Kota to hit. Kota obliges, landing with his mouth pressed right up to Nathan's.

"Did they just kiss?" Luke asks, sounding shocked. I'm still staring at the spot where they went under, too surprised to answer him.

They both surface almost immediately and look at each other in horror. "Dude, what the hell was that!" Nathan screams. Kota had looked apologetic but now starts to get angry at Nathan's accusatory tone.

"Sorry, it's not like I did it on purpose!" he spits out. The two boys glare at each other for a solid ten seconds before Mr. Blackbourne steps in.

"Sean, turn off the music," he says calmly before turning his attention to Kota and Nathan, "Quit it you two! You know that synchro is a contact sport, now get over it and act like mature adults!"

"Yes, Mr. Blackbourne." Kota mutters. Nathan still looks furious, but I can tell he's about to agree when Gabriel makes a kissing face behind Mr. Blackbourne's back.

"Kota and Nathan, sitting in a tree." he mouths. I fight to hold in my giggles, knowing they would only make the situation worse. Nathan's face turns red at the mocking.

"Shut up Gabriel!" he yells. Mr. Blackbourne swings around to stare suspiciously at Gabriel, but he has composed himself already.

"What?" he asks with wide eyes.

"Erm, maybe we should take a lunch break?" Coach Laura suggests. I start- I had completely forgotten that the Guppies were watching this whole incident! My cheeks burn as I realize how foolish our team looked.

"Good idea," Mr. Blackbourne agrees, "Why don't we change and meet back up again at a restaurant?"

The Guppies immediately start throwing out places, but one stands out as the clear winner. Lettuce Celebrate is apparently an amazing salad restaurant that specializes in unique salads and crazy puns. Hopefully, it'll be just the place to lighten the mood.

The car ride is silent on the way to the restaurant. That is, it was silent until North happily exclaims, "Finally, I restaurant I approve of!"

I gawk at him- I've never really seen him smile, and the first time I do it's over a salad place? My teammates look similarly surprised, and quite amused.

"Such a vegetable lover, North! I've never seen you so up beet!" Gabriel says, chuckling. We all stare at him blankly. "Up beet, get it? Like the vegetable?"

"Don't quit you day job Gabe." Nathan teases. Gabriel shrugs and continues to make food puns about North for the rest of the car ride.

We pull up to Lettuce Celebrate ahead of the others. It's the type of place where you order at the counter, so we look at the menu as we wait for the coaches and the Guppies.

"What are you getting, Sang?" Kota asks me. I've been deciding between two options for the last minute, so hopefully he can help me choose one.

"I can't pick between the Romaine Calm salad and the Kale Me Maybe one. What do you think?" I hedge. Kota looks at the menu intently before responding.

"The Romaine Calm salad is spicy, so you may not want to get that before swimming." he points out. A spicy salad! Who would want one of those?

"Stupid hipster restaurants messing up food!" Luke says mournfully. I glance at him in amusement. "There's nothing normal on the menu!"

The cashier perks up at Luke's comments. "We have the You Gouda Brie Kidding Me grilled cheese if you don't want salad." she says. Luke looks thoughtful, so the cashier decides to take it to the next level. "It pairs wonderfully with our Thoreo Cream Pie, complete with all the mousse you can eat."

Luke grins even as North shakes his head. "How you manage to find something unhealthy to eat at a salad restaurant is beyond me!" he says with resignation.

Luke laughs. "It's my sugar power!"