>Big tiger girl at a pool

>Has her sights on a human lifeguard

>The only issue is she's deathly afraid of water just like many other cat anthros which makes it hard to get close to him, in fact it to her weeks to build up the courage just to enter the pool building

>So she waits on a beach chair, pretending to enjoy the sun while stealing quick glances at her prey

>Eventually she sees him wade over to the edge and get up out of the water, perfect

>Hiding her face behind a magazine she watches him walk over to the bathrooms

>Now all she has to do is hide next to the bathroom doors and pounce on him as soon as he exits

>Then when he's safely pinned down by her mass she'll confess her undying love for him

>Oh how long she's waited to do this! Years of watching him by the sidelines too scared to make a move like some frightened little kitten

>The closest she ever got was when she gave him a tiger stripe shirt to wear as a birthday present, she hoped he would get the hint but he just thought it was a platonic gift

>Whatever, as soon as he exits the bathroom she'll pounce him in the hallway and finally take him as hers

>Carefully dodging a few puddles on the floor she stealthily sneaks beside the door to the mens room facing the entrance to the pool

>When he exits he'll try to go right back to try and finish his shift, then with his back turned she'll be in a perfect position to make a move

>She casually leans against the wall and waits...and waits...and waits

>And...the door opens!

>And now he's walking back to the pool, perfect

>As quietly as possible she sneaks up behind him, crouches slightly to be in perfect pouncing position, gets her paws out to grab him, does the classic cat butt wiggle, and...jumps!

>Her muscular legs propel her through the air and she's right on target

>She reaches the apex of her jump and to her horror her target slips on a puddle of water in the hallway

>He falls forward on his belly and with her current trajectory she'll sail right over him

>Damnit!

>At least she might be able to land and make up an excuse for why she nearly hit him

>The tigress prepares to land but her feet have no traction when they hit the ground, the whole damn hallway feels like it's coated in grease

>With her sizable mass and momentum she tumbles forward and continues sliding on the wet ground, her claws trying to find purchase in vain

>The pool looms closer and still she continues forward

>With one last desperate movement she digs her claws into the ground and they screech against the floor in an attempt to arrest her slide into the pool

>But it's no use, she hits the water with a splash and immediately begins flailing around as water fills her lungs

>Why oh why did she just have to fall for a guy that works at a place filled with water when she doesn't know how to swim? What a cruel twisted fate has befallen her!

>Her lungs burn for air as she slowly loses the battle with the pool, her head eventually sinking below the water line

>Just when she thinks she's a goner there's someone shouting above and an arm reaches into the water towards her

>She reaches out and grabs it by the forearm, the hand wraps around her own forearm and pulls her up and out of the water with a surprising amount of strength

>She climbs out of the pool coughing water and sits by the edge catching her breath, whiskers drooping and fur soaked with water

>"You okay?"

>She looks up towards the voice and sees her cherished lifeguard with a concerned look on his face

>"Uhhhh....ya. I'm fine.” She says with a cough. “Who pulled me out of the water?"

>"That would be me. You gave me quite a memento back there, but they'll heal."

>He brings his arm out so she can see it, there's several red claw marks across his entire forearm from when she gripped it

>The sight almost makes her cry

>"Oh my god Anon I'm so sorry I-I-I must have forgotten to put my claws in when you pulled me out. Oh my god I'm so sorry.” She whimpers, hands on her cheeks

>”Don’t worry about it. You should consider yourself lucky I was there to get you out before you drowned. I'm going to go ahead and guess you don’t know how to swim?”

>”…No.” She says with a sniffle, eyes now tracing the floor

>”Well what about some swimming lessons? I could teach you, would you like that?”

>”I-I-I-I” She stutters and stops, face growing hot and embarrassment flaring as she tries to find the right words

>Eventually she gets up and begins walking towards the exit, desperate to get away from this terribly humiliating situation with her crush

>”Anon I'm so sorry! I'm really not such a clumsy cat you have to believe me. Please forgive me!” She yells before running off to the exit

>Anon looks at the waterlogged cat depart and scratches his head

>What a strange girl

>Who knows, maybe one day he’ll work up the courage to tell her how much he really likes her