I slid my BGU orange cap on making sure it was placed correctly. I grabbed my Navy and Orange Vanquisher EV Mirrored Goggles from the front pocket of my Nike windbreaker and I put them on. Just in case, I made sure to adjust the straps, you can never be too sure.

Your goggles sliding off once you jump into the water can impact your performance in a meet and not in the best way. Once I made sure everything was in place, I took off my jacket and placed it in the plastic box in front of the white chair where I was sitting. I stretched my body and moved my arms around as I waited for the signal that indicated to us that we could step on the block.

The signal was given. I stepped on the block, positioning my legs to form a 90-degree knee bend. I took my time positioning my legs and I took deep breathes in between. Bending at the waist, I gripped the block with my fingers curling over the front edge. My elbows were rotated backward (towards my feet). Once I was correctly positioned I focused on the sound of the whistle, as I waited impatiently for it to blow. I could feel my heart beating faster each time and the adrenaline was rushing in. 

The first whistle blew. It was game time. The second whistle blew. My reaction to the whistle was quick which gave me a whole body advantage over my opponent. Despite my clear advantage, I knew I had him on my tail which meant that as I began to see the wall at the end of the first 25 meters, he would be closing in. As I got closer to the wall I focused on the quick flip at the wall. Aside from the starting jump, the flip at the end of the 25 meters was key to the outcome of the meet. In other words, it could make or break your meet.

Once I reached the end of the 25 meters, I flipped and quickly pushed my body off of the wall. At this moment, I gave it all I had left in my tank with every kick and arm stroke. My opponent was close, but I was confident that I had this meet in the bag. The sound of the screams and cheers from the crowd filled my ears every time I went up for air. Every time I went up, I could see the wall closer each time. I gave it all I got, even though I had a whole body advantage over my opponent.

Getting too confident can also turn out to work against your favor, Coach always told us that it didn't matter if our opponent was flipping off of the wall and you were already halfway through your last 25 meters. You should always give it your all, whatever is left in the tank. In a matter of seconds, I reached the end with my hands touching the wall. When I looked up, the pavilion was silent. When I looked at the board to check my time, first place. Fuck yeah!  We were moving on to the next round.

The whole team was shouting and celebrating, as I got out of the pool. And standing next to the rest of the team with a big smile plastered across her face was Ev, waiting for me to walk up to her as my teammates congratulated me on the meet. "Precioso, you were amazing out there, I can't wait to see you conquer Tokyo next year."

I smile as I plant a kiss on her pink-tinted lips and engulf her in a hug. "I was, wasn't I? The job's not done though. This is only just the beginning. And I can't wait for Tokyo either, I'll be shocking a lot of people. Also, with you there with me, what else could I ever ask for?"

Ev smiles. "We're on our way, the gold is coming back home with us."

"Hey Connery, I'm sorry to interrupt." Coach Jennings interrupts. "The reporters of ESPN are looking for you. They want to steal you for a quick interview."

"Go ahead," Ev smiles. "I'll meet you in the parking lot, I have to go change anyways. Aunt Claire is waiting for me to call her, she's with my grandparents at the house. They had a little viewing party since they couldn't make it down here today."

"Perfect, after I'm done with the interview I'll take a quick shower and I will meet you at the parking lot with the rest of the team." I peck Ev's lips. "Tell them I said hi if I don't make it back before you hang up."

Ev nods."I'll let them know."

I smiled and glanced at Ev one more time before I walked away with Coach Jennings towards the media station where the reporters were standing. "Connery, another great win tonight." Kenny the cameraman congratulates.

"Thank you man," I grin as I shake Kenny's hand. "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 clearly."

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 first win of the road to the Championship?"

"It feels amazing, once again we were able to show off all of the hard work we've been putting in the entire season. A lot of people have been counting us out since the season started, we've been working endlessly day and night to keep on improving and continue to show why we were once called champions. Tonight we showed what we're still capable of doing as a team, three years later."

"You guys certainly did, it showed during tonight's performance." Damn, right we did. "What was going through your mind as you prepared to step on the block? Even with a clear advantage over your opponent, you could see that you were giving it all as if you were at a disadvantage."

"I'm just glad that everyone gets to see what I see every time we go in to work at the pavilion every day back at BGU. This team is special, it has always been, since day one. We work hard to reach the goal we have for each season. Tonight showed that sometimes you can have the ability and the talent, but none of that helps you reach your end goal if you don't put in the work." Josiah nods in agreement. "And I don't exactly remember. Just like every meet, I focus on the goal as soon as I set foot at the pavilion. I block everything out and I mentally prepare myself for what's about to come."

"This team is special Connery, you showed it since night one when this season started." Josiah pauses. "What can we expect from BGU as you guys move on to the next round?"

"You can expect more from what you saw tonight, that's for sure," I reply confidently. "But I can assure you that our job is not done Josiah, our goal is to bring back home the gold. Today was just a small step in that direction."

"Will there be any celebrations taking place once you guys go back to your hotel Connery?" Josiah asks and I shake my head.

"You won't find us celebrating tonight Josiah. We're going back to our hotel to rest and then it's back to work on Monday." I reply and Josiah nods. "As I said previously, the job's not finished. You can ask me again once the trophy is on its way to sit on the shelves of the BGU pavilion."

"We will be looking forward to watching you guys as you progress through each round." Josiah smiles. "BGU is on their path to take back what was once theirs. As they move on to the next round, will they be able to finish the job? 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."

"Take care Connery and once again congratulations on the win." I smiled at Kenny and I walked away heading towards the locker room to change. Most of the guys were already changed and waiting for everyone outside in the parking lot near the bus with the rest of the team.

We were supposed to go back to the hotel and stay in our respective rooms resting for tomorrow's early flight but I had other plans. Coach Jennings owed me a small favor and I asked him for permission to take Ev on a special date that I've been planning with Peyton and a little help from Ev's Aunt, Aunt Claire. I was planning for it to be back at Bowling but since I learned that our meet for the first round was going to be in Arizona I knew it had to be here. Here, back at home, in her favorite place. 

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. And it's something that doesn't usually happen. I've gone out with Ev on many occasions but tonight was going to be different. To tell you a little more in detail about my plans for tonight, our first stop is going to be a restaurant called House of Tricks here in Tempe. And if you're wondering why I decided on that restaurant, in particular, is because it's the restaurant where Ev's parents had their first date.

I know how much Ev misses her parents and has always felt like she's missing a piece of herself since they are no longer here. Especially since she barely remembers them. All the stories she knows are from what Aunt Claire told her growing up. So I thought that bringing her to the place where her parents had their first date would be perfect. Aunt Claire also sent me a picture of Ev's parents she found in a vault in her house so when I share the special detail with Ev, I have the picture to show her as well.

Our second stop would be the Carlson Creek Vineyard in Scottsdale. Ev is obsessed with drinking wine, she loves them so much she has a secret stash in her closet. So taking Ev wine tasting was only fitting for tonight's date as well. For dessert, I would be taking Ev to Paris Rendez-vous. It's a cute little french pastry place in Phoenix. One of the many places that are on Ev's travel bucket list is Paris, it's in the top three on her list. I couldn't book a flight to Paris (I will be taking her one day though) so Paris Rendez-vous was the closest thing to it.

After that, I was going to take Ev through a quiet romantic walk through Civic Center Park where you could see the Her Secret is Patience art installation. I was planning on asking her to make things official between us, we've been taking things slow and trying to build up back what we broke. It's been great and I want to keep on going until we can trust each other fully together. Finally, to end the night, I was going to drive her to her grandparent's house so she could see her family even if it was for a few minutes before we went back to the hotel.

I know Ev was bummed out when her family couldn't make it to today's meet so I wanted to take her. Grandpa Willy hasn't been feeling well lately and it's got Ev a little worried too. Getting to see him even if it was for a few minutes would make her happy, so I wanted to give her the chance to see her family before we flew back to Bowling tomorrow morning.

I took a quick shower and I changed into the only decent pair of clothes I had in my bag. A pair of sweatpants and my BGU hoodie. I would've dressed up from the get-go but I wanted to break the surprise to Ev once we were back in the hotel. Since it was a surprise, Peyton sneaked a special outfit in Ev's suitcase. When we arrived at the hotel we didn't have that much time to unpack before we headed to the ASU pavilion so since Ev hasn't mentioned anything yet, I'm guessing that she hasn't seen the dress.

Once I was dressed and ready to go, I grabbed my things and I walked out of the pavilion. Almost everyone was inside of the bus, but Ev was waiting for me outside whilst she talked with her family on her phone. When she noticed me walking towards her a smile instantly curved on her pink tainted lips.

"Here he is," Ev smiles as she pulls me closer to her. Her family smiled at me as they saw me appear on the frame of the phone screen.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Green," I greeted with a smile. "Hi, Claire."

"Matthew, que bueno verte mi niño." Ev's grandma says. "We saw you swimming tonight, you were spectacular."

I smile at Ev's grandma. "Thank you, Mrs. Green, I'm glad you enjoyed watching us swim tonight. I was good, but did you see your granddaughter? She was amazing."

"She was," Ev's grandpa adds. "My precious little Ev, I knew that meet was yours ever since you jumped into the pool. You have improved so much since we last saw you."

"Well Grandpa Willy, I did have an amazing and talented coach." Ev says as she looks at me and I chuckle.

"We can see that," Claire adds. "Connery, you're going to have to give me a few lessons too. I barely know how to swim properly."

"I would love to teach you, Claire," I reply.

"I'm holding on to that then." Claire smiles. "We will talk to you guys soon, it's getting a little late and you kids need to rest. We'll leave you guys to it."

"I love you guys, I'll talk to you soon." Ev smiles as she waves goodbye at the phone screen.

Ev ended the FaceTime call and we got on the bus. We both sat in the middle row in between the boys. I grabbed both of our bags and I put them in the overhead bin whilst Ev took a seat in the comfortable bus seats. Once I put our bags away, I took a seat next to Ev. She instantly cuddled up to me and I planted a kiss on top of her head.

Today was an exhausting day, with the jet lag and coming off of a meet, Ev had her eyes closed already as everyone finished boarding the bus. I prayed that Ev didn't insist on staying at the hotel, I wanted to downplay the date a little so I wouldn't reveal all the details, but if it came down to it I guess I could tell her some of the details so she could agree to go out in the end.

After everyone got on the bus we headed back to the hotel room. Thankfully it wasn't a long ride, 25 minutes to be exact. When we got back to the hotel, I had to wake Ev up before we got off. With our bags in hand, we were currently on our way to our rooms. "Are you planning to do something with the guys tonight or are you going straight to bed?"

"I had something in mind actually," I reply. "But it doesn't involve the guys."

Ev looks at me confused. "Does it have anything to do with me?"

"Bingo." I grin. "I have something special planned for us tonight, that is if you want to go out. I know you're tired from the flight and the meet."

"No, I'm fine. I would love to go out with you tonight." Ev smiles. "I wish you could've told me before we left Bowling, I didn't bring anything date-worthy with me. All I have are sweatpants and sweatshirts."

"You do have something date-worthy," I tell her and she looks at me even more confused. "I had Peyton sneak in a little something for you. It's somewhere in your suitcase."

Ev's lips curve into a big smile. "You had it all planned out? Baby, that's so sweet of you. I'm excited to find out what it is."

"I think you're going to love it," I say confidently.

"Did you pick out?" Ev asks.

"Maybe," I reply. "I'll meet you in the lobby in an hour?"

"It's nearly not enough time, but I think I can make it." Ev says as we stop at her door. "I'll see you in an hour."

I pecked her lips before she walked into her room and I headed to mine. I usually know what to wear on most occasions but at least for this one, Peyton helped me pick out the outfit too. A black v-neck with a pair of black skinny jeans and black Lacoste leather sneakers. Also, Peyton suggested that the black bomber jacket that was on the mannequin would the last perfect piece for the outfit.

Since I had already showered back at the pavilion, all I had to do was get changed into the clothes that were packed in my suitcase. I knew I would be ready in less than thirty minutes but Ev on the other hand, I knew she would need the whole hour to get ready. I was surprised that she didn't almost kill me for giving her just an hour, usually, she needs a full three hours notice so she has enough time to get ready. I don't really understand it though, it's just brushing your hair and applying a little bit of makeup, right?

After I had gotten dressed and ready to go, I looked at the time. There were still 25 minutes missing to complete the hour. Even though there was still plenty of time left I headed downstairs to wait for Ev in the lobby. The 25 minutes passed quicker than I thought because the hour was completed in no-time.

And there she was, beautiful as ever in her little black dress. Even after all this time she still managed to make me feel as if it were the first time I was seeing her. She was like the first time you ever pick up a book. You read it from cover to cover and yet, when you read it all over again, you find something you missed. Every minute, every second I spent with her felt exactly like that. Each time, I would find something I'd miss before.

A/N

Hey guys! I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day, I sure did with a glass of wine and the many chocolates I bought for myself at the store haha :) I'm so excited for the next chapter, I can't wait for you guys to read it. I hope you enjoyed reading today's update too! ✨

Before I go I want to thank you again for your support, I never thought CG would ever make it this far. And now we're almost at 55k, it's all because
of you, thank you ❤️

I will see you guys in the next one, Paulina.