His eyes darkened, and he swallowed hard.

The pool had a depth of 1.5 meters, just enough for Claudia to keep her head above water,

Once she was in the water, Claudia felt less self-conscious. She gripped the pool's edge with one hand and looked over at Bennett.

“Why'd you stop?"

“Taking a break," he replied.

"So should I swim alone, then?"

Claudia was adept at swimming, a skill that was essential when piloting a motorboat. She was proficient in breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.

She had always enjoyed swimming, especially on hot days.

Without further ado, she pushed off from the wall and began to swim.

The pool was quite expansive, stretching out to thirty meters in length. After covering two widths, she felt a twinge of exhaustion.

Yesterday's activities had certainly sapped her energy. Claudia glided back to the pool's edge and caught her breath. It was then that she noticed Bennett was missing,

Her eyes darted to the nearby restroom, but it was empty. Where could he be?

Just as she was pondering this, Bennett appeared from the garden, carrying two glasses of juice,

Claudia looked up as he approached and gratefully accepted a glass.

"Thank ete

He set the tray aside and got into the pool.

“Feeling tired?"

She nodded.

"I think last week wore me out."

As she spoke, a sense of embarrassment washed over her.

She had been attending training sessions every day the previous week, but had told Bennett she was going to an exposition with Aurora.

Nervously, she lowered her gaze and sipped her juice through the straw, avoiding eye contact.

Noting her flushed ears, Bennett met her gaze for a moment, and then pushed off the wall and began to swim away.

Hearing the splash, Claudia lifted her head to see Bennett already several strokes away.