Synchronized Heartbeats
Written By: Banana007
Chapter 49: One Year Later
The water embraced him like a blanket, sliding across his skin like velvet as Rin Matsuoka cut through with each stroke of his arm. His breath fanned with each tilt of his head, the breaths controlled and deep… In… Out… In… Out.
The world seemed to fall away once he fell into this state. A world in which reality bled into nothing and gave way to a blue world in which he was the master of the domain. From the speed and power of his strokes right down to the hot ache in his muscles. Here, in this pool, he was untouchable. Here, in this little realm, nobody could ever hurt him. Not again.
FWEET!
The sharp blow of the whistle caused Rin to pull his head up as well as his goggles. A middle-aged man with cropped white hair stood at the edge of the pool, crooking a finger for him in gesture. His heart started beating a tad faster, already expecting another critique of how his kicks weren't strong enough or something about cheating on his diet. Nodding, Rin immediately paddled his way over to Bob Bowman in anticipation of what was on the clipboard the man gripped in his other hand.
"Yeah, Coach?"
The man jabbed a finger at the paper on the clipboard. "Read that for me, Rin. That, right there."
Lips pressed together, Rin squinted through the droplets clinging to his lashes now. "Uh, says 'Saturday'?"
"Uh-huh." The older man's scrutiny burned through the wiry frames perched precariously on his nose. "And what's today?"
"... Saturday."
"So what're you doing here when you should be at the gym?"
"I just…" Rin looked away, accidentally meeting the curious gaze of one of his teammates for a second. He shrugged. "I just wanted to warm up at the pool."
"For three hours?"
"I'll go to the gym today," Rin returned his attention to Bowman. "Later, right after lunch, all right? Promise. Cross my heart."
Bowman sighed as if they'd had this kind of conversation a dozen times already. He crossed his arms and Rin took that to mean he'd responded incorrectly. "What's the point in drafting a training regimen for you, down to every detail of almost every hour of the day, if you're not willing to follow it?"
Biting his lip, Rin glanced down at his feet, the water making them look warped.
"I keep telling you this, Rin. If you're going to be on my team and I'm going to be your coach, I need you to be honest with me here. I need you to work with me and I work with you… together, okay?" Bowman shifted, lowering the clipboard carrying a preview of Rin's regimen. "You know what the key part of your success is?"
More training? Rin guessed in his head, but he had a feeling it was also the wrong answer. He shook his head.
"Management," Bowman answered. "Not the workouts. Getting you to do what you are trained to do—travel, meals, equipment. That is the key part of success—your success. And I only want to train athletes who aim for success, do you understand?"
In other words, you'll boot me off the team if I can't cooperate, Rin thought inwardly. He nodded. "I understand, Coach."
"Then get out of there and get going already," Bowman sighed, jerking his head to the hallway that led into the locker rooms.
"Yes, Coach."
"And I told you already, just call me Bob."
"Got it, Coach." A smirk tugged at the corners of Rin's mouth.
The older man let out a sigh of exasperation but ambled over to one of the other swimmers on the team, Jackson, some American whom Rin had hardly spoken to over the past eight months since he'd met the rest of the team. Compared to the others, Jackson was a quiet man but had sharp eyes that often made Rin feel like the guy was judging him so he tried to avoid their gazes from meeting if he could help it.
With a sigh, Rin pulled himself from the pool, heading for the bench with his bag and towel to dry himself off. By the time he glanced back, somebody had already taken his lane to practice. No surprise there; this pool was often crowded with other athletes no matter how early he'd arrive.
The locker room, thankfully, wasn't as crowded although Rin did have to weave his way through other men changing.
Tipping his face back, Rin let the warm spray of the shower water pelt his skin to rinse away the chlorinated water clinging to him and his speedo shorts. The tension in his muscles instantly began to melt away and he inhaled some of the steam that arose from his stall.
"So, you going to that party tonight?"
Recognizing the voice of one of his teammates—Skylar—Rin shifted his eyes to the wall that separated their stalls.
"Yeah, my girlfriend insisted that I go 'cause she wants to. Said we haven't gone out for some real fun in a while even though I took her to lunch last week."
"A meal doesn't cut it all the time, man." Skylar's laugh bounced across the shower walls. "You gotta spice things up a bit. Besides, Timothy and DJ said that they're coming too."
"Well, of course they're coming with you. You guys are the only single dudes left on the team."
"Hey! I don't see Rin with a girlfriend either. In fact, you remember when he first joined the team and we took him to a party like two months in? Dude had that one girl, Jackson's cousin—I forgot her name, but she ran outta the house a sobbing mess."
"Oh yeah… What'd he do to make her cry like that?"
"Dunno, but I noticed that he had this sort of aversion to all the chicks there."
"Maybe Rin's a germaphobe?" There was a gasp. "Maybe he's gay! Hey, Skylar, why don't you try asking him out since you're both single?"
Rin rolled his eyes.
"Ha-ha," Skylar's voice was sardonic. "Maybe he just has trouble talking to women?"
"You're joking, right? Every time we take Rin somewhere, girls are always flocking to him. He's a chick magnet!"
"They like sexy bad boys like him. If I was actually gay, I'd totally ask him out myself!"
"Isn't Tristan gay?"
"Dude has a boyfriend already. Heard they've been engaged since last year."
"Oh shit, really? I always thought he had a thing for Rin or something since he's always so friendly towards him. You'd think they were sucking each other's dicks."
Being friendly doesn't have to mean you have ulterior intentions, Rin thought to himself, scowling at the showerhead.
"Nah, Tristan's just a good guy like that. Oh, shit!"
"What?"
"I totally forgot! Tristan told me to make sure to invite Rin to his party tonight."
"Serious? Couldn't he do it himself?"
"He's been busy with some family affairs with his older sister and all that. You know how his family is towards him." Skylar groaned aloud. "I forgot to tell Rin at our last meet!"
"You think he'll go though? To the party? Knowing how he is with girls…"
"Well, he went last month."
"Only 'cause Tristan dragged him like he always does."
"Hey, we're his teammates, right? I say we be his mates and try to hook him up with a nice girl. He's kind of a mopey guy, but I'm sure if we find a good lay for him, that'll put a smile on his face!"
A good lay?! You've gotta be kidding me... His scowl became a grimace as he imagined all the awkward situations that would entail from his team's endeavors to get a girl to have sex with him. I'll just reject the invitation…
"Besides, I think Rin's a pretty chill dude," Skylar continued. "He shared some food with me before when he noticed my exhaustion. I didn't tell anyone, but I'd missed dinner so I wasn't feeling at the top of my game. He didn't even say anything—just gave me a bag of dried fruit and nuts and told me to eat them. He's kinda like… Like an older brother!"
"An older brother?" the other guy echoed, dubious of such a claim.
"Yeah, an older brother who acts too cool and aloof for their younger sibling, but is actually very caring? At least, that's the vibe I get from him."
"Hm, now that you mention it… Yeah, I guess Rin is a pretty cool guy. I can see why chicks dig him."
"And his good looks definitely don't have anything to do with that, mhm..."
"Hey, what if he just avoids the girls again and just plays the drinking games like he did last time? Jasmine got all up in my ass for not setting her friend up with Rin."
"We'll just have to see how it goes this time! I just want Rin to have a good time and if that doesn't involve hooking up with a girl, then I think that's fine." Skylar hummed thoughtfully. "Anyway, I saw him at the pool earlier. I'll see if I can catch him on my way out once I finish up here."
The knob squeaked as Rin turned the shower off. He stared at the tiled floor for a minute, letting the droplets fall from his chin and bangs as he contemplated his situation. Partying with the guys wasn't such a bad thing; he didn't hate hanging out with them. It was the attention he attracted from women that was the issue. It didn't matter how many times he rejected them, there was always some girl putting their manicured claws on his bicep and invading his personal bubble with their nauseating perfume.
It was thoughtful of Tristan, Skylar, and the others to invite him out of consideration for his happiness, but… Rin couldn't help but shudder at the memory of the last time he'd gone to their party which had only been a month ago. He could still remember the way the alcohol in his stomach had threatened to come back up when a girl had dared to kiss him on the cheek, their lipgloss sticking to his skin.
No, this time, he would have to turn down the invitation. Make up some excuse like… Damn it, what kind of excuse would be believable? The guys knew Rin didn't have family in America and certainly no close friends to spend a weekend night with.
"I've got a test to study for," Rin mumbled to himself, pulling on a pair of sweatpants before closing his locker. It was a lame excuse, but it was the best he could come up with on the fly.
Yeah, no matter what, I'm not going to that party tonight. Not this time.
.
.
.
"Yo! Rin, my man, you made it!"
"Hey, Tristan," Rin clasped his friend's hand, allowing himself to get pulled into a bear hug that would've knocked the wind out of a regular person. "You're looking, uh…" Garnet eyes fell from Tristan's slicked-back chocolate brown locks to the bedazzled white vest that bared his sculpted chest to the world. White pants emblazoned with rhinestones matched his top with a pair of ebony cowboy boots complete with spurs at the sides. Rin's gaze rose back up to meet his friend's dark eyes glinting with excitement. "Sparkly," he finished. "Very sparkly."
"Like it?" Tristan spun around, his bedazzled clothes catching the light of the disco ball twirling at the ceiling. "Daniel's coming home in an hour and I want to surprise him."
"Yeah, just don't blind the guy."
Tristan waved him off. "Oh please, he's already blinded by his love for me. Hey, I saw you playing beer pong an hour ago. You're starting to get the hang of it."
The corner of Rin's mouth quirked up. "Maybe I'll just quit swimming so I can become a national beer pong champion instead. That way, I can get the booze, fame, and money."
Tristan flourished a hand to himself. "While I lead the team to Olympic victory! Now, how many shots have you had?" he asked, smacking a hand lightly over Rin's cheek.
"Only four. Why? I haven't even touched the Henessy yet."
"Because what I need you to do for me is take this," he said, taking away Rin's empty shot glass to shove a dry martini with two olives into his hands. "And please make sure the girls aren't stripping in my pool again. Last party almost ended up as an orgy."
So he'd heard, and Rin was glad he'd left before that happened.
"How do you expect me to do that?" He grunted over the music pulsing throughout the large space. "I'm not the police here."
"Mm, and I bet you would look ravishing in a police uniform."
Rin smirked at the comment, pleased to know the guy had remembered how Rin had recently divulged to him his childhood dream of becoming a police officer if swimming didn't work out.
"Now now, Rin, you should save that smile for the bedroom when you whip out the handcuffs."
"Oh, shut up."
Chuckling, Tristan grabbed his shoulder and began to guide Rin through the crowd of dancers grinding against each other. The flashing lights made it difficult for Rin to catch sight of any of his other teammates, but he was one of the taller people in this mansion and could easily pick his way through the throng of partygoers. That said, by the time Rin slipped out of the drunken swarm of half-naked people, the black shirt he'd chosen to wear was already clinging to his sweaty skin, wet and smelling vaguely like a mix of alcohol.
"It's simple," Tristan said, grabbing Rin's ruined shirt to strip him of it. He gave his chiseled torso an appreciative look over before turning his attention to the large pool beyond the glass doors. "Any girl entering my pool without a bikini on, you go up to them and say their boob job looks terrible and to cover up."
"Do you want me to get slapped?"
Tristan shrugged. "You can slap them back if you want? Hey, it's America—equality and all that. Fuck double standards."
Rin rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at the man's wild, free-spirited nature. "But it's okay for a guy to go skinny-dipping in your pool?"
"Honey, only if his body's as smoking hot as yours," he answered. "Well, I'm only half-serious. It's your call. I'd probably be in the background calling for him to give us a strip show."
"You're asking the straight guy to judge the attractiveness of another man?"
"Are you blind?"
"No?"
"Then you can see when someone's hot." Tristan lowered his eyes to Rin's abs which were glistening with the sweat from the crowd's body heat and traces of whatever alcohol that'd somehow splashed onto him. "Don't you ever check out your naked body in the mirror? Or watch yourself when you masturbate? Someone like you should recognize when someone's sexy or not, man or woman."
"Someone like me?"
"Someone with the face of a model and the body of Adonis. Someone with abs of steel like yours, as well as a chiseled jaw, high cheekbones and lips perfect for kissing—you still fishing for compliments or can I stop now?"
"Don't let Daniel hear you say that," Rin warned him, biting back a grin.
"Daniel would invite you for a threesome," Tristan said, flashing him a pointed look before gasping at something he saw in his pool. "See? There! You see that blonde with those ginormous melons? Honestly, who in the world invited this bitch? I bet she's the same girl who started that almost-orgy."
Following his friend's gaze, Rin sighed at the sight of a woman about his age already taking a dip into the pool… utterly naked. The pool lights highlighted her curvaceous figure, but it was her ample breasts bared to the world that caught everyone's eye. Some men started to whistle at her, glancing expectantly at the other girls around.
"Does it look like I'm the kind of guy who hosts orgies?" huffed Tristan.
"Yup, Sundays at midnight."
"Oh, shut up."
"You want me to start with her?" asked Rin, downing his martini. The alcohol burned its way down his throat, settling warm and low in his stomach. "If you have such a large party like this, it's inevitable to attract girls like her."
"What? You got something better to do here?" Tristan raised a brow at him. "Last I checked—which was eight times since I met you—Rin Matsuoka doesn't dance."
Rin turned in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm gonna get another drink and then go play King's Cup."
"If you want to get shit-faced drunk again, the bar's on the other side of town."
"It's not like I want to drink the bitch cup," Rin scowled at him, remembering the many times he'd lost the game.
"No, but you sure like to lose a lot."
Laughing at Rin's expression, Tristan grabbed him by the shoulders again to lead him past the glass doors just as the partygoers inside the mansion began to yell in celebration of something the DJ had announced. Rin managed to swipe a beer, twisting the cap off for a quick swig just as Tristan nudged him towards the naked woman treading in the center of the pool.
"You deal with her and I'll give you one of my vintage wines straight from the basement, hm?" Tristan said, smacking Rin's butt hard enough to push him closer to the pool. "I'll come back to check on you. And you're staying for dinner, right? I've already prepared the guest room for you, by the way. Honestly, I might as well just leave it alone since you practically sleepover every weekend."
"Yeah, you cooking?" asked Rin. Just the thought of that rigatoni with the vodka sauce he had last time was enough to make his mouth water.
"With Daniel," Tristan nodded. "If you manage to get blonde to put her clothes back on, I'll even throw in dessert. Your favorite."
Rin paused and narrowed his eyes at his friend. "You didn't talk to Skylar earlier today, did you? This isn't your guys' way of trying to hook me up with another girl?"
"Why? You prefer men? Because I know—"
"I prefer…" he hesitated when Gou's face suddenly popped into mind.
Seeing Rin's expression suddenly sour, Tristan patted him on the shoulder. "It's whatever you want to do, my dude. No pressure," he said, smiling kindly at him before allowing himself to be tugged away by one of his friends.
Brushing back his maroon bangs, Rin turned his attention back to the pool.
Admittedly, even he could see the woman had not just an attractive body, but a pretty face too. A face that many men would no doubt fantasize beneath the sheets or before their groin. But her blond waves left a bitter taste in Rin's mouth and the longer he stared at her, the more he felt unsettled.
As if sensing his piercing gaze on her, the woman turned her blue eyes onto Rin and went on to give him a coy smile. She stood up, letting the water slide down her body and trace the curves of her naked breasts, the tips peaking from the exposure. Some guys hooted, but she kept her attention solely on Rin, eyeing him with a hunger he'd seen from the many women who'd tried to talk to him. Her invitation simmered in the depths of those blue eyes and Rin watched as she let a hand drift down her flat belly to rest at the apex of her thighs. A signal, and it was his turn to answer, to guide her into his guest room and part those thighs on his sheets, let them wrap around his waist so he could fuck her senseless.
His cock twitched in his sweatpants, his primitive senses urging him to mate with this fertile woman freely presenting herself to him but... there was that bitter taste in his mouth.
He tried to wash it down with another gulp of beer, but now the woman was swimming towards him, her blond hair trailing after her like a gold ribbon.
Rin tore his eyes away from hers, turning to head into the garden. Dead leaves crunched under his steps as he walked away and drifted past the archway. He inhaled deeply to let the floral scent of the roses cleanse his lungs of the stench of alcohol and sweaty people. The night was warm, but the sweat trickling down his abs left Rin shivering slightly as the trees swayed from a gentle breeze. He stopped before a fountain that showed off a naked boy with angel wings, peeing water out. The bottom of the fountain glittered from the many coins people had tossed into the water. Briefly, he wondered what kind of silly wishes were made with these shiny pieces of copper.
Something colorful among the copper caught his eye and he took a step closer to squint at… wait, was that a dildo?
"The dildo's mine," a voice answered his silent question.
A young woman that looked like the gender-flipped version of Tristan smiled at Rin from her seat on a bench. Lowering her phone, she nodded to the fountain. "That dildo? It's mine."
"Uh…" Rin frowned, switching his attention back to the rainbow-colored sex toy sitting among the coins. "Okay…?"
"It was Tristan's idea," the woman said, lips curling up. "He suggested I throw a dildo in there instead of a coin."
Rin nodded slowly. "Sounds like Tristan all right."
"Yes, he said that doing so would bring me good fortune in my sex life." The woman began to chuckle but stopped when she noticed Rin's awkward expression. Her eyes widened and she shook her hands frantically. "Not that I'm inviting you for sex!"
"Nope." Quickly, Rin shook his head too.
"No way."
"Definitely not."
"God, no." She pointed a finger at him, then herself, letting it flick back and forth. "I mean, we're practically strangers! We just met…"
"Actually," rubbing the back of his neck, Rin said, "we've met before. Tristan introduced us back in June, remember? You're Charis Monet, Tristan's older sister."
It took all but three seconds for recognition to flash in her brown eyes and she gasped, jerking her finger back at him. "That's right, you're Rin! Rin Matsuoka! The sex god!"
"The… what?"
She threw her head back and laughed, loud and very much unlike the businesswoman she'd behaved as the first time they'd met. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she said, "Sorry, but that's what Tristan calls you: the sex god. Which is ironic because I've heard that you don't… like sex…" she finished awkwardly. "I'm sure he calls you that just because of your, um, very attractive body… and face."
"Uh, right…" Rin coughed, trying to ignore the heat building in his face. "Sounds like Tristan all right."
"And it's okay to be asexual!"
Wait, what?
"I mean, it's the twenty-first century, so who cares if you're not into sex!" she continued, smiling kindly at him. "It doesn't mean you're broke down th—"
"I'm not asexual," Rin said, and he didn't know why but laughter started to bubble in his chest. The good kind of laughter that he hadn't felt in a year. He started laughing aloud when Charis's cheeks turned a bright red with embarrassment. "Trust me, I'm a healthy, red-blooded young man who watches his daily dose of porn when he can."
"O-Oh… Pornhub..?"
"Pornhub."
She chuckled again, awkwardly at first, but then it quickly grew loud and genuine, joining in his own bout of laughter. Somewhere back in the mansion, the partygoers were whooping and cheering someone on, no doubt over an intense game. The two of them glanced in that direction for a moment before looking back at each other.
"Then—and I don't mean to pry, but…" Charis stood up, slipping her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "I'm guessing you've also been having a dry spell in your sex life lately?"
Rin wrinkled his nose at her. "I thought we weren't offering each other sexual favors?"
"No, it's nothing like that," she giggled quietly, sidling up to him to stare into the fountain in search of… She reached in and Rin raised a brow when she pulled out the rainbow dildo, the end of it waving around limply. "Here you go," she said, smiling as she pressed the dildo into his free hand.
Both of his brows shot up as the wet silicone material settled against his grip. "Um, my hand works just fine for me, thanks..." He hoped nobody had used this thing.
"No, no, silly! You're supposed to toss it back in!"
"Then why did you take it out in the first place?"
"So that you can have some good luck in your sex life," Charis replied casually, her brown eyes twinkling with that same mischief Rin often saw in her brother's. Upon seeing the doubt in his face, she tipped her head towards the fountain, her chocolate ponytail swishing over her shoulders. "Anyway, it doesn't hurt to try?"
Rin sighed and took another swig of his beer. Peeking at Charis from the corner of his eye, he felt his lips tilt up into a smile that matched hers and he rolled his eyes in defeat, reeling his hand back to throw the sex toy in.
Plunk!
They leaned over the lip of the fountain together, watching the rainbow dildo sink down to lay among the wishing coins once more.
"So what now?" Rin couldn't help but ask. He raised his face to the sky, light sarcasm laced in his voice. "Are naked girls gonna start falling at my feet?"
"I believe the ones at the pool already do," she snickered. "But I have a feeling you're more of a… honest man… An honest man looking for the right, honest girl to share his bed with. Am I right?"
Rin frowned, confused as to how she saw right through him when they'd only just started talking to each other and over sex jokes of all things. Feeling suddenly sober, he set his beer down and slipped both hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels. A silence fell over them, but it was actually comfortable and Rin, for once, didn't mind the company of this woman.
There was something easy about her presence—soothing, almost. Nothing excessive or intense. It was a nice change in pace compared to the rapid city life and the whirlwind of people coming in and out of it, searching for others to connect with for the sake of climbing the social ladder.
"All right then." She blew a sigh. "I better go in and make sure nobody's fucking in your guest bedroom."
Rin winced. "Yes, please do."
"Seeya later, Sex God!" She winked at him, spinning on her heel to head back for the party.
"Please don't," Rin said, cringing from the tacky title, but a chuckle escaped him anyway. He turned his head to watch her leave, the end of her ponytail bouncing up and down with every step she took.
Weird girl, he thought to himself. Weird, but in a good way; the kind of way that made Tristan such a likable person despite his—sometimes—dramatic behavior. He could definitely see the similarities between the two siblings.
Glancing down at the beer in his hand, Rin thought back to the funny idea of wishing for a better sex life. Yeah, like that would ever be possible for someone like him. He chuckled again, but it lacked any actual mirth this time.
.
.
.
Near the end of the party, Daniel finally arrived, tired from his travels but eager to embrace his fiancé after being away for too long. The party soon came to an end and Rin remained in the kitchen to clean up while Tristan bid his goodbyes to all those who'd come. Skylar and the other guys from the team lingered a little longer to chat with each other but, eventually, only Rin remained with Charis, Tristan, and Daniel.
As the pasta simmered in the pot, watched over dutifully by Tristan and Daniel who were laughing over something, their hands joined tightly together, Charis sat herself beside Rin who was nursing a glass of wine.
They watched the two lovers cook together, the sweet little nothings they whispered towards each other were covered by the low beat of the classical music playing in the background, but Rin could imagine exactly what kind of secret words they shared together. It was probably the same kind of sweet words he'd often whisper to Gou as they lay in bed together, her head resting on his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat settle down from a round of sex, and his nose buried in the crown of her hair, filling his lungs with her strawberry sc—
"Strawberry?" The red fruit popped into view, cutting through Rin's thoughts.
He blinked before sliding his eyes to Charis who popped another piece of the fruit into her mouth.
"Rin hates strawberries, Char," Tristan called out over his shoulder. "And don't spoil his appetite! I promised him dessert, you know, but only because the party didn't end in an orgy and not because Rin actually worked for it like he was supposed to."
"Really?" Charis spoke with her mouth full, adding the speared strawberry in. "You allergic to strawberries or something?"
"Yeah," Rin nodded slowly, "something like that…"
A/N: I'm not a swimmer, or an athlete, and I've never been in a sports team before so I have no idea how this athlete/coaching thing works. I tried google searching, but it's hard to find any specific details, so please forgive me for any inaccuracies or poor portrayal.
