"One of the most decorated NCAA college swimmer and Olympian, Casper Ambrose joins us live on Sports Center." Josiah Lyle, the ESPN reporter speaks. "It's been too long Casper, it's good to have you back in the studio with us."

"It has," Josiah replies. "I'm glad that I got the chance to come back, thank you for having me."

"Today we have the long-awaited match up that kicks off the NCAA swimming season, BGU versus OHSU." Josiah pauses. "We've been talking about it for weeks now after the schedule was released. After last seasons disappointing performance from BGU in the finals, what do you expect to see from our two best swimmers of the league?"

"I expect nothing but high-quality level competition from these two guys, after last season's loss at the finals I think that BGU is looking for redemption and from what I've heard from Coach Jennings they are ready to take back what's theirs." Damn, right we are. "OHSU will not make it easy for them though, they are coming back to prove that they deserve to be called champions."

"I couldn't agree more Casper," Josiah agrees. "Even though it was clear that OHSU deserved that win last season, many critics were saying that they had just gotten lucky."

Casper chuckles. "I wouldn't call it luck though, nobody was expecting BGU to lose, especially in that mixed relay race. But OHSU showed up. They showed that they were the better team or else they wouldn't have a trophy sitting in their trophy case."

"BGU versus OHSU, who do you got for tonight's matchup?" Josiah asks Casper.

"I'm putting my money on BGU at least for tonight, it will be a close one though, that's for sure." Casper answers. Just for tonight? It's clear that no one believes we have what it takes anymore. We'll prove them wrong. They'll just have to wait and see.

"Will BGU redeem themselves tonight or will OHSU show once again that they are the better team?" Josiah asks. "You can watch the broadcast live on ESPN or tune in after the match up for some exclusive highlights and interviews. This is Josiah Lyle for ESPN."

I grabbed the remote from the coffee table and I turned off the TV. Watching these segments only pissed me off but I needed extra motivation for tonight's meet. We were all tired of all the shit they have been talking about our team and after the stunt, they pulled accusing me of using steroids, we were ready to shut them all up.

"Bro, have you seen my swimming briefs?" Becker asks as he comes down the stairs with O'Connor. "I could've sworn I had left them in the dryer."

"Have you checked Dant's room?" I ask. "He always gets yours mixed up with his. And I suggest you hurry up and find them, we're leaving for OHSU in an hour."

Becker disappears back upstairs and O'Connor plops down on the couch next to me. "Were you watching ESPN again?"

I nod. "They were making their predictions for tonight's meet. It's the same shit though, nothing new."

"Don't stress," O'Connor says. "Let them talk."

"I'm not stressing," I reply. "I'm just eager to show up at OHSU, looking forward to what Lawrence has to say."

"You're not the only one, he's been trash-talking all summer over social media, let's see if he has the balls to talk trash to our faces." O'Connor pauses. "Things are easier said when you hide behind a screen."

"He likes the attention, let him enjoy it while it lasts," I say, and my phone buzzes. It was a text message from Inez. I quickly replied before turning back my attention to my best friend.

"You had an eventful last two days," O'Connor says. I knew he was going to bring it up sooner or later. "I never thought I would see the day when you finally decided to settle down. We had a good run though. What are you going to do about Inez?"

"You are making it sound like I'm getting married O'Conner, don't be dramatic. We're just seeing where this goes." I pause. "And nothing is going to happen with Inez, we both agreed that it was something casual. We're done."

"I didn't say otherwise Connery," O'Connor defends himself. "I just feel like you're going to go back to her at the first sign of trouble. Relationships aren't your thing and you can't pretend to be something that you're not."

"I won't," I assure him. "And I'm not pretending, I like Ev. I want to give it a shot, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," O'Connor replies. "She's just a great girl Connery and you will fuck her up if you screw up. She deserves better than that. All I'm telling you is to make sure you're really in for it."

"I am, I wouldn't play her like that." I may be somewhat of what girls call a fuck boy but I would never put Everest through something like that.

"Good," O'Connor says standing up from the couch. "And you told me she wasn't your type, look at you now. That aged well." I laugh at O'Connor's comment.

After making sure we all had everything we headed to the pavilion, the bus was leaving in half an hour so we needed to make sure that we were there on time. With the mood that Coach has been in all this past week, he wouldn't think twice about leaving someone behind. And since Everest was known for being late, I made sure to text and remind her to be on time.

She was working at the firm this morning and she has been under a lot of pressure with the case she has been working on with her boss. I'm not allowed to know, which sucks because from what she has been allowed to tell me it's pretty cool what she does. Ev has made me binge-watch way too many episodes of Suits lately so I've grown to like it and from what I've seen so far it's pretty interesting.

When we got to the pavilion I searched for Ev's car but it was nowhere to be seen. Everyone on the team was already lined up outside the bus. Where could she be? The last time I texted her, she was on her way out.

"Connery, have you seen Everest?" Regan asks as she comes up to me. "Coach said we're leaving in ten, apparently they're doing construction work on one of the roads and we have to leave earlier than what we had planned."

"She said she was on her way, but I'll try her again," I tell Regan and she nods.

As I got on the bus I texted Ev. Where are you? We're leaving in ten. No answer.

Soon enough slowly but surely everyone began to fill up the bus and Ev still wasn't here. The last person to get on the bus was Coach Jennings. "I believe we are all ready to go, is there anyone left that is still not here?"

"Everest is the only one that's missing Coach," Dant says and by the look on Coach's face, you could tell that he was anything but pleased with Dant's response.

"Where the hell is she?" Coach asks annoyed. "I told everyone to be here on time."

Before Coach could go on with his rant Everest popped up. "I'm here."

"Mrs. Green, on time like always," Coach says sarcastically and Ev gives him an awkward smile.

She walks through the aisle and once she spots me, she heads in my direction and sits in the empty seat next to me. "Coach was about to rain hell on you for not being on time."

"I was on time," Everest complains to Dant. "He said eleven, it's ten forty-five. You guys were just early."

I laugh at Ev's comment. "Hey, a little heads up would've been nice." She tells me.

"I did give you a heads up," I defend. "I texted you, multiple times to be exact. You, señorita, on the other hand, did not reply."

"True, my heads not in the right space today." Ev admits. "And I love to hear it, but we need to work on your pronunciation. It's pronounced señorita, not senorrita."

I chuckle, Ev has also been trying to teach me a little bit of Spanish but I've been failing miserably. She enjoys it though, the times she breaks out in laughter are too many to count.

.

The ride to OHSU was a long and tiring one. Sitting on a bus for three hours wasn't at all comfortable especially when the girl sitting next to you treats you like a giant pillow. We had the chance to warm up properly and get our heads in the game before the meet though. With Coach's speech and Tanner reading ESPN'S reports of last year's embarrassing loss we were all fired up.

OHSU's pavilion was also fired up, you could barely hear yourself talking with all of the noise that they were making. The girls were up first, they didn't do as good as we had predicted they would be. Ev did great though, she came in second place in her first two events and she placed first in her last one. That's my girl, she did learn from the best. When it was our turn we did even better, the guys placed first in all of their events and so did I. The only event left was the most anticipated one of the season opener, the Men's 4x100 m Medley.

The backstroke style was first which meant Dant was swimming first. The first whistle was blown which meant that the swimmers had to get in the water. After a few seconds after they jumped they were back up at the surfaced. With their hands on the bar of the starting block, they positioned themselves for when the final whistle blew.

We were all focused on the sound of the whistle and before we knew it, the whistle had blown. Dant grabbed an early lead which gave us an advantage but it didn't matter if he didn't manage to stay in the lead. OHSU swimmers were fast and if you get too comfortable they will pass you by. Dant flipped at the end of the first 25 meters and he kicked quickly. Every stroke and flutter kick gave him more of an advantage.

In a matter of seconds, Dant reached the end of the 50 meters and Becker was in the water. Dant managed to build a steady lead for us but Murphy was one of the fastest fly swimmers in the league. Even with our lead, he managed to catch up to Becker by the end of the first 25 meters. Soon enough both of them reached the end of the 50 meters and O'Connor was in the water. OHSU was in the lead, their freestyle swimmer was half a body in the lead over O'Connor.

I stepped up on the block getting in position to jump, I was focused on O'Connor when Lawrence's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey, Connery! Take the embarrassing loss you're about to take as an early Christmas present from us to you."

Lawrence begins to laugh, if looks could only kill homeboy would've already dropped dead in the water. I ignored Lawrence's comment and I focused back on O'Connor who was seconds away from reaching the end of the 50 meters. In a blink of an eye, I found myself in the water. O'Connor had managed to catch up which meant that Lawrence and I hit the pool at the same time.

I knew I had him on my tail and I also knew he was closing in on me so by the end of the first 25 meters I gave it all I had left in my tank. With every kick and arm stroke, I could see the wall closer each time and in a matter of seconds, I reached the end. When I looked up, the pavilion was silent and that could only mean one thing.

When I looked at the board to check my time, first place. Fuck yeah! I looked over at a very pissed Lawrence. That's what you get for being a cocky and arrogant ass. "Hey Lawrence, Merry fucking Christmas!" And with that, I got out of the pool.

The whole team was shouting and celebrating, the crowd on the other hand was in complete utter shock. My friends began to celebrate with me. We fucking did it. I bet they weren't expecting their team to blow it tonight. Ev had a big smile plastered across her face as she waited for me to walk up to her. "You were amazing out there, I almost had a heart attack because of you."

I chuckle. "Did you think I was going to let Lawrence get away with it?"

"No, I didn't doubt you for a second." Ev replies. "But you have to admit it was a close one."

"Hey Connery," O'Connor interrupts. "The reporters of ESPN are looking for you. They want to steal you for a quick interview."

"Go ahead," Ev pauses. "I'll meet you in the parking lot, I have to go change anyways."

I smile and I walk away with O'Connor towards the reporters. "Connery, a great win tonight." Kenny the cameraman congratulates.

"Thank you man," I say. "I appreciate it."

"Josiah is in the studio waiting to talk to you." Kenny pauses. "You can go ahead and put on the headphones. Once you have them on, you should be able to hear him."

I nod and I put on the black headphones Kenny handed me. In a few seconds, I was able to hear Josiah. "Connery, thank you for taking the time to be with us tonight. Congratulations on that meet man, how does it feel to go back home with the win?"

"It feels amazing, we were able to show off all of the hard work we've been putting in these past few weeks. After last years loss in the finals, a lot of people counted us out, tonight we were able to show what we're capable of doing as a team. And this is just the beginning."

"You guys did, you didn't come to play and it definitely showed." Damn right we didn't. "What was going through your mind during those last 25 meters? You went in the water with a disadvantage, what gave you the strength to give it your all?"

"I can hardly remember Josiah, I was just focused on getting to the finish line." Josiah chuckles. "And I would have to say that it had to be my teammates, they give me the strength I need every single day to keep moving forward. I work hard to make my teammates, my coaches, and BGU proud."

Josiah nods. "What can we expect from BGU moving forward?"

"You can expect more from what you saw tonight," I reply. "This season is all about chasing that gold and take back what was ours, to begin with."

"We will be looking forward to watching you guys closely this season." Josiah pauses. "BGU on a path for redemption, will they be able to chase that gold and take back the crown? This was Josiah Lyle with Matthew Connery for ESPN."

Once Kenny gave me the cue that I could take off my headphones I did and I handed them back to him. "Thank you for having me Kenny, it's always a pleasure, I'll see you on the next one."

Kenny nods and I walked away heading towards the locker room to change. Most of the guys from the team were already changed and waiting for everyone outside in the parking lot near the bus. I was exhausted, so I was eager to get on that bus and use Ev as a human pillow for a change. The drive back home was going to be a long one.

I quickly showered in the locker room and I changed into my BGU swim hoodie and a pair of grey sweatpants with my slides. After I got dressed, I made sure I didn't leave anything behind and I walked out of OHSU's pavilion. I spotted Ev a bit far from where everyone was, she was talking on the phone. I'm not one to eavesdrop, but I still walked up to her. She looked a little bit tense. As I walked towards her, I couldn't help but overhear.

"Peyton, I don't know what to do." Ev says in a frustrated tone. "I know I can't keep putting it off, I have to tell Connery the truth."

I instantly got confused. What truth was she talking about? "What is it that you have to tell me?"

A/N

hey guys! I'm happy to be back and finally share this update with you guys. It has been such a hard week but I'm glad that I got to get a break and spend time with my family.

In regards to the book, shit is about to go down. Are you guys ready for it? I know I am and I can't wait to keep sharing this story with you guys. Thank you for all of your never-ending support and for being patient with me as well. I will see you on the next one.