Second String (In Too Deep #3) by Casey McMillin Read Free Book Online

probably try to hang out again sometime if we can. Both of us are just so busy, and with the distance and everything it's hard to—"
    "Oh, totally," Rachel said, letting me off the hook from any further details. "I'm glad you two had fun catching up, though."
    "You guys are talking like she didn't just sit on his lap for the past six hours," Collin said. Rachel punched his thigh. "What?" Collin asked, looking injured. Then he looked at me. "I thought you two hit it off." He gave me a wink, and I knew he was thinking about how I'd told him I could never fall for Ethan since my heart already belonged to Jeremy. I got nervous thinking about the possibility of him sharing my secret. He must have picked up on my shift, because he gave me a sincere expression that said I shouldn't worry and everything's okay. I smiled at him and he smiled back. This whole exchange happened without Rachel noticing, which I was really grateful for.
    "Hey Collin, do I need an invitation to the New Year's thing I heard you talking about at your parent's house?"
    "It's just something my mom's throwing together because she feels guilty about skipping Christmas, but it should be fun. You should definitely come. Ethan will be there, I'm sure."
    "I have a game the next day, but I'm giving it some thought. Thanks for the invite."
    "I have to be back in the pool on New Year 's Day, so you can just ride with us if you want," Collin said. "We'll have to head home pretty early."
    "I might just take you up on that." I said.

 
    Chapter 6
    Ethan
     
     
    I was in the water at 9AM the morning after Christmas. My coach and I were the only two at the gym for a solid two hours before a few other stragglers came in. Since Collin moved, I was the only one at the Aquatic Center on the national team. A few other guys had potential, but weren't ready yet.
    My coach was heartbroken when Collin moved to L.A. Like everyone else in the swim world, Coach Nagel knew Collin was the one to beat at this year's Olympic Trials. He knew not to take Collin's move personally, but it was a real bummer for him professionally. He probably gave Collin a little too much guilt about the whole thing, but Coach Nagel was a good guy. He and I made just the type of underdog team that could surprise everyone.
    I was at the pool for about six hours, which was a typical training day for me. A lot of the other guys swim in multiple events, but Coach and I decided to stick to freestyle because it was my strongest stroke. Coach didn't come right out and say it, but basically if I was going to have a shot at making it through the trials, I'd have to focus my energy on the one thing I did best—freestyle sprinting.
    We drilled so much that every time I closed my eyes I had one isolated movement or another replaying in my mind. Being a professional swimmer was a full time job, and even though I loved it, I was looking forward to a time when I didn't have to be so consumed with just one thing. There were about a hundred other things I wanted to try before I died, and winning an Olympic medal was pretty much all consuming. I knew success didn't come cheap, so I worked my ass off even on days when I didn't feel like it.
    I didn't much feel like being there today, but that had more to do with the dancer who'd left me with just a kiss on the cheek last night. I had to wonder how long this hard to get thing was going to last. I figured I'd get a little booty call on the side if Emily made me wait it out for too long. There's no way I'd let myself feel guilty for that. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, after all. And it wasn't like I had any sort of agreement with her. She'd said it herself. Casual .
    "What's up dude?" It was my roommate's voice. I was in the locker room at the pool, but it wasn't at all odd to see Josh there since he swam for exercise. Josh had a go od run as a college swimmer at Cal, but was more of a career/family man, although the family part wasn't quite working out right now. He