Page 3 of The Lawyer’s Quandary

Steven pulled out his phone and worked with it again.

“I already had before we talked. I just sent him the signed the scope of service and acknowledged the fee schedule. So we’re moving forward.

” Mark pulled to a stop at the light. “Look, I know we’re friends and all, but this could blow back at you big-time.

If the college knows you were aware of what I was planning, they could make it tough for you or fire you outright. ”

“They might think they can, but you came to me, and I’m going to come forward to the administration when the time is right.

After that, I have whistleblower protections.

So don’t worry about me. We’re doing the right thing, and that’s what we need to keep in mind.

” Mark continued forward once the light changed before turning onto campus and pulling up to Steven’s building.

“Keep your head on straight, and whatever you do, don’t let Bates get to you.

We’ll take him down, but we have to do it right. ”

“Okay,” Steven said, then got out of the car. He opened the trunk, and Steven got his gear before trudging up the steps.

For the next week, it was quiet. Mark heard nothing at all from Steven and wondered if that was good or not.

He hoped if there had been an incident with Coach Bates that he would have called and told him.

The next lacrosse match was at home, and he attended, but didn’t see the assistant coach at all.

The team was playing in top form, and after the win, Mark found Steven celebrating with the rest of the team.

“Great game. You played really well.”

Steven grinned. “Bates got pneumonia or something and is going to be out for the rest of the season.” He was almost elated as he told him. “I told Coach Littleton that he should think about bringing you on to fill that role.”

Mark didn’t think that would happen for a number of reasons, not least of which was that Bates was only out sick. They wouldn’t replace him until the following year… if they were going to. “What about…?” He didn’t even want to bring up the rest, not here.

“All systems go. This is a chance for us to keep everyone safe,” Steven said as some of the other guys raced over to celebrate their win. Mark stepped back to let Steven have his moment and enjoy his time with team.

Standing alone, he pulled out his phone and sent Greg a message. Have you ever thought about taking up swimming as an adult? If you want to learn more, we could meet at the pool. He sent a smiley face.

He didn’t get a response right away and wondered if it had been a bad idea. He put his phone in his pocket and walked across campus, back to his car. His phone dinged as he was about to get in.

In court today. Sure. What did you have in mind?

We could meet at the rec center pool tomorrow if you’re free, about 10:30 or 11?

Sounds great. I’ll GPS it and meet you there at 11. He added a smiley face. Got to get back into court. See you tomorrow.

Mark smiled and put the phone back in his pocket, glad he had taken the chance.

The following morning, he got his gear together and headed to the pool. He had keys to the building, but it probably wasn’t going to be necessary. Members of the team also had pool keys, and it was likely some of them would have already been there to swim laps.

He entered the building and turned on the main lights, the familiar scent of water and chlorine reaching his nose. It was funny, but that scent, which could be irritating to many, was calming and familiar to him, like he was in a safe space.

“Hey, coach,” one of the women said, carrying a bag.

“Morning, Chris. Have a good session?”

“Shaved a whole second off last weeks’ time,” she told him with a grin. “Two more to go.” She was the most competitive swimmer he had ever seen and determined to be the best.

“Way to go,” he told her. Chris’s goal was to beat the women and the men, and if she met her goal, she would be the fastest person in the water.

But shaving two seconds off her already impressive swim time in the 200 was going to be a real challenge.

She waved as she headed out in the spring sunshine, and he went farther inside to the desk in the lobby.

“I’m meeting a friend,” he told the student worker, and showed his ID.

Then he sat down in the chair, waiting until Greg came in with a red bag.

“Go ahead and sign in,” Mark said to him, and then led Greg down to the men’s locker room.

“You can use any of these lockers,” he explained, and went to a different bay where he kept a locker and changed into his bathing suit.

Then he met Greg at the door to the pool.

“This thing is huge.”

“It’s a competition-size pool, so it’s fifty meters.

” He grabbed a couple towels and led Greg to the steps.

“Now, this pool is going to be about eighty degrees. It’s going to feel a little cold when you first get in, but this is for competition, so its kept a little cooler so the swimmers don’t overheat. ”

“Good to know,” Greg said, walked into the pool, and went underwater.

He came up and shivered, but then began to paddle around.

Then he stood as Mark entered the water.

Greg was just as he expected. His chest was lean and waist narrow, skin pale and smooth.

In short, he was attractive as hell, as far as Mark was concerned.

He slipped into the water and slowly swam to the far end, turned, and made his way back, surfacing right near Greg.

“God, that was beautiful. I don’t think I could ever swim like that.”

“You probably can,” Mark told him. “I’ve been swimming since I was six. I learned lifesaving when I was fourteen and have been teaching people to swim since I was eighteen. So I’m sure I can help you. Why don’t you show me how you swim.”

Greg nodded and began to swim. It was floppy and inefficient, but he’d seen worse form. “See, I really suck at this.”

“No, you don’t. Not really. Let’s start by lengthening your stroke.

When you reach forward, try reaching a little farther and rolling a little on your side.

” He showed him, and Greg mimicked his movements.

They stood and worked together before Mark had Greg try again.

His stroke was smoother, and he moved a little better through the water.

Mark took off and swam from one end of the pool to the other with Greg in the next lane.

He wanted to give Greg a chance to practice on his own without Mark watching over him like he was his coach.

He reached the far end and stood. Greg was making good progress, and Mark knew the next step was to teach him how to breathe properly. “You go so fast,” Greg told him as he finally reached the wall.

“Part of that is that I don’t need to stop to breathe.

Remember how I had you reaching out and rolling your body slightly?

That’s so you can breathe. You take a high stroke, without breaking your stride, turn your head above the water, breathe, and then continue going.

As you swim, you exhale and then do the motion again.

For competitive swimmers, one of the ways they can speed up their time is to breathe less.

So they try to get as many strokes between breaths as possible. It’s just a quick movement.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, what if I inhale water?”

“You won’t. A nice, smooth stroke and you’ll do just fine.

” Mark approached him. “But we can leave that until next time if you want.” He stood right in front of Greg, and damned if the guy didn’t have the most stunning eyes.

Excitement built for a few seconds, just long enough for Mark to realize that getting out of the water was going to be embarrassing.

“Why did you ask me over here today?” Greg held his gaze. “I know you said that it was to improve my swimming, and though I’ve been struggling for years, you helped me in a few minutes. But….” He bit that lower lip of his again, and Mark knew he was seeing Greg’s tell.

Mark nodded. “Well. You told me about the swimming issue, and I thought I’d try to help. I have experience in this area and… I thought you were kind of cute and that maybe I saw the same spark on interest in you that I felt, so I guess I hoped that maybe I wasn’t reading things wrong.”

“Oh. So this was supposed to be a date… of sorts.” Their voices echoed off the walls of the otherwise-empty pool building.

“You could call it that if you wanted to.” He didn’t dare look away.

Greg cleared his throat. “I guess the important thing is if that’s what you wanted?” He drew closer, his chest rising and falling. “You were the one who did the asking, after all.”

Mark’s heart beat fast enough that he could almost hear it.

The pool was quiet, with only the air-handling system whirring in the background, along with the water pumps.

He took an additional step forward and cautiously slipped a hand around Greg’s waist, drawing him closer.

“Then if I get to make the decision, I’d say that this was a date and that I was hoping to do this.

” He tugged Greg to him and kissed him, heat and excitement building in seconds.

Laughter in the background broke into his momentary reverie, and Mark backed away, groaning under his breath.

“Hey, Coach,” one of the women on the JV swim team called as she and a friend entered the pool area.

“Morning, Joselyn,” he called back, and wished to hell that she had better timing, especially since there was no way he could get out of the water now.

“Go on and swim back, remembering what I taught you, okay?” he said to Greg.

“I’ll watch you. And just remember to keep your strokes long and smooth.

Kick and think about propelling yourself through the water.

” Giving himself something else to do cooled him off, and by the time he reached the other end of the pool, Mark had himself under control.

Joselyn had started her laps, and the person with her seemed to be timing her.

Mark left them to their work and climbed out of the pool.

He grabbed his towel and tossed the other to Greg once he stepped out.

“Come on. Let’s head to the locker room before half of the campus decides that it’s a great day for a swim.

” He liked the solitude of being in the water alone.

Mark purposely left Greg to himself and let him shower and change before he did the same.

It was too soon for something more than that.

He had had his share of quickies and short-term things, but he was getting too old for that sort of stuff.

And seeing someone naked just after meeting them just seemed way too fast and an intrusion.

So he waited in his small office until he heard the locker closing.

Then he wandered out to find Greg putting his shoes on.

“That was pretty cool, and it felt good.”

“Being in the water always feels like home to me. I’m a good swimmer, and I never mind spending hours in the pool. Some of the athletes hate the practice time. They love competing and racing, but can’t stand the time it takes to prepare in the pool.”

“I suppose they’re teenagers, and they have so much going on that could pull them away.”

Mark nodded as he led the way out of the building. “That’s true. But if they don’t put in the time, then they don’t improve. The best swimmers in the world, all of them, spend hours in the pool every day. That’s part of how they got to be so good.”

“Mark,” someone called, and he turned toward the voice. “Oh, hey, Greg,” Steven added as they got closer. He paused as he approached, and Greg shook his hand.

“What’s up?” Mark asked.

“I took Connors and Wilson out last night. I think they needed a chance to blow off steam.” They all stopped under the shade of one of the maples that had just leafed out.

“I’m sure that Bates got to both of them.

When I brought him up after a few beers, they both looked at each other.

I told them that I got it, and their eyes got really wide.

Connors said, ‘You too?’ and then clammed up. Wilson looked about ready to explode.”

“What did you say?” Greg asked.

“I figured I had a chance, so I told them that they weren’t alone… and ordered another round.”