I will have to worry about the bet later. Right now, I had another sport that I can look great in: the swimming competition. This time I was up against my buddy Santiago. Being the former captain of his high school swim team, he was going to be tough to beat.
"Hey Sage," I spoke to my crush as we walked out of the station to the beach side. "I won't forget about the bet I promise, but for this one competition...will you give me a prize if I win?"
"What kind of prize do you want?" She lifted an eyebrow.
"I was thinking...well...I'll tell you when I win. Can you promise me that you will do it?"
She considered. "Alright, fine. I will give you a prize but only because it's your birthday and only if you win. Got it?"
"Yes!" I pumped my fist. I was amped up for this competition now. As we made it to shore, everybody was ready and lined up. Cassidy and Zayne were there taking pictures for the party with a high definition cameras. Some of the women who saw me naked earlier were also there to watch the event. They shot me a few winks while they whispered to each other about seeing my junk. I blushed and pretended not to hear them. As much as I liked being admired by a whole bunch of women, I didn't like the disadvantage of being the only naked person around. So I tried putting that traumatic event out of my mind. I wasn't the only one having this problem. Avery was in attendance (somehow he managed to get his board shorts back) and his face practically mirrored my own. Bridget tried to comfort him but whenever she tried to pat him on the shoulder Avery just looked more and more embarrassed for some reason. I returned my assiduity to the buoy floating at the border of the swimming area.
Basically, the competition was just a race out into the ocean. The first person to make it to the buoy and back is the winner. Standing side-by-side with Santiago at the water's edge, we nodded at each other in a sportsman-like manner and waited for Ingrid to announce the start of the race.
Ingrid raised a hand. "On your marks...get set..." she brought her hand down. "...Go!"
Santiago and I were pretty much evenly matched. He had more experience in the water so I shouldn't be surprised that he beat me to the buoy. When it was my turn to circle back, I had a renewed motivation. It was my birthday so I wasn't going to let anybody else show me up, not even one of my best friends. Plus, I really wanted to collect my prize from Sage. As I propelled myself off the buoy I kicked in the water like I never kicked before. Just like that, I felt a weight lift from my waist, as if some kind of resistance just slid right off my legs and I was swimming faster than I was before. Feeling more aerodynamic with my determination to win, I sped past Santiago right to the shore barely beating him by a hair. I was welcomed with a crowd full of cheering fan girls...
I won!
Sage came forward with her applause while I was still waist deep in the water. I pumped my fists up in the air in victory as I emerged from the ocean. As my feet rejoined the warm sand, the applause of my female coworkers became a thunderous uproar. Sage actually blushed as she looked me up and down.
Man, victory must look really cool on me.
To make the occasion more noteworthy, both Cassidy and Zayne came zooming in with their high definition cameras and started flashing pictures of me from every angle. This gave all the other girls around me the idea to pull out their own cameras and phones to preserve this moment. I was feeling really good about myself right now so I started posing dramatically for Cassidy and Zayne's pictures. I flexed my biceps and pecs with a tremendous smile on my face as I jumped into various poses for my adoring audience. I bulged my arms in the air and across my chest, I held up peace signs, I winked flirtatiously while pointing my fingers like pistols at the crowd, and I blew everyone kisses as their cheering grew even louder. All the while my eyes constantly kept returning to sexy Sage, who seemed to be cracking up about something.
"Oh Lord! This is the hottest thing I have ever seen!"
"He is so damn sexy when he poses like that!"
"Mmmn, I can't get enough of that bod!"
"Take more pictures, I am getting off on this view tonight!"
Wow, these guys just can't get enough of me! And I couldn't get enough of their praise. I leaped in a circle to show off my delts and dorsal muscles to my screaming public. I had the crowd eating out of the palm of my hand...at least that is what I thought.
With my back facing the accumulation of women, I spotted Santiago returning from second place. As he looked at me his face contorted with worry. Waving his arms in the air he tried to yell something but I couldn't hear anything between the clicking of cameras and deafening applause. Resorting to pantomime, he pointed at his eyes and then towards the ground. Is he trying to tell me to look down? When I didn't react immediately, he pointed out towards the ocean in the direction of the buoy. Turning my focus out at sea, I saw a ragged seafoam garment floating in the water...uh oh...as familiarity descended, reality came crashing upon me.
With my fists now resting on my hips in another pose, I should I have realized it sooner. Between the excitement from the cheers and the adrenaline I completely overlooked my predicament like some kind of idiot! Numbly, I slowly turned around to face the crowd again while my heart was palpitating. I don't know why I did that. For I knew exactly what was happening now. The reason why I felt so light swimming back from the buoy, the reason why there is a pair of green swim trunks now floating in the sea behind me, the reason why Sage looked so embarrassed, the reason why all the women cheered so thunderously when I came out of the water, the reason why Cassidy and Zayne look like cats in the cream as they took endless high definition photos of me...
I was making eye contact with Sage who was having the time of her life grinning from ear to ear. I patted down my swim suit area and surely enough...I felt only skin. Sage rubbed her legs together invitingly and I looked down. You already guessed it...I was naked again! Those old seafoam swim trunks without a drawstring must have slipped off when I pushed off the buoy. I owe my victory to a humiliating disrobing. My face lit up like a Christmas tree. I crossed my legs and threw my arms in front of myself as the bevy of cameras clicked away at my exposed body.
Sage walked towards me with her hips swaying seductively and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You don't seem like you want your prize right now, so you can just do as I say since that was the bet."
Before I could object, Sage gripped one of my arms and pulled me away from the thirsty paparazzi. My face glowed red despite this being the third time today she has seen me completely naked!
As my body heated up from embarrassment, all the water from the ocean that clung to my body dried up with the help from the brightness of the sun. It was as if Mother Nature was shining a spotlight down on my nakedness and saying: 'Get a load of 'dat ass! It's one of my finest creations! See it free of charge!' I ducked my head down while Sage pulled me across the beach with a growing number of onlookers just like Scarlet did to Santiago.
Life really is funny when it's happening to someone else.