The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 32

Garrison nodded. "Understood."

*

Early one morning a few days later, Sloane Taylor stepped off a bus and walked up to a set of iron gates.

This was the Metropolitan Aquatics Center. The security guard at the booth was a young stranger wearing glasses, and it suddenly dawned on Sloane that she hadn't set foot here in five years. The distinct smell of chlorine mixed with the damp air washed over her, instantly awakening memories buried deep within her muscles.

She felt a long-lost sense of relaxation and joy.

Following her memory, she walked up the worn stairs to an office on the top floor. The door was slightly ajar, and Sloane tapped lightly on the wood.

"Coach Hayes, are you in?"

Inside the room, a man nearing fifty was bent over, sorting through boxes of files. The whiteboard behind him was plastered with unfamiliar maps and data charts.

Quentin Hayes looked up at the sound, adjusted his glasses, and stared blankly for a few seconds before recognizing the woman in front of him. "Are you... Sloane?"

Sloane looked at her coach, who had gained a few wrinkles around his eyes but still looked incredibly sharp. She smiled and walked in.

"It's me, Coach. Sloane Taylor, Class of 20xx. Do you remember me?"

"How could I forget? You were my best student!" Quentin hastily set down his files and ushered her in. "Sit, sit, come on in!"

Sloane stepped inside and sat across from him. "Coach, don't tease me."

He looked up, studying the woman before him. She was significantly thinner than when she won her medal, and her complexion was pale. He couldn't imagine what she had been through all these years... but he recognized the light in her eyes. It was a desperate, burning resolve.

It was the most precious, and most rare, quality an athlete could possess.

Quentin looked down in thought. After a moment, he met her gaze again, his tone dead serious.

"I'm sorry, Sloane. It's not that I don't want to take you back, but I officially retired from the swim team last year."

Sloane froze.

"However," Quentin continued, the light returning to his eyes, "I'm currently heading up a new project. I wonder if you'd be interested in joining?"