Page 61 of Diving In
Don:Are you bringing her to the party on Saturday?
“Tell them off limits, you dick,” I tell AJ.
AJ:Fletch says she’s off limits
“Happy?” He waves the phone at me.
“Not really, no.”
Don:Killjoy
Austin:Respect the rules team.
“Thank you,” I tell Austin. Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought. Though Kath would hate us talking about her like this.
Austin:He’s basically having an aneurysm just thinking about her hanging out with us
Me:You’re all idiots and none of you will get to meet my friend now
“Fuck off,” I tell them as we walk into the gym.
“Language, Fletcher,” AJ tuts. “Coach will make you do an extra set if you keep talking like that.”
I scowl at him as I drop my bag in the corner.
Coach does, in fact, make us do an extra set. But because of ‘stamina’ not because of language.
Two hours later, with my arms trembling, I head back to the dorm, their laughter finally replaced by blessed silence.
When we get back to our room, Kath’s curled up on the left hand side of the bed. She’s wearing one of my old county swimming T-shirts and isabsolutely dead to the world. I crouch down and gently shake her shoulder.
“Time to get up, KitKat,” I tell her, and Austin snickers at the nickname under his breath as she opens sleepy brown eyes.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, “I think I drooled on your pillow.”
“Nothing that hasn’t happened before,” I say with a soft smile.
“Do I have time for a shower before we head to dinner?”
I nod and she gives me a grateful smile before climbing out of bed. Her legs are bare under my shirt and I have to look away as she grabs some clothes and pads across to the bathroom. When the water turns on, Austin lets out a low whistle.
“KitKat?” he says. “Man, you have it bad. I didn’t realise. I don’t blame you though.”
“Please just drop it,” I tell him tiredly. He takes one look at my face and the teasing grin drops from his expression.
“Sorry. Anything I can do to help?”
“Nah, it’s OK. I’ll tell you another time.” I rifle through my drawers for some better socks. I probably won’t tell him, but at least it gets him off my back for now. I studiously ignore him until I hear the water switch off. A few minutes later Kath emerges, brushing her hair and pulling it into a braid whilst still wet. She looks just as beautiful as I remember. Tall and long-limbed, freckles lining her cheeks and across her nose. She still has the patches of freckles on her shoulders that I love so much.
She grabs her make-up bag and leans towards the mirror, adding a quick flick of eyeliner and a slick of lip gloss like it’s second nature.
“Ready?” She slips on some trainers and grabs her sunglasses.
“Yep,” I nod. “Austin, are you coming?”
“Yeah,” he says, pocketing his keys too. “Get ready to be overwhelmed,” he warns Kath. “Everyone’s been dying to meet you for months. Fletcherkeeps his cards close to his chest. We want to know all the childhood stories.”
I sigh. This is going to be a long dinner.
