— t h i r t y - t w o —

as the meet progressed and Reed wasn't the only one getting worked up about competing. Dex started at every loud trill of the whistle, and Kessy was frantically trying to keep track of who was placing for every heat, in an attempt to discern how Woodway was doing. Her somewhat messy calculations came to the conclusion that along with Hampstead, they were pulling ahead of terms of wins. That only served to amp up the pressure for all the races they had left. Even Oliver, who liked to think he was a fairly unflappable person, felt the nerves twisting in his gut every time he was called up to take his position in the lane. It didn't help that Hampstead were doing so well and Finley was dominating his events.

This only seemed to fire Reed up further, who was paying as close attention to Finley's heats as his own. He scowled when the whistle blew to signal the end of the current race and Finley's name flashed at the top of the leaderboard to announce he had won his heat. "Prick," he growled, same as he had every time Finley took to the water.

"You won your heat for this event too," Oliver reminded him, trying to hide his amusement at how riled up Reed was. There was smug satisfaction too, in knowing Finley only bother him so much out of some kind of misplaced jealousy. Reed had no reason to be jealous but it was always nice to know he cared. "You're doing just as well as him."

"I know that. But I'm not leaving this competition until I've done better than him."

Oliver rolled his eyes, pretending he didn't notice the curious looks and whispers they were receiving from the others on their swim team. It could've been because they'd gone from two weeks of avoiding each other — an obvious enough shift in their usual dynamic that a couple of people on the team had asked Oliver about it, questions he evaded as best as possible — to talking together as usual, but more likely, Charlie's reputation of blabbing had pulled through. Besides Bailey and Kessy, and maybe Dex, no one else on the team would have any reason to suspect there was anything going on between Reed and Oliver.

Oliver's sexuality had never been a secret but something he kept on a need to know basis, rather than advertising it to the whole world. He didn't know most of the swim team well enough to know how they'd react to this news, but he would deal with any problems if they came.

With both Reed and Finley placing consistently first in their heats, it was inevitable they finally ended up against one another with the way heats were determined. Hampstead was sitting close enough to them on the poolside that Finley twisted around to look at them at the names that flashed up on the board. "Would you look at that," he drawled, gaze flicking to Oliver before settling on Reed with a smirk. "Round two of fighting for Oliver's honour."

Oliver was aware that Finley's comment was only attracting more attention from the rest of their team, who were no doubt hearing it in light of Charlie's most recent bit of gossip. "This has nothing to do with me," he said.

"I think blondie might agree to disagree with you there." Fin tipped his head in Reed's direction, seeming only more amused at the glare Reed was directing at him. Oliver knew Finley didn't particularly care about him, that there were plenty of other far more willing boys waiting for him back in London. He was only milking this teasing because he found it funny how much it pissed Reed off. "Shall we make this race more interesting? Up the stakes, as they put it."

Oliver frowned. "No — "

"Fine," Reed said, without even looking at him. His jaw was set, that familiar determined blaze burning in his eyes. Oliver knew with a sinking feeling that he wasn't about to back down from whatever Finley said. "Up the stakes, then. You'll be the one suffering from the repercussions."

"That's the spirit," Finley said, pleased that the bait had been taken. Oliver knew from the gleam in his green eyes he wasn't going to like whatever he was about to say. "Winner gets to kiss Oliver."

The words were intended to have an effect and they certainly did the job. Charlie's mouth dropped open and Kessy laughed, shrugging with an unapologetic look when Charlie elbowed her in the side. Murmurs of disbelief broke out among the rest of the swim team, who weren't even subtle in their eavesdropping now. Oliver opened his mouth to tell Finley exactly where he could shove his stupid stakes, only for the sharp sound of the whistle announcing the swimmers for the heat take their place to interrupt him Finley rose to his feet with a wink in their direction and sauntered over to the lanes, with an unbothered ease that only served to irritate Oliver further.

"Ignore him," Oliver said, turning to Reed with a grimace. "Seriously. He has another thing coming if he thinks I'm kissing him, whatever stupid games he wants to play."

Reed looked personally affronted at that. "Of course you're not kissing him because I'm winning this race."

"Okay, sure, but just forget about what he said. Swim the way you always do and of course you'll win, same as you've been doing all day. Finley is irrelevant in all of this."

Jeffries chose that moment to intervene with an impatient, "Reed! Get over there and take your place for the heat. Now is not the time for idle chit chat. And whatever this drama is between you and the other teams, save it for outside the pool," he added, with a warning jab at Reed. Oliver inwardly cringed at the fact that their coach had listened to that whole exchange. He meant it when he said he was done sneaking around in private but that didn't mean every single person in his life needed to know all the details. "You're here for one thing and one thing only, and that's to swim to the best of your ability. Don't forget the scouts watching you. Understood?"

Reed scowled but knew better than to do anything more than nod. He cast one last glance at Oliver, who offered him what he hoped was an encouraging smile, before taking his place with the other swimmers at the lanes.

"Hey," one of the guys on the team said. "Are you guys dating or something?"

Oliver wasn't sure if they were anything official enough to be dating but he didn't feel like getting into the whole complicated state of affairs and Reed had said he was done with hiding, which Oliver assumed was permission to reply with, "Yeah. Something like that."

"Is that a problem?" Kessy said in a hard voice.

The guy raised his hands in defence. "See if I care. Nah, I was just curious," he said, glancing at Bailey. "I didn't realise Reed was gay."

There was an unspoken question in the words but neither Oliver or Bailey gave him answer. Whatever Reed felt about his sexuality, and how much he was comfortable with other people knowing, that was his business. Oliver was saved from anymore questions at the loud buzzer to indicate the start of the race. He turned back to the pool just as the swimmers dove into the water. His gaze was drawn to Reed, as it always did without fail. Oliver watched with bated breath as the spectators in the stands cheered, Reed and Finley both taking the lead as they had last time. It was looking as if it was going to be another draw when at the last second, mere feet away from the end of the pool, Reed pulled ahead to slap the wall a millisecond before Finley.

There was an eruption of noise from Woodway's team, cheers and whoops that they were one victory closer to winning the whole meet. Oliver watched as Reed yanked his goggles off while still in the water and twisted around to get a look at the scoreboard. When his name flashed into existence at the top, he broke out in a grin and turned to search the crowd until his gaze found Oliver. It was impossible not to return the grin and in that moment, all the petty disagreements and misunderstandings faded to insignificance. All of it was worth it for Reed.

It was a close call, and Hampstead gave them a run for their money, but Woodway took the title of first place for the meet. There was lots of screaming and hugging when the results were announced, mainly from Charlie, but his happiness was infectious and the whole team was swept up in it. Oliver found himself receiving hugs from people he had barely exchanged more than two words with in the past year, plenty of them slapping him on the back and cheering him for how well he had swim. After all everyone had changed out, all the teams ended up in the great hall of the school as they waited for the family and friends who had been watching to join them.

Oliver sought out Marcie in the crowded hall, who greeted him with a tight hug. "Congrats on the win! You swam so well," she said, and when she saw Reed lingering at his back, she extended the greeting to give him a hug of his own. Oliver laughed at his startled expression. "And you, of course, Reed. I've never seen anyone swim the front crawl faster than Fin."

Finley, who turned from his own conversation at the mention of his name, rolled his eyes but he was smiling good-naturedly. "I know when to accept defeat," he said, and stuck out a hand to Reed. "Hey, no hard feelings, right? You won Oliver fair and square. As Marcie put it, I'm no match for someone who can outpace me in the front crawl."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Once again, thank you for objectifying me as if I'm not standing right here. I love to be used as stakes and something to be won." Unsurprisingly, because he seemed to find himself attracted to testosterone fuelled alpha males who had to turn affection into some kind of conquest, both Reed and Finley ignored him. Marcie gave his arm a sympathetic pat.

Reed eyed Fin's extended hand with obvious suspicion. "Is this a joke? Because I'll punch you," he warned. "Meet is over. No rules about bad sportsmanship getting me disqualified anymore."

Fin looked amused. "I'm sure you will. No joke, all seriousness. Marcie was right. You swam well today. You both did," he said, turning his attention on Oliver. For once, there was nothing mocking or mean-spirited in his gaze. For all the strangeness of the dynamic when they had been together, all the ups and downs, Finley seemed entirely sincere now. "So, truce? You guys can live happily ever after and we can all be besties?"

Marcie snickered into her hand and Oliver rolled his eyes again. "Don't push it," he said, but he was smiling too.

Reed took his hand Fin bobbed in front of him, but he made sure to do so as grudgingly as possible and muttered, "This doesn't mean I like you."

Finley winked. "I'm sure I can change that."

The arrival of the spectators from the stands spilling into the hall had Reed heading over to his family and Oliver went to follow him, fairly certain he'd spotted Lexie's blonde head bobbing somewhere in the mass of people, only for none other than Ife to step in front of him. Oliver drew to a stop, instantly wary and on guard. His old team captain had never had anything kind to say to him, especially since he had left her team, and he couldn't imagine losing out to first place because of Woodway wouldn't have softened any of that hostility. She appraised him with shrewd dark eyes, as if searching for something. Oliver wondered whether she found it.

"I always thought you were lazy and undisciplined," she said, by way of greeting.

"Nice to see you too, Ife."

She narrowed her eyes. "Let me finish. I always thought you were lazy and undisciplined, and maybe you still are, but you swam too well today for me not to acknowledge it as your former captain. So well done," she said, as if the words pained her a little but she was bound by some duty to say them. "I look forward to competing against you in the future. Rest assured Hampstead will defeat you next time."

She turned on her heel and marched off before Oliver had a chance to say anything. Still, after such rare and unexpected praise, he felt he had to say something. "You swam well too!" he called after her.

Without even turning to look back at him, she called back, "I know."

Oliver shook his head in bemusement and didn't get a chance to consider that strange turn of events, receiving peace offerings from both Finley and Ife in their own respective ways, because Lexie appeared at that moment to throw herself at his legs in a hug. He let her lead him to his parents, and Reed joined them soon enough with his family, along with Adam and Clair. They were all talking over the events of the meet when Mr Jeffries approached their group with a smile.

"Reed," he said, "I have a couple of very important people hoping to talk to you."

Reed glanced over with wide eyes at the two men standing by Jeffries. There was nothing special about them, both middle-aged and balding white men, yet Reed understood as well as Oliver that they must be scouts. "Holy shit. Sorry," he said hastily, at the admonishing look his father shot him.

One of the scouts chuckled. "That's quite alright, Mr Bishop. We aren't your teachers. If you swim at the Nationals as well as you did today, you can swear as much as you would like."

"Holy shit," Reed repeated, and this time, he barely seemed to hear his father's warning to watch his language. Oliver could hardly blame him. "Did you just say..."

"That's right," Jeffries said, looking as pleased as Oliver had ever seen him. "They were impressed with your performance today and are representatives of Swim England. You've qualified to take part in the Nationals this summer."

Reed just stared at him in disbelief and his family swamped him before he could start spewing anymore expletives, his mum kissing his cheek and his father clapping him gruffly on the shoulder, Elsie hugging him with a delighted smile. Lexie had no clue what was going on but threw herself at Reed for a a hug of her own in the middle of all the excitement. Oliver's parents offered their congratulations and Adam promised to buy him a shot when they next went out for drinks, his own version of congratulations. Even Clair was moved enough to say, "It's a good thing you swim better than you ski," and Reed was in such a good mood that he only laughed at the quip.

There were no words for how happy Oliver was for Reed and the only kind of praise he wanted to give him involved a lot of kissing, which was hardly appropriate for their current environment. He settled for giving his hand a quick squeeze and whispering, "I'm so proud of you."

Reed could have stopped planets with his smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll show you just how proud later tonight."

Reed squeezed his hand back and Oliver didn't know how his heart could feel so full without exploding.

After there had been plenty of mingling with family and friends, and the other teams began trickling out of the great hall as they prepared to head back to home turf, Charlie clambered up on the stage at the back of the hall. It was reserved for the headmistress to make addresses to the school during assemblies and certainly not for students to make announcements of their. None of this stopped Charlie from striding with purpose over the microphone, completely ignoring Jeffries demands that he get down from there.

"Ahem, excuse me. If I could have your attention," he said, tapping the microphone with enough vigour that there was an unpleasant screech of feedback. People clapped hands over their ears and Lexie made a loud, indignant protests. Charlie quickly moved his hand back with a sheepish smile. "Uh, sorry. But anyway, now that I have your attention! For those of you who want to have fun tonight, come to Spoons!"

"Which one?" someone on the Woodway team called.

"The Moon Under Water, of course! Right in the middle of town and the best place to get served even if you're — "

His enthusiastic explanation of which pub was best for a group with underaged students was abruptly cut off when Jeffries, who had stormed across the stage with surprising speed for a man of his age, snatched the microphone from its stand. He made sure to switch it off before giving Charlie a firing but Oliver was sure he was chewing him out with all the ferocity he knew judging from Charlie's bashful expression. Still, he didn't appear as if he regretted it, his remorse fading to a grin as he bounded down from the stage, and the scolding was worth it. The turn out at The Moon Under Water that evening was high. Most of the Woodway swim team were there and seeing as Hampstead wouldn't be heading back to London until tomorrow, Marcie convinced half of her team to come out.

Oliver was surprised to see Ife and considerably less surprised that Finley was among them. True to his extended peace offering, he bought the first round of drinks and proceeded to flirt with a totally oblivious Dex for the rest of the night. Oliver was just glad he had found a new victim to harass.

"So," Adam said, after Reed had downed what had to be the fourth congratulatory shot that Adam had bought for him. He became excessively generous with buying people drinks when he was drunk and Reed was also drunk, having had more than his fair share of congratulatory shots bought by the others on the swim team for qualifying to Nationals. In fact, it was late enough that their whole group was drunk, crowded around at least the tables in the pub and making most of the noise too. Clair was chatting to Marcie at one of the other tables so for two first time all evening, it was just the three of them.

"So?" Oliver prompted.

"When were you guys going to tell me the two of were a thing?"

Reed choked on his drink and Oliver, who was fairly drunk himself, only managed to stare blankly at him. When he imagined telling Adam about the two of them, which he knew they'd have to do sooner rather than later, it wasn't like this. In a crowded, noisy Spoons with Charlie trying to convince everyone to sing karaoke with him at the next table over. When Reed managed to recover from inhaling half of his beer too fast, he demanded, "Did Brooks tell you?"

"What? No. Neither of you are anywhere near as subtle as you think and I've suspected for a while. It was only when Clair agreed with me I seriously considered it being an option. Wait," he said, with a frown. "You told my brother before me? What the hell?"

"Of course not," Oliver said. "Brooks found out by accident. We asked him not to say anything."

Adam stared at them, as if he hadn't truly believed it until that moment. "So, what? You've been dating in secret this whole time?"

"Not dating, exactly," Oliver said slowly. "Just trying things out. Seeing where it went. Nothing that serious, at least not to start with." Well, maybe it wasn't serious for Reed. Oliver had always known his feelings ran far deeper than anything physical long before anything happened between them. But that was a little too intense for this conversation.

"And not the whole time," Reed added. "Only...since Christmas. Since Val Thorens."