Author's Note: This is the third chapter in a multi-part story called "The Swim Team." It is meant to be read in succession. If you have found this chapter first, I recommend visiting my author bio and start reading from chapter 1. Enjoy!
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The day of the competition arrived, and I was about to vomit. I hadn't seen or talked to my family all day, not wanting to acknowledge they even existed. But I knew that they were out there, probably just arriving at the school, taking a seat somewhere on the bleachers, waiting to see their twenty-year-old son fully nude.
Even Nathan, who was partly responsible for letting this happen, seemed visibly nervous getting undressed in the locker room. We all chatted about how awkward and weird this was. We all knew that our parents and siblings were outside. Our friends and their families. Some of them didn't agree right away, but when they found out other parents were going, they went along with it.
I learned that everyone's family was there, except for Mei's. Mei's parents were extremely strict, resentful types, who never really integrated into Western society, and certainly did not approve of most of Mei's behaviors. It suddenly dawned on me, for the first time, that this whole thing was probably a simple rebellion against them. They constantly told her how disappointed they were, and how they didn't approve of her bisexuality. Mei spent her whole life acting out against them.
It was too late to have all these insights. There was no time left to talk to her, to sort this out. It was showtime, as Kiara liked to say, and we all needed to bring our A-game to swim our hardest, our fastest, and to not let anyone down. So we lined up and waited for the signal to exit the locker room nude and accept our fate. I took one glance back at Monica and Simone. They looked like deer-in-headlights. I gulped, and off we went.
We stepped out into view of the pool and the bleachers beyond, and I instantly took fright. In that moment, I realized just how many families were there. My friends were there, their moms and dads were there, brothers, sisters, alumni, all in attendance. As we neared the crowd, I could start to make out various friends, people I went to school with, some attending for the first time, all acutely conscious of my nudity, all glancing down to take covert peeks at my penis or Monica's vagina.
I strolled past a middle-aged woman, who I suddenly realized was one of my teachers. Just yesterday I had class with this woman, and now she was seeing me completely nude, eyeing my freely swinging cock like everyone else. Was that a slight smile on her face? I couldn't tell, I was overwhelmed.
I didn't want to search for my family, but somehow I couldn't help it. Sure enough, there they were, just a few rows back. We turned to face the crowd. And there was my mom, with her hands on her lap, doing her best to act normal. But she was looking right at me, at my nude body. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking, sitting there, seeing her own son's penis.
Was she curious? Was she uncomfortable? Did she regret coming, or was she okay with this? "I'm a nudist now," I thought, "This isn't weird. I just have to get used to it." I reminded myself this over and over.
Still, the sight of my sister's face kept distracting me, and she was clearly gawking. At one point, she realized I was watching her, and covered her mouth to block her nervous laughter. She was just a couple years younger than me, as horny and interested in guys as I was in girls. But here she was confronted with her brother's naked body, and couldn't avoid seeing my penis which was just... right there. For a moment I wanted her to experience being naked in public, purely out of resentment. I wanted her to feel petrified, standing in front of Chris while he gawked at her breasts and vagina, but then I realized what I was imagining and blocked the thought. A million, confusing thoughts were going through my head.
It was no surprise that the older men were all curious about the girls' young, nude bodies, perhaps remembering their college years and the girls they had been with. The older women seemed just as curious about the guys, no doubt realizing this is what their sons' bodies had grown up to look like. The young people in the crowd had all sorts of reactions. Some held their hands to their mouths, others were giggling, others were just gazing at the sight of naked people. I could feel Simone crumbling nearby, as her brothers, sitting a row below my family, were falling all over each other laughing and slapping their thighs at the sight of their naked sister. Just as she predicted, they were immature about the whole thing the moment they caught the mere sight of her boobs.
I heard Mei start talking, welcoming everyone and giving a similar introduction to what she first gave the rest of the school when we opened our practice to the public. But I could barely understand a word she was saying. I just roamed the audience in a fit of panic, until I came upon Monica's parents. They were completely unfazed, due to the fact that they were nudists themselves.
Mrs. Navarro gave me a little wave, perhaps sensing my fear, so I nodded and smiled. I found this comforting, like she understood, and I began to calm down a bit. Mr. Navarro was observing Monica. I wondered what it must be like for him to be seeing his own daughter's breasts and vagina in that moment; if it was weird, or if it was no big deal, given the fact that he was a nudist. Perhaps he was just proud to see how beautiful his daughter had grown up to become. I wondered if Monica would become increasingly comfortable in her body, and join them at the nude beach. I wondered if they would ask me, and if I would see her parents' naked bodies.
Mei finished her speech and it was time to get started. We approached the pool where we were read the obligatory rules by an official in a pantsuit. She raised her stopwatch and signaled to an official at the other end of the pool. We were ready to begin and formed a huddle. Normally Mei, our unofficial team leader, would give us a pep talk.
For once, Simone interrupted and performed the task herself. "Listen guys, I'm not going to leave here today having been completely naked in front of my fucking brothers for nothing. We either record the best time today, or we're complete fucking losers. I'm never going to hear the end of this as it is, so we might as well not become fucking losers in the process. Okay?" We all laughed and nodded. This was all the pep talk we needed. And so with that, we began swimming.
First was Kiara, our anchor, followed by Chris, one at a time, until I was up. I dove in and felt relieved to hear the roar of the crowd fade away into a distant echo. Being underwater was a welcome escape to the extreme discomfort I'd been experiencing. I kept going over and over the sight of my parent's faces in my head, trying to decipher what they were thinking, unable to bear the shame. Before I knew it, I felt the opposite wall of the pool in front of me. I realized that my thoughts were so preoccupied with this experience, that I forgot to even pay attention to my swimming. I had no idea how I was doing, and so I just swam as hard and as fast as I could.
"That's easily your best time," whispered Monica excitedly, as I pulled myself out of the pool and Jared dove in next.
"Really?" I said, "I could barely focus." But she was right. The adrenaline pumping through my body and the multitasking in my mind had driven me to a performance that I could never had done if I was overthinking the task at hand. I wasn't the only one. We demolished the best time and went on to win first place, the first time in over twenty years that our school had ranked at the top. I'd never heard so much cheering when the results were announced.
Though I was desperate to get out of there, there was no way I'd be able to get out of letting my family congratulate me, and say thanks for coming. I meekly approached them, as the crowd flooded out of their seats to shake our hands. As I walked up, I became acutely aware that I was standing just inches from my mom, dad, and sister, completely nude.
"Great job!" dad said.
