Alexander

Forty--five seconds. Her eyes were still locked on mine, steady and confident.

A full minute. My chest was screaming now, but I'd be damned if I surfaced first.

Olivia's lips quirked into a smile underwater. Then she kicked off the bottom and shot to the surface.

I followed immediately, breaking through with a gasp. "I win."

"Barely," she panted, clinging to the pool edge. "You were about to pass out."

"But I didn't." I swam ...