Chapter 13
Paul
With no room to stay in, Paul returned to the lobby of the hotel. He found Dan at the continental breakfast bar. Sitting across from the manager, he placed his hands onto the table. Dan could see the worried expression on his face. “What has got you down? Worried about the competition tomorrow?
Paul let out a breath, moving his hand back through his hair. “I’m not worried about that. I think I might have screwed up a good thing. Do you remember Sam? The redhead that was letting me share the room with him.”
Dan’s eyes looked over to the luggage bag next to Paul. He placed the fork down on the table. “Oh. He kicked you out? That’s harsh. What did you do?”
Paul held up his hands palm up and shrugged. “I have no idea. I thought everything was good between us. I saw him this morning when I was doing the drills with you. He was leaving when I tried to catch up to him. That was where I was headed when I slipped. I tried to talk to him when I caught up with him at the hotel room. He had locked the door though and told me to go away.”
The balding man frowned. “I think that might be my fault. I told him that you were focused on training and didn’t have time to talk to him. He looked rather disappointed when he left.” Dan leaned back in his chair. His hands placed onto his lap. “I didn’t think it was that important. I thought he needed to talk to you about the room. I had no idea the two of you had something going.”
Paul blinked. “Wait. He stopped by and talked to you this morning. When was this?” Paul leaned forward at the table to stare across it at the elderly man.
Dan replied. “It was right around the time that you followed after him. A few minutes before. You had started on one of your laps when he was talking to me. He said he wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry if I caused trouble between you two.”
The brunette sighed, reaching over to touch his hand to his luggage. “I know. Next time something like that happens, let me know. Practice can wait. For now, though, I don’t have a room to stay in. Did you find yourself a room?”
Dan rose up from the table. “Yes. I did find a single room. It is a full-size bed, so it will be cramped with two full grown men on it. You are welcome to share it. I hope your friend shows up at the swim meet tomorrow. Maybe you can get things straightened out then?”
Paul clutched the handle of his luggage as he stood up and nodded. “That would be great, if he shows up. He seemed rather upset with me.” The two men walked together out of the hotel. Dan hailed a taxi for them which took them to another hotel that was further out from the competition.
The room that Dan had managed to get into was not as nice as the one he had shared with Sam. Paul laid down on the bed and took up his book to read. There was nothing he could do until the meet tomorrow. Paul’s eyes glazed over the pages. There words were there but he was not reading them. He got lost in thought thinking about what he would say to Sam when he saw him.
Competition Day
The next morning, Paul and Dan left the hotel to head back to the competition. He walked into the locker rooms beside the pool to change into his swim trunks and place his swim cap on his head. This was it. The time to compete and win. He should feel more pumped about competing but he was still wondering if Sam would be in the stadium seats. He walked out of the locker room and into the pool area.
There were already quite a few people gathered for the competition. Swimmers were already doing their qualifying rounds. Paul scanned the stadium to see if the redhead was in the crowd. He didn’t see anyone with red hair or a camera like the one Sam owned.
Paul took a deep breath as he came up to the block to start his qualifying laps. With the sound of the starter pistol, he dove into the water to swim across the pool and back again. He emerged from the water and looked up at Dan. The man had his stop watch and showed him the time. It was still slow for him. His mind was distracted. He couldn’t concentrate on the competition because he was thinking about Sam.
He waited anxiously for the judges to announce the top contestants for the final competition. His qualifying time got him in but it was not as good as he would have hoped. His time put in fourth place. If he performed like that during the final, he wouldn’t win.
The time was getting closer for the competition to start. Paul sat with his back against the wall. He looked over to the glass wall and saw the redhead walking down the hall. Paul stood up from the floor and approached the door where Sam would enter.
When the door opened, he looked at Sam. He had so much that he wanted to say. “Hello. I didn’t think you would show up today. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I didn’t want to hurt you. Are you still mad at me?”
Sam dropped his camera bag down onto the floor. “No. It was me. I thought you didn’t want me to talk to you at all when Dan said you needed to focus. I got confused and over thought things. I was mad because I thought you didn’t want me. I didn’t want to be hurt again.”
Paul shook his head. “It sounds like this was all a misunderstanding. I wanted to talk to you when I saw you yesterday morning at the pool. I tend to get focused during practice. I tried to follow you but I slipped on the tile in here.”
Sam had a smile on his face. His hands slipped behind him and he was rocking on his heels. “You followed after me?” Sam blushed, cheeks turning pink. “You really do like me then?”
The handsome alpha reached his hand over to slide behind Sam’s head. He leaned forward to kiss Sam on the lips. The kiss was passionate and full of love. Sam pressed his body close to Paul. His hands wrapped around Paul to hug him. This felt right to Paul. His mind felt clear now that he had reconciled with Sam.
Their kiss broke and Sam was still blushing. He had the brightest smile that lit up the room. Paul brushed his fingers over Sam’s cheek. “I don’t like you Sam. I love you.”
Sam took a deep breath. He stared longingly into Paul’s eyes. “If you love me so much, then go win this competition. I would hate for you to lose because you were distracted by me.”
The announcement for the swimmers to get ready for the final race was announced over the intercom system. Paul put his hands around Sam to hug him close and kiss him on the lips once more. “I would win a hundred races if it meant I got to be with you.”
Separating from Sam, Paul walked over to the pool to get ready. He slipped his goggles over his eyes and stood ready at the block. He looked toward the stadium seats to see Sam waiting for him. The photographer had his camera out and was snapping pictures of him.
Paul’s heart was racing with excitement and joy. He never felt more alive or full of purpose. He stared down at the water that often beckoned to him. He loved the water but something else was urging him on this time. He could hear the cheers of Sam from the crowd. His voice carried over the crowd to echo in Paul’s head.
The starter pistol fired off. Like a bullet, Paul dived into the water. His heart pounding in his chest as he swam as hard as he could. His hands pushing the water behind him with every stroke. He often raced for the joy of winning. But he had a different reason to win this time. His lover was in the crowed and asked him to win. He wanted to win for Sam, not for himself.
He kicked off from the opposite pool wall, swimming back to the other side. He pushed himself to his limit. His legs kicked faster and his lungs felt like they were on fire. He pressed onward during the final stretch and slapped his hand onto the block to finish the race. He had no idea if he had won or not. He was out of breath. He knew that he gave it everything that he had to give.
Lifting himself out of the water, Dan was there to greet him. “You got a record time Paul! You won the competition. You won!” Dan was jumping up and down ecstatically and looked happier than Paul had ever remembered. Paul looked over to the crowd to see Sam. The handsome omega was smiling as he left the stadium seats to hug Paul.
“Congratulations on winning!” Sam declared. The redhead standing on his toes to lean up and kiss Paul. Paul wrapped his arms around Sam to hug him close.
“I couldn’t have done it without you Sam. You were the reason I won. I did it for you.” Paul released his hold on Sam. “I don’t normally go to the award ceremony. Would you come with me?” He held out his hand to take hold of Sam’s hand. The two of them returned to the stadium to await the ceremony.
The judges handed the gold trophy to Paul and had him standing on a stair pedestal next to the second and third place winners. Sam was close by with his camera to take pictures of the event.
Stepping down from the pedestal, Paul came over to Sam. He handed him the trophy. “This was for you. I think you should keep it.”
Sam held the trophy in his hand. He turned it around to look at it and then looked back to Paul. “I don’t want to keep this. You worked so hard for it. You should keep it to put on your trophy shelf.”
Paul replied. “I don’t want to keep it. I already have enough awards.” Paul took the trophy back from him. “You know. I might keep it after all, if I can have one more trophy.”
“What kind of trophy do you want so that you keep that one? Another swimming trophy?” Sam inquired as he looked up into Paul’s eyes.
Paul lowered the trophy down to his side. “I was thinking that I want a trophy husband. Sam, would you marry me?” He lowered down onto his knee and presented the trophy up to him. “I don’t have a ring right now. I hope that this will do.”
Sam looked ecstatic. He was smiling so much and tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. He waved his hand in front of him, not believing that this was happening. “Yes! I’ll marry you.”