Making Waves

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Daisy Foster exclaimed as she was knocked back onto the ground. The stack of very thick, very expensive textbooks in her arms were sent flying into the air where they were accompanied by a smaller set of books. Each hardback landed with a heavy thud as Daisy looked up at the cause of her fall.

He was exceptionally tall and incredibly muscular; his bulky frame seemed to tower over her current position on the ground and his Gator Swimming t-shirt had had the sleeves cut off, exposing his thick biceps. A mess of brown curls clung to his forehead, each lock damp and glistening with water from his earlier activities. Lustrous blue eyes were wide in surprise while his mouth was forming the words "I'm so sorry!"

Daisy, taken aback by the sheer size and attractiveness of the man in front of her and somewhat irritated with the situation, sat up and began gathering the few books that were within her reach.

"I'm so sorry!" The stranger repeated again. His drawl was unmistakably Southern, causing him to sound somewhat lazy. "Let me help you up!" He quickly thrust his muscular arms out for Daisy to take hold of.

Hesitantly, she obliged. "Thank you," she spoke as she wiped the dirt off the backside of her blue jean shorts before bending down and gathering a handful of her books. "And it's no big deal. Accidents happen."

"Let me snag those for you." His long arms reached down and hastily picked up the remaining books. He then handed the larger books back to Daisy. "I'm Ryan, by the way."

Daisy, who was double checking that her books were in order, looked up. Ryan wasn't so much taller now that she was standing, but he she still had to look up six inches for her grey eyes to meet his striking blue ones. This time, instead of a worried look, a crooked grin flashed on his chiseled features as he stuck out his right hand. "Daisy," she said as she shook his hand.

"Well, Miss Daisy, I hate to have a hit and run," he briefly chuckled to himself at the joke, "but I gotta hit up the gym for some weight training. I'll be free at six, though, if you want me to buy you dinner and make this up to you."

Daisy held back the laughter threatening to escape her lips as he winked at her. She briefly wondered if his lame jokes and cheesy winks worked with other girls on campus before she replied. "Oh, I can't." She quickly motioned to her pile of books, the perfect props for her lie. "Lots to do…"

Ryan's face didn't falter. "I understand. Well, I'll see you 'round, Daisy."

She watched him turn away as he gave her one last wink and began walking in the direction of the gym. He was safely out of sight when she finally let out a scoff and shook her head before entering the Gator Dining Center in front of her. She had been on her way to meet her roommate, Hannah, for lunch at Moe's before being knocked to the ground by the boyish swimmer.

_____________________________________________

"Do you know anyone named Ryan on the swim team?" Daisy asked her friend as she set her tray on the table.

"Hmm…" Hannah mused for a moment. "The only Ryan I know that swims is Ryan Lochte. Why?"

"I just ran into him. Literally." Daisy picked up a nacho, dipped it in queso, and shoved it in her mouth. "He hit on me."

"Oh, no surprise there. He's a total man whore." Hannah paused to take a bite of her burrito. "Apparently he's got a few Olympic gold medals and thinks he can get into any girl's pants because of them."

Daisy scoffed. "I hate guys that think they're hot shit because they have a few gold medals."

"Oh, yea, totally. Me too." Hannah rolled her eyes before the two burst into laughter. "But you have to admit, he is pretty damn hot."

"Eh, he was decent." Daisy shrugged, fully knowing that she was lying. Ryan was pretty damn hot, but looks weren't everything. She already felt an urge of dislike whenever she thought of him due to him using his Olympian status to hook up with girls. She hated cocky guys, and Ryan Lochte sounded like the epitome of one.

"Ugh, it's already one-fifteen," Hannah groaned after checking her cell phone for the time. "I've got to be in Holmes's class in fifteen, and it's all the way across campus. I guess I'll see you at the apartment tonight." She slung her book bag over her shoulder as she stood up and waved farewell to Daisy and hustled out of the restaurant.

Daisy tucked a strand of dark brown hair that escaped her loose ponytail behind her ear before picking up the stack of books sitting next to her and plopping them on the table in front of her. Thankful for the extra free time before class to study, she shifted through the textbooks looking for her copy of Advanced Biology of Marine Invertebrates. At first, she thought she had skipped or misread a title, but after she ran through the list of books again, she knew it wasn't there. She began to look under the table, under her seat, and in the area surrounding her to see if she had dropped it before she realized where it was: with Ryan Lochte.