“That’s cool,” Reed said. I looked over and noticed his forehead pinching together some under his glasses, almost like he’s thinking.

“I guess it’s hard for you to work during the summer even, huh? I mean, not that you have to… but you totally could, if you wanted. I mean… I’m sorry, I’m rambling,” I was doing that thing again where I stop making sense.

Reed just laughed. Finally, he responded. “Actually, a job might be nice. Something flexible. I still have a lot of summer drills and workouts. And coach wants me watching tape a lot this summer. Things are really going to get intense. And I’m just a junior. My senior year is going to be ridiculous.” He let out a heavy sigh and then turned to me with a tight-lipped smile.

“You can do it. Just take it a day at a time, right?” I said, patting his thigh once like he was a child. I pulled my hand back in my lap immediately, embarrassed by my bold and hokey gesture. “Just turn on Riggs Road up ahead. We can take that all the way to the aquatics center. I don’t think my interview will be long if you don’t mind waiting for me.”

“No problem at all. I’ll come in, too. Check the place out,” he said.

Just then my phone rang. I pulled it from my purse and looked to see Mike’s name.

“Sorry, it’s my brother. I have to take this, and yell at him for never being helpful,” I said. Reed just laughed.

“Hey, you sorry excuse for a big brother,” I half-joked.

“Nolan, are you OK? I’m so sorry. I didn’t even have my phone on. I was with Samantha and it was a late night, so…” he tried to continue but I cut him off.

“Stop. Stop. I don’t need to know. I’m OK, no need to alert the authorities,” I joked.

“Well, where are you? Do you need me to pick you up somewhere?” he asked.

“I’m good. Buck Johnson drove by and he hauled the car in. He sent Reed out here to give me a ride. He’ll just bring me home when I’m done,” I said quickly, hoping Mike wouldn’t dig too deep or tease. No such luck.

“Ooooooh, I see,” he chided. “So you’re in the car with Reeeeeeeed,” he kept going. I pressed the phone tightly to my ear, hoping like hell Reed couldn’t hear any of Mike’s end of the conversation. I was turning redder by the minute. I just needed this phone call to end.

“We’re almost here, so I gotta go. Don’t tell Dad anything, he’ll just worry. I’ll explain when I get home, ok?” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. Call if you need me, though, OK? I promise I’ll pick up this time,” he said just before hanging up.

I put my phone back in my purse and snuck a sideways glance at Reed to see if he heard any of that. He was smirking a little, so my gut told me he did. I sank down a little in the seat and hugged my purse.

The pool manager’s name is Todd. He’s looks like a PE teacher, with his short hair and shiny sunglasses. He’s nice enough. He directed Reed and me to a back office right off the main entrance where we sat on an old sofa and he propped one leg up, half sitting on his desk with a clip board. Chewing his gum, he pulled his sunglasses off and tucked them in the front of his shirt. “So, cashier, huh?” he looked at me.

“Yes. Though, I’d like to test for your next lifeguarding session, if that’d be possible. I would really like to work my way up to that,” I said wringing my hands. I was a little nervous.

“Well, you’re in luck. We’re actually testing tomorrow, if you’d like to join us. I just need you to fill out this paperwork. I see you have the right CPR and First Aid certifications, so if you pass the tests, you can start this week. We’re short on staff and I need to get staffed up pretty quickly. We’re opening a new section this season and we’re going to be pretty busy.

“You testing, too?” he added, looking over at Reed. Snapping his eyes up to meet the manager’s, Reed then turned to me, looking for approval. I just shrugged and smiled, but inside I was begging him to test with me. The thought of spending an entire summer working alongside a shirtless Reed Johnson was too much to handle.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” he said, taking the packet of paperwork.

“OK then. When you’re done filling this out, leave it with Penny up front and then we’ll see you tomorrow at 6 a.m.” he said, shaking our hands as he left.

When the door shut, Reed stared at me with wide eyes and mouthed ‘Six A.M.’ I just laughed and started filling out my paperwork.

When we were done, we dropped our packets off with Penny at the front desk. Penny was an older woman. She spent most of her day answering the phone, it seemed. She took four phone calls all in the span of our stop at her desk.