Part 8 continued
As Greg finally pulled away from Monique, he slipped his hand down in front of himself to conceal his enlarged bulge. He now felt a bit embarrassed at what his body had done. He hated the smashing feeling of the suit against his parts. In the small suit, he was barely able to stay contained in his present state. He pushed against himself with his hand to adjust the fit. Nothing a jump in the water would not quickly resolve, but first his mom asked for another hug. Greg awkwardly agreed.
“Good luck, Gregory,” his mom said. “We are so proud of you.”
“Thanks, mom,” Greg replied. His body started to ease. He gave Jimmy another fist tap and his dad a high five. No one but Monique picked up on the extra tight fit of his swimsuit. All of it was quickly behind him as Greg jumped in to the pool to do a few warm up laps. The meet was about to begin. His mind and his muscles were all focused on winning.
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The 100 Fly first round of eight kicked off exactly on time. Greg was in lane four. His arch nemesis, Phillip, was in lane 5. A strong swimmer from Vermont was in lane three, one who on a good day could give any of the field a run. Greg’s strategy was to let Phillip swim his own race, he would be happy top two, even top 3. Save energy for the final round. Phillip was in a light and dark blue Nike racer brief, the kind with a back seam. Chauncey, the guy from Vermont was in a solid green brief that was almost as tiny as Greg’s. The rest of the field was an eclectic collection of colors and prints, all racers except for the guy in lane eight, who wore red print jammers. They were all great swimmers.
Jimmy sat on the edge of his seat as the swimmers mounted the blocks and readied for the start. Greg was intense, focused on the water, the race. He needed a great start and three great turns. The pool was 25 meters. Greg’s turns were his weak spot, his dives were strong, but his endurance and speed were nearly unrivaled. Jimmy watched as Greg rubbed his front, checked his strings, and bent to start. The gun signaled the start and Greg shot from the blocks. He hit the water perfectly. Jimmy was out of his seat, yelling as loud as he could. Chauncey had the best start and was a half body ahead, followed by Greg and then Phillip, but Greg was quickly closing the gap. The red jammer swimmer missed his dive and simply stood up in his lane and dropped out. Better to save his energy.
The fourth place swimmer, a guy named Vincent out of Bangor, Maine was quickly closing in on Phillip, who was either having an off day, or just laying back, the latter not his style. There were two races in the pool, Greg and Chauncey and Phillip trying to hold off Vincent. First turn, Greg hit the wall perfectly, a fast flip and solid push off. Chauncey lost a bit of edge on Greg’s strong turn. Jimmy saw it and knew.
“Perfect turn,” he said to Greg’s dad and Paul. “Awesome!”
“He’s doing great,” Paul added.
Knowing Phillip had faded fast, Greg stayed with Chauncey. On the third length Greg had the option to take the lead. He felt the urge to surge. He started to push, but his coach’s words rang in his head “save it for the final round.” Greg knew that if he hung just off Chauncey’s shoulder he’d wear Chauncey down. Pass him and Chauncey got to rest, they were far enough ahead of the third place swimmer. Greg opted to hold back. He teased Chauncey by staying in Chauncey’s peripheral vision. They hit the last turn one and two, close but Greg was easing back.
“What is he doing?” Jimmy asked Paul, confused.
“Being smart,” Paul replied as he explained he strategy to Jimmy.
Chauncey did not know where Greg was, so he pushed hard the final 25 meters. Greg was a full body back. They hit the wall, Chauncey solidly winning the heat, but he had expended way too much energy. Greg stood and reached to shake Chauncey’s hand. The contrast was clear, Greg breathing easy and calm, the Vermont swimmer gasping for air. Greg was in great shape for a solid win in the second round. Greg did his usual one hand leap from the pool. Monique zeroed in on the way his cute swimsuit hugged his body. He looked hot, extremely athletic, and very cute.
Jimmy cheered loudly. Monique joined him. Greg heard them both and looked over. He pulled his clinging swimsuit from his body. He waved to Monique and blew her a kiss. He gave Jimmy a thumbs up, pumping his arm. The two guys smiled. A great day still ahead.
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