Chapter Eleven — Sandra

Sandra’s steps slowed as she walked down the school hallway. For someone who had recently dropped out of school, she was ending up back there an awful lot. She’d be there again that evening for the dance.

“You okay?” Amanda asked, now several steps ahead of Sandra.

“Yeah, of course.” Sandra quickened her pace, though she wasn’t feeling at all okay. It had nothing to do with being at school, which Amanda had probably assumed, but had everything to do with her coming to watch Blair swim.

Her hands felt moist, and she wiped them on her pants. Sandra knew Blair had invited her, but had he asked just to be nice? Maybe he hadn’t expected her to show up at all. This seemed like the type of thing that was reserved for girlfriends. Like how Amanda always came to Cameron’s swim meets.

Well, Sandra was here now, and Amanda was her ride home, so it looked like she was staying.

Sandra walked through the double doors that led to the pool, and a blast of hot, humid air hit her.

“This way,” Amanda said, leading Sandra toward the bleachers. They were already halfway filled, mostly by parents, by the looks of it. “We’ll sit on the far right. The left is reserved for fans of the visiting team.”

They walked up the steps and took seats halfway up. Sandra’s gaze immediately searched for the swimmers, but it appeared they were still in the locker room. Instead, she caught sight of a large sign coming through the double doors, though whoever was holding it seemed to be having some trouble getting in. They stumbled through the doors, but then straightened, the sign still blocking their face.

The sign read, Go Blair! Around the words were drawings of swimmers. And hearts.

The sign lowered.

Julianna.

Sandra’s heart stuttered. Had he invited both of them? How many other girls at the meet had been personally invited by Blair?

Julianna walked with a couple of friends toward the bleachers. Her gaze landed on Sandra, and her steps faltered. Julianna quickly recovered, and she walked up the bleacher steps, turning in and sitting on the bench right in front of Sandra.

At that moment, the swimmers from both teams walked out, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Julianna held up her sign and waved it as she whistled. Right in front of Sandra, completely blocking her view. And blocking Blair’s view of her. If Julianna didn’t lower that sign, he’d never know Sandra was even there.

Sandra wasn’t sure if she should say anything, but Amanda helped make that decision for her.

She tapped Julianna on the shoulder and said, “Hey, mind putting that sign away, or sitting somewhere else? I can’t see my boyfriend, or anything else, for that matter.”

Julianna turned, but she eyed Sandra instead of Amanda as she responded, “I always sit here.”

“Okay, so put down the sign,” Amanda said.

Julianna’s gaze was still on Sandra. “I’d rather not. I made this sign special for today.”

Should Sandra have made a sign? Maybe Blair would see this as proof that Julianna liked him more than Sandra did. He and Julianna had spent an awful lot of time together on their project, after all.

“This is ridiculous,” Amanda muttered. She stood and motioned for Sandra to follow her. They walked down the steps and re-entered the row just below Julianna. “These are better seats anyway.”

Amanda stayed standing, blocking the swimmers’ view of Julianna’s sign. Sandra fought back a smile, grateful for her friend, as she searched for Blair among the Speedos, towels, and swim caps. She wasn’t sure if she’d recognize him, as the swimmers all looked the same to her—all with amazingly toned bodies.

But then her gaze landed on him. She couldn’t mistake that smile anywhere, and she discovered that he was already watching her. His face was bright, like he was genuinely excited to see her.

Sandra lifted her hand to wave, but then realized someone already was. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Julianna behind Amanda, wiggling her fingers in Blair’s direction.

Oh. Maybe Blair had been watching Julianna this whole time.

Sandra’s heart plummeted. “I’m going to go for a quick walk,” she murmured to Amanda and moved to stand.

“Oh no you don’t.” Amanda grabbed Sandra’s arm and pulled her back down. “He likes you,” she whispered. “That girl is just full of wishful thinking.”

“I don’t know…”

“You’re the one he asked to the dance, right?” Amanda pressed.

She had a point. Sandra’s gaze found Blair again. His smile had diminished, but when their eyes met, it returned. Her doubt dissolved, and she gave him a small wave, which he returned.

And then Sandra allowed her gaze to wander from his eyes to his lips to...

Holy. Cow.

Those abs. Was she drooling? She touched her lips, just to make sure.

The meet started, and even though there were many talented swimmers, she always sought out Blair.

And boy, could he swim. He was fast and smooth. His muscles rippled with each stroke, and Sandra couldn’t tear her gaze away. She didn’t want to.

“Now you know why I never miss Cameron’s meets,” Amanda whispered at one point.

“They’re okay,” Sandra said with a small shrug, not wanting to betray her shallow breathing and rapid heartrate.

“Is that why you’re devouring Blair with your eyes?”

Sandra felt the heat in her cheeks. “I’m not devouring him.”

“Then what do you call it?”

“Casually observing.”

Amanda snorted. “If that makes you feel better. But it’s okay to like someone, you know.”

“Uh-huh.” Sandra knew, but it had always seemed like something that wasn’t intended for her. Until now.

When the meet was over, Sandra and Amanda waited in the hallway for Blair and Cameron to change. Sandra would have rather gone home, feeling suddenly shy and embarrassed by her reaction to seeing Blair swim. It was fine to have those thoughts from afar, but not when she had to now talk to him.

The boys came out, and Amanda flung herself at Cameron, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You were awesome.”

“Not as awesome as Blair though,” Cameron said with a grin. He turned to Blair. “You were on fire.”

Blair’s cheeks tinged with pink and his gaze dropped, though it seemed he was fighting a smile. “I did all right.”

“All right?” Amanda asked incredulously. “You came in first for every heat. And I bet I know why.” She grinned and threw a wink in Blair’s direction.

Cameron laughed and nodded in agreement as he glanced in Sandra’s direction. “Blair has always done awesome at practice but struggled at the meets. Until now. I’ll let you guess the one thing that was different today.”

Now Blair’s cheeks were blazing red, and Sandra was pretty sure hers matched his.

“Well, this has been fun, but we better go,” Sandra said, grabbing Amanda’s arm. Her gaze met Blair’s, and she gave him a quick smile. “You really did do awesome though.”

His eyes seemed to brighten, and she regretfully tore her gaze from him. She didn’t want to give Amanda and Cameron the chance to embarrass them any further. They still had an entire evening ahead of them, after all. There would be plenty of chances to embarrass Sandra and Blair later.

And Sandra was sure her friends would take advantage of every one of them.