This is a fictional story about a young adult who joins a Master's Swim - team full of older men.
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THE SWIM TEAM, PART IX - BACK TO BASICS
Dennis was drifting, lost in a never-ending tidal wave of thoughts. It seemed like that's where he spent most of his time these days. Everything passed by him in a blur, his focus never quite pulling it all into view.
Three weeks had passed since his adventure on the boat, and life seemed to have moved on. Things were going quite well with John. Dennis found his feelings for the man growing with every day, and the sex just seemed to get better and better. And though he and his father had not spoken about what had happened that day on the boat, Dennis felt they were somehow closer than ever. They both knew why, but neither felt the need to address it. His mother had, though. She delighted in their newfound bonding and took every opportunity to comment on it. So why did everything feel so off?
Deep down, Dennis knew why. It was the day before the big swim meet, the one they'd all been waiting for, and things were still not going well in the pool. He was beginning to feel more like an anchor that was dragging the team down, not the ringer he was brought in to be. But try as he might, he just couldn't manage to swim while the other men on his team were around. They were simply too much of a distraction for his young, horny mind to ignore. And for all the time he had spent trying to figure out a way to fix his little problem, he had come up with absolutely nothing that would help.
So, he had given up. Plain and simple. He would just lie there, sprawled out on his pool float until the sun cooked him alive. He had the day off from saving lives-more like babysitting, if you asked him-so he had all the time in the world to slowly roast until he melted into a blob that would blend seamlessly with the pool. At least then he would feel at one with the water like he used to.
"Everything all right, kid?" a familiar voice said from above.
Dennis opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. The sun was way too bright for looking up. He put his arm up to his head, squinting in the shade it provided. It was John, standing there in a bright white speedo that stood out all the more because of his tan skin and graying body hair. Dennis didn't mind the contrast, though. It just gave him something else to gawk at. While it subdued the package Dennis knew the old man was packing, it served as a blank canvas that accentuated that perfectly round belly that he was so fond of. Dennis breathed in deeply and took it all in.
The old man just smiled at him. "Well?"
"I'm fine," Dennis lied.
"Really?" John asked. "You didn't seem fine this morning at practice. You've been a bit distracted lately. I hope it's not something I've done."
"No way!" Dennis said, rolling off the float. "It's nothing like that at all."
"So, it is something then?" John sat down on the edge of the pool, dipping his feet in the lukewarm water.
It was all the white nylon could do to hold in John's bulge. Dennis saw it expand as John squished it into a seated position. His eyes grew wide as he waded over to John, and he lost himself in the white mass.
"Ahem." John cleared his throat.
"Right," Dennis said, snapping his attention back to John's face. "Well that's it, isn't it?"
"What's it?" John asked, slightly confused.
"That." He nodded at John's crotch.
John looked down at himself. "That's what's the matter? I thought you loved that."
"I do!" he cried, not wanting it to seem otherwise. "Maybe a little too much."
Now John was sufficiently confused. "I don't see what the problem is then."
"You're not the problem," Dennis said. He paused for a second, then said through a slightly painful expression, "Well, actually, you are kind of the problem."
"I don't follow."
Dennis sighed. "You know I'm helpless to resist that. It's taken over me in every possible way. I used to be able to glide through the water like I was a part of it. Nothing could stop me. Like a real shark," he said, referencing the swim team's mascot. "But now, I feel like an old tugboat, chugging along while everyone else speeds by. And no matter how hard I try and ignore what's going on around me, try to focus on my own swim, I still fall further and further behind. Tomorrow's the big meet and I'm nothing but dead weight to you guys."
"I assure you, your meat is anything but dead," John said; but, upon receiving Dennis' glare at making light of his serious confession, the old man raised his arms defensively to say he'd refrain from any more jokes. "Look, kid, winning isn't everything. Sure, it would be nice to beat those pricks one of these years, but we've lost enough times, we're kind of used to it by now. And you know what? That's okay."
"But it's not," Dennis replied. "You asked me to join this team so you'd have a shot. You all were banking on me to pull through, to bring home a win, and I just don't think I can do that."
John laughed. Even when Dennis glared at him again, he still chuckled a little more. "Kid, I asked you to join the team because you're hot and you looked just desperate enough to not decline a little attention from an older man most wouldn't think twice about. We could all give a shit if we win this meet or not. We're here to have fun, and if you're enjoying the team as much as it enjoys you, then who cares if you're the weakest link on an otherwise really strong team and the sole reason we lose the biggest meet of the year."
Dennis lifted his eyes from the spot in the water he had been staring at. It took a second for that last bit to register. It was his turn to be confused. He had just been insulted, but he was pretty sure there had been a compliment in there too. John just smiled goofily back at him.
"Thanks?" he said, choosing to respond to just the compliment. "I appreciate that." And he meant it. "But what if I do care? What if I don't want to be the reason we lose?"
"Then don't be."
"If only it were that simple."