The IU Natatorium in Indianapolis is an impressive space.

It's our third day sitting down on these bleachers to watch our boys compete at nationals.

Mitch has already won two gold medals and beat the world record in the 100 meters butterfly. A record he set himself two years ago.

Yesterday, Jayden won gold in the 200-meter freestyle and beat his own personal best. It was a beautiful moment like he finally felt redeemed after the Olympics last year.

I might have cried.

Saltz won silver in the 50-meter back crawl.

Davis isn't doing too well, and he's yet to find himself on the podium.

But today is the day we've all been waiting for. The guys will be competing in the men's 4*100-meter medley relay final.

They did really well in the preliminary heat - as Jen told me it's called - and again in the semifinal.

But it's this moment that matters. If they win this final, they'll be national champions. It puts them a little closer to competing at worlds in two years. And the Olympics three years from now.

Though none of them will even voice that possibility, they're afraid of jinxing it.

The final isn't for another hour, and none of the guys are swimming any other discipline today, so I scour the room, trying to find them.

There are so many people here. It's much larger than both sectionals and the Big Ten. I love the energy, and I know Jayden feeds off it too.

Although he's told me that the only person he needs in the stands is me.

I told him he was being corny, but maybe I kinda liked it.

Ollie is tripping beside me. After three days of watching people swim, he's kinda over it. We're here for hours on end, despite Jayden's part being over in a few minutes.

"Let's go find Jay," I tell him, slinging my arm around his shoulder. He's almost as tall as me, and I know that one day he'll tower over me like his brother. I'll be surrounded by giants, despite actually being quite tall myself.

We should acquire ourselves some shorter kids.

Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the idea of us having more kids. But I'm getting ahead of myself; we've only had custody of Ollie for two months.

"I'll come with you," Jen says, getting up from her spot.

She's been here all week, too, supporting the guys, despite her and Davis barely being able to look at each other.

We find them at the other end of the big room, conversing with Kimmy, who'll be swimming her own final in about thirty minutes.

"Hi," I say as I slide in beside Jayden, and he tugs me to his side, kissing my temple.

"Hi, baby," he mumbles into my hair.

"Barf," Kimmy says across the circle, and the others chime in, calling us out on the PDA.

"Your kid is standing right there," Mitch points out, gesturing at Ollie, who's pretending to be disgusted by our signs of affection, even though we're much worse at home.

But since meeting the high-profile athlete, Ollie is suddenly showing a lot more interest in swimming, and apparently, agreeing with Mitch is another form his hero worshiping is taking.

It annoys Jayden to no end.

"Quit being a suck-up, Ol," Jayden mumbles out of the corner of his mouth, sending evil eyes at Ollie, who just rolls his eyes.

"If you want me to be your fan, then maybe you should win an Olympic medal, JJ."

"Okay," I say, grabbing Ollie and pulling him to the other side of me so Jayden can't throttle him. I try not to smile, but I love that Ollie is turning out to have a snarky mouth of his own. I pat Jayden comfortingly on his bicep. "You're very talented."

"Now, who's the suck-up?" Ollie mutters.

I ruffle his hair, grinning despite myself. I catch a hint of humor in Jayden's eyes, and I know he likes our little family dynamic, even though Ollie is turning into more of a teenager day by day.

"So, are you ready?" I ask the group, interrupting the others talking amongst themselves. Jen is casting futile glances at Davis, who's returning them every time she looks away.

"I think so," Saltz says, his voice betraying no nerves, but his movements are skittish, and I'm guessing he feels like he has something to prove to his team today.

"We'll crush it," Mitch says, confidence rolling off him.

"Eh, I've put money on you guys taking bronze," Kimmy interjects, shrugging as all four men turn their eyes on her.

"It's never too late for me to drown you, you know," Jayden says beside me, his eyes narrowed menacingly at her.

"Too many witnesses, Sennels." Kimmy winks at him, and you gotta admire her courage.

"Are you feeling good about your final, Kimmy?" Jen asks, speaking up for the first time.

She smiles, toying with the zipper on her team jacket. "Sure. I have an okay chance."

"Modesty looks weird on you, Byers," Jayden says.

"Yeah, think about how many times you've beaten Sennels the past year, and he just won 200-meter freestyle," Saltz says, smiling wickedly.

I tighten my grasp on Ollie, loving that he gets to be a part of this group that all supports each other so much.

He deserves all the role models he can get, and these people are some of the best, even if they tease each other any chance they get.

"We should go get ready," Davis says, taking a deep breath. His eyes flicker to Jen, but he fixes them ahead like he caught himself.

"Okay, we'll go back to the stands," I say, nodding in the direction of our seats. I turn to Jayden, placing my hand on his chest. "Kick ass," I whisper, pressing my mouth to his.

"Like it was a kiddie pool?" he mumbles against my lips.

I grin, nodding.

"Okay, jeez, break it up," Davis exclaims, making everyone laugh.

I pull Ollie and Jen with me back across the room. When we get there, Ollie says he needs to go to the bathroom. I get the urge to accompany him, but I hold myself back.

Jayden says I'm being a helicopter parent. Who would have thought I would be the overprotective one?

I sit next to Jen, who's fiddling nervously, her body rigid.

"I have news," I tell her.

She turns her head, blinking like she's only just noticing that I'm here. "Um, what's up?"

"I enrolled in the history master's program at U-M next semester," I admit.

"Oh my god!" Jen exclaims, throwing her arms around my neck. I smile, hugging her to me. "I'm so proud of you."

"I haven't even been to any classes yet; chill." But I can't stop smiling.

"We'll finally get to go to the same college." She's basically dancing in her seat. "For a whole year."

Jen graduates next summer. "Yeah, it'll be great."

Jen sits back, and the excitement seems to fall away, and the worried expression is back. I have a feeling what this is about.

"You should go talk to him," I say.

Her head whips to me, brows furrowing. "What are you talking about?"

"Davis. You're clearly thinking about him." I hold up a hand, silencing her before she can object. "Don't you think it's time you made up?"

She purses her lips, looking at the pool to avoid my eyes. "I don't know."

"Jen." I grab her hand, urging her to look at me. "I get it; you guys never got to talk things through because everything got a little crazy right after the fight."

"A little crazy?" she questions, lifting an eyebrow. "You call your best friend getting cancer for the second time 'a little crazy'?"

"Hey, I was there. I know it was scary for you too." I can't really imagine what it must have been like for Jen. I know I would have torn the world apart to keep her safe, so being that helpless for the second time must have been horrible. "I understand why you didn't feel like you could hash things out with Davis right in the middle of that, but I've been in remission for months, Jen. Months."

"Maybe it isn't all about you."

I shrug. "That seems unlikely, but okay. What's holding you back?"

She takes a shaky breath. "What if he can't move past it? What if it really is a dealbreaker?"

"Davis is a reasonable man; I can't imagine that being true." I nudge her with my shoulder. "Besides, I see the way he looks at you. That guy is crazy about you."

"Really?"

That one word betrayed just how much Jen wants this. I nod, but she shakes her head.

"I shouldn't distract him right before their final."

"Jayden says he's been swimming like crap for a while."

Her eyes are suddenly worried. "Really?"

"Maybe he needs this. And if you can't figure everything out today, just tell him you're in."

"What makes you so sure I am?" she asks defiantly.

"I see the way you look at him too. And you forget that I've known you forever; you can't keep secrets from me."

She glances in the direction of the tunnels leading to the changing rooms. Davis is down there somewhere. "You really think I should go?"

"Yeah. Give him a good luck kiss." I smile at the blush spreading on her cheeks as she gets up, hurrying down the rows.

Ollie gets back, dropping into his seat. "Where's Jen going?"

"To fix things," I say, slipping an arm around his shoulders. "To fix things, Ol."

My fingers grip the sleek edge of the start block. The metal cuts into my flesh as I tighten my hold.

Mitch is coming back towards me, his arms moving up over the water simultaneously in a demonstration of brute strength.

I breathe through my nose, trying to calm my unsteady nerves.

Sophie and Ollie are sitting behind me in the stands, so I can't turn and look at her. But I don't need to. Just knowing she's here does the trick.

It's like there's a string between the two of us, and visual or physical confirmation doesn't matter because her energy, her support, her love flows through me.

So I blink, holding my eyes closed for one second, seeing those golden eyes flash before me. When I return my gaze to Mitch in the water, my heartbeat has slowed.

Thanks to consistently good performances from three of us during both the prelims and semifinal, we are in the middle lane.

The one not quite performing his best? Davis.

Until now, that is.

Something shifted in him when we walked out to take our place at the pool. He was both lighter and more serious at the same time.

Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and his focus had been restored.

And then he crushed it in the water. And with both Saltz and Mitch swimming to perfection, we have a nice lead.

In a few seconds, it's my turn. I try to focus on the feeling of the start block against my fingers. Or the coarse material underneath my feet, grounding my body in the moment.

Our position won't matter once I hit that water. I can't focus on that. Being too caught up in the what-ifs and potential consequences of a race is what undid me in Paris last summer.

I can recognize that now. Having Sophie by my side has helped me immensely in the pool, but that's because she makes me realize that there will always be something more important than any race, any medal, any win.

No matter what happens today, she'll love me, and we'll figure it out, and despite this race being almost as important as the Olympics was - because this is my chance to prove to the sponsors that they did right in betting on me, and we'll need my endorsement deals once Sophie goes back to school - I am able to push that thought from my mind and just focus. Just be here.

So when Mitch slams his hands against the edge of the pool and I launche myself towards the water, I'm completely present.

I'm airborne for all of a moment before I pierce the surface, gliding through the water in one long, agile movement.

The strokes and breaths come naturally, the way they have for years. I push myself, focusing solely on pouring every bit of strength into the next stroke.

The turn comes and goes, and then I double down, knowing this is when it matters.

And there's something running through my veins as my lungs contract from the lack of oxygen and exertion combined, something overshadowing the acid in my limbs weighing them down.

Excitement.

A pure sense of joy as I push my body beyond its limit, nothing but me and the water.

I don't remember the last time I enjoyed swimming this much. It's been much more than a year.

I'm loving this moment. Every little bit of it.

This is why I do it.

Not for the fame, or the medals, or the money.

For this feeling. So when I slap my hands against the censor, cutting off our time, I don't know if we've won, and I don't care.

Because I discovered something way more important.

That I love the game. And I want to keep playing.

But when strong arms pull me out of the water, yelling words my brain can't comprehend, I'm pulled back to the present.

It's like earplugs are removed, and suddenly I can hear everything. The celebration around me, from everyone in the stands and mostly the three people practically throwing me to the ground as they squash me in a group hug.

"We won!" Saltz yells into my ear.

The world flips again because, yeah, knowing Sophie will be here no matter what and rediscovering my passion for swimming might be more significant, but I'm human, and I'm a competitive person, so pride and happiness swell in my chest, overshadowing the other revelations.

Fuck yes, we did. We won.

And that feels pretty fucking good too.

We're national champions.

After a couple moments we untangle, remembering all the eyes on us right now.

The medley team everyone was wondering about. Two Olympic medalists, a young talent, and the wildcard, Jayden Sennels.

Nobody knew exactly where they had us until this moment.

I scan the crowd, shortly noticing Benjamin Avery sitting in the stands, nodding his head approvingly at me. Is he wearing a suit in this humid heat?

I shake my head, and then my eyes land on the only thing that really matters.

Sophie and Ollie.

My little family.

And I move, without asking my body to, pushing through the other guys still celebrating, walking past the cameras stuck in my face, my eyes burning into that golden gaze.

Sophie makes her way down the stands, almost tripping over the last step, and I catch her, hugging her to me, even though I'm wet. It doesn't matter.

I press my lips to hers, cradling her head.

It's like the room has emptied around us. No one exists at this moment except the two of us.

Her lips are soft, and it's like she's breathing life back into me. My body, so tired a moment ago, is buzzing with energy now.

I pull back, trapping her eyes with mine, noticing those dimples of hers.

"I love you," I mouth.

Her lips quirk, eyes twinkling. "I guess you're okay."

That's almost better than if she said it back.

Before I can give her shit for it, I'm pulled away.

"You'll have plenty of time to maul Sophie somewhere less public later," Davis says, his arm slung around my shoulder as we head towards our coaches.

Mitch is on my other side, and his mouth is stretched in a big grin. "Nah, Davis, you know what? If I had a girl like Sennels' I would show the whole world too, or at least all of USA swimming."

I jab him in the side, though he technically defended me; the compliment towards Sophie felt sleazy enough to earn him an elbow to the ribs.

"She's mine. Get your own," I warn.

Saltz appears in front of us suddenly, his young face twisted with playful annoyance.

"We literally just became national champions, and you guys fight about girls, really? Get some perspective."

I share a look with the two guys on either side of me, and as we crowd Saltz, ruffling his hair, pinching his cheeks, sandwiching him between the three of us, I laugh heartily.

Because Saltz is too young to know. Swimming is still his whole life.

But I already found my perspective, and she's sitting in the stands beside my younger brother. My two favorite people in the universe.

They're all that matters.

So while Matthews and Lewis congratulate us, reminding us how long we have before the medal ceremony, my eyes flicker, finding them across the room.

Sophie is my beacon, and her presence shines so fucking bright today.

I could win all the races and all the medals, and it would never amount to the joy I feel when she looks at me.

Coach Matthews brings me back to the moment, his expression set in serious lines, despite the affection softening his eyes. "You've been good this year, all of you. You really found each other." He claps a hand on Saltz and Davis' shoulders, standing closest to him. "I know it's been tough."

"It's been brutal," Saltz says, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"It's been challenging," Davis agrees, always the diplomat, but his dark eyes are shining with memories.

"It's been hard," Mitch chimes in, nodding, more serious than I'm used to seeing him.

They all turn their eyes on me, waiting for my assessment. I realize how much depends on what I say now. We did it. We proved that we could, and we all got something out of it.

Mitch got friends to help him settle in when he moved to a new state, knowing no one. He got to prove that he could swim on a team.

Saltz got a great initiation into college sports. A chance to prove that he could compete with the best of them and that he's not just a junior champion.

Davis got three people who counted on him, who helped him remember that swimming was a priority when there were a million other things demanding his attention. He got to show that his silver last year wasn't just a fluke.

And me? The captain? I got a team who believed in me, even when they had no reason to. I got to finally redeem myself after the Olympics.

So yeah, we could stop now. Go out on top and break up the team.

I take a deep breath. "You're right. It's been all of those things. And there's no reason to expect it to become any easier." I shrug, my lips tugging up in a smirk. "But what do you say? Let's take three more years."

I place a hand in between us, raising my eyebrow at them. "To the Olympics?"

They all share a look, wariness giving way to excitement. They slap their hands on top of mine.

"To the Olympics!"

The end. 

A/N:
I'm not crying, you are 😭

What did you think of the last chapter? ➡️

Extended author's note to follow. Thank you so much for reading