“...and in lane three, Thomas, Addie, and Emilia,” the coach boomed, his sneakers squeaking on the slick pool deck. He walked the length of the pool, barely glancing up from his color coded clip board. I gathered my fins and hustled to my lane. There was a boy there already, sitting on the edge of the pool with his feet submerged. He was on the scrawny side, with shaggy brown hair, a round open face, and the friendliest brown eyes I had ever seen. I dropped my things next to him, causing him to start.
Squatting, I lowered my butt until I was sitting next to him on the pool deck. “Hi, my name’s Addie.” He smiled warmly and introduced himself as Thomas. We talked a little about our age (both 15), our grade (freshmen), and other things while everyone else got themselves situated. Our conversation flowed from various topics, and I found myself laughing easily with him.
_____
It was half-way through a tough sprint set and I was right on Thomas’ feet. As soon as we touched the wall, he turned to me. “Do you think Joe or Amy should have gotten voted off last night?”
I quickly grabbed my water bottle and tried not to guzzle my water. “Amy, she won the most individual immunities in all of Survivor and she had way too much power.”
He smiled and was about to respond when the next repetition started, causing him to almost miss his interval. We continue this broken talk throughout practice, earning disapproving looks from the coaches when we miss our interval from laughing too hard. We were lucky the coaches didn’t separate us into different lanes from “causing such a ruckus.”
_____
Our fun conversations travel over from every practice, and then to the meets. We kept each other company as six - hour meets passed in six minutes. Thomas was my best and only friend out of everyone at the winter clinic that year, and I was confident the feeling was mutual.
Towards the end of the season I hoped that maybe we could be more than friends, but I was too scared to act on it. It was my biggest What If…

I was looking through the half-off practice bathing suits in the Swim Outlet when someone bumped into me. Scowling, I looked up annoyed, ready to unleash a rude remark, but the sentence died on my lips when I saw who the offender was.
“Thomas?”
“Addie!”
I broke into a grin and laughed. What were the odds of meeting like this twice now? Fate had to be trying to tell us something. “What are you doing here? How do we keep running into each other like this?”
He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed with me. I asked how he was doing with his new swim team. His times improved greatly, but he said he missed having me in his lane (I tried not to blush when he said that). After talking for a few minutes, I learned that he was on his high school swim team, and that we’d be swimming them in a dual meet next week. I was over the moon when I learned that because it meant that I would be seeing Thomas another time! This was fate telling me to take my chance now before he slipped away again.
We continued to talk as I browsed more practice suit racks. I kept glancing at him, taking in his appearance, and I knew he was doing the same thing. He was much taller than I now; in fact, he towered over me. He also had filled out more, and I could tell his body was definitely more built and defined under his t-shirt. Nonetheless, he still had a round, smiling face.
I don’t know how long we stayed talking, but an attendant came up to us to warn us of the store’s closing. It seemed that two hours had passed by without our realizing it! I bought two bathing suits and met him outside the store. We walked to our cars together.
Rather reluctantly, we said our goodbyes, but I knew it wasn’t for forever because I’d see him next week. There was already a plan forming in my mind as I drove away…

Buses were loading on opposite sides of the athletics building. Maybe the bus drivers were trying to disperse the smell of chlorine throughout the hallway. Either way, it didn't help me as I watched my one opportunity amble in the other direction. I hefted my swim bag over my shoulder and struggled against the crowd, much to the dismay of my team mates.
"Hey, the bus is this way!" my one friend shouted. I turned around and told her to save me a seat.
Finally, a tall, brown-haired kid stepped out of the locker rooms alone. I took a deep breath, crossed the room, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to face me, and it might have been my imagination, but I swore his face lit up.
"Hi," I said, holding my breath. “Great job today.”
He smiled at me warmly. “Thanks, how are you?”
“Good, listen, we should catch up sometime?” I bit my lip and extended a waterlogged post-it out to him, my number scrawled across it in pencil. The lead was already seeping across the paper. He laughed, then, he pulled his own rumpled post-it out of his swim bag and held it out to me. “That sounds like a great idea. Here’s my number.”
My heart soared as I gingerly took the post-it. My name was written on it, and beneath it was his phone number. Then, the buses honked, and we quickly went our separate ways.
That night, the storm started. Thumbs were flying as we caught up with each other. We texted, and even called each other-- all in the span of four hours. He was so witty, and he loved cheesy puns, something I had forgotten over the years. My clock read 12:30, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open, yet I didn’t want our conversation to end, even for the night.
I’ll see you later. Maybe we can meet up? I texted before nodding off to sleep. I fell asleep before I could hear his response.

The final bell rang, and I packed up my book, ready to go home and relax. This week was the longest week of my life, and I was ready to forget everyone and everything. I quickly went to my locker, and I grabbed my jacket before shutting it quietly. I walked towards the student parking lot, and as I approached the doors, I saw a figure waiting outside. I quickly hurried to the door, thinking that it was a senior that had spent too long between periods in his car.
As I approached the window, I realized that the figure was a boy, and that he certainly didn’t go to our school. He wore a hoodie bearing the name and mascot of another school, and his hood was up, which only added to his conspicuous appearance. I pushed the door open and looked at the not-so-strange stranger.
¨Thomas?¨ I asked incredulously, as I looked at him surprised. ¨What are you doing here?¨
He had his hands deep in his pockets, and he practically oozed nervousness. His right leg was moving to the beat of an invisible song. ¨I was waiting for you...not in a creepy way...I had to..uh, had to ask you something.”
I raised my eyebrows and walked towards my car, motioning that he should follow. My heart was hammering in my chest, but I tried to play it cool. Was this really happening?
¨I wanted to know if you would…I mean, if you want to go out with me sometime...like a date,¨ he stammered. I smiled broadly. This so totally was happening!
I nodded, a little too enthusiastically, but why should I care? I didn’t realize this before, but I was always secretly waiting for this to happen, whether it was three years ago, or three days ago. Every boring test, project, and lab that I endured this week only made this moment ten times better.
¨Sure, do you want to go out for lunch and see a movie tomorrow?¨ I asked after I noticed his leg practically spazzing from nerves. He nodded, and we smiled awkwardly before he scrambled for his car. Before he hopped in, he shouted over to me.
“I’ll pick you up at 5:00!” he said enthusiastically, before getting in his car and driving away. I was left standing in the parking lot beaming like an idiot before I walked to my own car.

Standing in front of my closet, I felt panic settle in my chest. I stared at the hangers that clung hap hazardously to the rod in my closet. The door was opened wide, and I had a variety of shoes thrown at the foot of the closet, ranging from flip-flops to rubber rain boots. The hangers held an...interesting collection of clothing to say the least. There were floral dresses, pencil skirts, t-shirts, blouses, and every other type of shirt that was known to mankind.
“Ugh, what am I supposed to wear to a date like this?” I groaned, practically pulling my hair out. I started from the beginning and scanned through my shirts...again, for the fifth time. At 4:30, I decided to just wear light jeans, and one of the nicer shirts I owned. I was hoping I looked casual, but not too careless. Who knew it would be this hard to prepare for a date?
Forty minutes later, I was sitting across from Thomas in Panera Bread, laughing until I was red in the face. We were talking about the different teachers in our school, and the annoying habits they had. He was trying to mimic the monotonous tone of his history teacher, and I couldn’t stop laughing at his attempt to be serious.
As the level in my soup bowl dipped lower and lower, our conversation drifted to so many different topics. We debated Marvel or DC movies, paperback or hardcover, iTunes or Pandora, and everything else under the sun. It was great, and although we had some disagreements, I only felt closer to him by the end of the dinner. We walked side by side across the street to the closest movie theatre between towns, and I reflected how nice it was for a January night.
There was a chill in the air, but no snow on the ground. I walked closer to Thomas as we neared the movies. His chivalry won out over his teenage instincts, and he bought a ticket for me. We bought over-expensive popcorn and headed into the theatre early to scout for the best seats. I picked the row all the way at the top of the theatre, having lots of experience sitting behind tall giraffe-necked people in the past.
When the movie started, we were both swept away in the plot. It was an action movie with lots of explosions, car chases, and sappy romance. We laughed at the cliché parts, earning glares from the couple in front of us, who were kissing like the world was about to end. It was easily the best night of my life, especially because I didn’t feel pressured to say certain things, and also because everything was natural.
We walked back to his car together, and I noticed the exact spot that our arms brushed together. By the time we were in the parking lot, there was no room between us. He reached down and gingerly touched my wrist, fumbling before holding my hand. I smiled and noticed how perfectly our hands fit together. His hand was so much bigger than mine, and it almost covered mine completely.
For the whole ride home, our hands were still intertwined, all the way up to the point when he walked me up to the door. I faced him, not sure what to do or say. Before my parents decided to ruin the moment, I pulled him into me, hugging him quickly.
“Thanks for a great night.” I smiled and went inside, shyly looking over my shoulder before softly closing the door.

I was sitting on the couch with the TV remote in my hand. Thomas was sitting on the ground next to me, his head resting on my legs. We were trying to find something to watch. I finally came across a movie I thought we’d both like, but when I asked Thomas what he thought, he seemed lost in his own mind. I purchased the movie and slid off the couch so I was sitting next to him on the carpet. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he seemed to drift back into the room, casually slinging an arm around my shoulder to bring me in closer.
We watched the opening credits, and Thomas looked at me with a funny light in his eyes. “This is the movie we watched on our first date isn’t it.”
I blushed and nodded. “It’s our three month anniversary. I had so much fun that night that I couldn’t see any reason not to watch it again.”
He kissed my hair and we settled down, watching the movie with rapt attention yet again. Sometime through the movie, Thomas shifted, and I felt something change in the room. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but I recognized it from when I was a kid.
Apprehension. The very same apprehension that would settle over me when I would have to confess to misbehaving to my mom, or when I would have to show my mom a broken car window, or vase. Thomas was obviously holding back on something, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what.
The credits rolled, and I was drowning in the tension in the room. I moved away from him to turn on the lamp next to the couch. Then I faced him, making sure he was looking me in the eye. He tried to look above me, or next to me, but I fixed my eyes on him, and he stopped trying to look away.
“Thomas, tell me. What’s wrong?” I implored, holding both his hands. I wanted to help him. Had I said something, done something, to hurt him? I spent the past three months in pure bliss because I was with him, but I would hate to find out he hadn’t felt the same way.
He put on a mask, guarding his expression with a poker face. Then, it crumbled and his eyes softened. He cupped the side of my face before speaking. I wish he hadn’t told me.
“Addie, I have something to tell you, and I really wish it couldn’t be this way, but I have no choice,” he started. No, no, he couldn’t be breaking up with me, not after we found each other again, not after everything. I don’t think I could bear to see him, and not know that he was mine. But, when he continued, it was much worse.
“Addie, I’m moving.”

I was a mess. It was my fourth day wearing sweats to school, and I hadn’t even bothered with my hair. I slumped further down in my chair as I waited for the final bell to ring. Thomas and I went out to dinner last night, and there was little talking going on between us. In the beginning, I cried. I cried and he hugged me, wishing things could be different. We tried to think of ways to make it work after he moved away.
Thomas was moving. And not to a town a few states over, no, his dad was being transferred to China to be the new head of a business department of a major company. The hours would be off, and he would be across the globe from me. Forget spending summer together, I’d be lucky if we would be able to call each other at a decent time!
It broke my heart, but I told him we’d have to break up after he moved away. As for the time being, we would have to enjoy the little time we had left together. He was moving away at the end of the month, and with finals coming up, we had even less time to see each other. The night that I ended it with him, he hugged me, burying his face in my neck, wishing things could be different. I held him close to me and savored every moment that we had left together.
Although we were sitting at the table in silence, it was a comfortable silence, and just being near Thomas soothed me. Our fingers were laced together, and we leaned in towards each other as the sun set. After my soup was cold and his sandwich was long gone, he took me home. He kissed me softly, accepting that every kiss was our last before the moving day.
That night, I saved every picture, movie stub, and memory we had together and I put it in a box. I cried, and my tears smeared some of the ink on our notes, but I eventually placed the lid on the box. I taped it shut, efficiently putting a lid on our relationship, on us.

I was standing by Thomas’ car, bundled in one of his sweatshirts while his family loaded the last of the boxes in the moving truck. The morning chill matched the way I felt, bitter and shockingly cold. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, and it was easier than I thought. Even though I felt a pang in my chest whenever I looked at him, I was grateful for the time we were able to spend together. I was so happy we bumped into each other that one meet, or none of this would’ve happened.
The movers had finished loading the boxes, and Thomas walked over to me, his hands deep in the pocket of his jeans. He wrapped me in a hug, and I tried not to think about how it would be one of our last ones. We smiled at each other, but I could see the sadness in his eyes.
Thomas’ mom called for him, but before he walked away, I ran back to my car. I grabbed the box that I taped closed all those weeks ago, and I cradled it as I walked back to Thomas. His eyes widened as he saw the box, but I thrust it into his hands before he could say more. I took a deep breath before I started to speak.
“This is a box, a time capsule, of the short time we spent together. When you move,” my voice caught on this word, “you can look into the box and think of me...of us. Don’t stay hung up on me Thomas. I don’t want you to miss opportunities because you’re chained to some girl in Jersey.” By now, a tear slipped down my cheeks, but I tried to smile through it.
“Thank you, Thomas. Thank you for being mine, even if it was for a little while. There will always be a spot in my heart for you.”
I raised up on my toes, kissed his cheek, and walked back to my car. I cast one last look over my shoulder, and when I saw Thomas gingerly hold all our history together, the final piece of my heart broke. I bit back a sob until I had driven away, and it wasn’t until long after, when I was tucked away in my room, and he was on a flight to a new life, that I finally let myself feel the loss of him.

Three Years Later
The waves were crashing against the shore, and Thomas walked along the water so he could feel the cool water run over his feet. He was oblivious to the cries of the seagulls, the peals of laughter, and the roar of the water. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and he was lost in his own world, still thinking about his junior year in high school.
He was a freshman in college now, and he convinced his dad to let him spend spring break in Florida with his cousins. His cousins were off surfing huge waves, and they left him behind to walk along the beach. They always thought he was a softy. He still hadn’t told anyone the real reason he wanted to come in Florida. Even though there was a slim to none chance that she would be vacationing in Florida as well, he didn’t want to risk missing her.
Thomas walked by another lifeguard stand, still oblivious to the world around him, when a particular girl caught his eye. Her back was to him, and she was wearing a crochet cover-up over her bathing suit. She was staring up at the clouds, and her hands hung by her side as she stared at the sky. Thomas walked quickly so he was standing next to her. She was still staring at the sky, so Thomas awkwardly cleared his throat.
Even though it took effort, she tore her eyes away from the sky and looked at him. A range of emotions crossed her face as she looked at Thomas. First annoyance, then confusion, followed by surprise. “Thomas!?”
Thomas broke out into a huge grin and cupped her face in his hand. “Addie! Is it really you?”
She smiled and nodded as tears sprung to her eyes. Thomas tried to be as gentle as possible even though the only thing he wanted to do was tackle her in a hug and make sure they never part again.  With his other hand, he swept away a loose strand of hair. That was when he noticed the first big change.
“You cut your hair?” Thomas asked incredulously. Her hair, once long and down to her waist, was now cut short in a pixie hairdo. She laughed and nodded before looking at him again. Thomas smiled and hugged her, burying his face in her neck. She hugged him back, and they stood like that for what felt like an eternity.
He noticed that she still smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, and that she was now almost eye level with him. She must’ve grown since junior year. When they pulled apart from their embrace, they soaked in each other’s appearance. Thomas tried to picture himself and tried to see how much he had changed since junior year. He worked out a lot more after he moved, and he could tell Addie noticed when she looked at his body and blushed furiously.
She held his hand, and it felt like no time at all had passed because their hands still fit together perfectly. She leaned her head on his arm and laughed. Thomas looked at Addie like she was crazy.
“What’s so funny?”
She beamed. “Well, I’m almost as tall as you now, but other than that, it feels like no time has passed by.”
Thomas laughed and agreed with her. He couldn’t wait to tell her all about China. He also had more news that he was sure she would be delighted to hear. Instead, Thomas ruffled her hair and nudged her.
“I’m just glad to be back. Either way, what are the odds that we would run into each other in Florida, of all places,” Thomas said. Addie smiled again, and they continued to walk down the beach, hand in hand.
Everything seemed perfect, even if it was only for a little while.
They had only walked one block when Addie opened her mouth. “So, did you watch the recent season of Survivor?”
Thomas only laughed.
The End