After a car crash almost takes his life, Ryan feels lucky to have survived. Even if it means living with his sister again and dealing with a physical therapist, his roommate was not so fortunate. When Ryan's recovery plan takes him to the local indoor pool and community center, he soon meets an older lifeguard named Cooper who hits every last kink and fantasy Ryan's built up during his months spent alone in bed.
When a woman nearly drowns, and Cooper's former military past is revealed, the two men see one another for their similar scars, but also as something more. An invitation to the pool after hours turns out to be the exact thing both men need to heal themselves, and also start something new.
Ryan finished his regular laps with time to spare. Even after starting late, and the commotion with the near-drowned woman, the lanes made it easier for him to focus on what he needed to do. So when he looked at the clock on the wall, and saw he still had twenty minutes before the pool closed for maintenance, he almost didn’t know what to do.
He got out of the pool and headed towards his towel. Then, because he had time, and because his crush had gone from simple to overly complex in the last hour and a half, he stood by Cooper’s perch. He had on a long-sleeved shirt with the Carmichael logo on it, to replace the other one he’d drenched, but he still had on the same shorts. His grey hair was light and fluffy, having dried naturally.
“You okay?” Cooper asked.
“I am. Just wanted to say thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“The lane swim was a better idea. I managed to get through what I wanted to do much faster.”
Cooper nodded, said nothing else, his gaze fixated on the pool. There had been no other close calls, but once that emergency situation had started, it was hard to kick back and relax again. Ryan noticed the tension in Cooper’s shoulders, the lines deepening around his mouth. And it was hard not to pay attention to the scar tissue that dotted his legs.
“And thank you, too, I suppose,” Cooper added.
“Hmm?”
“You encouraged me to go back to lane swimming. I wouldn’t have been here to save that woman,” he said, and then quickly added. “Not that I don’t think my colleagues would have stepped up. They would have. But it was nice to feel useful again.”
“You were more than useful.” When Cooper said nothing in reply, Ryan added, “You were a hero.”
