Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:23:06 -0500
From: Keiren Connors <keiren.connors@gmail.com>
Subject: Brae Chapter 6

Back at the apartment, Nicola opened a bottle of wine and started pouring
out glasses.

"Just water for me please," I called, flopping onto their couch.

"Booo," Nicola yelled back. She disappeared into the kitchen and emerged a
minute later with a water bottle.

Tired and kind of shell shocked, the four of us sat around, waiting for our
pizza, recounting our evening.

"I still cannot believe that happened. Nic you are so bad ass!" Emmie said,
reaching across the couch to give her arm a squeeze.

"You continue to surprise me," Lottie agreed.

"Who would have thought that Brae was going to make such an exciting and
dramatic addition to our crew?" Nicola said, flashing me a rare genuine
smile. It was a change to see her without her usual hard exterior.

"That's me: the drama queen," I snickered.

"That boy really has it in for you. I believed he was an asshole from what
you said, but I never would have thought he was that bad!" Lottie said.

"He's lucky we're in harmless old Carrington. That kinda behavior is just
asking for a shanking," Nicola said.

"Well hopefully, he'll take it as a lesson," Emmie said.

"I would be shocked if he remembered anything other than the burning
sensation in his eyes," Nicola laughed.

"And that he picked the wrong bitch to mess with," I retorted.

The pizza arrived a few minutes later, sending Emmie into raptures.

"The perfect end to an eventful night," Emmie said, between bites.

"The best things in life are highly caloric," Nicola said.

Colin arrived a few minutes later, looking a little worse for the wear.

"That Drake kid is *heavy*. I mean he is dead weight. Christ. I don't know
how Skip ever would have managed to get him home on his own."

"Everything go okay? I feel so guilty you had to deal with that," I said.

"It was fine. The club wasn't looking to involve the police or anything.
They were out on the sidewalk and Skip was trying to call a cab when I got
there. We ended up just walking Drake back together. He stuck his face in
every fountain we passed on the way home, said he couldn't get rid of the
burning sensation."

Nicola and the girls guffawed.

"Oof! That sounds brutal."

"Nah, it wasn't so bad. He is just extremely, extremely heavy," Colin said,
stretching out his arms and twisting his upper torso. "I think I need to go
to the chiro." He laughed and grabbed a slice of pizza.

"My hero!" Emmie said gleefully, resting her head on Colin's shoulder. He
snaked a strong arm around her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of
her head. "You'd better not get grease in my hair!" Emmie warned playfully.

"Oh, yeah? Whatcha gunna do to me?" he taunted.

"Nic, can I borrow your purse for a moment?" she asked. Everybody laughed
heartily.

"Okay, I should probably get going," I said, throwing the remnants of my
crust into one of the empty boxes.

"No stay," Emmie whined.

"Yeah stay," Lottie echoed. "You can sleep with me."

"Or with me," Nic said suggestively.

"I actually promise to behave myself," Lottie countered. Nicola threw her
hands up in defeat, and another ripple of laugher pulsed through the room.

"I feel like I should check on Skip though. Damage control. I don't want him
to be mad at me."

"Why would he be mad at *you*?" Lottie asked.

"I dunno, he might think it was my fault or something," I said.

"No, he's pretty aware that his friend is a prime asshole," Colin piped in.
"He was really apologetic and worried about you. I assured him that you're
okay."

"Oh... really?"

"Yeah. He's fine. He's a big kid," Colin said.

"You are not his keeper," Nicola said. "He can survive one night without his
babysitter."

"Yeah and we don't want you walking home alone," Lottie said.

"Fiiiine," I relented. "I'll stay the night."

"Yay! I hope you're a cuddler!" Lottie nudged me playfully.

"On that note, I think we are going to retire for the evening," Emmie said,
peeling herself off the leather couch and pulling Colin up after her.
"Goodnight everybody!"

"Night!" I replied.

Lottie turned to me "Ready for bed?"

"Sure," I replied. "Night Nic."

"Bonsoir," she replied, finishing her wine in a large gulp.

I followed Lottie into her room and collapsed onto the bed, relishing the
plush feeling of a real, non-school provided, mattress.

"Here. Put these on," Lottie said, tossing me boxers and a t-shirt that she
pulled out of her top dresser drawer.

I held the navy blue boxers up skeptically, checking them for stains. There
was a bone on the crotch. "And whose are these?" I asked. "His taste is
highly suspect."

Lottie looked over before disappearing into her closet. "They're Carl's.
Don't worry -- they've been washed."

"Wait!," I said stripping down and changing quickly. "You mean to tell me
that these belong to the illustrious Carl Franke and you *washed *them? You
probably could have sold these for millions on ebay. Olympian DNA!" I pulled
on the boxers and a Kappa Kappa Theta rush t-shirt.

"You're nuts!" she called back from the closet.

I went into the bathroom, splashed some water onto my face and squirted some
toothpaste on my finger. Lottie entered a minute later in a tank top and
sophie shorts.

"Oh, I have extra toothbrushes. You should have asked."

"Nah it's fine," I spit into the sink and quickly rinsed out my mouth. "So
do you think you guys will be getting back together this year?"

"Who?" she asked, playing dumb.

"You and Carl."

"Who knows."

"So you're open to it then?"

Lottie shrugged. "Okay. To bed with you. No more questions."

"Fine, fine," I said, following Lottie back into the bedroom and climbing
into bed next to her. "Goodnight," I said, fluffing my pillow and settling
under the covers.

"Night."



* * *

 My internal clock woke me just after 5:30am. I stretched out leisurely,
relishing the moment. Finally a chance to sleep in! My mind began to play
through the events of the night before and trying to process them. `I really
fucked myself over last night,' I groaned inwardly. `Drake is going to be
determined to make my life that much harder now. What was I supposed to do?
Am I supposed to avoid him for the rest of our four years? I hope he doesn't
start bothering Nic and the girls..." I laid there for a few minutes of silent
contemplation, Lottie breathing softly next to me, her light brown hair
splayed across her face and pillow. `Stop. Enough. Sleep!' I thought to
myself and then turned over and let myself drift back to sleep.

Lottie roused me at 11:30 as she attempted to slip out of bed unnoticed.

"Hey," I said, looking at her through squinted eyes.

"Morning. Sorry if I woke you. I have my shift in half an hour..." She
disappeared into her closet.

"No, no, it's okay. I should be getting up anyways. Otherwise I'll never be
able to fall asleep tonight." I stretched out my limbs, wiggling my toes in
Lottie's luxurious bedding, and gave a loud yawn. "I actually think I'll go
with you to the Gnat. I could do with a quick swim."

Lottie's laughter rang out from the closet. "Swimming on your day off? You
really need a life Braeden Davenport."

"Does the legendary swimming god Carl Franke practice on his day off?" I
teased.

"I can't say for sure now. But during my tenure, Carl Franke was engaging in
other sorts of exercise on his Sundays," Lottie shot back. I laughed.

"Well seeing as I am lacking the necessary options for that workout
regiment, I guess I'll have to settle for the pool."

Lottie emerged from the closet in her guard uniform and grabbed a hair tie
off the dresser and pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. "Well I think
our project for this quarter will be to find you the right personal
trainer," she said with a gleam in her eye.

I groaned and Lottie flashed me a wide smile before disappearing into the
bathroom. Begrudgingly I slipped out of bed and picked my jeans up off the
floor and pulled them on. "Can I just borrow the shirt? I don't wanna put my
polo back on," I asked.

"Yup. You can keep it. We're supposed to give them to boys anyways," Emmie
called back from the bathroom.

"Oh, uhh, thanks."

"Yeah, no problem!" She emerged from the bathroom, looking completely
refreshed. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure."

We emerged into the living room to the full blast of the early afternoon
sunlight. Emmie and Colin lounged on the black leather couch, watching TV,
with a box of cereal between them. The wall-to-wall windows provided a
breathtaking view of Carrinton's campus, the lush green plains surrounding
it, and the deep blue lake glistening in the sunlight.

"Morning! We're off," Lottie said.

"Work?" Emmie asked.

"Yup."

"Okay, see ya guys. Bye Brae!"

"Bye Emmie. Bye Colin."

"Bye."



* * *



We made it to the Gnat just in time for Lottie's shift, after making her
`non-negotiable' coffee run. We parted in the lobby and I headed into the
locker room to change. I donned a suit and headed out on deck. I checked
Timmy's and Jimmy's offices to see if I could get a workout from them but
they weren't in, so I improvised a short and relaxed workout. Afterwards, I
tried to do some crunches on the mats, but the early afternoon sun beating
through the Gnat's glass ceiling was too intense and I packed it in early. I
took a long shower, changed, and popped back into the pool to say goodbye to
Lottie before going back to the dorm to face Skip.



* * *

 Skip was just getting out of the shower as I got back. `Perfect timing," I
thought to myself, a little lasciviously, as I ogled the way his thin white
towel clung to the globes of his ass, the top digging just low enough to
expose the white flesh beneath his tan line and a little bit of cleavage.
Try as I might, I was probably never going to be able to shake my physical
attraction to Skip.

"Hey!" he said to me with a dazzling smile, as he dropped his towel to pull
on his briefs. My cock instantly sprung to attention and self-consciousness
washed over me. "I was gettin' worried about `ya. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just ended up sleeping over at Lottie's and then I went for
a swim."

"You slept at Lottie's, huh?" Skip raised his eyebrows suggestively. The
sunlight accentuated his cut abs as he stood to pull on his t-shirt and it
was all I could do to concentrate on our conversation.

"Nothing like that. We're just friends," I said defensively. "So, uhh, how
is Drake?"

Skip groaned and flopped back onto his bed, throwing a bronzed arm over his
eyes. "What a mess. Thank god you sent Colin back to help. Drake was
anything but cooperative last night."

"Yeah, I sort of noticed that..." I said with a chuckle, taking a seat in my
computer chair and haphazardly spinning myself in circles.

"Yeah..."

"I wanted to come back and help you, but I was pretty drunk, and everybody
else thought it just might incite him further..."

"I'm sorry about everything." Skip looked over at me and winced.

"It's not your fault. I saw you trying to play peace keeper. Drake's just a
little large for you to lasso in."

"Yeah!" Skip laughed. "You should have seen Colin and me trying to get him
home. It was quite the slap-show-comedy."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that. You're a good friend. Probably a
better friend than he deserves."

"I dunno," Skip said evasively, clearly not comfortable with the idea of
roasting Drake.

"I should change," I said, surveying my wrinkled appearance. "I think I'm
going to read out on the lawn today. Start one of my British Lit books," I
said as I pulled a fresh t-shirt and athletic shorts out of my dresser. "I'm
going to grab some food first though. Want to join?"

"Sure."



* * *

 Skip and I grabbed a bite in the dining hall and further discussed the
events of the previous evening. Before long Skip was doing an uproarious
half-man, half-bull impression of Drake. I was glad that we were able to
laugh about it and Skip's antics diffused a lot of my anxiety over the whole
incident. After we finished up, I set out my spread on the quad and delved
into the first book of my college career. Determined to get off to a good
start, I highlighted diligently and took copious notes in the margins. `This
will last all of 3 chapters,' I thought to myself. A slight breeze blew
through the arches of the cloisters, rustling the through the trees and
creating currents in the perfectly manicured grass. The afternoon sun poked
in and out of cloud cover creating the perfect balance between cool shade
and tepid sunshine. It was truly a magnificent day.

I spent the rest of the afternoon immersed in 19th century London, only
packing it in when it finally got too dark to read. I grabbed a quick dinner
in the dining hall before making the trek back up to my room. Skip was
playing around on his computer when I got back. Neither one of us felt like
going out, so I talked Skip into watching movies for the rest of the
evening, before turning in early.



* * *

 The pool was a zoo the following morning. Not only was it the first women's
team practice but it was also the first mandatory practice for the
upperclassmen. It felt like our numbers had quadrupled, which they probably
had, and the chatter was overwhelming. Eric must have recognized the
deer-in-the-headlights look on my face because he swooped in to my rescue,
throwing a protective arm around me before circling me around to meet all of
his buddies. I spotted Drake across the deck and the nasty look he shot me
made me even more grateful for Eric's presence.

It took Timmy and Jimmy a while to get practice going as the large, and
rather rowdy, group of us seemed to subconsciously resist all efforts
towards organization. Timmy eventually asserted his iron fist and got things
moving. Jimmy ran us through some quick stretches and then Timmy split us up
into groups. Tate and I were the only freshmen assigned to Timmy's group and
I felt a wave of pride sweep over me. The other freshmen, with the exception
of Drake (who just glared), looked at us deferentially and even the
upperclassmen seemed to view us as a force to be reckoned with.

I still shared a lane with Henry and Eric and I was already beginning to
feel like we had established a comfortable way or working with each other
and that Eric and I had our own repartee going. So I was a little bit
annoyed, for more than just physical space reasons, when a fourth body
slipped into our lane.

"Hey freshie," he said to me with a saccharine smile that struck me as
disingenuous.

"It's Braeden," I said giving him the once over. He was Asian, tall and
lanky with flawless skin and silky black hair was styled in a bowl cut that
he'd probably sported since second grade.

"'Kay, freshie," he smirked.

I gave him a scathing look. "Well aren't you just the pinnacle of maturity?"

Eric laughed and wedged himself between us. "Okay boys, settle, lets just
settle down. Braeden, Philip. `Lip, Braeden. Peace and love, not war," he
said with a goofy grin.

"Sorry... It's just a little early in the morning to be antagonized." I said.

Henry flashed all of us a look of annoyance.

"Sorry Henry," I said suddenly feeling like the awkward newcomer.

Practice was long and difficult and by the end it was dragging miserably.
Timmy came down on us like a man possessed and for the first time I felt as
though I was struggling to keep up.

"Is he working out some sort of vendetta against you guys or something?" I
jokingly asked Eric between sets.

"I would laugh, but I don't really have the lung capacity right now," he
replied, panting, with his tongue hanging out like a dog's.

I rinsed quickly after practice, careful to avoid Drake in the locker room,
then headed back to the dorm with Skip. Despite a good night's sleep, we
both walked home as though in a trance.

"Nap?" I asked as soon as we entered the room.

"Yeah. You look like a zombie," Skip replied with a cheeky grin, laying out
on his bed with his arms behind his head.

"I feel like all we ever do is nap. What are we going to do when we have
classes to break up our naptime? I can't believe I have to lifeguard after
practice tonight! I'm going to pass out on the stand."

I looked over towards Skip expecting a response but he had already passed
out. I rolled over, pulled a sheet over myself and did the same.

Skip was still sleeping when I got up a few hours later. I grabbed my book
and a towel and slipped out of the room, careful not to disturb him. After
grabbing lunch in the dining hall, I claimed my usual spot on the lawn and
delved into the next section of my book. I was reluctant to put it down and
get back to the grind of practice a few hours later.



* * *

 The afternoon session wasn't nearly as extreme since we spent most of our
time in the weight room. Colin and I spotted for each other and he chattered
incessantly about Emmie, in a manner very uncharacteristic of his usual
reserved stoicism. They had agreed the night before to make whatever it was
they had official and Colin had the ear-to-ear grin of a kid in a candy
shop. It was impossible not to take a little personal pleasure in their
relationship as I took full credit for setting them up. `It's like
relationship fulfillment by proxy. How lame am I?' I thought to myself.


* * *

 After practice I toweled off quickly and changed straight into my uniform
for my 5pm shift. The junior club team filtered in a few minutes after I
climbed up into the chair and the pool was soon over-run with children
ranging from around 5 years old to high school age. My presence was somewhat
superfluous since there were multiple coaches supervising and I figured that
was why Greg only assigned one guard to the shift. Despite guarding alone
for three hours, the time passed pretty quickly with the enthusiasm and the
antics of the kids to entertain me. Watching them took me back to my own
humble beginnings, to a time when swimming was pure and uncomplicated and
represented a world of opportunities. `Opportunity has arrived, I suppose,"
I thought to myself, reflecting on my first week as a Carrington College
swimmer. I missed that time when it had just been about the swimming.
Somewhere along the way things got muddled and a hell of a lot more
political.



* * *

 After my shift I grabbed a quick dinner and trudged up the 10 flights of
stairs back to my room.

"I am *dead*," I announced, kicking off my flip flops, as I entered the
room. Skip looked up from his computer and laughed. "I'm going to shower," I
said. "Are you in for the night or are you planning on going out?"

"I'm beat," he groaned. "And I'm only in the kid's club, not the big leagues
like you," he grinned. "I was glad not to be in your shoes, or flippers,
today."

"Yeah tell me about it. The wrath of Timmy is something to be feared."

I took a long hot shower, so long that Skip knocked on the door at one point
to make sure that I hadn't fallen asleep.

"Your phone rang twice while you were in there," Skip said when I finally
emerged from the bathroom, unleashing a cloud of steam into the room.

I groaned. "I hope it wasn't my mom. I do not have the energy for that right
now." I picked my shorts up off the ground and fished my cell phone out of
the pocket.

"Are you going to leave your clothes strewn everywhere? Pick up after
yourself," Skip said with mocking chastisement.

"Sorry," I said, kicking my clothes up off the ground, catching them out of
the air and tossing them into the hamper.

"Quite the showman aren't we?" Skip laughed.

I flipped through my missed calls. "Oh, it was Emmie," I said, hitting the
redial button.

"Hey Brae!" she answered brightly.

"Hey. What's up? You called?"

"Yeah! We were thinking about doing another beach day tomorrow and we wanted
to see if you had any interest in coming."

"Oh yeah, that would be great, as long as I'm back in time for practice."

"Oh, of course. Colin is coming too, so he'll keep us on schedule."

"Oh, great. That'll be fun. Do you need me to drive again?"

"No, my car finally arrived today!" Emmie said excitedly. "Does Skip want to
come?"

"Hold on, I'll ask," I said, putting my hand over the receiver and turning
to Skip. "Hey, we're going to do a beach day again tomorrow. Do you want to
come this time?"

"And miss out on valuable napping time?" Skip said incredulously.

"HA. HA. You can nap on the beach."

"Nah, you go. Have a good time. I have lunch plans anyways."

"With who?" I asked, not liking the answer, even before I'd heard it.

"Uhh, Finch, Brian, and, um, Drake," he said, looking guilty.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"Some hotdog stand way out on Route 94 that Brian knows about."

"Cool, that'll be fun," I said, trying to sound lighthearted. I turned back
to the phone. "Skip's busy tomorrow, so it looks like you're stuck with just
li'l ol' me."

"You tell that roommate of yours that we're going to get him out of that
shell of his eventually," Emmie said with a laugh.

"The sooner the better," I agreed. "So 9am tomorrow?"

"Yup. We'll pick you up."

"Great, see you then!"

I pulled on some pajamas and crawled into bed, plugging my phone into the
charger on my bedside.

"Skip will you put the A.C. down to 66?" I asked.

"Fine, lemme just dig out my parka," he replied.

"I like sleeping in the cold!" I whined.

"Your wish is my command," Skip said, reaching over and adjusting the window
unit.

"Thanks! Goodnight!"

"Do you want me to turn the lights out or something? It's only 9 o'clock you
know..."

"Nah, it's fine. I'm exhausted; I could sleep with a train barreling through
the middle of the room right now. Night!"

"Night!" Skip said with a chuckle.



* * *



Practice the next morning was equally, if not more, brutal than the day
before. My lungs burned and my muscles ached before we'd even finished our
warm up. But it felt good to focus on the physical sensations. I thought of
the club team kids from the night before. `This is swimming the purest
sense. This is what got me hooked to begin with' I thought, pushing myself
through Timmy's rigorous workout. Lip continued to use me as the butt of his
jokes until I was seething with annoyance. Eric seemed to sense that I was a
walking time bomb and did his best to diffuse the situation by inserting
himself between us whenever possible.

"Just hang in there," he said, patting me on the back as we headed towards
the showers. "This whole `rag on the new kid' routine can't last much more
than a week or so. He has a finite amount of material. Besides he was the
new kid last year, so he probably thinks he's just giving you your due."

"I'll do my best, but no promises," I said, giving Eric a grin. "Thanks for
mediating."

"Yeah well, I really was just afraid that your squabbling would bring the
wrath of Timmy on us. Or worse, Henry." We laughed.

I went back to my locker to grab some shampoo and was just digging it out
when I noticed Beau coming in my direction. `Ughhhh, why me?!" I moaned to
myself, knowing that he had me pretty much cornered.

"Hey Braeden," he said cheerfully. Despite our long and vigorous workout,
Beau still somehow looked like Vineyard Vines perfection.

"Hey," I said begrudgingly.

"I wanted to talk to you-"

"If this is about Emmie Heron, she's dating someone now," I interrupted,
almost feeling guilty when he flinched.

"Oh, uhh, she is?" Disappointment read all over his face.

"Yeah, it's a recent development," I said.

"That wasn't actually what I wanted to talk to you about..." he continued.

"Oh?"

"I wanted to see if you wanted to grab coffee or something.

"I actually have plans, sorry."

"Oh, maybe some other time then?"

"Yeah, maybe," I said, non-committally.

Kenner rounded the corner into our row of lockers.

"Hey Brae, can I borrow some shampoo?" he asked. "Everything okay?" he
asked, eyeing Beau up warily.

"Yeah, everything's good. Let's go," I said, shutting my locker shut and
trailing after Kenner towards the showers.

"Thanks for the rescue," I whispered.

"No worries," he said.



* * *



 I showered quickly then ran back to the dorm to grab a bite to eat and to
pack a bag for the beach. Lottie called when they were outside and I ran
down to meet them. Emmie's black Range Rover idled across the street from
campus and she honked her horn twice to get my attention.

"Hey guys," I said, sliding into the back seat next to Lottie and Nicola.

Colin was passed out in the front seat but Emmie, Nicola and Lottie all
greeted me warmly.

"How was practice?" Lottie asked.

"I think Colin pretty much personifies my answer to that question right
now," I laughed. "It's been really brutal the last two days. Hopefully
they'll ease up on us once classes start."

"I'm sure they will," Emmie said. "I mean, don't they like have to?"

"One would think... By the way, your other boyfriend cornered me in the locker
room today."

"Who?!" Emmie squealed with a giggle.

"Beau Vanderbilt." The name elicited groans all around.

"I told him you were no longer available and he seemed quite distraught
about it."

"I'll bet," Nicola scoffed.

"He could not be more annoying," I said.

"He could be Drake," Nicola pointed out.

"Point taken," I laughed. "I still cannot get over the other night. You are
truly my hero."

"St. Nicola, patron saint and protectress of gays everywhere," Nicola
laughed. Emmie shrieked with laughter and the rest of us joined her, waking
Colin in the process.

"What's going on?" he asked, flustered.

"Uhh, nothing. You had to be there," Emmie said, catching my eye in the
rear-view mirror.

"Technically, I was here."

"You snooze, you lose buddy," Nicola said, patting him on the shoulder.

It was another incredible beach day. We all laid out on the raft to soak in
the early afternoon sun, lunched on chips, pretzels and watermelon,
contested multiple rounds of boys vs. girls beach volleyball, and played
Frisbee until a stray throw by Emmie lodged it in a tree. Conversation was
not as candid as it had been on our previous visit; Colin's presence changed
the group dynamic somewhat, but he was a welcome addition and we all had a
wonderful time.

"This was just the escape I needed," I said as we packed back into the car
to return to Carrington.

"Too bad we go straight back into the lion's den," Colin said.

"Tell me about it."

"Brae, do you want to come for dollar burgers tonight with us?" Lottie
asked.

"What's that?" I asked.

"There's this bar in town that has $1 hamburgers and half-off cocktails on
Tuesday nights. It's a hotspot." Lottie said.

"And it's early. We usually go like 8 or 9-ish, but we could even go
earlier, to accommodate our men-folk," Emmie said.

"I'm game," I said.



* * *

 Afternoon practice was equally brutal and we didn't have the benefit of an
hour in the weight room to escape Timmy's tyranny.

"I feel lucky to have made it out of the pool alive," I said to Kenner and
Cam as we rinsed off in the showers.

"I hear you brother man," Kenner said. "And I don't think we have it even
half as hard as you do with Timmy. Jimmy is a more benevolent mistress," he
laughed.

"Benevolent my ass," Cameron echoed.

"So what have you guys been up to?" I asked.

"My brother moved in this weekend," Kenner replied, so we helped out with
that and drank with some of his friends and stuff.

"Oh, cool. It must be nice to have him around."

"Ehh, we tend to be at each others' throats a lot of the time."

"I always wanted a brother or sister," I said.

"You say that now," Kenner laughed. "You don't know how lucky you are, my
friend."

"What have you been up to Brae?" Cam asked.

"Sleeping mostly," I said. "And I am only half kidding."

"I hear ya," Cam commiserated.

"Amen," Kenner echoed.

A whoop went up from the other side of the showers.

"Drake?" I asked, not even bothering to turn around and check.

"Yup," Cameron confirmed.

"Wet towel snapping," Kenner added.

"How original."

"He has been in rare form this week. He's been very vocal about how
displeased he is that Timmy didn't want to train him," Kenner said.

"Yeah, well, he hasn't been performing," I said. "He should be in the A
group right now, but it's nobody's fault but his own that he isn't."

"Yeah. Not sure he sees it like that..." Cam said.

"He certainly has been a pleasant training partner the last two days,"
Kenner smiled.

"Did you hear he got attacked with mace this weekend?" Cam whispered.

"What? No..." I said, stifling a smirk and casually inching out of the
showers, back to the lockers where I proceeded to burst into laughter. I
dressed quickly and high-tailed it out of there before Drake and his goons
finished in the showers.



* * *

 Back in the room I flipped on the TV and flipped open my computer to go
through emails, while I waited to see if Skip came home. When he didn't show
up after twenty minutes I figured he'd probably gone for dinner so I decided
to take the opportunity to call home and check in. All was well in
Davenport-land and my mother was busy planning their upcoming anniversary
trip to Riga, the "little Paris" of Eastern Europe. My dad was freaking out
about to what to get my mom for their big 20th anniversary and was leaning
towards a yacht, an uncharacteristically extravagant gesture on his part
especially since we weren't boating people.

I still had over an hour to kill after getting off the phone, so I picked up
my book in an effort to distract myself from my hunger pains. Hunger pains
won out within 10 minutes, and I started bribing myself with an Oreo for
every chapter I completed. I was still ravenous an hour later when I changed
and left to meet Colin and the girls.



* * *

 The bar was nicer than the one on Saturday, probably because it was a
chain, and it had more of a restaurant feel to it. The décor was 1930's
style art deco, with bold colors and dramatic lighting. We opted for a table
outside on the sidewalk since it was still pretty out and it made for good
people watching. We got burgers and beers all around and settled into casual
small talk. It was clear that the girls were mourning the end of their
summer and had mixed feelings about school starting up again. Lottie was
also on edge because Carl had called her and he was going to be arriving
back in Carrington the next day.

"So you're going to see him?" I asked.

"I dunno, I haven't decided yet."

"Of course she's going to see him, she *loooves* him!" Emmie teased.

"He's a good fuck. That's what she really needs," Nicola said, throwing in
her two cents.

"Nicola!" Lottie yelped.

"Whatever, we're all aware of the long running vacancy in your nether
regions,"

"Nether regions?!" Emmie squealed. "Who talks like that?"

"Colin, I'm sorry you have to be subjected to this," Lottie said, blushing.

"I have three sisters," He grinned. "This is nothing. Plus, I knew what I
was getting into with Emmie."

"You're a trooper Colin," Nicola said. "Now, getting back to the Carl issue:
Will you or won't you?"

"No comment!" Lottie rolled her eyes.

"What do you think Colin? You're like our spy into the enemy camp," Nicola
said.

Colin laughed. "I don't know. I didn't even know he was going to be back
tomorrow. We haven't spoken at all."

"Well, keep your ear to the ground for us," Nicola said.

"Will do," he chuckled.

"I can't believe we start classes a week from tomorrow," Emmie moaned

"Yeah, the campus is going to be completely overrun this weekend,
 Lottie complained.

"Move-in weekend is always a bitch," Colin confirmed.

"I wish we could go to Carl's lake house for the weekend and get away,"
Nicola said. "You think you can work your magic by then Lottie?"

"What? Whore myself out for a weekend vacation for all of you guys?" Lotte
snorted. "Great plan."

"I'd do it for you," Nicola whined.

"Nicola, you'd whore yourself out regardless of whether or not a weekend
house was involved," Emmie said.

"Okay, true... but not the point."

"What if we just look up weekend rentals or something?" Lottie suggested.

"That takes all the spontaneity out of it," Emmie said.

"You know, I have a ski house a couple of hours from here..." I said.

"You do?" Emmie said.

"Yeah, in the Berkshires. I would have to check with my parents, but I'm
sure it would be okay. It's on a lake and we have a boat and everything..."

"And we don't have to whore ourselves out to you to use it?" Lottie said
incredulously, giving Nicola a slanted look.

"First visit is complimentary."

"Will mommy and daddy Davenport go along with it?" Nicola asked.

"Probably. They've never been able to refuse me anything." I dug my phone
out of my pocket.

"Yeah, the perk of being an only child," Emmie said. "I'm so excited!! This
is going to be fun!"

"Yeah, we just can't leave until after practice on Saturday morning... Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. We'll wanna go out Friday night anyways," Lottie said. "Oh
and you'll have to let us buy all the food and stuff for the weekend."

"And booze," Colin added.

"We actually have a groundskeeper who stocks the house up whenever we go up
there, but you guys can definitely provide the booze... Oh, and there are
tennis courts Colin. Okay, lemme call real quick"

I called home and quickly got permission from my dad. He promised to call
the groundskeeper and have him get the place ready for Saturday. We spent
the rest of the evening planning, or rather listening to Emmie's plans, for
the upcoming weekend and teasing Colin about his tennis prowess. Colin and I
polished off three burgers apiece and tossed back a few more beers before
the girls decided to move on to another bar and Colin and I retired for the
evening. Skip was just getting ready for bed as I got back to the room and
the two of us hit the sack hard.


* * *

 Timmy was equally ruthless at the following morning's practice and Skip and
I retreated back to our room afterwards, tails between our legs for an
extended nap. As I spread my towel out on the Res Square lawn to knock out
the last few chapters of my lit book, I realized my life was falling into a
rather predictable pattern. `How lame am I?' I mused. `It took me less than
a week to become utterly boring. I ought to spice things up a little bit...
some time when I'm not so fucking tired. At least I have this weekend to
look forward to...' I thought, turning my attention back to my book.

I was surprised a little while later to see Skip exiting the dorm and
heading in my direction. He flashed his botany textbook at me, stripped off
his t-shirt and sprawled out on the lawn next to me, flashing me one of his
trademark impish smiles.

"Is that a book you're about to crack there?" I teased.

"Yup, you can pick yer jaw up off the ground Davenport. I figured it was
time I got down to a little bit of business," he said. "Plus, I've always
been one to take advantage of a head start, when one presents itself."

"That sounds like good news for Carrington swimming," I joked.

My phone rang, interrupting our banter, and I checked the caller ID. It was
Emmie.

"Hold on, I gotta take this! It's Emmie and we're supposed to work together
tonight." I said, flipping open the phone. "Hey! What's up?"

"How is my favorite gay boyfriend?"

"Emmieeee," I groaned. "I will not respond to that."

"Okay, fine. How is my favorite hottie?"

I winced. "I'm good. Just doing some reading. What's up?"

"Oh! Okay, I'll make it quick. I just wanted to know if you wanted me to
pick you up some dinner or something before our shift tonight."

"Oh, wow, that's so nice. Thank you. That would be great!

"Yeah, no problem! I was going to get Jimmy Johns..."

"Number 7. The Turkey Tom."

"Got it. Also, Nicola wants to know if she can bring her bong this weekend.
Sorry, promised I'd ask," Emmie said.

"Umm, maybe we could save that for a later trip," I said.

"Got it. Say no to peer pressure. Okay, I'll see you later tonight!"

"Bye."

"Emmie is bringing me dinner tonight, since I won't have time to grab any
before our shift," I said.

"Oh, that's really nice of her," he replied.

"Yeah. By the way,  I'm going down to my ski house this weekend with Emmie,
Lottie, Nicola and Colin, and I was hoping that you'd come too," I said.
"We're just going to relax, play around on the boat, drink, avoid the
move-in crowds this weekend."

"Oh."

"We're leaving Saturday morning after practice and then we'll be back after
dinner on Sunday. I know the prospect of having the entire room to yourself
all weekend is pretty enticing, but it will be fun. You should come."

"Sure, sounds like a good time. An' I could use a break before classes
start. Swimmin' is beginning to feel like a full-time job," he grumbled.

"Tell me about it. Plus, I've got a part-time job on top of that full-time
job."

"Yeah, I cannot believe you've got to work tonight. You're a glutton for
chlorine."

"I know, it like oozes out of my pores. Anyways, looks like you have some
fascinating, and very heavy, reading ahead of you, so I'll let you get to
it."

My reading was substantially less productive now that I had the intricate
musculature of Skip's back to distract me. I was hypnotized by his the arch
of his lower back, his broad shoulders and his deep bronze tan. He had quite
the highlighter system worked out, complete with color coding, that he set
about diligently in addition to the notebook of tiny precise notes that he
scribbled furiously, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Despite my distractions, I managed to finish my book and to enjoy a quick
nap in the sun before we had to pack it in for afternoon practice. Skip
hummed the theme to *Jaws* the entire way over to the Gnat. His choice
seemed oddly prophetic by the end of practice, by which time I felt as
though I needed the jaws of life to get me out of the pool and I had to dash
into the bathroom for fear of vomiting all over the deck. Somehow I managed
to hold on to the contents of my stomach (although the two guys in the
stalls next to me weren't so lucky) and I silently cursed myself for
indulging in the burgers and beer the night before. It took me a few minutes
before I finally felt gastro-intestinally secure enough to leave my stall.
The door next to me opened at the same time and Colin stepped out, he gave
me a weak smile.

"Let's never speak of this," I said.

"Deal."



* * *

 I rinsed off quickly, changed into my uniform and then ventured back out on
deck for my shift. Emmie was already sitting on the chair, looking
resplendent as ever, and Colin was standing by her side, chatting away.

"Sorry, I needed a little time to regroup and recover."

"Yeah, you were looking a little peaked at the end there," she said. "Don't
worry about it! Oh, your sandwich is in my bag." She pointed at it on the
bench behind the guard chair.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to need a few minutes before I'm ready to think
about food..." I said.

Emmie laughed and Colin gave me a knowing look.

"Greg is still here, so you should probably go sit in the other chair and
then whenever he leaves you can come over here and chat with me," Emmie
said.

"Sounds good." I grabbed my sandwich out of Emmie's bag and headed over to
the other chair. The club team practice was in full swing and I had to stay
on my toes to keep from being run over by a few pesky critters, blinded by
their foggy, crooked goggles. The younger age groups were doing a butterfly
stroke clinic and the results were nothing if not comedic. It was hard to
believe that I had once been one of those floundering kids contorting their
bodies into incredibly awkward and unnatural positions while trying to
remain afloat. About 45 minutes later, I noticed Emmie wildly flagging me
down. I climbed down and headed back to Emmie.

"I've been trying to get your attention for 20 minutes!" she said,
exasperated.

"Sorry, I was a little busy, you know, supervising the children."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Greg left 20 minutes ago and Colin went home for dinner.
I've been beside myself with boredom. So! Let's talk about this weekend!"

Emmie bombarded me with her plans for the weekend, questions about the house
and her predictions for the imminent reunion of Carrington power couple,
"Carlottie." I also got Lottie and Carl's entire dramatic history in
excruciating detail. It sounded like they were two kids who really cared
about each other but had some serious issues with commitment and putting
themselves out there -- certainly feelings I could relate to. The shift was
up before I knew it. Emmie invited me back to her apartment to hang out, but
I was too exhausted to think about going anywhere but to bed. I promised I'd
come over the following evening, then clocked out and trudged home. Skip was
out when I got back, so I flipped on the TV to decompress with some trashy
VH1 reality television, before turning in at the ripe old hour of 9:30pm.

Skip stumbled in just before 2am and nose dived straight into his bed,
without even removing his shoes. I stifled a laugh, thought about helping
him undress and getting him some water, decided I was too lazy to get out of
bed and rolled over and went back to sleep. If Skip wasn't capable of
learning his lesson, he could suffer for it in the morning. And suffer he
did.



* * *

 "It feels like there is a jackhammer run amuck between my eyes," he
mumbled, sitting on the side of the bed with his head in his hands. I
grabbed some aspirin out of the bathroom and a water bottle out of the
fridge and handed them to him without saying a word. "Thanks," he said
taking the pills and quickly downing the water.

"You should maybe grab another one of those for the road," I said. "Ready?"

"I'm having premonitions of my tragic and untimely death. But sure, let's
hit the road."

We made our way over to the Gnat, Skip moving at a glacial pace. The
mornings were already noticeably darker than they had been even the week
before. The dull glow of the medieval-looking lanterns, hanging from the
eaves of the cloisters, lit our way down the uneven cobblestones that
tripped Skip up every couple of yards. A slight rose tint on the horizon
hinted at the sunrise in the otherwise night sky.

Jimmy instantly honed in on the fact that Skip was looking a little worse
for the wear, yet again, and it looked as though he was going to make it a
rough morning for him. Not that Timmy, in turn, didn't make it a rough
morning for me and the rest of the `A Group.' To top off the torture, Lip
was in a particularly `lippy' mood and still seemed to find my freshman
status hilarious. After practice, I stomped off to the locker room, fists
clenched in fury and frustration.

"Give him a few more days... and if he doesn't calm down, *I'll *punch him,"
Eric said, coming up to me in the shower and giving me a reassuring pat on
the back.

Skip came in a minute later, picked a secluded showerhead, turned it onto
cold, then eased under its stream and leaned his forehead against the tile
wall. I walked over cautiously.

"Hey, Skip how are you doing?" I asked tentatively, trying to keep my voice
down, a relatively useless gesture given the general commotion around us.

He rolled his head towards me and cracked one eye open to look at me. "It
hurts to breathe," he rasped, his voice just above a whisper. He suddenly
doubled over and began retching into the gutter. I rushed forward and began
stroking his back as his muscular back spasmed with each heaving lurch.

"Heads up down there, vomit!" I called down to some of the other guys in the
corner, noticing that the gutter was carrying Skip's ripe-smelling bile in
their direction. They all shouted their disgust and high-tailed it out of
the way. I looked around, searchingly, and my gaze landed on Kenner entering
from the pool.

"Hey Kenner," I called. He looked over at me with a wide grin that quickly
evaporated upon seeing the state that Skip was in. He grimaced and began
inching towards us.

"You're not going to try and rope me into clean-up duty are you?" he asked.

"No, could you just go alert the janitorial staff. Or at least ask Timmy or
Jimmy to alert them?

"Yeah, sure."

Skip finally stopped puking and stood up trying to catch his breath. He took
a swig of water from the shower to clean his mouth out and then spit it into
the gutter.

"We should probably shut your shower off. I don't want the gutter to
overflow and send this mess all over the floor," I said. "At least it's
pretty contained as of right now... How are you feeling?"

"Not much better," Skip groaned.

"Still have that headache?"

"Yeah, it's worse than ever."

"Okay, let's get you back to the room. We have some Excedrin Migraine. That,
along with some sleep should probably do the trick."

I led Skip back to his locker and helped him get dressed. Drake, not
surprisingly, took it upon himself to provide a running commentary of Skip's
misery and to paint us a pretty picture of the Jaeger bombs and Long Island
Ice Teas that had led him to his current predicament. I managed to ignore
his snide remarks without snapping, a feat I believed should qualify me for
sainthood.  Then I helped Skip back to the dorm, avoiding the toxic sunlight
whenever possible. We managed to get back to the room without a repeat
incident and I got Skip into bed with a double dose of Excedrin.

"I'm going to go read on the lawn. I'll be sure to be back in time to get
you up for practice."

Skip mumbled something that I took to mean "Thank you." I grabbed the next
two books off my syllabus and went out to claim my usual spot on the green.
I thumbed for the first few pages of both of my reading options and selected
the harder one, figuring I might as well get it out of the way while I still
had the free time. I grabbed lunch around noon and then returned to working
on my reading... and my tan.



* * *

 I roused Skip at 2pm, so that he'd have time to grab food before we had to
head back to practice. He said he was feeling a bit better, but he had a
slightly grey cast to him that led me to believe he was till feeling
seriously ill. He managed to get down some basic carbs before practice, but
didn't seem to have any interest in venturing out to more adventurous food
groups.

We both survived the afternoon session. Skip ended up vomiting again, but at
least he made it to the toilet this time and he had the rest of the evening
to hole up in our room and pray for death. Jimmy had no taken no pity on him
and seemed intent on instilling a lesson on my thick headed roommate.
Figuring Skip could probably do with some peace and quiet for the evening, I
left him alone in the room and went to grab some dinner in the dining hall.
Cam and Kenner were already eating so I joined their table and
half-heartedly discussed Skip's "epic pukefest" at practice that morning.
While Skip was clearly reaping what he sowed, I couldn't help but have a
little bit more sympathy for him than they did. I felt like his behavior was
the production of his own insecurities, his relatively naïve personality and
the emotional games his family had been playing on him for months. Skip was
clearly desperate for attention and friendship anywhere he could find it and
would do anything to hold onto it. This of course was not a conversation I
could really have with either of them, so I mostly nodded at the appropriate
moments and pondered the hideous mural of classic movie poster
re-interpretations on the wall behind them.

Emmie texted me while I was at dinner to make sure that I was still coming
over, so after we'd finished our meal I said my goodbyes and ventured into
town. I stopped at Carrington's legendary bakery and picked up an assortment
of tea cookies and cakes to bring over as well as a couple of bottles of
wine that I got next door. I figured it was about time I reciprocated their
generosity.



* * *



"Ahh, he comes bearing calories," Nicola announced upon opening the door for
me.

I followed her into the living room, where everyone was assembled. Emmie and
Colin were cuddled up on one end of the couch and Nicola took a seat on the
other. Lottie was curled in one of the easy chairs opposite the couch and
the oh-so-recognizable form of Carl Franke was seated, a little awkwardly in
the other. He was almost better looking in person than he was on TV, a fact
I'd already observed that summer at the trials. His bulk was impressive even
clothed and seated. His muscular build was somewhat unique in the swimming
world and he was known more for the raw power of his swimming than for his
technique. On top of his impressive physique was a face that made
endorsement brokers' mouths water: Doe-like chocolate brown eyes; strong
cheek bones under flawless tan skin; a rugged jaw-line; and a pout most
women would kill for created a specimen that looked more suited for life on
Mount Olympus than amongst us mere mortals. His dark brown hair was styled
messily and obviously professionally, so that he looked ready for a photo
shoot at a moment's notice. He rose to shake my hand and I extended mine in
turn, a little hypnotized by his presence. He wore a cream colored
shawl-collared sweater and coral Bermuda shorts that exposed his bulging
calf muscles in a mouth-watering fashion.

"Hey, I'm Carl," he said warmly. "I guess we're going to be teammates. Colin
speaks very highly of you. As does Lottie."

"Hey, umm, I'm Brae," I replied, fighting to retain my presence of mind.

"I remember you from this summer," he said.

"You *do*?!"

"Mmm, gimme those," Lottie said, reaching out for the box of cookies.

"You can give me the alcohol," Nicola said with a grin. She patted the empty
spot on the couch next to her. "I'm no longer the fifth wheel! You are my
lord and savior."

I handed Lottie the cookies and then took the proffered spot on the couch.
"So how is your roommate doing?" Colin asked. "That was quite the scene he
made this morning."

"Tell me about it. He's sleeping it off. I think he might have a migraine or
something," I said.

"Ooh, brutal," Lottie winced.

"Yeah. But self-inflicted," I said. "I don't mind looking after him. It's
not a big deal... but I have minimal sympathy. This was hardly the first
time."

"He's definitely pissing Jimmy off," Colin said.

"Well, I hope Jimmy gets through to him soon. It would make my job as
roommate a lot easier."

"It's not your job to take care of him," Nicola said. "I would leave these
two to die in the gutter in a heartbeat if either of them either puked on
me!"

"Nicola you are such a liar!! You held my hair when I puked in the bushes at
spring formal last year!" Emmie said.

"Yeah, well, you were wearing my dress. I had a vested interest in making
sure your mess was contained," she quipped.

"I see you haven't changed a bit Nicola," Carl said with a chuckle.

"Admit it. You love us," Emmie teased.

"Whatever. I'm going to open these," Nicola said, hopping up off the couch
and walking into the kitchen.

"I'm sooo excited for this weekend!" Emmie said. "I want to buy a badminton
set to bring down."

"We have one. You may want to pick up some extra racquets and birdies
though."

"I love badminton!" Lottie exclaimed. "That was always my best unit in gym."

"Where are you guys going this weekend?" Carl asked.

"To Brae's ski house down state," Emmie said.

"Oh, cool."

"You're welcome to come, there's plenty of room. Did I tell you guys Skip is
coming?"

"I'll be sure to stay out of his projectile range," Nicola said, returning
with a corkscrew and a stack of Solo cups. "It was easier than bringing in
six wine glasses," she said putting them down and starting on the first
bottle of wine.

"We picked our venue for white party today!" Emmie said, changing the
subject.

"Oh it's at a different place this year? Isn't it usually at the same one?"
Carl asked.

"Yeah, we were asked not to return. Whoops," Nicola said with a shrug, She'd
opened both bottles and was pouring out peoples' drinks.

"What's white party?" I asked.

"It's our fall date party," Lottie explained. "It's only a couple of weeks
after school starts. You're my date this year." Carl shot her a surprised
glance, which she ignored.

"Oh..." I said awkwardly, noticing that Carl had turned an inquisitive eye on
me.

"It is the social event of the quarter," Emmie raved. "The theme is white,
obviously, so everyone is expected to wear all white and the venue is
usually mostly white also."

"Sounds cool. Like P. Diddy's Hamptons party," I said.

"Yeah, exactly! Have you been to that?!" Emmie asked.

"No," I laughed. "My dad would never let me."

"Oh, I really like this wine. Good choice Brae," Lottie said, taking a sip.

"Thanks. I visited this winery with my parents last summer, so it's sort of
become my go-to wine whenever I find a place that has it," I said.

"We'll have to pick up some bottles for this weekend!" Emmie said.

"I'm so bummed you're going away this weekend," Carl said looking over at
Emmie.

"Like I said, you're welcome to come Carl," I said.

"Thanks, but my sister is moving in this weekend. She's going to be a
freshman, so I hafta be around to see the parents and help out and stuff."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find plenty of other girls willing to hook up
with you," Nicola said. An uneasy silence settled upon the group. Carl broke
his gaze away from us and stared awkwardly out the window. Nicola finally
spoke up again. "I suppose I should have waited until we were all
sufficiently imbibed before I said that."

"Look, I know that things didn't end so well last spring but-" Carl started.


Emmie interrupted. "Carl, I don't think now is the best time for the
`intentions talk.' Let's just table the issue for now."

"So should we take one car or two down to the cottage on Saturday?" I asked,
trying to steer the conversation in a fresh direction. Emmie and I had
already discussed everything at length, but it was all I could think of at a
moment's notice.

"I think one, since there are 6 of us. If we pick up any more passengers
before Saturday, then we should probably split up," Emmie said, matter of
factly.

"How many bedrooms does this `cottage' have?" Nicola asked, amusement
written on her face.

"Six plus the master," I replied, a little embarrassed.

"Oh so it's *that* kind of cottage," Nicola smirked.

"I know it's kind of pretentious, but my mom likes calling it `the cottage.'
She got the idea out of this old movie that she is obsessed with."

"Oh my god! *Thoroughly Modern Millie*!" Emmie squealed. "I *love* that
movie!"

"Yeah! That's it!" I laughed. "How did you know?!"

"Emmie knows any and all things Julie Andrews," Lottie said. "You two will
as well if you spend enough time in this apartment," she said looking at
Colin and me.

The banter remained light hearted for the next two hours as we finished off
the two bottles of wine I'd brought over as well as an additional two from
the girls' stock before heading out to the bar. The place was similar to the
one we'd gone to on Saturday night, but smaller, more crowded, and without
the benefit of the backroom. The two outside walls were entirely windows,
which prevented the place from being as claustrophobic as it might have been
were it entirely wood paneling like Saturday's bar. The place was packed and
we had to squeeze through the crowd to get to the bar while Nicola went off
to see about finding us a table.

"I don't think she's going to have any luck," I said.

"Nicola doesn't need luck," Emmie replied. "She just latches onto a table of
what she would call `misfits' and essentially scares them into leaving."
Colin and I looked at her incredulously. "I know, it's terrible," Emmie
continued, "but so is standing up in this joint. May I remind you that we
are all in heels."

After getting our drinks we inched towards the back of the bar with Carl
forging a path. Whether it was his bulk or his famous face, the crowd seemed
more than willing to part to let him through. Sure enough, Nicola had
procured a window table in the back. From their perch the girls observed the
crowd around us and a number of people came up to essentially pay tribute to
them; it was clear they had the social scene wrapped around their fingers.
Carl also garnered a substantial amount of attention, with a number of
people coming up to pat him on the back and wish him congratulations. I cut
myself off after that first drink partly because I wanted to be in good form
for practice the following morning and partly because I didn't want to brave
the crowd again to go back to the bar. I left around midnight to head back
to the dorm, knowing that I was going to be deathly tired the next morning.
Skip was still sleeping when I got back, so I slipped quietly into bed and
went to sleep.



* * *

 It felt as though I had just shut my eyes when the alarm went off. I
groaned in disbelief for a moment then dutifully pulled myself out of bed.
Skip was over by his dresser, pulling on a pair of shorts.

"Is it possible that I still have a headache?!" he moaned.

"I am not a happy camper today either," I commiserated. My mouth felt sticky
and dry and had the acidic taste of alcohol in it and my eyes burned with
sleep deprivation. I went into the bathroom and gave my teeth a quick brush.


"Hungover?" Skip asked, appearing in the door frame.

"No, just tired," I said, spitting into the sink, then went to get dressed.

We grabbed some toast in the dining hall before leaving for the Gnat. Skip
had never made it out of bed the previous night and thus hadn't even had
dinner, so he was famished.

"Dude, just remember yesterday, and that what goes down might very well come
up," I said as Skip grabbed his fourth slice of (heavily buttered) toast.

"Oh, uhh, right." He flashed me a guilty grin.

"Sorry about that. Thanks."

"No worries."



* * *

 Skip's stomach held out and Timmy finally showed signs of slacking up on us
a bit. That, or I was just acclimating to his aggressive style. Of course, I
was still exhausted and began fantasizing about my upcoming nap before
practice was even over. That morning also marked Carl's first appearance at
practice a whole three days earlier than anticipated. His presence seemed to
evoke a mixed assortment of emotions ranging from awe to almost fear from
the other freshmen. Drake was blatantly peacocking around the deck,
obviously hoping to catch Carl's attention and impress him with his
machismo. He shot me a murderous glare when Carl came over and said a few
words to me before practice started.

I had a pretty crippling toe cramp towards the end of practice, one that
made it feel as though my toes were being forcibly twisted around each
other. I hung around for a few minutes after practice to stretch it out.
Jimmy noticed me on the mats trying to flex out the ball of my foot and came
over.

"Toe cramp?" he asked with a grimace. I nodded. "Here, sit down," he said,
kneeling in front of me. He took my foot and slowly started massaging it.
"These are the worst," he said. "You get them a lot?"

"I did when I was a kid. I haven't had one in years though."

"You're probably dehydrated," he said. "So, Timmy is thrilled with your
performance so far. You're coming along great Braeden."

"Oh, uhh, thanks," I said.

"He's thinking about putting you in the 200 IM. Has he told you that yet?"

"No, he hasn't mentioned that. I don't know if my fly is at a competitive
level for that," I said hesitantly.

"You'll get there quickly. You're a hard worker. Like I said, we're both
very impressed. Now we just need to get your roommate in line."

I forced an awkward laugh. "I think he learned his lesson after yesterday."

"I doubt it. But I'll drill it into him sooner or later." He patted my foot
and put it down. "All set. See you this afternoon."

"Thanks coach," I said, getting up and retreating to the locker room.

* * *

 The showers were nearly empty when I walked in and I headed straight for my
locker to get my shampoo. Drake's voice bellowed out from our row of lockers
and I rolled my eyes. `He's probably on the rampage since Carl Franke didn't
even give him the time of day,' I thought to myself. I was surprised to find
Drake standing on the bench and a large cluster of guys surrounding him.

"He's a fucking cocksucker!" Drake barked and my stomach dropped. I felt
panic rising in me as I tried to figure out who Drake's diatribe was
directed at.

"Motherfucking homo! He's been scamming on all of us. Fucking dicklicker!"

"Umm, what's going on?" I asked Skip, who was standing right next to me at
his locker.

"Drake's roommate's a fag." Skip said without tearing his eyes from the
spectacle.

"Yeah right," I said, skeptically. "Poor kid, Drake's such an asshole."

"No," Skip said turning to look at me. "He found gay porn on his computer!
And he found articles from the French papers about him dating *guys*!"
Skip's eyes were wide.

"Probably tried to fucking molest me in my fucking sleep! You make me
fucking sick you shit pounder! You don't deserve to live!" Drake continued.

I craned on tip toe to see over the crowd and sure enough, Tate stood at the
center of the crowd like a leper, his eyes down and his jaw and fist
clenched tightly. My heart ached for him. The guys around him remained quiet
but I could see them getting sufficiently riled up to do some damage without
much further coaching from Drake.

"I oughta rip your fucking ass apart you dirty faggot. We oughta fucking
kill you right here shiteater!"

My own fists clenched in anger and adrenaline started pumping through my
veins, I could feel the tendons in my neck tightening and my stomach felt as
though it was boiling over.

"This fucking homo is going to come after all of you! He wants all your
fucking asses. Goddamn dick bitch. I hope you get fucking AIDs and die!"

Something within me snapped. Before I really knew what I was doing, I was
pushing through the crowd towards Drake.

"Drake you need to shut the fuck up right now!" I yelled, shocked by the
rage that was coming out of me. "You're a fucking disgraceful bigot."

Drake looked over at me, shocked at being challenged.

"What's the matter? Are you a fucking fag lover?" he sneered. "A fucking fag
fucker!"

"Seriously, shut the fuck up. Everyone here should be ashamed of
themselves!" I walked over to Tate and put an arm around him. He was shaking
slightly, but I could tell if it was in fear or rage. Probably both.
Probably everything and anything. I felt like I was going to explode with
adrenaline.

"You a big fucking fag Davvy? You a cocksucker like Tate?" Drake continued.

"Yeah Drake, I'm a big fucking fag," I snapped. "I'm gay. So-the-fuck what?!
And don't worry, I wouldn't ever touch you! Any of you! You are all a
disgrace."

Drake looked stunned for a moment, as did everyone around us. Even Tate
looked at me with a surprised expression. The emotions that were coursing
through my body in that moment were unlike anything I'd ever experienced
before. I'd never felt so simultaneously empowered and sick. Drake jumped
down of the bench.

"You a fucking homo?" he asked, giving me a shove backward towards the
locker. "I knew there was something off about you Davvy. You a dirty fucking
homo?" He pushed me again.

"Yeah Drake, I am, and this dirty fucking homo will break your fucking neck
if you ever touch me again. Or Tate."

Drake lunged at me again, but Tate forced himself in between us. I noticed
that Kenner had also forced his way to the front and looked ready to
intervene should it become necessary. I eyed the crowd around us warily. So
far nobody had moved, but I did not like our chances at getting out of this
without a group beating. I felt ill. My mind was unable to process
everything that was happening and everything I had just done. My eyes sought
out Skip in the crowd, but he was noticeably absent -- something I did not
take to be a good sign. Drake all but roared in anger and continued his
verbal barrage against us.

"What is going on here?" a voice barked from just outside the mob. I looked
and saw Carl Franke and two other guys I recognized as seniors, forcing
their way through the crowd.

"Just weeding out the fags, Carl. Gotta take care of the team you know. We
don't need any fucking homos." Drake replied, with a smug and victorious
smile on his face.

Carl looked at me for a second, seemingly in consideration. "If anyone has a
problem with my friend Braeden here, you can deal with *me*." He said, his
voicing ringing out strong and clear. "And if I hear about any of you guys
giving him a hard time, you'll be hearing from me. And you know Carrington
has stringent anti-discrimination policies, so if y'all want to keep your
spots on the team you better treat him like he's the fucking second coming.
Timmy and Jimmy are not going to be pleased to hear about this. You are a
blight upon this institution," he said sharply to Drake, who looked like he
had just been horse whipped. "Come on," he said, taking me by the shoulder
and leading me and Tate out of the row of lockers. The other guys parted to
make room for us, their stares burning into me.

Now that the shock of the moment was wearing off, I suddenly felt as though
I might vomit, or cry, or both. I had the miserable feeling that I had just
made a huge mistake, one that I was going to regret for the rest of my
Carrington career. I was surprised to find that when I looked over at Tate
next to me, I felt almost resentment towards him for the situation that he
had put me in. A part of me knew that that was completely untrue and that I
had entered that conflict of my own volition, and yet I also wanted somebody
to blame, somebody to channel my anger towards.

Carl led us towards the showers and stopped just opposite the door to the
sauna. "Are you guys okay?" he asked. We both nodded our heads. "Ugh, that
makes me so *mad*!" he growled, his body was tense with anger. "So you're
really gay?" he asked me. I nodded again. "I guess that makes sense. I was
having an impossible time trying to figure out what your relationship with
Lottie was," he said.

"Just friends... obviously," I said, surprised at how small my voice sounded.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry about everything guys. Shit like that makes me so
angry. My little brother is gay you know. I've been the gay-crusader for you
years now." I flinched. "Sorry," he said with a smile. "Anyways, I think the
guys will leave you alone, for now anyways. I'm going to go talk with Timmy.
He should probably at least have an idea of what's going on."

I groaned. "Do you really think that's necessary?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do. I think he'll want to know that his two best recruits are being
harassed" he said. "And listen, I want you guys to come to me if you have
any problems. You shouldn't have to deal with anyone giving you a hard time.
What's your name?" he asked Tate.

"Tate," he responded, his voice soft and a little raspy.

"Ahh, Mr. Vallette. I've heard a lot about you. You should have come up and
introduced yourself in Beijing this summer," he said.

"You were a difficult man to get anywhere near," Tate said with a smile.

"Good point." Carl returned the smile. "You guys okay?" He put a reassuring
hand on both of our shoulders.

"Yeah," Tate replied. I nodded.

"Okay. Well anytime you have a problem you let me or one of these guys know.
This is Donovan and this is Justin," he said indicating to the guys next to
him. "They're two of my roommates."

We shook hands all around and then Carl went to talk with Timmy and Jimmy.
Kenner walked up and gave me a hug as soon as Carl left. He'd been hovering
a few feet away from us.

"Are you all right?" he asked squeezing me tightly.

"Yeah," I said, resting my chin on his shoulder for a second, enjoying the
feeling of having someone's arms around me and wanting to break down.

"That was incredibly brave of you," he said softly into my ear. After about
a half a minute he pulled away to address Tate. "Hey," he said extending his
hand. "We've met, but I don't feel like we've really gotten to know each
other at all. I'm Kenner."

Tate shook his hand firmly, and it was only then that I realized how big
Tate actually was. Kenner was dwarfed next to him. Tate's build was similar
to Carl's, but slightly less developed. I was a little struck by the irony
of the fact that I had rushed to the defense of someone bigger and stronger
than I was. "I'm Tate, it's nice to meet you," he said to Kenner.

Skip's face suddenly popped into my mind and I remembered the way he had
suddenly disappeared during the incident. There was a sinking feeling in my
stomach and I felt sick again. I walked away from Kenner and Tate, into the
showers. I turned one on hot then slunk to the floor, sitting so that its
spray beat down upon my back. Tate came over and sat down next to me.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Not really," I said. "Look, no offense, but I don't really want to talk to
you right now."

"Oh," Tate's voice sounded devastated. "Well, I just wanted to say thank you
for what you did back there. And I'm sorry."

"Yeah," I replied, my voice choking in the back of my throat so that it came
out as an awkward, mournful croak. Tate got up and walked across to the
sauna as Kenner crouched down in front of me.

"You're worried about Skip aren't you?" he asked, reaching out and putting a
hand on my knee.

"Yeah," I moaned, putting my head down on my knees. "I think he's going to
see this as the ultimate betrayal."

"Maybe at first. But you have to realize he's a product of a lot of his
upbringing. And I think if anyone can help to open his horizons, it's you. I
think he'll come around."

"Yeah, I wish I could feel that confident. He's sort of made his feelings on
this subject pretty clear in the past."

"Well, hopefully you'll be able to help him change his opinions."

"Yeah. Not to mention the social leprosy I'm going to have to deal with
here," I groaned.

"That's not true. You already have true friends here Brae that aren't going
to turn their backs on you. You'll always have me. And Cam. He doesn't give
a fuck."

"Thanks Kenner. You know that everyone's going to act weirdly around me now
though."

"Maybe for a little while, but they'll get over it. In the meantime, do your
thing, let your swimming speak for itself. Carrington is lucky to have you
and they are all going to realize that sooner or later."

"In the meantime my life is going to be a bloody misery. I guess I need to
talk with my parents sooner rather than later now that it's out."

"You certainly came out in style," Kenner said with a smirk.

"That's such a comfort," I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, it helps to find the humor in these types of situations," Kenner said.
"It reminds you that it isn't actually the end of the world."

"Yeah, you're right."

"So how much longer do you wanna stay down here on the floor for?"

"Sorry," I replied.

"No, it's okay, I can crouch here all day."

"No, no, you're right." Kenner extended a hand and helped hoist me up off
the ground. "Plus I wanna get out of here before Timmy or Jimmy comes to
have a chat with me."

"You know that that's probably inevitable, right?" Kenner said.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just not ready for it right now."

"Fair enough."

We walked back to the now deserted row of lockers and I changed. Kenner
walked me back to the dorm and up to my room.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" he asked.

"No, it's okay. I should probably do this alone."

"All right, well you can always call me, if you need anything," he said,
giving me another warm hug.



* * *



Thanks for reading everyone! Look out for another chapter soon.

Copyright 2009 keiren.connors@gmail.com