Better If He Goes (Always You #1) - Allie Everhart Page 0,29
Nate says. "Riley, switch places with me."
We trade spots and I end up next to Giada.
"Hi!" she says, smiling at me. "Nice day."
"Yeah, it's great. Oh, thanks again for the hair elastic. I can't believe I forgot to bring one. This is the first time that's happened."
"I have plenty if you ever need more. So how long have you worked here?"
"This will be my fourth summer. I also work at the salon on Main Street."
"Really? Maybe you could do my hair. I really need a cut."
"I'm not a hairdresser. But my friend April is, and she's really good. She could do it."
TJ blows his whistle. "Timer starting...now!"
The guys take off, racing each other.
"Guy are so competitive," Giada says.
I look at her. "You wanna race?"
She smiles. "I knew I'd like you."
"Ten laps. Starting now."
We take off, and damn, she's fast. I've always been the fastest girl out of all the lifeguards, but Giada's making me work to keep that title. When we finish the first lap, she's ahead of me.
To be fair, I haven't swum since last summer. I'm out of practice and I am really tired from being out last night and having to be at work early this morning.
At lap five, she's still got the lead, but not by much. I could catch up if I really pushed myself. Lap nine I give it my all, my arms and legs going as fast as I can make them go. As we enter the last lap, I'm right next to her. I push even harder and touch the wall right before she reaches it.
"Oh my God," she says, breathing hard. "I don't think I've ever swam that fast."
"Me either," I say, laughing while trying to catch my breath. "I thought for sure you were going to beat me. I can't believe I won."
"I demand a rematch." She rings the water from her hair. "But not today." She takes a deep breath. "I still can't catch my breath."
"When's the last time you swam?"
"Last week. My parents have a pool. I swim all the time."
Just now, I realized she doesn't have an accent. TJ said she's from Italy, but that can't be right.
"Where are you from?" I ask.
"Dallas. One of my friends moved here a few years ago and I never get to see her, so I decided to move here for the summer before starting grad school. I didn't want to live with my parents all summer. They're great. I just don't want to live with them."
"I get it. I still live with my mom, but not by choice. I just don't make enough to move out. So you've never lived in Italy? TJ made it sound like you're from there."
"My parents are, not me. We still have family there so we go back all the time, but I've never lived there."
"Girls, stop talking and start swimming," TJ barks at us.
"We were catching our breath," I tell him.
"You don't start swimming, I'll be adding more time. Now get moving!" He walks off.
"Maybe we can talk later," Giada says. "Maybe grab coffee sometime?"
"Yeah, definitely."
We do our laps, not racing this time, but I do want to race her again. That was fun. She's really nice, and really pretty. And it's clear she wants Brad. But does he want her?
Why do I even care? Brad is Nate's cousin. I shouldn't even be considering a relationship with him. So maybe it'd be better if he dated someone else.
Chapter Eight
Nate
"Hey, about tonight," Brad says, meeting up with me in the kitchen. "I can go pick up Riley if you need more time. I'll just bring her here and we'll leave whenever you're done."
It's Friday morning and I'm getting ready for a phone interview with a company in Denver. I'm not sure about living in Denver, but the job pays well and has good benefits. They're calling me at six tonight, which was the only time they could schedule me. The pool closes at five and I had planned to take Riley out for a nice dinner, but then Brad invited himself to go with us. He's been here a week now and hasn't given Riley and me any time alone. I don't mind that he goes out with us, but all the time is too much.
"About that," I say. "I'd really like it to be just Riley and me tonight."
He was just about to bite into an apple, but stops and sets it on the counter. "Why? What's going on?"