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We all started toward the bleachers where we had tossed our towels and Gatorade.
“Sinclair,” Coach called.
I stopped and turned. “Yeah?”
“Looking good out there. All those extra practices are paying off. Time’s getting better.”
I thought about giving the credit to Ryan for working with me, but then I decided it might chafe his ass. So I nodded instead. “Thanks, Coach.”
The locker room was livelier than normal for afternoon practices, with more Elite in here than usual. Word got out that Coach was crashing our bonus practice, so of course more guys showed up to make it look like they were just as dedicated as the rest of us.
Kiss-asses.
Voices and laughter carried over the sound of the showers in the back. Lockers occasionally slammed and opened. The sound of snapping towels and shouts of pain echoed. I hung back at my locker for a few, taking my time to dry off even though it was entirely pointless because I was heading for the shower.
I checked my phone and noted a text from Win, so I shot back a quick reply. If I didn’t, Max would be breathing down my neck in ten minutes.
God forbid I didn’t answer my phone or they didn’t know where I was at all times. They acted like I was nine, not nineteen.
“I’m starving,” Jamie complained, dropping his wet Speedos onto the tile with a slap. Seconds later, his towel was knotted around his hips.
“Hope you got enough money to eat,” Ryan teased. “Me and Wes are gonna drain your account.”
“The way Wes is moving, I’ll have a job and a few paychecks under my belt before I gotta pay his bill,” Jamie cracked.
“You aren’t in the shower yet either,” I pointed out.
“But I’m naked.” Jamie pointed to his towel-clad body. Then he thumbed over his shoulder at Ryan. “Him too.”
“How do you know I’m naked?” Ryan asked. “I told you to stop looking, man. It’s gonna give you an inferiority complex.”
“Please.” Jamie guffawed. “The Loch Ness is inferior to no one.”
Ryan and I groaned.
Jamie cackled. “I can’t help it if it’s so big my girl had to name it.”
“I don’t need to know about your dick’s name,” I told him, grabbing my shower stuff to move ahead. Unlike my bros, I would just keep my Speedo on until I was in the shower.
I wasn’t as, uh, careless about just strutting around in the buff. I mean, sure, we were all a bunch of guys and wore tiny Speedos on the daily. Hell, these guys had seen more of my skin than my damn doctor, but still. It was just… different for me.
“I thought dick was your thing, Sinclair,” someone mused from behind. Just the sound of his snotty voice made my back teeth come together. “Frankly, I’m impressed Owens and Walsh are so willing to shower with you.”
Despite knowing this guy was a total douche, my stomach sank. I couldn’t deny the little grain of truth I felt at hearing the words. Maybe that was why bullies were so good at doing what they did. They somehow managed to pick up on your private insecurities and play to them. Maybe Iwassurprised Jamie and Ryan so easily accepted me. And yeah, the reason I hung back when the locker room was full was it somehow felt disrespectful to shower with a bunch of men who didn’t know I was gay. Even if I kept my eyes on my own junk and never leered at any of them.
It shouldn’t be a big deal. I knew it. But I didn’tknowit. You know?
“Not today, Satan,” Jamie deadpanned.
Ryan rotated to fully face our fellow Elite swimmer, Rinkin. The guy hated us. Especially me. He also knew I was gay. Well, he suspected. I’d never outright confirmed it even though he pretty much told everyone within earshot when he could. But I also never denied it either.
The only people on this team I’d ever confirmed my sexuality to were Ryan and Jamie. And maybe sort of Kruger. He never asked, though. He just accepted.
Rinkin’s best buddy, Hughes, had been kicked out of Westbrook a couple months ago, and ever since then, he made it his life’s mission to make mine hell. He blamed Ryan and Jamie for his friend’s dismissal, and in a twisted sense of loyalty, he decided to take up hating me where Hughes left off.
“Funny seeing you here, Rinkin. You never come to bonus swims unless Coach is gonna be here. Can I get you some Chapstick for your lips?” Ryan drawled.
Rinkin made a face but then turned all his attention on me. It was me he always came at.
