In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) (7 page)

Shaking the memory off, Jessi sat straight up in her chair. She’d be better served to remember how hard that little relationship had crashed and burned. That was what would keep her out of trouble now.

“What’s wrong?” Dalton furrowed his brows in her direction.

“What? Nothing. I’m watching tape.”

“Yeah, but you look like you’re in pain. Does your shoulder hurt?”

“My shoulder always hurts.”

“You need to relax, Jessi. You’re not doing yourself any favors by being so uptight.”

“Yes. I’m sure you’re right. But right now, I’m supposed to be finding out how much I suck, so you’ll excuse me if I’m a little on edge.”

“Good point. Here.” He stood and walked behind her. “You watch. I’ll rub.” He started massaging her hurt shoulder.

Jessi jumped at his touch.

“Relax. Your shoulder’s way too tight. I want you to see Marla when we’re done here.”

How in the hell was she supposed to relax when he was touching her like this?

Just as she was about to shrug him off, Dalton’s grip tightened painfully.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry!” Thankfully, he eased up and took his hands off her. “Your stroke just looks so much worse from the aerial view.”

Watching him sit back in his seat and glare at the screen, Jessi ruefully thought that might be the best news she’d heard all day.

Well, the massage had been an error in judgment. If it hadn’t been for the aerial image of Jessi’s epically awful stroke, Dalton might have made a fool of himself and lost all the ground he’d made up with her that morning.

He couldn’t let himself be attracted to Jessi. At the very least, it would screw up any chance they had at being a team. Sawyer’s little Jedi mind game crap had worked, and they were getting along well. The untimely reemergence of romantic feelings on his part would ruin everything.

More importantly, given their past, there was no way she’d ever believe he was serious about her. She was under the mistaken belief that she had been a fun pastime for him and nothing more. There was no way she’d suddenly see him in a different light now, which was for the best. The truth was, he was dead serious about winning that gold, and a romantic relationship with the only person who could do that for him wasn’t going to get the job done.

“Crap,” Jessi muttered.

“What?” Dalton turned his head. Jessi was slouched forward with her head in her hands.

“I just realized you were right.”

Dalton couldn’t help himself. “How much did it hurt to say that?”

“More than you’ll ever know.” She still hadn’t taken her head out of her hands.

Smug satisfaction settled over him. “Well, you should have listened to me in the first place. Now we have to go tell Golden Boy he was right. Like he needs that for his ego wall.”

Head still in her hands, Jessi giggled. She seemed to like it when he made fun of Sawyer. He needed to remember that.

“Yeah, that’s gonna suck.” She sat up, looked over at him, and started to get up from her seat. “Might as well get it over with. According to your schedule, I’ve got thirty minutes before afternoon weights. Let’s get in the pool. I don’t like saying this, but it looks like I’m going to have to do what you tell me to.” She turned and headed for the door.

“That hurt even more, didn’t it?” Dalton asked Jessi’s back.

“Yep.”

He came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a little shake. “Brush it off. You’ll get over it.” He popped a quick, friendly kiss into the blond curls on the crown of her head, just like he would have done eight years ago.

Jessi stiffened, but she didn’t pull away completely. Dalton took his arm from her, and they proceeded forward as if nothing had happened. Their banter was over.

As they turned to the hallway that led to the pool, God sent him an ironic gift. Sawyer walked out of his office.

“Hey. How’d the tape look,” he asked, looking at Jessi first and then Dalton. If their faces looked strained, Sawyer didn’t say so.

“He was right,” she said throwing a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m swimming like crap.”

Sawyer gave her a sympathetic look. When she passed him by, he gave Dalton a secretive thumbs up. Dalton shook his head. If he only knew. This round had gone to Jessi, of that he had no doubt.

Chapter 7

Jessi blamed Dalton for everything she was feeling right now. It could be argued that it wasn’t his fault her heart started beating wildly and she had to resist the urge to lick her lips every time he touched her, but who else could she blame? She had already berated herself and that hadn’t done any good. Oh, God, if she could just get some space from him, she could think straight.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the swim ahead of her. She forced her mind to picture every moment—from the starting block to the last touch of the wall—in perfect beauty. Once she got to that place, she kicked off the block and gracefully dove into clear blue water.

The next one hundred yards were sheer Pruitt perfection, and she knew it. Slapping the wall for the final time, she popped her head out of the water and removed her goggles. Dalton stood above her, all smiles and dancing eyes.

“That’s it! That’s the Pruitt I remember!” He knelt down and grabbed her head to give it a quick shake. It was a move all coaches did when they were proud, but somehow, Dalton’s touch felt like so much more than just a pleased coach.

“Thanks. It felt good,” she said, feeling oddly shy.

“Well, it looked good too. Let’s end with that. You’ve got weights, then dinner. I’m going to go up and watch the film of this one. Head to weights with the rest of the team. I’ll meet up with you after dinner.”

“Okay. See you later.” Jessi got out of the pool and dried off. The utter relief of finally--
finally--
having her stroke feel right eased some of the turmoil she was feeling over Dalton. She made her way to the weight room where it was business as usual. The time away from Dalton helped her collect her thoughts, but it didn’t help her get a grip on what she was feeling. She hadn’t expected to even like him, much less realize she was still attracted to him.

At dinner, Amelia grilled her for details. “So what was it like working
all day
with Dalton McKinney? Any more swim cap fiascos?”

“
No
, Amelia. I took my own advice and acted like a mature swimmer.”
With an annoying crush on her coach
.

“Ugh. How boring. So, no goodies to mention? Nothing at all?”

Nothing that she was sharing with Amelia. “Sorry. Nothing good to report. How about you? Any good gossip from the breaststrokers today?”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. Breaststrokers are not exactly the popular kids of the swimming world, you know.”

Jessi laughed. “No, they’re not. But you’re pretty cool. How’d you end up with that bunch?”

“Charity. I felt the need to help them realize their devious potential.”

“Ha! How’s that working for you?”

“Don’t underestimate my deviousness. With any luck, one of them might actually eat a Skittle tonight.”

“You’ve got Skittles?” This was a serious question. If Amelia was holding out on her...

“That depends.” Amelia eyed her shrewdly. “You gonna ‘fess up and give the dirt on you and McKinney?”

Jessi glared at her and went back to eating. Discussing Dalton with this horrible little child was not worth a Skittle...yet. Amelia sighed and picked a new topic to talk about. Jessi played her role in the conversation as best she could.

Only half listening, she looked up during one of Amelia’s dissertations over the unfairness of the “no soda” rule to find Dalton looking at her. He smiled and gave a quick nod in her direction, then went back to talking with the other coaches.

Butterflies took flight in her stomach. Just a look. That was all it took from him. She tried not to look at Dalton again, but throughout the rest of dinner, they kept sneaking glances at each other. As she got up to leave, Dalton beckoned her to the coaches’ table with a wave and a smile.

Outwardly, it looked like two friends celebrating a win. On his end, it probably was. He was still just a guy looking for a gold medal. Apparently, she was still just a girl looking to get her heart broken.

As she made her way up to the table, she vowed to fix that last part. There was no way she was going to fall for Dalton McKinney again.

“You finished eating already?” Dalton asked her.

“Yeah. I try to gulp it down as fast as I can.”

“Sound plan. Listen, the tape looked good. This is the stroke we want. Let me finish up here, and I’ll meet you in the film room.”

“You sure?” Jessi didn’t want to be alone with him again tonight. She’d had more than her fix of Dalton McKinney for the day. “I’ve got time in the morning.”

“Yeah, but I don’t. Besides, I’d like you to see the tape so we can start off strong tomorrow.”

Crap. That sounded really logical. “Okay. I’ll head that way. See you in a few.”

“Wait up. I’ll just take the rest of this with me.”

Jessi eyed the sandwich that looked nothing like what the facility served the swimmers. “Really?” She cocked a brow at him.

“Actually, I’m not trying to be an ass here. I’ll share with you, if you want.”

Nope. She was not sharing food with him. Nothing about sharing a meal could make this situation any better. “I’m good.”

They walked to the film room in silence. Dalton cued the film. Jessi sat quietly as she watched herself on the screen. A sense of pride washed over her. She was a beautiful, fast swimmer. That was the stroke she remembered. She closed her eyes in relief.

A large, solid hand came down on her shoulder and squeezed. “Yep.”

She nodded. She didn’t say anything and didn’t open her eyes. Everything was going to be okay. Terror had been her constant companion for the last year. Finally, the fear of never getting her stroke back began to subside. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Dalton walking out of the room.

“Goodnight, Jessi.”

“‘Night, Dalton,” she whispered.

Chapter 8

“Morning!” Dalton slapped her on the back.

Typically, Jessi was a morning person. Her lack of sleep, which could be blamed entirely on Dalton, significantly altered her outlook on this particular morning. His bright and happy demeanor, coupled with the fact that he looked well rested and eager to get moving, only worsened her already crappy mood.

“When did you become so chipper in the mornings?” she asked. “I distinctly remember you hating early mornings.”

“Since I started getting paid to kick swimmers’ asses in said mornings.” He popped a grape into his mouth and grinned.

“By swimmers, you realize you mean me?”

“Yep.”

“Dick.”

Dalton laughed, and Jessi glared. She was keeping score, and so far, Dalton might just have been winning.

“Well, it looks like you two are getting along better.”

Sawyer had snuck up behind her. What the hell, did these two run in a pack?

“Don’t kid yourself, Jameson. She still hates me. She just can’t resist my charm.”

Unfortunately, no truer words had ever been spoken.

“Sounds like you’re the delusional one. Jessi isn’t one to fall for charm.”

“Only because I learned my lesson from him,” Jessi shot back. She excelled at being one of the guys, even when she distinctly didn’t feel like one.

“Ouch. Easy, Pruitt. I’m fragile.” Dalton put a hand to his heart in mock distress.

Despite herself, Jessi smiled. Dalton’s joviality was catching, but she was weary at the same time. This was the Dalton who’d she’d fallen in love with. Troubled? Yes, but carefree and witty, too. The combination was lethal for her.

“Whatever. I know one thing for sure—you two are ridiculous excuses for grown men.” This statement was patently true since Dalton and Sawyer were currently trying to spill each other’s trays. “Get yourselves together. The rest of the team is on its way.”