[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The move to Northern Maine hit Stormy hard. He had just finished his junior year, turned 18 in June, and was suddenly uprooted just as he was about to enjoy the accolades of being a Senior. Four great high school years on swim team cut short by the sudden bankruptcy of his dad's employer. The move had to be made, jobs were not easy to come by in his dad's line of work. The best and only offer came from a town Will had never heard of in a remote corner of the country. Stormy, youngest of three and only son was about to be thrown into a whole new world, a different world.

Stormy arrived at the pool early. It was a far less impressive swim facility than he was used to. His last aquatic center was an incredible complex with three competitive pools, two inside and one out, plus two dive centers. It reflected the affluent community just outside of Phoenix. Stormy wore a brand new Q swimwear pair of jammers. All the guys at home wore jammers, Stormy had never worn a brief cut swimsuit, at least not after he turned 12. The print was called Butterfly Wings, a blend of tie die and tropical. It was very colorful, and fit Stormy very well. He wore the suit from home, bypassing the locker. He entered the pool and took a seat on the bleachers. He was the first person there.

"Hey Stormy, good to see you," Coach Ryan called out. He walked over and shook Stormy’s hand. Ryan had on a shirt from one of his past marathons that hung over a very colorful Turbo swimsuit. "I think you will like the team, a great bunch of young men and women."

"This is a pretty old pool," Stormy replied, a sense of judgment in his tone.

"Yeah, it is. Same pool I swam in at your age." Ryan answered. "But it serves us well."

"Yeah, I guess," Stormy stood up from the bleacher. The sun was warm, and the humidity was new for him. He was more acclimated to the dry desert heat.

"Cool suit," Ryan complimented. "You will be the only jammer guy, the rest of the team wears briefs."

"Is that a problem?" Stormy asked with the same bit of attitude. Ryan ignored the tone, chalking it up to the adjustment Stormy was dealing with.

"Not at all, jammers are cool." Ryan tried to reassure him. "I am fine with whatever style suit you prefer, just want you on the team. The rest of the team started showing up and just as Ryan had said, the guys were all in various colors and prints of briefs. Stormy watched as the guys came into the pool, sizing them up, both looks and ability. It was clearly not the team he left behind, his prejudice told him. After all, these were a bunch of farm kids in the podunk outreaches of Maine. “What could they possibly know about swimming.” Stormy had already made his mind up about the team and not even one of them was even wet.

“So, you going for a bike ride after?” Jake asked Allen as they headed out from the locker room. Allen was showing in a new suit from Tyr with narrow 2 inch sides. It was a California print with colorful bears all over it. It was cute and fit him well. Jake was in an older suit from Sporti with international flags all over, he had bought it a few years back but did not wear it much. It was a bit small on him, and the under-sizing showed, the suit just barely covering his bulge.

“Yeah, I want to get in a forty-mile ride today,” Allen answered.

“Stop by for a break, if you want,” Jake offered. He adjusted his bulge, feeling a bit crammed in the tight suit. “Suits a bit small, I guess,” he smirked as he realized that a small gap around his package showed some of his anatomy.

“Just don’t get hard,” Allen teased back.

“Must be the new kid,” Jake said as they walked to the bleachers. They both looked over. Stormy had already checked them out, especially the guy with the suit that showed everything.

The guys made their introductions. Jake and Allen tried to be friendly, but the response from Stormy was cold and calculated. He did not even give his name, at least not voluntarily. Jake had to ask, twice. “So, welcome to the team,” Jake said. “Colorful jammers,” he added.

“Yeah, I am from Phoenix, our pool was way better than this,” Stormy gave the guys his arrogant attitude. Jake and Allen ignored the comment, which made Stormy even more fired up. Coach walked over and made some quick small talk about the guys meeting and getting to know each other.

“Stormy, I am going to put you with Jake and our A group in lane four, with Jake,” Ryan directed. “From what your last coach tells me, I think the five of you will be about the same level.” Ryan knew Jake had the ability to give Stormy a run for his money. If anyone needed to be knocked down a few pegs, Ryan figured Stormy did. He knew that Jake’s competitive inner self would kick in. Jake was the top swimmer on the team, and he was surely not going to give that up, at least not with a fight. Allen was in the B group, next lane over. He watched as Stormy and Jake got in the pool. Even Allen was ready to watch the show begin. He knew his friend well, and could read his expression. Jake was ready to put the new kid politely in his place.

“Chris,” Ryan called over to his volunteer assistant. “How about you watch the A group, see how this Stormy kid stacks up to Jake and adjust the lineup accordingly. Let’s let Stormy lead off, it will piss Jake off, which is exactly what I want to do.”

“A little show down, duel in the pool,” Chris replied. Chris flashed back to the rivalry he had with Len on the band trip a few Summers back. He hoped this worked out the same way, but knew it was going to be a struggle getting there. Chris was wearing a brand-new brief from Funky Trunks, the first time he had worn it, and he looked stunningly hot. It was a colorful print called Stroke Rate. He rocked it well.

The session started with a 400 warm up, “nice and easy,” coach said. The group swam on 5 second gaps, four or five to a lane. There were four in the lane, including Stormy, who went off first. Jake followed. Stormy quickly pulled away, ignoring the nice and easy instruction. The five second gap grew as Stormy powered through the first two laps. Jake stayed steady, not letting the show off start get under his skin, at least not more than a little bit. Jake knew coach had a tough practice planned and he wanted all his energy. He hoped Stormy was really just showing off. If not, Jake was going to be knocked off his team leader pedestal.