Making a Splash

Mackenzie followed Skye towards what appeared to be a conference room. “Have you already met them before? Like at a meet or anything?” Skye asked, opening the door for her.

“I think I’ve crossed paths with all of them. But, I don’t think I’ve held much of a conversation with any of them,” Mackenzie said as she walked inside and saw Ricky, Michael, and Garrett all sitting at the table. She looked around the room, but she didn’t see Ryan. She shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to the table, sitting down next to Ricky.

Skye walked over to them, quickly introducing everyone, even though they already knew each other. “Where the hell is Lochte?” she questioned. “Seriously, I leave you boys alone for what, ten minutes? And, I’m already down a swimmer?” she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Calm down, Skyler,” she heard Ryan call her full name from behind her. “I’m right there. No need to worry about me,” he said, flashing her a smile that showed off the shiny, silver grill that covered his teeth.

“Sit down, Lochte,” Skye ordered, but from the small smile playing on her lips, it was obvious she wasn’t mad at him. It seemed to Mackenzie that they always acted this way towards each other. “Ryan, this is Mackenzie Blackwell. Mackenzie, Ryan Lochte,” Skye quickly introduced before pulling out her binder and opening it up.

Ryan smiled at Mackenzie and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes and laugh at the silver metal covering his teeth. Instead, she offered him a small smile in return, deciding it would be a good idea to stay on these guys’ good side since she would be around them for the next couple of months.

“Okay, here’s the next two weeks’ schedule,” Skye said, handing everyone a piece of paper. “As you can see, you all, with the exception of Mackenzie, will have two to three hours of training in the morning. Then, you’ll have a small break. Mackenzie will come in at two for the kids’ program. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, you’ll work with them for two hours. Tuesday, Thursday, will be three hours. Then, you boys will finish up any training that your coach wants you to have. Mackenzie, you’re obviously allowed to come in the morning and use the weight room or pool as you wish, even just for casual laps,” Skye added.

“Wait a minute!” Ryan interjected, and everyone turned their attention to him. “I’m confused. You said everyone except Mackenzie would come in and train. Why aren’t you coming in? Are you training somewhere else?” he asked, looking over at her.

Mackenzie sat there for a moment, not knowing what to say. It was a legitimate question from Ryan’s part. While the people she trained with at Northwestern knew that her shoulder injury was extremely serious and would put an end to her career, not many others knew. No one had even made a public announcement about it. Mackenzie just figured the truth would come out at the next big meet, which was in about three and a half months.

“Why don’t you worry about your own training?” Skye asked, trying to help Mackenzie out when she realized she wasn’t answering immediately.

“No, it’s fine,” Mackenzie assured her. “They have a right to know. They should know! I mean, they’re only going to be working with me for the next two and a half months,” she said with a small laugh.

“What’s going on?” Garrett asked, looking back and forth between Mackenzie and Skye.

“I’m no longer swimming competitively,” Mackenzie announced.

“What? Why not?” Michael asked, and Mackenzie turned her attention to him, as those were the first words he had spoken since she had come into the room.

She noticed all four guys were staring at her expectantly, waiting on her answer, and she took a deep breath before speaking. “About two months ago, I injured my shoulder,” she began. “Everyone thought I just pulled a muscle or something, and the trainer told me to rest a little bit and not to train too hard, let the muscle heal. Well, me being me, I couldn’t stay out of the water that long, so I started training again before the pain went away completely, lying to my coach and the trainer, saying I felt fine. Long story short, it wasn’t a strained muscle, and I messed up my shoulder badly. Doc says I can’t ever race competitively again. Though, I am still able to swim casually, which is why I’m able to be here working with the kids,” Mackenzie explained, inhaling deeply afterwards.

“And that, Lochte, is why she won’t be training with you,” Skye added, looking at Ryan.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Ryan said sincerely.

“Why?” Mackenzie asked, “I’m the one that screwed up my shoulder, not you.”

“Sorry for bringing it up,” Ryan said.

“Really, it’s okay,” Mackenzie assured him. “You guys deserved to know. Besides, it will all come out at the next big race when people wonder why I’m not competing,” she added.

“Yeah, the world record holder not competing in her event is going to draw some attention,” Ricky agreed.

“Okay, well you guys have your schedules, and I’ve gone over everything I need to today. The kids will start coming in tomorrow, and I’ll go into further details about their sessions before they come in. So, you boys can now go back to the pool and continue training,” Skye said.

All four boys stood up, saying goodbye to Skye and Mackenzie. “Bye,” Mackenzie called after them.

“So, Mackenzie,” Skye said, turning to look at the other girl. “You feel like coming with me to get some lunch? Unless you were planning on going to the pool for a bit. I just thought since you’re going to be around four boys all the time for the next couple of months, maybe you’d like to spend some time with a girl. Or, not,” Skye rambled.

“Skye!” Mackenzie interjected.

“Yeah?” Skye asked, looking up at her.

“I’d love to go to lunch with you. And, you’re right about spending time with a whole bunch of boys. I’m always looking for some girl friends. And, usually that’s a little hard since I used to spend all of my time in the pool,” Mackenzie added with a laugh, as the two of them walked out to the parking lot.

“That’s exactly how I am!” Skye exclaimed. “Well, not so much spending my time in the pool, just wanting some girl friends. Only for me, most girls try to befriend me to get to the swimmers. Though, I don’t see you doing that,” Skye laughed, pointing to a yellow car. “That one’s mine,” she told Mackenzie as she unlocked the doors and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“I can already see us being good friends,” Mackenzie smiled.

“Me too!” Skye agreed.

***

After the waiter had taken their orders and left, Mackenzie looked across the table at Skye and said the first thing that came to her mind. “So, what’s going on with you and Ryan?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She didn’t even know where they had come from.

Skye tilted her head to one side. “Lochte?” she asked, and Mackenzie nodded her head. “You think there’s something going on between me and Lochte?” she questioned with a laugh.

“Well…it’s just…” Mackenzie sputtered, not knowing how to dig herself out of this hole.

Skye laughed. “Listen, I love Ryan. I really do. But, it’s more like a brother than a lover.”

“Sorry,” Mackenzie apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” Skye said with a wave of her hand, letting her know she wasn’t offended by what she said. “And, just so you know, Lochte’s single.”

“Okay,” Mackenzie said, trying to pretend like she didn’t care one way or another what Ryan’s relationship status was, even though a part of her was relieved to hear he was single. She really couldn’t figure out why, though. She had made a promise to herself a long time ago that she would never get involved with a swimmer because they would just be too much alike. But, at the same time, she wasn’t able to deny that Ryan was an extremely sexy man.

“Garrett’s single, too,” Skye informed her, pulling Mackenzie out of her thoughts.

“What about Michael and Ricky?” Mackenzie asked, trying to make conversation.

“Ricky’s dating this great girl named Addie. Seriously, she’s a sweetheart, and they are adorable together. People even have a couple name for them, Raddie. Like I said, they’re adorable together. I promise you two will get along great. She’s supposed to be coming here in a couple weeks. She’s still training in Texas right now,” Skye explained.

Mackenzie nodded her head. “And Michael?”

“Oh,” Skye said slowly. “His girlfriend’s supposedly a real bitch. People say she’s only with him for the money and fame, and that she’s not worthy of him.”

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows at the statement. “Really?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Skye said. “You tell me. You’re talking to her right now,” she added with a smile as the waiter came over to their table, placing their dishes in front of them.

Mackenzie stared at Skye as the waiter walked away. “You’re dating Michael?” she asked. “Michael Phelps?”

Skye laughed as she nodded her head. “So, I guess it’s true; I’m not worthy of him,” she joked as she saw Mackenzie’s reaction to the news.

“No, that’s not it at all!” Mackenzie said quickly. “You two seem like a pretty good fit, not that I know either of you that well,” she added. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I mean you two didn’t even act like you two were together when we were at the pool, which I have to say is a good thing.”

“We do that on purpose,” Skye admitted, taking a bite of her chicken parmesan. “We try to keep our work and professional lives separate. And, we’ve always been good about that. Except, I think the only reason I convinced him to leave Baltimore to come here to do this was because I’m his girlfriend,” she added with a laugh.

“Well, it was for a good cause, right?” Mackenzie said with a smile.

“Right,” Skye agreed.