Hey there!

Well, you may know me from my other story Unforgettable (Which if you haven't read, you should check it out!)

Yes yes, I am now writing a new story, but I will still keep up with my first story.

Hope you like this one as much as I like it writing it with my new beta (Drum roll please. . . No? Ok) Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute!

Yay, I am so happy to be working with her cause I know she will make my stories even better! :)

So yeah, that's a long A/N and I'm going to shut up now.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Stretching my arms above my head, I watch as the other high school walked through the doors. They looked pretty fierce, all of them well built and by the looks of it, well trained. To bad they didn't have me – not to be cocky or anything…

"Ride and Forester, you two will swim the first race, free style. Max I know this is your strongest suit, so make me proud. I wanna see Franklin High cry." I smiled to my coach, nodding.

"Sure thing, Coach."

I bumped shoulders with my friend Alexa Forester. Correction, best friend.

"We gonna win Max?" She smiled. I snorted and took off my t-shirt.

"Hell yes. We never loose." Her smile grew bigger as she tugged off her shorts.

We both slipped on our hair caps as my name was being called. I turned and was engulfed by two tan arms. Dylan. My boyfriend.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his hard torso. "Good luck." He whispered, and then kissed the top of my head.

"Thanks, but I don't need it." We both chuckled as I kissed his soft lips.

"Go get'em." Smiling once more I turned and followed Alexa to the check-in table. We both checked in and scoped out our competition. There were some pretty decent looking swimmers, their bodies well muscled.

"That one looks hot." Alexa muttered, pointing to some guy removing his shirt on the other side of the pool. He did look hot, his shoulders flexing as his arms went over his head. But I had my eyes on only one guy, Dylan.

Who, in fact, was also an amazing swimmer, thank you very much.

"Alexa, you think every guy is hot. Now stop drooling, and start stretching." She sighed next to me, and bent forward, touching the wet floor.

An announcement went over the intercom, saying the first race was starting in ten minutes.

"So, you excited for Arizona?" I looked to my best friend and smiled like crazy, "Yes! I can't believe I got the scholarship, full ride baby!" She laughed with me as we both sat and stretched our legs.

"I am going to miss you terribly! I'll be on the other side of the U.S, freezing my butt in New York." I shrugged my shoulders,

"I guess, but I'll hardly miss you." Her mouth opened into an "O".

I laughed at her expression, "I'm kidding, of course I'll miss you." She glared her pathetic glare.

"You better Ride, I went through freaking high school with you." We both smiled as the five-minute bell rang, all the swimmers proceeding to the pool.

"Good luck Ride." Alexa called, walking to her block. "Good luck Forester." I responded, flashing her a grin. That was our "good luck" charm; calling each other by our last names.

Stepping onto the top of the block, I snapped on my goggles. I twisted my head to the side and swung my arms back and forth, staring at my reflection on the surface of the water.

That didn't really help with anything, I just like doing that to show off, looks like I know what I'm doing.

This should be an easy race, two laps and I'm done. Easy as pie.

I crouched into my position, forgetting about the world around me, focusing on the cool water below me. "Swimmers, take your mark…" My breathing was even, my legs tense.

Then the horn blew and I jumped out as far as I could, reaching my arms out. The second I hit the water, it was a new me. I don't know why, but the water gives me a peace of mind, calms me. You could say I was one with the water.

I came up and took a quick gulp of air, my arms already in momentum. One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe.

Swimming came naturally to me, just like breathing. Swimming was my air, my oxygen, my life.

As I came to the end of the first lap, I did my flip-turn. I somersaulted and pushed off the wall, gliding through the water; my arms in streamline position for the extra affect. I came up again and briskly checked my opponents positions, only seeing Alexa not far behind.

I pushed farther, stretching my arms even longer, almost there. I took one last breath, and my right hand touched the wall.

My heart was beating fast, as I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to get the oxygen back in my lungs. I took off my goggles, resting them on top of my head. Alexa already at the wall, the other swimmers arriving.

Alexa and I smiled, pumping our fists in the air. My teammate Carolyn helped me out of the pool, congratulating me in the process. My whole team was cheering, Coach smirking and giving me a thumbs up.

I loved that feeling, winning. It felt freaking amazing! I wanted to feel like that forever.

Well, not to bore you about the rest of the competition, but we killed the other high school. And that's putting it nicely.

As usual, after, me, Dylan, Alexa and our other teammate Peter went out for pizza. There was this amazing little parlor outside of the city; the pizza was to die for.

We jumped into Peter's old, beat up truck and rode to the parlor with the windows down. Since Florida is usually hot, like all of the time, we always just wore shirts and shorts. Typical attire.

Once we arrived, we went to the back booth - our back booth. I sat next to Dylan – duh - and Alexa sat next to Peter. She slipped off her huge aviators as the waitress came over.

"Hi Peter, darling. How are you tonight sugar?" The waitress, Pamela, was Peter's grandmother. She was a short, skinny lady with graying hair. She wasn't that old, but could pass as fifty years old. Her eyes held many stories; they were a dark shade of green. They went with her perfectly.

His cheeks flushed red as we all laughed – his embarrassment never gets old. Pamela looked at all of us, her warm smile brightening up the table.

"Max, sweetheart, did you loose weight? You look amazing. And Dylan, why, you look as hot as George Clooney!"

We all laughed once again, Peter relaxing, thankful that he wasn't getting picked on. "So, what can I get for my favorite customers this fine evening? The usual?"

We all looked at each other and nodded. She smiled once more and walked away, putting in our order. "Gosh, can she be more embarrassing?"

Alexa chuckled at Peter. "I think it's cute, sugar." He glared at her, but gave in at her smile.

I laughed at the two and relaxed into the soft, worn-down cushion, looking around at the parlor. This place had so many memories, so many summer afternoons spent here.

"Alright, the chocolate shake for Max, root beer for Alexa, Orange Fanta for Dylan and 7Up with Cherrie Cola for Peter." Pamela scrunched her nose as she set Peter's drink down.

"What? This tastes amazing." Peter took a sip of his drink, ignoring the distasteful look from his grandmother. Once he swallowed, he made a loud 'Ahh' sound and smirked pleasantly. "Whatever you say Peter dear. And your dinner should be out soon."

She walked away again, leaving us to enjoy our beverages.

"So Max, when you leaving again?" I looked across at Peter,

"Well, since there's only two more weeks of school left, I was hoping to leave as soon as possible. I've heard that freshmen going to college should get there as soon as possible."

All my friends nodded, then Dylan spoke up. "Well, from the rumor I've heard, so far almost all of the senior class is picking you as valedictorian."

He smiled brightly, his white teeth shining. "No, I don't think I'll win. I'm pretty sure Jane is going to be the Big V." Alexa shook her head, swallowing her soda.

"No way, you're way more popular. And prettier, plus, you are like the most well known senior in school!" Chuckling, I shook my head.

Although there was a small part of me hoping what my friends were saying was true. I have been working hard to keep up my grades.

"We'll see. They should be saying it next Monday."

Then Pamela returned with our dinner. "One pizza with extra, extra pineapple." She set that tray next to Alexa. "One with ham and sausage and a side of breadsticks." My order. "Another pizza with everything." Peter. "And lastly, a large Caesar Salad." The last plate was for Dylan. "Enjoy!" she said cheerfully.

We all dug into our food right away, me grabbing a breadstick. You just gotta love food!

Once all the food was gone, Pamela came back once more with a huge banana split. This was a tradition.

"You sure eat a lot, don't know how you all stay so thin." Pamela was shaking her head as she watched us attack the helpless banana split.

In ten minutes, our glorious dinner was over, and Peter paid for the check, although it only half of what it should be. Thank you Pamela!

We all got back in Peter's truck and drove down to the beach. We all left our sandals in the truck and headed down to the water.

By now, the sun was just starting to set, giving the sky streaks of pink and orange.

There were hardly any more people on the beach, just a few random strangers peppering the sand in various locations.

I linked my arms through Alexa's and we ran down the edge of the water, yelling like little kids.

This was my favorite time of the day, when you don't know whether it's still the afternoon or the evening. You're sort of in the middle, but only for a few seconds. And I make those seconds count.

My best friend and I, running around like two year olds, kicking up sand everywhere. Letting the cool, salty water pool around our ankles.

Totally mindless of everything else. Like the fact that we only had two more weeks of high school, two more weeks of torture. Two more weeks of being "kids."

And just like those last few minutes of the afternoon merging into evening, we are going to make every second count.

Well there you have it!

Hope it came out good and that I get tons of reviews, even if they are bad ones. I am hoping for at least 10 reviews, more are welcomed!

Hope to update soon, thanks!