As sunlight beamed down onto the community pool, the water sparkled like tiny diamonds. Children laughed and played among one another while parents watched close by, either chatting in groups, or lounging on the poolside chairs. The concrete along the edge of the pool was littered with wet paw and hoof prints, evidence of people moving back and forth from swimming and relaxing. On the far corner of the pool area, there were several rickety-looking tables and chairs, along with a vending machine and soda machine where people could buy various sugary drinks and snacks.
The diving boards on the end on the pool had a short line up to them. If it was not so close to sunset and closing time, the line would have been nearly to the locker room doors. One lifeguard post was on either side of the pool, as well as one in the middle. The lifeguards' metal whistles hung around their necks, and both lifeguards who were on duty were wearing their trademark red swimwear.
Towards the left-most diving board, one such lifeguard sat with sunglasses over his eyes. He had a bored but content look across his face as he scanned over the pool area, a forty-inch rescue tube across his lap. The strap that was connected to the ends of the rescue device were looped over his shoulder, and he could feel the strap against his back. His light brown skin glistened with water, and the light black hair on his chest, and short, faux-hawked hair shined in the sun.
His muscles flexed as he stretched in his seat, and he smacked his lips lazily before reaching for the bottle of water to his side. Looking towards the clock that was near the locker room entrance, he noticed it was going on 8:00 pm. Giving a sigh of relief, he looked up at the sky and pulled his sunglasses off to rub his eyes. The auburn eyes scanned the sky to see the white, puffy clouds washed out by the orange and red of the sunset. It was a blissful atmosphere, and he found a deep peace wash over him before he heard the sound of running near him.
Grabbing his whistle and sticking it up to his lips, the lifeguard blew hard into it until the loud shrill pierced the calm. The perpetrator was a young child with eyes as blue as the ocean and an attitude that seemed to radiate happiness outward. He gave a coy look up to lifeguard, and the lifeguard just gave a stern gaze back.
"No running," the lifeguard said. Although the hurt look across the kid's face did make him feel a little sympathy, he had no trouble keeping the stern look on his face. His job as a high school teacher helped with keeping his voice and features from cracking due to emotions. The kid looked as if he got his hand smacked and walked towards the diving board line, grumbling something under his breath. The man on his high post was pleased with himself and leaned back against his post.
Heavy footfalls were heard to his right, and upon turning his head to see who the owner of those footfalls was, he smiled, seeing his fellow lifeguard. His coworker was an absolutely massive male who dwarfed him by at least a full foot, if not more, and his physique was the very definition of herculean. The beautiful sheen of his skin was nice and bright due to the sun beaming down on his muscles and the muscular stud looked up at him, barely even having to raise his head, given his height, and his hazel eyes locked onto his fellow lifeguard on his high post with a friendly glimmer in them.
"Looking a bit bored over here, Will," the man chuckled. "If you wanna take a break, you can. I can watch the pool for a minute, if you want to go get a granola bar, or something. The right side of the pool isn't super popular right now, anyway, since it's late enough that parents have started taking the youngest ones home for the night," he shrugged.
Giving a warm smile down at Ryan, Will folded his sunglasses before sliding one of its arms into his red speedo to hang on his leg. Although many of the other male lifeguards wore swim trunks, Will was vain when it came to his body. With the many laps he swam in the pool before work, combined with working out at the local gym, he nearly rivaled the younger lifeguard in strength, and Will enjoyed showing off every curve and ridge in his physique.
"The only thing I need is protein to fuel these guns," Will said with a joking smirk as he flexed his biceps. "Just kidding. A break would be nice." Taking the rescue tube off and wrapping it around the lifeguard post before maneuvering his way down from his perch, Will's rump swayed back and forth as he climbed down from the tower. "If we get too slow, the boss may let us go early. Never know with him, though."
"I know, right? I swear, that guy's either halfway up our asses about safety, or he's so laid back that he wouldn't even care if we closed the pool early," the coworker smiled. "And I'm sure I don't need to remind you that state law requires you have a permit for those guns, Mr. Shepard-erm, Will, I mean." The big guy blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. Old habits die hard, as they say, right?"
Giving a small laugh, Will stepped up next to his co-worker and crossed his arms. "Please, don't call me Mr. Shepard again, or you'll make me feel even older," the older man said with a smile. "I remember when I was making you run laps in my P.E. class. Crazy how quickly time flies, you being a senior in college now, and everything. From what you told me about your studies, it seemed my coaching disciplined you just fine, Ryan."
Giving a sly wink, Will gave a playful smile before adjusting the waistband of his speedo smoothly. Although the swimwear showed off the best of his body while still keeping some amount of modesty, it did have a tendency to ride up in places that made getting up from a sitting position a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, please, you're what, like thirty? You're the youngest teacher at that high school by at least a decade or two, and it's not like you're even old. You're only seven years older than me!" Ryan chuckled. "And besides, the workout regimen you made me and the rest of the wrestling team go through helped me get this big, and clearly you're still following it, too, because you're looking great, if you don't mind me saying." He looked his ex-teacher up and down, taking in each hard muscle, each valley and peak of that perfect musculature.
"I AM thirty," Will said with a laugh. "And that's awfully nice of you to say. You don't look too bad yourself, string bean." Giving a low chuckle and a sly wink, Will looked over his previous pupil, his eyes concentrating on the ex-wrestlers broad shoulders and confident stature. "You are really starting to fill out. You always did have the right body for wrestling. Just had to kick all that fast food you were eating and supplement it with fruit and nuts. Fruit to catch all the nutrients you need, and nuts for prote-..."
Shaking his head before giving a distinct blush and cutting himself off, Will gave a chuckle. "Sorry, I'm lecturing you again. I'll stop treating you like a student, but...I have a habit of treating everyone like a student, at times."
"Well, my momma always said that we never really stop learning new things, so it's only natural you want to try to keep teaching people new things, right?" the massive stud smiled, resting a heavy hand on the teacher's shoulder. "Nothing to be ashamed of. Heck, when I was a pup, I tried to teach every one of my relatives how to use multiplication. No idea why I did it, but apparently I thought it was fun, at the time! Anyway, don't let me keep you from your break, Will. I'll be here."
Giving a smile at Ryan's upbeat attitude and enthusiasm, Will nodded and felt the strange desire to ruffle his former student's blond hair. He held himself back, though, watching the man's ears twitch slightly when a cool breeze blew over them. Will had expected and encouraged a sense of camaraderie during the on and off season, and he believed a connection between the players, as well as the Coach, was critical for success. The touch on his shoulder had felt natural from his ex-student, rather than awkward.
"Alright. Just don't work yourself too hard. I'll be back in like fifteen minutes or so. If you end up drinking from my bottle of water, just don't slobber all over it," Will said with a teasing smirk. Will walked backwards before turning around to make his way towards the vending machines. Although his first target was the locker room to grab his wallet, he at least wanted to scope out what the machines had.
When Will made it to the machines, he leaned in to inspect its contents. Most of it was way too high in carbs for his diet, but the sunflower seeds looked promising. They were also only one dollar, which didn't seem too pricy, compared to the candy bars. Deciding on his purchase, he made his way around the pool until he came to the door of the male locker rooms. Opening up the door, the first thing Will noticed was the steam filling the area and the wave of heat that hit him right when he opened the door.
As Will walked down the tiled floor, the hiss of showers could be heard on his left and right, as well as the sound of wet feet and sandels hitting the floor. The environment felt like home to Will as he made his way towards the lockers, and he was not fazed by the male nudity around him, as well as the sights and sounds. To Will, it was just a part of the swimming experience, just like how wrestling required more revealing attire like singlets.
When Will made it to the locker area, rows upon rows of dark blue lockers were there to greet him. Walking down to the second row on the left, he turned into the aisle to come face to face with a naked patron of the pool, his dong flopping casually between his legs and the muscular man clearly built from swimming laps. Neither seemed fazed, and Will managed to utter a half-hearted apology as he stepped past him and to his personal locker.
The number 128 was written in dull white across the top, and a simple padlock kept him from accessing the contents. Reaching forward, Will fiddled with the lock and input the appropriate combination before pulling upward on the opening mechanism with enough force to hear the satisfying click.
The moan of resistance from the locker made his ears twitch when he opened it, and on the inside of the door, there was a simple mirror, as well as several newspaper clippings from his coaching milestones. One was a picture of Ryan with his arms wrapped around several teammates and grinning broadly. Each of them were in uniform, and the then student was holding up the state wrestling trophy with a prideful look on his face. Will stood to the side with his arms crossed, smiling proudly at the camera. The picture made the Coach give a small smile of his own as pleasant memories began to fill his thoughts.
"Man, it's been a long time..." Will mumbled as he looked at the date in the bottom corner. The year was 2010, Ryan's sophomore year of high school. Looking at another picture, Will saw the track team posing in uniform in the same way with a female Coach beaming proudly this time. The year on the photo was much more recent: 2014. From the female's confident stance, down to the posture, Will instantly recognized the track Coach as Lauren, his girlfriend and fellow Coach.
"I really need to update these. We've already won state again since then," Will thought humorously before rummaging through his locker. His duffel bag had the school's insignia on it, a gift for when he first signed up to take over coaching wrestling and teaching physical education eight years ago. The bag showed its age, and the color looked dull, but he had a hard time trying to part with it.
