I Will Never Let You Go

Milo Hunter loves the summer. It’s not because school was out and he got away from all the people that annoyed and pestered him throughout his school year. It’s not because he can now sleep in and be lazy. It’s not because he can hang out with his friends whenever pleased and there were no school work in the way of that. No, Milo loves the summer because he gets to see the lifeguard that’s in the community pool a few blocks away from his house.

Since Milo was the age of twelve, he’s been going to the community pool just to see the life guard. He’s been admiring him from a distance (in other words, watching his every move) before he was even a lifeguard. Milo only knew that he was two years older than him, so it’s not gross, okay? Milo is now only seventeen years old and the life guard is nineteen.

The thing was, he didn’t know anything about the lifeguard. He only knew how old he was since he asked his friend, Kyle, who is an acquaintance to the lifeguard. He didn’t know his name, his last name, likes, and dislikes, nothing. He wasn’t even sure if he was gay. The only thing he knew was his name, that he was a lifeguard, and is extremely attractive. But that was okay to Milo as long as he got to see him every day for the rest of the season.

“Mom, can we go to the pool today?” he asked—more like shouted—from the top of the stairs in his two-story home.

His eyes met his mother’s, and he only gave her a goofy grin. She noticed her son was already wearing his blue swimming trucks, a clean (at least, that’s what she hoped) grey tank top, and his black worn out TOMS. “I suppose we can since you’re obviously ready to go,” she said, smiling at Milo.

Once she turned her back and returned to the living room to ask Milo’s five year old little sister, Isabelle, if she wanted to accompany them to the walk to the pool, Milo did a little victory dance to himself.
“Yes!” he whispered cheered, bumping his fist up into the air with a little jump.

“Ready sweetheart?” asked his mother ten minutes later, holding Isabelle’s hand and the other with a pink polka dotted bag.

“Definitely!” he said, already by the door.



Milo can’t swim if he had to be honest. He never tried to swim; he didn’t see the point of it really. So when the three arrived at the pool, looking for a spot to set down the bag that contained two towels, a book for the two’s mother to read, and sunscreen, Milo’s mother wondered specifically why her son requested to come to the pool. Sure, she’s been used to her seventeen year old son asking over and over again if they can go, which she always agreed to, but why though.

So when she watched her son sit down on the ledge of the pool, his two bare feet in the pool water and just looking around his surroundings, she sat down beside him, watching Isabelle jump into the pool. “Honey, why aren’t you swimming?”

“Mom, you know I can’t swim,” he mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Sure, not everyone knows how to swim, but he just felt embarrassment since he’s been asking to come to the pool for five years.

“Well, haven’t you thought about learning how to swim?” she suggested. She saw Milo shrug his shoulders out of the corner of her eye, a small frown on his face. “The pool is giving free swimming lessons on the weekends, sweetie. I can just come with you or you can go by yourself if you’d like.”

“I guess…I’ll think about it.”

“Well if you want something, I’m sitting right by the lifeguard, okay? I think sitting by the diving board isn’t the best spot.”

‘Wait, the lifeguard?’ Milo thought. “I think I’ll just sit with you for awhile if you don’t mind, mom.”

She only nodded, giving a small smile at Milo. As they were getting closer to the freshly painted white lifeguard stand, Milo felt anxious. He’s never gotten really close to the lifeguard, let alone the lifeguard stand, before. Milo only watched the lifeguard from afar. With each step getting closer and closer, that edgy feeling continued to grow in the pit of Milo’s stomach.

Finally, he saw him. He was wearing the required red swimming trunks, black sunglasses covering those blue eyes that amazed Milo in so many ways, and was shirtless. The glorious tattoos on his arms and chest were completely exposed, allowing Milo to admire the work of art done. It was like his body was a canvas and the tattoos were the paintings. The lifeguard’s dirty blond hair was now cut short, his hair looking slightly spiked up. Milo liked his previous semi-long hair, but he looked good with short hair too. It was an easier way to see those eyes whenever he takes his sunglasses off. Milo could finally see that the lifeguard got his ears stretched like he wanted (he overheard him talking to his friend, Josh, about wanting to get his ears stretched last summer). His forehead and chest were covered in sweat from the sun’s rays beating down on him, making him look a thousand times hotter in Milo’s eyes.

“Hey Mrs. Hunter, nice seeing you here today!” called out a male voice.

“Oh, hello Andy, how are you?”

“I’m doing good and yourself? Oh, I heard Louie is back in town and staying with you. Can you tell him I said ‘hi’ for me, please?”

“I’m doing quite fine, and I surely will tell him that. You should drop by sometime,” Milo’s mother said, looking up at the person referred to as Andy.

“Maybe I will sometime,” he said with a smile. “Well have a good day Mrs. Hunter.”

“You too, Andy, thank you. Come on, Milo.”

Milo stood clueless next to the lifeguard stand. Did his mom actually kno— “Hey, I like your swimming trunks. I got some like those back home,” said a voice above him with a chuckle. The owner of the voice took off his black sunglasses, looking down at Milo. “You must be Lou’s cousin, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Milo.”

“Well Milo,” he said, a small smile appearing on his face. He let out a hand for Milo to shake, which he obviously shook. For years, Milo wanted to have physical contact with this person, now here he is, shaking his hand and talking to him. “I’m Andy, it’s nice to meet finally meet you.”