The final days before the regatta passed quickly for me. The morning of the regatta I found myself full of nerves. The regatta was held on the Detroit River in Wyandotte Michigan not too far from our school. It was beautiful this morning. The water had a light mist hovering inches above its surface and no one had yet broken its stillness. Quite quickly they began to call out races. Women's races always came first, so we all lay around the tent waiting for men's races to be called. Finally they were. Our novice men went out first and did all of their events. They received second in everything. Forest Hills Central got first in every novice men's event at every regatta. They were great, and were the first Central boat to beat us.
About an hour before our race Mike, our coxswain, and I called the boat together.
"Alright guys, this is it." He said as Ryan smacked a bagel out of Tim's hands. "I hope you all ate about half an hour ago." He glared at Tim. "A first place win is pretty important today guys. Central's women took a couple firsts and a few seconds and now their novice men have two golds as well. If we don't get gold we might be screwed. The seniors just got gold in their events, so now it's up to us. You all know what you need to work on. I want a strong start with a power twenty-five and a settle. I'm pushing powers every time you get behind and if we're not winning we'll start our sprint with two-fifty left. Central has an amazing sprint; they go as fast as the U.S. Olympic boat, so I want ours to be powerful." Ryan was surprisingly quiet and let the coxie prepare his rowers for the race.
We all ceremonially put our hands into the middle of the circle we had formed.
"Junior Eight, on three. One, two, three-"
"Junior Eight!"
We were ready. We walked to our boat in silence and began to silently stretch by ourselves. Soon we received a call for our event.
"Hands on!" Our coxie yelled.
We all went to our seats and gripped the boat.
"Up and over your heads!" He yelled.
We flung the boat off its slings and over our heads in one motion. My head was swimming and I hardly heard our command to lower the boat to our shoulders and walk towards the docks. It was all imprinted in my head and was practically second nature to me. Soon we were on the water and heading toward the starting line. As we passed the viewers shore I heard an eruption of cheers from our teammates. I looked up at them and saw Alex cheering with them. He had put my rowing sweatshirt back on. If seemed funny to me that he'd wear my sweatshirt with my name on it to the race. Usually that was something girlfriends did with their boyfriends clothes. Well... maybe Alex wanted me the way I wanted him. Even though I had decided to put off telling him how I felt until after the regatta I decided I would do it later that night. If we won Midwest Championships there would be a dance-social with our sister school. I would tell him then.
We practiced a couple of starts on our way up. As we approached the start line my nerves became almost unbearable. We stopped rowing and held hands with the person in front of and behind us. It was tradition for our coxie to say a prayer before each race. I never understood why at Catholic schools why they must tie God into everything and anything. I highly doubted that God would strike down our opponents for our victory.
"Heavenly Father," He breathed into the small mouth piece which carried his voice to several speakers in the boat, "please be with us for these brief minutes of pain. Give us the strength to succeed and the will to go on. Let this be our finest hour Lord. Amen."
Now we were ready. We lined up with the other boats. Central was on our left, and Riverview was on our right. No other boats there would be competitive. I held my gaze forward and the starter lowered his flag. This signified the boats were aligned and the race was about to begin. The sun beat down onto our backs and I was already sweating. In unison we all quickly pulled off our red windbreakers which blocked the sun. Most of our tank-top racing jerseys were already damp with sweat. If I weren't in the boat about to row the most important race so far that season, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the sight. Eight sixteen or seventeen year-old guys, all with beads of sweat forming on their strong defined arms. Their pecks were ripping through their shirts and their thick quads were popping from the small spandex that held them there.
"Square and burry your oars!" Our coxie yelled at us. We all, in perfect unison, made the paddle of our oar perpendicular to the water, then slammed it in.
"Rowers," the starter called, "The start will be a countdown from three to one followed by GO. You have one false start and then you are disqualified.
We have alignment.... Three... Two... One... GO!"
In that instant six opposing boats all ripped forward toward the finish. The start of a race was amazing. Adrenaline rushed, and it was as though an explosion went off on the water. The once peaceful, quiet course erupted into a loud grueling road to victory. For the next 1500 meters and six minutes all I would hear is the grunting of my teammates the shouts from my coxie.
"Half... half... three quarters... three quarters... FULL. Power twenty five. Rip it guys, pull your guts out here. Let's get out in first and make this an easy race. We're in second... Central is BEATING us!" He cried. "Push it!"
My legs were starting to go only by habit, not by will. I pushed as hard as I could; it felt like my oar would break. It's hard to describe what it's like rowing a crew race if you've never done it. It's painful from start to finish and the weak-of-mind couldn't do it. I tried to keep my breathing steady but found it hard. And here came my stomach pains. I was nauseous and felt as if I would throw up. It all came along with the sport I for some reason loved.
"Alright," Mike yelled, "Good power piece, now I want you guys to lengthen. I want you to keep the pressure, but slow it down and focus on reaching. Reach... put your back into this. Keep your eyes forward!" He yelled. Someone was looking over to see where we stood with the other boats. "We're still in second. I want a power ten to pass Central; we're only down a few feet. Power ten start it in two... one... two... power ten."
We picked up the pace and the power and got ahead of Central by about three feet.
"Keep it lengthened guys, slow but strong. Keep the stroke long." Mike yelled. "OK, we're only ahead by a few feet and we have to remember their sprint. We're at 500 meters guys. Only five hundred left. FOCUS! Riverview's out, it's us or Forest Hills Central."
Ten strokes later, with probably about 425 meters to go Central's boat picked up amazing speed and began to quickly pass us.
"Sprint? Are you kidding me?!?" I thought. "No one starts a sprint this early..." I panicked. If they could maintain that speed to the end we'd be finished.
"I want a sprint guys, bring up the speed and power on.... COME ON guys I know it hurts, only another minute! GO! They're not taking anymore water, but we're not catching them either. Let's GO! COME ON!" Some of my teammates were grunting, hardly able to keep pushing. We needed a miracle. Just as I thought it, one came. "Alright guys keep up the pressure. They just caught a crab, we're gaining fast."
Just as we pulled up aligned with their boat they started rowing again. I could hear their coxie shouting.
"We're even now guys!" He shouted, "They know we can take 'em in this sprint, so let's do it! 250 left! GO! I want a 48 stroke per minute rate!"
And sure enough they started to pull ahead again.
"GO, GO!" Mike screamed seeing us fall back again. My stomach pain was unbearable and I though my legs were going to explode. Central was way out in front again.
"They must have some fault equipment guys, 'cuz they just got another crab! GO, we can pass them, we got this. Twenty more strokes; make 'em your best.
GO!"
This time Central didn't start rowing again until we were side by side. By the time they got up to speed our bow was about five feet ahead of theirs.
"Two strokes left guys! COME ON!" Mike screamed.
Forest Hills Central was coming up quick. We crossed the finish line and I looked over. I was five seat, and I was right in line with Central's five seat. We all fell back onto the person behind us and heaved for air, gulping it down like we hadn't breathed in days. One of our rowers put his head over the side and got sick. My legs were convulsing, the muscles beating rapidly under my spandex suit. Thank God the spandex suit came to the knees only. My legs had sweat on them, and I could feel it under the top part of the suit. We lay there waiting for the announcement to come and finally it did.
"First place..." The voice boomed, "Had a time of 5 minutes 17.2 seconds. Second place had a time of 5 minutes 17.7 seconds. With have a second lead... Saint Mary's took first over Forest Hills Central. Riverview third, Pioneer took fourth. In fifth we have Grosse Point, and in sixth Marietta. What an amazing race folks."
Our students erupted with excitement. I could see Alex clapping too. His smile was gorgeous. I wrapped my arm around the guy in front of me.
"Nice race Shea." He said.
"You too Johnny." I panted.
"That was great guys." Mike said, in a raspy worn out voice. "Great row."
Many of us turned and waved to Central, congratulating them on a great race.
They did the same, but you could see the disappointment in our eyes. They had us... they should have one. If it weren't for the crabs they would have. I laughed to myself. It seemed like God did strike down our opposition.
"Pretty ironic." I muttered under my breath. I don't know if I could have said it any louder even if I wanted because of my weakness.
Once we had docked the boat and replaced it on its slings we went to our tent where we all collapsed into the grass. I pulled the top part of my suit down to my waste exposing my torso, which was covered in sweat. Most of my teammates did the same because it was so hot. We got up from the grass and made a tight circle.
"Good job guys." Mike beamed.
"You too Mikey." I said.
We briefly discussed the race and exchanged quick hugs in our excitement from winning. Victory brought us so close. It was pretty hot when I went to Ryan.
"Amazing job man." I said.
"You too Shea."
We wrapped our arms around each other but he raised one of them along my back and put his palm on the back of me head. I did the same and we squeezed tightly to each other. Our hard bodies were pushed together and I could feel his six-pack on mine and his tight hard pecks and nipples pushing into my chest. Our sweat beaded together and dripped from our clinging bodies. It didn't really get me too excited though. Ryan was hot, but he wasn't Alex and I didn't care about him as anything more than a brother. He slapped my back and walked to the tents. When the results were posted it turned out we had beaten Forest Hills Central by three points for first in the overall points competition. It was an amazing feeling and I couldn't wait to party that night. I went to find Alex.
He was sitting by the students, most of whom had left. I went to him and slapped him high-five, but he pulled me into an embrace.
"That was amazing!" He said squeezing me tighter.
"Thanks." I replied.
Little words could have described that moment. My boat had just won our school Midwest Championships and now I was standing shirtless and sweaty in Alex's arms. Whenever we touched I could feel energy between us. It was amazing to have him so close to me. He finally let me go and we walked to the parking lot.
"Want a ride home?" Alex asked.
"I'd love one, but I have to take the bus. Could you pick me up at the locker room exit of the gym in half an hour?" I asked.
"You're leaving me for them?" He asked trying to sound hurt.
"Ha-ha, sorry bud, they're just so much hotter." I really emphasized the sarcasm.
"I doubt it." He quipped looking down at himself, laughing.
"Cock." I said pushing him. A breeze picked up and I pulled the top of the one-piece suit back onto my body. "Just pick me up, k?"
"Yea, sure." He looked at me pulling up my suit up. "Here," He said pulling off my sweatshirt. "This is getting kinda warm for me."
He wasn't wearing anything under the sweatshirt, but I tried not to stare. I could tell that he was hot in it, and it looked like he might have been sweating.
"See you soon." He said walking off to his car. "Oh, Shea? I almost forgot. When the Central boat stopped rowing, everyong said they caught a crab. That the hell is that?"
"It's when someone get's their oar stuck in the water because they're not in sync with their boat. We won by a small miracle."
"Sounds like you won because you're better." He said making sense of it. "If they were better than you, they wouldn't have caught the crabs and would have one, right?"
"I guess you're right." I said trotting off to the bus. "See ya."
I approached the bus and climbed on. I pulled down the top of my suit once again and then pulled the sweatshirt over my body. As I pulled it over I inhaled deeply. Alex's scent was on the sweatshirt and I was glad he hadn't worn cologne. It was an amazing smell, thick and hot in the sweatshirt. The bus ride back to the locker room was pretty quick and everyone was loud and rambunctious. Back at the locker room everyone stripped and got into the showers. Usually I joined them, excited to see everyone naked in the showers, but today I didn't. I felt a strong urge to be with Alex. I walked to the shower room and stood at the threshold.
"Amazing race today guys." I said to my teammates trying to keep my eyes up.
"You too, Shea." Most of them answered.
"No shower, Shea?" Ryan asked. He had a weird tone to his voice when he asked.
"Not today.... I just want to get back home. I'm beat." I replied. "I'll see you guys Monday."
I walked out and Alex was already waiting for me. I hopped into his car and he pulled out and headed for our dorm. We stopped at the front desk in the lobby of our dorm and asked if there was going to be a dance with Notre Dame School for Girls. We always had dances and socials with them to celebrate our victories or theirs. We were told there would be a dance in our gymnasium and it would go from 7:00- 11:00. It was 2:00 now so we had time to relax before we got ready.
Once we got to our room Alex fell down onto his bed, clearly tired from the early morning. I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Then I too went to my bed in only my briefs and lay down on top of the sheets. I looked up at the ceiling.
"You guys are amazing out there, Shea." Ryan said rolling towards me. "It's so cool to watch you."
"It's an awesome sport." I said smiling.
I fell asleep without bothering to set the alarm. Alex would wake me up in time to get ready. Soon into my sleep I had a dream. Alex was sitting on my bed and his hand was on my chest and he was caressing my stomach. A second later I woke up with a start.
I felt two hard knees push into my shoulders and Alex was sitting on my stomach pinning me down. He was in his briefs too, and must have taken a nap as well.
"Not now." I said trying to roll onto my stomach and go back to sleep.
"We gotta get ourselves pretty for the dance." He said in a funny voice.
"Then get the hell off me so I can." I said pushing up on his bare chest and throwing him to the back of the bed.
He landed on his butt and came back towards me, but I was on him too quickly and pushed his arms over his head and down to the bed. We were all twisted up in my comforter which was all the better because it was hiding my excitement from being on Alex. My hands were holding his down palm-to-palm with our fingers wrapped around his as if we were walking along the street holding hands. The length of my arms touched his, and, as I always did to get closer, I slid my butt back onto his crotch and lowered my body to his. We were almost flat against each other. Our strong arms felzed accross each other's, our armpits met rubbing sensually together, and our chests were pressed together. Our abs were tight and our muscles slid together like a puzzle. I lowered my lips to his ear.
"Looks like you have to get used to being under me." I barely whispered.
Our eyes locked for a second, and I thought we were going to kiss, but then he threw me off of him.
"Unless I decide to start fighting." He laughed.
It seemed like we were flirting, but we were both more comfortable with it being simple high school screwing around. So that's how we left it. It was as if we had an understanding with each other.
"Well I'm gonna shower." I said seeing that it was 5:00.
"Another?" Alex asked.
"Smells like you need another too." I said pushing him onto his bed.
He threw a tee-shirt at me, but I just grabbed a pair of boxers and brought them into the bathroom with me. I showered, and then shaved and brushed my teeth and came out in only the boxers. I went out into the room to pick something out to wear and Alex was sitting in a pair of ratty jeans and no shirt studying some lacrosse plays. He looked hottest when he was just relaxing. His abs buckled a little and there was a little fold on his lower stomach from sitting. His nipples were dark in color and sat there in their beauty, tempting me to kiss them. I went to my dresser and picked out some nice khaki pants, a blue button up shirt and a silver tie. I put on some nice shoes and a spray of cologne. I stood in front of the mirror trying to tie my tie, but I wasn't doing too well. Alex came up from behind me and helped me tie it and then he went into the bathroom to get ready. I gathered up some clothes from the floor and threw them in the hamper. Alex finally came out of the bathroom and put on a pair of khakis like mine, and a charcoal colored button-up shirt and a tie.
"Why'd you put the sweatshirt in the hamper?" Alex asked me looking at it.
"'Cuz I was all sweaty when I wore it today." I answered.
"It doesn't smell, though." He said lifting it and pressing it to his face.
"It smells good... like you and me." He threw it onto my bed. "Let's get goin'." He said seeing that it was 7:15. I brought the sweatshirt to my truck in case it got cold later that night. I usually brought it everywhere in case I needed it. I was also hoping that the night would end with Alex and I in the lake again.
We took separate cars to the dance in case we wanted to leave at different times. I took my truck and Alex drove his car. When we arrived at the gym loud music blared from the doors. We went in to find that it was already packed. There was a large banner in the middle of the gym, hanging low so it was more noticeable. There were nearly a hundred different banners like it from other sports all that had championships winning years on them, but tonight we were celebrating ours. It was white and edged with red silk. In large red letters on the front it read:
MIDWEST SCHOLASTIC ROWING CHAMPIONS
Saint Mary's Predatory School
2004
My teammates were huddled around a table at the front of the room which was no doubt the trophy. Alex saw me looking over to the table enviously.
"You go hang out with your team. There are plenty of people here for me." Alex said to me.
"Alright, see ya later tonight." I said wondering when I'd find the right time to talk to him.
The dance went very well. A couple of beautiful girls asked me to dance with them, which I did and the rest of the time I stayed with my team drinking punch and joking around. The night wore on and seemed to last for a long time. My coach went to the front and made an announcement about our victory, then he called up my boat and the senior eight to receive our medals. It was the best night of my life. Around 10:30 most of my teammates were bored with the party, and some of the seniors told us they were going to get some booze and start their own party. Most of my team left to find a bit more fun, most of them bringing the best girls they could get from Notre Dame's. I decided to leave them to their fun. My head was pounding from the noise, so I decided I'd head back to the dorm. I hoped Alex would be there, because I hadn't seen him much that night, only a few times dancing with the same girl. It made my insides churn with anger when I saw them slow dancing, and unlike me and my dance partners they danced very close and whispered in each others ears the whole time.
As I was walking out of the gym towards my car, I saw Alex walking with the same girl towards his car. They had their arms wrapped around each other's wastes. I stood in the doorway out of their sight. He opened her door for her and they faced each other. He put his head down toward the ground. It almost seemed like he was crying. She kissed him on the forehead and then climbed in. He ran around to his side of the car and drove of towards our dorms.
I could feel my face turning red. I felt sick and I didn't think I could walk. I got to my truck and climbed in the driver's seat. My head swam. I couldn't believe Alex was sneaking her up to our room. No doubt they were going to have sex. My eyes started to fill up with tears and I dropped my head onto the wheel. After crying for a minute I sat up. I had to know what they were doing, so I started my truck and headed towards the dorm, trying to wipe the tears out of my eyes. I looked over at the passenger seat and saw my sweatshirt sitting there. I grabbed it and threw it out the window in anger, assuming the worse about the girl. I remember hoping that I never saw it again, or anything that reminded me of Alex.
Sorry this one took so long. Let me know what you think. JimiThingx06x@hotmail.com