I rose up out of the water at the end of the pool after I finished my laps for the day. The water cascaded off my body while I hauled myself on to the tile at the edge of the pool. I loved the warm, humid air on a day when it was so cold outside. We were still a week away from Christmas break, but the temperatures were already dipping down into the low 20s at night.

“Hey, James! How did the laps go? I missed you yesterday, and now I’m late today.”

I looked up and watched Randy Madsen approach the pool in a pair of tight, fire-engine red speedos. He liked to show off his body, but underneath the bravado, he was a kind, loyal friend. He was an anchor of the college swim team, and he was one of the few athletes who stuck by my side when the news of me leaving the hockey team broke.

One day in the weight room, I complained that I needed something more active than just the weights to keep my body in shape. Hockey did it for me before, but I was turning into a sloth without the regular team workouts. Randy approached me and asked if I wanted to be his lap swimming buddy.

I said, “The laps are great. My leg has healed up nicely, and I think the body shape is shifting already.” I admired the “V” shape of the classic swimmer’s body, and I couldn’t wait to see what changes would take place after weeks of regular laps in the pool.

Randy sat by my side. He dangled his feet in the water and said, “I’m sore today. I think I’ll skip the laps. I did an intense workout yesterday, and coach said to take it a little easy today. We’ve got a big meet next week. He doesn’t want me to strain anything.”

“Randy, I’ve got something to ask you. When I first started my regular laps with you, the swim team came up in conversation. You said there was room to beef the team up a bit with a couple of additional swimmers. Is that still the case?”

“You want to join the team, James? We’re halfway into the season, and I don’t know what slots are available, but coach might be able to squeeze you into a relay. We’re not barn burners in the conference, but we have fun. I’m sure it would be a step down from all the glories of the hockey team, but it would be great to have you along for moral support if nothing else.”

I said, “I just get that competitive thing gnawing at the base of my spine. I’m sure you know what that’s like. I had hockey games almost every week, and I could charge out there and lay all that energy on the ice. I just thought maybe now I could take it to the pool.”

Randy asked, “Hey, are you finished for the day? Why don’t we do a little impromptu challenge? Four lengths of the pool. The loser buys a pizza to share with the winner.”

I smirked and said, “Are you sure coach won’t mind? I wouldn’t want you straining something when you try to catch up with me.” I paused and added, “In reality, it sounds like the easiest pizza you’ve ever won.”

“I don’t know,” said Randy. “I told you I’m still fairly sore from yesterday. Let’s see your competitive side out there in the water.”

I knew I was likely to lose the race by at least three body lengths. Randy was the captain of the team and a top-notch collegiate swimmer. The rest of the team didn’t match his talent, but he could hold his own against swimmers in the rest of the conference. I was strong, but my technique in the pool was lacking. Still, it was a challenge, and I didn’t want to back down.

I held my own against Randy for the first two lengths of the pool, but then he started to pull away. On the last length, he let up, and I closed much of the gap, but I still ultimately lost by more than a body length. Before we climbed out of the pool, Randy and I high-fived.

He said, “Good effort there, James. I’ll put a bug in coach’s ear about you, and I’ll see if you can join the team in time for our first meet after Christmas.”

Randy climbed out of the pool, and I climbed out just behind him. Waiting for me was a familiar face, and I blinked twice to make sure I saw straight.

Jordi said, “James, it feels like I haven’t seen you forever.”

“I thought you were never speaking to me again.”

Jordi wore his usual happy-go-lucky expression, and he shrugged his shoulders. He said, “I think most of the team still feel that way, but I don’t hold grudges. Also, I have something I think you need to see.” He squatted down beside me at the edge of the pool and handed me his cell phone.

“What’s there, Jordi? All I see is a picture of a pile of spaghetti and meatballs.” I glanced up at Randy and said, “Jordi here is one of my old hockey buddies. I’ll be with you in just a few minutes, Randy.”

Jordi blushed. “Oh, that was from the dinner out with Amy. I’ve got a picture of the food and a pretty good one of the two of us together at the restaurant.”

“That’s what you wanted me to see?”

“Oh, no, let me pull it up.”

I waited for a few seconds. When Jordi handed the phone back, I saw speed skaters on an oval. I asked, “Is that you? Or is it your friend Eric? It looks like good form.”

Jordi shook his head. “No, you need to look closer.”

I held the phone up to my face, and I watched as the camera zoomed in on each skater. The first one was unfamiliar. He looked nothing like Jordi, Eric, or anyone else that I knew, so I assumed he wasn’t the one Jordi wanted me to see. Then the camera closed in on the second skater. I nearly dropped the phone.

I turned my head to look at Jordi and said, “No, it isn’t!”

He grinned and nodded his head yes. I recognized the blue eyes and the shape of his nose. It was Lucas back on the ice. Jordi said, “I thought you should see it.”

I said, “Now, wait. Is this old footage? How do you know it’s Lucas now.”

Jordi was calm and said, “Look closer at the oval, James.”

The race was filmed in Milwaukee. I recognized advertising on the boards. I asked, “When does he race next?”

“Tomorrow morning,” whispered Jordi. “I looked it up.”

I asked, “Are you serious?”

He nodded and said, “Yeah. I was going to go, but Coach didn’t want me to miss hockey practice today. We’ve got a big game right before Christmas.”

“When’s your next practice, Jordi?”

“We have tomorrow, Saturday, off, but we start at noon on Sunday.”

I said, “That’s a good thing because we’re going to the race.”

Jordi’s eyes opened wide. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still have your car?”

Jordi stared at me. “Yeah, I do.”

“How soon can you throw a few shirts and underwear into the car? If Lucas has guts, I can show him that I have guts, too.”

* * *

Jordi was tired from hockey practice, and the last thing he expected was to drive five hours in the dark before he got to go to bed. We stopped every hour to buy more caffeinated soda to keep him awake, and I kept up conversation about anything and everything. I talked about the time I caught crayfish in a creek on my Grandpa’s farm and the time I crammed for the wrong English literature test when I was a sophomore in high class. It didn’t matter what stories I told as long as I didn’t stop talking and asking Jordi to respond.

When he told a story, I asked, “So that’s when you fell for Mindy, and she gave you your first kiss?”

Jordi nodded. “I was only fourteen, and we kissed out along the back side of the Footlight movie theater. It was bizarre, James. I was excited and worried that she would see my cock snaking down my leg. At the same time, I was worried a rat would come running out from behind the dumpster.”

I laughed. “It was such an elegant place for your first kiss.”

“We didn’t have much of anywhere else to do it,” said Jordi. “Neither of us could drive, and my big sister was picking us up after the movie. Our parents wouldn’t let us be alone in either house.”

I asked, “Was it worth all of that?”

“Oh yeah. Mindy sucked on my tongue. I didn’t expect that. Nobody told me about that before it happened. It made me so horny, and then…”

“Then?”

“She was pulling back, and her hand rubbed against my package. I was rock hard. I still don’t know if she did that on purpose or it was an accident. I want to believe it was on purpose and she told all her girlfriends about what a big cock I had.”

I laughed. “You have nice dreams, Jordi.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when he asked, “Is this the hotel?”

Halfway across Wisconsin, I placed a reservation for a chain hotel on the outskirts of Milwaukee. I looked up at the brightly lit sign. “Yep, this is it. Good job with the driving, Jordi! You’re my man.”

“Just find me a bed. I need that right now.”