My Crush Has Always Been Me novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: Jesse's Win
The walk-on time trial was on the second Saturday in January, at seven in the morning, in an almost empty natatorium.
Pierce had pleaded guilty in December, and the papers had stopped saying his name.
Jesse stood behind lane six in a plain black suit, and he was not shivering this time.
He had swum five mornings a week since October.
He had done it alone, at five o'clock, with the coach on the deck saying one word per lap.
Nate had swum in lane two.
They had never once shared a lane, because the rule stood.
They had passed each other on the way out of the locker room every morning, and said "morning" like strangers.
It had been the hardest thing Jesse had ever done.
Every night he had still gone home to Nate's bed.
The dorm room only kept his name, and he slept with his cold feet on Nate's shins.
Now Nate sat in the stands with Cal and Hank, in the third row, with his hands pressed between his knees.
He was not allowed to say a word to Jesse.
He had not.
He had only looked down from the stands before the start, and tapped two fingers against his chest, the way a swimmer taps a wall.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of My Crush Has Always Been Me are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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