11 August 2012
-TIFFANY- I started awake, breathing heavily with beads of sweat forming across my brow like an assortment of diamonds. "T? What's wrong?" Nate whispered from above me, not sounding tired. "I just had a nightmare. I dreamt you'd properly left me" I said, wincing at the thought of it. "Sweetheart. Come on, go back to sleep. I love you" he said, kissing the top of my head. "What time is it?" "5.30am" "I should wake up anyway. Can we lie together for a while?" "As long as we're quiet. We don't want to wake those two up!" he joked as he looked over to the couch and the two arm chairs. "True" I laughed, overjoyed with the new support people were giving me. "How did you sleep?" "I didn't. But I feel fine" "Nate! You need to sleep!" "No I don't. You needed to sleep, I needed to keep an eye on you. And anyway I really do feel fine" "You need to sleep tonight. I'll make sure you do" I said, tugging on his tshirt so he lay down properly in the bed. "I'm sorry about everything yesterday. And if we go to the hospital today, and you have some tests and they reveal that the baby isn't okay, then I just want to tell you that it is all my fault, but that it's alright. I'll still love you no matter what happens, and I'm not ever going to leave you" "I'd forgotten about that..." I said, resting my head down onto his chest. "Well that's all you need to know. Please don't worry about anything" "I love you" "I love you too. It's 5.45 now, and I should be swimming this morning. Do you want to come down with me? Or stay in bed? Or shall I just not go full stop?" "You need to go. You'll have to miss other sessions for more important things" "What's more important than you?" "The baby" I whispered, thinking about it growing in my stick thin stomach. "I suppose you're right. Do you want to come and watch then?" "Yeah alright then. We'll be back at 7 right?" "Yeah we will" "I'll leave the girls a note" I said picking up a piece of paper and scribbling 'Girls, thanks so much for last night. I really can't thank you enough! Just wanted to let you know that I'm awake now (5.45am) so I'm going to go with Nate and watch him swim. I should be back at 7, so don't worry about me! Feel free to use the shower (it's a power shower and you won't need to queue downstairs!) and anything else you want (makeup, clothes etc.) I'll see you at school, T xxx' I placed it on the small coffee table in front of where Kim was sleeping, and after throwing on a pair of jeans and a pink chiffon shirt. "You always manage to look so pulled together, don't you? No matter what's happened you always look your absolute best" "Mother drummed it into me from a young age" I said, putting on my tan knee high boots. "Well I think you look incredible" He said, coming fully out of the bedroom to kiss me. As he kissed me, I got full view of his swimwear: he was wearing his insanely tight racing trunks, that left no detail of his lower body to the imagination. They ran directly alongside every muscle down to just above his knee, almost accentuating how muscular his thighs were. "Even though I know these are your favourite item of my clothing, you don't need to stare incessantly at them" he said, still pressing his top lip to mine. "sorry" I laughed quietly, enjoying the feel of his bare chest against me, the thin chiffon acting as a defence from the heat of his skin. "Baby, it's almost 6, we need to go!" Nate said suddenly, leaning down and picking up his sweater that I'd worn overnight from its position strewn on the floor. "Let's go" I said, holding his hand as he picked up his kit bag from the floor by the door.
-NATE- "Right, you go through there and sit on the seating alongside the pool okay? I'll be out in two seconds" I said, pointing to the girl's changing rooms which were alongside the boys. "Okay. I love you" she said, offering me a parting peck on my lips. "Love you too" I said, being greeted by an uproar of male voices. "Cheeky, kissing her whilst in our trademark uniform!" one mocked, whilst I tried to ignore them and change. "Aww Natey boy, what's up? Not feeling yourself today?" "I didn't sleep much" I said, whilst unpacking my bag and putting it all in my locker. "Ooooh!" came the unison response from around the room. "Oh you wish!" I said, realising my error of speech. "See you in there" the rest of them said, walking out into the pool. "Is it safe?" Tiffany whispered, peeping her head round the door. "Baby, what are you doing?" I said, walking over to the door to open it for her. "The girls is locked, so I couldn't get through. Then I heard everything so I stayed outside" "Sorry about them. Come in, I'll just be a minute" I said, taking my swim hat and goggles from the locker. "It's fine. Thank you for not telling them anything" she said, sitting beside me. "Don't worry. Until we know for certain I think we should stay quiet to everyone about it" "Apart from the girls" "Well yeah, too late for that. I told Mollie too, you know that, right?" "Yeah. We need to leave it at that though" "I agree. Right, well I should be off: you'll be okay for an hour?" "Yeah, I might go for a walk if that's okay? I'll come back at half past" "Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked, worried about her health again. "Yes. I'm sure. Go on, off you go" she said, shooing me out into the pool. I blew her a kiss from the doorway before turning out into the pool. "Nate? Where have you been?" my coach asked as I walked in, 5 minutes late. "Tiffany was ill last night, so I had to look after her. Sorry" "Alright. I need to get some updated time's for your freestyle and your IM because I'm trying to enter you into the national competition next week" "Really? Thanks coach, what do you want me to do today then?" "Start with the usual warm up, then come and tell me you're ready and you can do your 100 freestyle and 400 IM, okay?" "Sure coach, no problem" I said, approaching the single lane reserved for me as team captain and I dived in, hitting the surface of the cold water with Tiffany still fixed in my brain.
Love You Too: PART NINETY ONE • Opuss № I