Read Deeper for Free Online

guards.”
    “No. Train me first.”
    “What?”
    “I haven’t trained there. I’ve seen videos, but well, you know. Train me first.”
    “But the guards.”
    “Jennifer over there is the swim lessons sup. I trust her to watch things here. I’ll give her another drill she can give them to keep them busy.”
    “Okay.”
    The lazy river winds in a long figure eight around the slides and lap pool, carrying patrons on tubes in a slow journey across the park. I’m going into it with him. Alone.
    For some reason it seems intimate and a little exciting, though I’ve done these drills so many times I can’t believe I am thinking of it that way. I can’t help but realize that soon, he’ll be touching me, and we’ll be alone. A little shiver runs over my shoulders as I jump into the river and I’m pretty sure it’s not just the cold.
    He walks over and looks down, giving me an intimidating view of his legs, up to his narrow hips, then up to the wide spread of his shoulders. He jumps in, and the splash catches me in the face, effectively cooling me off.
    “What do you want to train?” I ask. “Spinals or just regular saves?”
    “Spinals. Just the stabilizing part.” He flops on his back. “Here, I’ll be the victim.”
    Shoot. I’ll have to grab him. I just lectured him on not taking gender into account while training, so why is it so hard to forget that he’s a man while I’m thinking about grabbing him.
    He mistakes my hesitation for disapproval. “You’re right, let’s do one face down first.” He turns over on his face and floats with the current. I wonder if he’ll stay there and drown if I don’t grab him. But unpleasant though it is, I’ll do my job.
    I swim up to him, line my arms up, and do the spinal, rolling him over in my arms. He blinks water away and smiles up at me. I’m sure my face is going red. I can’t help but be close to him as both of my arms are pressed against him, my hands to his jaw and the back of his head, my arms to his sternum and back, a vice going right up his spine and between his pecs. In a rush to get out of this position, I take him with the current towards the stairs.
    “Shouldn’t you turn me away from the current?”
    “Too narrow. I need to get you to the exit area where we can turn without your spine getting in any awkward angles.”
    He frowns. “Oh yeah.”
    I get him to the steps, turn him, show him how to hold someone in the current while waiting for backboard, and then release him.
    My hands cry in relief at not having to brace someone so big so tightly, and my heart cries in relief that I’m not touching him, face to face, heart pounding because he’s so close.
    I put a hand up over my heart. It just felt weird. Of course it only felt weird. If it felt good that would make me weird. And I’m not that kind of weird. The memory of us making out in the waves rises to the front of my mind and I blush again. Maybe a little weird.
    He taps my shoulder. “Your turn.”
    “What?”
    “Now I get to stabilize you.”
    I try to keep my mouth from falling open, try to think of a good reason to turn him down. If he stabilizes me his arm will go straight from my jaw to my sternum, resting right between my breasts. I suddenly see the benefit of not using girls for demonstrations like this.
    I’ve done the drills so many times I’ve gotten over the awkwardness of it, mostly. But thinking of him doing it, this guy I made out with, this guy who keeps trying to reject and protect me all at once, and I feel like that awkward girl doing the drill for the first time and worrying about her boobs.
    “I’ll be gentle.” He grins.
    I flush and I want to call him out for being a perv, but that would let on that I was thinking that way, so I shut my mouth and flop onto my stomach, waiting for him to ‘save’ me.
    For a second, I think he’s going to leave me there to die. The next second, I’m in a vice on my back, looking up into his pleased, male face. He blinks