Archive of Our Own

Ava’s favorite part of all her swimming competitions was the way her mind felt while she was in the water. They often asked what she thought about, if she ever worried about how fast she was going or how well the other swimmers were doing. Truth was that her mind always went blank. And knowing Ava, that was a miracle. 

But to be fair, it was not Ava’s only favorite moment. She also loved (just as much) coming out of the water as a winner, knowing she was one step closer to making her dream come true: going to the Olympics, and finally, finally, meeting that one new journalist that everyone had been talking about.

Beatrice Young. The newest addition to the most prestigious sport magazine and tv channel, who only interviewed the winners. Beatrice Young, the youngest, prettiest, and most definitely hottest sports reporter Ava had ever seen in her entire life. And of course, the hardest to get an interview with.

But then the day came, and Ava won the last competition that would’ve allowed her to qualify for the Olympics. And while her friends, family, coach, and teammates were celebrating, Ava only had one thought in mind: to win the Olympics. And to meet Beatrice Young, duh.

***

The Olympics Village actually looked bigger than expected. If it wasn’t for the map they had given her, and her two teammates (and best friends) walking with her, she would’ve gotten lost a billion times already.

“So, do you guys think the reporters will stay at the Olympics Village, too?” Ava asked after a couple of minutes of walking in silence.

Her best friends looked at her like she had grown two extra heads.

“And why the hell would they?” Camila looked extremely confused. While Lilith was the most skeptical of their entire little group, this time she had to join her to gang up against Ava’s delusions. “Is this about Beatrice Young, again?”

“Can anyone blame me, though?” Ava replied instead, throwing her hands at the sky.

“Yes Ava, we all can,” Lilith said, shaking her head disapprovingly. “We’re at the Olympics, the most prestigious sport competition in the world. Stop thinking about a random girl you’ve never even met.”

“Do we even know if she’s into women?” Camila asked.

“Yes, she has dropped an interview about being a lesbian sports reporter for gaytimes, a while ago,” Lilith replied. “Ava freaked out for a week.”

Ava suddenly stopped walking, feeling called out. “Ok, first of all, her sexuality is completely irrelevant because I’m not here to have a quick fuck and call it a day. She intrigues me, and I think we could work great as friends.”

Lilith scoffed, earning a slap from Camila.

“Hey! Why am I the one getting slapped? You know what happened the last time Ava was intrigued by someone!”

“Yes, I was there, thank you very much,” Camila said. “But that doesn’t mean you get to be an asshole about it.”

Ava smiled gratefully at her best friend. Then, while Lilith kept rubbing her arm, she continued: “Her sexuality aside, I do know we are at the Olympics. It would be nicer, though, to know where we are. And most importantly, where the fuck are our rooms?”

***

After ten more minutes of strolling around while pretending to know where they were walking towards, one of the volunteers found them and showed them the right way. Finally, after a couple of more wrong attempts, they found their small apartment.

It wasn’t anything special per se: it had a shared living room with a small kitchenette, three private rooms and one bathroom. It wasn’t majestic, but Ava loved it immensely since the very first moment she stepped foot in it. 

“Holy shit, the rooms have our names on them!” Ava ran up to her door to get a better look at it and pointed at the small tag in front of her. 

With a finger she traced the letters of her name, Ava Silva, and stared at the Olympics’ logo in the upper corner. She smiled wider than she ever did before. She was at the fucking Olympics, it really happened.

“Do you think we will be able to bring it home?” Ava asked, turning around and facing her friends. 

“Ava, don’t.”

“I know I will!”

Ava laughed, observing the way Lilith and Camila instantly stared at each other. After a couple of seconds, Lilith rolled her eyes and Camila threw her arms in the air in victory, with a satisfied smile. 

“Just leave me out of it, I don’t want to be involved in any of your mischief.” Lilith grabbed her bags and went towards her room without adding anything else.

Camila turned towards Ava, and instantly burst out laughing. A couple of curse words came from Lilith’s room, but neither girl gave it too much thought. That was just how their relationship worked: odi et amo, hate and love. Then, they walked into their respective rooms to settle down before their welcome meeting with the rest of the team. 

Even though they didn’t have much time, Ava immediately flopped on her bed, pushed against the wall. She closed her eyes and dove into the feeling of the soft mattress under her and hummed approvingly. She couldn’t believe she was actually there. From being the crippled orphan with no prospect for a decent future, she now was at the Olympics. 

Absolutely, fucking insane.

But before Ava could go down a dangerous path made of existential crisis and hatred towards those who took care of her before Jillian, her adoptive mother, found her and saved her from the mess, her phone vibrated in the pocket. She grabbed it distractedly and found a notification from Instagram. 

youngbeatrice added to their story

And what if Ava had all notifications on to Beatrice’s Instagram account? She liked to be informed on all sports news and Beatrice was the greatest reporter out there, regardless of Ava’s bias. 

Ava opened the notification and was immediately brought to Beatrice’s story, which showed an image of her, standing in front of the five rings, the symbol of the Olympics. Ava immediately sat up straight and looked at the image again. First of all, she looked absolutely gorgeous with her small polite smile and her hair put in a bun, as always. But also, she was standing by the Olympic rings? The ones standing across the street from Ava’s building? Before she could help herself, Ava typed a quick reply to Beatrice’s story and clicked send. 

you took a picture with the rings and didn’t come and say hi?? ouch 😔

It wasn’t the first time the two of them had interacted, but up until that moment it had been to simply congratulate each other on some of their accomplishments, and nothing more. It had mostly been strictly professional. 

“Oh my god,” she whined. 

Ava looked at the message she had just sent and dropped the phone on the bed. For the first time ever, she wished Beatrice ignored her completely and didn’t reply.

***

Beatrice’s reply arrived a couple of hours later, right at the end of the first team meeting. The entire group had agreed on getting something to eat before continuing the explorations for the rest of the day, while waiting for their time slot to go and train for a couple of hours before dinner. 

Ava felt the vibration in her pocket and actively chose to ignore it. After all, it could’ve been a message from someone else, but somehow Ava felt it. It had to be Beatrice. And so, she chose to wait, at least for a minute or two, just not to seem too eager.

“Hey, Aves, are you okay?” Camila looked worried. “You look a bit pale.”

“Oh… Uhm… Not it’s okay,” Ava muttered. “Yeah, no I’m fine, I promise, I think all the emotions are just catching up with me a little.”

Camila hummed in agreement and, luckily, didn’t investigate further. Ava took her distraction as the perfect opportunity to grab her phone and read the latest notification. Her stomach dropped a little when, indeed, she noticed that Beatrice had replied to her. 

youngbeatrice

Hello, Ava. I wasn’t aware you had already arrived at the village. I wasn’t aware, either, I should have come and said hi.

At this point, Ava genuinely felt like throwing up. What was she supposed to reply to that? She sighed and counted to three, trying to keep her heartbeat under control. She just hoped this wouldn’t have become a common occurrence, or her coach would’ve totally noticed the sudden spikes on her heart rate monitored by her wristwatch. It would’ve been extremely embarrassing to explain them.

silvava

yeah, we’ve arrived a couple of hours ago

Ava wondered if she should’ve sent another message. Should she have tried to keep the conversation going? Would it have made sense to do? After all, Ava was there to compete, not to meet a woman she had been drooling after for months, now. But then, Beatrice actually answered to her, so maybe she did want to talk with her?

Once again, it was Beatrice who put her out of her misery.

youngbeatrice

That is wonderful news. I hope you’ve settled down well.

Ava stared at the new message that had appeared on the screen. Wow, so she really was texting Beatrice Young, after all.

silvava

wby? when did u arrive?

also yeah, the rooms are very nice. i thought we were supposed to share but apparently, we all get our own room, which is great!!!

don’t tell camila but she talks in her sleep a lot 🥲

youngbeatrice

I arrived yesterday, but it was pretty late. So, I didn’t have the chance to come and see the rings for myself until earlier today.

I’ll see what I can do about keeping your secret.

Ava smiled widely at the last message. She expected Beatrice would’ve been the kind of texter who checks the grammar twice before hitting send, and she was correct in the assumption. She definitely did not expect her to play along with her jokes.

silvava

would it help if i asked pretty please? 

The moment Ava hit send, she instantly regretted the message. Begging? Already? Did she not have any bit of dignity left in her? She honestly just wished she could go back and delete the message, but before she could think of doing anything else, her phone was suddenly taken away from her hands.

“Hey, give it back!” Ava jumped up from her seat and tried to get her stolen phone back.

“Not until you tell us who you’ve been texting to.” Camila was smiling triumphantly. “Or maybe I could check it for myself.”

“Oh my god no, please, don’t.” Ava could already imagine her friend’s reaction to the last message she had just sent. “Please I actually need to try and see if you can delete messages on Instagram.”

“No, you can’t,” Mary, their massage therapist, said looking up from whatever papers she was reading through. “I learned it the hard way.”

Ava groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I think I have to retire from the Olympics.”

“What did you write that’s so embarrassing?” Mary asked. She walked up to them and tried to read over Camila’s shoulder. After a quick read of the chat, her eyes widened, and her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, baby girl...”

Lilith, who until that moment had been minding her own business, was suddenly interested. “Ava, who did you text something embarrassing?”

Ava, whose face was still hiding behind her hands, shook her head without saying anything. If that was Mary’s reaction, she definitely couldn’t deal with everything else that was about to come after her, including Beatrice’s own reaction. How could she ever face her again?

“She begged Beatrice within 3 minutes since the start of what looks to be their first real conversation,” Camila replied. “Oh, and fuck you, Ava. I’m not the one who talks in her sleep. It’s you who has full on conversations with only God knows who.”

Ava groaned even louder, her face burning under her palms.

“She’s totally into you, by the way,” Camila added.

Ava finally released her head and looked up to see Camila handing her phone. Her face was still red from all the heavy blushing she had just endured, and she was feeling hot all over her body. Cautiously, trying to not get her hopes up, she grabbed her phone back and read the latest messages that Beatrice had sent her.

youngbeatrice

I will have to think about it. For now, I’ll let you keep begging.

I have to go now, I have a meeting with my team. 

But, for clarity, should I come and say hi when I’m free?

And holy fucking shit, maybe Camila was right.

***

After replying to Beatrice one last time, Ava hadn’t been able to check her phone again for the rest of the day. After their quick meal at the cafeteria of the Olympic Village, where she met many new athletes, she had to jump right into her training session. Her first competition would’ve been two days later, and she had to put all the effort in her body to make sure she stayed at the top of her game.

Luckily, Ava loved her job. She loved pushing her body against her limits, seeing how far away she could bring it. She loved feeling her muscles pulsating in protest whenever she tried a little bit harder, whenever she pushed a little bit more. And, most importantly, she loved the massages she would get at the end of every training session.

“Your hands are heavenly, Mary,” Ava sighed happily. Her voice came out muffled, her face pressed against the towel that she had used to dry her hair and was now being used as a pillow.

“Yeah yeah, you’re welcome.”

“I’m so jealous of Shannon, right now.” Ava moaned in approval when Mary pressed against one particularly stiff muscle, pressing against it and releasing the tension accumulated in her body.

“She actually is jealous of you.” Mary laughed. “I spend so much time massaging my clients that when I go home, I don’t have the energy to give her a massage, too.”

Ava gasped. “And she still stays with you?”

“I wouldn’t make fun of the person who’s giving you a massage and knows all the spots needed to fuck someone’s muscles up.” 

Despite Mary’s threat, they both laughed, used to their teasing. Ava let Mary finish her job without additional distractions. Finally, when Mary gave her the okay to get off the bed, Ava straightened her spine and stretched with a satisfied sigh. Then, she gave her a quick thanks, and finally made it out into the streets to walk back to her new temporary home.

During her walk, she grabbed her phone, wanting to know what Camila and Lilith were planning to do. Due to Ava’s past injuries, her massages always lasted longer. Not that she complained, but it annoyed her to not be able to participate in organizing the evenings. Especially when it came to picking what to eat for dinner.

After sending a couple of quick messages to agree on where to meet up to go eat together, Ava found herself opening the chat with Beatrice. Beatrice hadn’t replied to her messages, yet. She had only viewed them and reacted with a thumbs up, nothing more. 

Ava sighed, wondering whether she should send her another message. Would that make her sound clingy, already? 

She ended up settling on delaying making a decision by stopping on a random bench and making a post she had been thinking about publishing for the entire day. They had managed to take some pictures with the rings, too, and while going through them Ava found herself laughing at the silly faces she was making with her friends. She really was a lucky one, to have found them.

Without paying too much attention to the selection, not really caring about finding the perfect photo, she posted it a couple of minutes later with a simple caption that made her giggle to herself: “Made it to the Olympics, got lost three times already. Ready to win the golden medal for best knock knock jokes.”

The notifications of people liking her post came immediately, but Ava didn’t give it too much thought. Until, right before she was about to turn the notifications to the post off, Beatrice's account popped on top of them.

youngbeatrice liked your post

“Already?” Ava couldn’t believe it. She refreshed her notifications a couple of times, convinced Beatrice’s name would’ve disappeared. But it stayed there, and when Ava clicked on her nickname it took her to Beatrice’s profile. It wasn’t a fake. 

Was she already scrolling through Instagram, or did she also have her notifications on? 

For Ava’s sanity, she decided to believe in the first conclusion she had come up with. 

Then, another notification.

youngbeatrice

Golden medal in knock knock jokes? I find that hard to believe.

Ava scoffed. She might as well be considered the honorary inventor of knock knock jokes herself, by how often she had come up with new ones.

silvava

i’m going to let this one slide but just so u know i’m extremely offended rn 🤚🏻

youngbeatrice

As the reigning champion, I am offended, as well.

silvava

what?? u make jokes??? 

youngbeatrice

I don’t know if I should be flattered or even more offended. I appreciate being taken seriously, but I can make jokes and laugh, too.

silvava

mmh, point taken. ig u’ll have to show me what u’ve got next time i’ll see u

youngbeatrice

I’ll make sure to come prepared, then.

When do you have your first competition?

silvava

the day after tomorrow

youngbeatrice

Are you nervous?

Ava stared at the screen, uncertain of her answer. Was she nervous? Of course she was, it would’ve been her first time competing at the most prestigious sport competition in the world. The only way it could’ve gotten better than that, would’ve been by winning it. But Ava wasn’t nervous because of the grandiosity of the event she was taking part in. She was nervous of what would’ve happened during the competition.

But that kind of conversation was too intense, for the time. Ava herself wasn’t ready to admit that kind of fear to herself. So, she decided to still tell the truth, just only part of it.

silvava

mmh no, not really

youngbeatrice

You’re really that confident in your abilities? 

silvava

absolutely 🤭

youngbeatrice

Good. Then I suppose I’ll say hi to you when I’ll interview you.

Oh. Ava had almost forgotten about that part. But the fact that Beatrice didn’t, made her stomach feel weird and tingly. Had she been thinking about interviewing Ava, too?

silvava

lol yeah, when it’ll happen i’ll know i made it. the interviews are only for the best of the best, right?

youngbeatrice

Exactly, only for the best of the best.

silvava

and u can come and say hi earlier btw, if u want

Ava held her breath, looking at the bubble of dots appearing and disappearing on the screen. Then, Ava decided she didn’t have the energy to think about it. So, she slipped the phone back in her pocket and walked home.

***

When Ava entered the living room, Lilith was sprawled on the couch and Camila was standing by her door holding a different pair of shirts in front of her.

“Oh, hello Ava! Quick, which one suits me better with these pants?” Camila asked, meeting Ava’s gaze.

“Uhm… The left one? Your left.” Ava pointed at the blue shirt. “Why are you dressing up?”

“I’m taking her out for dinner, I texted in the group chat earlier.” Lilith replied, showing her phone. “Did you get distracted by talking to your girlfriend, again?”

Ava blushed, realizing that she had, indeed, ignored her friends’ messages the moment Beatrice had texted her. Lilith sighed and shook her head, pretending to be disappointed.

“Is it your anniversary or something?” Ava chose to ask instead. She walked to the couch, and, against Lilith’s protests, she pushed her legs away and plopped down next to her.

“No, Lilith’s just romantic like that and wanted to do something nice to take some pressure off and to celebrate our first night together at the Olympics.” Camila was practically beaming. 

Ava returned her wide smile and hit Lilith’s knee lightly. Lilith pretended not to be interested in the conversation, but Ava saw the light blush creeping up from her neck. Lilith and Camila had been together for over two years, and even though Lilith often looked like she was disinterested in the relationship to the eye of the public, Ava knew that she treated Camila like a queen. 

“Well then, I guess I’ll better figure out what to do with the rest of my night.” Ava sighed dramatically, getting back up from the couch. 

Camila came out of the room finally fully dressed, and Lilith sat up to greet her with a quick kiss. “Well then, we better get going.”

“Have fun, and no funny business when you come home! We have training very early tomorrow.” Ava said over her shoulder, before they could exit the small apartment.

While Camila giggled at Ava's comment, Lilith seemed far from amused.

“We literally requested to not share a room, dumbass.” 

Then, before Ava could reply, Lilith had already pushed Camila out of the house, leaving Ava alone.

Ava sighed loudly, met with complete silence. Apparently, her first night at the Olympics would’ve been spent alone, at the cafeteria. But then, a vibration in her pocket got her attention. Oh yeah, Beatrice.

youngbeatrice

What are your plans for tonight?

***

Half an hour later, Ava was sitting by the Olympic rings, playing nervously with the hem of the shirt she had chosen to wear. Beatrice had given her appointment there, with the promise of going to grab some food in a much better place than the cafeteria, and Ava was absolutely freaking out.

The worst thing? She couldn’t freak out to her best friends, because all of them were occupied with a date of their own. Was Ava even on a date? Beatrice just gave her a time and a place, with the promise of good food. Nothing else. But what if it was a date? Did Beatrice even like her like that? It kind of sounded like she did but…

“You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Ava’s eyes shot up and were met with Beatrice’s hazel ones. Ava’s breath was instantly knocked out of her. Beatrice was standing a couple of steps away from her, hair in her usual bun and a white shirt tucked into black loose pants. She was smirking at her, like she knew what kind of crisis Ava was going through in her head.

But after the first few moments of absolute gay (well, bi) panic, Ava cleared her throat and teased right back.

“Someone has been working out for the entire afternoon and someone has promised me food.” Ava observed the way Beatrice’s smirk shifted into an amused smile. “So, where’s the food?”

Beatrice laughed, and Ava felt a wave of pride wash over her. She had made Beatrice laugh not even one full minute in their date-non-date that maybe was a date or maybe not. Whatever, she had made Beatrice laugh.

“Point taken.” Then, Beatrice offered her hand to Ava, who was still sitting down. “Shall we?”

Ava blushed once again, but took the hand offered to her. Beatrice’s hand was slightly colder than Ava’s, but she didn’t mind. In one swift moment, Beatrice helped her stand back up. Not that she needed any help, but Ava loved seeing the way Beatrice’s bicep tensed under the light exertion.

“Well look at that arm, someone has been working out, too,” Ava teased her.

For the first time since they had met up, Beatrice blushed. Much to Ava’s disappointment, she released her hand and put it in her pocket.

“I suppose being a sports reporter makes you want to keep in shape, too.” Beatrice shrugged her shoulders. “I also have a certain reputation to keep, you know.”

“I think your reputation is doing just fine anyway, with how hard it is to get an interview with you,” Ava replied, lightly bumping into her shoulder.

Beatrice chuckled in agreement. “Still. I like to hit the gym sometimes, it helps release any work stress.”

“I wish I could say I agree, but it’s literally my job anyway,” Ava smiled, and Beatrice laughed again.

While they kept walking, they kept the conversation light. In the back of her mind, Ava was still trying to not overthink their meeting too much, but every time Beatrice’s hand bumped into Ava’s, her stomach flipped. Of course, they were walking next to each other, and it would’ve been easy to accidentally bump into each other, but neither of them put effort into putting some distance between them. After the third time it happened, Ava decided that if she didn’t want to go crazy, she had to let it go. Instead, she focused on her surroundings.

Beatrice had guided her to walk along the beach. Once they reached a spot quiet enough in between the restaurants along the shore, Ava stopped walking and breathed in the familiar smell of the sea. She sighed happily, enjoying the noise of the waves crashing into the shore.

“You like the sea?” 

Ava turned her head around, to find Beatrice already looking back at her.

“I am a swimmer, Bea.” Ava laughed. “I spend so much time in the water I am actually surprised I haven’t grown gills, yet.”

Beatrice laughed too, but her eyes didn’t leave her yet. “Fair, but most of those hours are in the swimming pool. The sea is different.”

Ava hummed in agreement and turned back to look at the sea. She felt Beatrice walking closer to her, their hands brushing once again but still not fully touching.

“I learned how to swim in the sea, actually. My mom taught me, it was a requirement for us to go on a holiday together.” Ava shared with her. It wasn’t something she had told people, in general, but she didn’t mind talking about it with Beatrice. The girl transmitted a comforting aura that Ava couldn’t escape from. “It’s kind of weird, actually, to think about if I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have gone, and she wouldn’t have died.”

It was no secret that Ava had a tragic backstory of ending up a paralyzed orphan in another country. She had discussed it in many interviews at the very early stages of her swimming career, to avoid questions in the future about why her back was covered in scars, and those who were involved in the sport’s world knew about it. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder how Beatrice would’ve reacted to hearing it from her.

“But then you wouldn’t have become an Olympic swimmer,” Beatrice said, her voice careful.

Ava turned her head to give Beatrice a better look. This time, she found her staring at some point in front of her, entranced with the rhythmic movement of the sea.

“We don’t make history with ifs and buts,” Beatrice continued. “I think that what’s truly impressive is that you connected learning how to swim with your mother’s death and yet you still made it your entire life. Some would have hated the sea for the rest of their lives.”

Ava hummed in agreement. And after all, the sea, and the pool, were her best friends, too: they allowed her to get back on her feet, to learn how to walk again. Maybe they were involved in the series of events that led to her mother’s death, but they also were the reason why she got a second chance at life. And what a life that she was living, she thought. Standing by the shore, one day away from the start of the Olympics.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Beatrice said, meeting Ava’s gaze again.

“It’s been a long time.” Ava shrugged her shoulders.

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Beatrice replied. “Also, I still wanted to say it at least once.”

Ava smiled at her, grateful. Then, after realizing she had been staring at Beatrice for a little bit too long, she started looking around, rocking on her feet.

“So, food?”

Beatrice laughed at the way Ava practically wiggled. Then, she pointed at the entrance of a little dining spot squished between two much bigger restaurants.

“You’ll never believe how good their pasta is,” Beatrice said.

Ava practically glowed. “Well then, what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

Without overthinking it too much, Ava grabbed Beatrice’s hand and started walking at a much faster pace towards the pasta place Beatrice had picked for them. She only realized she had intertwined their fingers when they stopped before the door and found Beatrice looking flustered at her.

Ava tried to play it cool by opening the door for Beatrice and dropping her hand to use it to show her the way in. “Ladies first.” Ava said.

Luckily, Beatrice laughed and simply walked in. Ava sighed in relief and followed with a skip in her step. Her stomach was practically hurting her by how hungry she was, at that point.

The diner wasn’t big, with only a couple of seats by the windows and only a few more scattered around the room, but Ava didn’t mind it at all. She liked its simplicity and the feeling of privacy it was giving her. They picked the only seat left free by the window, with a view of the sea. Ava would’ve appreciated it more, if she hadn’t been so focused on basically inhaling the spaghetti she had picked for herself.

“Slow down there, tiger,” Beatrice laughed. “You wouldn’t want to risk choking on those spaghetti.”

“It would be a wonderful way to go, though,” Ava pointed out.

Beatrice hummed, amused. “I can already see the headlines: swimming prodigy Ava Silva chokes on spaghetti and dies.”

“Oh, so I am a swimming prodigy?” Ava wiggled her brows, teasingly.

“Didn’t you learn how to walk again like, five years ago?” Beatrice replied.

Ava hummed in thought, and started moving her fork around in the air, counting invisible numbers. “Four years and almost eight months.”

“See? A swimming prodigy.” 

Ava stared at Beatrice, who was looking at her with a triumphant smile. Ava furrowed her brows, trying to come up with something that would probably make her accomplishments seem not as impressive, but finally decided against it. Beatrice was right, what she did was really fucking impressive.

“Well then, at least you’d get the scoop.” Ava shrugged her shoulders and went back to attacking her plate of pasta.

***

After dinner, which had quickly turned into a contest of who was going to pay for it (Beatrice won but only after Ava made her promised she was going to let Ava pay for the next one - yes, she had freaked out the moment Beatrice agreed to it without thinking about it), they decided to go walk along the shore before turning in.

Ava had taken her shoes off, enjoying the feeling of the still warm sand scratching against her skin. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, completely focused on the warm sensations the beach was giving her: the wind against her face, the sand between her toes, the sound of the waves, the smell of the salt in the air.

“Why did you choose to become a sports reporter?” Ava asked.

She opened her eyes again and turned towards Beatrice, who was looking at her with a small smile. Beatrice’s smile widened at the mention of her job.

“My parents wanted me to become a doctor, or a lawyer,” she started. “But since I can remember I’ve always loved watching all sporting events and creating short reportages about them. One of my teachers found out about it and instead of ratting me out, she allowed me to practice with the school’s events, and eventually someone noticed me, and I was offered a job even before I could finish high school.”

Ava kept listening without saying anything but bumped their shoulders together to get Beatrice’s gaze back on her and give her a big proud smile.

“My parents hated that I was dropping their dreams of me going to Oxford, but around that time my grandma died leaving me a bunch of money, which, added to what I was making with my job, allowed me to pay for a degree in journalism on my own.” Beatrice continued, a shy but proud smile on her lips. “We kinda stopped talking after that. But when my parents found out that I was going to the Olympics, they tried to reach back. So, I blocked them.”

“Fuck yes, deserved!”

Beatrice laughed at Ava’s angry expression. She bumped into her shoulder and shook her head lightly. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Bea, what the fuck, that was quite literally the biggest fuck you anyone could ever come up with!” Ava looked incredulous. She started moving her hands around, trying to make her point clearer by making her gestures wider. “You did it despite them, you’re basically the greatest sports reporter out there, now.”

Ava was so worked up that she almost missed the way Beatrice’s eyebrows arched to match her growing smirk. 

“So, you think I am the greatest sports reporter, huh?”

Ava, who was still looking at Beatrice with her hands in the air, immediately dropped them. 

“Fuck you.”

Beatrice laughed at her, enjoying the blush spreading on Ava’s cheeks. Eventually, her laughter transformed into a much softer smile, which Ava tried to hide from by hitting her lightly on the arm.

But Beatrice saw it coming and was definitely quicker and caught her hand before it landed. Before Ava could protest, she laced their fingers together, and gently tugged her in the direction of the Olympic Village, to start walking back. Ava didn’t find any will in herself to fight against her.

By the time they made it back to Ava’s building, the entire area was quiet around them. Only a few apartments still had their lights on, and Ava could see that hers was not one of them. She wondered if Camila and Lilith had already made it back, or if they were already asleep. She hoped it was the first option, so to avoid questions the morning after, but knowing her luck, the latter seemed much more plausible.

“Do you already start working tomorrow?” Ava asked, once they stopped by the entrance of her building.

Beatrice nodded, looking down at their hands, still intertwined.

“I’m starting with some press conferences,” she said. “And tomorrow night I already have some interviews. My schedule is looking kind of wild.”

Ava tried to hide her disappointment, knowing that it probably meant it would’ve been basically impossible to see Beatrice again at least for a little while longer. 

“Maybe we could compare our schedules and see if any of our breaks match?” Ava suddenly felt shy. She felt as if she was exposing herself too much, but after the events of the night she basically knew that Beatrice was in her same turmoil of emotions just as deep as Ava. Still, it didn’t ease the nervousness of looking at Beatrice’s face, trying to predict the answer.

“I would like that, yes,” Beatrice smiled. 

Ava returned the smile, and eventually freed her hands from Beatrice’s hold. 

“Then thank you for tonight, Bea, I had fun,” she said. 

She felt her heartbeat spike up a little, when Beatrice blushed and brought one of her hands to scratch the nape of her neck.

“Yes, me too,” she finally admitted. “And I like that you call me Bea.”

Ava’s smile grew bigger. She didn’t even worry too much if she was looking like an idiot or not, right now. She didn’t care about anything, really, because her heart was beating so hard in excitement and happiness that she feared it might combust. Ava thought about what to say, but she couldn’t come up with anything. So, instead, she acted on impulse.

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Beatrice’s neck and pulled her into a quick hug. Before Beatrice could register what was happening, Ava took a step back, landed a quick kiss on her cheek, and disappeared inside her building after muttering a quick “Goodnight” above her shoulder.

Ava didn’t look back once and ran up the stairs so quickly that by the time she reached her door she was basically breathless. She entered the apartment quietly, and immediately walked into her room, closing the door behind her and sliding to the ground while hiding her face in her hand.

Had that night actually happened? Had Ava kissed Beatrice’s cheek, just to run away without giving her the time to think or say anything else?

A buzz coming from her pocket saved her from the existential crisis she was about to have.

youngbeatrice

You didn’t give me the chance to wish you goodnight.

silvava

next time?

youngbeatrice

Next time.

Goodnight Ava, sleep tight. ❤️

Ava had to bite her palm to stop herself from squealing. 

***

Turns out, their schedules really did not match. They only had a 20-minute overlap, between Ava’s gym session and swimming training, and before one of Beatrice’s many press conferences of the day, but they were both in completely different buildings. Because of that, Ava was in a much worse mood than the one she had gone to sleep in.

“So, did you hook up with someone last night and it was absolutely horrible?”

“What? No!” Ava’s head shot up from the game she was playing on her phone and threw a horrified look at Lilith.

“Then how come you came home after us and now you have a long face?” Camila asked, plopping in the seat next to Ava. 

She threw an arm around Ava’s shoulders and threw a glance at her phone, before relaxing with her back against the seat and shaking her head at Lilith.

“Ok, what’s up with all your looks?” Ava asked.

“We asked first.” Lilith smirked. 

Ava rolled her eyes. There was no use in hiding the truth from those two, anyway. “I went out with Beatrice.”

“Aha! I was right!” Camila cheered and offered her palm to Lilith. “Pay up, bitch.”

“You placed a bet on my love life?” Ava didn’t know whether she should’ve felt amused or offended. 

Lilith, who was huffing and pulling out her wallet from her pocket, shrugged her shoulders. “Camila bet that you were hanging out with Beatrice, I bet on you either having got lost somewhere in the city or being at a random guy’s place for a hookup.”

“First of all, ouch, I know I suck at geography, but I would’ve asked for directions to make it back home, thank you very much.” Ava pointed an accusatory finger at the couple. “And what if I actually just wanted to give you guys some privacy?”

Camila laughed. “You’ve walked in on us so many times, at this point, that I’m surprised you haven’t asked to join, yet.”

Ava pretended to gag, and Lilith glared at them. Eventually, however, Ava joined in Camila’s laughter and Lilith relaxed back against her seat. 

“But seriously, did it go bad? Is that why you’re all so sulky, today?” Lilith asked, this time no signs of teasing on her face. 

Ava felt warm knowing that her friends cared enough about her to notice the slightest changes in her mood. 

“No, it actually was amazing,” she said with a sad smile. “It was so good that we wanted to hang out again, but our schedules don’t match for the next couple of days.”

Lilith hummed in understanding, and Camila pulled her in a side hug. Ava let herself enjoy the warmth of her friend’s embrace. She briefly closed her eyes, and allowed herself to pretend, just for one moment, that Beatrice was the one hugging her.

“Well then, you better win so you get an interview with her,” Camila declared, after breaking their hug.

Ava chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“Way to make the Olympics about the gays,” Lilith muttered. “Winning the Olympics just to talk with a girl for a couple of minutes.”

“Ally!” Camila shouted instead, earning a few looks from the people around them and a light slap from Ava.

***

Ava jumped into bed with a heavy sigh. It was still too early to go to sleep, but she didn’t want to walk around and risk tiring herself out the day before the first competition. Instead, she settled on scrolling through her TikTok feed, turning her brain off one funny video about cats at the time.

bea 🐝

I hope training wasn’t too bad and you have enough energy left in you for tomorrow.

Ava looked at the notification at the top of her screen and turned around to hide on one side. She pressed her face against the pillow to try and hide her smile, failing. Oh, she was down so bad.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i’m ready for anything

you may as well already count me in the list of semi-finalists

bea 🐝

I know I’ve said it before, but I like how confident you are.

But how are you so confident?

Ava’s thumbs lingered a moment on her keyboard. There was the obvious and serious answer, or the lowkey flirty one. She pondered her options, while biting her lip in a nervous tick.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i have no other choice

i can’t let someone else win instead of me, and take away my few minutes with you

Ava looked with a smile at the dots appearing and disappearing on screen a couple of times.

bea 🐝

Is this your way of admitting you miss me and wished you could spend more time with me?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

that’s for me to know and for u to never find out

bea 🐝

I’ll take that as a yes.

Ava let out a giggle, which was immediately replaced with an annoyed groan. Giggling? What the fuck was Beatrice doing to her? Okay, she had been pining over her for months now, but giggling after talking with her for less than two days? Ava could only be glad Lilith could not see nor hear her.

bea 🐝

If it helps, I also would like to spend more time with you.

And I miss you too.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

oh?

bea 🐝

What, can’t believe it?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

well…

idk

i mean why would u we only hang out once

bea 🐝

I still had fun. And I am curious about you. You have an interesting way of seeing life that I enjoy and want to hear more about, but because of our busy schedules it’s hard. Plus, you promised me you were going to pay for food next time and I love free food.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

are u saying u’re talking with me bc of the money?

ouch

bea 🐝

Mmmh. More for the looks, I’d say. 

Ava felt the air getting knocked out of her lungs. She had been overthinking about not coming out as too flirty, and Beatrice was doing… that? Was she even aware of the effect she was having on Ava?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

holy shit

you sure know your way around words, huh??

bea 🐝

I’m not even trying, Ava.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

???

and wtf would happen to me when u do??

bea 🐝

Only one way to find out, darling.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

wtf bea

Ava could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Hell, she could even feel it between her legs.  Darling? Beatrice had just called her darling? How did she go from crushing on this girl to getting called darling, all in less than 48 hours? Fucking sapphics.

bea 🐝

Was it too much? I apologize.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

what?

no

bea no no i’m no

bea 🐝

You’re, no? 

Well, now I’m confused.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

the way you called me

darling

did things to me

bea 🐝

Oh.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yeah, oh

how can you be so forward and oblivious at the same time

bea 🐝

Secret talent?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

a talent for sure

jesus bea

i should probably go to sleep before i embarrass myself further

bea 🐝

No embarrassment whatsoever.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

easy for you to say

goodnight bea, i’ll talk to you tomorrow 🥰

bea 🐝

Goodnight, darling. Sleep well.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

you little shit

bea 🐝

❤️

Ava came on her hand three times that night, Beatrice’s name chanted breathlessly over and over again.

***

As expected, and hoped by everyone on her team, Ava effortlessly qualified for the semifinals. It wasn’t with her best time, but good enough for her to move forward, and that was enough for her and everyone else.

Beatrice congratulated her via text, and Ava wished once again she could’ve seen her among the people who had shown up to cheer for her. Even Camila and Lilith had managed to come on time to see her competition after theirs. But the moment she stepped out of the changing rooms and was overwhelmed with a second round of hugs and high fives from her team, the bittersweet thought quickly faded away in the back of her mind.

After some quick but still much needed celebrations, in honor of also Camila and Lilith making it through to the semifinals, all of them decided to keep the celebrations to a minimum and save them for later wins (not to jinx it or anything, but all of them preferred waiting until after the finals). Instead, they all decided to quickly head home and have an early night in, maybe play some cards or watch a couple of the competitions from earlier in the day they had missed.

“Hey, Ava, isn’t that your girlfriend?”

Ava didn’t even bother correcting Camila. Instead, she immediately looked up, following Camila’s gaze. Her heart felt like exploding in her chest: Beatrice was standing by the Olympic rings, looking down at her phone.

“Well, I guess this eases my worries about her not being as into you as you are,” Lilith commented. 

Ava glared at her. “Go make out with Camila or something.”

“You won’t have to ask me twice, come on Lil!” Camila grabbed Lilith’s hand and pulled her towards their building. They could’ve had presentations another time.

Ava, instead, quietly walked towards Beatrice. Before she could reach her, Beatrice, as if she was sensing her presence, looked up. They both smiled.

“Hey, I thought you had interviews,” Ava asked, blushing when finding Beatrice’s eyes looking at her with a soft look.

“They didn’t last as long as expected,” she replied. 

Beatrice stood up and reached out for one of Ava’s hands. She took it gently, and without breaking eye contact she brought it up to her lips, leaving a soft kiss on Ava’s knuckles.

“Congratulations for making it to the semifinals.”

Ava’s lips parted but no sound came out of them. In return, her cheeks reddened so violently she almost felt ashamed. But she did not pull back her hand, she did not move at all.

“That’s your cue to say thank you, you know.” Beatrice chuckled, lowering their hands but without letting Ava’s go. 

“Oh, fuck you, smartass.” Ava pushed her lightly with her free hand but was rewarded with Beatrice placing her own on top of hers, keeping it against her chest.

“I’m sorry I missed it,” Beatrice said. “But I am going to be there for the final.”

Ava smiled happily. Her blush had still yet to fade, but she didn’t mind it as much. They stared at each other in silence for some more time, smiling dumbly like two teenagers who were discovering their new crush. Then, Ava, once again, let her impulsivity take over.

“Do you want to come upstairs and chat for a bit?” 

Beatrice chuckled and dropped her gaze.

“I still have work tomorrow, and you have training early,” she pointed out. 

Ava pouted, but she knew that Beatrice was right. It was already a miracle that she had been able to come and say hi at all, all things considered.

“I really want to hang out with you again,” Ava said.

Beatrice squeezed her hands in understanding. Then, she pulled Ava closer and, before Ava could realize what was happening, Beatrice had wrapped her arms around her.

Ava melted in her embrace. She allowed herself to bury her face in the crook of Beatrice’s neck, her lips brushing against her skin every once in a while. Ava nuzzled her nose against her, enjoying Beatrice’s subtle shiver.

One of Beatrice’s arms was wrapped around Ava’s waist, while the other was a bit higher up, allowing her to draw soothing circles between her shoulder blades. Beatrice tilted her head gently to the side and pressed her lips against Ava’s temple. This time, it was Beatrice who enjoyed Ava’s shiver.

After what felt like an eternity, but still not enough time for Ava, Beatrice was the first one to take a small step back to break their embrace. Ava had relaxed so much in the embrace, that her eyelids felt heavy. She smiled sleepily at her and welcomed with a happy sigh the touch of Beatrice’s hand against her cheek.

“You should go to sleep, you had an intense day,” Beatrice murmured.

Ava hummed in agreement. She looked down at their hands, still interlaced, and smiled shyly.

“Goodnight then,” Ava said.

She didn’t move one muscle, this time. She stood there, looking at Beatrice and waiting for her to wish it back.

“Goodnight, darling.”

Ava’s jaw dropped. Her eyes widened, and her mouth twitched, a shocked half smile making its way through. Ava felt all the blood in her body rush into her cheeks and neck and chest and, embarrassingly, between her legs. 

“Oh wow, I really did break you, huh?” Beatrice laughed at Ava’s reaction, but Ava was still too flustered to function properly.

“Fuck you,” Ava whined, pushing Beatrice away a little.

Beatrice took half a step back, before pulling Ava right back in a short hug, still laughing. Ava let herself be held for a moment longer, giggling too, before finally stepping away.

“You’re a dangerous woman, Beatrice,” Ava murmured.

“I could say the same of you, Ava,” Beatrice replied.

“Bye, Bea.”

“Sleep well, Ava.”

***

Camila was crocheting on the couch, feet in Lilith’s lap, while Ava was finishing up her yoga exercise on the mat in the corner of the living room. The three of them had a break between lunch and afternoon training and had decided on going back to the apartment to relax a little. 

“So, when are we meeting your girlfriend?” 

Ava didn’t even bother moving from her position, which was stretching her back in that one nice way that she absolutely loved.

“Not my girlfriend, and if you continue being annoying like that, probably never.” Ava replied, counting to ten in her head before changing the position one more time.

“You know, that wasn’t a very friendly hug you exchanged, last night,” Camila insisted. “What do you say, Lil?”

Lilith, who was minding her own business, hummed in agreement.

“See? She agrees with me.” Camila smiled satisfied and continued with her activities.

“That’s not fair, she’s not even paying attention.” Ava groaned in protest. “Hey, Lil, am I your best friend in the whole wide world?”

Lilith, as expected, hummed again.

Ava raised her eyebrows at Camila, throwing her a look that was screaming I was right, you were not. But Camila shrugged her shoulders.

“That doesn’t change the fact that your hug was not a friendly one,” she said. “And she might not be your girlfriend, but that could change literally anytime, really.”

“Ugh, stop getting my hopes up,” Ava complained. 

She finally finished her yoga session and sat normally on the mat again. She straightened up her back and leaned against the wall, facing Lilith and Camila.

“I’m not doing anything, I’m just stating facts,” Camila replied. “So, when are we meeting her?”

Ava shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, probably after the Olympics. I haven’t really thought about the after, I’m just too caught up in the now.”

“I get what you mean.” Camila hummed in agreement. “But maybe you should talk about it with Beatrice, too. I mean, at least we’re all based in the same city so it’s going to be easier for you two to hang out once we’re back home, but you should discuss with her what she thinks about what you have right now.”

Ava groaned and let her head fall against the wall. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed her temples.

“What if she gets weird about it and I don’t even get to kiss her once?” If Ava could’ve heard herself, she probably would’ve felt embarrassed for sounding so desperate for a woman she had only met three days before. 

“Oh my god, just text the girl, Silva.” Ava’s complaining had brought Lilith back to Earth. It must’ve been bad, then.

With a dramatic sigh, Ava reached for her phone. The last few messages she had exchanged with Beatrice were from a couple of hours prior, when Ava had wished Beatrice a smooth morning without too much drama (which apparently was hard to get in the world of journalism), and Beatrice had thanked her with a heart. 

How does one even start that kind of conversation? How does one ask the girl they’ve been talking to for just three days how serious they were about their relationship which wasn’t a relationship yet considering how they hadn’t even kissed? Yet.

Ironically enough, it was Beatrice who made the decision for her.

bea 🐝

Just started my break.

How is it going for you?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

hey, i was actually about to text you too!!

glad you’re on a break, it means i can annoy you more 🤭

all good here, too. just finished my yoga sesh of the day. we’re heading to the pool, soon

bea 🐝

Oh, you wanted to text me? Thinking about me?

You could never annoy me.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i always think about you, duh?? have u seen those biceps excuse me

and u say that now, but u haven’t seen me at my full annoying potential, yet

bea 🐝

You were thinking about my biceps?

And I’d like to see you at your full annoying potential, just to prove you wrong.

Ava smiled at Beatrice’s last message. She didn’t believe her yet, but the fact that Beatrice thought she could handle her annoying self-made her feel warm inside. Before replying, she threw a glance at Camila, who was blatantly staring at her with a wide grin. 

“Whipped.”

Ava rolled her eyes and went back to texting.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

well, those too, yeah

but i was actually talking with my friends earlier

and they were wondering if you’d be down to meet them, at one point

but like i’d like to hang out with you more, first, if you actually do want to meet them

but then i did the math and after all i’m staying here only for (best case scenario) 6 more days and then i have to leave the apartment

but 6 days aren’t much considering how we’re both working full time

and

bea 🐝

Hey, Ava, could you breathe for me?

Ava took a deep breath. She was freaking out. Why had she started the conversation already? She should’ve just kept flirting with Beatrice and ignored Camila. Fucking Camila, who had managed to enter her head.

bea 🐝

Better?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

a bit, yeah. sorry

bea 🐝

For what?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

for freaking out on you

and already asking you to meet my friends after we literally only ever went out once

and for basically assuming a lot of things in our relationship without we ever discussed anything before because, well, we’ve been talking for like three days

Ava looked helplessly at the screen in her hands, and at the bubble of dots appearing and disappearing under her gaze. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat, and her stomach turning in anticipation and anxiety. This wasn’t really how she would’ve wanted for the entire thing to go. She would have much preferred to have this conversation in person, looking into Beatrice’s eyes, but time wasn’t really on their side. Once again, she wished she had waited before starting the conversation. 

bea 🐝

I would rather have this conversation face to face with you, if that’s okay.

But you don’t have to worry about freaking out on me, and about anything else, really.

I could come to you tomorrow, after the semifinals?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i would love that, actually

especially the talking in person

idk why i thought this would’ve been a good idea, i actually hate texting

bea 🐝

You’re okay, darling.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i should’ve never told you how bad it fucks up with my brain

bea 🐝

I am very glad you did.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

gne gne

anyway

thanks for being the rational one 

bea 🐝

Whatever you need.

And if it makes you feel better, my friends have been asking about meeting you, too.

But now focus on your competition.

You have an interview to win 😊

If messages could’ve killed, Ava would’ve been six feet under.

***

Ava loved the feeling of being underwater. She loved the way the water sounded around her, how everything was muffled and all she could really feel was the sound of her heartbeat and the blood running in her veins.

There was something special about having the privilege of experiencing your body like that. It was Ava’s favorite method of meditation, even though rather than being focused on her breathing, it was focused on her ability to not breathe. Still, it grounded her, and she always started and finished her training sessions like that.

Even though she was at the Olympics, that habit was not going to change. So, Ava found herself staying behind for a couple of minutes (as long as her lungs permitted her), before following the others in the showers.

Truth was that reality was starting to catch up with her. She had felt it hitting her even harder than usual, especially since after qualifying for the semifinals. Ava already knew that she really wanted to get to the final, but she didn’t realize how much she had wanted to get there until the chance of making it had become so real and so close to becoming true. 

But now it was there, one step away from her. Or at least, so it seemed. Ava knew that it actually depended on a lot of things, the biggest being her back. Her back, who had behaved perfectly until that day but could give up on her for no particular reason. Ava could only hope that all the stretching exercises and extra massage sessions would help it stay on track.

A sudden jerk made Ava open her eyes, to be met by Camila’s wide smile. Ava smiled back and then kicked her feet to take her back to the surface and breathe in again. Camila came back to the surface a beat after Ava’s. 

“Were you trying to break the world record of breath-hold diver?” Camila joked.

“Please, the world record is above 20 minutes, and I turn blue after 4.” Ava splashed some water at Camila, who laughed in response. 

They swam back to the poolside and, while Camila pushed herself out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool, Ava remained inside, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness.

“What’s on your mind, Aves?” Camila suddenly asked, her smirk replaced with a concerned look. 

Ava looked up at her friend, who was already staring back at her. “I just can’t believe how fast all of this is going, and I am scared I’m not going to enjoy it fully.”

Camila hummed in agreement, but didn’t chip in. She kept on looking at Ava, knowing that there had to be more. Ava sighed, but smiled, nonetheless. Of course, Camila would see right past her.

“It’s my back,” Ava said. She looked at the way Camila’s frown deepened and smiled reassuringly. “It’s not acting up, at least not yet.”

“Then what about it?” Camila asked, confused.

Ava hesitated. She focused instead on the way the water was swaying around her. In the back of her mind, Ava wondered if she enjoyed the feeling so much because it reminded her subconscious of the times her mother swayed her around, when she was a baby.

“I’m scared it is going to act up, and that it’s going to blow my chances of participating in the final. Or my chances of winning in general.” Ava replied. 

Ava lowered her gaze, trying to avoid Camila’s, but her best friend already knew her too well. She jumped back into the water and went to hug Ava.

“But it won’t,” Camila said, without letting Ava go. “It won’t because you’re doing everything you have to keep it in check.”

“I know but…” Ava’s voice trembled a little. “It has acted up before. How do you know that it’s not going to act up now?”

Paying attention to not break their embrace, Camila shifted to be able to look at Ava. This time, Ava met her gaze. 

“Your fear is valid, and I am not trying to dismiss it at all. But, Ava, the times it acted up you weren’t taking care of yourself either.” Camila pointed out. She smiled gently at her but kept their eyes locked. “Now, though, you have doctors who keep checking up on you, you’re doing your exercises extra carefully and you don’t skip one single physical therapy session. And most importantly, you listen to your body when it asks you to take a step back. You recognize the signs and act on them on time, without hiding the symptoms. You’ve learned to make it part of you, even though it’s tiring and even though it’s scary.”

Ava nodded. Camila was right. Once, her relationship with her back had been much harder, because she refused to recognize that some things would’ve been harder for her to do. She wouldn’t have been able to lift weights, or climb, or run for miles, or do anything that would put additional pressure on her spine, but she had tried anyway, often causing additional pains to the ones she was already fighting against. But then swimming had become a part of her life again, and with the help of a therapist she had learned to embrace the new version of herself. 

“Plus, you’re a swimmer. That’s quite literally the best sport you could be into, as someone with back issues.”

Ava chuckled, and hugged Camila once again. She didn’t know how to reply to all that, but she hoped the hug would’ve been enough. 

“Ew, what’s with all the hugging?” 

Lilith squatted by the edge of the pool, a towel on her shoulders.

Camila broke their hug and laughed, without saying anything. Ava met her gaze and understood that was her way of giving her an out. If she wanted to share it with Lilith, it was up to her. Ava felt her heart swell, full of gratitude for her best friend.

“I was trying to steal your girl, clearly.” Ava joked.

Camila, who had already pushed herself out of the water to greet her girlfriend with a kiss, laughed again.

“And that worked amazingly, clearly.” Lilith smirked at Ava, and went back to steal another kiss from Camila, just because she could.

Ava stuck her tongue out at her.

“Alright, no more fighting kids.” Camila said. “Let’s go grab some food, instead. I’m absolutely starving.”

***

The moment right before hearing her name called to go up to her lane line was always in Ava’s top 3 worst feelings. But the moment her name was called out, and she had to take a step forward to enter the arena full of cheering people, everything else would disappear and it would just be Ava, her breathing, and her desire to enter the water as quickly as possible.

The cameras didn’t exist anymore, nor the noise of the crowd cheering for her. Ava would always walk straight to her chair, quickly undress and, as the last thing, take off her mother’s necklace to place it on top of her hoodie. Call her superstitious, but she found comfort in her routine.

The semifinals were no different. Ava went through each step like clockwork, starting from that first step towards the entrance of the pool deck and ending with the light kiss on the necklace before turning around and reaching her lane line. 

She could hear the noise surrounding her, but her gaze fixed on the water in front of her helped keep the focus on herself rather than the environment she was in. She slapped her muscles a couple of times, helping the warmup process. 

“Take your mark.”

Ava’s body worked on autopilot. She stepped on the block in front of her and took position. She breathed in and breathed out. The moment the signal hit her ears, she dived in.

From the instant her head went underwater, nothing else mattered. Her mind went blank: no more questions, anxiety, fears, what ifs. It was just her and her strokes.

One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe.

She kept kicking hard and swimming as fast as possible, not a single care in the world. But then her fingers touched the touchpad, and Ava could only wish it would’ve lasted a bit longer.

Reluctantly, Ava raised her head from underwater, just to be met with loud cheers. She took her goggles off and turned around to get a look at the big screen keeping track of the time of each swimmer. Her name was at the top of the list.

Ava laughed incredulously, looked around and then looked back at the screen. She was a finalist, she had done it. 

***

Ava’s smile had yet to falter. She had smiled brightly throughout the entire dinner, joking around with Camila and Lilith who had also managed to qualify for their finals. Ava swore that eventually her face muscles would’ve cramped by how big her smile was, but she simply could not stop herself. 

On the contrary, Ava found herself smiling even wider the moment she recognized Beatrice’s silhouette waiting for her by the door of her building. She was so happy she didn’t even bother brushing off the umpteenth joke about her girlfriend being there, choosing instead to walk right into Beatrice’s arms.

Luckily, Beatrice had seen her coming and had prepared herself to catch the overly excited woman. Ava wiggled in her arms, making Beatrice laugh.

“Congratulations Ava, that was a spectacular race,” Beatrice said.

Ava took a step back, still beaming. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” Ava said. “We rewatched it at dinner, I can’t believe how fast I was going. In my head everything was going in slow motion! And I got first place, too!”

Beatrice laughed again and nodded at Ava, who was waving her hands excitedly. Then, a cough broke their momentum and Ava spun around so quickly she almost lost her balance. 

“Oh, Cam, Lil, hi, well…” Ava stuttered. She had totally forgotten about them.

“Yes, Ava, hi.” Lilith rolled her eyes. “We were walking back together from dinner, remember?”

Camila glared at her and slapped her lightly. Before Lilith could protest, Beatrice took a step forward and offered her hand to shake.

“I’m Beatrice Young, nice to meet you,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Lilith hummed in acknowledgment and shook her hand. “Sadly, if I must say, same.”

Ava blushed furiously and was about to start rambling a proper explanation, but Camila’s loud groan interrupted her. 

“What she means is that we’re happy to finally meet the mysterious woman who has been taking up all of our friend’s time.” Camila said, taking over the conversation. “And that we’re now going to go upstairs.”

Lilith kept staring at Beatrice for a beat longer, before straightening her back and finally releasing the grip on her hand. She offered her a nod, and then shifted her focus on Ava.

“Don’t stay up too late.” And just like that, Lilith was already inside the building and walking up the stairs.

Camila threw an apologetic look at Beatrice. “That means that she likes you, by the way.” Then, she ran after her girlfriend.

The moment the building’s door closed behind her, Beatrice turned to look at Ava. 

“Is your friend always so…”

“Acid? Uptight? Pain in the ass?” Ava sighed loudly. “But she’s also one of the most considerate people I know, weirdly enough. She just doesn’t deal well with strangers and loves to tease the shit out of me. That’s all.”
Beatrice chuckled.

“She really does like you though, otherwise she would’ve made up an excuse to bring me upstairs with her right on the spot,” Ava said. “It has happened before.”

“I’m glad, it means you have people that care about you and that you can count on,” Beatrice replied. 

Ava smiled and nodded in agreement. She really was a lucky one to have friends like Camila and Lilith. Then, before she could get lost in her own thoughts, Beatrice took a step away from Ava, and offered her hand.

“Want to go to the beach?” 

Ava didn’t need to get asked twice. She took Beatrice’s hand and started walking towards the sea. 

The walk didn’t take long and was entertained by light conversation. Ava was interested in finding out simple stuff about Beatrice, such as her favorite color (navy blue) and favorite flavor of gelato (dark chocolate, which earned her a “oh my god you’re a monster” from Ava), and the questions never seemed to stop coming.

“And what’s your favorite piece of clothing?” Ava asked again.

“Piece of clothing?” This time, Beatrice couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “People have a favorite piece of clothing?”

“Well, yes!” Ava exclaimed. “It could also be nothing, meaning you prefer being naked.”

Ava instantly turned red, and Beatrice’s laugh only grew louder.

“You’re totally picturing me naked, right now,” Beatrice teased her.

Ava pushed her, but their hands stayed linked, and she did not deny anything. 

“Come on, what is it?” She insisted.

Beatrice decided to have mercy on her and finally replied.

“In winter fluffy socks,” she said. “But in summer… I think probably any short-sleeved shirt.”

“Short sleeved shirts?” Ava laughed. “Wow, you’re such a lesbian.”

“Well, since you’re such an expert, what would be yours?” Beatrice replied.

Ava smiled at her, and when Beatrice met her gaze, she immediately knew that her answer was going to be trouble.

“I actually do prefer being naked,” Ava replied.

This time, it was Beatrice’s turn to blush violently. Ava laughed and took a step closer to Beatrice to bump into her shoulder lightly.

“I promise there’s a reason,” she said. “For a long time, I couldn’t feel anything on my skin, but when I’m naked my skin gets super sensitive from the air and the things I touch, because it’s not blocked by the clothes I’m wearing. I just don’t do it often to enjoy the feeling of those rare times I actually do it.”

Beatrice’s blush did not falter, but she nodded in understanding. Then, she stopped walking, the seashore a couple of steps further away from them.

“Want to sit here?” She asked.

Ava agreed. Regretfully, Beatrice had to drop Ava’s hand, but the moment they found a comfortable position for the both of them, Beatrice offered her hand again for Ava to hold. 

Rather than holding it like the last time, Ava started tracing the lines on Beatrice’s palm with her fingertips.

“Hey, Ava?”

Ava hummed, looking up at Beatrice. She was looking at her with a soft smile, and Ava almost blushed under her gaze.

“I’m sorry I haven’t made myself clearer,” Beatrice said. Her gaze dropped momentarily on their hands, and she closed her hand around Ava’s index finger, stopping her from drawing imaginary lines on her palm. “I really do like you.”

Ava freed her fingers from Beatrice’s grip, and applied pressure on Beatrice’s closed fingers to open her fist back up. Ava looked at the way her fingers found a new space in Beatrice’s hand and smiled at the feeling of having Beatrice’s fingers wrapped around hers.

“I really like you too, Bea.” Ava felt her heart skip a beat. 

Both Ava and Beatrice laughed, not able to stop themselves. Ava moved impossibly closer to Beatrice, wrapping her other hand around Beatrice’s torso in an uncomfortable but much needed side hug, relief washing over her.

Beatrice hugged her back, and pressed a kiss on Ava’s head.

“I would like to take you out on a proper date, after you win the Olympics,” Beatrice murmured.

“Yes, yeah. Okay,” Ava was breathless. “Holy shit I’m really having it all, right now.”

“We both are,” Beatrice replied.

“You have to stop being such a charmer though, my heart can’t take it,” Ava groaned, breaking the embrace but not letting her hand go. 

“No can do.”

Ava pushed her lightly, expecting Beatrice to resist her. Instead, Beatrice grabbed her arm and took her down with her, making them both land on the sand. Ava squealed, making Beatrice laugh even harder.

“Now my hair is going to be full of sand!” Ava complained. “Bea!”

“Wet hair suits you anyway,” Beatrice shrugged. 

Ava sighed loudly, but she was wearing a big smile. Then, she rolled over to her side, placed her head on her hand and looked at Beatrice. 

“Sorry for yesterday’s freakout.”

Beatrice placed an arm under her head. She freed her other hand from Ava’s grip, cleaned from any sand on her shirt, and pulled it up to brush some hair out of Ava’s face.

“I’m not even sure I understood what you were freaking out about, really,” she replied.

Ava felt like hiding her face behind her hands again, but resisted the impulse just to feel the way Beatrice’s hand was tracing her temple.

“It’s a complex thought process,” Ava tried to brush it off.

“Tell me, if you want.”

Ava smiled at Beatrice’s gentleness. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Asking you to meet my friends felt like a big step, already, because they are basically the only family that I have, and I really like you, but I didn’t know you liked me back. I mean, of course I had my suspicions, but I didn’t have any confirmation,” she started explaining. “And so, I started thinking that first I would like to know you better and have some time only for the two of us. But then I realized that I have to leave too soon for us to actually get to know each other properly. And then I started thinking about what’s going to happen after the Olympics and that was pure panic material.”

Ava took a deep breath after she finished talking. Her eyes were still closed.

“Could you open up your eyes for me?” Beatrice asked. Ava couldn’t find any reason why she shouldn’t. “There you are, hi.”

“Hello.” Ava blushed.

“First of all, as I already said, I really like you too,” Beatrice said. “I liked you even before, I just didn’t have the courage to talk to you earlier, especially because I am a bit of an internet grandma and would much rather start a conversation in person.”

Ava smiled at that and tilted her head to the side to leave a light kiss on Beatrice’s wrist. The fingers who were playing with her hair trembled a little, but never stopped.

“I also would like to meet your friends and for you to meet mine, but I also would like to spend more time with you, first,” Beatrice continued. “I want to keep you for myself for a little while longer before having to share you with my friends, because I know they’ll love you and will want to hang out with you all the time.”

Ava laughed.

“And if you’re scared about the post-Olympics because of what it could do to our relationship, I just want you to know that I do not consider this a fling or whatever the kids say nowadays.” Despite Beatrice’s joke, Ava could see that she was serious, and she meant what she was saying. “I want to keep hanging out with you even after. I… I actually had an idea.”

Before Beatrice could continue, she stopped and suddenly blushed violently.

“What?” Ava asked, confused. 

“Uhm… Well, of course I don’t expect anything because I don’t know what your schedule looks like or anything but…”

“If you keep leaving me hanging like this, I will start screaming at you,” Ava warned her.

Beatrice chuckled, and Ava looked at the way her throat moved while gulping.

“I wanted to ask if you’d like to stay for the rest of the Olympics,” Beatrice finally blurted out. “I know that I’d be working for most of the time, but my nights are usually going to be free, and sometimes I have the afternoon off, and we could go visit the city together and hang out.”

Ava’s frown was quickly replaced by a big smile. She nodded, and Beatrice’s eyes widened.

“You’re sure?” 

Ava giggled and dropped her head on Beatrice’s chest. She looked up again, still smiling widely.

“Of course, Bea,” Ava murmured. “I was already thinking about it myself.”

Beatrice sighed in relief, and Ava felt Beatrice’s muscles relax under her. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until then, and Ava pushed herself back up to leave a kiss on Beatrice’s forehead.

“Ok well, now that that’s settled, I think it’s time for us to go rest,” Beatrice said. 

Ava huffed but pushed herself back up. She offered a hand to Beatrice, who took it gladly, and Ava helped her stand again. They stumbled a little, Beatrice not expecting how strong Ava was, and Ava not expecting for Beatrice to be so light. But eventually, they found their balance again, Ava’s hands holding Beatrice’s waist, and Beatrice grabbing Ava’s arms.

“Hey, Bea?” 

Beatrice hummed in response, tilting her head a little.

“Knock knock?”

Beatrice laughed, throwing her head backwards and making Ava feel all giddy inside. 

“Who’s there?” 

“Eyesore,” Ava grinned widely at Beatrice’s confused expression. 

“Eyesore who?” Beatrice asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Eyesore do like you!”

Beatrice’s frown immediately relaxed, replaced by a stunned expression which quickly shifted into another loud laugh. 

“Oh wow, that was absolutely horrible,” Beatrice said, still laughing.

“Thank you, I try my best,” Ava giggled, feeling her stomach turn upside down at the feeling of having made Beatrice laugh so hard. 

Then, Beatrice calmed down, and so did Ava. Beatrice brough one of her hands up, brushing against Ava’s cheek while putting a strand of hair behind her ear. Ava observed the way Beatrice’s eyes followed the movement of her hand, before going back to Ava’s face.

Beatrice kept her hand immersed in Ava’s hair, and Ava tilted her head to press into her hand. She closed her eyes and sighed happily. But when she opened them, she found Beatrice’s gaze lower than her eye level.

Ava cleared her throat, feeling her mouth suddenly go dry. 

“Ava…” Beatrice’s voice was hoarse, as if she hadn’t spoken in hours. Ava felt like shuddering. “Can I kiss you?”

Never in her entire life Ava had wished so much to kiss someone. The desire was running so deep in her veins, burning her and bringing her back to life, that she almost worried that if she waited one more second, she simply would’ve burst into flames.

So, Ava didn’t wait, and broke the very little distance that was left between them to finally, finally kiss Beatrice. And holy fucking shit, Ava was kissing Beatrice Young and Beatrice Young was kissing her back.  

Beatrice didn’t wait a moment to reciprocate the kiss. She quickly adjusted their position by placing her hand more firmly in the back of Ava’s head and tilted hers to have better access. Beatrice took Ava’s lower lip among hers, and sucked lightly, earning a surprised gasp from Ava that seemed to increase Beatrice’s eagerness. Ava pushed their hips closer together, and the moment Beatrice released her lower lip Ava went right back in. 

Ava felt her head spinning, and it was barely even the beginning. Beatrice was gentle but firm in her movements, sucking and biting Ava’s lips with such intensity that Ava never managed to create a coherent thought in her head. Her only thought process was to keep kissing her, and to never stop.

When Ava finally deepened their kiss, and their tongues touched for the first time, Ava could swear she heard a moan coming from Beatrice. She felt a shock run through her entire body, landing in her lower belly and igniting a fire in her. Holy shit, Ava was getting wet simply from kissing Beatrice.

And maybe it was the realization that if they had continued it would’ve been hard to stop, or the fact that Ava’s heart was pounding so loudly in her head from the lack of oxygen that she swore that her eyes could’ve popped right out of their sockets, but eventually Ava took control of the kiss and started slowing down the rhythm. Beatrice quickly matched her new pace, and eventually sealed their kiss with three quick smaller kisses pressed on Ava’s lips.

Ava released a breathless laugh and hid her face in the crook of Beatrice’s neck. 

“Holy shit, Bea,” Ava’s breath was still erratic. “That was…”

Beatrice nodded in agreement, her chest shaking a little with her light laughter. She then pressed her fingers deeper in Ava’s head and started scratching Ava’s scalp.

“Well, now I don’t want to go back anymore,” Ava mumbled. 

“If it helps, me neither,” Beatrice said, her voice just above a whisper.

Ava hummed. She nuzzled her nose against the skin, and pressed a light kiss there which earned her a light shudder.

“I feel like I’m the luckiest woman on Earth,” Beatrice laughed again. “I can’t believe I’m actually dating you, now.”

“You say that now, but you’ll regret this later on once you’ll see how annoying I really am. But by then it’ll be too late, and you’ll be stuck with me,” Ava replied, earning a light slap from Beatrice. Ava simply laughed in response.

They remained in their embrace a while longer, Ava enjoying the feeling of Beatrice’s warm skin pressed against hers, and her perfume invading her senses. She wished the night would never end.

“I wanna kiss you more,” Ava said, breaking the silence.

Beatrice laughed.

“Nothing's stopping you, darling.”

And when Ava groaned in response, knowing Beatrice had done it on purpose, Beatrice could only laugh harder.

***

Surprisingly, when Ava came out of the shower it was not exceptionally late. It still was past her usual bedtime, but not late enough to make her stress about being too tired for training the morning after. And in any case, their slot was booked for later in the day, giving her the chance to finally sleep in a little.

Ava looked into the mirror, completely covered in condensation. She passed a towel over it, trying to clear it as much as possible, and found her reflection smiling back at her. She hadn’t even realized she was smiling, which made her blush in return.

Ava shifted her focus on her lips, not swollen anymore from the kissing, but still tingling. Beatrice had left her with a goodnight kiss, which Ava could still feel. She swore that if she closed her eyes, she could feel Beatrice’s hands in her hair, her lips on her, and her body pressed against hers.

Ava forced herself to keep her eyes open. Instead, she decided to distract herself by checking the notification on her phone.

bea 🐝

I’m back in my hotel room. Thank you again for tonight.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i wish i could be with you :( 

thank YOU tho 😚🥰

bea 🐝

I would also much rather be with you.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

oh yeah?

miss me already? 🤭

bea 🐝

You have no idea, darling.

Ava released a shuddering breath, and looked back up into the mirror, who had returned slightly foggy again. Ava looked back down at her screen, biting into her lower lip, thinking. She could feel her heartbeat picking up the pace, already.

Then, before she could overthink it too much, she quickly passed her towel again over the mirror. She posed, snapped a picture, and sent it. 

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i miss you too, bea

Ava almost put her phone down, not wanting to see Beatrice’s response already. It wasn’t necessarily an extremely provocative picture: her face was covered by her phone, and the mirror stopped right under her collarbone. Basically, all you could see was Ava’s neck, her shoulders and the slightest peak of the curve of her breast. But Ava knew what effect it would’ve had on Beatrice, if their kisses were of any indication.

bea 🐝

Jesus Ava

You’re absolutely breath-taking

Ava’s heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to focus on her breathing, to avoid her heart from imploding in her chest.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

no punctuation?

i think i broke you 🤭

bea 🐝

You have no idea of what effect you have on me.

And two can play at this game, darling.

Before Ava could register what Beatrice meant, she received a picture. Ava’s jaw immediately dropped, and she quite literally had to hold herself against the wall to avoid stumbling on her own feet.

Beatrice was sitting at the feet of what looked like a full body mirror, wearing just a sports bra and sweatpants. Her hair was wet, showing that she probably had also just finished showering, and by her feet there was a hairdryer. But what Ava couldn’t stop (quite literally) drooling about, was her position: she was leaning on her left arm only, putting her abs in full display, and making her arm muscles flex. Beatrice was ripped.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

jesus fucking christ bea

how are you so insanely hot that’s not fair

bea 🐝

Says you.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i just…

give me a second ok? i need to go back to my room and i would rather avoid falling face first because someone distracted me

Ava chose, for her sanity (and safety) to block the screen of her phone and to fully ignore the buzzing until she had made it back in her room. It was only after having changed into her pajamas and went under the covers that she allowed herself to look at her phone, again.

bea 🐝

What, you can’t handle a picture?

But to be fair I couldn’t, either. 

God you really do look good in that picture.

I wish I could be there, hugging you from behind and leaving small kisses on your neck.

Ava swore she could’ve passed out. Was Beatrice aware of what she was doing? Because between the practically make out session they had at the beach and these messages, Ava was sure she was one breath away from coming without needing to touch herself.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

bea

please

don’t start something you can’t finish

Ava looked at the bubble on the screen appearing and disappearing. She felt her heartbeat push against her ribcage and forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to remind herself that no matter what, it would’ve been okay.

bea 🐝

I know I am not able to.

But I know you are.

Ava’s eyes widened. Was Beatrice suggesting…

bea 🐝

Can I help, darling?

Holy shit, yes, she was.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

oh my god bea

you’ll be the end of me

bea 🐝

That’s not a yes, Ava.

Oh, consent. Ok, yes, that’s hot. Ava felt like rolling her eyes in pleasure, and Beatrice had yet to do anything to her.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yes, yes of course you can help

bea 🐝

Thank you.

Are you already in your room?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yes, i’m already changed and in bed

are you?

bea 🐝

Yes, I am.

It’s kind of lonely without you.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yeah, it is

i wish you were here with me

bea 🐝

I wish I was there with you too.

Ava took a deep breath. She wanted this, and Beatrice wanted this too. She closed her eyes for a moment, and her mind was immediately overflown with memories of them kissing at the beach.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

i wish you were here to take care of me

bea 🐝

And how would I take care of you, darling?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

honestly?

at this point i’m so worked up that anything would work

Ava felt herself blushing, but it was the truth. She hadn’t had the courage to go and check for herself, but she could still feel how wet she was. Ava closed her legs trying to get some relief without actually touching herself. 

bea 🐝

Oh but I wouldn’t try just “anything.”

You deserve to be taken care of, and I would take my sweet time with you.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

tell me more

bea 🐝

I would start by kissing you, like we did at the beach, but I wouldn’t stop there.

I would move lower and kiss your neck too. I really want to leave some marks, can I?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

please

Ava couldn’t even bother feeling embarrassed at this point. 

bea 🐝

I would bite and suck the skin of your neck and listen to the way your breath breaks under my touch. I would use my hands too, this time. I would run them up and down your sides, feeling your skin under my fingertips

Ava 🏊‍♀️

and then?

bea 🐝

And then you would beg me to do something, to touch you somewhere, because you can’t wait anymore, and I would listen.

I would first go to your boobs and play with your nipples.

Are you doing that, darling?

Ava couldn’t stay still anymore. While she was still holding the phone with one hand, with the other she went under her t-shirt immediately aiming at her boobs. She grabbed one of them, and started massaging it just the way she liked, with her nipple locked between her fingers to squeeze it and pull it more easily.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yes

bea 🐝

Good girl. 

Do you want me to continue?

Ava moaned and had to remind herself that in the rooms next to hers, her best friends were sleeping. She had to be quiet.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

please bea

please don’t stop

Ava’s mind was fogged by the pleasure, only one wish in mind.

bea 🐝

As you wish, darling.

I would keep kissing and biting your neck, but I would also get lower. And eventually, I would reach your nipples and replace my fingers with my tongue and teeth. I would suck them and enjoy the show you’d give me.

With my free hand I’d move lower, scratching the skin of your stomach, down to your waist and to your tights, opening your legs up for me.

Ava followed her movements, breathing heavily. The moment her fingers reached the insides of her tights, she was met with stickiness. Her breath hitched in her throat. She really wished it had been Beatrice doing all that to her, and not herself.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

god bea i’m so wet

bea 🐝

I know you are, I can feel it.

I want to taste you, can I?

Ava 🏊‍♀️

yes please

bea 🐝

I’d still keep playing with your nipples with one of my hands, but I’d keep kissing you lower. I’d suck and bite your stomach, and right when you think I’d be about to kiss you where you need the most, I would turn my head and kiss the inside of your tights instead

Ava 🏊‍♀️

please bea stop teasing me

i can’t take this anymore i need to touch myself

bea 🐝

Then go for it, I’m right there with you.

You pushed my head between your tights, and you pressed my face against your pussy. I can’t do anything but finally taste you and god, Ava, you taste absolutely amazing.

I’m sucking your clit now, and I’m pushing one finger inside of you and you’re so warm and tight I wish I could stay there forever

Ava finally gave up on teasing herself, and following the trail of wetness she reached her pussy and cupped herself. She tried to suppress a moan but failed at it. Then, without thinking about it twice, she slipped her hand under her underwear and finally touched her clit.

Ava couldn’t believe how wet she was. She was so turned on that she couldn’t even bother going slow at first, like she usually did, and immediately picked up a frantic pace. She felt herself clenching around nothing, and once again she found herself wishing she had Beatrice with her. Feeling her orgasm approaching already, Ava’s hand lowered and she pushed her middle finger inside of her.

Ava 🏊‍♀️

more bea i need more

bea 🐝

I keep sucking your clit, while pushing inside two fingers now and I curl them up

Ava immediately followed and let out a whimper at the feeling of having two fingers inside of her. She started pumping faster, curling them the way she liked the most. The room was filled up with the wet noises of her fingers entering herself and Ava wondered if Beatrice was touching herself too.

Before she could stop herself, Ava clicked the call button. Beatrice picked up immediately.

“Ava.”

Ava moaned to the sound of her name pronounced in such a breathless way, and her fingers picked up the tempo. Now that she finally had both hands free, she rushed her other hand under her underwear. When her fingers touched her sensitive clit, she released another whimper.

Ava heard Beatrice moan in return, which made her grow even wetter.

“I’m close, Bea,” she groaned.

“Me too, Ava.” Beatrice’s voice was trembling. “Come, darling, come for me.”

And as if on command, Ava felt her hips buck involuntarily against her fingers, and sparks of electricity ran across her entire body. Her back arched, and her cunt clenched her fingers so hard it suddenly became hard moving them. Lost in a haze, Ava barely registered the way her fingers kept moving against her clit, prolonging her orgasm for as long as possible. Finally, she fell back against the bed again, releasing a deep shuddering breath.

“Fuck, Ava.”

Ava could hear the wet filthy noise coming from the way Beatrice was fingering herself and felt another wave of wetness come out of her pussy. She listened to Beatrice’s moans growing louder, until one last higher pitched one. And then Ava realized that Beatrice was coming, and the image made her want to start touching herself all over again.

“Oh my God, that was absolutely incredible,” Beatrice was the first one to speak.

“Yes, it was, I made an absolute mess,” Ava giggled.

She suddenly felt self-conscious, feeling the way her hands and legs were sticky. How did she react so intensely to a simple sexting session? It hadn’t been her first one, but she had never reacted like that.

“Yeah, me too.” Beatrice murmured. “If this was how phone sex went, I can’t imagine what the real-life thing is going to be.”

Ava chuckled a little, feeling relieved. Then, suddenly, she was interrupted by a big yawn, which made her laugh harder.

“I can’t believe I tired you out without even touching you,” Ava joked.

“Shut up, it’s been a long and emotional day,” Beatrice grumbled, but Ava could hear the smile in her voice.

Ava smiled too, sighing happily. “Yeah, mine too. I was admitted to the Olympics final, you know? And then this super hot girl told me she likes me, and then kissed me.”

Beatrice hummed, and Ava closed her eyes shut and pressed her face closer to the phone, pretending this meant Beatrice would’ve been closer to her, too.

“And then she made me come so hard I think I saw stars.”

“Oh my god, Ava!” Beatrice laughed.

“What? It’s the truth! And you didn’t even have to lay a single finger on me.” Ava grinned.

A pause followed, and Ava heard Beatrice sigh.

“Next time, darling.”

Ava could only hope the next time came fast enough.

***

Ava had been sitting alone at the cafeteria for at least 10 good minutes before someone walked up to her and hit her on the back of her head.

“Ouch! What the hell, Lilith?” Ava dropped the spoon in her cereal bowl and immediately started rubbing the back of her neck.

“Don’t be such a crybaby, you’ll get everyone’s attention. Also, you’re beaming, it’s embarrassing. Why are you beaming?” Lilith stood next to Ava, her arms crossed on her chest.

“I don’t know, maybe I’m happy because I won the semi-finals?” Ava replied. “Jesus, Lil, that hurt.”

“I know, I was the one deciding how strong the smack was going to be,” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Stop whining, why are you beaming?”

Ava looked up and met her friend’s eyes. Lilith looked extremely annoyed, without feeling guilty in the slightest.

“I told you, I was beaming because I won the semi-finals. Why is that so hard to believe?” Ava sighed and eventually stopped rubbing her neck, even though her skin was still stinging. “And where is Camila?”

Lilith huffed and finally took a seat in front of Ava. Ava tried to hide her relief in knowing that even though Lilith’s arms were long they wouldn’t have been long enough to hit her in the same spot twice, but Lilith’s smirk told her she had failed.

“Camila’s on her way, and she will take my side,” Lilith’s smirk grew. “And I know it’s a lie because whenever you win a race you don’t start playing with food because you’re happy. If anything, you eat too fast out of excitement or whatever. So, why are you beaming?”

Ava blinked in surprise. She frantically looked for a reply in the back of her mind, but all she could come up with was mostly gibberish and stutters.

“Well… I…” Ava started blushing furiously. “Camila would never approve of your violence!”

Ava could see in Lilith’s eyes the realization of victory. She was one step away from getting her answer, and they both knew that it would’ve put Ava in extreme embarrassment and would’ve definitely become the source of infinite jokes and teasing. 

“That’s true, however, Camila…” Before Lilith could finish her sentence, Camila sat down next to her, shutting her up immediately.

“What about me?”

At the sight of her best friend, Ava sat up straighter, not wanting to let her one chance to win the argument go and move the topic from her to Lilith hitting her. Then Lilith would’ve dropped her teasing, and Ava could’ve gone back to her daydreaming.

“Lilith hit me!” Ava exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.

“Ava was beaming!” Lilith immediately defended herself, shifting her body to face her girlfriend. 

Camila shifted her gaze from the two a couple of times, before stopping it on Lilith. Ava threw a fist to the sky, victory.

“You hit Ava because she was beaming?” Camila repeated. “She’s always beaming! She’s practically a ball of sunshine, she skips instead of walking!”

“She was beaming, and she wasn’t eating! She was just moving the cereal around without doing anything,” Lilith insisted. “Besides the fact that her cereal must be basically inedible at this point, she never is happy and doesn’t eat!”

Camila furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Then, she looked at Ava.

“Hey, no, what about Lilith slapping me. Let’s go back to that,” Ava felt herself grow smaller under Camila’s scrutinizing gaze.

“How did it go last night with Beatrice?”

Ava blushed violently.

“A-ha! You got laid, didn’t you?” Lilith shifted in her seat to face Ava again.

“No, I didn’t,” Ava replied immediately, but her blush grew.

“Don’t grow all cocky, I’m still mad at you for slapping Ava instead of asking nicely,” Camila quickly glared at Lilith, before bringing her attention back to Ava. “Then why are you blushing so much?”

Ava shifted her gaze between Camila and Lilith, and finally decided to drop it to the bowl of cereal sitting in front of her. Lilith was right, everything was too soggy, not even a toddler would’ve enjoyed that pile of mush. She sighed and accepted her defeat.

“We kissed,” she murmured. “And she asked me on a date.”

Camila squealed in excitement, before throwing herself at Ava in an awkward over-the-table hug. “You kissed? And you’re going on a date?”  

Ava nodded, still blushing but with a much bigger smile quickly spreading on her face.

“We were by the beach, we talked and cleared the air, and then she asked me to stay after my final tomorrow until the end of the Olympics so when she’s not working, we can go out together and hang out, get to know each other,” Ava blurted everything out, feeling the excitement rushing back in her veins. “And she kisses so well Cam, I have no idea how I didn’t pass out just from kissing.”

Camila was completely matching Ava’s excitement, her own food forgotten just to get as much information as possible from her best friend.

“Just from kissing? What are you going to do when she’s going to take you to bed? Die?” Camila couldn’t stop giggling.

Ava’s smile trembled, her blush making itself known again.

“I don’t know, I can’t think about that right now,” Ava tried to brush it off, but Lilith still wasn’t done poking her around to find out what really was going on.

“There’s more to it, isn’t it?” Lilith was squinting her eyes in scrutiny.

Ava tried to keep up her gaze, but her subconscious worked quicker than her brain and suddenly her mind was filled with memories of the previous night. She wouldn’t have been able to stop the blush from deepening even if she had tried her hardest. 

“Oh my God, Ava, what did you do?” Camila’s eyes were so wide and open that Ava almost feared they were going to pop out of their sockets.

Ava felt her face on fire. She groaned loudly and dropped her head in her hands, trying to hide.

“We sexted,” she replied.

“You sexted?” Lilith practically shouted.

“Oh my God, shut up! I don’t want everyone in this cafeteria to know about my own business!” Ava exclaimed, grabbing her napkin and throwing it at her.

Camila started laughing uncontrollably, while Lilith brought a hand to massage her temples.

“You’ll give me a headache,” she complained. 

“Why? You and Camila get action all the time, what’s so bad about me getting some, too?” Ava replied.

With great pride, Ava noticed Lilith’s face turning slightly pink against her usual vampire-like skin tone.

Lilith cleared her throat, while Camila lightly bumped into her shoulder while raising her eyebrows suggestively. “That’s not the point. The point is, you’ve known her for 3 days, you’re moving too quickly.”

Ava sighed. “I know, I agree, but it just feels right.” 

Lilith kept staring at her for a few more seconds, before easing back against the back of the chair. 

“As long as you don’t let this distract you from winning the final, tomorrow.”

“Are you kidding? If anything, it’s making me even more motivated,” Ava replied. “I would finally get an interview with her!”

Camila started laughing. “Oh my god, does Beatrice even know that she’s your secret to success?”

Ava immediately felt her cheeks go on fire. Again. Is it even healthy to blush so much? Could it get dangerous? Ava made a mental note to go and ask the internet later.

To Ava’s further embarrassment, Lilith chuckled, too.

“Oh wow, I can’t wait to see that happen on live TV,” Lilith said. “It’s going to be absolutely hilarious, I hope it’s going to go viral, so you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Ava groaned and, once again, dropped her face in her hands.

“I bet she’s going to look extremely hot too, and I’ll end up making a fool out of myself,” she complained. “Why can’t I ever win?”

“You’re literally about to compete in the finals of the biggest sports competition in the World, and are among the favorites for the win,” Lilith rolled her eyes at Ava. “And, you have a hot girl waiting for you after the competition is over no matter the result. Stop being so dramatic.”

Ava rubbed her face, sighing loudly. Then, she finally looked up, her face almost back to a normal color.

“You’re right,” she said. “Let’s talk about you, instead. I honestly feel awful, I have been all caught up in myself that I haven’t asked you yet how you guys are doing. You’re also about to compete in the finals.”

Camila reached with her hand out over the table to squeeze one of Ava’s, offering her a gentle smile. “You were busy, no need to feel bad. And to be fair, we haven’t asked you either.”

Ava squeezed back, but still waited for either of them to talk first. She had talked enough about herself, it was time to sit back and listen to her friends.

“I’m honestly super excited,” Camila said. She took her hand back and finally shifted her attention to the plate of food in front of her. “I thought I was going to be more nervous, but I think I am somehow managing to channel all of my nervous energy into the competition. It’s making me more confident, somehow.”

“She’s making it up, yesterday she fully freaked out on me,” Lilith teased.

“That’s because I trust you and I know I can be vulnerable with you!” Camila protested, pointing her fork at her girlfriend. “I can be calm!”

Lilith raised her eyebrows at her, throwing her a knowing glance. “Can you, now?”

“You’re on thin ice missy,” Camila retorted. “Tomorrow evening, after the finals, the sex ban will be lifted. But that is if, and only if, I say so. Do you really want to play with fire?”

Camila locked eyes with Lilith. She tilted her head slightly to the side, and almost imperceptibly raised her eyebrows. Ava looked amused at their silent conversation, enjoying the way Lilith was clearly folding under that stare.

And, as expected, she broke eye contact first. Lilith cleared her throat, and eventually shifted her full attention back to Ava. “Well, Ava, as you must know I am pretty confident in my skills, as well.”

Unexpectedly, Ava managed to keep her face straight and not burst into laughter. Instead, she pushed it down her throat and opted to keep the teasing for another time. 

“I guess it makes sense,” Ava said instead. “This is your second time at the Olympics.”

Lilith hummed, the ghost of a smile appearing on her face. “I already won my gold. I would love to win it again, but I wouldn’t complain about a silver, as well. You know, just to add to my collection.”

This time, Ava couldn’t help but snicker at Camila’s annoyed huff.

“Hey, I can’t help being the best at what I do!” Lilith tried to defend herself.

“Still, no need to be so smug about it,” Camila replied. But then, her annoyance quickly melted away to make space for a proud look. “You know I am kidding, right? I’m extremely proud of you.”

Lilith blushed slightly, earning a cheek kiss from Camila. Then, she cleared her throat and looked back at Ava.

“Anyway, what about you?” She asked. “How are you feeling about your back?”

Ava’s eyes immediately met Camila’s, who shrugged her shoulders in response. She knew that Camila wouldn’t have talked about her fears with Lilith without asking for permission first, but why else would Lilith ask about it?

“What about my back?” Ava asked, at this point more curious than anything.

“Well, after I hurt my shoulder back in high school, I was terrified of swimming back to my full capacity out of fear of making things worse,” Lilith shrugged. “It must be even worse for you, considering how if that were to happen to you… Well…”

Oh. Ava hadn’t thought about that. Everyone knew about Lilith’s injury which almost cost her entire career, and Ava wasn’t unaware of it either, but Lilith had never really brought it up in conversations and it was easy to forget compared to all her success.

“I haven’t really thought about how hard it must’ve been for you to recover from that,” Ava admitted. Lilith shrugged her shoulders and waited for Ava to continue. “It is a little scary, yeah.”

Lilith hummed in understanding, but still said nothing. She kept staring at Ava, knowing that there had to be more. Ava felt like a little kid being stared down by their parents, before sharing some bad news that the parents already knew about.

“And are you ever scared of getting hurt again?” Ava finally asked.

Satisfied with having won the staring competition, Lilith smiled triumphantly.

“Of course I am, I am not insane.”

Both Ava and Camila looked extremely confused.

“What?” Lilith asked, looking confused in return. “Why wouldn’t I be? The last time I got hurt I almost lost my career. If that were to happen now, it truly would be over. And okay, at this point I am one step away from retiring, but I don’t want to do it because I got hurt. Who would like that?”

“That’s fair, but you don’t look like you are scared,” Camila pointed out. 

“That’s because I am scared, but I am not panicking,” Lilith replied. “Fear is healthy if it’s in the right amounts. How do you think I hurt myself the first time?”

Ava shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, you were performing some movements incorrectly?” 

“Well, that too, but mostly because I believed I was invincible. I never listened to my limits, and rather than challenge them a little at the time, I tried to push through them all, all at once.” Lilith shook her head, smiling bitterly. “It cost me a lot, but I learnt a valuable lesson there.”

“Always listen to your coach?” Camila joked.

“If that were the only one, Ava would be done cause I’ve never seen her follow one single instruction, ever.” Ava tried to protest, but Lilith was quick to shut her down by lifting her hand. “You know I’m right.”

“She kind of is, Ava…” Camila backed her up.

Ava scoffed but said nothing. 

Lilith rolled her eyes but resumed her talk anyway. “As I was saying… After the injury, my fear was transformed in pure panic and suddenly I went from being afraid of nothing to being afraid of everything. After I healed, I was scared of washing my hair with both my arms, because I was terrified of feeling pain again,” she said. “Eventually I did feel pain again, after training, and I went to my coach thinking he was going to bench me for the rest of the year. He simply showed me some extra exercises he thought could’ve been useful to relax my muscles and the pain went away. I realized that the pain wasn’t the problem, but everything around it was. If you’re not scared of getting hurt, you’re going to hurt yourself even more. But if you’re too scared of getting hurt, you’re not going to take the risk and won’t get anywhere.”

“So, you’re saying that the fear that I have right now is, okay?” Ava asked.

“Are you going to not give everything that you have to win the final?” Lilith asked in return.

“Of course not, I’m going to give it my all,” Ava answered immediately.

“Are you going to go way above your abilities to win?” Lilith asked again. 

“Hell no, if this one doesn’t work out, I’ll have other finals to win.”

“There you go then, that’s your answer,” Lilith concluded. “You’re not going to stop yourself from winning this final out of fear, and you’re not putting at risk your entire career simply because you’re angry at your back.”

Ava hummed in understanding, finally grasping Lilith’s point.

“But what if it does start hurting again?” Ava asked. 

“You’ll go to Mary, and she’ll find a way to make it stop,” Lilith replied. “And if Mary doesn’t find the way, we’ll go from there. But to get to that point there are so many what ifs already that it doesn’t make any sense to worry over them.”

Ava smiled widely, feeling finally reassured. Lilith was right, one step at the time and everything would’ve been fine. Plus, she really did have an absolutely gorgeous girl waiting for her at the end of the final, no matter the result. She really was a lucky one.

“You’re beaming again,” Lilith’s tone sounded dangerously close to a warning one.

Before Lilith could even move a single muscle, Ava was already standing and gathering all her stuff.

“Enjoy your breakfast, I’ll see you at training, bye!”

And just like that, she disappeared, leaving behind a slightly disappointed Lilith and overly entertained Camila.

***

“If they made me try the starting dive one more time, I would’ve started considering switching sports and going from swimming to diving,” Lilith complained.

The three girls were on their way back to the cafeteria for an afternoon snack before Camila and Lilith walked back to their apartments to relax after training, and Ava to an extra physiotherapy session before the final. Despite Lilith’s complaints, training had been extremely relaxed. Only issue was, the entire team had agreed on making sure the girls were comfortable in the lanes they were assigned to for their respective finals, focusing solely on their reactiveness to the starting signal. 

“I honestly had a lot of fun,” Camila shrugged her shoulders. 

“That’s because you’re insane,” Ava joined Lilith in the complaints. “I swear, a few more dives and I never would’ve made it out of the water.”

“You’re being so dramatic now, you didn’t even have to lift yourself out of the pool. We literally used the ladder every single time,” Camila insisted.

Ava glared at her but didn’t bother replying. It was clear it was going to be a useless fight.

“I can’t believe I have to agree with Ava,” Lilith sighed. “Camila, my love, I’m happy you’re happy and you can keep up with the exercise, but what the fuck.”

Ava nodded vigorously to show Lilith her support, making Camila burst into laughter.

“Whatever, drama queens,” she brushed them off. “If you’re so tired you can wait here, and I’ll grab some snacks for you too.”

Ava immediately dropped the sulking face and smiled widely. “I want chocolate muffins! Three! No, wait, two,” Ava stopped for a moment and hummed in thought. “No okay, three!”

“I can’t believe you can eat literally whatever you want, and your physique isn’t impacted by it in the slightest,” Lilith sighed. “I’m going with Cam, you’re pissing me off.”

“Hey, Camila was pissing you off too!” Ava protested.

“Yes, but she’s my girlfriend and I have to deal with her pissing me off regardless of what I want,” replied Lilith. “You? I can avoid.”

Camila squinted her eyes at Lilith, placing her arms on her waist. “Sex ban, missy.”
“Oh come on!” Lilith practically whined. “This is my way of saying I love you!”

Camila sighed and shook her head but didn’t protest. Instead, she turned around and walked into the cafeteria. Lilith didn’t wait a full heartbeat to run right after her. But no matter how fast she was, she still heard Ava scream “Whipped!”

The sun was shining against the glass door of the cafeteria, but Ava was still able to see Lilith flip her off, making her laugh to herself before turning around to look for a seat in the shadow to wait for her friends.

“You know, some would say that laughing to yourself is the first sign of madness.”

Ava felt her entire body shaking in fear, her heart beating so violently against her chest it almost hurt. In front of her, Beatrice had appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere.

“Oh my God, Bea, you scared the shit out of me,” Ava exclaimed, bringing a hand to her chest.

Beatrice threw her head back in laughter, before taking a step forward to take Ava between her arms. Ava wiggled a little pretending to fight the hug, making Beatrice hold her tighter.

“I’m mad at you,” Ava grumbled.

“I’m happy to see you too,” Beatrice replied.

It seemed to be the right answer to give, as Ava immediately relaxed her body against Beatrice’s before reciprocating the hug.

“All jokes aside, I’m sorry I scared you,” Beatrice said, breaking the hug while still standing close to Ava. “I was honestly surprised to see you here to begin with.”

Ava hummed in understanding. “Yeah, training was kind of brutal, so we decided to come here to get a quick snack before I have to head to one last session of physio.”

“They tired you out the day before the final?” Beatrice furrowed her brows. “That doesn’t seem very smart.”

“Don’t tell Camila, but I’m honestly just being dramatic,” Ava sighed. “They made us test our reactiveness to the signal, so it was both boring and mentally draining all at once.”

Beatrice nodded in understanding. Even though she had never experienced such a feeling firsthand, she could imagine the mental energy it would take to always make sure your body reacted to the sound of the signal.

“Do you want to sit for a bit? I came here for dinner, but I can delay,” Beatrice offered, looking around to spot a bench in the shadow.

Ava nodded and offered one of her hands for Beatrice to grab. With a shy smile, reciprocated by Ava, Beatrice grabbed it and started walking in the direction of the bench she had spotted.

“So, how was your day besides the tragic training session?” Beatrice was first to ask.

“A turmoil of emotions,” Ava giggled. 

After the two sat down next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, Ava immediately started playing with Beatrice’s hand. She traced her palm with her fingertips, scratching it lightly.

“At breakfast I got hit by Lilith, and Camila ended up taking Lilith’s side,” Ava said, smiling amused at the memory. The day had been so long it felt like breakfast had happened an eternity before.

“Wait, hold on, what?” Beatrice scrutinized Ava’s exposed skin in search of any form of evidence. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“No Bea, it was just teasing,” Ava chuckled, but feeling her heart swell at the look of worry on Beatrice’s face. “She was annoyed at me daydreaming about you, about last night.”

Beatrice’s palm twitched slightly under Ava’s fingers.

“Oh.”

Ava’s smirk only deepened at Beatrice’s now red cheeks.

“Well, uhm,” Beatrice stumbled on her own words, before clearing her throat to try again. “That’s still not a good enough excuse.”

“My knight in shining armor,” Ava teased her further, leaning forward to place a quick kiss on one of Beatrice’s still reddening cheeks. 

“Stop making fun of me,” Beatrice pouted, but Ava’s wide grin eventually made her break into a smile as well.

Ava sighed happily, and finally leaned back against the bench. She placed her head on Beatrice’s shoulder, humming in approval of the new extremely comfortable position.

“Besides that?” Beatrice asked again. “Or did you spend the entire day talking about us?”

“I would’ve if Lilith wasn’t so violent,” Ava chuckled again. “But no, we also talked about Lilith’s past injury and my back. I guess I kinda needed to get it out of the way before the final.”

“Do you want to talk about it some more?” Beatrice asked.

Ava felt extremely grateful for Beatrice still allowing her to give her an option. She had made her feel in control of every situation, with the possibility of changing topics whenever. They had known each other only for a handful of days, and yet Ava had never felt safer around someone before.

“It’s not an issue really,” Ava replied. Beatrice turned around her hand and squeezed Ava’s thigh, before resuming the initial position to allow Ava to continue tracing her palm. “I just needed a reminder that I’m actually taking care of myself the right way, and that my back will not give up on me at any random moment because I’m pushing myself way above my limits.”

Beatrice stayed quiet for a few moments, and Ava chose to enjoy the feeling of having Beatrice’s body pressed against hers. She was emanating such a calm energy that Ava couldn’t help herself but feel every single muscle in her body relax.

“What is the best- and worst-case scenario, if your back were to give up on you?” Beatrice finally asked.

“Well, best case scenario it’ll just hurt for a bit but some bed rest and lots of physio will bring me back,” Ava replied. “Worst case scenario… Well, the worse case would be that I have to quit competing, but the worst one would be going back to being paraplegic.”

Ava watched at the way Beatrice’s palm stiffened for a moment. Then, she watched how Beatrice found a way in between her fingers, to finally properly hold Ava’s hand and squeeze it lightly.

“It must be terrifying to have such a fear,” she said softly. “To lose what you’ve worked for in the past four years, to lose all the independence you have just gained back after everything… I just cannot imagine.”

Ava hummed in thought, and as soon as Beatrice squeezed her hand again, she offered a squeeze back.

“I’m not really scared of losing my independence, even though it would suck,” Ava pondered. “I think I am more worried of ending up alone again like I was after the accident. I mean, I won’t go into details right now, but it was pretty bad, and my caretakers weren’t exactly… caring, if you know what I mean.”

Before Ava could start getting lost in her memories, and before she could find herself feeling anything in particular, Beatrice was quick to bring her down to Earth.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that but Ava,” Beatrice freed her hand from Ava’s and brought it up to gently push Ava’s head off her shoulder, to meet her eyes, “you would never be alone again. You have wonderful friends around you, and from what I’ve heard through your past interviews a wonderful adoptive mother, too. And if you want, if you’ll let me, I’m here too.”

Ava didn’t know what to say. Beatrice sounded so certain and confident in her reply, never once taking her eyes off Ava’s. Ava felt as if she had stared right into her soul, saw where she needed some stitching, and found the perfect patches to close those long forgotten, but still kinda stinging, wounds.

Not able to stop herself even if she had tried, Ava felt her eyes water and in no time, she found herself crying. Beatrice smiled softly at her, and resisted Ava's urge to hide her face behind her hands. Instead, she brought her free hand up to Ava’s face and gently dried some of the tears that were spilling from the corners of her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” she said softly.

Ava shook her head, unable to form a coherent sentence but still wanting to tell Beatrice that it was okay. Instead, she offered her a watery smile and lightly bumped their foreheads together before moving away from Beatrice’s hold.  

As she was drying the rest of the tears with the hem of her shirt, Ava saw two familiar silhouettes quickly approaching them. Not wanting to worry her best friends for nothing, Ava sped up her movements, hoping to look presentable enough on time before their arrival. Still, Lilith was quicker.

“Hey, Young! Why the hell is Ava crying?” 

“It’s happy tears!” Ava immediately clarified, not wanting to leave Beatrice on her own to choose what to share or not to share about their conversation.

Lilith shifted her gaze a couple of times before Ava and Beatrice, stopping for a brief moment on their now again interlaced hands.

“Mh, alright then,” Lilith still didn’t seem relaxed, but Ava knew she had convinced her enough to at least let the interrogation slide until later that night. “Anyway, we’re heading back to the apartment. You should start heading to physio, if you don’t want to be late.”

“Oh, and we packed the muffins for later today,” intervened Camila, who up until that moment had been staring at Ava and Beatrice with a proud smile. “We figured you would’ve preferred enjoying them as a treat after your last physio,” 

“Yeah, that’s something that I would totally do,” Ava agreed. “Thank you, and thanks for the reminder. I’ll see you later?”

Lilith waved her off and immediately started walking away, while Camila stood still for a few more seconds with the same proud smile on her face. Eventually, she winked at Ava before skipping away to reach her girlfriend, already a few meters away from them.

Ava blushed, hearing Beatrice chuckle next to her. Then, she met her gaze and shrugged her shoulders. Beatrice leaned forward and left a kiss on Ava’s temple.

“I’ll let you go then,” Beatrice said, smiling gently.

Ava, who up until that moment had forgotten that going to physiotherapy meant having to leave Beatrice until after the final, immediately protested.

“But I didn’t get to ask you about your day!” Ava whined. “I want to know everything about what you did and didn’t do.”

Ava could see Beatrice’s amused smile fight its way across her face, but her gentle expression eventually prevailed.

“How about this,” Beatrice suggested. “While you’re at physio and I’m having dinner I’ll text you all about my day, and when you’re home and I’ll be back to work, you’ll reply, and we’ll go from there.”

Ava really tried to keep sulking, but Beatrice’s gentle smile made her disappointment melt away in seconds. Quickly, Ava found herself matching Beatrice’s smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the interview?” Beatrice asked.

“I’ll see you there,” Ava replied.

After one last squeeze, Ava reluctantly let Beatrice’s hand go and walked away. 

Immediately, a wave of determination washed over her. The faster she swam, the faster the final would be over. The faster the final would be over, the faster she would see Beatrice. 

Hell yes, Ava was so going to win the Olympics.

***

The ready room before getting called inside the arena for the competitions was filled with tense air. Some athletes were listening to music with their eyes closed, others were doing breathing exercises. Some were doing some last-minute stretches, attempting to distract themselves by focusing on how their body felt.

Ava didn’t really care about any of that, more focused on playing with her necklace. She liked feeling it under her fingertips, tracing its shape over and over again. Ava liked to imagine that was her way of feeling her mom wishing her good luck for the race, some last few comforting words. Ava hoped that was her way of telling her she was proud of her.

Then, in no time, Ava’s group was called up and she found herself standing in line waiting for her name to be called out to enter the pool deck.

From the moment she stood, everything worked automatically. She didn’t listen to her name get called out, she just looked at the gestures of some of the organizers and followed the way they were pointing at.

The smell of chlorine was strong, and Ava inhaled deeply, feeling her muscles tingle in excitement. It was almost as if her body knew that the smell of chlorine meant soon, she was going to be in the water, and everything around her would stop mattering in the span of minutes.

The cheering inside the arena was overwhelming, but Ava felt it vaguely in the back of her mind. She limited herself to quickly waving around, smiling politely, but without taking her eyes off from her lane. In a few steps, she was standing by the chair behind her block. As usual, she went through her routine like clockwork, careful in making sure her mother’s necklace was placed on top of her clothes. She lingered for a few more instants, before turning around and reaching her block.

Ava breathed deeply, looking at the water in front of her. She didn’t worry about the athletes around her, waiting for the first signal to get on the block. She only focused on the way the water sat perfectly still and imagined herself fending the water and becoming one with it. Only a few more moments, and she would’ve broken the surface of the water, creating hundreds of little waves. Ava smiled to herself, thinking about how it would feel to be underwater again, the noise quieting down, the water against her skin. 

“Take your mark.”
Just like before all Ava’s races, her body took over. She took position, feeling the rough surface of the block under her feet and fingertips. Every muscle in her body tensed up, ready to react at the sound of the signal.

The entire room fell quiet, waiting for the signal to start the race. And suddenly, the signal came, and Ava felt her body jump and enter the water. 

The moment her head went under, every noise disappeared. All that Ava could feel was her heartbeat and the sound of the water flowing next to her ears, alternating to the noise of the crowd whenever she turned her head to breathe. 

It was her, her heartbeat, and the water flowing in harmony with her body. It was exhilarating, Ava felt as if she had never gone this fast before.

One, two, three, breathe. One, two, three, breathe.

And then, Ava made the final flip turn and started the last lap. She could feel her muscles burning, but all she could think about was to push faster, to try harder. 

Whenever she turned, she couldn’t see anyone around her, but was quick to block the fear of being last. She just had to keep going, and whatever happened, happened.

Ava felt every muscle in her body stretch at every stroke, in an attempt to reach the very end as soon as possible. Until Ava recognized the change of pattern on the floor of the swimming pool, telling her she was there. 

Just one more stroke, and she would’ve finished her final.

Ava felt her fingertips touch the touchpad. She kept them there, waiting for her whole palm to touch it, feeling its smoothness. 

The world stood still for a few moments. Ava knew that the moment her head emerged from underwater, everything would’ve been over. The world would’ve started spinning as fast as usual, and one day this final would’ve been a memory she would’ve gone back to. A fond memory full of everything she could’ve ever hoped for. 

Almost everything. Only one thing was missing, and there was only one way to find out whether Ava had gotten it or not.

When Ava emerged from underwater, the crowd was deafening. She turned around, taking her goggles and swimming cap off, to look at the boarding score.

Lane 5, Ava Silva, 1st place.

“What the fuck?” Ava couldn’t believe it. 

She turned around, looking at the other swimmers in the other lanes, wondering if she was hallucinating or if it was real. She pushed herself on a swimming pool rope, as if suddenly moving higher would’ve changed the order of the names appearing on the score.

“Congratulations!”

Ava turned around, seeing the girl in the neighboring lane smiling widely at her. She had come third by a few tenths of a second. 

“You too,” Ava replied, still too shocked to understand what was truly going on.

She looked back up, and after seeing her name still there, she finally accepted it.

Ava Silva had won the fucking Olympics.

Ava threw her head back in laughter, splashing the water around her in joy. Then, she brought her fingers to her mouth, kissed them and pointed them at the sky.

This win was all for her mother.

***

The moment Ava stepped on the swimming deck it was chaos all over again. The crowd was extremely loud, and Ava could barely hear her own thoughts. 

The organizers were pushing her and the other two medalists around, first for some quick interviews post-race, and then back to their original lanes to grab their stuff. Then, they were brought to the changing rooms, where the rest of their belongings were waiting for them.

“You don’t have enough time to shower, please just dry off as much as possible and wear your podium uniforms and come back in the ready room,” the organizer said, dropping them off.

Ava felt her head spinning from the amount of information she was receiving.

The girl Ava recognized from the lane next to hers, who arrived in third place, looked just as overwhelmed: “Am I the only one who’s extremely lost?” 

“Don’t worry, this is my second time winning a medal and it is still just as overwhelming,” the other swimmer said with a polite but reassuring smile. “Congratulations on your win, girls.”

“Thank you, you too,” Ava blushed.

Then, all three of them started drying themselves as much as possible, before putting on their clothes. Ava wore her necklace last, on top of her uniform. 

Every moment after that passed by in the blink of an eye. One moment she was placed behind the podium, waiting for her name to be called out last to step on it on the higher step. The next, she was bending down to receive the golden (and unexpectedly heavy) medal, placed right on top of her mother’s necklace. And before she knew it, she was running towards her friends and the rest of the team that were waiting for her by the front rows.

“You fucking did it, Ava!” Camila screamed, hugging her best friend and jumping around in celebration.

Even Lilith was smiling widely, something Ava had only seen a few times before. And even more unexpectedly, Lilith went for a hug first. 

“Congratulations Ava, you deserve it,” Lilith said quietly, so quietly only Ava could hear it among the chaos. Before she could break the hug, Lilith squeezed one last time. “We’re all extremely proud of you.”

“And guess fucking what!” Camila screamed before Ava could even be fully freed from Lilith’s hug. “Coach said you’ve already been contacted for an interview with Beatrice Young!”

Ava laughed loudly, but her friends could see well past her and already knew her heart was jumping faster at the thought of seeing Beatrice again. 

“I’ll see you later at your finals, after you've won!” Ava said.

“Remember you’re going to be on live TV!”

And no matter how much Lilith had been sweet with Ava up until that moment, as she was walking away Ava stuck her tongue out at her and flipped her off.

***

Ava was exhausted, but despite the tiredness she couldn’t help but be excited. She had lost count of the number of hands she had shook and pictures she had taken, but the interview with Beatrice was next, finally. And after that, she was done for the day and simply had to show up for her friends.

“The interview is going to be live, it is going to be a few minutes long. Please remember you’re not allowed to swear,” one of the organizers said, showing her the entrance of the studio. “Do you have any questions for me?”

Ava shook her head. She could already see Beatrice, standing next to a colleague and commenting on a swimming race that was being played on a screen behind them. Beatrice’s hair was up in her usual tight bun and was wearing a navy suit over a simple white shirt, but Ava swore she had never looked better.

She couldn’t properly hear what they were saying, but Ava quickly understood it was about her and her race.

“And as you have just witnessed, this was the end of the incredible race that saw Ava Silva as a protagonist from start to end,” the man standing next to Beatrice said.

“It was incredible indeed, JC,” Beatrice agreed. “But let’s hear it from Ava Silva herself, as our last interview of the day!”

Ava felt herself being pushed forward by one of the organizers, making her stumble on her feet. Both Beatrice and the man, JC, reached out immediately, in the hopes of catching her in case she fell, but Ava managed to recover the equilibrium.

“Woah, are you okay?” Beatrice was the first to speak.

“Yes, thank you,” Ava replied, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. 

“I guess you still haven’t gotten used to the new weight added around your neck, huh?” JC was quick to come up with a joke, making Ava immediately feel more relaxed. 

“You’re joking but it really is heavy! Here, wanna feel?” Ava replied, offering her medal to both of them.

JC took it into his hand and let out a surprised noise after feeling its weight.

“For those of you at home who may not know, a golden Olympic medal weighs 412 grams,” Beatrice explained, smiling at JC’s surprised expression. “I’m surprised you didn’t know, Jay.”

“Not everyone is a nerd like you,” he replied furrowing his brows, before returning the medal.

Before Ava could feel offended on Beatrice's behalf, Beatrice chuckled, and Ava understood that this had to be the way the two of them worked around each other. 

“Anyway, Ava, congratulations on your win!” Beatrice said, bringing the attention back to Ava. “That was a spectacular race!”

“Congratulations indeed,” JC nodded. “You were practically a fish in there! What were you thinking about?”

“Well, thank you,” Ava blushed slightly. “Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about anything really. Whenever I swim it is the only time, I get to have my mind completely clear, and I was simply enjoying the feeling.”

“Were you expecting these results?” Beatrice asked, and her tiny smirk didn’t go unnoticed to Ava.

Ava didn’t try to hide her big smile, remembering their previous conversation on a similar topic.

“I wasn’t expecting to win, but I was here to win for sure,” Ava replied. “I was expecting to give it my everything and I did, that’s all.”

“You won the semifinals with an incredible time, that gave you the second-best time in the finals,” JC continued. “How did you deal with the responsibility it came with? Before that moment, you were any other swimmer. Suddenly, you became a favorite for the medal.”

“Well, I didn’t really deal with it because it didn’t truly hit me until earlier today when I walked to my swimming lane,” Ava laughed. “But by then it was too hard to let it get to me, and I just rolled with it.”

JC nodded and smiled in understanding.

“We saw you at the end of the race not celebrating until quite later on,” Beatrice commented. “What happened there? What happened in the mind of the new Olympic gold medal winner?”

“Honestly I simply didn’t believe it,” Ava replied, shrugging her shoulders. “I dreamed of that moment for the longest time and suddenly it happened. It’s still absolutely insane to me that I managed to win, even though I have this heavy thing on my neck.”

“It’s understandable, until only five years back you couldn’t even walk!” JC exclaimed. “This win was historic!”

“Four years and almost eight months,” Beatrice corrected him, looking at Ava with a proud smile. “It was, is, and always will be an incredible accomplishment.”

Ava blushed slightly, and forced herself to look away, unable to hold the piercing gaze any longer.

“My final question is, you had so little time, and you still managed to make your way up to the top of the world,” Beatrice continued, “What was your motivation? What’s your secret to success?”

Ava felt her blush deepen, and hoped people would’ve connected it to the compliments she had just received. However, looking up at JC, who was trying to mask his confusion, she realized that maybe her hope was wasted. God, Lilith was never going to let her live that moment down.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ava cleared her throat. She tried to avert Beatrice’s gaze, but eventually was drawn back in and was met with patient but slightly concerned eyes. “But I suppose the greatest motivation was the people I had, and still have around me. Starting from my mom, who isn't here anymore, I hope she would’ve been proud. This win was for her, first and foremost.”

“She absolutely would be,” Beatrice agreed, and JC nodded in support.

Beatrice and Ava started at each other for a moment longer, before Ava had to look away, once again.

“Well, Ava, thank you for your time,” JC intervened, breaking the moment of silence. “I hope you’re going to celebrate and enjoy the rest of your stay here!”

“Congratulations again,” Beatrice added in turn. “Enjoy the feeling of being the world’s champion.”

“Wow, yes, thank you. I will!” Ava replied, once again feeling the blush spreading across her cheeks.

“And with this interview, we’re ending our night!” Beatrice added, this time looking straight into the camera. “Have a great night, and we’ll see you tomorrow for more competitions and interviews.”

“See you tomorrow!” JC said smiling.

A few seconds later, the camera was turned off and the rest of the crew started chatting around.

Ava, who had been standing still next to the two interviewers waiting for them to finish, felt her body relax, finally freed from all the remaining tension of the day.

“Oh my God Ava, congratulations!” Beatrice threw herself at Ava, picked her up and spun her around. “You did absolutely amazing, that race was insane!”

Ava squealed in fear, not expecting a similar reaction from Beatrice, but eventually burst into laughter. She hugged Beatrice back as tightly as possible, grateful of feeling her feet back on the ground, and nuzzled her nose against Beatrice’s neck.

“Thank you, Bea,” she murmured.

“Oh my god, this is the Ava you’ve been texting nonstop!”

Beatrice broke their embrace laughing, and Ava was able to see JC staring at the two with wide eyes. 

“Jay, this is Ava,” Beatrice said. “Ava, this is JC, my best friend and also the token straight guy of the group. He’s kind of slow with this stuff, the flirting and everything, you know.”

“I can’t believe you were flirting with an interviewee!” JC exclaimed. “But at least it explains a lot.”

Ava blushed, but Beatrice placed an arm on her shoulder and all the embarrassment faded away in a heartbeat.

“Not everything though,” Beatrice said, shifting her attention back to Ava. “What was that about?”

Under Beatrice’s scrutinizing gaze, Ava felt herself crumble, once again. 

“What are you talking about?” Ava said pretending to not know what Beatrice was talking about, but her practically squeaking voice betrayed her.

“You never answered what’s your secret to success,” Beatrice insisted. “Unless you just don’t want to talk about it, then it’s completely fine. But you looked embarrassed rather than shy.”

Ava groaned and hid her face behind her palms, making JC laugh.

“I’m just going to let you two have this conversation,” he said. “I’m gonna go eat, I’m starving, and this looks like it’s going to take a while.”

Between her fingers, Ava could still see Beatrice flip JC off. She smiled at their playful banter, happy that Beatrice had a friend to be this comfortable with. 

“Do you want to tell me?” Beatrice asked quietly.

Ava looked back up, meeting with Beatrice’s gaze. She looked slightly concerned, but mostly amused by the entire situation.

Ava looked around, seeing that they had remained alone. 

“You’re going to make fun of me,” Ava groaned.

Beatrice moved in front of Ava, letting her hands slide from her shoulders to her sides. She caressed them a few times, before settling on her hips.

“I promise I won’t,” Beatrice said. “You’re getting one pass for having won the Olympics.

“Only one? I literally won the Olympics!” Ava scoffed and pretended to take a step back, but Beatrice was quick to strengthen the grip on her waist. Not that Ava truly wanted to move away, but hello dominance? Please do show more of what you’re capable of.

“Oh, come on,” Beatrice rolled her eyes playfully. “You get three, better?”

Ava hummed in thought, squinting her eyes, but her brain was too focused on feeling Beatrice’s fingers pressing into her hips. 

“Alright then,” Ava finally gave up. Call her a bad negotiator, but who wouldn’t have crumbled under such pressure?

Beatrice smiled victoriously. Then, she nodded in encouragement. “So, what was that about?”

Ava sighed, but finally gave in.

“You know, you started gaining fame before I started winning important competitions,” Ava said. “And you started appearing on my feed quite often, especially considering how you’ve interviewed all of the swimmers I’ve looked up to since before I started competing as well.”

Beatrice waited for Ava to continue, still confused.

“Then I started to get better at swimming, and suddenly you became the sports reporter.” Ava continued.

“I remember, we congratulated each other quite a lot around that time,” Beatrice nodded. 

Ava waited for Beatrice to connect the dots, but she kept looking extremely confused.

“Are you really going to make me say it?” Ava whined.

“I have no clue where you’re getting at,” Beatrice answered, and Ava knew she was sincere.

Ava sighed again, dropped her head back and looked at the ceiling not wanting to see Beatrice’s reaction to what she was about to say.

“You started interviewing only the best of the best, and considering how I was simply starting to make a name out of me, winning the Olympics was going to be the only way for me to actually get to talk with you.”

There, she said it.

Ava closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, she was met with an extremely shocked looking Beatrice.

“Of course, winning the Olympics was a big dream of mine, oh my god was, I actually did it,” Ava muttered, before inhaling sharply and continuing. “But knowing that winning meant getting to talk with you was a great kick and I cannot lie about it.”

Beatrice blinked a few times, before bursting into laughter. She laughed so much she lost her hold on Ava’s hips and bent forward keeping herself up by putting some of her weight on Ava.

“Come on, you said you weren’t going to make fun of me,” Ava whined.

“I’m sor…ry,” Beatrice was practically gasping for air. “Sorry… Sorry.”

Beatrice kept laughing for a few more moments, before inhaling deeply and recomposing herself.

“Sorry, okay, sorry,” she said again, still breathless. “I can’t believe I set you up for failure like that on live TV.”

“Lilith’s never going to let this one down. She’s going to make fun of me for the rest of my life,” Ava muttered. “And you’re not being supportive right now.”

Beatrice giggled some more, and, making use of the hold she had on Ava’s hand, she pushed her towards her and hugged her again.

“If it makes you feel any better, I find this extremely cute,” Beatrice said, before placing a kiss on the top of Ava’s head.

“It doesn’t, I’m supposed to look hot and mysteriously,” Ava was still sulking, but being in Beatrice’s arms again was helping quite a lot in kicking the embarrassment away.

“All three can be true at once,” Beatrice replied. “You’re cute, but also extremely hot. And how can you not be mysterious? You couldn’t walk 5 years ago and today you have an Olympics gold medal around your neck, if that’s not mysterious I don’t know what is.”

Ava hummed in thought, pondering her answer. But eventually, she had to agree. 

“For the record, I only listened to the extremely hot part,” she replied, and Beatrice laughed again.

They remained hugging in silence for a few more moments, Ava finally enjoying the first moment of quietness since she had emerged from the water at the end of the race, earlier that day. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I have been crushing on you since pretty early on, too,” Beatrice said after a while. “Not as early, because I think you noticed me first, but when I found out you had qualified for the Olympics I was over the Moon because it meant I had a chance to find you and talk to you in person.”

Ava loosened her grip to look into Beatrice’s eyes. They were so close their noses were practically touching, and Ava struggled into keeping her eyes on focus, but made no attempts into putting some space between them to see her better.

“We’re really gay,” Ava finally declared.

Beatrice snorted but had to agree.

“I can make it gayer,” she said.

Ava arched one of her eyebrows in question, and Beatrice smirked in response. A moment later, she closed the distance left between each other and kissed her.

The moment their lips touched again, Ava finally realized it all. She had won the Olympics, and she was now kissing the girls of her dreams. It couldn’t get better than that.

“Thank you for being my secret to success, Beatrice Young,” Ava said, her smile still pressed against Beatrice’s lips.

“Oh no, Ava, believe me. Thank you.”