[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I am thinking about the next story as "Summer in the Band" comes to a close. I am going to venture back to a true story, maybe. Here is a teaser... let me know what you think.

Prelude:

I live on a lake. Well, not just any lake, I live on an amazing lake in the farthest points of Northern Maine, the place where I grew up, the place I call home. On this one particular day in July, several years back, I woke for my usual swim. Up here, the sun rises early which means by 5am I can be in the water. I jumped from my bed and slipped into my favorite swimsuit of the time, a sweet fitting splice Nike racer brief. The sky was clear and the lake was like glass, as it often is this early. I glanced out the huge picture window from my master bedroom suite and smiled. A loon couple swam directly out from the waterfront, as they always did, creatures of habit. I stood there in my swimsuit, untied, examining the start of another glorious Summer day.

I bounded out the door, a quick pee from the deck, a strange ritual I had, something about peeing in the open, I guess. I headed out, goggles and my bright orange swim cap in hand, clad in just my swimsuit in the warm 62 degree air (at least warm on Northern Maine standards). The water was a welcoming 68(f) degrees as I waded in, passing the pontoon boat docked. On the edge of the drop off, the crisp blue water chest deep, I stood and fiddled with my googles, a ritual of wetting them and then placing them on exactly right, the straps riding high on the back of my head. Finally, the swim cap came over, a fit like squeezing yourself into a condom, but this one for the other head. The lake was quiet, peaceful. It was just me and the water. I did my last prep, tying the strings of my swimsuit, a weird tradition I carried over from my days as a young swimmer, Tying in was my final act before any big meet. My brain’s signal that it was show time.

There is something about a couple mile swim early in the day in a peaceful lake that grounds you. Watching the sun start its journey across your world, each day a fresh new adventure. In the water, I feel free, clad in the skimpiest of swimsuits, feeling the power of my own body to propel me across the expanse of crystal clear lake. I am blessed to have a lake that is so clean, so pure you could actually drink the water. This morning was perfect, as I swam as one in touch with the water. On these swims, I always feel so alive, so masculine, so aroused. A cute guy in a kayak passed me, heading the opposite way as I made my journey. He was close, enough that I could see the teeth of his smile. He had on blue shirt, featured muscular arms and wavy black hair. I don’t know how, but I felt a connection. A surge of desire ran though me. I thought about him the rest of my swim.

I loved the end of my swim best. The feeling of accomplishment never grew old. I swam hard as I passed the pine log cabin marking the final half mile. I pushed hard to the finish, watching as the pontoon boat came back into sight, making my shoreline turn and heading in to more shallow water. The sun was now high in the sky, the lake was coming alive. The usual guy in his green fishing boat was already out in the deeper water, catching dinner in his dreams. I stood in the clear water on the rocky bottom and grabbed my lake shoes from the back deck of the pontoon boat, right where I had left them. I was oblivious to anything or anyone around me, except for the water, the shore and a warm cup of coffee waiting for me. I made my way out of the lake, up onto the rocky crest of the shore.

“That was quite a swim,” a voice called out, a deep and very handsome voice. I turned to see a very cute guy in a kayak smiling back at me. I smiled back, the surge of a connection again pulsating through me, which but for the cold water of the lake might have made my swimsuit bulge a bit too much.

“Thanks,” I replied. “I didn’t realize you were there…” I trailed off. It was a really great morning, and just maybe it had gotten even better.