Free Swimming Lessons by Athena Chills Page B

to sign or something.
I sure don’t want you to get into trouble because of me.”
     
    Sam smiled, "No trouble at
all, that's why I'm here. The paperwork is fine. I already
submitted it to my supervisor when he came through on his last
circuit. As far as thanking me, you weren't really in any condition
to talk then."
     
    “ Well, I am
now.”
     
    She smiled back at him. Sam had been too
busy that morning to properly pay attention to her, but he looked
at her now. She was wearing a tight striped t-shirt and very short
little cut-offs with white tennis shoes. She was about his age,
with long brown hair, and very pretty. He imagined she must have
had her hair tied back earlier, since he'd have noticed that
before.
     
    “ One thing though,” he
hesitated, but continued, “You should probably stay out of water
that’s over your head if you can’t swim.”
     
    She blushed. “I know. My friends were going
out, and I didn’t want to stay behind, so I went with them. I
wasn’t expecting to get stuck out there.”
     
    “ No one expects accidents,
that’s why they’re…” he thought of the word he wanted,
“…accidental.” The more he looked at her, the more attracted to her
he became. He started to stammer when he spoke. “I could show you
how,” he added, much more quietly.
     
    “ Show me what?”
     
    “ How to swim. It’s not
hard, and you only need to learn enough to be safe.” Was he
actually concerned about her safety, or did he just want to spend
more time with her? He thought he had her best interests in mind
when he started this topic, but now he wasn’t so sure.
     
    “ I’d like that,” She said.
“When?”
     
    “ I get off work at five
every weekend, or pretty much any time on Monday through
Thursday.”
     
    “ How about tonight?” She
looked surprisingly eager.
     
    Sam looked at the clock inside the tower. It
was 4:20 right now.
     
    “ Are you sure you’re up to
it? You had a rough morning.”
     
    “ I feel fine. I’d feel
better if I knew it couldn’t happen again.”
     
    “ I have nothing else going
on tonight. Let me get things wrapped up and closed here at 5:00,
and we can get started.”
     
    “ Cool, it’s a date then!”
She sounded excited. “I have some time before then, I was thinking
of grabbing some food. With my hospital visit, I haven’t eaten
since breakfast. Can I bring you something?”
     
    Sam nodded, “Sure.
Whatever you’re having.” Had she said date ?
     
    She returned about twenty minutes later,
just as he started getting ready to close up his tower. She parked
out in the lot, and had a big bag of food, some drinks, and a bag
of clothes.
     
    “ Burgers OK?” She asked,
yelling over the waves.
     
    It had been a long, hot day with nothing but
water and soft drinks from the vending machine. He’d have been
happy with pretty much anything right now. “Burgers are great. Come
on up!” He indicated that they could eat in the shack. Jean was
careful climbing the stairs with her load, but she didn’t fall.
     
    She unloaded the bags of
food, handing him two small dollar-menu burgers and a giant serving
of fries. “I got you water. I didn’t know if you were into soda or
not. You obviously work out pretty seriously.”
     
    Sam smiled. He did work out regularly, and
he was glad it showed when it was supposed to. “Thanks!” was all he
could think of to say. He started in on the first burger while Jean
talked.
     
    “ How long have you been
doing this?” She asked.
     
    “ Two years. I started when
I was still in high school, and I’ve kept at it. Mom keeps telling
me I need to go back to school, but I don’t think that’s for
me.”
     
    Jean nodded, unwrapping her sandwich. “Yeah,
I’m going to State. This is my second year. It’s hard, but I’m
getting through it. If you want a job that pays well, you need a
degree.”
     
    Sam nodded, he’d
heard that plenty
of times. “What are you going to school to do?”
     
    “ I’m