Love Under Water

Clinginess and Persistence

Matthew Cavanaugh POV

I have never tasted lips as sweet as hers; trust me, I have tasted a lot. They were sweeter than honey, and her perfume was different, as in unique, it smelled of wildflowers. Her smell still lingers in the air and I wonder who the girl I kissed just now was? Was she for real?

I lower the thermostat of the sauna. When the steam dies down a bit, I notice a silver bracelet with the letter ‘A’ gleaming on the floor. I pick it up, looking at it closely just when the door opens and Valerie walks in. Seeing her, I clench the bracelet in my fist, hiding it from her.

“Matt, I’m so sorry I’m late. Were you waiting for me?” she batts her eyelids at me flirtatiously. She is always more than eager to offer herself to me and I never resist a good offer. She was throwing herself all over me so I invited her to the sauna knowing nobody would be here at this hour.

“It’s okay Valerie,” I replied to her tersely.

“Are you pissed? And why are you leaving? We still have a lot of time before anyone shows up.” She starts to draw circles on my bare chest, closing the space between us. I grab her hand and gently put it down, she pouts her lips, acting as if I have hurt her feelings. Oh man, I seriously don’t have time for such antics, so I lower my tone to her,

“I have some work at the library, Valerie, I have to go.” I start to walk past her.

“I can join you there and we can make up for the lost time.” She adds with a mischievous grin.

God! I totally despise clingy girls. If she weren’t one of my dad’s friend’s daughters I would’ve given her a piece of my mind. I don’t know why she thinks she has a claim over me or maybe we’re a couple, it’s far from that.

First of all, I don’t like blonds, no offense to any though, and secondly, I like girls who are smart and sexy. Yes, she’s sexy alright but whenever she opens her mouth it’s as if her brain takes a leave.

“Valerie, seriously you don’t take no for an answer. I just swam sixty laps before coming to the sauna and I’m tired. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will grab the book I need for my assignment and leave. See you tomorrow.” I finally manage to walk past her and into the men’s locker. As soon as the warm water hits my body, I remember the kiss a couple of minutes ago. It was sensational and I can’t get rid of the wonderful perfume my mystery girl was wearing.

It's then and there I decide that I need to find her.

We’re having swimming tryouts. Maybe she was one of the swimmers. I am already a member of the College Sports America Team and have achieved scholarships for swimming since high school, not that I need them as my family is pretty well settled. So these tryouts are to induct new swimmers into the team as the competition is after two months, which means lots of training and lots of sweat and hard work.

I quickly change into my clothes, close my locker and head out. A number of student-athletes are now wandering around the pool and it’s difficult to find my mystery girl. I scan the crowd but it’s impossible to find her among so many girls and guys, stretching their bodies. Jeez man, did everyone decide to be a swimmer? As I glance at some of the girls, I find them staring back at me, waving and giggling. I wink at them, hey, I’m used to this attention. Maybe she’s left by now, I wonder. So I walk towards the coach who, is busy talking to another girl with her back to me, but she doesn’t seem to be a swimmer as she’s not in her swimsuit. Before I get close enough, my best friend Ashton calls me out.

“Hey Matt, you’re leaving already?” he walks towards me.

“Yeah man, some of us have to study. Just tell the coach I left okay.” And I slap him on the back before leaving.

After getting my books, I start my car and head home. I grab a soda from the fridge, open my laptop, and halfway through my assignment I receive a text from Ashton,

The gang is heading towards the hills along with some chicks, coming to pick you up.

Not today man, Dad’s visiting.

Best of luck to you! He texted back.

Not like my dad is actually visiting, but that was the only way he would leave me alone. Today, I am in no mood to get drunk. We usually go to the hills, light bonfires, get drunk and then have fun with the chicks. It’s not until dawn till we return. I’m sure Valerie will be there and I am in no mood to see her again, she’s shamelessly persistent.

I resume my work, once done, order pizza, sit back, and enjoy my beer. I switch to a sports channel where professional swimmers are being interviewed and I stop. That’s where I want to be in the next couple of years of my life, but how do I explain this to my dad? He’s a great dad, we have a good relationship, but when it comes to my passion, we just don’t see eye to eye. He doesn’t mind me swimming for college-level competitions, but taking it up as a profession is a big ‘NO’ for him.

Owning one of the biggest architecture companies in LA, I am next in line to be the CEO. I remember as a kid how I would build skyscrapers with my legos. As I grew up, I started building pyramids from paper cups. Every time I build a structure, my dad would beam saying “that’s my boy”. But my love for swimming is beyond any. I feel free once in the water, the thrill, the adrenaline rush, the hunger to win, the rapid pumping of the heart when you are only a few seconds away from reaching the end. That feeling is inexplicable.

So we called it a truce and decided that I shall continue with my passion along with studying my dad’s passion, ‘Architecture’. I’m majoring in restoration architecture to be more precise.

I call it a night after having my pizza, as early in the morning my training starts.

Frankly, I never knew chasing your dreams would require so much hard work. I love sport but I love to sleep too. Every morning, I’m up and ready before 6 am to start my dryland training. This involves a lot of bodyweight exercises, like squats, pushups, and planks. After I'm done with the warm-ups, I start weight training to hit my major muscle groups like the back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, etc.

By the time I’m done, it's time for me to head to college. I take a shower, wear my jeans and black shirt, roar up the car’s engine and I’m on my way. As soon as I enter the college premises, girls flock around me like they’ve been waiting for me. I wouldn’t mind calling myself a mini-celebrity if that’s even a thing, considering I’ve won a couple of competitions for my college. I manage to climb up the stairs and enter the building before I am stopped in my tracks by a girl named Keisha.

“Hey, Matt.” Her hot red nails are tapping on my arm, “We need to finish this project on time.”

“Hey Keisha, I’ve done the research, emailed you the observations, questionnaires, and everything else. You only have to write the conclusion now.” I am getting late for my first class and this girl is further slowing me down. I don’t understand how she could complicate a simple project, hounding and cornering me every time. “What’s the problem?”

“It would be better if we sat together, discuss it and then write it down.” She keeps coming closer to me, “I could come over to your place.” She offers in a sexy tone. I look at her in disdain, I just don’t understand these girls and their ability to not back off.

“I said no we don’t need to meet up again, just do your job and send it on time.” I look over her shoulder to find a pair of eyes staring at me. As soon as she finds me looking back at her, she looks away and continues walking. My eyes involuntarily follow her smooth gait till she reaches the door of her class, she pauses as if deciding on something, then turns to look back at me once more and disappears.

I haven’t seen her before, I am sure. She looks delicate and has jet black hair tied neatly in a ponytail which sways with the movement of her hips, which I’m sure is completely natural. I couldn’t really tell the color of her eyes from this far but I am sure they are beautiful.