Olympic Dreams

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Lap swimming started at noon everyday all Summer at the outdoor pool in the small New England town, ending a morning that included six hours of swim team practices. The pool was older, built in the 1950’s or 60’s, but it had been well maintained and updated several times over the years. Still, it showed its age. Impressive, however, for such a small community. It was a full size Olympic pool when it was built, 50 yards in length, double the size of the indoor pool down the street. It also had a deep dive section that created an L shape, with an impressive three levels of dive platforms. The city recreation had made a serious commitment to swimming, and it paid off with one Olympian who took several gold medals and a couple other swimmers who got darn close to being Olympians. The pool served double duty as the town’s recreation pool and the Summer base for a very strong club program that was the producer of the amazing swim talent. From 6AM to noon, the pool filled with Speedo clad swimmers from all over the east coast, both genders. During the practices, a cadre of early teen girls would eventually line the grassy knoll behind the pool to watch the cute guys in their tiny swimsuits. Rain or shine, except for thunder, the swimmers were there. The pool was always open.

Jimmy grew up on a farm just outside of town. It was the summer just ahead of his 9th grade year, a big deal for a young man his age. He was a skinny kid, with little muscular development, and not very athletic. He was just starting to show an interest in girls, but not many showed an interest in him. He was one of the “poor kids,” the farm hardly made money and both Mom and Dad worked, for a dad a second job besides the farm. Something happened though, the prior Summer that really impacted Jimmy. He watched the Summer Olympics on the family’s old television and was captured by the swimming events. The guys looked amazingly strong, and the girls looked amazingly pretty. Jimmy had never really swam before, in fact he barely knew how. The thought percolated in his mind his whole eighth grade year. He never told anyone, not even his best, and really only, friend. At the local Kmart, his only hint to his mom was when he asked her to buy him a swimsuit, something he never had before. He knew his cut off jeans would not work. She bought him a pair of blue boxer short style trunks, the kind with a mesh liner inside and a drawstring. Not exactly what the real swimmers wore, but it was the best they could do.

The coach of the swim program sat at a table at the far end of the pool, eating lunch and finishing up his notes on the day. Often would meet one to one with his swimmers, and sometimes they would take one lane for some individual work. He didn’t pay much attention to the skinny young swimmer in the blue shorts who had arrived just as the open lap swimming started. Jimmy struggled swimming the length of the pool, clinging to the wall after each attempt. Fifty yards seemed like an eternity, he’d catch his breath and start again. He had no form, no skill, and no goggles. His arms fought the water, looking like he was on the brink of drowning. Despite all the reasons to just quit, Jimmy kept going, his mind focused on his desire to be a real swimmer. Oh sure, it would be easier to just sign up for lessons, but that took money, something his family didn’t really have.

The tall lean swimmer sat with the coach for a few minutes. The coach was giving him some feedback on his practice and his need to build more pull strength. Having just finished four hours of practice, he was still in the red and blue custom dyed team practice suit, a very brief cut swimsuit from Agon Swim. The suit looked so small and tight on his tall and muscular body, his long legs spread open as he sat in the chair, listening intently. Finally, he rose from the chair, grabbed his goggles and cap, and walked back toward the remaining open lane in the pool. The teen girls didn’t know what to look at first, his cute smile, his powerful and well defined upper body, his muscular legs, or the way the suit left nothing to imagine as it created a well outlined bulge in front. No matter what, they all were mesmerized by his handsome good looks. Cap on, he jumped back in the water, taking the lane right next to Jimmy.

“Let’s do some serious pulls,” the coach said as he rigged up the pull balloon and handed Greg the belt to wrap around his waist. Greg clasped the belt, made a few adjustments. “I want a solid set of five 100’s, ten second break between,” the coach said.

“You really know how to make a guy have fun, coach,” Greg said with a smile.

“All for your own good,” coach replied.

Greg pushed hard off the wall, but the balloon pulled back as it inflated with water. He felt the tug of the belt on his waistline, and he came to nearly a complete stop. He pulled hard with his arms, no kick as his legs wrapped around the pull buoy nestled almost up to his crotch. “This sucks,” Greg thought as he struggled to pull through the water. Greg was a swimmer from Connecticut, entering his senior year, and really hoping to swim in college. He spent the past two Summer breaks up in the small town known for its amazing swim program and working with the Olympic caliber coach. The impact on his swimming was obvious, just as the impact on his body was. He was a much better and stronger swimmer, but it came with work. His girlfriend, however, liked how all the extra workouts made him look in his Speedo suits, even though he never wore them at the beach. He did, however, wear them if the two of them hung out at her backyard pool.

Jimmy watched as the tall, lean swimmer next to his pushed off the wall and seemed to effortlessly pull the balloon down the pool. It just looked like hard work. It was a sight of contrast, Jimmy in his blue swim shorts fighting to make his way one length, while Greg seemed to glide down the pool and back, a serious swimmer look with his cap, shaded goggles, and the form fitting swimsuit. Greg was doing two full laps to each one of Jimmy’s lengths. Jimmy was in awe, that was exactly how he wanted to swim, and despite being outclassed by Greg, he took a great deal of motivation from watching his zoom by. Once the balloon was gone, Greg’s full form was inspiring. The strong, well timed kicks, the far reaching pulls, and the way he seemed to swim almost on his side, as if he was merely slicing the water. Oh sure, there was the fact that his body was amazing and he was built like a swimmer, which Jimmy also noted, but he was more taking in the skill. The coach paid Jimmy no attention, hardly a glance.

Coach wrapped up with Greg after about 45 minutes. Nearly five hours in the pool was good enough for now. Another workout at 6 and then Greg would call it a day and get some sleep. As the coach walked away, Greg hung out at the end of the pool, just enjoying the sunshine and the attention of the young girls. They were well under his age, but he got a kick out of the way they carried on over all the guys on the team. They reminded him of his kid sister back home. Boy crazy at that age. Greg turned and watched as Jimmy churned out another length of the pool.

“His swimming is a mess,” Greg thought to himself. “But he seems to just keep going,” Jimmy’s endurance came from all the work on the farm. Certainly not the same as swimming, but he had the ability to just plug away for hours on end. Jimmy made the wall and stood, the 4 feet of water up to the middle of his abdomen. He gulped air as much as he gulped water.

“Hi,” Greg said.

“Hi,” Jimmy replied. “You’re a really good swimmer,”

“Thanks,” Greg replied. As much as he was an amazing athlete, Greg was also a really kind hearted guy. Down to earth, no arrogance. “How long have you been coming here,” Greg asked.

“First time,” Jimmy replied.

“I’ve been watching you, you got lots of endurance,” Greg replied. “Want a few tips on the swimming?”

“That would be awesome,” Jimmy replied.

“Well, first we got to get you to keep your head down in the water. Every time you raise your head it stops all your momentum,” Greg explained. “Let me show you.” Greg showed Jimmy what he needed to do. Despite his advanced skill, he was a very patient teacher.

Jimmy absorbed very word and every demo. Certainly he was never going to get it right the first day, but Greg spent a solid half hour working with Jimmy. Once it looked like Jimmy had the right idea, Greg backed off.

“well, I’ve been in here for over five hours now,” Greg said. “Time to get out for me. You keep working on that.”

“Thanks, man,” Jimmy said. They never exchanged names. Jimmy hoped they would meet again.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Greg leaped out of the pool and stood in the warm sun, partly to watch Greg and partly to tease his cadre of groupies. He slipped his fingers into his waist and pulled the strings out and untied them, his swimmer signal that he was done. The loose strings hung down the front of his suit. He admired Jimmy’s determination, even if he was a textbook picture of bad form. But, his breathing looked way better. Greg turned and went to the locker room.

Jimmy was still swimming when Greg was all changed. He had easily been in the water almost ninety minutes and was showing no signs of stopping. Greg came out of the locker room and walked back over to Jimmy’s lane. Greg had on plaid board shorts, a tank top and sandals, much to the disappointment of the girls, who were all starting to head elsewhere. Greg bent over as Jimmy approached the wall.

“Hey, I thought you could use these,” Greg said as he handed Jimmy a pair of swim goggles. “It will be way easier on your eyes.”

Jimmy beamed a huge smile. “Thanks, you are really nice. Where should I put them after I am done.?”

“Keep them. I got plenty.” Greg replied. “See ya sometime.” Greg turned and walked away.

Jimmy slipped the goggles on and began his next length. The improvement was immediate. He could see everything. “Now, I am a real swimmer,” Jimmy thought. Jimmy had a long way to go, but on this afternoon he was on cloud nine.

[Byron]

Interesting relationship to develop here? ("to watch Jimmy")

The raised head is a common mistake and I always think I know a good from a bad
swimmer when I enter on to the pool deck (the lanes reserved for club training night are a different matter however and the displays of good form are impressive and appear effortless).
It occurs to me that those constant head movements will induce early exhaustion as well as loss of momentum.

[Dooley67]

STS,

Once again, you've created an introduction that raises questions in my mind about how things will go in the relationship. Already, the characters of Jimmy and Greg are well developed so that we have a strong sense of what kind of people they are, Jimmy a hard worker with a dream, and Greg, a strong, popular swimmer with a big heart. I'm eager to see what happens. Thanks for starting a new story so soon after the conclusion of the last one.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Author's note: I meant to post this at the first chapter. This is a short story about swimming. Some of the characters are teenage. There will be no graphic content or inappropriate activity. For those of you who swim or did at one time, I hope you enjoy the swimming theme of this short story...STS
____________


Typical New England weather, the heat wave of the last week broke with a cold front that took the temps overnight to the low 50’s. The day opened grey and cloudy, quickly becoming an even more delightful grey and rainy. The high was only going to 64. As usual, the pool was open, with the swim team practice in full swing, despite the bursts of rain. No thunder, but looming grey clouds buried the sun away. The usual grouping of girls did not show, making for a more boring day for the guys on the team, who all seemed to enjoy the attention. Too bad for the young girls, today was focused on starts, so the team made a constant rotation off the blocks, swam to the mid point ladder, then climbed out and waited to start again. It would have been a good show of the boys on the team. The cold air was a big contrast from the 78 degree pool, both the guys and girls on the team wrapped their arms around themselves and shivered as they waited their turns.

Jimmy had not missed a day of swimming. Ten in a row so far, and a little rain was not going to stop him. He slipped on his blue swimsuit, tied the strings, pulled on a windbreaker jacket and headed out on is bike to the pool. His towel and goggles secure in a plastic bag on the small rack that sat over the back tire on his old, single speed Schwinn bicycle. By the time Jimmy reached the pool, the rain was coming down in buckets, which was actually a good thing. Not only did it help the farm, but it also meant most of his chores could not be done. Sort of a Summer snow day.

“Wow, I am impressed, you’re the only one here for laps,” Molly said as Jimmy walked through the gate.

“Just a little rain,” Jimmy said. “I’m gonna get wet anyway.”

“Good point,” Molly replied. She never asked Jimmy for the $2 entry fee. While it wasn’t much money, she knew that Jimmy’s family was of modest means, so she just ignored it. She told the rest of the crew to do the same. “Have a good swim,” Molly added.

The swim team was huddled under a picnic covering, still in their swimsuits, but most had towels wrapped around them. Jimmy jumped in the second lane of the now empty pool. He stood at the top end of the lane checking out the cute swimmer girls, a brief distraction from what he was there to do, but he couldn’t just ignore them. He also saw Greg standing amongst the guys. He had not seen Greg since that first day, he wondered if Greg would see him. Jimmy finally put on his goggles and started his first lap.

While Jimmy didn’t fully appreciate it, he had come a long way in his first ten days. Foremost, he no longer stopped after each length, in fact he now was swimming down and back several times before he had to stop. His breathing also looked so much better, and he was picking up speed. His form and technique still needed lots of work, but the progress was clearly evident. Hard work was paying off. Jimmy stopped for a break, looking over at the swim team again. Most of the girls had left, but a few remained along with a bunch of the guys, including Greg. Greg was busy flirting with one of the girls, having wrapped them both together in his towel. They were laughing. Jimmy smiled, with a hint of jealousy at Greg’s luck with such a cute girl. He resumed his laps.

“Hey, you are looking great,” Jimmy heard a voice as he approached he wall. He stopped and stood. Greg was standing at the edge of the pool looking at Jimmy.

“Thanks, trying,” Jimmy replied. Greg had a towel still wrapped around him, the rain had picked up some more, Greg’s wet hair dripping with the rain flowing off his head.

“Let me see,” Greg asked. He watched as Jimmy pushed off and swam. He had much improved, but was still somewhat pulling his head up. Greg watched as Jimmy swam down and then back. When Jimmy reached the wall, Greg had jumped in and was already standing in the water. Up close, Jimmy marveled at how strong and muscular Greg looked. Not in a sexual way, there were no such desires in Jimmy, except when it came to girls. Rather he was envious of Greg’s impressive display of the male body. No wonder he caught all the girls attention, thought Jimmy.

“You are doing great,” Greg said. “Hey, by the way, my name is Greg,” he extended his hand.

“Oh yeah, Jimmy.”

“So, two tips for today. First, when you breath you want to keep your head down.”

“I thought I was,” said Jimmy, somewhat deflated.

“You really are, but just as you start to breath you pull it up a bit. So, as you breath, I want you to pretend you are going to look at your chest, then as you breath act like you want to look slightly behind you,” Greg explained. He demonstrated standing up. “See what I mean?”

“I think so,” Jimmy replied. “This swimming really is hard.”

Greg laughed. “Yeah, harder than most think. Let me show you.”

Once Greg was convinced Jimmy understood, Greg went to point number two. He explained to Jimmy the need to try to keep his arm strokes closer to his body and follow all the way through. “You lose half the stroke by pulling out early like you are.” Greg explained. This took much longer to get Jimmy to understand. Greg, the patient teacher, stayed with it. He watched Jimmy swim, walking along side as Jimmy went, stopping and starting him to give him more tips. Jimmy was somewhat overwhelmed by all the things he had to think about. His frustration level was creeping up.

“I am not sure I will ever get this,” Jimmy said in exasperation.

“Hey, you are doing awesome,” Greg replied. “It just takes practice. Now, you work on that. Meanwhile I need to get out of this tight swimsuit and get something to eat.”

“Thanks, Greg,” Jimmy replied as he watched Greg effortlessly leap out of the pool, the muscles in his arms flexing with the lift. “By the way, you have a cool swimsuit,” Jimmy added.

“See ya sometime,” Greg closed out the second impromptu lesson just as he had the last time. He did not respond to Jimmy about the suit, but he did like the particular suit he was wearing, an Arena brand brief with a black background and the Arena emblem emblazoned against a contrasting swirl of orange colors that wrapped from his left side seam and faded into the black background about mid way in front. It was one of Greg’s favorite swimsuits.

Jimmy spent the next 90 minutes trying to practice everything Greg had told him. He was now the only person in the whole pool, the rest of the regulars scared away by the rain and colder temps. The sole lifeguard was under an umbrella and wrapped in a blanket. It was a guy about Greg’s age, and he seemed none to pleased that Jimmy was making him sit out in the rain. By the time Jimmy was done, he had gulped a gallon of pool water in his effort to coordinate the breathing and the improved stroke technique. The rain had picked up again, and the wind was now blowing hard enough to make small waves on the long pool. Jimmy called it a day, more frustrated than he had ever been. He hoisted himself out of the pool, wanting to be able to one day leap out like Greg does. The pouring rain felt cold and raw. He grabbed his soaked towel and wrapped it around his shoulders. It was going to be a crummy ride home.

The swim coach, Frank, was sitting working on his laptop inside the small office. He looked up and watched as the skinny teenager in blue shorts climbed out of the pool. While he hadn’t really paid much attention to Jimmy, far too busy with the swimmers he had to worry about, he was impressed that the kid actually came and swam on such an awful weather day. Frank had also watched as Greg gave Jimmy swim tips. “Well, what he lacks in skill he makes up for in determination,” Frank said aloud to nobody, as he resumed entering his coaching notes into his laptop.

Jimmy went into the small locker room, for no reason than it got him out of the rain. He stood in front of the mirror looking at himself. While he didn’t see it, the ten days of swimming was already creating definition in his underweight body. He tugged at his swim shorts, which were clinging to him. He slipped on his windbreaker and readied for his ride home. “Maybe I should just give this up,” Jimmy quietly thought to himself, still frustrated at how awful he was after Greg tried to help him. “I’m just not as good as those guys,” he deflating thoughts continued.

“Hey, Jimmy,” called Molly as he passed by the gate. Jimmy stopped and turned.

“You are really getting to be strong in the water,” she complimented him.

A huge smile beamed across Jimmy’s face. His pride swelled. All the frustration suddenly left his mind. He stood taller. “Thanks,” he replied. A spring in his step, it turned out to be not such a crummy ride home. Jimmy hardly noticed the rain.

[Dooley67]

STS,

I'm really liking this story because again, it has characters who are very good and decent people. I loved that a little comment from Molly made Jimmy's day and the little help for Greg pushed Jimmy to keep on trying. I'm still wondering how Jimmy's and Greg's relationship will develop - mentor/mentee? or big brother/little brother?

I especially liked your very clear disclaimer about age and content and that this story was going to be just about swimming.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Hey D67,

I really appreciate your remarks. This is a different type of story for me and maybe the board. I suspect even some regular readers will not like this one, but new readers might find it a refreshing change. There is something magical about swimming that I hope to express through Jimmy's conquests. I can be fairly certain that we won't see this one mysteriously appearing on that other board....lol

STS

[a speedo minded guy]

STS,

Loving the new style. It's really enjoyable to see how a new swimmer can admire a high school athlete and really want to learn the sport. Please continue the story.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Sunday turned out to be a textbook weather day of hazy, hot and humid. The swim team only had a short practice on Sunday, timed to not interfere with early church services. They started at 10 AM, advanced team only, with some of the swimmers excused to 10:30 due to church services that ended after 10. Sunday practice was light, fun and often they played games. It was as much a team building event as it was a practice. Today was inner-tube polo, which was really nothing like the real water polo game, but the swimmers all loved it. It was guys versus girls. Greg was on the advanced team, a collection of guys and girls who were the strongest swimmers in the program. All of them would swim in college if they wanted to, and they all wanted to. In the game, if you watched them playing, they looked nothing like the strong swimmers they were, arms and feet flailing as they tried to maneuver the tubes and catch and pass the ball. Mostly, the object became flipping each other over and then stealing their tubes. A few cheap grabs in the right places on either gender were thrown in for good measure. All in good fun. Even the coaches got in on the mix, the rare time Frank put on his own Speedo brand swim brief. By the time noon came, the temps were well into the low 90’s, a sweltering day.

Jimmy was soaked in sweat by the time he reached the pool. He had stripped off his white T-shirt somewhere along the way and tossed it behind a tree, he’d grab it on his way home. His shorts were soaked in sweat. He was practically dehydrated from the bike ride over. When he got to the gate, Molly was not there, and neither were her usual back ups, Ron or Melanie. They all had the day off.

“Hey kid, it’s $2 to get in,” the older guy yelled to Jimmy as he entered and walked past.

“Um, gosh, I don’t have any money,” Jimmy replied sheepishly.

“Sorry kid, no money, no swimming, them’s the rules,” replied the attendant. Jimmy never realized that he was being given a free ticket by Molly or the rest of the crew. He actually never gave any thought to there being a fee.

“You mean I can’t swim today,” Jimmy replied. “I haven’t missed in a month, I gotta swim.”

“Sorry kid, want to call someone or something?” He replied, trying to be nice.

“No, we don’t have much money. we can’t afford that.” Jimmy answered, rejected. It was tough being poor, and this hot Summer wasn’t helping, the crops drying up in the field. Dad had said they might lose the farm if the year didn’t turn around. Jimmy turned to walk away.

A young lady was right behind Jimmy. She overheard the whole conversation. She was a regular, but only on weekends. Jimmy had seen her before. She was maybe 25, and only swam when her husband could watch the two young kids. She smiled at Jimmy as he step aside. “Wait one second,” she said to Jimmy, seeing the tears welling in his eyes.

“How much for this young swimmer?” she asked.

“Two bucks,” the guy replied.

“I mean for the rest of the year,” she asked. “Indoor pool, too”

“Fifty bucks for the whole year,” he replied.

“Done,” she said, opening her checkbook. “Hey, go swimming,” she turned and said to Jimmy.

“Oh wow, thank you so much,” Jimmy replied. He started in, then stopped. He turned and ran back and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you…”

Jimmy watched as the swimmers finished up their last game. It was about five minutes before noon, and the team cleared out right on time. The guys and girls mostly hopped up onto the side of the pool, Jimmy marveled at how incredibly muscular the guys were, with big broad shoulders, powerful pecs and deltoids, tight abs that showed how muscled the guys were, and powerful legs. They looked really strong in their racing style swimsuits, just like the Olympic swimmers on television. The swimsuits the guys were wearing looked pretty small, Jimmy thought, but he liked how they made the guys look like Olympians. He wondered what it would be like to wear a swimsuit like they had on with all the cute girls around. “The girls sure are cute,” Jimmy thought as he watched them walk by in their form fitting one piece suits. It seemed weird to Jimmy that the girls swimsuits covered so much and the guys covered so little. He smiled at the thought. Jimmy wanted to be one of the swimmer guys so badly.

Jimmy jumped in the pool and put on his goggles. He began swimming. He was now up to a solid half mile without stopping and his breathing and arm strokes looked so much better. He had practiced what Greg told him and he even checked out a book on swimming at the library. There was so much he wanted to learn, like flip turns, all the different strokes, and maybe how to jump off the starting blocks. He even started coming a few days a week at the night lap swim from 6-7PM to get more practice in. It showed in how much his technique had improved. The only downside was the toll the chlorine was taking on his swim shorts, the dark navy blue had faded to more of a medium blue and the elastic in the net liner was starting to wear out. One day he’s get one of those swimsuit’s the book recommended, the kind the swim team wore.

“Hey Jimmy,” a voice called as Jimmy finished up the first half mile of the day. Greg was standing at the top of his lane. “You look great, someone’s been working hard. Your breathing looks really good and you are pulling all the way through.

“Thanks, Greg,” Jimmy replied. “That looked like a fun game you guys were playing.”

“Yeah, on Sunday coach lets us have fun.” Greg smiled. Greg had brought over a bunch of stuff, a kick board, some pull buoys and some hand paddles. “Mind if I jump in?” Greg asked, not waiting for an answer. “Let’s try some new things today.”

“That would be great,” said Jimmy. “You really think I am doing good?”

“Yeah, actually you aren’t doing good, you are doing really great,” Greg responded, wrapping his arm around Jimmy’s shoulder. The contrast between the two was bigger than just age and swimming ability. Greg came from an affluent household on the Connecticut suburbs west of Hartford, where his family had big insurance ties. Money was never a worry for Greg, who really wanted for nothing. He had been swimming since he was a really little guy. Jimmy felt rich if he had three dollars in his pocket, most days he had nothing. Jimmy had never been to Connecticut, Greg was living with a host swimming family four hours from home. Jimmy had one swimsuit, the fading one he had on, Greg had a drawer jammed full of swim team suits and another drawer full of board shorts and such.

“So, what is all this stuff?” Jimmy asked.

“We’ll get to that, but first some more tips. I wasn’t to show you how to flip turn so you don’t have to hang on the wall,” Greg explained.

“Awesome,” Jimmy replied. “I watch you guys do them and I really like them,” Jimmy added.

“Well, they are cool, and they help you swim better.” Greg took jimmy out into the middle of the pool. “First, do a somersault in the water for me.” Jimmy did and came up coughing the water that shot up his nose.

“First lesson, as you do your flip, you need to breath out through your nose,” Greg explained. They stayed out there quite a while until Greg was sure Jimmy had the flip down.

“Okay, now we need to add the strokes and the wall,” Greg said leading Jimmy back toward the end of the lane. “Here, watch me,” Greg instructed. He pushed off, the loose string of his untied swimsuit hung down in the water, as he reached the wall both arms were at his side and Greg flipped in a perfect somersault, ending up head first off the wall. He pushed off and rotated, swimming back to Jimmy. Greg stood, and pulled his swimsuit back up onto his hips, it had not come off, but it slipped down off his hips. “Okay, always make sure your swimsuit is tied up,” Greg smirked as he tied his strings.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

It took some time, but Jimmy finally got the hang of the flip turn, at least enough to be functional. He was not perfect, but he looked like he at least understood. “These are so cool.” Jimmy kept saying. He felt like a real swimmer each time he did one right. He’d come up and high five Greg.

“Now, each time you swim, you turn with a flip turn, no swimming to the wall and turning. If you screw up, stop and do it again until you get it right,” Greg instructed Jimmy like a coach. By the time all was done, Jimmy had learned how to use the pull buoys, the kick board and the paddles. Greg gave him sets of drills to work on each time he got in the pool. Between the flip turn and the drills, Jimmy’s head was full of new things to think about.

“I really appreciate this,’ Jimmy said as the two young swimmers stood at the top of the lane. Greg’s 6’2” height rising above the much shorted, but still growing Jimmy. Greg couldn’t explain what drove him to want to keep helping the kid, but Greg was having fun watching Jimmy learn. Maybe it was the dedication and desire. In a strange was, Greg got some motivation from Jimmy. Jimmy got inspiration from Greg. By now, Greg was the only swim team member left, even the coach was gone. He gracefully rose out of the pool, his lean tall frame standing on the deck, his muscular body on display in his tight blue and gold Tyr swimsuit. The female lifeguard took notice and was clearly checking every inch of him out. She was not a big “speedo” fan, but he sure did look great in his, she thought. Greg pulled the strings out of his swimsuit and untied them. He dropped them free, hanging down over his suit front and mid way down to his knees.

“Hey Jimmy, keep working on that. I’ll see you next time.” Greg turned and walked toward the locker room. In a few short minutes his perfect swimmer body would be buried under a plaid pair of board shorts and a white swim team sport T shirt. He hardly looked like the same guy.

“Thanks, Greg,” Jimmy replied just as Greg turned. Jimmy resumed his swimming, the flip turns getting better with each lap. The young lady who paid Jimmy’s way had watched the two guys, She smiled at how the older young man was taking the younger one under his wing. She felt great that she helped let it happen. At 2 PM, the whistle blew, ending lap swimming. Jimmy climbed from the pool, taking all of the various swim gear with him. The hot sun and high heat immediately smothered him. A quick shower and he was back on his bike heading home. A funny thing happened as Jimmy left the pool. A young lady about his age turned and checked him out. Jimmy never even noticed. His swimming was making progress beyond just his ability in the pool.

[shaulis]

STS

I love this story so far. Jimmy needed the instruction and hints from Greg to make him a better swimmer. Since Jimmy comes from a farming family he works in all weather conditions. Most importantly Jimmy has the determination to get better at swimmimg a few encouraging words from Molly help too. I can't wait to read the next chapter in this story. Brian

[Dooley67]

STS,

Another wonderful chapter. I think it's so interesting that Greg is motivated by Jimmy and he may not even know why he's taken Jimmy under his wing. He's doing it out of the goodness of his heart, but you so skillfully create the image so it never feels like Greg is condescending or feeling sorry for Jimmy. Greg just wants to help him and Jimmy is like a sponge absorbing everything Greg is teaching him. And I keep coming back to the same thing - you have a talent for creating characters who are good, decent people. I'm loving this story.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Hey D67, Shaulis and Speedo Minded Guy:

Your notes are really great and mean so much. It is why I keep writing. Glad you like the story....

Ryan...aka STS

[shaulis]

STS,

You have this knack of creating good, descent characters that we, your readers, can get behind and cheer. Jimmy and Greg are the newest examples.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Greg was so excited as he left the pool. Monique was coming to visit for the next two days. She was entering her senior year also, the two had dated exclusively since they were sophomores. She was not a swimmer, in fact she was not even into sports, more of an arts girl who loved music and dance. She was petite, light brown hair with matching brown eyes and a smile that made Greg turn to mush. It had been a month since they had seen each other, but thanks to Facetime and Skype they at least got to do the next best thing. They planned to spend the day at a nearby beach, just the two of them, catching up on everything they had missed. Despite the time they had been together, they never pushed themselves on the sex front. Monique wanted to stay pure until marriage and Greg respected her values, despite his male urges and raging hormones.

“Oh no you don’t,” Monique said as they got out of the car at the beach. “No board shorts, cutie. I don’t date a swimmer not to get to see you in something more fun at the beach.”

“But I’ll be the only guy not in boardies,” Greg replied, blushing at the thought that was really crossing his mind. He was fine in a brief swimsuit at the swim team and at meets, even in Monique’s back yard alone, but he had never worn a swim team suit at the beach. Some things a guy just didn’t do.

“Yeah, you’re point silly?” Monique asked. “You are also going to be the only cute guy on the beach and I want to see your sexy legs.” She gave Greg that smile, which he could not resist. Truth is, that wasn’t all she wanted to see.

“Okay,” he replied reluctantly. He reached in his swim bag and pulled out a handful of swimsuits. “Any preference?” he asked. “Makes no difference to me,”

Monique looked at each of the three suits he grabbed. She picked a Nike suit that was blue print that looked like water, with sort of a metallic look weaved in. “This looks cute,” she said. “But, I got surprise for you,” With that, Monique pulled out of her bag a pair of red print Speedo Cyber Swirl Speedo briefs, size 28, and tossed them to Greg.

Greg held them up. “I love these,” he was all smiles. Monique knew how much Greg loved getting new swimsuits. Everyday, he’d send her selfies of him in his swimsuit of the day, especially when he was wearing a new one.

“Put them on, cutie… let me see what they look like,” Monique asked excitedly. She had never bought a guy’s Speedo swimsuit, but for her first try she has done well.

Greg opened the car door and then wrapped a towel around his waist. He slid off the boardies and slipped on the Nike underneath the towel. Once he had it pulled up, he tossed the towel in the car and then did the final adjustments to the suit, finally tying up the strings. While he was doing that, Monique has shed her shorts and Tank Top and was wearing the cutest, tiniest red string tied bikini. Now he knew why she picked out red for his suit. They matched perfectly. She had bought both special for the trip. For a girl that wanted to stay pure until marriage, she sure knew a way to drive Greg wild in some of her cute outfits. Greg knew that most of this day would be spent on his stomach or in the cold water. Swim briefs gave him few options with Monique looking so hot.

____


“Coach says a couple colleges are coming to see me at the meet next week,” Greg said as the two walked along the surf, holding hands. Greg was strutting proud as a peacock with his love’s hand wrapped in his. The whole swim suit worries turned out to be nothing to be concerned about. Anytime he felt the urge, he’d jump in the water. He was in the water quite frequently.

“That’s great,” she said.

“Yeah, they are all D1 programs, so that is really great,” Greg added. “All schools I have sent video to, also, so they know I am interested.” Monique and Greg agreed that if at all possible they would go to the same school.

“Oh yeah, and I am coaching this younger guy to swim,” Greg added, spilling all the news of the last month as fast as snow falling in a blizzard. “He comes to the pool every day and swims for hours. He is not really good, but he really wants to learn. Nice kid, a bit shy, but if I had a little brother, this kid would be him.” Greg filled her in on the whole Jimmy story.

“You really like him,” Monique said.

“Yeah, it’s weird. I don’t know his story, but he seems like he doesn’t have much. He wears the same blue swim shorts every day. Never a different pair. He rides a ratty old bike. I kind of wonder…” Greg trailed off.

“Maybe you should give him a couple of your swimsuits,” Monique suggested. “I mean you have like a zillion of them. I’ve seen your drawer.”

“I don’t think he’d wear a suit like this,” Greg said pointing at himself. “I mean they are pretty tiny, most guys would never wear these.”

“Yeah, but if he swims as much as you say, I bet he’d like to have a real swimsuit. You always say how good they are for swimming.” Monique answered. “Plus, look at how cute you look.” she grabbed him and they stood in the surf and gave each other a big long hug.

_____


By the end of the next week, Jimmy was doing really well with the flip turns, not ready to join a swim team, but the progress was impressive. He had added all the drills into his workout, and really needed more than the two hours of lap swimming, so he added even more second swims, now doing two a days four days each week. It was another cold and rainy day when Jimmy headed out for the pool. His blue swim shorts were still damp from the night before when he slipped them on. After all the swimming he had been doing in the chlorinated water, the suit was really starting to show the effects. Threading in the waist was fraying, the color was getting lighter, and with Jimmy’s tightening abdomen, the swimsuit was starting to feel too big. Jimmy tied up the strings, pulled on a white T-shirt and headed out to his bike.

“Looks like it might be just you again,” said Molly as Jimmy entered, soaked from the wet ride. Jimmy flashed his swim pass and entered the pool area. The swim team was just wrapping up, the coach was really giving it to three guys on the team, including Greg. Not mean, but Jimmy knew he meant business. Jimmy gave Greg a quick wave, Greg nodded back, hardly taking his eyes off the coach. Jimmy grabbed his equipment from the bins and headed over to his usual second lane. The rain had let up, but the dark clouds loomed, more was sure to fall. Jimmy jumped in and stood, adjusting his goggles. He watched as the swim team gathered in the picnic area for a meeting. Jimmy wondered what they were talking about as he pushed off for his first set of laps.

All of the guys wearing solid green custom suits made by Agon with the swim team logo sewn into the left side. The suits were small cut, with really narrow sides, probably not more than an inch and a half. The girls had matching one piece suits with the logo just above their right hip. Jimmy noticed the swimsuits right off, especially that they were even smaller and clung tighter on the guys than the other suits he had seen them in. Jimmy wondered to himself what it must me like to wear swimsuit like that. Jimmy was actually jealous and was starting to hate his blue shorts.

“Hey, Greg, looks like your little brother is here again,“ said one of the guys on the team as they all started heading for the locker room. The teen girls enjoyed the show, as they always did.

“Yeah, he swims just like Greg,” added another.

“He’s a good kid,” Greg replied cutting them off. Greg stopped and watched Jimmy do his flip turn at the far end of the pool. Greg smiled at how good Jimmy was doing.

“Go get him, coach,” one of the guys mocked as Greg stepped toward Jimmy’s lane.

Jimmy stopped when he saw Greg’s tall body standing at the end of the lane. “Hi Greg,” Jimmy opened the conversation. “I’ve been trying all the stuff you told me,” Jimmy added.

“I see that, your turns look really good.” Greg gave Jimmy a high five.

Greg gave Jimmy some pointers on his flip turns and did a few demos for Jimmy so he could see what he meant. He made Jimmy try each new thing several times. The biggest issue was that Jimmy wasn’t really pushing hard off the wall. When Jimmy did push hard, his shorts would almost slide off his hips, despite the tied string.

“I think your swimsuit is too loose,” Greg said to Jimmy. “Might be time a for a new swimsuit, one made more for swimming.”

“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked. “Made more for swimming?”

“Something more like what I am wearing,” Greg replied.

“I’m not sure,” Jimmy replied. “How much do they cost?”

Greg assumed Jimmy’s reaction was more about the tiny and tight fit, while for Jimmy it was really about the money. “I know they are tiny, and some guys don’t like that, but they are really the best thing for swimmers,” Greg explained. “I think you can get one for like $25 at the sports store in town.” Greg added, a little light on the price.

“Well, maybe,“ Jimmy answered, knowing there was no way he could get $25 to buy a swimsuit. Even if he did, he’d never get his mom to buy him something that small and tight for him ro go swimming in. “I really like your team swimsuits,” Jimmy added, not sharing any of his real concerns.

“Maybe we can figure something out,” Greg responded.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The subject changed to Greg showing Jimmy a new stroke. The only stroke Jimmy did was freestyle. “I want to add breast stroke into your swims,” Greg explained. “It will give you variety and it will strengthen other muscles.” For the next half hour, Greg patiently taught Jimmy the breast stroke. Jimmy struggled with the timing and with getting a good kick. All his freestyle swimming had made his legs tight, so getting them to spread open for the breast kick was difficult. Jimmy’s shorts didn’t help much, limiting the ability of him to open up a wide spread, without splitting the seams.

“My legs are sore,” Jimmy said after doing several tries. “Guess you were right about new muscles.” Jimmy added. Despite the soreness, Greg and Jimmy kept going for several more minutes.

“Well, you keep working on that, and think about the swimsuit,” Greg closed. He did his usual effortless bounce out of the pool. Jimmy stopped, this time taking a closer look at the swimsuit Greg was wearing, really thinking about it. It was pretty small and it sure showed everything, Jimmy thought to himself. However, it did look cool and he really liked the thought of looking like a real swimmer. Jimmy wondered what it would be like to wear something that revealing, especially around girls.

“Hey Greg, thanks,” Jimmy said as Greg stood on the pool deck.

“No problem, Jimmy, you are a good learner,” Greg replied. “Do you know what waist size you are?” Greg asked.

“Twenty eight,” I think. “Maybe twenty six?” he added. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Greg answered. “Just thinking…”

Jimmy swam all the way to the end of lap swimming, as he always did. Since no one showed up for open swimming, he stayed an extra hour. The rain had ended, but the clouds persisted. He kept working on what Greg had showed him. The whole time he was thinking about a new swimsuit. He was all excited about having one like Greg had. He just had to figure out how he’d pull that off.

[solarguy]

WOW!!!! I've been in the UK for the past 9 days and come home to a great new story!! Thanks! I love the mentoring role that Greag has taken on and how freely he gives of himself. Wouldn't the world be a better place if more people were like that!

[Dooley67]

STS,

I just read chapter 4 of the story. Somehow I passed over it last night. What a wonderful chapter. I know I say that all the time, but it's always true. The strengthening of the bond between Greg and Jimmy is really cool, especially with Greg saying that if he had a younger brother, it would be Jimmy. And introducing Monique as Greg's love interest and also as a very caring person just enhances the story. And Jimmy continues to be the hardworking kid who pushes himself and loves that Greg is helping him, and always says "thanks."

D67, and if Brian and Ryan are giving their first names, so will I..... Mark

[shaulis]

STS,

I just read part four of your story. I don't know how I missed it before but I did. I love the growing bond between Greg and Jimmy. Greg patiently teaches Jimmy his strokes and turns like he would a brother even Greg's teammates notice this and tease him a little for it.I like that we get to meet Monique Greg's girlfriend. She gave Greg the idea to give Jimmy a few of his older swimsuits. I can't wait to read the next part.

Brian

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The big pool was closed all day on Saturday for a fairly large swim meet, the big meet Greg was waiting for. Jimmy was forced to use the indoor pool, which was a much smaller 25 yard pool in a dark and dreary building that looked like a converted garage. The indoor pool was more crowded, a favorite of the town’s senior population and in the Summer the water was kept warmer than usual, partly by design and partly because the building just got hot. Jimmy shared a lane with an older lady who was not at all happy about it. In fact, she was rather rude, and she simply kept hogging the whole lane, making Jimmy work around her. With her size, it was no small feat. The one time Jimmy bumped her, she made a big scene and wanted him thrown out.

“Youngsters aren’t suppose to be in here, anyway,” she said to the lifeguard. He was cordial, let he gripe for a while and then politely told her she either obeyed the rules or she was going to have to leave. This made Jimmy smile and her mad. Such is life.

Jimmy’s turns got messed up, for no reason than just the new surroundings. Actually, swimming in a different pool was good for Jimmy’s skill development. As he swam, he noticed the different posters for the swim team Greg was on and for the two high school teams that used the pool as home in the swim season. Jimmy never even realized that the school had a swim team, and he was immediately intrigued by the idea of joining it. Of course, it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

The crabby old lady finally left, and no one replaced her, so Jimmy had the lane all to himself. In the lane next to him, a guy in his sixties was swimming back and forth. He wasn’t real fast, but Jimmy watched as he went though a combination of back stroke, breast stroke and what Jimmy had learned from Greg was freestyle, or just free for short. The guy was really graceful in the water. Jimmy also noticed he had on a really colorful swimsuit that looked just like the kind Greg wanted Jimmy to buy, except way more colors. It looked great on him. “A real swimmer,” Jimmy thought.

Jimmy started doing some of his drills, first a series of kicks with the board. He really was concentrating on his breast stroke kick, which was not going as good as he liked. He watched the colorful swimsuit guy in the lane next, who seemed to kick effortlessly. Jimmy tried to mimic his kick as much as he could. If it was getting better, Jimmy wasn’t feeling it. He switched to his normal kick after five awful laps, working on the timing tips Greg gave him. The older guy had stopped at the wall and was now watching Jimmy, as he made his way down and back. Just as Jimmy finished up, the lifeguard blew his whistle. Lap swim was over, a full two hours burned up. Jimmy stopped and stood.

“Hey, your pretty good, young man,” the colorful suit guy said.

“Thanks, sir“, Jimmy replied. “My breast stroke kick sucks, not as good as yours,” Jimmy replied in a youthful sort of way.

“Well, you looked like you were doing fine. Are you on the swim team?” the guy asked.

Jimmy beamed with pride. He took the question as a compliment. “Well, no, but I plan to try out,” Jimmy answered with rising excitement.

“Good for you, swimming is a great sport,” he answered. “My name is Jack, by the way,” Jack added extending his hand.

“Jimmy,” came the reply with the return handshake. The lifeguard let the guys chat as he started to pull the ropes to open the pool for water aerobics. “Hey, I really like your swimsuit,” Jimmy added.

“Yeah?,” Jack replied. “Best swimsuits for swimming, and I like the colors. Gives an old guy like me some youth.” Jack chuckled.

“My swimming coach wants me to get a real swimsuit,” Jimmy added, referring to Greg “Where did you get yours?” Jimmy asked.

The lifeguard finally intervened and said they really needed to get out. Jack gracefully hopped out, almost as smooth as Greg did. Jimmy watched and tried to do the same. He planted both hands flat on the wall and then did a jump, thrusting up from his legs. To his total astonishment, his body cleared the wall and he stood on the deck. First time ever Jimmy had hoped out of the pool. He withheld his excitement, opting to take the cool swimmer route.

“I get my suits on line,” Jack explained as the two walked into the locker room. The young kid and the older guy chatted for quite a while as Jack got changed. Jimmy, of course, stayed in his blue swimsuit shorts, but was enjoying the conversation. Jack was full of sage swimming advice for the young man, and generous in offering it up. By the time Jimmy walked out with Jack from the locker room, he not only had made a new friend, but he landed his first job. Jack offered him $20 to mow his small yard once a week and do the trimming. He even gave Jimmy a $10 advance on his first mow. Jack had no idea if he’d ever see Jimmy again, but when he learned Jimmy’s story, he just felt the need to give the kid a break.

------

Monique watched and screamed as Greg hit the first turn of his IM, the conversion from fly to back. Greg was literally “flying,” at least half a body ahead of the next swimmer. This was his star event, and the one that would get him onto a college team. The turn was perfect, a solid push and rotate off the wall, Greg was now moving powerfully down the lane on his back. His reach was great, one of the weak spots in his swim, but not today.

Greg knew he was swimming well. He just felt it. Out of the peripheral of his vision he could see the hands of the swimmer next to him. They were arguably the two best IM swimmers in the region. Back was the weakest link in Greg’s IM, but if he could end this with a slight lead, he knew he could kill the breast and free. Midway down the length of the 50 yard old distance pool, Phillip had closed Greg’s lead. Greg reached farter and pulled harder as he could now see Phillip’s almost entire arm next to him. “Stay focused,” Greg commanded himself. He had two challenges, don’t let Phillip’s speed frustrate him, and nail the turn. His back to breast turn was the other bad spot in his medley.

“Go Greg,” Monique yelled. Greg could actually hear her cheers. He smiled inside and his male ego fired into an even higher gear.

Greg and Phillip hit the wall almost dead even, Greg a slight advantage, maybe a fraction of a second. Greg flipped and thrusted with everything he had. It wasn’t a great turn, but it was enough to not let Phillip get past him. The crowd was going crazy. This was the race of the meet. Six college coaches crowded the side of the pool watching, taking copious notes on everything about the swimmer’s techniques. Phillip was swimming shockingly strong on breast, which was to have been his weakest link. “Eat wake,” Greg thought as he tried to pull away. Apparently Phillip wasn’t that hungry for water because he stayed right with Greg’s challenge. Greg needed a solid lead entering the free, which the two were a toss up.

Greg hit the wall and made a solid flip, gave it his best push off ever. It was his best turn of his swimming career. All the work coach had been making him do was paying off. But, not enough. Phillip actually pulled ahead by mere inches on a solid turn and stronger free off the wall.

Between the two teams chants one could not make out the Greg from the Phil as the crowd was going wild. It sounded more like a basketball game than a swim meet. The last 50 yards of the free seemed like an eternity. By mid pool, the two were neck and neck, no discernable advantage for either. “Come on, Greg,” Monique prayed. Her hands at her mouth, he heart in her throat. This was a huge race for him, for both guys, actually.

“Push,” Greg thought. He had 25 yards left, he gave it everything he had. The pace picked up, the final kick. Phillip answered, staying right with him. Depending on angle, it was either Greg ahead by a finger or Phillip ahead by the same. Both tall, lean bodies, gliding through the water, their tiny swimsuits barely visible in the wake of water coming over their backs. The crowd screaming, the two hit the wall. Greg’s head popped up first, followed by Phillip. The two guys had nothing left, gasping for air. Their hearts pounded in their chest. The officials had no idea who won.

Greg and Phillip reached over the ropes and shook hands, then immediately they embraced each other. “Great race,” they both said, followed by declarations that the other guy had won. The cameras and cell phone captured the embrace, which became the photo on the front page of the Sunday paper in the small town. Rarely did the paper run photos of guy swimmers in their small race suits fully exposed, but this photo was just to perfect a story to pass on.

The guys waited, the other swimmers on the teams wrapped around them. The officials checked the photos and videos of the finish. The touch mat showed one winner by less than a tenth of a second, but the officials wanted to see if they could back that up, the race so close. Greg tugged at his swimsuit, pulling away the cling. He pulled out the strings, his symbolic declaration that he was finished for the day. Phillip had already done the same. What was a few minute wait seemed to take forever.

“After a review of the photos and the videos, along with the touch mat, we can officially state that the race was won by the swimmer from…..” The official announcement came. Greg heard none of that info, at least none of it registered. All he heard was the name.

“Congratulations, Phillip,” Greg gracefully extended his hand. “You swam an amazing medley.”

“You, too,” Phillip answered.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Greg turned and hugged Monique, the tears coming down his cheek masked by the pool water coming off his wet hair. She held him as he kissed her neck, not even flinching at how his wet body was soaking into her clothes. “Guess I lost,” he said.

Jimmy stood back and watched. He had rode his bike over from the indoor pool, hoping to see the race. He got there just as the race started. He was awestruck by the whole event. Jimmy did not know what he would say to Greg, so he just stood back, buried into the crowd. It was like a scene from any sports championship, jubilation on one side, tears on the other. The third place swimmer was totally faded into the background.

“Sorry coach,” Greg said as his coach wrapped his arm around him.

“Greg, you swam the best race you could. It showed. You gave everything you had. You have nothing to be sorry about.” Coach answered. He always had the right thing to say. Greg smiled. “And a few college coaches want to meet you.”

Greg entered the locker room and quickly shed the wet, tight swimsuit. While he loved his race day suits, right now a swimsuit was the last thing he wanted to wear. He showered alone, the locker room empty, and changed into his favorite bright orange and black board shorts. He was done with swimming for the day. Tomorrow he would start again. Next time, Phillip was going down, Greg thought. He had lost the big race, but he still had his spirit.

Jimmy rode home.

[shaulis]

STS,

I loved this chapter. We see Greg lose in a very fast race by a fraction. What a heartbreaking loss for Greg and by only a few tenths of a second. I hope Jimmy does try out for the swim team if you take this story that far. I can't wait for the next chapter

Brian

[Dooley67]

STS,

Another terrific chapter, full of suspense and excitement. You captured the thoughts of both swimmers so well, all the while keeping the race at the forefront of the chapter. And Jimmy is beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, he can become a high school swimmer. I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter to see the outcome of the idea of getting Jimmy a real swimmer's suit. Great work on this chapter!

Mark

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The Sunday after the big meet was a special treat, coach gave the team the day off. It was a good thing, Greg had not slept at all, the race playing in his mind, over and over and over again. Greg climbed out of bed, it was a few minutes after five am. He slipped on the board shorts he wore yesterday and went downstairs. The sun was already coming up, but the house was still quiet. It would be at least an hour before anyone else got out of bed. Monique, who had come up for the meet, was still in the other bedroom of the house. After the meet, Greg and her, along with his host parents had gone to dinner. Greg and Monique then spent the evening out by the small backyard pool, playing cards and just being boyfriend and girlfriend. All the while, Greg felt like he had let everyone, most of all himself, down.

While he had no desire to swim, he jumped in the pool and swam a few “laps” underwater, just to get refreshed and wash the cobwebs from his eyes. He felt the drag of his board shorts, a far different feel from his swim team suits. While he loved his boardies, he knew he could never actually swim in them. He climbed out, refreshed, and sat on the lounger. The time alone was nice. He leaned back and reflected. He had swam the race of his life, set a new personal best time, and he did get some looks from a couple of great schools. It really wasn’t the end of the world.

Just before he was about to doze, Greg got out of the chair and headed back inside. Back in his room, his home away from home, he grabbed his box full of swimsuits and dumped all of them on his bed. He had at least 40 suits in the box, not even half of his total collection. He added the four new swimsuits he got at the meet, tags still on them, two of which Monique had picked out. He smiled at the new suits, excited to try them on, but he held back. Greg methodically laid each suit out, sorting them by brands. Speedo was the most popular in his collection, followed by Tyr, Nike, and Agon. He had a sole Arena suit, and a couple different less common brands. He had a couple suits where he had duplicate colors, one size 26 and one in 28. Greg wore mostly 28, except for races where he wore 26 or even 24. He pulled from his stacks two suits, both size 26, both Speedo brand and set them aside. He laid his collection neatly back in the box.

-----

Jimmy got home from church and ran in the house and quickly changed into his blue shorts, his usual Sunday morning rush. While the rest of the family would sit down to a lunch, Jimmy would hop on his bicycle and head over to the pool. He got to the pool at about quarter of noon, surprised to see it totally empty. No swim team. He was looking forward to watching the Sunday game of inner tube Polo.

“You get to start early,” Molly said as Jimmy came in,

“How come?” Jimmy asked.

“Oh, swim team took the day off,” Molly replied.

Jimmy was disappointed that he would not see Greg. He was looking forward to telling him about his idea to join the high school team. Jimmy dropped his stuff on the bench along the fence, stripped off his shirt and ran in to take the required shower. On his way back he grabbed all his drill gear. He was still the only one there, besides the guards and Molly. Jimmy jumped in and began swimming. One would think a kid who came swimming every day for hours would get tired of it. Not Jimmy, he loved every minute.

The swim team coach was in the small office working. He used the quiet time to write up some new drills and practice plans. He looked out his window and saw the same kid in blue shorts. He stopped his writing and watched. “Wow, has he improved,” he thought to himself. He recalled weeks back a skinny, uncoordinated kid who looked like a fish out of water as he swam. He stood and left his office.

“Who is that kid?” Coach asked Molly.

“Oh, that’s Jimmy, he swims every day, rain or shine. Two hours and then sometimes comes back at night and swims again,” Molly explained.

“He’s really improved,” the Coach added. “Is he being coached at all?”

“Not really,” Molly replied. “Greg from your team spends some time with him, but that is about it.”

“Interesting,” Coach replied. “So this is the kid Greg was talking about,” Coach thought to himself.

“You know, Molly, he may not have the best technique yet, but I have to admire his dedication. I’d take that on my team any day, I can work with a kid who has drive.”

Jimmy went back and forth, changing up strokes. He saw the coach on the deck, but never heard a word of the conversation. Jimmy had no idea how important this day was going to be for his future plans. The Coach smiled and went back into his office. “I like this kid,” he thought to himself.

-----

Monique and Greg had plans to spend the afternoon at the beach. The left the house shortly after twelve and made a stop at a local Dunkin Donuts for food Greg’s coach would freak out at. Greg had two chocolate glazed donuts and a chocolate milk. Monique had a bagel with cream cheese and an iced coffee. “Hey, mind if I swing by the pool?” Greg asked. “I want to go say hi to Jimmy.”

“Sure,” Monique replied. “I’d like to meet him.”

Jimmy was finishing up his first hour. He stopped at the wall and was changing into flippers for his kicking drills. He wasn’t really watching for Greg, figuring he’d not see his friend and coach today.

“Hey Jimmy,” the voice started Jimmy’s concentration. He turned and saw Greg and Monique walking toward him. This time Greg had on white “Corona” logo’d boardies, which was funny because not only did Greg not drink beer, but he wasn’t even close to old enough. In fact, he’d never even tasted a Corona. He just liked the shorts. Monique was far more interesting. She had on tiny pink shorts and a short cropped T-shirt that had a low neckline. She wasn’t just cute, Jimmy thought, she was hot!

“Hey Greg,” Jimmy replied with excitement. They went through introductions, with Jimmy reaching up and shaking Monique’s hand. Jimmy then explained what he was working on.

“Let’s see what you can do,” Greg asked. He watched as Jimmy swam a lap, did the best flip turn he could at the end and then swam back half way in back and then the other in breast.

“Jimmy, you are doing really good, that looked great.” Greg offered. “Hey, I got something for you,” Jimmy added, pulling the two swimsuits he had set aside earlier from the bag. “I think it is time you wore a real swimsuit.” Greg added.

Jimmy was overwhelmed. He held up the two suits, one a red print and the other a blue solid with yellow side panels. Both size 26. “Thanks, so much,” Jimmy replied.

“Hey, I got lots of swimsuits and these were duplicates, so I thought you could use them, go out one on and lets see…” Greg tailed off. Jimmy leaped from the pool, showing off his newest skill, and headed to the locker room to change. Monique smiled as Greg’s “younger brother” headed off to change.

“You really care about him,” she said as she kissed Greg’s cheek. “You’re sweet.”

Jimmy slipped off the blue swims shorts and chose the red print Speedo brand suit to put on. He slid the tight swimsuit up his legs and around his waist. The suit was snug and tight, and really tiny, but it actually fit perfectly. The snug lycra material wrapped around Jimmy, grabbing him snugly. The same ting that happens to most guys the first time they put on a snug fitting swimsuit happened to Jimmy, at least somewhat. He stood in front of the full length mirror and looked at how the suit looked on.

“Wow, you can see everything,” he thought to himself. It seemed way more revealing on him than he thought these swimsuits looked on the swim team guys. He fussed with positioning and look, finally deciding on what felt most comfortable. Despite the fact that this was the smallest piece of clothing he will have ever worn in his life, Jimmy had no hesitation walking out of the locker room.

“Now you look like a serious swimmer,” Greg complimented him.

“You do look great, Jimmy,” Monique added. Jimmy smiled at both of them, but opted not to stare to much at Monique for fear his body might respond.

“Did you tie the strings?” Greg asked.

“Oh yeah, forgot,” Jimmy replied. He pulled the strings out and tied them up tight.

Greg slipped off his Corona shorts to reveal one of the swimsuits Monique had bought. She smiled at him and he gave her a little swirl. With that the two guys jumped in the water. Jimmy immediately could not believe how different the water felt on his body. It was like he was free, almost naked.

“Let’s swim a length, so you get used to the new swimsuit. Jimmy started out and Greg followed. It was a much slower pace for Greg, but he held back. He watched the timing of Jimmy’s kick ahead of him, and the pull through of his arms. The next big critical thing, Greg thought, was to get Jimmy to rotate more. They got to the end of the pool and stood.

“How was it?” Greg asked.

“I love my swimsuit,” Jimmy answered.

“I told you,” Greg replied. “Looks like it fits perfect, too.” Jimmy smiled.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy never got a chance to tell Greg about the swim team. He was too excited about his new suits. He did, however, tell Greg how amazing he swam yesterday. Greg smiled. Being Jimmy’s hero was the best reward he could have. The two swimmers went on about their practice.

On the way out Coach stopped Greg. After a brief word of encouragement about his swim yesterday, the coach asked about Jimmy. Greg filled him in on the entire story. Coach wasn’t sure what he was more impressed with, Jimmy’s dedication or Greg’s generosity of time.

“You’re a good guy, Greg,” Coach replied. “Keep encouraging him, and keep me posted.”

Monique and Greg headed off to the beach, where she was going to tantalize him in her blue bikini and he was going to show off to her in his hot blue print racer. Jimmy swam for almost two more hours and then rode home in his new swimsuit, the old blue shorts retired.

“Oh, by the way Greg, the coach from Uconn is calling me today,” Coach added. “To talk about you…”

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter. I hope Jimmy tells Greg that he's thinking of joining his school swim team. If I were a gambling man I'd say the Greg character was fashioned after you STS (Ryan)as you're generous with your time and swim knowledge but I don't know if you'd give away any of your swimsuit collection to anyone. I loved that Greg's coach was impressed with Jimmy's progress with Greg's tips and pointers but essentially Jimmy did it with his own determination to get better. Even Monique noticed how Greg treated Jimmy like a younger brother. I wonder how Jimmy's parents will react when he arrives home in his new (to him) swimsuit. I hope good things come from Greg's coachs talk with the UConn swim coach. I can't wait for the next chapter.

Thanks,

Brian

[Dooley67]

STS,

Another great chapter. I like the way Greg is so nonchalant about giving the 2 swimsuits to Jimmy and how grateful Jimmy is. Even though Greg and Monique had plans to go to the beach, they still stopped by the pool to check on Jimmy's progress. It was Greg's idea to do that, but Monique was fine with it because she seems to be a giving person. And while Greg was at the pool where he practices and whipped off the boardies down to his swim briefs, you know that he will do the same at the beach because of Monique's influence. It was also nice to see Jimmy, a poor kid, wearing good quality suits and admiring himself when he put the red one on. Finally, we know that the coach will be watching Jimmy very closely.

Mark

[Swimmboy]

Okay - I had not checked the "story' page for a while, so I just got to read this new story today. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop! I love the characters of Greg and Jimmy, and the way they have become such close friends. Greg mentoring the younger kid is great - what a kind and decent young man he is. I can't wait for the next chapter! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Jim

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Call it an intermission... I am working on the next few chapters, but I have special guests for the next few weeks, so I may be slower getting new chapters up. Thanks for understanding. Summer in Maine, USA is short (especially this one after that harsh winter) and I always take full advantage of it.

Ryan

[Dooley67]

I certainly understand the delay. We folks in Maine have to take advantage of every day of summer because all too soon, cooler weather will be here. And when you have guests, you want to spend as much time with them as you canmwhile the weather is still warm. I eagerly await the next chapters. Have fun.

Mark

[shaulis]

STS,

I completely understand the delay. Family and friends are more important to be with than be cooped up inside typing at the computer. Hope you and your friends and family thoroughly enjoy what's left of the summer. I and your other readers await the next chapter in your story.

Brian

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Two weeks remained in the Summer swim program, with a final big meet down in Boston. It featured all the advanced AAU teams from the New England region, hosted at Boston University. It was the biggest meet of the season, and also the best exposure for rising senior class swimmers not yet signed, like Greg. Every major college coach on the east coast would be there. Greg had already captured the attention of eight schools, six at the D1 level and two strong D2 programs. A good showing at the meet would seal the deal, which had Greg working extra hard and extra long. He even had asked Monique to stay home for the next two weekends, so he could concentrate solely on his swimming. As much as he wanted to see her, Greg knew the distraction of a cute girl was not the best option. Monique understood, although she was a bit jealous of losing her cute boyfriend to chlorine and laps.

It was a wicked hot Thursday, the kind of August day that actually made people think of the colder days ahead as not such a bad option. Of course, those thoughts were just wrong, but nonetheless, in the 95 degree heat and high humidity, a good blizzard could look appealing. Jimmy did his usual bike ride to the pool, his sweat quickly soaking his body and his swimsuit as he made the trip. Jimmy had become known as the “Speedo kid” by those who saw his regular rides to the pool. Just as he did in his old blue swimming shorts, Jimmy simply wore his swimsuit for his rides to the pool. Most days he had on a shirt, but on a hot day like today, it was just the swimsuit. While his mom was not all that happy about his tiny little swimsuit, he convinced her that “all the real swimmers wear them,” so she relented on her pressure to convince him to keep the shorts.

Jimmy got to the pool just as the swim team wrapped up a really intense practice. Greg had been there since 6, spent almost the whole time in the pool. He was beat both physically and mentally. It had been a tough week, including a small meet earlier in the week between three local clubs. Greg’s team took the meet soundly, a reflection of the superior depth of talent and the reputation of the program.

“Hey Greg,” Coach called.

Greg reluctantly walked over, having no more desire to think about more swimming. He listened politely as the coach went over some areas of opportunity in his swimming, the whole time thinking he just wanted to get out of the swimsuit and go lay down. The teen girls along the fence drooled over the tall, cute swimmer talking to the coach. Greg had his hands on his hips, his feet about shoulder length apart, and his wet suit hugged his body tightly. It was no wonder the young girls enjoyed the view. Jimmy also watched as the coach and Greg discussed whatever they were talking about. Jimmy had not talked to Greg in a few days and was really hoping to show him his progress.

“Go get some lunch and let’s meet back here at 1:15 for some one on one,” Coach added.

“Okay, Coach,” Greg said with little of his usual enthusiasm. He was so ready for a shower, dry shorts and a lazy afternoon in a lounger. Instead, it was a cold sandwich from the snack bar, a diet lemonade, and another kick butt session one on one with the beast, Greg’s nickname for the coach when he was going too far.

Jimmy was doing his laps as Greg ate the dry sandwich. He had so much improved, largely driven by the extra workouts he was getting in several evenings a week. Greg watched as the skinny swimmer he saw eight weeks ago was now moving down the pool with a vastly improved stoke, doing near perfect flips, and had developed a strong kick. Jimmy truly was becoming a really good swimmer. “Time to turn it up a notch,” Greg thought. After all, Jimmy had confided in Greg that he wanted to join the swim team in high school, and while Greg knew that was no easy task, he was his usual encouraging mentor. “You really should try out,” he told Jimmy. “If you make it, you will love it!”

“Hey Jimmy,” Greg called from his perch at the top of the lane.

Jimmy stopped and stood. His face showed his excitement that Greg has come over to see him.

“Hi Greg,” Jimmy replied. “I am really working hard to make the team,” Jimmy added.
“I can tell,” Greg replied. “I am really impressed by how great your swimming has become.” Jimmy beamed with pride at the compliment.

Greg jumped in. “Can’t do much, because I just ate,” Greg advised. “But let me show you a few things.” Greg and Jimmy worked the pool like two serious college swimmers, the older one guiding the younger one.

“You really want to reach as far as you can,” Greg explained, “and then follow all the way back, take advantage of the full arm stroke.”

Jimmy tried, and while he was doing what Greg said, it was messing up his whole style. “I can’t do it,” Jimmy finally said, exasperated.

“I know it is hard, Jimmy,” Greg empathized. “But, it will make you swim so much better if we get this worked out, together.”

From his office, coach watched as the star swimmer worked with the younger guy. He smiled at the joy Greg was bringing to the younger kid, as well as the skill. He clearly had developed quite a relationship with the kid. Coach watched as Greg showed Jimmy new techniques and useful tips. Coach got up from his seat and walked out to the pool deck. He got just close enough to hear the conversation. Coach smiled. Instead of rushing out to start the extra workout, he opted to stay back, and let Greg work with the youngster. “An extra thirty minutes won’t hurt,” Coach thought to himself.

Jimmy was finally starting to get it, but the new follow through was a tough change to work in. “It is a game changer for you swimming,” Greg explained. “You keep working on that, I need to find out when Coach wants to get started.”

The two guys swam in side by side lanes for the next hour. Coach was really drilling Greg on his turns, especially his back to breast turn,. “Again,” seemed like the only word Jimmy was hearing the Coach say. At Greg’s level, every millisecond mattered, and Coach was certain Greg was losing too much time on his turns. By the time coach was done, Greg wanted to throw up, he had flipped and flipped and flipped so many times he was beyond dizzy. Every muscle hurt, and it was really time to get out of the tight, tiny swimsuit, even that part of him hurt from being smashed inside the slim cut Agon team swimsuit. Greg rubbed his crotch and tugged at the material. The momentary freedom felt great.

“Nice workout, Greg,” Coach said. “You are really working hard and it shows.”

“Thanks, coach.” Greg replied. With that he did his leap from the pool and turned to watch Jimmy swimming toward him.

“Great job, Jimmy,” Greg called out as Jimmy stopped at the wall. “You are following through so much better, and your reach looks amazing.”

“Thanks, “ Jimmy replied. “It is really hard, and it makes my arms hurt,” Jimmy added.

“You are doing good, kid.” Greg gave Jimmy a high five. “What ya say we go get a burger, my treat. Then hit the swim shop, I need some new stuff.”

“Awesome,” Jimmy replied, with way more excitement than he had ever shown before. “Hey, watch this,” Jimmy asked Greg. Greg turned and watched as Jimmy did a single hand leap out of the pool.

“Way cool, Jimmy,” Greg replied. He gave a Jimmy another high five. He had not paid close attention to Jimmy out of the pool, but this time, Greg noticed how much Jimmy’s muscular definition had changed. He was looking pretty athletic, Greg thought. In his red Speedo print, he looked every bit like a budding swimmer.

“I really appreciate all your help,” Jimmy said.

“Any time, Jimmy” Greg replied.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The two guys headed off in Greg‘s shiny Ford F150 pick up truck, Jimmy‘s bike in the back, to a local ice cream and burger stand near the pool . Greg gad changed into some fresh board shorts, going free inside them, and a yellow polo shirt. Jimmy still had on his swimsuit, the only thing he had worn to the pool, but Greg gave him a clean swim team T-shirt to wear.

“This place has great fries,” Greg said as they pulled into the Burger Boy stand. “And really good shakes.”

Jimmy eyed the crowded parking lot and all the people in line. For the first time, he felt awkward wearing just the red Speedo swimsuit. He confided in Greg his anxiety.

“You’re fine,” Greg assured him. “We just came from swimming.”

“Yeah, but..” Jimmy started to respond.

“I got your back….” Greg cut him off. “Let’s get some food. I’m starving…” If Greg had worn his swimsuit under his boardies, he would have shed the shorts so Jimmy did not feel so out of place. He did not have that option. Greg exited the masculine deep burgundy pick-up truck. Jimmy followed out the passenger side. His long T-shirt hung down over his suit, giving him the appearance of having nothing on under the shirt. The back was emblazoned with the words “Eat my wake.” The two young guys, especially Greg, quickly caught they eyes of a group of high school age girls wearing soccer uniforms. No one seemed to notice, or if they did, care that Jimmy was wearing just a shirt and swimsuit.

The guys ordered their burgers, two large orders of fries and two large chocolate shakes. They grabbed an open picnic table next to the cute soccer players, Greg and Jimmy sitting across from each other. Only when they sat did Jimmy’s red Speedo swimsuit become visible from under his T-shirt. While all the girls were checking Greg out more than Jimmy, the youngest girl at the table, more Jimmy’s age, took the road less traveled and eyed Jimmy up and down. It was still hot as blazes out, prompting Greg to shed his T-shirt, which clearly was exactly what the girls wanted. His strong swimmer’s chest reflected his years of swimming, as did the total lack of body hair. Jimmy followed Greg’s lead. Most of the guys were shirtless, but none of them had the muscular upper body Greg modeled, and few were even as well defined as Jimmy.

“Number 153” the loudspeaker blared.

“I’ll get it,” Greg said as he stood to retrieve the order. His board shorts hung low on his narrow waist, giving the girls a full display of his tight abs from the front, and his muscular back and shoulders from the back, not to mention his V line to the waist.

“He’s really cute,” Jimmy heard one of them say as Greg headed to the pick up window.

“Wish he was wearing a Speedo, too,” said another. They all giggled.

“I think his board shorts are cute,” added a third. The girls started a whole debate on which type of swimwear was the best looking. Board shorts won for most guys, but on hot looking guys, all the girls agreed “Speedos” were really cool. “Cool guys wear Speedos,” one of the girls said passionately. Jimmy liked the cool guys reference

“Are you on a swim team?” the youngest girl at the table finally shifted the conversation to include Jimmy.

“Not yet,” Jimmy said back. “But, I swim every day to get ready. We just got done,” Jimmy added.

“Does your friend swim, too? Another girl asked.

“Yeah, he is really good. He is on the Summer team,” Jimmy added.

“Does he wear Speedos, too” one of the girls blurted out, causing the whole table to giggle.

“When he swims, yeah,” Jimmy answered. The answer made the young ladies smile as their minds raced to picture Greg in just a tiny swimsuit, his muscular chest, abs and legs on full display in their minds. They each watched as Greg returned with the food.

They guys made small talk with the girls as they ate. Jimmy learned that the cute youngest girl was his same age and would also be starting school at the same high school as he. They traded phone numbers, his regular home phone and her cell phone. Her name was Abigail, but her friends call her Abby, she told him. She asked if she could take his picture, which he agreed to. It was the first time any girl had ever asked for his picture, let alone him wearing just a tiny swimsuit. Greg smiled at the attention Jimmy was getting from her. It was clearly more than just the lustful banter the other girls were giving Greg. Abby had even moved over to sit next to Jimmy at their table. By the time they finished lunch, Abby and Jimmy became friends on Facebook, thanks to Greg’s cell phone. Jimmy really wished he had shorts on, as his swimsuit was starting to show the excitement of his young male body, maybe showing a little too much. Abby noticed the tight fit, something she liked best about racing style guys swimsuits.

“She sure does like you,” Greg teased Jimmy. “Plus she is cute,” he added. Jimmy blushed.

“Yeah, she seems nice,” Jimmy replied. His swimsuit situation had not abated. He pulled his T-shirt down, covering as much as he could.

“Make sure you send her a nice note on Facebook,” Greg gave Jimmy some big brother advice.

“I will,” Jimmy replied. They chatted about girls as Greg drove towards the small downtown on their journey to the swimming shop. Jimmy was enjoying the big brother type talk he did not get as the only boy in his family. Sure, he talked to his father, but it was not the same, plus some questions he just did not ask dad, like the next one he tossed out to Greg.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Jimmy queried Greg.

“Sure, kid, anytime,’ Greg replied.

“You got a really cute girlfriend and all,” Jimmy started, stalling at getting to the point.

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Greg replied. “She sure is.”

“Do you wear your swim team swimsuit around her?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Greg replied. “I mean recently, she really prefers them over my boardies,” Greg replied. “Why?”

“Well, this is kind of weird, but you know, you ever get like… umm… “ Jimmy did not know how to finish the question.

“Just ask it, Jimmy, it’s okay,” Greg reassured Jimmy they could discuss anything.

“Well, you know, excited, I mean like you get a b…” Jimmy got it almost all the way out when Greg cut him off.

“Jimmy, it happens to all guys,” Greg answered. “The only problem is that those little swimsuits don’t give you any hope of hiding it,” Greg added. “Every guy who swims has had it happen at one point or another, but usually the pool takes care of it,” Greg paused. After a few seconds he added, “at the beach it is a whole different story,” he added.

“That sure would suck to have it happen at the beach, or eating lunch,” Jimmy added, confessing to Greg that he was getting that way when they were talking to Abby. “What do you do if it happens?’ Jimmy asked.

“Usually, I just roll over, or if I can, I go in the water.” Greg explained. He then shared some stories of when he had it happen at swim practice, at a swim meet, and on his last beach trip with Monique. Between the laughter and joking about the topic, the two guys exchanged questions and Greg played his big brother role well, giving Jimmy the wisdom of experience, at least whatever experience a 17 year old could give. And like any guy 17, the untimely bodily response was just part of growing up.

________

The guys left the swim shop loaded with new gear. Greg bought Jimmy two brand new swimsuits and a couple of pairs of goggles, along with some new stuff for himself. They guys bought matching swimsuits, one was a blue Nike print that Jimmy really liked and the other was a red and white print by Speedo that Greg could not live without. Greg also bought Jimmy his own swimming T-shirt. When all was said and done, Greg dropped $100 on his adopted younger brother. A huge sum in Jimmy’s eyes, while Greg never batted an eye. Jimmy just kep saying thanks. Greg really appreciated how grateful Jimmy was.

As Greg drove Jimmy to his home, the first time Greg would see the farm Jimmy lived on, Greg offered Jimmy a proposal he could not refuse.

“Hey, Jimmy, next weekend I have a big swim meet in Boston. Monique is coming up, my mom and dad will be there, and my host parents are going, also. You want to come?” Greg asked. “It’s the biggest meet of the season, lots of teams and some really good swimmers.”

“That would be so cool!” Jimmy exclaimed.

“You can ride down with my host parents, I am sure they won’t mind,” Greg added. “They are staying overnight, but I think they would let you stay with them. I can ask,” Jimmy worked out the logistics.

“I’ve never been to Boston,’ Jimmy said. “That would be so cool, and to get to see you swim…”

“Then it’s decided,” Greg replied.

The shiny F150 pulled into the dirt driveway of Jimmy’s farm. The old New England style farmhouse was in need of a paint job, as were the barns. Jimmy’s dad was on the tractor, just coming in from the fields. His mom was at work. Greg took it all in as they got out of the truck and he grabbed Jimmy’s bike from the back.

“Well, this is where I live,” Jimmy said.

“So cool, “ Greg replied. “I’ve never known a guy who lived on a real farm,” Greg explained.

“Let me get changed and I can show you around.” Jimmy offered.

“Awesome,” Greg accepted the invitation.

This time, Jimmy got to be the expert, with Greg the novice. Jimmy quickly returned, having pulled his cut off shorts over his swimsuit. He left the swim team T-shirt on. The two guys headed off to tour the farm. Jimmy leading the way.

[Dooley67]

STS,

I think that part 7 is absolutely the best section of this story. You really captured the cementing of the relationship between Jimmy and Greg and portrayed so well Greg's selflessness in giving Jimmy instruction, knowing he had a hard workout with the coach ahead of him. We also see Jimmy developing more self confidence and a great trust in Greg by asking him questions that are sensitive and personal. Then we see Greg not batting an eyelash about answering Jimmy with empathy and reassurance. It truly has become the big brother/little brother relationship that we've seen evolving over time. It's not that these relationships are unique in storytelling; it's the way you develop the relationships of the characters through descriptive passages and dialogue that is just amazing. We guys on the forum get such a treat with your stories which is why we always wish for more.

Mark

[a speedo minded guy]

Dooley67 you have it so correct. This story just continues to evolve and get better with every chapter. STS, this might be your best story to date. I'm loving and anxiously awaiting each new chapter. Keep up the Great work!!!

[solarguy]

I agree! This is just a really nice story. I love the way the guys are bonding and their relationship is developing.

[shaulis]

STS,

I agree with Dooley67(Mark), solar guy, and a speedo minded guy this story may be the your best story to date. I hope Jimmy has a good time at Greg's swim meet in Boston. I'm hopeful Jimmy gets on his high school swim team. Jimmy is becoming more confident in his new swimsuit. Greg even treated Jimmy to new swimwear on Gregs impromptu shopping spree. I thoroughly love this story STS, and I can't wait for the next chapter.

Brian

[Byron]

Re. posts#3 and 37 even I am reading it :)

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

While Jimmy did not have a cell phone, he did have an older laptop computer that he used mostly for school and surfing the internet. Despite the financial strains his family endured, his parents knew that access to the web was crucial to their children’s education, so mustered the money for internet each month. Jimmy logged onto Facebook to send Abby a note. As soon as his newsfeed came up, he saw the picture. There he was at the burger place in just his red Speedo. The caption under read, “Found this cutie at lunch, love his Speedo.” Jimmy blushed. She had tagged him, which meant the photo was announced to all of his other FB friends. He read all the comments, especially liking one from her friend Tanya that read “Abby, he is so cute, and he rocks that swimsuit really well. Looks like he likes you, too.” Jimmy didn’t connect that her last statement was a commentary on the rather bulging fit of his swimsuit.

Jimmy sent Abby a nice note and thanked her for her nice comment on his photo. He said he really liked talking to her and hoped they could see each other again. After, he checked his stash of savings from mowing Jack’s lawn. He had over $100 in a coffee can saved up. He knew he would need money to take her on a real date. Jimmy had never asked a girl out, his palms grew sweaty as he contemplated the process. To his surprise, he quickly got a note back from her saying she really liked him, too. She said she would love to see him again, maybe they could hang out at her house. She added that they have a swimming pool. “You can wear one of your swimming suits, like the one at lunch,” she added on the note. They two began an instant message exchange that ran late into the night and resulted in Jimmy having a fitful night of sleep. Dreams of Abby played in his mind. Jimmy was falling for his first girl.

-------

The two hour ride to Boston was amazing. Greg’s host parents were so nice and gracious. Greg has told them so much about Jimmy that they felt like the knew him all along. They checked into the Marriott Hotel at Copley Place, which totally blew Jimmy’s mind. The place was huge. They would not see Greg the night before his meet, his coach had the team sequestered for a controlled night leading up to the biggest event of the season. Paul, Greg’s host dad let Jimmy text Greg a note on Paul’s cell phone. Jimmy wished Greg luck and thanked Greg again for inviting him to the meet.

“Let’s hit the pool for a swim, then how about we walk down to Fenway and show Jimmy where the Red Sox play,” Paul said to his wife Buffy. Jimmy liked the idea. He scoped out the suite on the 19th floor of the hotel, a two bedroom executive accommodation with a fantastic view of the Charles River and Boston’s famed back bay district. “Let’s get changed into our swimsuits,” Paul suggested. Jimmy agreed and headed into his private bedroom.

Jimmy emerged wearing the red and white print Speedo race brief that Greg had bought him. It looked really neat, and it fit him well. Jimmy especially liked that it was the suit Greg bought him, his secret way of rooting for Greg. “Cool swimsuit,” said Paul, who was wearing short black nylon swim shorts with an exposed draw string. “you sure do look like the swimmer Greg said you are,” Paul added. Paul grabbed a Robe, Jimmy just pulled on his new swimming T-shirt, as the guys started to head out the door.

“You do look handsome in that swimsuit,” Buffy chimed in. She wasn’t going swimming, but she was going to watch them as she read a book poolside.

“You remind me of our son when he was your age,” Buffy added. The suit really did look amazing on Jimmy. The colors were bold and vibrant, and the red dyed drawstring hanging out created an interesting visual feature. “He really liked colorful swimsuits also, well he sill does” Buffy added.

“Thanks, Greg bought this for me, he has the same one,” Jimmy replied. Jimmy also thought Abby would really like the swimsuit. Maybe he could get a picture of him in it at the pool so he could send it to her, Jimmy thought. They had not yet been on a date, but they instant messaged of Facebook every day.

“Greg sent you a text message back,” Paul handed his cell phone to Jimmy as they rode the elevator to the pool floor.

“Thanks, Jimmy. I’m kind of nervous right now. Can’t wait for you to see the meet. I need you to cheer loud,” Greg wrote back. Jimmy smiled as he read it.

______

“This is a big meet for Greg,” Paul explained to Jimmy as the three rode the famed Boston Green Line to Boston University. Jimmy listened intently as he also took in the whole Boston experience. “If he does well, he is sure to get a college offer. He needs us to really pump him up.”

Jimmy was ready. He had on the swim team short Greg gave him, but he used a black Sharpie to write “Go Greg” on the back, right above the “Eat my wake” emblazoned across the back. Jimmy wore the shirt with a higher sense of pride. Greg was his hero, his mentor. They walked the few blocks from the T stop to the BU Aquatics facility. As they got closer, Jimmy was taking in all the other team shirts. There were at least six teams that he counted. Jimmy had on a new pair of shorts his mom bought him just for the trip, a pair of blue plaid shorts she picked up at the local Family Dollar. Under he secretly wore one of his swimsuits, his secret way of being a swimmer. He felt the tight suit under his shorts as they walked.

Inside the aquatics center it was packed. Every top level AAU team from the region was there. Outside, there were vendors selling everything from the latest swimwear to all the equipment a swimmer could want. At least a thousand fans were already in the seating. Hundreds of swimmers. The meet was actually spread between BU and nearby Northeastern University. The guys swam at BU, the ladies at Northeastern. Jimmy’s jaw dropped at how amazing the guy swimmers looked. They were so strong, had awesome bodies. Jimmy could tell that these guys were really good. “But Greg is still better,” Jimmy said to himself. The other thing that caught Jimmy was the swimsuit’s the guys had on. All of them were so small, so tight fitting. Jimmy never looked much at that part of a guy, but he could not help it. They all looked like they were barely packed in the little swimsuits.

Monique spotted Jimmy and called over to him. The events had not started, but many of the swimmers were doing warm up laps. Monique was sitting with Greg’s parents, but she saved three seats for Jimmy, Paul and Buffy. The two sets of parents had already met before, so they warmly hugged and shook hands, like long lost friends. Jimmy was welcomed warmly by Greg’s parents. Greg’s dad had Jimmy sit next to him, so he could talk swimming with the young man. They went over the schedule. Greg’s first event was up right at 8am, the 100 men’s fly first round. Top 4 go to round two. Safe bet was that Greg went to second round. Greg’s biggest event, the 400IM, was at the end of the day. All in, he had four events for the day, some with elimination rounds, so it was going to be a full, long day.

“There’s Greg,” Monique announced. Greg was walking into the pool area with the team. It was shortly after 7. Greg was smiling and looking confident. He saw his fans and waved. He then quickly headed over. He was wearing his team’s race swimsuit, an extremely tight and tiny Agon custom made suit. The sides were really narrow, looked hardly over an inch. The suits were colorful prints of black and gold that looked spectacular.

“Hey everyone,” Greg said as he approached, a big smile on his face. He gave his dad a high five and hugged his mom.

“You look confident,” dad said to his son.

“Yeah, I feel really good about this,” Greg replied as he grabbed Jimmy. “Hey, Jimmy, so glad you could come. Lots of really good swimmers here.” Greg said to Jimmy.

“No way I was going to miss this,” Jimmy replied, his eyes wide with admiration for his adopted big brother. “You’re the best swimmer here!” The two guys exchanged fist taps. Jimmy was almost as pumped up as Greg was. The excitement was palpable.

Greg turned to Monique. He grabbed her and gave her the tightest, longest, deepest hug Jimmy had ever seen. Greg held her close. “Cute swimsuit,” Monique whispered. The two had not seen each other in two weeks, and Greg was as excited to see Monique as he was to swim a great meet. Jimmy watched and wondered how Greg could hug her so long wearing just the tiny swimsuit. Just watching them was giving Jimmy a rise. Truth was, as Greg held her, he was also feeling himself respond to her soft touch, the smell of her hair, and the feel of her body. He swelled inside the swimsuit, not all the way but far enough to make the suit feel tight as is body pushed against the tight lycra material. He knew he should stop, but he so enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. Monique felt Greg responding, too. Just as he had told Jimmy, sometimes it just happens. And it was.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

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.

----

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.

[Dooley67]

STS,

In his response to Part 7, shaulis said he hoped that Jimmy would have a good time at the meet in Boston. Well, There's no doubt about that. I love the way you create the youthful enthusiasm in Jimmy and also the budding romance with Abby - part boy/part maturing young man. The hero worship that Jimmy shows towards Greg is so real to the point of his wearing a suit that Greg bought him to the pool with Paul and Buffy and then wearing a suit under his shorts to the meet, wanting to be a swimmer just like Greg. Jimmy really looks up to Greg and even after his first race, Greg shows his caring to give Jimmy a thumbs up after throwing a kiss to Monique. I always say this but it bears repeating - all your characters are kind, decent, thoughtful people.

Another wonderful section, a joy to read. You even got in a little bit about meet strategy. Can't wait for the next part. One question: Is Phillip the same person from an earlier story, just younger?


Mark

[shaulis]

STS,

My hope that Jimmy have a good time in Boston is coming to fruition. Greg is solidly in the 2nd round and with Gregs strategy working probably the win. I love that Jimmy has Abby as a girlfriend. Jimmy hopes that by wearing the swimsuit Greg bought him brings Greg luck at the swim meet. Jimmy thinks the world of Greg and it showed when he proudly told Paul and Buffy that Greg had bought a swimsuit for him.
I love this story and can't wait for the next chapter.


Brian

[Swimmboy]

Another great chapter! I think Jimmy has a 'crush' on Greg - not in a sexual way, just the way a younger boy looks up to - or adores - an older boy whom he admires, which is cool. Love the image of the hot young swimmers in their tiny racing suits. Can't wait for the next installment!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

“So what got you interested in swimming?” Monique asked Jimmy as they ate lunch. It was the lunch intermission, a thirty minute mid day break in the action, mostly to give the teams a chance to regroup and assess the morning. Monique and Jimmy had walked outside and sat in the sun on a bench near the entrance. Jimmy was enjoying the attention of such a pretty girl.

“I saw it last summer on the Olympics,” Jimmy replied. “I thought the swimming and diving was really cool.”

“Yeah, those swimmers are really good,” Monique replied.

“I know, and they looked so fit and strong. It was amazing. I stayed up late watching them. Man can they swim fast, just like Greg,” Jimmy replied. He was becoming so passionate as he talked. It was clear he really loved the sport.

“Who is your favorite?” Monique asked.

“Well, Michael Phelps hasto be everyone’s favorite. But I also like Ryan Lochte and Nathan Adrian for USA. I like Ryan Cochrane from Canada, too.” Jimmy added. He thought for a moment. “I guess all the good swimmers are named Ryan,” he added with a chuckle.

“Any ladies?” Monique asked.


Jimmy blushed a bit. “I really like Natalie Coughlin, she is cute, too,” he said. “And there was a cute swimmer who swam the long distance, I can’t remember her name,” Jimmy added. Jimmy went into lots of details on each one.. Jimmy even knew their times, what medals they won, He even discussed past swimmers and knew everything about Maine (USA) swimmer Ian Crocker, and New Hampshire’s (USA) Jenny Thompson.

“Wow, you really know your swimmers,” Monique closed their longer discussion.

“Yeah, Jimmy said. “But my most favorite swimmer, out of all guys and ladies is Greg. I think he is way better than any of those guys.” Jimmy meant every word.

“That’s sweet, Jimmy.” Monique said as she stood to head back in. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He really was Greg’s little brother.

-------

Greg had swam two events in the morning, winning outright the second event, the short distance free, and, of course, his second place finish in the first round of the 100 fly. His next event was not until later in the afternoon, so he changed out of the tight and tiny little race swimsuit, sipping on a pair of blue nylon team shorts with no swimsuit underneath. His body needed the freedom from the chokehold the extremely small race suit had on him. Greg loved his swimsuits, but the race day ones were really a bit too tight to be comfortable.

“There he is,” Greg’s dad said to the group, pointing as Greg walked behind the starting blocks at the far end of the pool. Greg made his way past his team as they gave each other high fives. The meet was going well for the team, which was in second place behind a strong team from Connecticut.

“Hey everyone,” Greg said as he stood in front of his fan base.

“Hi Greg,” Jimmy replied as he reached and exchanged high fives, followed by a fist butt. “You are swimming awesome!” Jimmy added.

“Thanks, kid!” Greg replied. He leaned over and gave Monique a quick kiss, followed by a hug of his mom. Monique slid over, giving him some room to sit between Jimmy and her.

“Come sit, cutie,” Monique said.

Greg sat between them, checking his shorts to make sure all of his body was staying inside. He was commando under them, and they had a short two or three inch inseam. He kept his legs close together. “Probably should have worn a lose swimsuit under,” Greg thought to himself. Monique rubbed his exposed leg, which felt sensational. Greg wished he could lay back and have her massage both legs to loosen him back up for the afternoon events. It wasn’t stiffness in his shorts he was worried about, it was the risk his legs would tighten up during the break in action. Monique, on the other hand, enjoyed the feeling of his tight, muscular quads.

“See the guy in the green swimsuit,” Greg said to Jimmy. “Lane four. He is really amazing.” The first breast stroke event was about to start. The guys sat in silence as the swimmers prepared to leave the blocks. It was another display of amazing masculine power, all in different color racer cut briefs. All tight, all narrow, and they were all amazing. For Monique, it was quite the show of guys.

The gun went off and the green swimsuit swimmer made the best start of the eight, going further in the air and gracefully hitting the water. His powerful strokes began as soon as he hit the water and he was quickly, solidly in the lead. The second place guy, a cute blonde guy in a red brief with team logo on the left front, was in second, but already half a body back and losing ground.

“He is amazing,” Jimmy said.

“Yeah, coach says he has a good shot at the Olympics,” Greg answered.

“So do you,” replied Jimmy,

Greg wrapped his arm around Jimmy. “Your a good kid,” Greg replied, flattered by Jimmy’s comment. The two guys smiled at each other. Jimmy’s eyes showing his idolization of Greg. Greg’s showed his deep affection for Jimmy. It was one of the best moments in their friendship.

“Watch his flip, Jimmy” Greg explained. The two watched as green swam hard right to the wall and then was over and heading back without a single loss of pace.

“That was cool,” Jimmy said.

“Yeah,” Greg replied. “See how he never let up, that is the key. You know the wall is coming, but you just stay hard until you have to flip. Most swimmers slow, even just a fraction,” Greg explained. “That is what coach is trying to get me to stop doing.” Greg admitted.

“Wow, he is really good,” Jimmy said as they watched green continue to power down the pool, he was now so far ahead he had no worry of a loss, but he never let up. The swimmer from Greg’s team was third. Not the result they wanted, but not enough to throw them out of second team overall.

Well, gotta go,” Greg said. He gave Jimmy another fist butt. “Glad you are having fun.” He then grabbed Monique and gave her a big hug. He high fived his host dad and mom, followed by his own mom and dad. He tugged the legs of his blue shorts and headed back to the locker room. Time to get back into his tiny racer and get ready for his next events. It was another fly race, the final of the 100 meter from the morning. But first was the team relay (medley) event, Greg would be the fly racer.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

In the locker room, which was shared by all teams, Greg slipped off his blue shorts and grabbed his still wet race suit. In his hand, the suit was so small it did not look like it could ever fit on Greg’s muscular body. He stood naked holding the suit under a hot air dryer to get some of the wet out, and the chill off. As he did he heard another swimmer in the locker room and turned to see Phillip, his arch rival in the IM standing at his locker. Just like Greg, Phillip was changing back from his shorts to his racer. Phillip had dark hair, black, but cropped very short. His body free of all other hair, just as Greg’s was. Even the hair around both guy’s private areas was shaved. Greg turned and acknowledged Phillip, who was also holding his wet racer suit in his hand.

“Hi Phillip,” Greg said. Despite being rivals, they both knew each other from past meets. The rivalry ended at the pool. While not really friends, they were friendly competitors.

“Hey, Greg. You are swimming well today,” Phillip acknowledged.

“Thanks, how is your meet going so far” Greg asked.

“Well, only one event this morning, came in third. That sucked,” Phillip answered. The two guys chatted for several minutes. Greg finally slipped into his race brief, the tight fit again smashing his anatomy. He tucked himself in the suit, which barely covered everything.

“Hey, that was a good idea, never thought of it,” Phillip said as he took his wet suit and held it under the dryer. He stood at the dryer watching Greg get dressed. As he admired Greg’s well sculptured body, Phillip got slightly aroused, his anatomy showing his interest in Greg. He took his hand and covered his rising anatomy as much as he could. Phillip was just coming to terms with being gay, and Greg was as hot a swimmer as he had ever seen.

“Hey, have a great swim,” Greg said as he started to head to the door, tying up his strings as he walked to the door, never looking back at Phillip.

“You too,” Phillip replied. Phillip was relieved that Greg skipped the usual hand shake and left when he did, not seeing the full extent of Phillip’s growing arousal. Alone in the locker room, Phillip slipped into the shower and sprayed himself with much needed cold water. It would be several minutes before he even dare try to smash himself into his won tight green race suit. Only a few swimmers created such a response on his young, gay body.

---------

Jimmy was all fired up as the team event kicked off. Greg’s team was in lane three. The guys all looked amazing in Jimmy’s mind. Each of the guys was tall, over six feet, except for Juan, who the team called JP. JP was of Mexican descent, his tan complexion a clear contrast to the pale white of the other three. He was handsome, 5’10”, had a long abdomen and his arms seemed to have as much length as the taller guys. JP was the breast stroke leg, it was obvious why. Greg would start with the fly. John, a blonde, curly haired guy would take the back, and then Craig was the wrap up with the free. Craig was the tallest, and he also seemed to have a really long torso and short legs. In Jimmy’s mind, Craig was the same build as Michael Phelps.

“Greg’s team is clearly the best,” Jimmy said to Greg’s two dads, real and host.

“Let’s hope so,” Greg’s real dad replied. He was flattered by Jimmy’s loyalty to his son, almost brother like, he thought.

“No hope to it,” Jimmy replied, “They will kick butt!” Jimmy sat n silence for a moment, then he apologized for saying butt. Greg’s mom was touched by the young teen’s politeness.

“Butt was a good choice,” Greg’s dad replied. “I had another word.” The guys all laughed.

“Swimmer’s mark,” the announcer called. Greg mounted and positioned on the blocks. Greg did his little ritual of rubbing his crotch, a sub-conscious act that he did not even realize he did. He also tugged the waist of his suit.

“Swimmers set,” came call two,. Greg readied his position. He needed two things, he needed a rock solid start, and he needed great turns.

“Don’t let up at the wall,” Greg heard his coach in his mind. “Reach as far as you can on the diver,” also rang through. Greg was oddly extra nervous. His eyes on the water. He paid no attention to the swimmers near him, nor to his fans sitting close.

The fake gun went off and the swimmers were in the air. Greg hit the water in a great dive, but a horn blew. Jimmy was shocked as all the swimmers stopped and stood.

“What happened?” Jimmy asked.

“False start. I think in lane six. Looked like he went just ahead of the horn.”

The eight swimmers climbed out of the pool. Greg shook his head, angry that he missed out on what was a picture perfect launch. He pulled his clinging suit from his anatomy. Monique smiled as she watched him. Guys wet swimsuit really showed off their best parts, thought Monique. Especially for Greg, who she thought had the most manly package of any guy she knew.

The swimmers mounted the blocks to start the race, again. The line up of wet swim suited guys was quite the show. It was a rainbow of colors and patterns. Monique lied best the red and gold print swimsuits on the team in lane two, right next to Greg’s team. She liked least the solid black suits on the team n lane eight, no imagination, she thought. Lane seven was a team mixed between briefs and jammers. Monique really disliked jammers. She thought jammers looked like bike shorts, which she liked on cyclists, but not on swimmers. In jammers, a guys parts always got stuck down by their legs, which just looked ugly, Monique thought.

“Reach,” Greg thought again as he stood on the starting block. “Stay hard to the wall,” the mantra running in his head. Greg was ready.

“Let’s do this,” JP yelled out in his Spanish accented speech. The tension and the enthusiasm running high on all the teams. The delay was the time required to reset all the clocks, touch pads and hand helds.

“False starts suck,” Greg finally said to his teammates. They did. They tugged away at the swimmer’s concentration, stirred up anger, and had the risk of messing a swimmer up.

“Stay focused,” Craig replied. He was a fiery red headed, lean guy. He patted Greg’s back. He looked amazing in the tiny swimsuit. He had the most well defined abs. Monique through he was almost as cute as Greg.

Finally, the calls. Jimmy was up out of his seat. Jimmy was almost as tense as the swimmers. “Go Greg,” Jimmy called, joined by Monique, as the gun went off. Greg was off the block with a solid launch, even better than before. He reached forward as far as he could, hitting the water just ahead of the swimmer in lane five, arguable the best team in the event. It was a clean start, no horn. Greg nailed it! JP was jumping and yelling. Craig applauded, and high fived JP. The noise in the arena was deafening, as the teams and the crowd yelled. Jimmy was taking it all in. Like the team, he was cheering loudly for Greg. John was mounting the block. Greg had four length of the pool to swim.

The race was on….

[shaulis]

STS,

Monique knows Jimmy idolizes Greg like a brother after their talk during the meet lunch break. Greg's father noticed how much Jimmy idolizes Greg like a brother cheering for the team and Greg in particular. Phillip, Greg's main rival, is wrestling with being gay. All of the relay team wants Greg to set the pace for the team to win this race and hopefully the meet entirely. I can't wait for the next chapter to know the outcome.

Thanks again STS, for this great story so far.

Brian

[Dooley67]

STS,

I am completely with Brian (shaulis) as I can't wait for the next part either. You toy with us in the way you create the suspense and the expectation that the race will have been finished before part 9 ends and then it doesn't. The focus on Jimmy's complete loyalty to Greg and his complete faith that Greg is the best swimmer is so well portrayed. Jimmy really acts like Greg is his older brother whom he looks up to enormously. Nice touch too with Monique's interaction with Jimmy during lunch, her drawing him out and showing him that she likes him. I also liked Jimmy's completely non sexual comment about how strong and fit the swimmers at the Olympics were. Greg continues to be the role model he has become for Jimmy and you can tell that he really likes playing the older brother role. Thanks for continuing the story.

Mark

[Swimmboy]

Another exciting chapter - with a good blend of sports, sportsmanship, and a little sexiness thrown in! I love the way young Jimmy idolizes Greg - they are truly like a big brother/little brother pair. And now, Phillip may have a bit of a crush on Greg! Greg is one lucky guy - handsome, athletic, and loved or idolized by so many, male and female.

(Oh - one small comment - in a medley relay, the backstroker always leads off, since he has to start in the water. The medley events are swum in this order: back, breast, fly, free.)

[Byron]

Thanks for info. - never got it clear with the medley relays.


PS: Anyone know water polo team numbers?

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

The worst part is I knew that...lol. in my mind and when I wrote the last part I was thinking IM. I even had to go back and change it to team. I missed I had also used the IM order, which was just stupid on my part. Oh well, the best part of fiction is I can make up events that are totally new. I would have realized it when I described the rest of the race. I swam team in my swim team days, too. Moral of story...never finish a chapter after your morning swim and before adequate coffee.....


Thanks for calling me on my mix up.

[Byron]

In chapter one Greg leaped out of the pool to watch Greg - but a minor slip doesn't spoil the good story.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Not sure Byron what the point of your post was.... just the usual Byron pile on, I guess. Let me see, if you scan the whole story, you can point out every typo in it... and they do exist(I suspect I meant Greg leaped out to watch Jimmy). Swimmboy caught a clear error and I appreciate him pointing it out. You are being your usual pedantic self.

STS

[Dooley67]

STS,

I've seen similar types of things in some of your other stories, mostly about names, but never felt the need to point them out. What's in a name anyway?

D67

[shaulis]

STS,

You can put the order of the race anyway you want to because its your story. I knew you were on a team but I figured you were taking a writer's license to the relay order.


Shaulis

[a speedo minded guy]

STS, please just keep writing great stories

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Writer note: I had inadvertently used the IM order in the team event. My error. Here is the corrected version...

Jimmy was all fired up as the team event kicked off. Greg’s team was in lane three. The guys all looked amazing in Jimmy’s mind. Each of the guys was tall, over six feet, except for Juan, who the team called JP. JP was of Mexican descent, his tan complexion a clear contrast to the pale white of the other three. He was handsome, 5’10”, had a long abdomen and his arms seemed to have as much length as the taller guys. JP was the breast stroke leg, it was obvious why. Greg would swim the fly. John, a blonde, curly haired guy would take the back, and Craig was the wrap up with the free. Craig was the tallest, and he also seemed to have a really long torso and short legs. In Jimmy’s mind, Craig was the same build as Michael Phelps.

“Greg’s team is clearly the best,” Jimmy said to Greg’s two dads, real and host.

“Let’s hope so,” Greg’s real dad replied. He was flattered by Jimmy’s loyalty to his son, almost brother like, he thought.

“No hope to it,” Jimmy replied, “They will kick butt!” Jimmy sat n silence for a moment, then he apologized for saying butt. Greg’s mom was touched by the young teen’s politeness.

“Butt was a good choice,” Greg’s dad replied. “I had another word.” The guys all laughed.

“Swimmer’s mark,” the announcer called. John was in the water, and mounted the starting block, grasping the hold bar and positioning himself for the back launch. The team’s tension was high. Greg did his little ritual of rubbing his crotch, a sub-conscious act that he did not even realize he did when he got anxious at swim meets.

“Swimmers set,” came call two,. John readied his position. John was a a solid back swimmer, it would be a rave between him and the team from Springfield, MA. John was taller, had longer arms, but like Greg, he lost time on his turns.

The fake gun went off and the swimmers were in the air, their arching backs just over the top of the water as they launched off the wall. John‘s start looked perfect. . Everyone was screaming. Suddenly a horn blew. Jimmy was shocked as all the swimmers stopped and stood.

“What happened?” Jimmy asked.

“False start. I think in lane six. Looked like he went just ahead of the horn.” answered Greg's dad.

The eight swimmers walked back to the wall. A couple jumped out of the water. Greg shook his head, angry that his teammate missed out on what was a picture perfect launch. John stood at the wall, the frustration clear on his face. Monique watched as the guys all huddled around their blocks, their tight swimsuits clinging to their bodies. A few of them still wet from the warm up swims, including Greg’s. She admired the way Greg’s swimsuit clung to his anatomy. He had the most manly looking package in her opinion.

The swimmers mounted the blocks to start the race, again. The line up of wet swim suited guys was quite the show. It was a rainbow of colors and patterns, as the swimmers held to the hold bar and lifted themselves into position. Monique liked best the red and gold print swimsuits on the team in lane two, right next to Greg’s team. She liked least the solid black suits on the team in lane eight, no imagination, she thought. Lane seven was a team mixed between briefs and jammers. Monique really disliked jammers. She thought jammers looked like bike shorts, which she liked on cyclists, but not on swimmers. In jammers, a guys parts always got stuck down by their legs, which just looked ugly, Monique thought.

“Okay, let‘s get this done,” Greg thought again as he stood on the deck. “Stay hard to the wall,” the mantra running in his head. Greg was ready for his leg now, but he had to wait for two legs ahead. “You can do this” he told his teammate.

“Let’s do this,” JP yelled out in his Spanish accented speech. The tension and the enthusiasm running high on all the teams as they waited for the calls. The delay was the time required to reset all the clocks, touch pads and hand helds.

“False starts suck,” Greg finally said to his teammates. They did. They tugged away at the swimmer’s concentration, stirred up anger, and had the risk of messing a swimmer up.

“Stay focused,” Craig replied. He was a fiery red headed, lean guy. He looked amazing in the tiny swimsuit. He had the most well defined abs. Monique through he was almost as cute as Greg.

Finally, the calls. Jimmy was up out of his seat. Jimmy was almost as tense as the swimmers. “Go Sharks” Jimmy called, joined by Monique, as the gun went off, referring to the team’s name. John was off the block with a solid launch, even better than before. He arched back as best as he could, hitting the water just ahead of the swimmer in lane five, arguable the best team in the event. It was a clean start, no horn. John nailed it! JP was jumping and yelling. Craig applauded, and high fived Greg. The noise in the arena was deafening, as the teams and the crowd yelled. Jimmy was taking it all in. Like the team, he was cheering loudly for John. Greg was jumping in excitement. He turned to look at Jimmy and pumped his fists.

The race was on….

[Swimmboy]

I'm sorry for stirring up any trouble with my comment about medley order. I am really enjoying this story, and I like the realism of the descriptions, the emotions, the brotherhood and bonding we see in each chapter. As a swimmer, it just jumped out at me that Greg was swimming fly, so he shouldn't be first in the relay. Now, on to the race! Can't wait to see what happens! And thanks, STS, for writing this wonderful story for us to enjoy.

[shaulis]

Swimmboy, I'm sure if you had not said something someone else would have and probably not as nice.

[Dooley67]

Swimmboy, I agree with Shaulis, no need to apologize; it was not your comment that stirred things up as you can tell from the reply you got from STS.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Monique found the team events fun to watch. The male bonding was interesting, much more physical than what females were like. Lots of action between the guys, hugs, pushes, shoves and high fives. She also like watching the once dry swimmers emerge from the pool as hot, sexy wet swimmers in clinging swimsuits. It seemed funny to her how the guys all had similar rituals, like taking the strings out of their suits after they were done with their event. She thought a guy with his drawstrings hanging free looked cute, sensual and approachable. It was a strangely sexy and inviting look. Especially when Greg did it. She just wanted to take those stings and tease him with them. But, Greg’s string were still in tact, his tension still high. His leg had yet to start.

John gave the team a great start. He swam his leg fast enough to put the team in second place, just slightly behind the Springfield swimmers. It was actually better than the coach expected. JP swam a fast first length of breast stroke, closing the gap. JP was clearly the strongest breast stroke swimmer in the pool on this day, but at this level the range of ability between the top three was slight. Greg mounted the starting block as JP headed down the pool on his last 50.

“Reach,” Greg heard his coach’s voice in his head. “Swim hard to the wall,” also rang in his mind. Greg’s eyes intently watched the water and the wall. In a team event the transition can be deadly. Launch too early and the team is out, false starts can end the best of swims. Launch to late and the team loses valuable time. The team spends quite a bit of time just practicing the transition. Teams that don’t lose races.

JP hit his last turn in a dead heat. He pushed hard off the wall. In his left peripheral vision he could see the swimmer next to him in lock step. Both had been swimming hard, both were tired. Both had to swim the fastest 25 they could. The sound of the cheers in the pool arena were as intense as a final four basketball game. Jimmy was not only out of his seat, he was bent over yelling as loud as he could. If JP could pull this off, Jimmy had no question Greg would beat every swimmer there. Even Monique had stopped admiring the guys and joined in the screaming.

By the midpoint of the pool, JP was just a hair ahead. His powerful strokes lifting his upper body from the water. The intensity of the race reflected in his facial expression. A surge… the swimmer lane left suddenly put on the gas, using whatever he had left. JP was late catching it, suddenly roles reversed. The edge was to the other guy. “Damn,” said John silently as he saw it happen. Greg heard nothing, his mind in a trance waiting for his start. Now more than ever he needed to nail his launch and turns.

A push to the wall. JP’s late response to the surge ended hopes of a lead finish, but maybe they could tie. They were just feet from the wall. “Push” the team yelled. JP kept the press on, as did swimmer left. Greg readied.

JP hit the wall and Greg launched. Greg reached as far forward as he could. The swimmer right was in the air at exactly the same time, and Greg could see him. It was an absolute picture perfect launch. Greg hit the water slightly ahead, his great launch wiping away any gap from the last leg. Greg went right into his powerful fly, missing nothing in the transition from launch to swim. Within seconds Greg was out in front, the fly swimmer to his right (down the pool, left back) was no comparison. The real competition was in lane seven, but that team was far down the order.

Greg hit the wall, flipped and was solidly back at it. Greg’s turn was good, but not great. His coach shook his head as he watched Greg slow at the wall. More work to do. As Greg swam hard on the second 25, a motion caught his eye. While he was worried about the swimmer on his left, he had not focused on the swimmer to his right, who was suddenly within his limited eyesight and moving fast. Greg could see his arms rotating the fly stroke. Greg throttled hard to pull forward, but the momentum of the fast paced swimmer was strong.

“S…,’ Greg thought. “He’s kicking me,” Greg felt the pains of hi inattention grip him. :How did I miss that,” he thought. The very same thought ran though his coach. The two swimmers now neck and neck.

“Show him your Wake,” Jimmy yelled. He was still out of his seat, but now yelling as loud as he could. He had no idea if it helped, but he sure hoped it did.

Greg pushed harder, and he held the lead, but only slightly. He needed a good turn, no slow down, no loss of time. He swam as hard and as fast as he could to the wall. He almost messed up his timing, nearly flipping too late. That would have been disaster. As fast as he came to the wall, Greg was over and back out. It was the slight break he needed, as the swimmer now on his left lost time, lots of it.

Last flip, Greg maintained the quality of his prior flip-turn. Greg has a knack for being able to perform well under pressure. The swimmer now on his right still had some gas left. He throttled, his tight print swimsuit flexing in the water as he pushed hard to catch Greg. He was half a body back, his eyes in line with Greg’s own tight and tiny team suit. Greg heard his strokes, but could not see him. Three quarters of a length to go. JP was screaming loudly. Craig was on the blocks, listening intently as his teammates told him where Greg was and what was going on. He dare not look and break his concentration. From behind, he looked amazing and cute in his swimsuit. Monique enjoyed the view.

It was a very close race as Greg came to the wall, but Greg had edged out the win Greg swam hard into the wall and heard Craig launch over him. Greg’s hand slammed the touchpad timer hard. He stood immediately, seeing the swimmer next to him finish. Craig was already well down the length of the pool. A solid lead. No other team was close.

Greg waited for the guy next to him to stand. He extended his hand. “Great swim” Greg said.

“Thanks, you kicked my a..,” the swimmer replied. “Name is Matthew,” he offered. The swimmers cleared the pool, leaping on deck. Both had spent all they had.

“Greg,” came the reply. The two guys gave each other a swimmers hug, the kind that looked a bit gay to the non-swimmers, two guys in skimpy suits embracing. It was the camaraderie of the sport, swimmer emotions high from a tough race. “Catch you around, Matthew,” Greg said as he turned to high five his team. They knew this one was locked up. He then looked over at Monique and blew her a kiss, he gave Jimmy a fist pump. Greg was physically drained, but he had enough adrenalin excitement to keep him going. Craig got a hero’s welcome.

Jimmy stood and applauded. His eyes filled with admiration. Greg really was the best swimmer ever.

---------

The day was done, and the team was now tied for first. It had been a great day for Greg. His swim in the team medley had caught the eye of coaches from Boston University and from South Carolina. He did not know that, yet, but he soon would. Alone in the locker room, he untied his swimsuit and slid it off. Greg was happy to get out of the tight and tiny swimsuit, his anatomy feeling the relief of being set free. He stood in the hot shower for a long time, just enjoying the feel of the water massaging his body.

Greg came out of the locker room in a clean and dry T-shirt and dry team nylon shorts, the same ones he wore earlier. This time, however, he chose not to go commando. His hair was wet, the shortness of it created a slightly spiked look. He looked tired, but he had a huge smile on his face, his eyes bright with pride. He knew it had been a great day. A few mess ups, but still a great day. He kicked butt, swimmers ate his wake.

His mom was first with a huge hug, followed down the line, the best hug saved for Monique. He picked Monique up and spun her in his arms. Despite his fatigue, he was still pumped up from the day, at least enough to want to hold the prettiest girl he knew. He gave Jimmy a guy hug, three pats on each other’s backs.

“Awesome day, Greg,” Jimmy said. “Wicked cool!”

“Thanks kid, big stuff tomorrow.” Greg replied. They paused and looked at each other. “Did you get to swim today?” Greg asked.

“No, but that’s okay.” Jimmy replied. “This was just as good.”

“You want to swim? I can’t join you, but I can watch for a bit, if you want.” Greg offered. “The pool is open to teams for the next hour, but you can see no one is going to use it.” Greg added.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy was so excited, he had never swam in a university pool. The idea of getting to swim in the same pool Greg had just swam in was totally cool in Jimmy’s mind. “You think I can?” Jimmy asked.

“Let’s go ask coach,” Greg said. “Come with me. I can lend you one of my swimsuits.”

“Got mine on already,” Jimmy said sheepishly, pulling the side of his shorts down slightly to reveal it to Greg. For some reason, Jimmy felt weird about having worn a swimsuit under his shorts.

“Too funny,” Greg replied. “Guess you are ready to swim.” Jimmy was warmed by Greg’s acceptance.

“I wore it for good luck for you,” Jimmy added with a smile. Greg wrapped his arm around his adopted brother. Greg was touched by Jimmy’s act.

Jimmy was only allowed to swim for a few laps, coach really wanted Greg to get to dinner and get back to the dorm and get some sleep. Jimmy was fine with even one lap, just the chance to swim in that pool, Greg’s pool. After a quick shower for Jimmy, the two guys stood at the edge of lane two.

“Okay, get one the block,” Greg said. “Four laps of free, flip turns and all, and I want you to launch like it is a real race. I’ll do the calls.”

Jimmy mounted the starting block, he looked as much a real swimmer as the guys in the meet. His red and white print swimsuit clinging to him from the wetness of the shower. He was actually nervous. He readied his position. Greg made a few adjustments in his stance. “Just perfecting your stance,” Greg said as he did it. “Step forward a bit, right to the edge of the block,” Greg asked.

“Like this?” Jimmy asked.

“Perfect,” Greg replied. Monique watched as the older Greg fussed over the younger Jimmy, who she did think looked stunning in his Speedo suit. Jimmy’s physique really had matured as a result of all his swimming. He was far from the skinny kid in blue Kmart swim shorts. Monique was not the only one watching. The coach was also standing back, observing, along with the coach from South Carolina (USA).

“Swimmers mark” Called Greg. He followed the next command a few seconds later and watched as Jimmy’s focus became intense. “Go!” came the last command. Monique secretly snapped cell phone pictures of the whole thing. She’d share them with the boys later.

Jimmy was off, it was by no means a picture perfect launch, but it was a good one for Jimmy. “Go Jimmy!” yelled Greg. It was a role reversal from just a few hours earlier. He watched as Jimmy made his way down the pool, a good flip turn and back up, Jimmy’s first lap was in just under 45 seconds. His second and third were the same, and his fourth was actually faster as he pushed the last twenty five, cutting almost two seconds off. Jimmy stood at the wall.

“That was fantastic,” Greg said. “You swam really well!”

“This is so cool,” Jimmy replied.

“Okay warm down lap, slow.” Greg directed.

In the locker room, changing out of the wet swimsuit into the dry one Greg tossed him, Jimmy was really pumped up. It had been such a cool treat to swim in the university pool. Jimmy gave Greg a big hug. “Thanks, Greg!” Jimmy said several times. For both guys, it was the end of a perfect swimming day.

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter. Greg's team won the medley relay. Greg was able to give his team the lead after his leg enabling the anchor to win the race for them. After the meet finished for the day Jimmy got the opportunity to swim a few laps in the Boston University pool. Greg made it feel like Jimmy was in a actual race. Greg showed Jimmy the correct stance on the starting block. Unbeknownst to Greg his coach and the University of South Carolina swim coach were watching he and Jimmy. Maybe Greg will become a proud Gamecock swimmer.

As a aside South Carolina has a good division 1 swim program. They hold their own against the powerhouses like Florida and Auburn.

[Dooley67]

STS,

What I like best about this chapter is the complete unselfishness of Greg when it comes to Jimmy. He has just swim a tough race that his team won, but rather than continue celebrating with his team, he searches out his family, Monique, and Jimmy. Obviously he gives Monique the biggest hug and kiss, but then focuses his attention on Jimmy and arranges for him to swim a few laps in a college pool, a first for Jimmy. Greg is portrayed so well by you as a solid, strong guy who has good values and unselfishly takes on the role of big brother to Jimmy, a kid who values hard work, but has very little life experience. You bring this out stronger in each chapter as the story continues to develop. Such good writing. Thanks for continuing on.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

USC (the east coast one) is an awesome team. They never recruited me when I was a young swimmer, but I always wanted them to. They would have been my number one choice, I think... but that phone never rang...lol. Got to swim against them a few times in non conference meets. I loved the name "Gamecocks" and thought they had the coolest team swimsuits back then. They were really good back then. Agree on FL and Auburn, too. Great teams, elite D1. Glad you like the story. Maybe we will see where Greg ends up.....

Ryan

[shaulis]

I'm glad you took the time to comment. Everybody knows that the East Coast USC has a great football program but hardly anyone knows they have great swim programs too.

[Dooley67]

Shaulis,

What is a Gamecock swimmer?

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

U of SC team name is the gamecocks. Such a unique name.

[shaulis]

Dooley67(Mark),

STS is correct a Gamecock is the University of South Carolina team mascot.


Shaulis(Brian)

[Dooley67]

Thanks guys. A very "creative" name for a team I think.

[sebbie]

Not as weird as the TCU Horned frogs (or toads)
How about the Fighting pickles at the NC school for the arts
http://www.oddee.com/item_96800.aspx

[sebbie]

or the fighting Okra of Delta State

No school appears to have taken the Fighting Zuchinni,...yet

[sebbie]

check out the TCU horned frogs swimming and diving!

http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/c-swim/tcu-c-swim-body.html

go horned frogs!

[Dooley67]

Speaking of odd names, when I was still working, my office was at one of the middle schools which had an intramural basketball program. The kids got to name their teams, and one team named themselves the Schmucks. I asked the PE teacher in charge if she knew what the word schmuck means. Not being Jewish, she didn't know that schmuck means penis. She was mortified and had the kids change their name to something else.

D67

[Byron]

Originally 'treasure' or 'jewel' it is also the discarded tissue from circumcision.
More commonly heard as an unflattering opinion: "what a schmuck !" - ie "what a prick!".

[Swimmboy]

Another fine chapter, full of excitement (the race) and big-brotherly affection between Greg and Jimmy. And yes, SC has had a great swim program for quite a few years. And I love the hats and tee-shirts you sometimes see from that school, with the Gamecock name shortened to just 'Cocks'. That always brings a smile to my face. Of course, I doubt the men's swim team will ever wear suits with the word 'Cocks' printed right on the front, lol.....

[shaulis]

Swimmboy,
The swim team may not wear a suit like that but if the University thought they could make money from selling it to the public I'm sure they would consider it.

[Byron]

....but not in Singapore - remember all the fuss about the new design of the team speedos in red and white and inappropriately taking part of the national flag to the front?

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Paul and Jimmy walked over to the Boston Sports Club on Boylston Street, just a few blocks from the Marathon finish line. It was a short walk from the Marriott at Copley and Paul knew they had a lap pool. Paul paid the one day fee for both Jimmy and him. The two guys got a solid hour in the pool together, shorter than what Jimmy usually swam, but long enough for Paul. Jimmy was happy to just get some swim time. Paul watched as Jimmy did his laps. The kid was pretty good, not nearly at the level of Paul’s own son when he was Jimmy’s age, but certainly very good for a swimmer who just started a couple months ago.

“You want to change and do some weights?” Paul asked.

“Never done those before, Sir,” Jimmy replied.

Paul smiled at Jimmy. “Jimmy, please stop calling me Sir, you make me feel old,” Paul replied.

“Sorry,” Jimmy answered.

The two guys got out of the pool, Paul up the ladder, Jimmy showed off his Greg inspired one handed leap. Paul had on a black Speedo square cut, which fit his older body well. He was in great shape, a tiny bit of excess weight around his waist, but very slight. Jimmy had on a Nike swim brief that Greg had bought him at the swim shop, it was a blue print. It fit his body tight, and he looked fantastic in it. Jimmy was even showing the signs of real abs, not yet all six, but two for sure and two more emerging.

In the locker room, Jimmy swapped his swimsuit for the blue swim shorts he had from his early swimming days. They would have to double as workout shorts. Paul pulled on a long legged pair of Reebok shorts. For the next thirty minutes the two guys did a circuit on six different machines. It was the first time Jimmy had ever tried any type of weight workout. It was harder than he thought, and he was weaker than he expected.

“This will really help your swimming,” Paul explained. “We’ll take it slow today, but maybe you can start including some weight work in your swim practice.” By the time they were done, Jimmy’s arms felt like lead weights.

On the way back to the hotel they ventured past the marathon finish line. It was still very early, the streets and roads were clear. Jimmy walked out and stood on the wide painted “Boston Marathon Finish” emblazoned across Boylston. One day he would cross that line for real, but at that moment he had no idea what the future would hold.

-------

The final event of the big meet was the Individual Medley (IM). This was Greg’s showcase event. To this point he had a great meet, winning all but one of his events. He was ready, pumped up, and as well trained as he had ever been. A good show here and the scholarship offers would likely pour in. Even a bad show would not preclude him from some offers, but the big programs would surely walk. Greg knew the pressure was on to show well. Win outright was a seal the deal result. Second would also likely keep the big looks at the table. Anything less and South Carolina or any of the ACC and Big East schools were out.

Greg changed into a tried and true team race suit for the big event. He had athlete superstitions and in his biggest races he always wore only his most favorite suits. The one he wore today was a really sweet print team swim brief that was a bold blend of blue and green colors. It was a custom suit made by Agon. He had only worn it twice before, and won both times. It felt great on, and looked far better than it felt. He walked to the pool with a mix of confidence and cockiness that could only come from an internal self assurance that he was about to fill the pool with his wake. He looked over at his fan base and smiled. A tense smile, but still a smile. “He feels good,” said Greg’s mom.

“Yeah, he looks confident,” Paul added. Greg’s dad sat silent, biting his nails, literally and figuratively.

Jimmy waved their traditional single hand gesture. Greg gave Jimmy a thumbs up. Greg was ready, so was Jimmy.

Monique snapped a cell picture. She thought Greg looked so cute, so handsome, so athletic hard. She blew him the kiss first this time. Greg blushed and blew one back. Despite the tension he was feeling, he certainly was confident and in good spirits. Coach came up to Greg and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “Just swim your race,” Coach said. “It’s just another day at the pool, okay?”

“Yeah, coach,” Greg replied. “I’m fine, really.” He was not quite as convincing as his outward appearance. His voice almost cracked from the nervousness. He as also rubbing his crotch every few seconds, a sure sign he was edgy. Monique picked up on that.

Just before the swimmers were called to the blocks, Greg checked his strings again. They were tied tight, double knotted. He might never get the swimsuit back off, but it was also not coming untied in the pool. He mounted the block, took his position and readied himself. One last crotch grab, as he placed his hands in race ready position. Jimmy watched intently as Greg edged right to the front of the block, exactly what he had Jimmy do last night. Jimmy played himself on the blocks in his mind. The line up of tight swimsuit clad, incredibly hot swimmers teased Monique. Eight of them all in a row. As swimmers go, the IM swimmers are all very muscular specimens of the male body. This race was no exception. For Monique, Greg was the hottest guy on the line. And he had the cutest swimsuit, with the best bulge.

The horn was loud, and the swimmers were off. Greg nailed the launch and glided into the water in perfect form. He was about to swim the best race of his career so far. Jimmy was going crazy with excitement. There was no louder fan in the whole pool. By the time it was over, Greg nailed it. In fact, he swam so well, he practically had the race sealed up before the final segment even started. He beat his old best time by almost three seconds.

Jimmy was right, Greg was the best swimmer ever. Both guys had an awesome weekend, Greg swam his most important meet ever, and he made them truly eat wake. Jimmy was even more inspired than ever. Monique was more in love.

________


The call came pretty late at night. It was the third call since the meet. On Tuesday night at about 9 PM. Greg was laying on his bed face-time chatting Monique. He was in one of his most favorite Speedo brand swimsuits, just enjoying the interaction with Monique, which was becoming a little steamy as the two talked romantically to each other. He had just showed her a body shot of himself laying there on the bed in just his swimsuit, from his neck down, every rise of his body displayed on her iPhone screen. His suit was fitting tight as his body responded to her voice and his desires.

“I gotta take this,” Greg said, cutting off their romantic conversation. The caller ID said USC Athletics. He quickly answered the call, putting the phone on speaker as he flicked the answer option. “Greg here,” he answered.

How he contained himself is a blur. Greg hardly remembered the exact details of the call, except that the caller was the swimming coach from USC. He said really liked Greg’s swimming ability, thought he’d be a great addition to their team, was sure that he was being looked at by lots of great programs, and hoped he’d come down to Columbia, South Carolina and visit the school. It was all a blur, it happened so fast. Greg remembers saying he loved the Gamecocks, and really was hoping they’d call him. As soon as the call was over, Greg jumped from the bed, never gave a thought that he was wearing nothing more than his swimsuit. Greg ran from his guest bedroom into the kitchen where Paul and Buffy were having a quiet glass of wine.

“I’m going to USC!” Greg blurted. “This is so cool!” He grabbed Buffy and hugged her. Right before them stood a nearly naked Greg, clearly full of excitement.

“Greg, calm down,” said Paul. “Deep breaths, what happened?”

Greg sat down, bare-chested, clothed in just his swimsuit. He started to explain the whole call. Paul and Buffy never batted an eye at the near naked teen age boy who was so animated he was about to jump out of his skin. They had seen it before with their own son. Greg filled them in on all he knew, all he cold recall, which was about half of what got discussed. The key words were scholarship, swimming, USC and Gamecocks, It was by far the biggest program that had reached out, so far. To be sure, the five other interested programs were really great, but for crying out loud, this was USC!

“You need to call your parents,” Buffy said. “This is big news.” She was as proud of Greg as she was when her won son got his call from Dartmouth several years earlier. By the time it was all done, Greg was going to spend two days in Columbia the week after he got back home to Connecticut. He’d get to meet the coaches, swim in the university aquatics center, and meet some of the team. If all went well, they would like him to sign a letter of intent right there. The whole family was invited, especially his mom and dad. It would be the fourth on campus visit he had lined up between the end of Summer swim and the start of his senior year.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy laid in the sun with Abby in her backyard and told her all the details of the swim meet. Jimmy had rode to her house after his swim workout, wearing his swimsuit and a short sleeve T-shirt. Abby had on a one piece swimsuit, a Nike brand suit that tightly outlined her body. She was quite attractive. They were laying out on a big blanked next to the backyard pool, holding hands. As Jimmy talked, he was becoming more and more wound up with excitement. He described in great detail every race. He even told her about his own swim in the pool after the first day of the meet.

“What swimsuit did you wear?” Abby asked as her eyes looked at his mid-section and the tight fitting suit he was wearing. She loved how he looked.

“The one I have on now,” Jimmy replied, pointing to his swirl blue print Speedo swimsuit.

“I like your swimsuits,” Abby replied. “I bet Greg looked hot in his swimsuit, too” she added.

“Yeah, he’s a really great swimmer,” Jimmy replied.

Jimmy had little experience with girls, so when she leaned over and kissed him, it took him by surprise. Her hands explored his chest as she kissed him again. He felt himself quickly responding to her. The two spent several minutes kissing and rubbing each other, until Jimmy had to roll over on his stomach, his swimsuit clinging tightly to his stimulated male anatomy. Abby rubbed his back as Jimmy laid on his stomach.

“You’re cute,” She whispered, her hands exploring down his back and across the back side of his swimsuit. Jimmy had never had this experience before, being aroused in front of and by a girl, especially not in such a tight and tiny swimsuit.

Jimmy stayed on his stomach for several minutes, enjoying the attention, but also contemplating his options. He was young and experiencing new feelings and new urges. His swimsuit was now very tight, an he knew it would show everything. Not sure what to do, he mustered the courage to change the situation. “Let’s go in the pool,” he finally suggested as he rolled back over and quickly stood. His suit was bulging prominently as he stood, Abby taking notice. He covered himself as much as he could with his hands and did three quick leaps to the pool, jumping in the water. Abby followed. They never went any further with their intimate activity, the cool water easing Jimmy’s situation.

-----

It was the final day of Summer swimming for Greg. It was a short practice, mostly to let the team have fun, wind down and say their goodbyes. Greg and the other guys on the team smiled at the cadre of girls lining the pool fence, checking the guys out in their tiny swimsuits. They even gave them a little show, a line dance of sorts, somewhat along the line of the Rockettes. Twelve handsome, swimsuit clad guys moving left and right with a kick at each end. It wasn’t really clear who liked it more, the girls or the guys. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Jimmy rode his bike to the pool, sadness in his heart as he thought about the reality that this was the end of Greg’s coaching. He got to the pool just in time to watch the last fifteen minutes of the swim team playing inner tube water polo. Jimmy stood along the bleachers and watched as the team went at each other, guys versus girls. Greg played goalie at the far end. Jimmy smiled when he saw Greg. Greg gave Jimmy an air high five. The guys goal was in the deep end, which meant Greg had to tread water the whole time.

At noon, coach blew the whistle and motioned the team in. The swimmers all climbed out of the pool and stood in the warm sunshine. It was a perfect New England (USA) day, a few puffy clouds scattered across a mostly blue sky, a warm sun and temperatures in the upper 70’s. A gentle breeze blew out of the west. Jimmy watched as Greg walked over to the pavilion where the coach gathered the team. All the swimmers huddled close in. Some of the guys and girls who had started romances stood holding hands. Greg stood alone, next to two other guys. Jimmy knew this was his last time watching this. It was sad, very sad.

Jimmy had worn the very first swimsuit Greg ever gave him. As it was turning out, Jimmy was a very nostalgic young man. He actually took time to think about things like what a swimsuit meant to him. He hoped Greg would notice. Jimmy walked slowly to his usual lane two, placed his drill gear at the top of the lane, along with his refilled water bottle. He jumped in, assembled his stuff in the order he would use it, placed a plastic bag flat on the top of his kickboard, inside a sheet outlined his workout. He listed as the coach talked to the team. Finally, Jimmy pushed off the all. Today he would go long before he got into the drills. Just two weeks left before school started and swim team tryouts were shortly after that.

It wasn't Jimmy’s best swim. Too much on his mind. He had so much he wanted to talk to Greg about. There was swimming, of course, but he also had questions about the whole thing with Abby. Jimmy wondered if Greg would want to stop by, or was he just ready to move on. As Jimmy swam his laps, he watched as the team finished up the huddle and broke off to their respective lockers. There were lots of hugs. Jimmy kept swimming, trying to take his mind off all the distractions. “Focus on swimming,” Jimmy told himself.

Greg walked past the top of the lane and into the locker. Not a stop, not even a wave.

[a speedo minded guy]

What a great story. I hope that the two of them will have a chance to say goodbye.

[Dooley67]

STS,

I just read chapter 11 which has it's usual wonderful narrative and dialogue that you do so well. You do such a good job of showing Jimmy with Paul and his introduction to weight training and of Jimmy cheering Greg on as the loudest in the pool. And we continue to see how Greg, swimming perhaps the most important race of his high school career, still remembers to blow a kiss to Monique and a high five to Jimmy. But the end of the chapter is such a shocker. Has Greg let his call from the coach at USC go to his head or since the summer swim team is over, is he done with Jimmy? In my heart of hearts, I don't believe either of those possibilities and I don't want to believe them; it would be too out of character for Greg. I guess we will have to wait for Chapter 12 to find out. Thanks for a great chapter but a troubling end.

D67

[shaulis]

STS,

I just finished reading part 11. Jimmy added weights to his workouts with Paul. Jimmy and Abby were getting closer in their relationship. I ,like Dooley67 ,was shocked by the ending. Greg acknowledged Jimmy sitting on the bleachers watching the summer team's final practice. Greg just walking past Jimmy's lane not saying a word to him sort of leaves a sour note to the story. I hope Greg and Jimmy have a proper goodbye in the next chapter.

Thank you for all the stories and the time you invest in them.

Shaulis

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Greg joined the rest of the team in the locker room after the final practice. The guys locker room was jubilant, as all the guys from the swim team carried on about what they would do with the time off until Fall swim started. Jared, one of the guys on the team held up his swimsuit and said “I am not putting this thing back on until October!” The rest of the guys laughed. A whole commotion raised about “speedo” swimsuits and girls. The guys teased each other about all sorts of sexual activity involving girls and speedos, typical of the raging hormones running through their young bodies. There was more horseplay than showering going on as the mix of naked and near naked swimmers teased each other and bantered. No topic was off limits, everything from girls to swimsuits to how amazing the season had been, to a whole lot of jovial name calling. It was all in jest as the guys let off steam and dealt with the emotions of the end of a great Summer.

JP, John and Craig all huddled with Greg. The four team medley swimmers had created a special bond, and now it was all over. They had even agreed to wear the same swimsuit’s the final day of practice, an awesome green print Cyberswirl by Speedo. The suit looked great on the guys, especially on PJ with his darker complexion. Being guys, they all did not want to show any emotion, but they could not help it. It had been a great season and they all really enjoyed each other, both as swimmers and as friends. You simply don’t spend six hours a day in the pool with each other and not get to become friends. When it was all said and done, the guys broke apart and each went about changing. Most of the out of town guys were leaving for home that afternoon, the locals would either see each other again on their school teams or at AAU meets. Some would swim against each other going forward. Swimming was that way. Friends one minute, fierce competitors the next. Those staying around agreed to meet for burgers at Burger Boy.

“Hey Greg, you ever gonna get changed?” JP finally asked. Greg was standing, still in his handsome green swimsuit.

“Yeah, in a minute, but first I got to do something,” Greg replied, he retied his strings.

“You are coming to the Boy, right?” JP asked.

“For sure,” Greg said. “See you there in an hours or so.”

“Alright, don’t stand us up,” JP replied, now naked and heading into the shower. He knew exactly what Greg was going to do.

-----

Jimmy was into the drills. He was doing his kickboard, watching the guys all leave the locker room, mostly in small groups or alone. He had not seen Greg come out. “Could I have missed him?” Jimmy thought. “Must have,’ he answered his own question. He hit the wall, turned and headed back the other way.

Greg grabbed a fresh water bottle, and one for Jimmy. He walked out of the locker room alone, all the other guys long gone. Coach was sitting in his usual spot, finishing his notes. He looked up and watched Greg as Greg walked over to the top of lane two and stood. Jimmy was at the far wall. Greg watched as Jimmy did his turn and began his kicking drill back. Jimmy’s kick was solid, and he was moving well through the water.

Jimmy was focused on the drill, and never looked up. Partly because he was really trying to focus on what he was doing, and partly because he had given up on Greg coming back. “He must have had to get on the road,” Jimmy rationalized. Greg remained silent, just watching. He reflected on the kid he began helping, now wearing a real swimmer’s swimsuit. A big transition from the awkward guy in the blue shorts. The swimmer coming at him was not the same one that started. This one was confident, strong, and had built some really good technique. Jimmy reached the flags and looked up.

“Greg!” Jimmy exclaimed. He stopped and stood. “I thought you had left.”

“Why would I do that?” Greg asked. “I mean and not come see you.” Greg added. For whatever reason, Jimmy jumped out of the pool and gave Greg a hug. It was the last time they would swim together, at least this Summer. Both guys cold feel the sadness.

“I wore this swimsuit special for today,” Jimmy told Greg. “It was the first one you gave me.” Jimmy was really proud of the swimsuit. Greg smiled.

“You look like an awesome swimmer,” Greg replied. “And you are turning girl’s heads, too.” Jimmy blushed.

“Hey, we got a workout to finish,” Greg said as he jumped in the pool. Jimmy quickly followed. For the next 45 minutes, Greg put Jimmy through a tough set of drills. He timed Jimmy’s 100 distance in every stroke, even the fly, making Jimmy start from the blocks. Greg dutifully recorded them on a grease board he had borrowed from the swim team supplies. “We’ll compare these to the swim team times, see how things look for your tryout,” Greg explained. “We can also see how far you have come.” As hard as Greg pushed, Jimmy never let up.

When it was all done, Jimmy was beat. He had not swam his full two hours, but when Greg suggested they quit early and grab lunch, Jimmy was more than willing. Both guys leapt from the pool.

“Got to look hot getting out,“ Greg teased. “It’s not how you swim, it is how hot you look getting out.“ Jimmy laughed. They headed to the locker room. “How does a burger and shake sound?” Greg asked. “My treat. We can go eat with the swim team,”

“That sounds great,” Jimmy replied. They entered the locker room and started to shower. Greg slipped out of his swimsuit and dried. He put on his Corona beer logo board shorts and a yellow top. Jimmy was still in his swimsuit.

“Hey, you want a pair of shorts to wear?” Greg asked Jimmy.

Jimmy thought for a minute and then nodded. He was perfectly willing to wear his swimsuit, but after the incident with Abby, Jimmy was more self conscious. Greg tossed Jimmy a pair of board shorts, a blue and white pair of OP shorts he had picked up at Wal-Mart.

“They will be a bit loose on you, but you can tie them up,” Greg explained. Jimmy slipped them on over his wet swimsuit and tied up the strings, the wet marks quickly showing where his swimsuit touched the boardies. The two guys left the locker room. Greg grabbed all the rest of his things from the locker, for the last time. Jimmy helped carry some of the gear. Just like older and younger brother, Jimmy and Greg headed away from the pool. They were ready for Burger Boy, and Jimmy was all excited to get to hang out with the team.

--------

On the trip over, Jimmy confided in Greg the events with Gabby. He explained exactly what happened, even the details of how he responded. “I didn’t know what to do,” Jimmy said. “I was all, you know, turned on, laying on my stomach. She kept rubbing my back, and I kept getting more turned on. Has that ever happened to you?” Jimmy asked.

Greg was very patient, listening as Jimmy shared his first experience. Luckily it only went as far as just being a little too excited. “You know, Jimmy, it happens to all of us. You did what I do, just rolled over and waited.” This led to a whole discussion about guys and girls. Jimmy felt better afterwards, he was not alone. Greg even assured Jimmy that Abby probably understood what happens to guys, and if she did not yet, she would. Greg even shared his own story to reassure Jimmy it was okay. “Yeah, swimsuits like ours show everything, but that is what is cool about them, too.” Greg added. Jimmy agreed.

----------

Lunch was amazing and the team really accepted Jimmy as their number one fan. They talked about swimming and swim team, girls, and of course, wearing swimsuits. The guys checked out all the cute girls at Burger Boy, picking out pair ups and ribbing each other endlessly about it. The conversation was as full of male bravado as one expected. Eight swimmers, all wearing conformist board shorts. All far better looking in their swim team suits, but still very cute. Jimmy was soaking it all in.

“Hey, Greg said you are going to try out for swim team,” JP recalled to Jimmy. “That’s cool.”

“Yeah, I am thinking about it,” Jimmy replied.

“Do it. It is lots of fun,” JP added. “Plus all the girls like swimmers, especially in our Speedos,” JP added. This got the whole table going. Jimmy laughed as the guys described who had the biggest bulge.

_____

The ride to Jimmy’s house was quiet. Greg pulled his shiny F150 into the drive. Nobody was home. “Want to come in?” Jimmy asked.

“No, I should be getting on the road.” Greg replied. “But first, I got you something.” Greg handed Jimmy a small box.

Jimmy slowly opened it. Inside was a cell phone. Jimmy looked at Greg.

“I hope you don’t mind. I traded mine in and added your phone to my line. I figured it would help us stay in touch. I want to know how you are doing. So, you need to send me video every day of how you are swimming.”

“Wow,” is all Jimmy could say.

“You know Jimmy, this may sound goofy, but you’re the best part of my Summer. Watching you become a swimmer. I mean USC is cool, and the swim meet was fun. But most of all, I really liked seeing you every day. I hope we stay friends forever.”

The guys hugged. Jimmy got really emotional. Greg assured him it would be alright.

“Will I ever see you again?” a teary Jimmy asked.

Greg assured Jimmy that they would. “I can come up and maybe you can come to my house on weekends, swim with my team.” It was a promise that would be kept.

Jimmy stood silent as the F150 backed out of the drive. He waved as Greg started down the road.

[sebbie]

In "Olympic Dreams" STS is "channeling" autobiographical material to a greater degree than in his other stories. I think "Jimmy" contains a lot of characteristics and features of how STS saw HIMSELF at that age. At that age STS saw himself as somewhat non-athletic looking and uncoordinated. But note now Jimmy has now discovered the gym and the weight lifting equipment. Jimmy's physique along with his self-image will continue to improve as the story progresses, at least to the extent that there are more episodes to follow.

I'm a big advocate for what proper gym equipment can do for a guy's physique, and once a guy gets in his mid-teens, everything starts to happen more quickly---I suspect that STS went through all of this himself, including the arousals and erections under the swimsuits. Exercised and rapidly growing muscles each become mini testosterone pumps, which is cool but makes controlling erections and arousal just that much more difficult for the teens who are woking out a lot.

I also expect that there was at least one older male swimmer in STS's life that he admired very much both with respect to physique and swimming ability.

I have often said I would have loved to be able to go through my teen years just one more time knowing what I know now about a whole bunch of stuff. I think a lot of guys, perhaps including STS, feel the same way.

Sebbie

[Byron]

Interesting analysis Sebbie - certainly agree your last para.

[shaulis]

STS,

I just finished reading Part 12. I liked that Greg came back out after he said his goodbyes to the team. Greg came to the pool in time to see Jimmy finish his drills. Greg saw a real transition from the awkward boy in blue shorts to the confident boy in a real swimsuit that was in the pool now. After Greg and Jimmy's swim workout Greg treats Jimmy to lunch with the swim team. Some of the local guys on the swim team asked Jimmy if he was going to tryout for the team when school starts. After lunch Greg takes Jimmy home and gives him a cellphone so they can keep in touch which they do talk regularly.

Brian

[Swimmboy]

I don't know if STS will continue the story - Greg now a college freshman and his experiences, while Jimmy joins his local HS team, and the things that change in his life. It would be great to hear more, but the story could also end here - both boys have established a life-long friendship and will stay friends for many years, even a lifetime.
It has been such a pleasure to read this, and to see the boys grow closer, sharing a bond of swimming and Speedo 'situations'. Thank you, STS, for sharing this with us!

[Dooley67]

STS,

Thank you for allowing Greg to redeem himself by working out with Jimmy and then taking him to lunch with the team. I just knew that Greg wouldn't just walk out on Jimmy. I'm not sure how you're going to tie this up and end it; I hope it will take many more chapters to finish... lol. Once again, great narrative, strong dialogue, good, decent and kind characters. And I liked the way you portrayed the emotions of the guys after their last practice of the summer. As always, I look forward to the next chapter.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Sebbie, Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. I am flattered that you took the time to think through how I might be reflecting myself in my character Jimmy. Actually, I was more like Greg than Jimmy as a kid. I started swimming at a very early age, was on a YMCA team at age 6 or 7, as I remember, which is when I also had my first swim team swimsuit, a blue with white stripe nylon suit. Lycra wasn't really around yet (not until I got into what was then called Junior high). By age 9 or 10, someone figured out I actually was really good at swimming. I was never destined for the Olympics, but I did end up with six colleges interested in me and swam scholarship for a D1 (NCAA's top level) program down in the Southeastern/ Mid Atlantic US. Too bad they dropped men's swimming back in the 1990's and nothing remains of the old program. They even tore down the old pool building (and the totally amazing pool) to make way for a classroom building.

Neither Greg nor Jimmy were patterned after me, but both are patterned after real people. By the way, my early stories in first person writing are closely patterned after my real life (the ones with Zach and Ryan as the main characters... I am the Ryan). I was a very athletic kid. My only challenge was my sexual orientation, but my friends in school and on my swim team and the folks in my hometown region of Northern Maine were very accepting and remain so today.

STS

[solarguy]

Thanks for the background STS! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your stories!!

[sebbie]

Great story, STS!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy really worked on his swimming the final two weeks before school. He swam two times per day and since the swim team was done, he was able to start at 10, rather than noon, which gave him more time in the pool. He was swimming four to five hours every day. In fact, as the Summer was waning to a close, he was swimming almost to dark at night, then helped the guards pull the pool covers on the pool. In exchange, Tim, one of the guards who lived near Jimmy, would give him and his bike a ride home. Jimmy practically lived in his swimsuits, putting one on every morning, and then not taking it off until he got home at night.

His swimming was reaping the benefit of the extra time. Each day, he texted Greg and told him what he had done. Every night, Greg would call Jimmy to discuss what his swims were like, how his times were. Even Monique was getting in on the action, adding color commentary in the background.

“So, tomorrow, have Molly or one of the guards take some video.” Greg asked. “I want to see you do 50 in each stroke. Swim as hard as you can.”

“You got it,” Jimmy replied. Greg wasn’t there in person, but this was the next best thing.

“I talked to coach, he said he looks more at technique than time,” Greg coached Jimmy. “So, focus on being really solid on technique. Remember the stuff I told you?’ Greg asked.

“I feel like I do,” Jimmy said. “You mean like reach, swim hard to the wall, follow through on my strokes, keep my head down.”

“Yup, you got it,” Greg assured Jimmy. “So, our mantra is quality over quantity, keep thinking that.”

“Got it,” Jimmy replied.

It was like that every day. The guys spent at least an hour on the phone together discussing swimming, and sometimes other topics. Jimmy’s relationship with Abby was struggling under the weight of his swimming. On this one, Monique got on the phone. “Jimmy, if she really likes you, she will understand that this is a big deal for you,” Monique said to Jimmy. “I mean, be sure to tell her how much you like her and stuff, but you’re a great guy. Any girl would love to have you as their boyfriend.” Monique added. Jimmy puffed like a peacock. Still, Jimmy really did not want to lose Abby.

The next day, Tim, the guard at the pool, agreed to film Jimmy. They spent half an hour as Jimmy did every stroke a couple times for sets of 50. He wasn’t as fast as he could have been, his mind on the quality. Jimmy sent them by email to Greg as soon as they were finished with each one.

“Thanks, Tim” Jimmy said. “I really appreciate it.” Jimmy added. He shook Tim’s hand.

“Any time, Jimmy,” Tim replied. “Good luck. I am cheering for you.”

Jimmy jumped back in the pool, his wet swimsuit had been clinging to him. Molly admired how handsome he looked. He was really becoming a very hot looking guy. And wow, he could sure fill out a swimsuit. “A girl should not look at such things,” Molly thought to herself. “Oh well, I can’t help it,” she answered her own thought. He was, after all a cute young man, and she was a cute girl.

-------

Jimmy finished mowing Jack’s lawn. Jack brought out some lemonade and a plate of warm cookies, chocolate chip. Jimmy’s favorite. Jimmy was sweaty from the yard work, so he rinsed off with the garden hose. He was wearing a blue print Nike swimsuit, the one Greg had bought him. After he was sufficiently cool, Jimmy adjusted the suits grab on his anatomy, repositioned himself, and then walked over to the patio. Jack came out with a towel.

“Here you go, Jimmy,” Jack said in his elder voice. “Dry off and then lets have some lemonade and cookies.”

“You are really nice, Jack,” Jimmy replied.

“Nah,” Jack answered. “You did the hard stuff… you deserve some cookies. Say, you are looking mighty strong, you must have to beat the girls off.” Jack laughed as he said it.

“Not really,; Jimmy replied.

“I don’t believe that for a minute,: Jack replied. “Plus you keep wearing that swimsuit and you’ll have them all over you.” Jack added.

Jimmy blushed and smirked. “Yeah, I guess,” Jimmy added.

“So tell me, how you doing, Jimmy?” Jack asked in a deeply caring voice. It was a touching moment of genuine concern from the elder generation to the aspiring one. Jimmy had never missed a mowing job, was never late, and most of all Jack was impressed by how genuinely polite the kid was. “Whatever they say about the kids today, Jimmy is as good as they come ,” Jack thought to himself.

Jimmy shared his plans for swim team, how he had this really cool guy coaching him, almost like an older brother. He then shared that he had this really cute girlfriend, but she was mad at him because he was spending too much time swimming. Jack listened as Jimmy talked about the struggles he was having with balancing his swimming goals and his romance.

“You know, Jimmy,” Jack started. “In a relationship, the girl just needs to know that she is at the top of your list. Do you really like this girl?”

“Yeah, Mr. Jack, I really do,” Jimmy replied. He was sitting at the picnic table in just his swimsuit. As he talked about Abby, he could feel his body growing inside the swimsuit. For some reason, every time Jimmy thought about Abby, he found himself getting big inside his swimsuits.

“Well, here is what I think we do,” Jack replied. “Let’s cut some fresh flowers from the garden, throw your bike on the back of my car, and I’ll drive you to Abby’s house. You go spend some time with her,” Jack suggested. “Surprise her!” He added, emphatically.

It was the perfect plan. Jimmy texted Abby to make sure she was home. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Abby’s eyes lit up as she opened the door to find Jimmy holding flowers. He was a sight to behold, a cute young guy in a T-shirt and blue print swimsuit standing there with flowers in his hand. They had a great afternoon with each other. The floated around in the backyard pool, laid out in the sun, and they even threw in a little steamy romance that took Jimmy and Abby both farther than they had ever gone before. Their friendship was back on track. Jack’s sage advise worked. Jimmy had learned far more than just deeper levels of romance.

-----

“Your swimming looks really great, Jimmy,” Greg said as Jimmy laid on his bed, wearing a hot looking orange print swimsuit, a Tyr brand swimsuit. Jimmy really liked how the suit looked and how it felt on him. He was still pretty charged up from his two swimming session and the afternoon with Abby. In fact, he was more than just charged up, his body was seeking a release of the sexual tension that had been percolating since the steamy romance with Abby earlier. “ I think your technique is really solid on the free and the breast stroke,” Greg added. “I am watching them again now as we talk.”

Jimmy listened quietly as he could hear the video’s playing in the background of Greg’s phone. His teenage mind was focused on the term breast stroke, but for all wrong reasons. He was thinking with the part of his body that was sending the most feeling signals to Jimmy’s brain. He shook his head and got his focus back on swimming.

“So, swim tryouts are next week,” Greg continued as soon as the video he was watching finished. “Have you thought about what strokes you like best? Coach may ask you.”

“I like free and fly best, but I suck at fly,” Jimmy replied.

“Suck is a strong word,” Greg laughed at how critical Jimmy was of himself. “I think it needs work, but it is way better than the first time I saw you swim it,” Greg replied.

“What do you think?” Jimmy asked.

“Well, I have been thinking about this a lot. I think you should tell coach you want to swim long distance free,” Greg answered. “You have awesome endurance, you swim solid at an even pace, and your free technique looks great. Plus you do great turns.”

“Cool,” Jimmy replied.

“Also, not many swimmers like long distance, so you are playing right into a need.”

“I like that,” Jimmy replied. “Do you think I will make the team?” Jimmy asked.

“I think Coach would be crazy to not put you on the team,” Greg replied. Jimmy was pumped.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy was really excited. Greg gave him a huge boost of confidence. Jimmy rolled back over, now laying on his back. His hormones were raging inside him, both from the swimming and from the urges that he was feeling from earlier in the day. For Jimmy it was a whole new experience. His body was aroused in so many ways. He had never felt himself feel this way, his awareness of his groin area was a feeling he had never felt before. He rubbed his hand down along the top of his swimsuit, it was like every nerve in that part of him was tingling with desire. He was fully aroused inside the swimsuit. He enjoyed how he was feeling, it was a strange pleasurable sensation. He called Abby and chatted with her. As they talked he continued to explore and feel himself. He liked how the tight swimsuit felt on him.

“You are so sweet,” Abby was saying. “And you looked really cute standing there in your blue swimsuit with those flowers.” She added.

“You are the one who is cute,” Jimmy replied. They both giggled.

The lovebirds teased each other with sensual talk. Jimmy was feeling urges and sensations he had never felt before. By the time it was all over, Jimmy had reached a new level of self discovery. The release of desire was a whole new sensation for him. He was breathless, listening to Abby talk about her plans for tomorrow. The sensations Jimmy was feeling continued, even after the pivotal point. The second half was almost as titillating as the first. Jimmy had opened a whole new level for himself.

Jimmy and Abby said their final goodbyes. Jimmy slipped off the wet swimsuit, dried himself off with a T-shirt, the only thing he could find in his otherwise spotless bedroom. He pulled on a clean pair of shorts. And climbed back into bed. He would have a restless sleep. Tomorrow was another day of swimming, and maybe some more time with Abby. So much was racing through Jimmy's mind.

[Dooley67]

STS,

You've done it again, created a wonderful lead up to the tryouts for Jimmy with awesome dialogue and narration. Jimmy's sexual awakening bringing him past the brink is so well done because it maintains the sensuality without having any of the typical graphic language. I'm very impressed with Greg's dedication to mentoring Jimmy and also Monique's ability to be like a big sister to Jimmy, giving him good advice along the way. I also like the way you brought Jack back into the picture, portraying him as a really nice guy who has the knack for relating to someone 2 generations behind him and uses his life experience to help Jimmy with his problem with Abby. I think Jack is pleased that he has been a part of Jimmy's growth. Thanks again and waiting for more.

D67

[shaulis]

STS,

Wow!! so much is going on in this chapter. Jimmy is getting ready for his high school swim team tryouts. Jimmy's relationship with Abby heated up after he took Jacks advice of showing up at her house with flowers as an peace offering for swimming so often and neglecting her. I liked that Greg has Jimmy record his swim strokes then email the video back to Greg to critique them. Monique becomes like a big sister to Jimmy by giving him good advice on various subjects. Thanks for this chapter. I can't wait for the next chapter.

Shaulis


.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

It was the last weekend before the start of school and swim team try outs were the first week. Jimmy finished up his Friday workout and then planned to spend the afternoon with Abby. This time, Abby was coming to Jimmy’s house, which was a big deal. Abby had never been to the farm, all their past meetings at her house. Jimmy was feeling a bit anxious about it, her house was so nice and new, a manicured lawn and the pool. Jimmy really worried she would find the farm to be such a different world. What he did not know was that Abby had already scoped it out, getting her big sister to driver her by the house. Sure, it was different, but that was the good part in her mind. Jimmy was a genuine farm kid, Abby thought that was really cool.

Jimmy raced home on his bicycle after his swim workout, all his gear in his backpack, strapped over his bare chest. As usual, he wore his swimsuit, this time a the red print Speedo that he really liked so much. Sadly, the colors were starting to fade, the result of so much pool swimming in the chlorine. The suit still looked hot, though, and Jimmy wanted to look good for Abby. It was one of her favorite swimsuits on him. As soon as he got home, he showered wearing his swimsuit, making sure the sweat got rinsed out. He then stood in front of he mirror in his now clean, but wet swimsuit, brushing his hair and making sure he looked perfect.

----

“So, this is it,” Jimmy said as Abby got out of the car. Her sister was dropping her off. Jimmy wore shorts over his swimsuit, the board shorts Greg lent him, a green polo shirt, and a spray of his dad’s cologne. He looked handsome. Abby had on a floral print bikini top, really short cotton shorts, covering up the very skimpy bikini bottom. As her sister pulled away, Abby gave Jimmy a hug, then the two held hands as Jimmy led her toward the house.

“This is really cool,” Abby said as she held Jimmy’s hand. “Show me the farm,” she added with authentic interest.

After the tour of the barns and letting Abby climb on the tractor, Jimmy had a suggestion “It is really peaceful in down by the pond, you can I can go lay in the sun and watch the geese on the pond.”

“That sounds great,” Abby said. “I wore my swimsuit hoping we could do something like that,” Abby added.

Jimmy took her into the house and showed her around. Compared to Abby’s home, this one as far more basic, a little dated and reflected the modest means of Jimmy’s family. Still, it had a certain country charm to it, a flashback to a simpler time. “Let me get us some towels and a blanket,” Jimmy said as he left Abby in the kitchen.

“And put on your swimsuit,” Abby requested. “A cute one…” she trailed off.

“Which one,” Jimmy replied.

“Not sure,” Abby answered. “Show me.”

Jimmy pulled from his bedroom his entire swimsuit collection, all ten and laid them out on the kitchen table. “Take you pick.” Jimmy offered.

“Can you model them?” Abby asked.

Jimmy agreed to show her them on, so he slipped into the small bathroom and changed into each one, modeling them for Abby one by one. By the time he got to the fourth, he was starting to have trouble getting himself into the suits. Abby noticed that Jimmy’s bulge was looking bigger and bigger each time. She would make him show her all sides, she even would hold his hips as she studied the suits. All the while, Jimmy was getting more and more responsive. Jimmy had trouble making it through all ten, he was getting far too excited. Abby loved the show.

Abby settled on a gold and orange print swimsuit from Nike that she really liked on Jimmy. It fit him tight, and it had a seam that ran up the backside, making his butt look sensational. The swimsuit accentuated everything she liked about him from and anatomical standpoint. The narrow sides showed off his legs, the low cut showed off all of his cute abdomen. In short, he was sizzling hot.

Jimmy gave Abby a ride out to the pond, which was at the far end of the four hundred acre farm. They rode a small tractor, Abby riding in a wagon behind. Jimmy laid out a blanket on the trailer bed, an attempt to make the ride more comfortable. Along with Abby, the trailer carried a small cooler with soda, lemonade, and a couple of sandwiches Jimmy made up for the two of them.

----

“Hey Jimmy, what are you doing Saturday?” Greg’s text message read.

“Swimming, maybe some time with Abby,” Jimmy texted back.

“Monique and I want to come visit. Go to the beach, you and Abby, too,” Greg texted back.

“Really?,” was Jimmy’s reply. “That would be wicked awesome,” Jimmy added quickly.

Within seconds the cell phone rang. Greg wanted to work out all the details. Monique and Greg were going to drive up from Connecticut on that afternoon, leaving shortly. They would stay over at Paul and Buffy’s for two nights, giving them all day Saturday for the beach. “I can go swimming with you Saturday and before we leave Sunday,” Greg added. “Get you ready for the try outs next week.”

Jimmy had promised Abby he would not talk about swimming at all for the afternoon, but Greg’s call changed that. They were both excited. Abby was more excited that she would get to go to the beach with Jimmy, but the added bonus of Greg, who she thought was totally hot, really made it special.

“This will be fun,” Jimmy said with excitement. “You will like Greg and Monique,” he assured Abby. No assurance was needed. Abby was going to get along with both of them really well. Jimmy wrapped his arms around Abby as they laid on the blanket. He was getting that feeling again, both of them feeling it. The warm afternoon turned a little steamy, as they continued their testing of boundaries with each other. Jimmy liked the things Abby was doing to him. Abby liked the feel of Jimmy in his swimsuit, not to mention the look as he was getting all turned on.

------

The pool was empty when Greg and Jimmy got there. Not many people showed for the early Saturday lap swim, which started at 8am, right after the masters swim team wrapped up their two hour workout. The locker room was crowded with the older swimmers from the masters team, w whole assortment of skill levels and a wide array of swimsuit styles, from briefs to jammers. No shorts, however. Jimmy was wearing a black and gold Tyr swimsuit, a lightning bolt type pattern that looked stunning on him. Greg had on a blue and yellow Nike swimsuit, solid blue with yellow side panels that wrapped around the back. It fit Greg tight, and left nothing to the imagination. It was one of Monique’s favorites, and for clearly visible reasons.

“So, I got the tryout drills from coach,” Greg said. “Not sure if he will do all of these, but we are going to go through them, anyway.” Greg added.

“How did you get these?” Jimmy asked.

“I just asked him,” Greg replied in a matter of fact tone. His Summer AAU coach was also the coach of the local high school team. Greg was fully equipped, stopwatch, whistle, dry erase board with the order of drills written out, space for him to record times. “So, let’s get in and swim 500 easy, slow pace to warm-up. No racing.”

“Okay, coach,” Jimmy replied with a teasing grin. Jimmy jumped in the water, followed by Greg. They were the only two in the pool, so Greg took his own lane next to Jimmy. As Jimmy set out, pushing off the wall, Greg waited. When Jimmy was half way down the pool, Greg started his warm up.. Greg wanted to make sure he did not pass Jimmy, the whole idea was to boost Jimmy’s confidence. Greg set out at an easy pace, slightly faster than what Jimmy was swimming. He’d adjust for that as he swam.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Two hours later, they were just about finished. Greg had recorded each of Jimmy’s times. Jimmy finshed up a set of 200 breast stroke as Greg stood at the end of the pool, watch in hand. “Nice job, Jimmy,” Greg said as Jimmy stood. Jimmy was tired, he had been swimming hard all morning.

“So, am I fast enough?” Jimmy asked. Greg looked over the times. Jimmy was not quite at the level he needed to be on speed. Greg pondered the best way to answer.

“You know what I said, Jimmy. It is about quality and skill as much as speed, right?” Greg paused.

“Yeah, but speed is a big deal, too.” Jimmy replied.

“Your times are good, Jimmy,” Greg replied. “If I thought you did not have a chance I would say so. You won’t be the fastest guy there, but you have way more endurance than most swimmers because you started out swimming for such long periods of time. You have good skills and you learn fast.” Greg added.

“You sure you aren’t just saying that?” Jimmy replied.

“Never,” Greg answered. “You just need to stay confident.”

“Okay,” Jimmy agreed as he set off on his 500 cool down. Greg followed again, staying behind Jimmy the whole time. Greg was really proud of his adopted younger brother. He set his mind to something and he was about to see if his dream could come true. In his heart, Greg hoped Jimmy was not being set up for a huge disappointment. He watched as Jimmy swam past him in the opposite way each length, his black and gold swimsuit rotating in the water as he swam, one string hanging out. Jimmy really looked like a very good swimmer.

In the locker room, Jimmy told Greg about Abby and him. “Things are really good, now,” Jimmy explained. “Jack gave me some good advice to pay more attention to her.”

“That’s cool, Jimmy,” Greg said. “You really like her.” Greg sat on the bench, Jimmy standing. They were both still in their wet swimsuits, chatting.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Jimmy replied. Jimmy’s hand rubbed the front of his tight swimsuit as he said it. Just thinking about Abby was turning him on. “Greg, can I ask you a really serious question?” Jimmy queried.

“Sure, Jimmy, you know you can,” Greg replied.

“Have you ever done it with a girl, I mean all the way?” Jimmy asked.

Greg blushed. He had never had this question before. To be sure, his friends all talked about the subject , and they all acted like they had “done it” many times. Greg was now put on the spot. “You know what, Jimmy. I have thought about it, but no, I have not actually gone all the way. Why?” It was an awkward conversation.

“I don’t know, just thinking,” Jimmy replied, his suit was feeling really tight on him.

The guys sat in the locker room for half an hour as Jimmy and Greg discussed the whole topic.. Jimmy shared what happened the other night while he was wearing his swimsuit, and Greg shared exactly how far he had ever been with a girl, which involved nothing more than some well placed action with hands, also while wrapped up in his swim team swimsuits. “Monique wants to wait,” Greg closed out the discussion. “So, as much as I would like to try it, we guys need to respect that the girl might not be ready,” Greg advised Jimmy. Sound brotherly advice.

“Yeah, you are right, Greg,” Jimmy replied. It didn’t relieve the urges he was feeling, nor did it ease the bulge in his tiny swimsuit, but if Greg said so, then it was right, thought Jimmy. Jimmy eased himself from the bench, unaware of how much he had been massaging himself, he went into the shower. He untied and slipped off the tight, clinging swimsuit. He turned the water cold, and let it ease the sexual tension he was feeling from the deep conversation and thoughts of Abby. It was going to be a tough day of urges at the beach.

------

The sun was bright in the blue sky. It was heading to low tide, making the beach wide open. The guys laid out two large blankets on the sand, side by side. They had left their shorts in the car, wearing just their swimsuits, no shirts. Jimmy was wearing the same black and gold Tyr print he wore swimming. Greg was wearing a new Turbo brand suit, a colorful print that fit him low and tight. It was a swimsuit Monique picked out and insisted Greg would look “fabulous” in. The girls slipped off their shorts and tops to reveal extremely tiny bikini swimsuits, certainly skimpy enough to drive the guys wild. Monique’s was a side tied red bikini, with the only material going between her legs and just enough to cover the important spots on her chest. Abby had on the same bikini she wore at Jimmy’s farm, the one that made Jimmy almost burst out of his swimsuit.

Jimmy and Greg headed straight into the water. They were the only two guys on the whole beach in real swimsuits, the rest of the guys in a wide variety of board shorts. They were also the two hottest looking guys on the beach, Greg’s muscled abs, tight legs, and impressive upper body made him the perfect swimsuit model. Jimmy was not far behind, his muscular development clear, his stomach flat and tight, showing some ab development. Jimmy’s upper body was defined.

The water was cold, as the guys went chest deep, leading through the waves.

“Darn, are they hot looking,” Greg said to Jimmy as they wrestled with the waves.

“Yeah, and look at their swimsuits,” Jimmy added.

“Yup, it is good the ocean is so cold,” Greg replied, part laughing but mostly serious.

Abby and Monique watched as the guys came out of the water. “This is the best part,” Monique said to Abby, as they watched the waist lines clear the water. The guys swimsuits clung to them, clearly showing the definition of their male anatomy.

“Yes, it is,” Abby answered. “Jimmy is so cute in his wet swimsuits. Greg is, too.” The guys were showing all as they crossed the beach. They reached the blanket and stood, their suits still clinging. Greg finally tugged at the front of his suit, releasing the grip of the lycra material. Jimmy simply laid down on the blanket, on his back. He was giving Abby quite the show, not thinking a thing of the fact that he was driving her wild. Abby rolled over and rubbed Jimmy’s chest. It did not take long before he was filling out the suit in a rather large way. Jimmy and Greg would end up having to take lots of cold water dips.

It was a great day at the beach. A nice diversion from the pressure of swimming. Try outs were only a few days away.

[Dooley67]

STS,

A terrific chapter. It really shows how committed Greg is to Jimmy as a swimmer and an adopted younger brother whom he can give the benefit of his life experience of 17 years. The dialogue sounds so much like that of adolescents, not stilted or fake, and not overly "saccharine" either. And Greg is very honest with Jimmy about his chances to make the team, something that Jimmy clearly understands and accepts based on his great trust in Greg. I believe that Jimmy knows that Greg would never lead him astray, treat him like a kid, or minimize any of Jimmy's adolescent concerns. That's why the conversation about sexual experiences could take place. Thank you for stretching out this story so we can enjoy it for an even longer time.

D67

[Swimmboy]

I agree with Dooley67 - thanks for continuing the story! Looking forward to see Jimmy make the HS team. He WILL make the team, won't he? Of course he will - all the hard work he has put into his swimming will pay off. And Jimmy's concerns about sex, and needing guidance from his older 'brother' - such great stuff!

[shaulis]

STS,

I agree with Dooley67 and Swimmboy thanks for continuing the story. I like that Jimmy trusts Greg like a brother to tell or ask him anything and know Greg wouldn't steer him in the wrong direction. Both Abby and Monique like to "heat up" Jimmy and Greg and send them into the surf to cool down they love how their respective guy's brief clings to his body in all the right spots. I can't wait to find out if Jimmy gets on the swim team. I liked that Greg didn't sugarcoat Jimmy's chances to get on the swim team. Jimmy wasn't the fastest swimmer yet but he had quality strokes. Jimmy could be taught to get faster easily, the quality stroked would have been a whole different matter. I think deep down Greg knows Jimmy will be on the swimteam.
Thank you again STS for this story.

Shaulis

[a speedo minded guy]

STS,

I love how the relationship between Greg and Jimmy continues to grow and evolve. Possibly your best story to date

[Byron]

Yes ... (who was first out with the crystal ball in post#3?)

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy hardly slept the night prior. Wednesday was swim team try outs for the guys team. The girls try outs were Thursday. Jimmy was up early, he would skip the early morning lap swim that day on Greg’s advise. Jimmy packed up his swim bag, two swimsuits that he had picked out special for the event, two pairs of goggles, and a big towel. He decided on the red and white Speedo as his first choice for a swimsuit, and then the blue print Nike as his second. They were his two favorite swimsuits, and both reminded him of Greg. Despite all of Greg’s assurances, Jimmy was already nervous, and the say had not even started. He had not told anyone other than Abby of his plan.

“You ready,” Abby said whispering as the two met at the front of the high school.

“I think so,” Jimmy replied. “Nervous,” he confided.

“You will be fine,” Abby replied. She gave him a quick hug, no kiss. Kissing was not allowed at school, even though some couples did it anyway. They walked into the building together. It was the last time they would see each other, except for passing in the hallway.

“Be loose today,” Greg texted Jimmy. Jimmy responded with his appreciation just before he turned the phone off for the day. “You’ll be great!” was Greg’s last text. Jimmy would not see that one until just before the try outs. The day would drag on and on from here. Jimmy would watch the clock through each class, hoping it would move faster.

------

“Where have all these guys been?” Jimmy wondered as he entered the crowded locker room at the pool, the same pool he had swam in all Summer. “I have never seen any of them.” Jimmy thought to himself. It was quite a mix of guys, some of them clearly really good swimmers, dressed in swimsuits very much like what Jimmy had on, a few guys in jammer style swimsuits, and a few guys in what looked more like shorts than swimsuits. No one in board shorts. Most of the guys knew each other, and they all at least recognized each other, the school was not that large. About three quarters were freshman. Existing swim team members did not need to re-try, but they could be bumped if a faster swimmer came along. In all, there were eight spots on the varsity team, and an unknown number on the junior varsity team. It looked like there were at least 20 guys trying out.

“I did not know you were a swimmer,” a guy named Aiden said as he walked up to Jimmy. “How long have you been swimming?”

“This Summer,” replied Jimmy. Aiden gave no reply, but his facial expression said it all. Aiden had swam off an on for the last five years. He was wearing a solid black Speedo brief that looked like it had seen better days. The two guys had known each other for years, never really friends, but not enemies, either. Just not much in common.

“Good luck, Aiden,” said Jimmy. No reply.

All of the guys lined up on the first row of the bleachers. The serious swimmers from the Middle School team all sat together, all wearing the same swimsuits, and all cocky and confident they had the deal sealed. Jimmy sat just to the left of the cocky group. The four guys in shorts sat at the end. Jimmy tried not to judge, but he was sure they did not have a chance. There was clear tension in the group, each guy sizing up the other.

“Okay guys, ten minutes of warm up. Start at the end and count one through eight. Your number is the lane you are in,” said the coach as he approached the group. “Warm up whatever you want, but remember that the tryouts start now.“ The guys all counted off. Jimmy got number six and was matched with a guy in black Nike basketball type shorts, and a guy in a red Speedo. The three guys introduced themselves, Jimmy, Randy in the red Speedo and Tyler. Tyler was taller than Jimmy, built more like a football player than a swimmer. Randy was muscular and clearly a good swimmer, about the same height as Jimmy.

Greg had prepped Jimmy for this. How you warm up says how much you know about swimming. “If he gives you ten minutes, swim a slow 500,” Greg had coached Jimmy. “Don’t show off, just swim easy.”

Jimmy jumped in the lane. Randy followed and then Tyler. The all agreed to circle swim, Jimmy said he would go last. No one said what they were actually doing. Randy pushed off and did a slow free. Once he was about a third down, Tyler went next. Jimmy waited the same distance then set off last. By the end of the first length, Jimmy had run right up against Tyler. Tyler did a slow open turn, and Jimmy did a flip turn, then moved to the left and passed Tyler on the return length. Jimmy really wasn’t trying to race. Ego boost number one pumped a dose of confidence into Jimmy.

Tyler was half way down the next length when the two swimmers met in opposing directions, passing each other. Jimmy tried to figure out if that meant Randy was faster or Jimmy was. This passing went on for eight more lengths in the 50 meter outdoor pool. Jimmy and Randy passed each time at exactly the mid way point, no one gaining, no one losing. Tyler stopped after three laps, standing at the wall as the two stronger swimmers flip turned multiple times next to him.

“Watch the two swimmers in six,” the assistant coach said to her boss. The team had two assistant coaches, one lady and one guy. “They are swimming a nice warm up drill. Same pace, good technique.” The coaches walked over and stood at the top of the lane. Jimmy saw them, but kept his focus. He kept Greg’s mantra in his head, “quality” running through his mind. He made sure he reached, had good follow through, nice even kicks.

Randy was stopped at the wall, chatting with Tyler, but watching Jimmy. Randy was a genuinely good looking guy, blue eyes and striking blonde hair that was cropped swimmer short. He had an infectious smile. His shoulders were strong from years of swimming, and the weight workouts. He had not an ounce of body fat, not a single hair on his entire body, except for his head. He was the guy who got all the looks, from every girl and some guys. Randy eyed Jimmy, who he also found to be a really cute guy. As they were swimming, Randy had watched Jimmy pass the other way each length of the pool, Randy would check out how Jimmy’s swimsuit looked, the way Jimmy’s anatomy was outlined in the water. While most guys Randy’s age were into girls, Randy was taking a different course. He was finding himself more and more watching guys. In fact, he was really finding the swim team guys very attractive in their tight swimsuits. He kept his secret inside him, but whenever he cold, he would check out the cute guys on any of the various sports teams. Besides swimmers, he really liked the wrestlers in their skin tight singlets that showed every detail. Whenever he read swimming magazines, he’d look at the guys in their swimsuits, not admiring their swimming form, rather he admired their physical form. He often found himself getting aroused by the guy swimmers. It was tough for him being around all the cute guys in their tight and tiny swimsuits, giving him sensations and urges that sometimes displayed themselves in his own tight swimsuits. .

“Good warm-up?” Randy asked as Jimmy stood at the end of the lane. Jimmy had more than caught his eye, a handsome body all wrapped up in the cute blue print swimsuit. They had a minute or so to rest. Randy’s eyes wandered down Jimmy’s body. Randy smiled at what he was looking at.

“Yeah, you swam really well,” Jimmy replied.

“You too,” Randy answered. “What team did you swim for last year?”

“I didn’t, just started this Summer,” Jimmy replied. He took Randy’s question as a compliment.

“Wow, then you are pretty good,” Randy replied. He put his arm on Jimmy’s shoulder. Randy was interested in more than swimming and his outward reach of affection was test of Jimmy’s reaction. He wanted to get to know Jimmy. He wondered, more hoped, Jimmy felt the same way.

Coach called the swimmers out of the pool. Randy watched as Jimmy did his one handed leap out of the pool. Tyler hoisted himself out, and Randy did a similar leap to Jimmy’s. Out of the water Randy got a real chance to check Jimmy out. Jimmy was every bit as handsome on the deck in his wet swimsuit as he was in the water. Randy quickly changed his thoughts, the feel of himself starting to react to his interest.

“Okay, first is the 100 free, race style.” Coach explained. We will do three heats, two of seven and one of six. Count off one to seven,” The guys did. Jimmy was a three. Randy was four, same group as Jimmy. Side by side. First round.

“Awesome,” Randy said, giving Jimmy a high five. Jimmy was happy to have made a new friend so quickly.

“I’m not fast, but I have lots of endurance,” Jimmy said.

“I don’t know, you look pretty fast to me,” Randy replied. “And you got a really cool swimsuit on, too,” he added.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy got up on the blocks. He was suddenly really nervous. In fact, he was so nervous he was shaking. He positioned his toes right at the end of the blocks, to get a good launch. He looked at Randy next to him on his left, who looked confident as ever. To his right was Aiden, in his solid black Speedo. He was also ready. Down the line were swimmers from the rising team. Tyler and the other guys in shorts were in the next two rounds. “Good launch,” Jimmy said to himself. “Swim your race.”

The calls came out and then the whistle blew marking the start of the “race.” Jimmy was late off the blocks, a half second behind the others. He did not know it, but the coaches watched his late start. The assistant coach who was the head coach of the JV team noted Jimmy’s bad start. Jimmy recovered on the entry to the water, his open dive was long and lean, also noted. A simple race, down and back in the 50 meter pool.

Randy was way out ahead, and fast. Aiden was close behind. That was all Jimmy could easily see. In the far lanes he could see other swimmers forms, but it was hard to tell where they were in relation to him. Jimmy swam as hard as he could The wall was approaching fast, “Swim to the wall,” Jimmy told himself. He was frustrated that as he approached, Randy and Aiden were already heading back. It seemed like he was way too far behind.

Flip! Jimmy made his turn. It was a perfect flip, fast and tight. He got a fantastic push off the wall. The JV coach noted that Jimmy had the best turn. In his heat of seven, Jimmy was at fifth place heading into the turn, but barely ahead of the six the place swimmer. The swimmer in lane two blew his flip and ended up doing an awkward open turn. Jimmy shot ahead, now in fourth, the sixth place swimmer right on Jimmy’s heals. He could barely see the sixth place swimmer in lane seven. Jimmy gave it all he had. He swam harder and faster than he had ever swam before. His form suffered as he put on the gas. The coach, watching Jimmy, noted his declining technique as he put on the speed. “Fix that and he’d shave time,” the coach wrote.

Jimmy swam right to the wall. He stood, breathless. Aiden had finished four seconds ahead, Randy five. Jimmy came in a dead tie for fourth with the swimmer in lane seven. Despite the loss to Randy and Aiden along with the swimmer in lane one, Jimmy had just swam three seconds faster than his best time with Greg, a quantum leap in is time.

“Great job,” Randy said as Jimmy bent over to catch his breath.

“Thanks, you too,” Jimmy replied gasping. Randy rubbed his hand on Jimmy’s arched back.

“Wow, you killed yourself out there,” Randy added.

Aiden also reached over and congratulated Jimmy. “Pretty darn good for your first race,” Aiden said. He had dismissed Jimmy earlier, but suddenly Jimmy had credibility. He wasn’t the fastest, but he also wasn’t the last. It was the start of what was going to be a long two hours in the pool.

“Let’s get out, hot stuff,” Randy said. The three guys leaped out of the water. Their red, blue print and black wet swimsuits clinging to them. Randy smiled. He loved guys in wet suits. Jimmy was smiling now, too. He had done exactly what Greg said. The guys readied for the next challenge of the afternoon.

[shaulis]

STS,

Thanks for another great chapter. On the day of the swimteam tryouts Jimmy got a hug from Abby to start his day. When the swim team tryouts started for Jimmy there were many guys he didn't see at the pool during summer. Randy and Jimmy became fast friends. Jimmy ended up fourth after he got off the block late he wasn't the fastest but he wasn't last either. Jimmy did exactly what Greg had said. Jimmy and the other swimmers were just beginning their two hours in the pool. I can't wait for the next chapter to find out how Jimmy has done.

Brian

[Dooley67]

STS,

Another wonderful chapter. I liked the way you establish the beginnings of a relationship between Jimmy and Randy with Jimmy not knowing Randy's true feelings, but not rejecting Randy's hand on the shoulder and comment on his swimsuit. I am betting that if Randy becomes more obvious and says something indicating his orientation, that Jimmy will be accepting and non judgmental. Once again, there is good interplay among the swimmers as Jimmy, who was initially nervous, becomes more comfortable and confident. Great dialogue and a really good technique of voicing the coaches reactions as the guys swim. Thanks for the chapter and keep it going.

D67

[a speedo minded guy]

I agree with everyone. Another great story. Please continue!!

[Swimmboy]

Very interesting chapter. I'm a little worried - I thought Jimmy would be near the front of the pack, not back in 4th place, with two more heats to go! Hopefully those will be slower than Jimmy's heat. Of course, I'm secretly hoping Jimmy has a break-out swim - maybe his backstroke (my favorite stroke) will really 'wow' the coaches, so that a 4th place in free won't be so bad. Every team needs a good backstroker!

[Dooley67]

Very interesting chapter. I'm a little worried - I thought Jimmy would be near the front of the pack, not back in 4th place, with two more heats to go! Hopefully those will be slower than Jimmy's heat. Of course, I'm secretly hoping Jimmy has a break-out swim - maybe his backstroke (my favorite stroke) will really 'wow' the coaches, so that a 4th place in free won't be so bad. Every team needs a good backstroker!

Swimmboy,

It's amazing how much we all root for these fictional characters as if they were real people. You, shaulis and I are all worried that Jimmy won't make the team and we all eagerly await the next chapter when his fate might be determined. It certainly shows what a convincing storyteller STS is and how much we get pulled as we read each chapter.

D67

[Swimmboy]

Yes, Dooley67 - we are 'pulled into' this story and start cheering for the character - just like you do when you watch a good movie or tv show. Jimmy and Greg have been so well-crafted they seem like real guys you just want to cheer for, and you want good things for them - even though they are fictional!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Randy and Jimmy joined the rest of the swimmers on the bleachers, a collection of wet guys, suits clinging to them like cellophane wrap. Randy was on Jimmy’s right, their bodies almost touching as they sat on the tightly packed first row of bleachers. Randy’s hand was nestled right up against Jimmy’s leg. Jimmy felt it there, but with the tight seating, he gave it no attention. For Randy, the placement was more strategic. The guys all watched as the second and third waves of the free took place. Randy felt himself getting worked up. It happened fast, so fast Randy couldn’t stop it. Within a few seconds, he was rock hard inside his swimsuit.. He wiggled his legs a bit, hoping to ease the sensation between his legs. It didn’t help.

“I can’t believe this,” Randy thought to himself. He had found guys at swimming cute, but never to the point the got like this. His swimsuit was bulging tremendously. Randy bent over, trying desperately to calm himself down. He had heard some guys talk about getting boners in their swimsuits, but this was new to him. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Despite all his efforts, he was getting harder and more aroused. Jimmy was driving him wild.

“Watch the guy in lane three,” Randy said to Jimmy, trying to divert his mind, and hopefully his arousal.

“The guy in the blue and green swimsuit?” Jimmy questioned.

“Yeah, he’s probably the fastest guy here,” Randy answered. “His name is Kent.” Randy squeezed his legs together, trying to stop the urges he was feeling between his legs, but the more his body touched Jimmy’s in the close seating, the worse the urges got.

The whistle blew and the race was on. Kent quickly established his dominance and was well ahead of the rest of the swimmers, easily a full body out by the end of the first 50. His turn was fast and tight, a solid push and he was on his way back before some of the other swimmers had hit the wall.

“Wow, he is good,” Jimmy turned and said to Randy. Randy’s hand was on his own suit trying to adjust himself, he had positioned up and was about to pop out of the suit. He pushed his rock solid anatomy to the side. He quickly grew into the extra room, no longer held back by the tight drawstring.

“Told you,” Randy said.

Kent had pushed out a great time. He was solidly in the top spot, and it was unlikely anyone would beat him. In fact, his time rivaled some of the juniors and seniors. If he kept up, he would be the best swimmer the program had ever seen by the time he was a senior. He was clearly varsity team bound.
When it was all over, Randy was in the top five at fourth place. Jimmy missed the top ten by one slot, coming in at 11th.

“Time for breast stroke,” the coach called out. Everyone line up along the wall.

“Oh man,” Randy said to himself. “I can’t stand up like this,” he added to his thoughts as he contemplated his situation. He was franticly trying to make himself relax, but he was staying rock hard and the urges were getting stronger. It was all new territory for Randy, being trapped in public this way. His anatomy now looked like a steel rod inside his tight and tiny swimsuit, barely contained within the lycra material.

As he stood, Jimmy could not help but notice that Randy was having a problem. It was that obvious. “Hate when that happens,” Jimmy said. “At least there are not girls around,” he added. Jimmy felt bad for Randy, having been there with Abby. He knew how awkward it was.

“Yeah, I guess, but there sure are a lot of cute guys,” Randy answered without thinking. Jimmy never gave the comment a thought, at least not then. Randy finally stood, his erect anatomy showing. He walked close behind Jimmy, hoping to hide his situation, his left hand held in front of his swimsuit. Jimmy went ahead of him. As they stood on along the all, Randy wiggled his legs. He knew he was not only erect, but he was feeling himself close to the next level. He tugged at the front of his swimsuit, which was probably not the best choice, the sensation only acted to prolong the situation. If anyone other than Jimmy noticed, no one said anything. It was not the first time a guy had ever gotten aroused in his swimsuit at an inopportune time, and it would certainly not be the last. Luckily, Randy’s body finally retreated.

------


The tryouts consisted of sets of 100 in each of the four core strokes to start out, followed by some other events. Every swimmer had to do the four sets, then it was by option for the rest. Free was Jimmy’s strongest stroke, so his out of top ten finish did not bode well for his chances. Despite Randy’s assurance that Jimmy had done well, Jimmy knew otherwise. Both Greg and he hoped for a finish in the top quarter, maybe top third.

“Don’t give up, even if it is not going well,” Greg had advised Jimmy in their last text session. “Show you got heart!” Greg had also advised.

The breast stroke was next. Same order as before, Aiden and Randy flanked Jimmy. Jimmy got on the block, positioning himself for a great start. Randy was to his left, Aiden to his right. This was Aiden’s top stroke, so Aiden had high expectations. Randy untied his suit, and put his hand down to readjust, now that he was back to normal. For swimmers, every detail has to be right, right down to the placement of parts inside the suit. Satisfied, Randy tied himself back up.

The whistle blew and Jimmy got a great start, off the blocks exactly as in line with the rest of the field. His dive was long and graceful, he hit the water slightly ahead of the rest of the field. “Great launch,” wrote one of the coaches. On her pad Jimmy was known as New Guy/Blue Nike Print, reflecting that most of the other swimmers the coaches knew from their rise through other swim teams.

Aiden was way ahead at 25 meters. He was powerful, but with amazing grace. His body flowed with the water, hardly making a splash. Jimmy was in last place and struggling, but staying close to the swimmer in lane one. By the turn, Aiden had commanded to the top spot. Randy was second. As they turned, Jimmy was still almost two bodies out from the wall. The swim was not going well.

“Damn it,” Jimmy thought to himself. “Swim your race,” Greg’s mantra entered his mind. Jimmy pushed hard.

“Way too slow,” wrote the coach, right under the great launch comment. Jimmy was several seconds late at the turn, but he nailed the flip. Tight, fast and a great push, which lead to another positive comment. The female coach watched as Jimmy swam back, checking his technique. Jimmy felt great off the wall, knowing he nailed the turn. He was determined to not be last. He pushed hard.

At 25 to go, Jimmy was solidly past the swimmer in lane one, a guy in Nike shorts. But then a stunning turn of events. Jimmy caught the guy in lane six, also, at ten meters to go. Jimmy pushed harder. It was not a fast swim, but somehow he pulled out a fifth place finish. Really not bad for a guy who was dead last at the turn. “Great comeback, technique is solid,” wrote the coach.

Randy waited for Jimmy to finish. He saw the last ten meters, and the conquer of fifth. “Great job,” Randy said to Jimmy. “You were swimming really hard those last ten,” he added.

“Thanks, how did you do?” Jimmy asked.

“Second, Aiden was first, always is,” Randy replied.

_____


The final set of the required four was the fly. Being Greg’s favorite, the guys had worked really hard on the fly over the Summer. “It’s a race of technique, power and speed,” Greg had always said to Jimmy. “If you can nail fly, the rest are easy,” Greg also used to say, a little bias in his opinion, he was, after all, a fly guy. Fly was Randy’s weakest stroke, and Aiden admitted he was average in it. By this point, Randy and Jimmy were fast friends, and Aiden had really warmed up to Jimmy, who absorbed everything either of them said. If they all made the team, they were clearly going to be a trio.

Jimmy had no idea how he would do. He blew the back stroke, coming in last in his heat and 15th overall. That race was Randy’s breakout swim, which he solidly won, both heat and overall. No surprise there. Despite the bad back stroke set, Jimmy forced himself to rebound, Greg’s other advice. “Don’t let a bad race ruin the meet,” he would be telling Jimmy right now, if he were there.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy was fast off the blocks, and like his breast event, he landed farther up the pool than anyone. He hit the water and immediately got into his rhythm. It took all his concentration to swim the fly, the timing of arms and kick, the physical demands on the body absorbing every ounce of his concentration. His arm strokes were powerful. His technique was not merely good, it was fantastic, and quickly noted by the coach who had been watching him.

“Hey, come watch this swimmer,” she called to the head coach. “He’s really strong at this.”

“I am not surprised,” said the head coach, a reference to his mentorship by Greg. They both watched as Jimmy finished the first 25. His flip this time was a bit off, but not horrible. He was slightly ahead heading into the turn, and despite the muddled turn, his strong off the wall push held his place. On the way back, Jimmy pulled out all the stops. He accelerated down the last 50, pushing an even greater lead. A power came over Jimmy like he had never felt before. He was one with the water, his arm strokes in exact timing, almost as graceful as a synchronized swimmer. His kicks were powerful, his feet molded together to create a thrust that was well above his experience level. Randy was two spots back, eating Jimmy’s wake. Aiden was behind Randy. No one was in front.

“Amazing fly,” wrote the coach with three lines under it. “Solid.”

Jimmy hit the wall and pushed backward. He floated on his back for about ten meters, breathless. He stood and watched as Randy, then Aiden finished. It had not hit Jimmy what he had just done. He won the heat!

Randy dunked under the lane line and grabbed Jimmy. “You kicked butt,” he said as he gave Jimmy a tight hug. Their bodies touched at all points, including the middle bulges. “You were amazing!” Jimmy was in total disbelief on what he had just swam He could not have dreamed he’d swim that well. The swimmers around him were shocked, some mad, some jealous. Everyone was amazed. Jimmy was too whipped to do his usual leap from the pool, instead opting for the two handed lift.

“What got into you?” Randy asked. “I mean you swam like a mad man.”

“I just felt good,” Jimmy replied. The guys sat again, side by side, watching the guys in heat two line up.

Randy put his hand on Jimmy’s knee. “I think you might have secured a spot on the team with that swim,” he added to the conversation. He looked at Jimmy, admiring his handsome face and smile. His eyes wandered to check out Jimmy’s swimsuit. “Wow, is he ever cute,” Randy thought to himself. If he wasn’t so tired from the swims, Randy’s body would long have responded to the interest. Randy was glad it didn’t.

When all of it was over, Jimmy ended up in third place. A solid finish and only half a second between the top finisher and him. What Jimmy did not see was the coach’s comments. It was clear that Jimmy had the best technique and the most promise. Had he not bungled to flip turn, he easily would have been the top swimmer of the fly. It was just the break Jimmy needed, if he had any hope of making the team.

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter. Jimmys tryout wasn't going well until they got to the fly where he finished third overall in the fly portion. I hope the coach will choose Jimmy to be on the swim team. Please continue the story.

Shaulis

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter. Jimmys tryout wasn't going well until they got to the fly where he finished third overall in the fly portion. I hope the coach will choose Jimmy to be on the swim team. Please continue the story.

Shaulis

[Dooley67]

STS,

I continue to be so impressed with your knack for normal adolescent dialogue and for your keeping the suspense of the races high like a play-by-play announcer would. You really were very explicit about Randy's boner but once again, without being graphic. And the fact that Jimmy had not idea what this meant to Randy was a pretty clear indication of Jimmy's naïveté (a good thing for Randy).A wonderful chapter. I sense that the next chapter will be the last. :(

[Swimmboy]

His excellent fly swim should certainly guarantee Jimmy a spot on the team. Fly is the most difficult stroke to master, and physically the most difficult to swim, so I think Jimmy will make the team. He has already made two new friends, so I think a few more chapters are in the works!

[50 Free]

Once Jimmy makes the team the coaches will work on his turns. Cuz meet officials don't see the humor in doing a flipturn during breaststroke and butterfly events, huh? Great story, quite realistic!

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Hey 50Free, not sure if others picked up on the two botched turns, but good catch. The error was intentional. It will become clearer in the next chapter... can't expect Jimmy to remember everything with such short experience and under pressure.

STS

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy’s last event of the tryout was the optional 500 free. It was the event that Greg thought Jimmy had the greatest chance at, given his endurance. The 500 free was a race of strategy, Greg had explained to Jimmy. Start out too fast and you will burn up, too slow and you will never catch up. “Always know where you are in the distance,” Greg had explained. “Hold some in reserve for the final 100, that is where the power moves take place,” Greg also explained to Jimmy during their practice sessions. It turned out to be sage advice.

Five swimmers entered the 500 free, neither Aiden or Randy included. Jimmy was in lane 2, lane one was empty, as were lanes seven and eight. The odds on favorite was a tall and lean swimmer in lane 3. His actual name was Ralph, but he went by the nickname “Bo.” No one was sure why or where he got that name, but it was the name he was known by. He wore a tight and sleek yellow and red Agon swimsuit that had his AAU team logo on it. He looked every bit the swimmer he was, tight abs, broad shoulders, amazing pecs, and muscular legs. He also looked hot in his colorful swimsuit, which when wet was not transparent, but at close observation did show through his frontal parts ever so slightly. Randy zeroed right in on all of that.

“Other than Bo, the rest of the field is pretty much wide open,” Randy advised Jimmy. Randy was done for the night, having finished up the optional IM set. Randy did well, second out of ten. Aiden also swam IM, coming in one spot behind Randy. “Go get them, hot stuff,” said Randy. He smiled at Jimmy’s tight butt as he walked away.

“Stay solid, keep pace, and watch for the big move,” Jimmy repeated in his mind. Greg’s long distance mantra. “Swim your race,” also rang through his mind. Greg wished Greg was there to watch, to coach him. Once again, Jimmy was nervous. Not sure why, but he was even shaking a little. Part of him just wanted to step off the block and go home. The coward part. Jimmy quickly pushed those thoughts from his mind.

Two hundred meters in, Jimmy was in third place. Bo was out front, as expected. Jimmy was a body behind the guy in lane four. The swimmer in lane two was behind Jimmy, the tips of his hands almost lined up with Jimmy’s peripheral sight. Jimmy flipped at the 250 mark and pushed strong off the wall. “Stay under as long as you can,” raced through his mind, just as it had every other turn. “You go faster under water,” Greg had pounded into his mind. His push was strong, he was now solidly ahead of the fourth place swimmer and nipping the knees of the second place guy, who seemed to be slowing. Jimmy felt his surge rise up, he wanted to take the guy. He could feel himself getting a rush of adrenalin. “Too early,” he told himself. “Easy until 150,” Jimmy strategized in his mind. “Get close, tease him,” his thoughts expanded. Jimmy pushed hard until he was a mere should behind him.

Flip! Two hundred to go. A solid turn and the two swimmers, Jimmy in two and the guy in lane four were now neck and neck. The lane four swimmer was wearing a really colorful Tyr swimsuit with a wild print. It was a new swimsuit, one of the emerging bolder, more colorful briefs coming on the market. Out of the water, the swimsuit looked hot on him. In the water, it was a bright beacon that Jimmy could now see clearly as they swam in a dead lock for second. Bo was so far out front, the race for second was the real race. The coaches watched closely, eyeing the strategy being played out in lanes two and four.

At the final 100, Jimmy had a slight lead, so slight Jimmy actually thought he was behind. He pushed hard off the wall. He had energy to burn left in reserve. One turn left, two lengths to go in the 50 meter pool. The swimmer in four saw Jimmy, too. He was swimming as hard as he could, hoping Jimmy was also at his breaking point. “Reach,” Jimmy told himself as he powered through his strokes. His body was slicing through the water.

“His technique is really good,” said the lady assistant coach.

“Good arm reach, nice rotation,” replied the lead coach. They were both watching Jimmy.

“Let’s see if he makes a move,” the lady coach added.

Jimmy was now a quarter of the way off the wall for his last turn. To his left he could see he was locked with the lane four swimmer, both had stayed in the exact position, both swimming hard. Bo, the lead swimmer had just flipped and was on his way back. Bo was easily three or four seconds ahead, maybe more. The swimmer behind Jimmy and the Tyr guy was two seconds back and not a threat. “This is it,” Jimmy thought. He opted to make his break heading into the turn, he was sure that the other swimmer was planning a break after the turn, Jimmy wanted an edge. Jimmy’s brain sent a signal out to open all reserves. Jimmy felt the surge as he turned on the speed. Suddenly, Jimmy was pulling ahead, catching his competitor by surprise. Jimmy hit the wall a half second ahead, not much of a lead, but enough to push out of the turn in front.

“We have out move,” the coaches said to each other. “Let’s see how they respond to each other,”

“F---,” the Tyr guy thought to himself. He had little left to give. He pushed as hard as he could off the wall. His form started to collapse as he tried to burst speed into his tired body. Jimmy was pulling away. Aiden and Randy watched from the bleacher. It was quite a race. They could see the interest of the coaches. It was clear Jimmy was making a solid winning move.

At 25 meters to go, Jimmy had increased his lead. He was now three quarters of a body ahead and gaining. Jimmy was in a zone. He saw nothing, heard nothing, he was one with the water. His form had suffered a little, but nothing a good coach couldn’t fix. Jimmy had endurance, and he was proving it right now.

Bo hit the wall first, as expected. Jimmy was four seconds back when his outstretched arm made contact. Jeffrey, the guy in the Tyr swimsuit hit the wall slightly less than a second after Jimmy. The rest of the field came in behind. Bo did not respond to Jimmy’s congratulations, as a swimmer he was a bit arrogant and not like the rest. Jimmy reached across to lane four, shaking hands with Jeff. “Nice swim,” Jimmy said.

“Hey, you too. You out kicked me in the end,” Jeff replied. Jimmy had seen Jeff in school, but they never really knew each other. “I didn’t know you swam,” Jeff added.
“Lot’s of potential!” the coach had written next to Jimmy’s name. “Great end move.” she added.

The guys got out of the pool. Jimmy pulled his clinging suit from the front of him. Randy came right over and put his arm around Jimmy. “You kicked butt!” Randy said.

“Thanks,” Jimmy replied. The guys lined up along the bleachers as the coaches finished their notes. They were not sure what was going to happen next or whether they would find out right there.

“Okay guys, great session today. You are all good swimmers, so our job is going to be tough.” The head coach started off. Jimmy had seen him many times at the pool over the Summer. For the first time, Jimmy was part of a post swim team meeting. Jimmy listened intently. “A few bad starts, and a few wrong turns for the strokes you were swimming, but overall a great display of swimming talent.” Coach added. Coach Lisa will go over the next steps. Thanks for coming out and I hope to see you at practice next week.”

“We look at three things when we decide,” Coach Lisa explained. Jimmy thought she was cute. Lisa was the only female swim coach for a guys team in the whole state, a rising star swimmer who just missed the Olympic trials. She was young, not much older than the guys themselves. She was married to her high school sweetheart, who was also a pretty good swimmer himself. “We look at your speed, of course, but that is only part of it. We also look at your technique, how well you do your strokes, and how much potential you have for improvement. Finally, we try to see how much heart you have for the sport. You won’t swim on my team if you don’t love the sport.”

“Well, one out of three isn’t bad,” Jimmy thought to himself.

“We will post the final list on Friday at lunch period. It will be on the coach’s office door. Good luck.”

As the guys all headed to the locker room, Jimmy broke away. He walked over to the coaches and extended his hand. “Thank you for letting me try out,” Jimmy told each of them. “I hope I make the team.” Coach Lisa smiled back at him.

“Thank you , Jimmy, nice job today,” Coach Lisa replied.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

“So walk me through every step,” Greg asked as Jimmy told him about the try outs.

Jimmy replayed each event. He told Greg how he was awful in the breast stroke. “I even messed up the turn.” Jimmy explained. “I started to do a flip turn, the realized I wasn't suppose to so I tried to stop it, but it was too late and I really blew it.” Jimmy said.

"You know those turns, Jimmy," Greg replied. "We practiced all of them."

"Yeah, I know," Jimmy replied. "I guess I just forgot or something."

“So what did you do?” Greg asked.

“I just pushed off the wall and kept going. I did better the second half.”

“Good, Jimmy.” Greg said. “Don’t worry that you screwed up the turn, Happens to all of us once in a while. That you did not give up. Coach saw that. I know he did.” Greg explained.

“I killed the fly!” Jimmy explained. He was all animated telling Greg about his swim. It was his breakout swim.

“You know, Jimmy, I think you did good,” Greg assured him. He did not dwell on the fact that Jimmy missed the breast turn and did the wrong turn on his fly. Both of those were easy fixes. For a guy who had three months of swimming under his belt, and really only a few weeks of serious coaching on swim team skills, he couldn’t expect to remember everything.

“I hope so,” Jimmy replied. He was so excited, he had not even taken his swimsuit off. He rode home from the pool in it and stayed in it all night, now laying on his bed talking to his mentor, big brother, and coach. Greg also modeled to himself in front of the mirror. At least for the day, he could pretend he was a real swimmer. He felt cool in the blue print swimsuit. He'd end up sleeping in it.

“I am really proud of you, Jimmy,” Greg replied. “You said you were going to try out, and you did. Best of all you did awesome, too. No matter what happens.”

Jimmy felt tears well up in his eyes. Greg's compliment meant the world to him.

----

“Hey coach, It’s Greg,” Greg opened the call with. “How did Jimmy do at tryouts?”

“He has lots of potential, Greg,” Coach explained. “He swam some stuff really well, but he also made some errors that were sort of basic,”

“I don’t want to influence your decision, I mean if Jimmy gets on the team, it has to be because he did it.” Greg replied. “But keep in mind this kid has swam for only the Summer.”

“Yeah, I know, Greg,” Coach replied. “I remember the skinny kid in baggy blue shorts.” There was a pause. “You know what I really liked was he never gave up. He swam as hard as he could even when he was losing.” Coach added.

“So, Coach, has he got a shot?” Greg asked.

“Greg, you know I can’t say right now, but let me put it this way, did you ever think you had a shot at the Gamecocks? Anything is possible."

“Thanks, Coach.” Greg replied.

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter you have posted. I hope Jimmy gets on the team the suspense is killing me. I liked that Greg called the swim coach to find out how Jimmy did, explaining he didn't call to influence his decision but wanted to know if Jimmy made the team.

[Dooley67]

STS,

Another wonderful chapter with such intensity and being able to almost hear Jimmy's thinking and strategizing as he swam. The fact that Jimmy talked himself through using Greg's words shows the strength of the bond between the two. And Greg's call to the coach showed how much he is invested in Jimmy making the team. Aiden's and Randy's pulling for Jimmy and wanting him to make the team really shows the feeling that these swimmers have for each other, cheering each other on and not feeling the need to compete with each other. I'm eagerly awaiting the decision and I think the coach showed his cards in his phone conversation with Greg - at least I hope he did.

D67

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Jimmy didn’t sleep. He laid awake most of the night, first texting with Greg, then with Abby. Finally, late he replied to a text from Randy.

“You awake?“ Randy asked.

“Yeah, can’t sleep…“ Jimmy replied.

Randy and Jimmy texted until the wee hours of night, far too late than they should have. Randy was sure Jimmy was on the team. “No way you blow out a great 500 and not get on the team,” Randy said in one text. There was no doubt Randy was on the team, the only question there was varsity or junior varsity. Randy had a real shot at the top tier.

“u r in dude,” Jimmy assured Randy.

“u2” Randy replied. The conversation wandered from there. “What is your favorite swimsuit?” Randy asked as the guys changed from swim team to other topics.

“My red and white print Speedo,” Jimmy replied.

By the end of the text conversation, Jimmy had sent Randy a selfie picture modeling the hot swimsuit. “Don’t put this on Facebook,” Jimmy demanded. Randy thought Jimmy looked hot in the picture.

“Keeping this one private,” Randy replied.

------

Jimmy was out of bed early, just a few hours after the end of the texting sessions. His eyes stung from lack of sleep. He had farm chores before school, which he finished up fast. Not well. He showered and put on his black and gold print Tyr swimsuit, adjusting himself in the mirror. His fatigued body surprisingly quick responded in a way he did not expect, but felt great. He teased himself more, which led to other self inflicted pleasures that come with his age, followed by another shower.

Jimmy got dressed. He slipped his Levi 501 button fly jeans on over the bold looking Tyr swimsuit, which he chose to wear for good luck to himself making the team. He put on the swim team shirt Greg gave him over the Summer, grabbed his books and headed out the door. He slept on the twenty minuet school bus ride. He’d also sleep through most of his first two periods of class.

Jimmy’s mind was not on his classes. He was incredibly tired, the lack of sleep quickly catching up with him. His notebook was lined with little pictures of swimmers. At least as best as Jimmy could draw them. He had colored in the words “Swim Team” in a variety of patterns and shades. He certainly was thinking, but not on algebra or USA History. Lunch came slow. It seemed like class dragged on and on. Aiden, Randy and Jimmy agreed to meet outside the cafeteria. They would all go together to check the results. As soon as the bell rang, Jimmy bolted to the cafeteria, making it to the designated meeting spot first.

“You are in,” Aiden said as he approached. Jimmy’s eyes lit up.

“How do you know?” Jimmy replied.

“I just do,” Aiden said, finally admitting he really knew nothing official.

“Well, guys, this is it!” Randy said as he joined the group. “Let’s go get the news!”

------

Almost every guy from the tryouts was gathered around the window of the coach’s office. The office was a small room with no windows adjacent to the gymnasium. It was shared by all the coaches, except for football and basketball, who were the upper crust and had private offices of their own. Not surprising that the revenue sports got top billing, even in the small New England town. The door looked prison institutional, a beige grey color with a faux wire lined window that looked fresh out a 190’s episode of Dragnet. To the outside observer, it was a Spartan contrast to the otherwise well appointed school, almost as if they ran out of the new doors and stole one from the old school before it got torn down.

Taped on the inside of the window facing out were two lists. On the left was the swimmers who made the Varsity team. Included in this list were the former junior varsity swimmers who were being moved up. When all the dust settled, five of the try out swimmers would make the varsity team. On the right was the junior varsity list. The options here were greater, opening up eight spots for the JV team. Out of the twenty swimmers who tried out, thirteen made the team. Better odds than they all expected, but still some guys would walk away broken hearted.

There was hardly any space to see the lists as a dozen or so guys clamored for a look. Randy nudged his way in first, tucked between Bo and Jeff. He first scanned the JV list and gulped when he did not see his name. Bo pumped his fists, as he found his name at the second spot of the varsity list. Randy continued to carefully go down the list.

“I did it,” Randy blurted out as he saw his name. He was smack in the middle of the list, although the placement really had no reflection of anything other than how the coaches wrote the names down.

Picking the swimmers was the product of hours of debate. It was a very manual process. Each coach went through their thoughts and observations. The first step was to pick the top 13 out of the field, which would then be the ones who would make one team or another. All but one of the guys who wore anything other than a real swimmer’s brief did not make the cut. Tyler, the guy from Jimmy and Randy’s warm up set was out. In fact, he was the first one off the list. The one swimmer who wore jammers made the JV team, not that his choice of swimsuit made any difference.

“Congratulations, Randy” Jimmy said. Jimmy had not yet scanned for his name, standing back. He was almost afraid, he did not want to be disappointed, nor did he want his two new friends to see him lose out.

“Aiden, you got JV,” Randy said. “I thought for sure you were varsity.”

“Yeah, well maybe next time,” Aiden replied. He was clearly disappointed. As much as he wanted to be tough, his eyes watered a bit. While they were young men, they were also still growing up, and their emotions of youth could show up quickly. Aiden wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. His gut felt like it got hit.

Once they had the thirteen, the coaches put all the names on post-it notes. They stood at a whiteboard and shifted them around based on the ebb and flow of conversation. Aiden was varsity until the very last round, when they cut the list from seven to five. Last man out. Once the varsity team was locked down, it would appear to have been an easy process, but it really was not. As the coaches looked at the final eight, they weighed the future of the team. It was not just about the talent this year, but with most of the swimmers being freshman, they had to weigh out needs in the years to come. Suddenly names from the first discard made their way back on the board. Jimmy was a hot topic of conversation. His name went up and down several times over the last two hours of the coaching debate.

“Kid’s got potential, look at how he did the fly,” Coach Lisa kept saying. “Just three months and he beat almost every guy in the twenty.” His name popped on the board.

“He has never raced and he has lots of work on turns and his free was slow,” replied another coach. His name would suddenly fall off. Jimmy was not alone in the yoyo game of picking the JV winners.

Jimmy finally made his way to the door. Most of the guys were standing back, some licking their wounds and others on cloud nine. Randy was top of the world, Aiden not so much. Bo was his usual conceited self, saying nothing to anyone and acting as if he was simply entitled to his varsity role.

“I am really sorry Aiden,” Randy said to his friend. “You’re a better swimmer than me, you should have been varsity.” Kind words that still stung.

Jimmy never even bothered to look at the varsity list, no way he was there. He wasn’t. He scanned the JV list, reading each name down the list. At number 14 on the list was his name, followed by the words “See Coach Lisa.”

“What does that mean?” Jimmy asked Randy, who was right beside him, hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.

“I think it means you made the team,” Randy replied. “I mean you are on the list.”

“But why see Coach?” Jimmy asked. He was perplexed. Suddenly the swimsuit under his jeans felt tight, but not for the reasons that usually made it tight, it felt tight because he wasn’t sure he deserved to wear a real swimsuit, “Maybe I am not a real swimmer,” Jimmy thought.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

“Jimmy, I am really impressed by how you swim,” Coach Lisa began, as the two sat privately in the coach‘s office. “You love the sport and it shows.”

“Thanks,” Jimmy replied. “Yeah, I swam every day all Summer, well except for one day when I went to see Greg’s swim meet.”

“Oh yeah, Coach told me about Greg and you. That is a great story.”

“Yeah, Greg is the best swimmer ever.” Jimmy replied. Coach Lisa smiled.

“So here is the deal. I think you deserve to be on the team and all the coaches agree. But you have some work to do to be ready for swimming on a swim team. I mean your really good, but we have to build on a few things.”

“I understand,” Jimmy replied. “Greg said I need to keep working real hard. I know I messed up my breast turn and Greg said I was not suppose to do a flip turn on my fly, that was stupid.”

“Well, not stupid, Jimmy. You are just new. I don’t like the word stupid.” Coach Lisa replied. “Kelly, one of the sophomore swimmers is moving away six weeks from now. So, what we want to do is put you on the team as an alternate until then. You get to practice with the team, you will go to all the meets, but you won’t be able to swim at meets until Kelly leaves the team. And, you have to show you are ready to swim at a meet. Six weeks to work on the skills you still need.”

“So, am I on the team now, or what?,” Jimmy relied. “I mean I really want to be a swimmer.”

“Yes, Jimmy, if you agree to this you are on the team. You can even suit up at meets and do warm up swims,” Coach Lisa replied. “I really want you on my team. I think you will be a great swimmer, Jimmy.”

What happened next shocked everyone. Jimmy jumped up and hugged the coach, breaking every school rule about socialization with teachers. He could not contain himself. His outburst of affection caught Coach Lisa by surprise. The next thing of surprise to Jimmy was he welled up with tears of joy. He had made the team and Jimmy did not realize how deep it would hit his emotions. “Thank you so much,” he said as his tears caused Lisa’s shoulder to get wet. She said nothing, holding Jimmy as he poured out his heart. School rules be damned, his emotion and his hug was genuine. It never went further than the room.

______

“I knew you could do it, Jimmy” said Greg. “I can’t even tell you in words how proud I am of you.”

“You are the best swim coach ever,” Jimmy replied. “And the best friend in all the world.”

“You know Jimmy, I don’t remember why I came over to help you that day in the pool, but from that day on I knew you were an awesome kid,” Greg confided. “I never had a little brother, but now I do. And you’re the best little brother I could ever want.”

The call went silent for a while. The two young men soaked in the success. Jimmy made his dream. He was, finally, a real swim team swimmer. It would change his life forever.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

It was a gorgeous day off the coast of Southern California. The sun was bold in the blue sky, the winds overnight had cleared most of the smog out of the LA basin, a rare treat. It was a perfect day for a boat ride. The 35 foot ocean going vessel with twin 250 hp engines powered its way slowly out of the harbor south of Huntington Beach. Gale wind warnings were posted for 16 miles out, but there was no sign of that now. The winds of the past few days had died off, and surely it was going to be a perfect day. The family of four, two adults and twin boy and girl, ages 14 were ready for a fun day at sea. Sunning, fishing and eating were on tap. They followed a string of similar boats out into the vast open water of the Pacific. Most others would turn back.

The US Coast Guard is always at the ready, but especially on days when the weather plays a fools game. The day was too nice, but the risks at sea were high. In the Pacific off Catalina Island conditions change in minutes and the best of days can quickly become the worst of nightmares.

“Thirty five foot vessel reports person overboard in rough seas, 13 miles west of Catalina Island.”

“Roger, Chopper six fifty two, we are airborne now off Huntington Beach, ETA is seven minutes.”

“Coordinates dispatched to you now. Be advised minimum six foot swells are in the area,”

“Roger that,”

The chopper quickly veered west heading to the coordinates locked in on their navigational computer.

“We have vessel in sight,” the chopper reported. “Making radio contact with the captain now,”

“Roger, be advised we have a vessel in route, ETA is twenty one minutes.” A lifetime when someone is in water as rough as the sea was on this day.

The chopper quickly switched to sea radio emergency frequency. “Catalina Breeze, this is USCG chopper six five two, we have you in sight, can you hear me.”

“I can, chopper. Help. Our daughter age 14 went overboard and we can’t locate her. She is 14, she has on a life vest and she can swim. We are idle and engines off, for fear we might run into her.” The horrified father was remarkably calm.

“Stay with your vessel and alert me if you spot her,” the chopper replied. “Keep all passengers inside, no one on deck. Do not try to rescue, contact us.”

“We are all secure. Understood.” the father replied.

“Get the swimmer ready,” the Captain called out. “Get a basket ready, we may need to recover.”

“Swimmer getting ready,’ came the reply of the young Coast Guard cadet. In the back of the chopper a young man, fresh out of college, quickly changed into a dry suit and prepared to be dropped into the choppy ocean, if the need be. The door to the chopper was opened and the crew quickly took up the task of scanning the water in search of a person. Finding a needle in a haystack of turbulent sea.

“Got her in sight,” came the call.

“Any signs of life?” asked the captain.

“She appears to be moving, wait, yes, she just waved her arms. She has a life jacket on. She is in serious trouble with those waves”

The next series of events happened so fast, Jimmy had no time to think. In seconds he was on a cable dropping fast to the water. The seas were rough, as rough as he had ever trained for. He landed about fifty feet from the terrified young girl, but the swells made keeping sight of her tough. In his ear, the chopper instructed him to her location. The three minutes he was in the water seemed like a life time.

“Got her,” Jimmy called.

The young girl clung to him. “Help me, please,” she kept saying.

“You are fine, just hang on to me,” Jimmy replied. “I am going to strap us together. Okay.”

She said nothing, her arms clinging tightly to his body. The chopper cable was then locked to both of them. “Okay, you are doing fine, now when I tell you to close your eyes, I want you to keep them closed until I tell you to open them, We are going for a ride, just like at an amusement park. You with me?”

“Yes, just get me out of here.”

Jimmy gave the all clear signal and the cable quickly went taught. Within seconds they were out of the waves, swinging in the wind, fifty, then a hundred feet above the water. The crew hands steadied the cable and grabbed both of them. First the young girl was lifted into the chopper, which was hovering over the wild seas. Jimmy was quickly pulled in after. The door was closed.

“Okay, you can open now, you are safe, and so is your family,” Jimmy said.

-------

Abby greeted Jimmy at their apartment on the base. She was so proud and yet so terrified as he relived the story. Jimmy followed with a call to Greg, catching him as he was leaving the pool at the small Division 2 college where he was now the head coach of swimming. He relived the whole story for Greg.

“Well, Jimmy, I guess you can now truly say you are a real swimmer. It does not get more real than that.”

“Yes, I guess so,” Jimmy replied.

Jimmy continues his career in the USCG, now stationed in Alaska. Abby and Jimmy expect their first child in seven months. Despite his swimming years in high school, some big wins along the way, Jimmy won the biggest event of his swimming career in the eyes of a rescued fourteen year old girl. Greg is on his fourth winning season coaching at the small college and is eyeing his break into Division one. Greg remains single, and is a proud Gamecock alumnus, where he set six school records. Randy and Aiden turned out to be more than just swimmers, becoming life long partners and have taken advantage of the opening of marriage to all those in love.

Jimmy still swims, every single day. Greg and Jimmy, to this day, text or talk after each swim.

The end.

[solarguy]

WOW! This was really a great story! It is very inspiring! Thank you for all the hard work and effort you put into it!

[shaulis]

STS,

Another great chapter I liked that you took us from Jimmy on the swim team to Jimmy saving a girl's life in a ocean rescue as a USCG serviceman. I liked that you tell us Greg and Jimmy kept in contact throughout their life. Olympic Dreams is by far one of your best stories you have shared with us. Thanks for all the time and effort you have spent on this story. I hope you share another story with us soon.

Brian

[Byron]

Yes it was - my story ended but had to open story center once more to find the finale on G & J in OD

[Dooley67]

STS,

Wonderful last chapter to this story. I loved the ending because it was so much in keeping with Jimmy's character and personality. Initially, I thought it was Greg but ultimately it made more sense for it to be Jimmy. I agree with shaulis that this was one of your best stories to date. I want to emphasize "to date" because I want to be reading more stories from you. Great job and thanks so much for entertaining all of us.

D67

[singletlover]

All I can say is wonderful, tears in eyes.

Thank you for providing a wonderful story

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I thank all of you for your kind words on Olympic Dreams, whether here or sent to me private message. This was a fun story to write and to to tell you it simply flowed would be an under-statement. Jimmy and Greg are the penultimate reflection of the best of Zach and Ryan. There is so much of Zach in Greg, so much of both Zach and Ryan in Jimmy, and in both there is so much of my real life most cherished God son. Greg had so much to share, and Jimmy had the inspiration to never give up. I hope they inspired you as much as they inspired me. In some way, I learned from my own characters.

I started this story on a whim, a plan to do a few chapters about swimming. It was intended to fill a gap before I came up with something else. Then magical happened. In all, this tale was over 60 pages long.

Finally, I have come more deeply with my age to appreciate the brave young men and women who defend our nation, deeper so after 9/11 and then with great personal emotion after the Boston Marathon bombings (I ran Boston seven times). No matter who we are, all of our nations have one thing in common, our best and brightest young men and women are the ones we count on to stand in harms way. They are the protectors of what we all hold dear. Jimmy's act of bravery was my subtle tribute to the bravest of our brave, regardless of nation. I admire them every single day.

This will be me last story for a while, maybe forever. I am not sure. I don't know how I top Jimmy and Greg. They are the next generation we all aspire to be.

Thanks for reading,

So Long,

STS

[shaulis]

STS,

While I hope this isn't your final story. We, your readers, understand the need for a break from writing to get your creative juices flowing again.

Shaulis

[Dooley67]

STS,

I have read all of your stories, but Olympic Dreams struck a chord with me like no other because it is so inspiring. Through your guidance and distance mentoring, I have made my journey to become a serious swimmer and to succeed, not as a competitive swimmer - that was never my goal - but as an endurance swimmer. I think that in some way, maybe subliminally, the story was an added inspiration. As Jimmy worked harder, I worked harder than I ever have at an athletic pursuit, and didn't give up. This story was so different from the others because it had serious messages about friendship, a value of a strong work ethic, and the need sometimes to push oneself beyond what were thought to be your capability. So, thanks for the story and the messages.

D67

[Swimmboy]

Wow - I have been on the road for a week with very limited internet access, and just got home late last night. So I just HAD to catch up on this story today. And what a finish! Especailly the concluding chapter, with Jimmy now a rescue swimmer with the Coast Guard - what a unique way to wrap this up - and a great tribute, as you say, to the men and women who protect and serve us all.

STS - thank you for this wonderful glimpse into the fictional lives of your characters. Jimmy and Greg were just amazing - so real, so close, so determined to accomplish their goals. I have truly enjoyed this story on so many levels - PLEASE don't stop writing. Nothing wrong with a new story following Jimmy's struggles and successes in his first year of HS swimming - or perhaps Greg's first year as a 'Cock. College swim teams on overnight away meets, (gentle) hazing/teasing rituals (at my university, I understand the freshmen had to jump naked from the 3-meter board) - all of this provides story ideas for future chapters - at least I hope so!