Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 32

Richard led the way to the gym and I willingly trailed behind him in the opposite direction despite the fact that part of me wanted to refuse his demands. I went with Richard to the gymnasium which was now quiet with no one in sight except for a few of the cheerleaders chattering at the far end of the hall but Richard and I were so busy with our discussion that we didn't notice that they were having a private after school meeting.

"So what do you want to tell me so badly that you drag me all the way here?" I questioned as soon as we took a turn towards where the swimming pool was.

"Well....", He paused when he noticed some mild chattering at the end of the hall. He was the first to see the cheerleaders since he had been walking in front of me shortly after we entered the hall. Then he turned around suddenly as though he had seen a ghost and quickly changed his guilty look to his former demeanor.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked suspiciously and deepened my left hands further into my left pockets. I tried to take a look at what he saw but he blocked the way when he noticed that I was going to look somewhere else. It became apparent that he didn't want me to find out something that was lurking in the hall without me knowing about it.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just feeling a bit giddy", he replied coarsely. I knew from the sound of his voice that he was lying but I didn't want to pry any further.

"So, are you gonna mope around or tell me why you brought me here?", He knew I was getting impatient every minute I spent with him and he obviously didn't want me to figure out something which he had already discovered in the hall. "Um....To make it short...It wasn't my intention but I'll be helping you to swim starting with tomorrow's practice", "What? Are you serious or you're just joking, right?" I questioned in sheer agitation. He stole a quick glance at the far end of the hall and returned his head to face me.

"It's no joke. Coach Robbins made the decision not me", "And why would he do that?", "He obviously got his hands full with the forthcoming summer games", "And he wants your help to relieve him of the burden because of what? You are the best swimmer he could rely on, right?" I queried sarcastically. He was speechless for a second and found it hard to respond back even though part of him didn't want to give up just yet.

"There are other female swimmers on the team who can do that you know, right?", "Look, I'm not lying. Believe it or not, I don't want this either but he insisted that I be the one to teach you the basics", he answered vehemently. He knew I was stung by his revelation to the point that he could tell that I was thinking if actually Richard was telling the truth.

"There's no reason for me to lie to you", "If that's true, I can't have you be the one to teach me", "You sound as if it's a bad thing to learn from me", "No offense but I really don't want to have anything to do with you", "If that's what you want, fine by me but he was kinda insistent", "Don't sweat it; I'll make him change his mind", "I'm not sure if that would be the best thing to do", "What do you mean?", "He seems like his mind was already made up when he mentioned this to me", Richard replied with a serious look on his face but I wasn't persuaded by his opinion.

"Then what's your reason for telling me this now?",

"I...just want to get things clear between us before practice tomorrow", "That you didn't want me to be surprised like I am today, Is that it?", "Yep", He replied feeling a bit more comfortable standing in front of me than he was before. Whilst Richard had engaged me in the conversation, one of the cheerleaders had caught sight of his stature a few meters near the entrance and a few yards from the swimming pool. She could tell that it was Richard that was standing by the pool with some other person she could barely see judging by the physiques of his body as well as the clothes he was wearing and it struck her curiosity to figure out why he had entered the hall when the no one except the cheerleaders were allowed to have their after school rehearsal.

She curiously left her friends to find out who it was he was talking to. She silently approached us from afar and it took her quite a while to get to where we were completely oblivious that she was heading towards us and it was not until she drew closer that she recognized the other person Richard was engrossed in a discussion to be a girl she hadn't met before but she didn't say anything till she eventually came to our midst.

"Who are you talking to, Richard?", She questioned out of the blue and smiled wistfully at us both as soon as she joined us but Richard was too surprised to answer her question. I too was taken aback by her sudden intrusion and didn't respond as well even when she grinned at me with an enticing smile just like the way Chloe did the first time I met her at my doorstep.

"Lori....What...what are you doing here?", Richard stuttered, unable to withstand the shock of seeing his ex-girlfriend all dressed in her cheerleading outfit. It became clear to me that the girl standing next to Richard was undoubtedly his ex- girlfriend whom the others already mentioned to me about and I for one felt insignificant the moment her identity became clear to me.

Her cheerleading outfit greatly enhanced her femininity which obviously would be attractive to anyone who sees her at first sight and there was no doubt that she was prettier in spite of her skinny body that somewhat added to her seductive smile. Aside from being a head taller than me, she had blonde hair like that of Chloe but hers was more wavy and scattered around her smooth shoulder down her nape.

"I should be the one asking that",

She said grinning radiantly and looked at me when Richard peered at her scornfully.

"And you...I haven't seen you before, right?", "You as well", I answered looking at Richard who was trying hard to keep calm and hide his irritation from the cheerleader who apparently wasn't bothered by his demeanor.

"You must be one of those freshmen", "Quite a good guess", "Thanks for the compliment, so do you mind asking me how come you know Richard?", She replied and placed her hand on his shoulder. Richard pushed her hand off and made a move to leave.

"I...uh..I think it's better if you ask him that yourself", I said without flinching. I knew the situation would get out of hand if I told the truth and made a move to leave as well despite knowing that it would make me look guilty if I withdrew away from them. Seeing that I was unwilling to comply, she directed her attention towards him and asked him instead.

"Richard, care to tell me who she is?"

She asked expecting answers from him with her eyes but his sudden silence disappointed her. Richard stared deeply at the two of us, giving us the same look he had on his face when he denied being the one who rescued me from death in the hallway a few days back and shrugged before walking away without uttering a word. Lori and I did nothing but to watch him as he was leaving till he left the hall first. I followed soon afterwards as soon as I noticed that Lori was upset about it and went out of the gym only to find out that everyone except the Janitor had all gone home including Richard whom I saw driving out of the school grounds in the same car he brought to my neighbor some days back.