Read Online Never Let Go by Scarlett Edwards - Free Book Online

walked in on me naked.
    Andrew steps back and grins. I see him through the dark mesh of the tiger’s open mouth.
    “Stand still,” he says. “Let me take a pic of you. You look freaking hilarious. You make a great tiger.”
    I want to stay. I want to laugh with him and enjoy myself. But by doing so, I would only be setting myself up for disappointment in the future.
    I duck out of the costume while Andrew is reaching for his phone. When he looks up and sees me, he looks confused.
    “I have to go,” I tell him quickly. I avoid his eyes as I set the tiger’s head on top of the box and rush away.
     
    ***
     
    My first two interviews go like crap. I can’t focus after leaving Andrew so awkwardly outside the dorm.
    How can he act as if nothing had changed between us? Everything changed after that conversation in the classroom.
    Maybe I was the one in the wrong. Maybe Andrew was just being friendly this morning. Nothing he did could be taken as openly flirtatious.
    Why, then, did I run off like a spooked squirrel? The warmth I felt when our hands touched was definitely my own fault. It was all in my head. He didn’t do anything to encourage it except, well, just be himself .
    I can’t fault him for that.
    I decide to apologize to him when I see him next. Otherwise, he will probably think I’m a complete freak.
    I open the doors to the building that houses the Olympic swimming pool. If I nail this interview, the day might not be a complete disaster.
    “Here for the job?” a chubby, red-faced older man chuckles from behind the counter when he sees me strolling through the lobby with the application in my hand. “What are your qualifications?”
    “Well, I have my—”
    He cuts me off with a sharp gesture. “Can you swim?”
    I stiffen. “Of course I can swim!”
    “What’s the longest you’ve ever treaded water?”
    “What?” I frown. “What does that have to do with—”
    “What’s. The. Longest?” His voice is flat but his eyes are keen.
    “I did two hours once,” I say, thinking back to a competition I did before I turned thirteen.
    “Hmm. Can you do it again?”
    “Yes, but I don’t see—”
    “Good! I don’t need you to see. Just swim.” He chuckles again as if he’s made some great joke. “Breaststroke. Backstroke. Butterfly. What’s your best?”
    “I like all three.”
    “Ha!” he laughs. “You don’t mind dealing with obnoxious little brats and their overbearing parents?”
    I lift my chin high in the air. “I love kids.”
    He eyes me warily. “We’ll see if you still think that by the end of the term.” He looks me up and down… then sticks his hand out. “Congratulations. You’re hired.”
    I blink. “Just like that?”
    The man shrugs “You’ve got a sweet face. The parents will love you. Getting their approval is half the battle. Of course, we’ll have to ensure you’re as good a swimmer as you claim, but I don’t think you’d be dumb enough to come looking for this job if you weren’t.”
     
    ***
     
    The man who “interviewed” me turned out to be the university’s long standing aquatics director. Even he admitted that I lucked out catching him behind the desk. If I’d run into anybody else, they would have dismissed me out of hand because I didn’t have the right certifications.
    However, he claimed to be able to tell how good a swimmer somebody is just by looking at her body. I didn’t argue, even though it did make me feel somewhat like a racehorse.
    After receiving his help fudging my papers a little, I officially became his first hire of the year.
    I return to the dorm beaming. The day didn’t turn out so bad after all.
    “Hey.” Katy looks up from painting her nails. “Any luck?”
    I wave the contract in front of me. “Got it!”
    Katy squeals and jumps up to embrace me in a hug. I laugh as she tries to get her arms around me without any of the lacquer rubbing off.
    “Oh, guess what I just found out,” Katy says as she settles back