I could hardly explain the look of awe on Stretch's face when she finally opened up the envelope to see the thick pile was of hundred dollar bills. She held back enough money to pay for a sexy fitness posing outfit that she had been eyeing and the balance she gave to her roommates as an advance for her rent.
To call the next week rewarding would be a huge understatement. I followed all of Jacques's instructions but he was wrong about one thing. After selling my position Thursday afternoon my portfolio was valued at $225,154.35. Once I returned the $50,000 to Jacques I would be left with over $175,000!
Phoning the broker, "Hey this is Jay; can you forward back $55,000 to my account and reinvest the balance in some conservative growth portfolio appropriate for a student?"
"I think that would be a good idea. Normally I don't handle portfolios less than $10 million, but because you are obviously a friend of Jacques it would be my pleasure."
They was no way I could explain to my parents how I ended up with $175,000 in my bank, so I thought this would be a good plan and maybe my first step into learning about stock market investing.
I forwarded the $50,000 back to Jacques along with an effusive note of gratitude. I kept $5,000 to pay for some expenses and the balance to enjoy with Stretch.
About a week later I was hanging out at Stretch's apartment when there was an Amazon delivery. Stretch came back into the room holding a small box and a huge smile on her face.
"Don't go anywhere; I have a surprise for you guys."
Little John, Bear and I chattered, wondering what the surprise would be. It seemed like a long time before we heard Stretch's door open.
"Here I come" was her excited voice as she danced into the room with her new competition fitness outfit. It was comprised of three small triangles and a series of attached strings. "I entered my first competition coming up in about a month. So what do you guys think?"
Little John was the first to speak. "If I wasn't gay I would marry you right here and now" he said with a chuckle.
Bear continued "If I was your parent I would hate it and tell you to put some clothes on, but as your trainer and friend you look fucking hot. I see a gold medal in your future."
"And you my boyfriend...?"
"If I had a choice I wouldn't want to share this image with anyone and keep you all to myself, but being an unselfish boyfriend and respecting you, I can only say HOLY FUCK... you look totally awesome!"
"I will take that as 3 thumbs up!" as she pranced around the room wiggling her cute little ass and giving us each a friendly kiss.
The day of the competition finally arrived and Juice and I made sure we arrived early to get seats close to the front. Stretch went through a side door to join the other competitors behind the stage.
As Stretch entered the backstage area, it was large with both guys and girls pumping up their muscles and doing preliminary stretching. She felt like an outsider as she saw various larger and smaller groups talking and laughing together. Surely they had competed together before.
Stretch found a corner and started her stretching and warm up. She did a few high kicks, various split positions and did snippets of her routine. She could feel various eyes watching her and she got ready to perform.
One of the girls approached her.
"You look new here."
"Yes, my first competition and I am a little nervous. My name is Suzie but my friends call me Stretch."
"Nice to meet you Stretch. My name is Kate but my friends call me ... Kate" she said with a chuckle in her voice.
Kate was a several years older, shorter than Stretch and broader at the shoulders and arms. She had a warm smile and Stretch immediately thought they could become friends.
"I was watching you stretch and you look like you really have talent. But talent only goes so far in this competition."
"I am not sure what you mean."
Kate looking over her shoulder, "You see the girl in the blue outfit; she is the winner for today."
"How can you know that? We haven't started yet."
Kate continued. "There are three judges but Jimmy the Greek controls the way they vote. Jimmy has pre-auditions before the competition and from there he selects the winner."
"I am not sure I understand."
"You are new, so let me be clearer. In the fitness world, there is a lot of money to be made for the top people. There are endorsements, photo shoots, modeling opportunities. But to be successful you have to make it to the National levels and to get there you have to medal in shitty competitions like this one. So girls will do whatever it takes to medal so they can compete in the Nationals. To medal you need to please Jimmy the Greek and thus we have the pre-auditions. Do you now understand?"
"That is wrong, but I think I understand. Have you ever done pre-auditions?"
"Hell no, I just do this for the sport. After giving birth I was carrying an extra 30 pounds. I started to train and I loved it. I dropped thirty pounds of fat and then added 10 pounds of muscles. There are a group of girls that just enjoy being here and don't need a medal to know they are being successful. Anyway I wish you good luck."
"Good luck to you as well."
Stretch had butterflies while waiting for her group to perform. Fortunately she was in a lighter weight category so she was early in the program.
Juice and I waited nervously as they motioned Stretch's category to start performing. We watched three women do their routine before it was Stretch's turn.
Stretch walked onto the stage with the lightness of air. Her smile lit up the room as she took her first position and nodded her head to start her music. Her performance was the best I have ever seen. Besides her off the chart flexibility, her balance was rock solid, her strength ever present but it was her joyful personality that showed throughout the routine that seemed to have an impact on the audience. At the conclusion there was loud clapping throughout the room, mostly led by Juice and myself.
We sat through the other contestants, but none could match Stretch's flow and difficulty of program. It was medal time and they began the announcement of Bronze medal, not Stretch, Silver metal, not Stretch. Could it be that Stretch was going to win a gold medal at her first competition? Her routine was clearly the best one.
"And the winner of the Gold medal is... Mary Lee Jones."
Juice and I looked at each other in amazement. Besides Stretch there were two girls better than Mary Lee Jones!
Going backstage, pleased with her performance, Stretch was disappointed that she did not receive a medal and as Kate had indicated beforehand, Mary Lee Jones was the winner.
Stretch finally joined us at the end of the competition. We both profusely complimented Stretch on her routine and gave our opinions that she should have taken the gold.
Stretch kissed us both for our support. "I think I know what I need to do to get gold."
Juice looked at her as if she was reading her mind. "Stretch, don't do it."
The next competition was three months away and Stretch continued to train hard, now focusing more on increasing her bulk but not losing her femininity.
Stretch found Jimmy the Greek's phone number, which was not difficult to find. Jimmy was a former power lifter and now went to various gyms selling steroids, EPO, other performance enhancers along with any other street drugs that one might be looking for.
Stretch, with her heart pounding out of her chest, dialed Jimmy's number.
"Hello, is this Jimmy? I am Suzie from the previous competition. I was wondering if I could arrange a pre-audition."
"Yeah I remember you. You were the skinny flexible one. Do you understand what a pre-audition is?"