This concludes the Leigh story. Read part 1 and 2 first. There's cheating in this story- if that's not your thing, don't read. All characters are over 18.
The next 2 months were a blur as Leigh trained for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October. Marc was flying everyone there: Leigh, me, Steph, Jim, and Nick. Only Leigh and Marc had qualified but Loop got Jim and Nick in as amateurs.
We didn't talk a ton in those days about what had transpired in Mexico, I had set forth my expectations of Leigh's future behavior and expected her to abide by it. No showing off naked or topless to other guys, no more naked photo shoots, no taking or sending inappropriate pictures, no touching other guys or allowing herself to be touched inappropriately. She pushed back a little, saying if anything occurred in professional manner that was required by her triathlon and modeling contract she might have to break these rules, but only in a controlled professional setting. I vehemently disagreed and after some discussion we agreed she'd at least consult me every step of the way if anything "professional" came up that was in violation of my wishes. Leigh seemed to think it was unlikely.
You can imagine my sense of unease as we boarded the private plane to Hawaii, and not just because of Leigh. Work allowed me to go to on the trip but they weren't excited about it, and it came with the stipulation that I be available anytime day or night to field calls or handle emergencies. As Lorelai and Callie strutted their way down the aisle of the even larger plane that Loop had chartered to Hawaii, offering each of us drinks, I did my best to quiet the voice telling me this was going to be a long few days.
We arrived late Wednesday night and were there for 4 full days, Thursday through Sunday, with the race on the final day. We'd leave early Monday morning.
The first day was pretty boring. We walked through a huge expo where bike and gear manufacturers, sports drink companies, and personal trainers all had booths. There were also a bunch of retail areas selling Ironman merchandise. Leigh had to sit for 2 hours at the Loop booth with Marc, greeting fans and signing autographs. I wasn't going to let the 2 of them sit next to each other unchaperoned, so I tagged along and was quickly bored. There was nowhere for me to hang out near their booth without being awkward, so I just kind of perused the expo for a while, mostly staying nearby and walking by frequently.
I heard discussion from a number of fans after stopping by to get her autograph- almost invariably the females walked away truly impressed and complimentary of how she'd come out of nowhere in her triathlon career. The men, on the other hand came away talking about how hot Leigh was, many commenting on the photoshoot. I was surprised at how crude and graphic some of the comments were. It made me angry but also in a weird way I was kind of pleased to be in a position that all of them would envy if they knew who I was. After all, I was sleeping with the girl they were all drooling over.
Finally the marathon autograph session ended, and we were headed back to the hotel. Just as we walked in the front door, Leigh said, "Ok I have my fitting for my tri suit, you can head to the room and I'll meet you back there."
"You already have a tri suit, what do you mean a fitting?" I asked.
"This suit has to fit my body perfectly to maximize aerodynamics and minimize drag. Pro triathletes refit them for every race."
"Do you have to get naked for that?" I questioned.
"Of course, silly, I'm naked under my tri suit, aren't I? I have to wear the thing for hours through the swim, bike, and run so I can't have it chafing anywhere." Seeing my concerned expression she added, "don't get mad, this is one of those professional obligations I told you about. George is the designer and fitter, and he is the best at what he does. Plus he's totally gay. You gave nothing to worry about."
"All the same, I'm coming with you," I said.
"Fine with me. You're gonna be bored."
I was bored, and the fitting took nearly 45 minutes. George was definitely indeed gay and a super nice guy, and so professional and almost clinical as he took his measurements that I almost felt bad for questioning the process. Even though Leigh was naked, George was the only other one in the room and acted as if he had no idea she had even disrobed. I calmed down a good bit seeing this- maybe Leigh had a point with her exceptions for professional behavior.
The next day was Friday. Leigh and I woke up and took a walk around the resort where we were staying. We talked about her schedule for the day, which included a leisurely training swim in one of the secluded coves on the resort property. I told her I'd plan on sitting on the beach and drinking a margarita while watching them train.
But my boss had other plans. Around lunchtime I got a call that there'd been an emergency and a client meeting I'd missed had been a disaster. It was well past close of business back home now but my boss had promised the client a reworked proposal by first thing Saturday morning, which meant I had the rest of the afternoon Hawaii time to get it done. I felt a lump in my stomach as I watched Leigh walk out with Marc and Nick to go for their swim. Jim and Steph had opted for a bike ride instead.
But soon I was engrossed in my work, and not thinking much about Leigh. Until she texted me 30 min later.
"George doesn't have our new suits ready so we are going to train without them. Is that ok?" it read.
"Sure," I quickly replied, eager to resume my work and get it done. I appreciated her communicating but I don't know why she thought it would make a difference to me whether she wore her tri suit or the modest one piece she'd left in. This way I didn't even have to worry about the guys talking her into changing in front of them. I put my phone down and kept working.
My boss called to drone on about specific items he wanted changed in the proposal, and I put him on speaker, half listening and half continuing to work. I'm not sure how long the call lasted, but I had just hung up when Leigh came rushing in, looking flushed and excited.
"Babe!" she exclaimed. "Guess what?! We raced across the cove to that rocky point we saw this morning and I beat Marc and Nick! Isn't that crazy?"
"Yeah," I said trying to feign interest as I continued to work. "But I thought you guys were just going for a slow, easy swim since it's so close to the race."
"Well we were, but I guess we're all just competitive." She laughed. "Of course Marc and Nick tried to say it was because they had "too much drag" in the water since they didn't have their tri suits on to um.. hold things in place. Marc called them 'rudders'. They are ridiculous."
