Oh, Is It Love?

“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming…” Leila sang into the phone as she picked it up not knowing who it was.
“Hey, that’s what I say when I’m in the middle of a race and I feel like I’m losing, whatcha up to pretty girl?” Nathan Adrian said on the other side.
“Nathan! How lovely to hear from you dear. I am currently in my living room trying to finish this research paper for a professor.”
“Oh that sounds like your busy. Maybe I should call back later?”
“Don’t be silly. I need a distraction anyway.” Leila responded as she let out a giggle.
“So, there’s something I wanted to ask you…” Nathan trailed off.
“Yes?”
“There is a gala in New York for The American Swimmer Awards of Tomorrow or something like that. They’re asking me to present an award, like this is for kids that are in high school and younger. Would you like to be my date?”
“Oh my my. Mr. Adrian has to be a presenter? Don’t you have like a gazillion girls that you can take to this thing?” Leila asked as she stood up from her couch and walked over to the kitchen to make herself some tea.
“Yes, but I want to take you. I’m booked with swim meets every weekend besides the awards show and I thought I would take the opportunity to take you…”
“Well aren’t you just the bee’s knees. Is any other American swimmer going?”
“Soni is going. Phelps, Lochte, and I think that’s it. Oh wait, Allison is going too.”
“Sounds like a party, I’m in.” Leila responded as the tea pot started whistling.
“It’s a date! I’m excited now, to see you. How is school going?”
“It’s going. A bunch of papers that I have to write and you know, teaching the kids as an internship. How is school going with you?” She asked him.
“Good, swimming. You know. Pretty great. Enjoying life.” Nathan replied.
“That’s always fun. I’m very excited as well. It’ll be our little reunion.”
“They are bringing their respective others but that shouldn’t stop us,” Nathan said chuckling.
“Wait, you said gala…that means dresses. If there is something I can’t do, it’s wear a dress..Nathaaaaaan!” Leila whined into the phone.
“Oh hush you, I’m sure you’ll look great. You can wear a paper bag and you will be beautiful in my eyes.”
“You are so cheesy guy. I’ll see what I can do.” Leila giggled as she put the tea and then poured her mug with hot water.
“Thank you ma’am. The gala is next weekend. Think you can make it?”
“Why yes. Where is this gala at?”
“It’s in New York!”
“Oh my, that is exciting. I haven’t been there.” Leila gushed as she went over to her couch again.
“It should be fun.” Nathan said.
They continued to talk about all different sorts of things and it felt like they’ve been talking for years. Leila was slowly getting stressed due to the fact that she had to go out and buy a dress. She only had two dresses that she ever wore to anything, one black and one navy blue. They worked for everything; not that they were extremely elegant so she actually had to go out and buy a really nice dress. Oh geez, what was Nathan’s favorite color again? After a while of talking Nathan had to go to practice but he promised that he would pick up Leila at the airport that Friday afternoon. He went ahead and even bought her a plane ticket, all she had to do was print it out and go.

As soon as Nathan and her hung up, Leila called her mom.
“Mama. I need your help.”
“What happened?”
“The Nathan guy I told you about, remember him? Well, he asked me to go with him to a gala in New York. Some swimmer awards thing and he has to present. I need to buy a dress for this occasion. You know the blue and the black dress will not do.” Leila said in one breath.
“What now?”
“My friend Nathan has to present an award in the swimming world and he’s asked me to go with him. It’s in New York and I need to find a dress.” Leila said slower and sipping a bit of her tea.
“Oh! We have to go look for a dress…good thing it’s Friday! I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks mom.” Leila said and hung up.
Leila downed her tea and then put her shoes on. Saved her research paper and decided to call Rebecca to confirm that she was going.

“Hello?” Rebecca Soni, Leila’s best friend said as Leila heard her pick up the phone.
“Guess who’s going to the gala next weekend?”
“Oh my goodness! No way! Nathan asked you I’m guessing?”
“Indeed! I’m so excited, we get to see each other without actually meaning to!”
“We should make Friday night a girl’s night and then on Saturday, just pamper ourselves for the event. Yay! Allison will be so thrilled.”
“I have to go shopping with mom to find a dress…you know I don’t do well with dresses.”
“I’m sure you’ll make Michael go crazy.”
“Michael?”
“Did I say Michael? I meant Nathan…”
“Is there something you need to say?”
“I’ll tell you next week..”
“Okay. Isn’t Michael still with his arm candy anyway?”
“No comments here. Anyways. Thanks for calling, I have to go practice. I’ll see you next week darling!”
“Bye love.” Leila replied to her best friend and she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
They both hung up and Leila quickly brushed her teeth when she heard a car horn. Quickly, she grabbed her things and went out the door, locked her house and went into her mom’s car.

“You ready?” Rosa asked her daughter.
“As I’ll ever be.”

***
Leila didn’t think that she would be able to find a dress that fast with her mom. It was the perfect thing for this kind of occasion. The only thing Leila could think of was that it had her name written all over it. The dress was her. She smiled to herself as she calmed herself down before the plane was going to take off. Nathan had called her to encourage her that everything was going to be okay. Her eyes were closed as she was trying to think of happy things until the turbulence was over. Much to her surprise, Leila Costa fell asleep as the turbulence was happening. The plane ride was just an hour and twenty minutes or something like that so she had a good nap when that was going on. She was in such a deep sleep that she didn’t even have time to dream anything; must be all the nights she’s been working or something. Grading papers take their toll and she needed a break.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to New York City, the pilot would like to thank you for traveling with Continental Airlines. We hope you enjoy your stay here in New York.” The flight attendant spoke as Leila rubbed her eyes, grabbed her only bag and went out of the terminal to see if she could find Nathan Adrian.

Dragging her feet out of the terminal she was looking around for a really tall person when she spotted his brown chocolate eyes. Her mouth crept upwards into a dashing smile as she made her way towards him. He returned the smile and walked towards her as well.
“Well well well, if it isn’t Nathan Adrian?” Leila said as she giggled, put her bag down and waited for him to pick her up.
“Oh my my. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes Leila Costa. I have missed you so much pretty girl.” Nathan said as he squatted down a little before wrapping his arms around Leila’s waist.
“I’ve missed you too you handsome man you.” Leila replied while she giggled when he put her down.
“How was the flight?”
“It actually wasn’t that bad, I fell asleep, the nap was actually nice. How long have you been here Nate?” The Brazilian asked the swimmer.
“Oh, not long. My flight landed twenty minutes ago, so not long at all.”
“Awww, you didn’t have to wait for me Nate.” Leila flashed him another smile.
Nathan grabbed Leila’s duffel bag and flung it over his shoulder as he rolled his suitcase by the handle.
“Is everybody here yet? What are we doing now? Oh shoot! I need to practice…” Leila said in a huff.
“Not everybody is here yet, we are going to the hotel so you can see who you’re roommate is, and practice?”
“Yeah, for my hip hop club thing. We have an event in two weeks and I have to practice our dance…which reminds me. You want to be of help? We’re doing sort of like a lap dance kind of thing but not really.”
“A lap dance from an exotic little thing like you? Yes ma’am!” Nathan said excitedly.
“Sweet. Can we do that when we get back to the hotel? I have to practice at least an hour and a half. And I have to get the moves down really well..” Leila told Nathan.
“Sure thing. We need a taxi,” Nathan said as they headed out the sliding doors and he called a taxi so they could go to the hotel.
“Every time I see you, you just get prettier and prettier.” Nathan said while opening the door for Leila as she slid inside.
“Oh stop.” Leila said waving her hand to dismiss him.
“I’m just saying the truth.” Nathan said chuckling.
“Yeah. Okay. What hotel are we staying at?”
“The Hilton. The award ceremony is in The Plaza, which is this really fancy hotel.”
“The Hilton is exciting. This will be a good weekend.” Leila said.
“Yes ma’am, it should be.” Nathan flashed her a smile.

Once they reached their hotel, Leila and Nathan both split the taxi fare as they got out of the car and made their way inside. Leila waited for Nathan to get his key since her roommate was already in her room then she didn’t need to get another one since her roommate probably has both keys. Once Nathan got his keys he led Leila to the elevator. Nathan was on the sixth floor while Leila was on the eighth. Once they reached his floor, Leila let Nathan know that she was a big girl and she could find her room. Leila then told him that she would call him when she was heading to practice.

The Brazilian reached her floor and made her way to her room and knocked. No answer. She knocked again. This time she heard the lock click and the door opened to reveal a smiling Allison Schmidt.
“Allison!” Leila said while dropping her duffel bag and hugging her friend.
“Oh Leila! As soon as I heard that you were coming on this trip I claimed you as my roommate. Soni has nothing on this, and besides, Ricky is rooming with her if you get want I mean.” Allison winked.
“Oh my. I do know what you mean. Who did you bring as your date for this thing? Is everybody presenting?”
“No, Nathan, Michael, and Rebecca are presenting. I’m actually Michael’s date…Megan is too busy doing a modeling shoot or something or other.” Allison smiled.
“Why is that good?”
“Oh…just wait. He has some news to tell you.. or something. I’m not saying anything.” Allison said as Leila went into their room and dropped her bag on the bed while looking for her workout clothes so she could practice her dance. Once finding her sweats and her big t-shirt she changed while Allison was using the bathroom, “hey! I’m going to practice my dance routine, I’m sure there is a room available here as to where I can practice, Nathan is coming with, feel free if you want to join although I don’t think you want to see me dance or whatever. I’ll be back in two hours or so. When that happens, Rebecca you and I will have a girly night and things. Cool?”
“Sounds like a blasty blast. Michael is coming over and we are going out to find him a suit…I swear boys leave everything at the last minute.” Allison replied walking out of the bathroom.
“They get it easy though…they can just wear a black suit and be fine…I had to find a dress…do you know how hard it is for me to wear dresses?” Leila asked her friend.
“Agreed! Stupid boys and their stupid easy dressing with their simple clothes. Have fun dancing while Nathan watches.” Allison winked at Leila as they both walked out the door.
“Speaking of which,” Leila said as she took out her cellphone and dialed Nathan’s number.

“Yes?” Nathan said.
“So I’m headed to practice right now if you want to meet in the lobby.” Leila replied.
“Okay. I will meet you there beautiful.” Nathan said and they both hung up the phone.

Both Allison and Leila made their way to the elevator, “so are all swimmers staying in this hotel?”
“We are, we decided to be cheapos instead of staying at the plaza.” Allison laughed.
Once the elevator reached the lobby, they both walked out and Leila didn’t even see Michael, not that she minded…she hasn’t seen him since the night they had dinner at her parents’ house. They had talked on a phone a few times, it’s just that both of their schedules were a bit hectic with Michael going to a lot of charity events and Leila with all her work for her master’s and research papers going out the wazoo. Leila looked around and couldn’t find Nathan when Allison waved goodbye and left her in the lobby. The Brazilian looked around the lobby and thought it was best to know where the room was to practice so she went to the receptionist.
“Is there a dance room around here somewhere?” Leila asked nicely.
“Yes. There is a room next to the restaurant that is not of use right now and it won’t be until tomorrow. Feel free to use it to your advantage.” The receptionist lady replied with a warm smile.
“Thank you so much.” Leila returned the smile and turned around finding Nathan walking out of the elevator.
She walked up to him and gave him another hug while leading him to the dance room.
“You know, this is very exciting, seeing you dance. I mean I’m sure you’re a kickass teacher, but from what Rebecca has told me, you are a very good dancer.” Nathan shot her a smile.
“Well wait until you see it and then let me know if you like it silly man! Now sit down on this chair here while I go set up the track and stuff.”
The room was pretty big, with a mirror in the front and the dance bar. Nathan was sitting down in the middle of the room while Leila hooked up her Ipod to the speaker and found the track. It was a mix of Empire State of Mind by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, to follow it was Look At Me Now by Chris Brown and the final song was Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. She found the track that her really good friend who happened to be the one that made the tracks and pressed play. It was a couple of seconds before the mix actually started so she was able to go to the middle of the room and stand in front of Nathan. Nathan sat there looking bemused Leila thought. She was about to shake up Nathan’s world.
The song began and she began to dance. Leila’s moves went really well with the music, it was the moves that she was taught. Her moves flowed and she could actually pull off the baggy sweatpants and the big t-shirt really well; she never thought that she could look sexy in that until a couple of years ago when they did a dance for a fraternity and all the boys were hollering at her and her dance group.

Leila continued to dance and do the moves that she was taught, and now it switched to Look At Me Now; these moves were a bit more stiff and robotic she made her way to Nathan by walking ahead a little bit every time. Swinging her legs around the beat turned into Super Bass, it will be going from the beginning to the bridge in no time, which means that Leila has to go from the middle all the way to Nathan’s chair in less than ten seconds. She walked a head a little bit and was able to do what the dancers did in the music video when the bridge hit. It was the exact dance from the music video; the girl that choreographed the moves thought it was nice to do this for the boys because they have supported them so much. That is a very generous thank you.

When her leg swung across Nathan’s, Nathan’s immediate reaction was to put his hand on the back of her waist as she body rolled and then shook her butt, once the bridge was over, she got off him and began her dance again. Leila could feel the temperature of the room begin to rise up as she felt some sweat forming on her forehead. The routine ended.

She was panting a bit and then she asked, “so? What did you think of it?”
“That was amazing. I never knew that big sweats and a big t-shirt could look so sexy before.”
“Thanks! I still need to work on a few moves, but we’ve been practicing for a while so we could get the gist of it. You don’t think the lap dance is a bit much do you?”
“Not at all. It’s actually not that much of a lap dance, but I will take it!” Nathan laughed.
“You are just so silly.” Leila responded as she checked to see if anybody had called her or anything.

She saw a missed called from Michael so she decided to call him back while Nathan was checking his own messages as well, “hello?” The Olympian said.
“You rang?”
“Yes, Allison and I are finished, what are you guys doing?”
“I was just showing Nathan my dance that I have to practice for next weekend.”
“Oh, do you think all four of us can do something now? I’m sure the dance is great and you’re just a natural at it.” Michael said laughing.
“You don’t know that…you’ve never seen me dance…” Leila said giggling.

“Hey Nate, they want to hang out with us, do we want to hang out with them?”
“Yes. We should go to dinner,” Nathan replied.
“Where do we want to go to dinner Michael?” It was after all around 7 p.m. Leila wasn’t used to the time.
“We want to go to get the traditional New York pizza, how does that sound?”
“That sounds delicious. Where shall we meet?” Leila asked as she went to retrieve her Ipod and put it in her pocket along with her wallet and other belongings.
“In front of the hotel, we’re here already.” Michael replied. They hung up.

Nathan and Leila made their way out and crossed the lobby, she didn’t seem to care that she was wearing really baggy clothes. For some reason, knowing that Michael Phelps was some feet away from her made her stomach turn into knots. This was going to be an interesting weekend Leila thought.

Once she saw those chocolate brown eyes that belonged to the most decorated Olympian of all time it seemed as if the world had paused. This happens every time.

Every single time, Leila softly smiled as they both looked at each other. He gave her a soft smile that would weaken any girl at the knees but it only made Leila’s cheeks burn scarlet.
“Hello,” Michael said.
“Hi.” Leila replied.
Nathan and Allison were chit chatting about upcoming swim meets and whatnot.
“How are you?” Michael said, he was wearing a play white t-shirt with some jeans and a Bob Marley cap.
“I’m good, tired. You?”
“I’m famished, let’s go get this pizza.” He replied.
“Right-o golden boy.” Leila said. She laughed while all four of them went into any restaurant close by the hotel.
“So, are we feeling pepperoni or cheese?” Nathan asked as they went inside.
“I’m feeling Hawaiian.” Leila laughed. Allison went with cheese while Michael got an entire pizza for himself and got another for Nathan, Allison and Leila. Nathan wanted pepperoni and Michael got a plain cheese as well.
“Someone is very hungry.” Leila said as they sat down and waited for their order.
“I told you.” Michael said.
“Do not mess with him when it comes to food. He can eat food for an entire month in a week…it’s actually kind of scary.” Allison said.
Leila laughed and Nathan had to pick up a call, it was his mom.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Allison said as she winked slightly towards Leila.
“So, how are things with your arm candy?” Leila asked as she sipped her water.
“I wouldn’t know, I don’t have an arm candy anymore,” Michael had a twinkle in his eye.
“You guys broke up?” Leila asked surprised.
“Yeah, it was mutual…”
“Oh, that sucks I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” He said as he looked at the Brazilian.
“Any break up sucks Michael, you have to admit.”
“Yeah, but it’s over now.” Michael replied.
“It was nice of you to bring Allison as your date.”
“She’s like my sister, one of my closest friends.”
“That’s nice. I’m excited to see you present tomorrow.” Leila said while giggling.
“That should be fun.” Michael responded.

It should be fun.