Jaya leaned her head back against the window and closed her eyes. She felt like the ocean, once a storm had descended. Tossed about, churning, with no end in sight.

Grey

Grey glanced at Jaya, who appeared to be napping, her head back against the window, her face bathed in pink light. She looked calm, peaceful, like a tranquil lake in Costa Rica. Grey, on the other hand, felt completely wrung out. He was an empty hull of a wrecked ship—shattered and adrift.

He’d never confided in another human like that before. All the things he’d said to Jaya, all the weirdness he’d poured out on her, and she’d just… She hadn’t judged him. They’d fought, sure, but then they’d talked and he felt good about it. He felt, strangely enough, like she’d listened. Like she’d truly heard him as no one else had before.

Glancing at her again, Grey felt his heart squeeze in his chest. I like her, he realized with a start. He really liked who she was, through and through. Alarmed and a bit disturbed by these feelings that were both unsanctioned and impermissible for someone in his position (not just cursed but also doomed), Grey frowned and looked out the window at the darkness.

A couple of days after the Aspen trip, Grey found himself in the aquatic center. He pushed himself to swim lap after lap, pulling himself through the water with his arms, his legs kicking effortlessly behind. Swimming helped him think. In the water, his mind went blank, all the thoughts that had been jostling and pushing for real estate falling quiet. The only sound he heard was the rhythmic splashing of the water. The only thing he felt was the balmy warmth of the heated pool.

He emerged at the shallow end, only to realize he wasn’t alone. His goggles had fogged up, but he saw a figure in a bright fuchsia swimsuit standing above him. The figure didn’t move; it seemed like they were waiting for him to do something. Grey pushed his goggles to the top of his head to find Jaya in a one-piece, ruffles along the plunging neckline. He forced his eyes to hers. “Hey.”

She smiled, her eyes wandering over his naked shoulders as if she couldn’t help it. A warmth spread through Grey’s belly, and he squashed it with some effort. “Hi. Do you mind if I pop in for a swim?”

He waved his arm toward the empty lap lane next to his. “What it’s there for.”

She sat on the edge and let herself drop in, an effortlessly graceful royal mermaid. “Wow. I can’t believe there’s no one else here.”

Grey looked out over the other six lap lanes. “Well, it’s close to nine o’clock at night—one hour until the pool closes. It’s usually deserted around this time.”