[Torchwatch]

Part 6
Saturday morning and Roland got up early, he dressed in a black tee shirt and his black football shorts, went down to have a decent breakfast and make up the rolls for lunch. He was out of the house and across the road in plenty of time for 8am.
Jason Grubber dressed in his cycling jersey and tight trackie bottoms was taking the bikes out of the garage and laying them down on the lawn. Roland had his own small back pack today, as well as the lunch he'd packed a towel. Jason had also packed a towel and his swim suit this time as they'd planned to go back to Pelican Bay. Slipping a water bottle into the cage of each bike and the bikes were ready. The two men greeted each other as they strapped on the cycle helmets and pulled on their mitts.
They mounted the bikes and cycled through the village towards the track leading to the settlement.
A Ford Transit van passed them heading the other way, they didn't see the driver but recognised the Outfitter's logo on the side.
Mr Weatherly and his son Alex were in the van on their way to their shop, the Outfitters. From the passenger seat Alex recognised Roland wearing a cycle helmet and riding a mountain bike. Roland looked happy, and remembering his BMX days Alex suddenly wanted a mountain bike. He didn't know the other cyclist but guessed it must be Mr Grubber. There had been a lot of gossip in the village over Mr Grubber during the week, Postie had reported that Mr Grubber had been delivered a small, squishy parcel in which there was supposed to be something made of red fabric. Alex had been ordered by his father to take the van into the wholesalers in the city and buy some men's red shorts, tee shirts and underwear on Monday just to show that he could sell red stuff too. Maybe while he was in the city he could look at bike too. His father had never let him drive to the city before or trusted him to buy stock in the wholesalers so Alex intended to have have some fun. Ever since he was 15 and had tried to buy condoms in the Chemists he'd hated the repression and gossip in the village and if he could upset the village gossip Mrs Cullen by selling red shorts and briefs to all the men and boys so much the better. He was sure she wouldn't be pleased to see him riding around on a mountain bike and so much the better. He must get around to seeing Roland some time, perhaps they could ride together, but he couldn't manage that until after Mondays drive to the city.
Reaching the track to the settlement Roland took first place and led the way up the hill, he was breathing hard and sweating and knew that Jason would still be cool but he felt good on the bike today and wanted to show it. When they arrived in the settlement Roland saw a number of short white stakes in the ground in various places but he couldn't work out a pattern, he thought of the men with theodolites and wondered again if they'd found his speedos.
They stopped in the same spot as last time and Jason handed Roland the red and black cycle shorts, he then stripped off his black trackies leaving him in black and gold cycle shorts. Roland didn't bother hiding in the ruined shack this time, Jason had already seen him naked, so he just pulled off his football shorts over his trainers and stepped into and pulled up the Lycra cycle shorts, he loved how they felt cool and tight as pulled them on and knew his manhood was rising slightly to the occasion. He stepped into the shack and quickly looked around but couldn't see his speedos.
Roland then asked Jason what the surveyors had been doing in the settlement during the week.
“Ah!” said Jason, “Glad you asked me, it's your fault really, we're planning to set up a National Coastal Cycle Route, the settlement is scheduled to become a camp site with a cycle hire shop, a swimming pool and a restaurant looking over it. The National Sports Council had offered to match grants made by the State Tourist Office, the tourist office would only make the grant if there was local involvement, your village council never even replied so in the end the tourist office said we could have the grant if only one person from the village went cycling into the hills and you were it. We've got the grants and bought the settlement, I'm the architect.”
“Couldn't you have told me all that last week ?” asked Roland, “Oh no.” said Jason “If you'd know it would have broken the rules.”
Roland paused for a moment trying to take it all in “Err ?” he said “ Did any of the surveyors find my speedos?”
Jason burst out laughing, “I'd forgotten, I have them here, you left them in the back pack last week.” He handed Roland a plastic carrier bag, Roland opened it and pulled out his worn, but dry, black speedos, but there was something else in the bag, a small mail parcel with Jason's name and address on it, it had been torn open in one corner revealing an inner bag containing something made of glossy red fabric. “What's this ?” said Roland, recognising the parcel as the one described by Mrs Cullen in the grocers the night before, the parcel that had caused so much trouble at the Outfitters.
“It's a gift” said Jason, “It's something you definitely need and I hope it's something you'll like, open it and find out.”
Roland opened the parcel and found saw a card marked Arena and picture of a man in red swim briefs on top of the glossy red fabric. Breaking the seal and pulling out the swim briefs Roland gasped in pleasure. The swim briefs looked so new and perfect, red and almost glowing in the morning sunshine, Roland's jaw dropped and he couldn't breath looking at their simple beauty, he felt his manhood growing without control in his cycle shorts at the thought of wearing them, of swimming in them, and they were his size too.
“Thank you so much.” he said “We'd better get to Pelican Bay so I can try them on, I want to swim in them as soon as I can.”