Page 52 of Claim Me
"You should probably move the glasses farther from the pool. Water might splash on them," I say, mostly to delay the moment I’ll have to get in myself.
"They’re waterproof. Besides, I never keep them far away. They record everything around me, and more than once they’ve provided crucial evidence when my life was in danger."
"They… record everything?" I ask quietly, suddenly hyperaware of myself. "You can replay it all in real time, right in front of you?"
"Yes. That’s exactly how they work."
"Uh. Great."
Blue turns toward the pool.
"I’ll be swimming for forty minutes. Please don’t stop me or interrupt me."
"Of course. I just need a second to mentally prepare for the water," I mumble sheepishly.
He gives me a pitying look. "I can buy you a wetsuit."
"I can buy one myself! And… I will, because in this outfit I’m about to look very… not impressive… for an alpha," I add with a blush, fully aware everything is about to terribly shrink, including the part I was just so proud of five minutes ago.
A faint smile appears on his face, subtle enough that I almost miss it.
"Relax. Even in freezing water, you’ll still look better than me in that department, so what exactly are you worried about?" he says lightly, with a trace of sarcasm.
"Are we seriously discussing dick sizes right now?" I mutter, red as hell.
"You brought it up," he says with a shrug.
"Well, at least you’ve got a brain." I tap my temple. "That balances things out, so you really don’t need to worry."
"Don’t tell me you’re lacking one too. People don’t get into cybersecurity by being stupid."
Interesting. Blue claimed he was going to swim, but he’s still standing there talking to me.
"I’m kind of a nerd. I’ve always been good at math."
A small smirk touches his lips. "Really? Good at math? When I’m done swimming, we can test that."
And then, unexpectedly, he grins.
It’s such a rare expression on him that it completely transforms his face, making him look even younger. And… beautiful.
I have absolutely no idea what he means by those words, but a second later he dives underwater and starts swimming.
Steady. Calm. Switching between freestyle, backstroke, then breaststroke before repeating the cycle again.
I finally force myself into the freezing water.
Fuck, I hate this.
Every inch of my body protests, but I refuse to back out now. It’s painfully cold. I grit my teeth and start swimming in the next lane over, sticking to freestyle and pushing hard to warm myself up.
A few times I pass Blue, leaving him behind.
After a while I actually start feeling incredible, finally working my body properly again. During those two months locked up, I still trained every day in that shitty yard, but it wasn’t the same kind of effort. And I love training consistently. Without it, I feel wrong somehow, so I guess I owe Blue for this.
I come up for air, then dive again, my arms cutting through the water, my pulse climbing higher, and I feel amazing. I love the way my body moves, how strong and efficient it feels. I’ve always loved that flood of endorphins physical effort gives, and right now I’m completely immersed in it, almost euphoric.
At exactly 7:40, Blue climbs out of the pool.
