Chapter 5
Teddy
“Pick up the pace, Voss,” Coach Mathers called, her voice finding my ears despite the rush of water around me as I swam. “And keep that turn tight!”
I pushed harder, trying to drive my body through the water with more force.
Every muscle screamed as I fought against the resistance, desperate to find even a fraction of a second more speed.
My lungs burned, begging for air, but I refused to break my rhythm.
The lane markers blurred into streaks of blue and white as I powered forward.
When I finally touched the wall and surfaced, gasping for air, Coach Mathers was standing over me with her enchanted stopwatch and a disapproving frown.
“Two minutes and three seconds,” she announced, her webbed fingers tapping against the stopwatch. “That’s five seconds slower than at the meet, Voss.”
“What?” I sputtered, ripping my goggles off. “That can’t be right. I was pushing harder than ever!”
Coach Mathers shook her head, her expression a mixture of concern and frustration. “You’re overtraining. Your form is getting sloppy because your muscles are exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted, hauling myself out of the pool. Water cascaded off my body as I stood, trying not to show how my legs trembled with fatigue. “I just need to work harder.”
“No,” Coach said firmly, her amphibian eyes narrowing. “What you need is rest. You’ve been in this pool every morning and night this week. Your body can’t recover if you don’t give it time.”
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. So she knew about my late-night practice sessions. Of course she did. Nothing escaped Coach Mathers’ attention when it came to her pool.
“I need to get faster,” I muttered, reaching for my towel. “Second place isn’t good enough.”
“And swimming yourself into exhaustion won’t get you there.” She put a hand on my shoulder, her skin cool to the touch. “Take the week off. That’s an order, not a suggestion. And get some sleep while you’re at it. You look like a raccoon.”
“But Coach—”
“No buts. I want you out of this pool for a full week.” She glanced at her clipboard again. “Besides, the maintenance staff needs to drain it and give it a good scrub down. It’ll be closed for a couple of days.”
Great. Now I couldn’t even sneak in after hours. I nodded reluctantly, knowing there was no point in arguing. Coach Mathers had been coaching swimming champions for longer than I’d been alive. If she said I needed rest, she was probably right.
But that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Fine,” I conceded, wrapping the towel around my waist. “One week.”
“Good.” She seemed satisfied, at least momentarily. “Now hit the showers. The rest of the team still has another hour to go.”
I trudged toward the locker room, frustration building with each step.
Five seconds slower. After all the extra work I’d been putting in over the past two weeks, I was getting worse, not better.
What would my father say when he inevitably found out?
He had connections everywhere. Someone would eventually tell him of my continued failure.
The shower’s hot water did little to ease the tension in my shoulders or the knot of anxiety in my stomach. I leaned my forehead against the cool tile wall, letting the water pound against my back as I tried to quiet the critical voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like my father.
Not good enough. Never good enough. The Voss name demands excellence, Theodore.
I pushed the voice away, desperate for even a moment of relief. Everyone’s expectations were threatening to squash me flat, and I just needed a moment to breathe for once.
As the water cascaded over me, I let my mind drift to the mysterious redhead I’d seen in the pool two weeks ago.
He’d quickly become a favorite topic of mine to daydream about.
His naked form had been haunting my dreams ever since that night.
I could still see the lean muscles, the confidence in his movements, and the way his cock had hung between his legs when he’d floated on his back, thick and heavy.
I’d replayed our brief encounter countless times, always wondering what might have happened if I’d had the courage to stay.
“Come back when you’ve grown a backbone,” he’d said.
My own cock began to stir at the memory, hardening against my will. I glanced around the shower room. It was completely empty. Everyone else was still at practice. For once, I was truly alone.
I let my hand drift down my stomach, fingers trailing through the water until they wrapped around my thickening shaft. A small gasp escaped my lips at the contact. It had been weeks since I’d had time to myself like this.
“Fuck it,” I whispered, giving in to the urge.
I began to stroke slowly, my back against the cool tile as the hot water continued to beat down on my chest. Behind closed eyelids, I could see him perfectly. My mysterious swimmer with his vibrant red hair and those strange, luminous eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light of the natatorium.
In my fantasy, I didn’t run away. Instead, I stripped off my clothes and joined him in the water. His hands would be cool against my heated skin, exploring every inch of me as our bodies pressed together.
“That’s it,” I murmured, increasing the pace of my strokes. My free hand moved to brace against the shower wall as my knees threatened to buckle from the pleasure building all too quickly inside me.
I imagined his lips on mine, then trailing down my neck, my chest, my stomach... lower. Would his mouth be cool like the water or hot like my blood that now pounded through my veins? I pictured him taking my cock into his mouth, those strange eyes looking up at me as he swallowed me down.
“God...” I gasped, my hand moving faster now. The water provided the perfect lubrication as I worked myself toward release, lost in the fantasy of what could have been.
I was close now, so close. My breath came in ragged pants that echoed off the shower walls.
Part of me knew I should be quieter, more careful, but I was beyond caring.
All that mattered was the delicious tension building at the base of my spine, the tightening in my balls that signaled I was about to—
“Oh fuck!” I groaned as I came, my release spurting against the shower wall only to be immediately washed away by the stream of water. My legs trembled with the force of my orgasm, and for a few blissful moments, all the pressure and stress melted away.
But as the pleasure subsided and reality crept back in, I felt a flush of embarrassment heat my cheeks. I’d just jerked off in the team shower thinking about some stranger I’d seen skinny-dipping. If anyone had walked in...
I quickly rinsed off, making sure no evidence remained of my momentary indiscretion. As I turned off the water and reached for my towel, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever see the red-haired swimmer again. With the pool closed for maintenance, it seemed unlikely.
Part of me was relieved. Another part was deeply disappointed.
I dried off quickly and got dressed, suddenly eager to get back to my dorm room.
Maybe Coach was right. Maybe what I needed most right now was rest. But as I gathered my things and headed for the exit, I knew sleep wouldn’t come easily tonight.
Not with those bright blue eyes still haunting my thoughts.
Campus was relatively quiet as I trudged along.
It was a Wednesday night, so most of the students were either doing homework or hanging out in the dorms. Parties wouldn’t be starting until this weekend when the quad was overrun with students drunk on magic punch for the big Halloween bash that happened every year.
I, on the other hand, would be back in New York, schmoozing with people I didn’t care about to appease my father.
I never got to go to anything fun like that.
In all my time at Widdershins, I’d never been to a single party.
I’d never gotten drunk, made out with someone, or made bad decisions in the middle of the night as I stumbled across campus.
If only there was a way to do something fun just once…
I stopped dead in my tracks as a thought struck me.
Coach Mathers told me to take a week off and to rest…
but what if I told my parents a different story before someone else could?
What if I told them I was getting extra lessons from Coach Mathers?
Ones that could get me closer to that Olympic team spot my father wanted so badly…
They’d find out the truth eventually, that I was sure of. But it was worth it. Not only would I have a whole week to myself, but I could go get drunk at a party and just be a normal college witch for once. No homework, no networking, no swimming, and definitely no parents.
Stopping at a bench, I pulled out a notebook and began to write, not giving myself time to think better of it.
Dear Mom and Dad,
Great news! Coach Mathers says my swimming times are getting better.
And she really thinks I have what it takes to get on the Olympic team if I really double down.
That’s why she’s scheduled another coach to come in over the next week and train me personally.
I’m starting tomorrow morning with this new coach and I really think I’m going to put that Moonhaven boy to shame at our next meet.
I realize this creates a conflict with our previous plans to go to the Halloween Gala, but I know you’ll understand that swimming comes first. I’ll see you both for Thanksgiving when we go to the charity dinner. Please make my apologies to the Quinn’s for my absence.
Your son,
-Theodore
I took a moment to reread my quick letter, making sure I hadn’t made any glaring errors.
It was an obvious lie, but I knew they’d believe me.
My parents didn’t raise me to be willfully deceitful and I’m not sure they even believed I was capable of a lie of this magnitude.
But that’s what made it the perfect plan.
By the time they found out what I’d done, I’d have the experiences I was so desperately craving.
And that was worth far more than their admonishments.
Turning away from the dorm, I headed to the standing stone teleportation circle just beyond the academy gates.
There was a small mailbox there that was enchanted for outgoing mail.
I slipped the letter into the box, watching as it shimmered with magic before disappearing.
There was no turning back now. For the first time in my life, I had unlimited freedom, even if it was just for a week.
As I walked back toward the dorms, a weight lifted from my shoulders. No swimming. No networking dinners. No expectations. Just me, doing whatever the hell I wanted for once. The thought was both terrifying and exhilarating.
When I reached my room, I dropped my bag on the floor and just flopped onto my bed, letting out a deep contented sigh.
I felt strangely light all of a sudden, like I could run a mile and hardly even notice.
Of course, there was still some neglected spellcraft homework on my desk, but that wasn’t due until next week.
What was I going to do with my first night of freedom?
No technology worked on the Widdershins campus, so the most exciting thing I could do was read a book.
Actually… I hadn’t done that in a long time.
Probably since I was a kid. Fiction wasn’t something my parents kept in the house and I’d never really had the free time to peruse the academy library for another other than research materials.
Yeah. That’s what I’d do. I’d go find some epic fantasy story or a smutty romance novel and just… relax. And maybe I’d find a book on magical crafting. Every year the Halloween party was a giant masquerade, and I didn’t have anything to wear.
“You better slow down, Teddy,” I said to myself, a big grin spreading across my face as I headed back toward the door. “You’re getting a little wild.”