Page 28 of Ask Another Day

Luke interrupted their text conversation again, annoying Holly further.

Luke:

Stop trying to corrupt my girlfriend

Holly didn’t bother replying to that message from her brother either. He and Rose were clearly right next to each other - so she messaged Rose instead.

Holly:

He’s reading your messages now?

We need to talk about boundaries, Rose.

Rose:

Have fun not swimming…

Holly slipped her phone into her bag, and shut her locker door with a satisfying click. It was like her own little Faraday cage. Blocking out any more interference from Rose and Luke was a necessity right now. Rose had been studiously monitoring Holly and Owen’s interactions when she grilled her after each lesson. She’d justified her incessant questioning by citing the challenge for her to find Holly a boyfriend before Natalie’s 4th birthday. Most of the time, Holly didn’t mind though; she’d willingly give Rose a detailed account regardless of the challenge. It had been so long since she’d had a friend she could confide in like this, and Holly was making the most of having Rose around. She knew how easily the threads of life could shear apart. Friends and loved ones could be here one moment and ripped from you in a heartbeat. So secretly, instead of finding Rose’s probing questions annoying, Holly usually reveled in being able to chat with her friend. Today though, she needed a minute to quiet her mind. Things with Owen had started to stall since their kiss a couple of weeks ago, and not much more progress had been made, which had prompted Rose’s flurry of messages this morning. But Natalie coming down with a stomach bug had squashed any hope of catching up with Owen between lessons, and after the heckling and an embarrassing reprimand from the manager of the leisure centre, who looked about eighteen, Holly had sworn off anything remotely amorous in the water. But it didn’t stop her from daydreaming about it.

As she stepped into the, now welcoming, warmth of the water in the training pool, Owen waded over; her daydream come to life.

‘Ready to try a few strokes today?’ he asked.

Last week, she’d practised pushing away from the edge - into Owen’s arms. She wasn’t sure whether it actually was his teaching technique, or the feel of being enveloped in his embrace, but either way she excelled in that lesson.

‘I guess so?’ she offered, stumbling over the words a little. Pushing away from the edge was one thing. Actually swimming strokes felt akin to her competing in the Olympics.

‘You’ve got this, Hols. I’ve got you.’ Those three little words meant as much as the other three little words people usually wanted to hear.

And as the lesson progressed, Owen proved he was true to his words; he did have her. By the end of the lesson she managed to move herself across the pool using a couple of strokes that, if you squinted, could be called breast stroke. She didn’t acknowledge the fact she was only able to do that if she had Owen’s hands hovering just out of touch in the water beneath her. But it was still something she’d never dreamed of achieving a few months ago.

*

All too soon their lesson was over. Stepping out of the locker room, twenty minutes later, Holly had to stifle a scream when strong arms pulled her away from the reception area and into a small office.

‘Owen!’ she managed, when her pulse had calmed down enough to speak.

‘Sorry, Hols. I just didn’t want you to sneak off and then not see you for another week,’ he stroked her damp hair away from her face, ‘I miss being able to touch you like I can in the water. And I know Natalie has been unwell, but is it OK to admit I’ve missed you and want more time with you?’

‘I think it’s actually pretty unfair,’ she responded, smiling at his confusion, ‘you get to touch me all you want in the water, but I hardly get to touch you.’ The confined space she found herself in, seemed to be making Holly’s tongue loose.

Whatever Owen had been about to say, or do, was interrupted by the pubescent looking manager, barging her way into the office.

‘Owen,’ the woman barked out, ‘there are three irritated parents waiting for the 11:00 swim lesson to start.’ Glaring at them both for what felt like a full minute, but was more likely a handful of seconds, she stormed out of the office, slamming the prefab door behind her.

‘Coming,’ he called morosely to the door that greeted him as he started to move away from Holly. When she laughed, Owen turned back to her and pulled her in tight to his warm chest, ‘I’m struggling to find the humour here, Hols.’

And because he looked so sad, she pulled him towards her and kissed him. The rush of butterflies she’d felt during their first kiss in the pool was missing this time, confusing Holly as she started to pull back. But as his lips moved against hers, she relaxed. It felt nice. Comforting. She liked kissing him. She just hoped she’d be able to convince him to hang around for a bit longer.

*

‘And then Uncle Luke let me drive the car–’

‘I did not let her drive the car, Holly,’ Luke interrupted Natalie, and she loved hearing the hint of panic in his voice.

‘You did. I moved the wheel.’ Natalie stared at him, the confusion written all over her little face.

‘It was stationary, Holly,’ Luke added, looking a little exasperated now.