Thornwood Episode IV – The Champion

[VanessaEvans]

Part 46

Grigor had seen that look before. His boss was not happy. A dire development threatened to derail the whole Thornwood project. But he knew his boss would not give up without a fight. Luckily, the heart and soul of BysCo had an uncanny ability to turn such curveballs into homeruns. All in a day’s work.

Initially it didn’t look like much was happening. He was just sitting motionless at his desk; the potentially ruinous memo in front of him. But having worked with him for so long, Grigor knew better. The genius was at work. Time was critical. Grigor need only provide useful information until Bystander had developed a plan of action and execute once the decision was made on how to proceed. Bystander spoke.

“I thought Kathy was on her way to the airport. How did we lose her?”

“Our tail reported that she packed two suitcases into her car and left right on time; presumably to drive to Chicago.”

After accepting the job, Kathy had begun preparations at once for the move to China. She cancelled her utilities and made arrangements for a moving company to pack up the rest of her belongings. When she got into the car that morning, she had given no indication of doing otherwise.

The tail had only been hired to watch the house until she left the house. No one followed her after that. Grigor caught a brief look of annoyance on his boss’ face. It was his mistake to presume she would drive straight to the airport. But Bystander was too focused on the task at hand to worry about punishing such oversights. That would come later.

“Any idea where she is headed instead? Any close friends?”

“No one she hasn’t already said ‘goodbye’ to. We’re monitoring her communications.”

“Good. She’ll show up. In the mean-time, get me a copy of her emails from the past day and bring me her psych profile so I can figure out her next move. And put out an APB for her car on the public wire. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Yes sir.”

**Maybe we’ll get lucky. Yeah, and maybe she’ll just show up at the airport!

It was just an expression. Bystander never left anything to luck if he could help it. Grigor used his tablet to transfer the requested information over to the master workstation. He was in the middle of posting the APB when his boss made a breakthrough.

“Forget the APB. I know where she’s going!”

“What? Where?”

“Indianapolis. It’s right here in her inbox.”

“Of course!” Grigor cursed himself for not piecing it together. He filled in the rest aloud. “Coach Ron sent the parents an email about the Labor Day Invitational. Kathy had promised to attend at least one of Rachel’s swim meets and this is her last chance before leaving the country. The team was supposed to be in Lark Bend this weekend which is too far away. But Indy is only 3 hours from Chicago. She probably found a commuter flight from Indy to drop her straight into O’Hare in time to catch our plane to Beijing. So, how are we going to stop her?”

“We’re not.” Bystander replied calmly. As usual, he was already thinking several steps ahead. “It’s too late to intercept her at this point. Contact will happen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t spin it in our favor. Call Coach Ron and warn him that Rachel’s mom is on her way.” He dismissed Grigor with a nod and dove headlong into Kathy’s psychological dossier.

Coach Ron sat in room 199D wallowing in despair. His great gamble had slowly fallen apart over the last two days. He had hoped that, even without Rachel, his girls could somehow hang around in the top 10 the first day. Then with his boys arriving and Rachel retuning to form, they might just have made a run at a championship today.

That dream was all but extinguished now. Johanna and her team had somehow been delayed coming out of Memphis and were going to miss the meet completely. He hadn’t even bothered to activate Rachel. There was no point in risking her health now.

He hated to admit defeat, but the deficit was just too much to overcome. He had spent most of the day hiding in this makeshift office rather than watch Coach Sparks and Eastern Academy celebrate yet another victory. A few more races and the invitational would mercifully be over.

When Bystander’s office called, he braced for more bad news. But the tone was even more threatening and urgent than he had expected.

“Forget winning the meet,” Grigor had said, “Bystander has a new priority. That means you have a new priority. Rachel’s mother, Kathy, is entering the complex as we speak. She only has time to watch one race before she must leave again for the airport. It is imperative that Rachel be in that race!”

Coach Ron struggled to keep up. “What difference does one race make?”

“Bystander has studied her psych profile. Seeing her daughter in such a revealing uniform will be jarring. She can and will destroy everything you have accomplished. However he calculates that if she simultaneously sees Rachel happy, successful and fulfilling her true potential, she will not stand in the way. That is why you must get her on the starting block before the next race starts. Is she with you?”

“I…I have no idea where she is.”

“Well you better go find her now. If you are any sort of good coach, you will get that girl in the pool and motivate her to swim the race of her life. Your role is about to change as well. Call me back when she’s on the starting block and I’ll explain the rest of the plan.”

Coach Ron took pride in his normally unflappable nature, but Grigor’s ominous words shook him to his core. If this didn’t work, his job, in fact his whole career would be over. He set out running across the sports complex. He gathered some essentials then took off running. His first order of business was to find Ellie. If anybody could lead him to Rachel, it was she.

In the bleachers, Rachel sat huddled inside her cape and nursed her wound; still shocked that Coach Ron had convinced her to go through with the piercing. According to meet regulations, all competitors must have a tamper resistant RFID tag system attached to their uniform. This tag would identify them throughout both days of competition.

The device was semi-permanent; not meant to be removed until after the meet had concluded. Any sign of tampering could disqualify an entire team. The only way to be allowed to compete was if she had one installed like the other swimmers. Unfortunately, her uniform had no fabric in which to sew the tag. Her belt and gloves were polymer and too flimsy. And the hard shell of the Pinnacle was impervious to puncture. That’s where Damien and his piercing tools had come in.

Despite the scary looking giant needle, the act itself was quick and not at all painful due to a powerful local anesthetic. Damien proved a skilled technician. His deft touch produced a significant inflationary response from her nipple even as the cold topical medicine dulled her nerve endings. One smooth motion had the curved cylindrical stud safely injected through the tip of her pink flesh. He finished by applying a medical sealant which would prevent contamination while she healed. No blood, no mess, no discomfort.

When the piercing was over, there was one thing left to do. Coach Ron pulled the RFID badge out of his pocket. Rachel felt a brief tug on her nipple as the metal badge snapped securely into place on the magnetic stud.

He declared the uniform modification a success and quite attractive to boot. It bothered Rachel that he kept referring to it as a ‘uniform modification’. It looked more like body modification to her. Did that mean her body was her uniform?

All that day and into the next she had plenty of time to ponder that and any other question that came into her head. She sat in the bleachers and sullenly watched the heats. In the latest one, Jessica from Thornwood finished 5th. Some girl from a school in Michigan won. When the official time was announced Rachel’s mood soured further.

**It’s not fair. I could have beaten that.

“I know you want to help your team,” Coach Ron had said, “but you can’t do that until the redness and swelling has abated and there is no more soreness. I will call on you when the time is right. You would do best to rest up and prepare yourself mentally.”

She had pleaded with Coach Ron to let her swim; insisting that she felt no soreness. But now with the anesthetic wearing off, she privately admitted to a dull pain growing around the pierced area. Now that the race docket was winding down, a realization dawned that she probably wasn’t going to get into the water. Coach Ron had abandoned her.

She looked around the bleachers. Even though the most exciting races remained, the crowd had dwindled as the second day of races wound down. Evening was fast approaching and even the most avid swim fans had to start thinking about work tomorrow.

She cocooned inside her cape and checked her progress for the millionth time. The command to wait for the redness and swelling to dissipate had been a cruel joke. She was a horny teenage girl. Her left nipple, the one that hadn’t been pierced was just as radiant and plump as the other one.

In fact, the familiar ache in her loins had grown stronger of late and her nipples were begging for some attention. Artfully concealed beneath the cloth shell, she reached between her legs and lightly caressed the delicate skin around the Pinnacle. It helped a little. What she really needed was a good, thorough ‘bate session.

She idly wondered if it were possible to find a private room with a lock somewhere nearby in order to attend to her body’s sexual needs.

**I could probably even do it right here inside my cape if I removed the Pinnacle and was very careful…

But before she could pursue that thought, she was interrupted by a commotion nearby. She looked up to see Ellie running toward her waiving frantically. Coach Ron trailed not far behind.

“It’s time, Rachel. This next race is yours!” he said when they reached her. He must have run half way across the complex because he was out of breath.

“What, really?”

“Yes!”

Ellie waived a scanner device over her body. It read the signal from her RFID tag and registered her for the race.

Rachel stood up, excited but still very confused. “But how? This is a final and I didn’t qualify.”

“In the case of injury, there’s a rule where a team may substitute contestants. Pip qualified so we’re giving her your spot. This race is critically important. In fact, everything hinges on your performance. Are you ready?”

“I…uh…YES, of course!” Rachel’s heart began to pound in her chest. A wash of adrenaline hit her at the prospect of competing. More than anything else in the world she wanted to swim. Instinct took over and her body began flexing different muscle groups.

She checked her equipment; making sure the Pinnacle was anchored securely before donning her gloves. The she stood up and marched toward the starting block…


Part 47

Like a cat toying with a mouse, Jay gazed into his computer screen with satisfaction. His nation ranked as an Ultimate War player had earned him a beta key to UW: Online. And although resourceful and cunning, his current opponent was no match for the prodigy. Jay surveyed the virtual battlefield knowing victory was nearly at hand. He had masterfully cut off his opponent’s every attempt to establish supply lines. And once the dwindling reserves ran out, there would be no other choice but to quit the field.

An alert appeared and drew his attention to a peripheral monitor.

“Damn, kid. Don’t you know when to give up? What are you up to now?”

His eScrub program had been monitoring and thwarting Eric’s repeated attempts to reconstruct the fragmented Pussifier Kronieken video. But his meager computer skills were no match for Jay.

He brought the program up and told it to display active traffic. It found Eric on an IRC channel dedicated to video file tech support. Deciding to have a little fun, he quickly hacked into the channel and began pounding away at his custom built mechanical keyboard.

**Bow2YourG☢d has joined the channel**
[Moderator]Lorraine > Did you try rebuilding the file?
User_1069 > Yes several times. It always gives me the same error.
Bow2YourG☢d > Don’t listen to her kid. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
**Bow2YourG☢d has been promoted to moderator status**
**[Moderator]Lorraine has been demoted to user status**
Lorraine > Hey, you’re not a mod! How did you do that?
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > Shut up bitch
**Lorraine has disconnected**
**Lorraine has been banned from this channel**

User_1069 > …hey, she was helping me!
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > You are never going to get that video fixed, so you might as well give up.

* IT’S INFECTED_ *
* | ___________ | *
* | | | | *
* | | X _ X | | *
* | | ___ | | *
* | | / \ | | *
* | |___ ___| | *
* |_____| |_____| *
* ____| |___ *
* / ********** \ *
* / ************ \ *
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > Seriously, this is way bigger than you could ever imagine. So if I were you, I would delete the video and forget it ever existed.
User_1069 > Screw you.
**User_1069 has been renamed to Eric_Gillmony**
Eric_Gillmony > WTF HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!
Eric_Gillmony > w/e nice little trick but it’s not going to stop me.
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > Listen, kid, I know you think you’re helping her. But you’re wasting everyone time. So I’ll give you one last chance to walk away.
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > …or would you rather I send your little porn stash to the whole school? I’m sure everyone will be very interested in those l33t spycam videos of Rachel.
[Mod]Bow2YourG☢d > It’s your choice. But remember, I’ll be watching.
**Eric_Gillmony has disconnected**

“Holy shit!”

Shaken, Eric slammed his laptop shut and backed away as if it had suddenly turned into a radioactive viper. After calming down a bit and cautiously disconnecting the wi-fi, he turned his laptop back on checked his cached copy of the IRC chat log. But the hacker had removed all traces of the conversation. He tried convincing himself that the hacker was bluffing. But he wiped his hard drive anyway.

With his evidence destroyed he was back to square one…


Part 48

Pip glared at the giant scoreboard. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Mighty Eastern Academy sat second in the overall point standings. Thornwood was languishing in 28th place. She had been a great captain throughout the meet; fighting for every point and urging her teammates to do the same. But Thornwood’s chances took a serious hit with their star swimmer sidelined due to that unspecified injury.

“Screw Rachel. We don’t need her,” she remembered saying at the time. That was a lie. They needed Rachel; especially since they were only half a team. Coach Johanna and the boys had failed to make the trip. A team of only girls or only boys was not uncommon, but it was unheard of for one of those schools to win the all-around team championship.

There were only a handful of races left and only this one mattered to her now. Her individual performance had been masterful, culminating in qualifying for the 800 freestyle final. While warming up for the race, she mentally calculated how many points her team needed. But it was hopeless. The best she could hope for was a personal medal. At least that was some validation for all the sweat and effort she had poured into the program.

That opportunity was denied her when Coach Ron appeared and unceremoniously bumped her from the final. Officially it was due to an unspecified injury. But really it was only so Rachel could have the spot.

**What a load of shit. I’m not injured! That little slut has done nothing to help us so far. She’s been practically absent this whole time and more useless than a team mascot. At least a mascot cheers for their team. And now Coach Ron is giving her MY spot in the most important race? Well I’ll teach her to steal my spotlight!

Grumbling to herself, Pip retrieved the rectangular device from her purse. At the perfect moment she would remotely inflate the Pinnacle to full size and turn the vibrator on maximum. She knew the device’s gripping fins would cause it to dig deep into Rachel’s tender womb. She would be forced to stop swimming as her body was violated like never before and massive vibrations wracked her from inside. No one would know what was happening below the surface except Pip.

It was the perfect way to exact revenge. She waited for the race to begin in near giddiness. But her attitude changed when Rachel made her glorious appearance. Like an apparition she floated down from the stands; a savior wrapped in deep lavender, the color of royalty. Swept up in the magnificence of it all, Pip temporarily forgot her venomous wrath.

In a flash and without hesitation Rachel shed her cape. Like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon, she emanated beauty and grace. On the surface, her bare body was all soft curves and tantalizing buoyancy. But strength was also evident in the way her muscles flexed as she walked. And her eyes were fixed like granite on the starting platform. Nothing soft there. Pip had not seen such confidence in her teammate before. She was transfixed by the sight and gawked for fear of missing anything.

If she was embarrassed at being exposed in front of the assembled audience, she showed no indication of it. The sway of her breasts caused something shiny to twinkle upon her nipple as she walked. Electricity hung in the air as the nearly nude contestant reached the starting block just ahead of the deadline. She had always possessed a natural beauty and talent. But Pip was particularly struck by how much raw power her body exhibited.

How she managed to walk with that artificial cock buried in her pussy, much less swim was a mystery. Pip flushed when she realized she was getting turned on by the whole thing, but even then could not bring herself to look away.

Rachel coiled up into her starting position and waited for the gun with a calm determination; a viper readied to strike. Everyone in the crowd got quiet. It felt like the whole world had stopped to witness the spectacle. A few tense seconds ticked by in silence. Then the gun sounded.

All the energy carefully gathered earlier was released at once caused her to explode from the block like the gun had been firing her instead of a blank. She leapt from the platform and leveled out parallel to the water. Her arms were stretched out in front as if meaning to fly the length of the pool instead of swim.

Though her especially high launch trajectory looked queer to Pip, it didn’t seem to matter as her practiced form was flawless. Defying gravity by somehow adding elevation, she was a weightless apparition soaring several feet above the water. Finally with a dip of her head she descended and prepared for entry. By then she had flown nearly to the quarter length mark of the pool and left no doubt among those in attendance that they were witnessing something world-class. The other contestants, rendered into slow motion by comparison, were still in the process of leaving their starting blocks.

Smooth as silk she slipped beneath the surface of the pool with almost no splash and dolphin-kicked for several lengths. The crowd rose to their feet as she emerged at the half-way point and settled into an impossibly quick stroke cadence. Pip stood up to get a better view as well; the remote dropped unused and forgotten by her side.

Rachel crisscrossed the pool lapping her competition with ease. After her final turn, she went into an unbelievable finishing kick which made it go by in a flash and she thrust forward one last time to tag the wall. 

As the other swimmers trudged along several laps behind and all but forgotten by the crowd, Rachel pulled herself out of the pool. A cadre of serious looking race officials converged on the spot and quickly escorted the confused girl toward an exit. She was still breathing quite heavily from the exertion and would have appreciated a moment to recover. But they seemed intent on whisking her from the room.

She only caught snippets of their conversation; something about needing certification and the inevitable challenge from other parties. Somebody mentioned a drug test. Before she could ask to borrow a towel to dry off, a roar erupted from the crowd and the group paused. Peeking out between two of her escorts, she saw what had caused the commotion. Her race time had just been posted onto the scoreboard followed moments later by the flashing words “New World Record!!!”

The officials stowed her in the Thornwood locker room with a vow to sort things out and return. She sat down and tried to process what had just happened, but unable to contain her glee she stood back up immediately screamed with joy.

**I did it. I really did it! I broke a world record.

So what if the officials were skeptical? They ought to be. It might take them a while to sort it out and certify everything, but they would be back to congratulate her eventually.

**Guess that explains the drug test talk. No matter. They can test whatever they want. I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m clean…well, a quick shower wouldn’t hurt.

But no sooner had she removed her gloves, belt and swim cap than the excitement once again overcame her and she began jumping up and down and squealing like the little school girl that she was. Surging endorphins fed a voracious ardor for anything and everything to burn brighter inside her and spark an array of emotion. She felt somehow both satisfied and in want at the same time. She felt vindicated, but also the need to prove herself again and again. She felt alive. And not surprisingly, she felt incredibly horny.

It came to a head when she reached between her legs to remove the Pinnacle. She began to extract the long shaft when her vaginal muscles reacted and yanked it back inside her with a spasm of pleasure.

“Ooh!”

Right then Rachel made an unconscious decision to do something she had sworn never to do. It was wrong to use her swim uniform for sexual pleasure. And she would never be able to look at the Pinnacle the same way again. But left alone with so much pent up arousal, she simply couldn’t stop herself from collapsing into a nearby chair and spreading her legs.

Meanwhile, in the commotion following the race, Coach Ron made his way over near the officials’ booth. A Thornwood liaison was expected in case they had any questions. But more importantly that location afforded him a better perspective from which to search for Rachel’s mother. He carefully scanned the crowd.

**…there!

A woman emerged from the bleachers, bypassed a barrier separating the lower sections from the ground floor and walked purposefully toward the hallway where they had taken Rachel. One look confirmed that he had found his woman. She shared many physical attributes that indicated familiarity with Rachel. And though she wore conservative attire befitting of a middle aged businesswoman, it was still clear where Rachel inherited her stunning physique. If Kathy was any indication, Rachel would be enjoying her genetic inheritance for many years to come.

He moved to intercept and caught her before she reached the exit.

“Ms. Thompson, I presume? I’m Ron Lutheford, the head coach of Thornwood. I don’t believe we’ve met yet, so let me say what an honor it is to get to coach someone of your daughter’s talent.”

He held out his hand to shake but she did not return the gesture; choosing instead to cross her arms acrimoniously.

“So, you’re the one responsible for...whatever that was. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but it has nothing to do with honor. Embarrassment is more like it.”

Coach Ron was unfazed by the allegation. If anything, he was struck by how cute Kathy looked when she was irate. Having seen Rachel’s body so thoroughly and frequently, he couldn’t help but briefly picture what her mother must look like under those clothes; a fully mature version of equal beauty.

But his reverie only lasted an instant. He could not afford to get distracted. Many things were happening simultaneously and it was important he stay focused on the task at hand. Rachel had performed spectacularly. Now was his time to step up and close the deal.

He started into an explanation, but she cut him off in the middle of it.

“Ma’am, as the head coach I was authorized and commissioned to…”

“AS a parent, I have the authority to decide which extracurricular activities my Rachel is part of. And rest assured that it won’t be your swim team. In fact, I know people on the school board. And I can see to it that you never coach in the district again!”

Her scathing assault indicated to Coach Ron that he might have underestimated his task. He needed credibility in her eyes or she would never entrust her daughter to his guidance. Fortunately for him, Ellie and Pip arrived at that moment leading the head official to him. Those reinforcements were just what he needed to regain some credibility in Kathy’s eyes. He only hoped they bore good news.

“Please, ma’am. I would never deign to usurp your authority as a parent. I treat my students with the greatest care and respect and I think they all would attest that I only have their best interest at heart, right ladies?” He welcomed the girls into the conversation and invited them to answer his question truthfully.

Pip and Ellie answered in the affirmative.

“As for the uniform, I know the design may appear unorthodox to the untrained eye; shocking even. But from an industry standpoint, what you saw was merely a natural progression of recent trends. All our uniforms were thoughtfully selected from a competition grade collection in order to achieve the exact level of results you’ve seen today. I can assure you that the contestants are not in the least bit embarrassed by them. In fact, the school board has already ruled on this matter and my actions have been consistent and transparent from the beginning. I was brought in to return the swim team to a championship caliber. Performances like Rachel just gave are evidence that we are on the right track.”

Coach Ron motioned the race coordinator to join in. “Now, this gentleman has news that I believe should be of some relevance.”

The coordinator stepped forward and addressed the group. “I will be brief. We have reviewed the race data and it appears that your swimmer did indeed set a new world record. Congratulations.”

Kathy’s eyes went wide in disbelief. Ellie squealed with delight. Pip just started calculating how far that would bump Thornwood in the standings. The meet awarded substantial bonus points for breaking national and world records. It would put Thornwood back into contention. Her best guess was top 3 with just a few races left. Hope flickered. There was still time to move into first place!

The official turned to Coach Ron and said “Understand, though, that another team has issued a challenge about how she even entered this race. And of course there is further certification to be done by the International Committee on Records. But for now our judges have decided to award your team the points and allow you to continue in the competition.”

Coach Ron smiled graciously. “Thank you, sir, but that won’t be necessary. Thornwood is withdrawing effective immediately.”

Now it was pip’s turn to protest. “WHAT? Withdrawing? We finally start to make some progress and you want to QUIT?”

“I’m afraid so, Katie. We must turn our attention away from the Invitational and look to the greater prize.” While he explained, Coach Ron included a bit of his own pedigree for Kathy’s sake. “I consider myself a pretty good judge of talent. During my tenure at the Zurich Aquatic Club, I oversaw the training of many world-class swimmers. And put quite simply, Rachel is every bit as good. In fact, she is good enough to represent team USA at the next summer Olympics.”

This revelation prompted more looks of disbelief. Of course, Kathy’s was the only reaction that mattered. Slowly and gradually, he seemed to be winning her over.

“I looked up the Olympic qualifying schedule. We came dangerously close to missing our window. But it seems fortune is on our side this time. The final qualifier is this weekend. If we return home now, we can catch a flight to Orlando in time to register her for the event.” He paused and looked expectantly at Kathy, “That is, unless you still intend to remove her from my care. Either way we will have no reason to remain here and compete.”

The mention of catching a plane struck Kathy in just the way Coach Ron had hoped. Her own plane bound for China was scheduled to take-off from O’Hare in a matter of hours; something she hadn’t even disclosed to Rachel yet. But Coach Ron was forcing her to make a call with little time to deliberate. Dawdling could cost her the lucrative job that had conveniently landed in her lap.

Kathy got very quiet. He gave her space to think and dismissed the race official with thanks. The very fact that she was even considering agreeing to this new plan showed that Bystander’s gambit had a chance. After all, what parent could crush their child’s chance to become an Olympian? But he couldn’t let her consider the details for too long lest she begin to pick it apart and find fault. To seal the deal, he loosed one last sweetener.

“If it makes you feel any better, Rachel and I won’t be undertaking this venture alone. An Olympic hopeful should be surrounded by a competent support crew that is dedicated to her success. Ellie here is the equipment manager and Katie is one of our team captains. I think they would be excellent companions. I was going to ask them to accompany us on the trip…assuming they also receive parental permission, of course.”

Ellie squealed with delight at that and rushed to accept the offer. Pip was still brooding about the announced withdrawal, but her mood improved noticeably with the invitation.

He concluded his pitch with a sense of inevitability. “There you have it! Between the three of us, I can confidently say that Rachel will be kept in good care. Ellie, please inform the rest of the team that we’re rolling out in 5 minutes. I will go warm up the bus.”

Then as if the matter was settled, he turned and walked to the door. He had boxed Kathy in neatly. She hesitated a moment, then checked her watch. It was past time to go. She had to make a decision.

“Well…I guess if this is really what she wants to do. I mean, how can I say ‘no’? Can I at least see her off?”

Coach Ron opened his arms warmly. “The bus can wait. I’ll escort you to her myself.”…


Part 49

Lost in a world of arousal, Rachel writhed as she worked the artificial phallus in and out of her slippery love canal. Whenever she tugged on the shaft, the exact same muscle groups she has learned to flex while swimming eagerly drew it back inside her. Each time they did so shivers ran up her spine and a gasp escaped her strained face.

Sitting splayed out in the chair in direct sight of the doorway left her vulnerable and exposed. But that didn’t matter. She had completely forgotten her surroundings as familiar sensations bubbled up inside and curled her toes.

**Ung ung OOOOOoooh yes!

Her nipples grew harder and redder until they were practically throbbing upon her creamy mounds. Any bigger and they would pop. The sound of distant footsteps barely registered in her brain.

The chair was solid with large plastic cushions on the seat, back, and arms. The yellow cushions were permanently attached to the sturdy metal frame. While moderately comfortable, it was purposely built for years of service and could certainly stand up to one young woman thrashing about on it.

Rachel tilted her head back into the rear cushion and hooked her legs over the armrests. Then she lifted her bottom and arched her back so that all her weight was resting on the back of her knees and neck. Her breasts strained upward and her nipples pointed toward the ceiling. Anyone walking in at that moment would have been treated to a spectacular scene of teenage sexual urgency.

She offered her whole body to the pleasure gods and they responded graciously. Ripples of pleasure spread from her pussy canal as her muscle groups milked the Pinnacle’s bumpy surface. She increased her pace. Moisture flowed freely which helped to counteract the heat that such great friction generated.

Her orgasm was so close that it would take an incredible effort to stop it now. But why would she want to stop it? A jingle of keys gave her a reason worth considering. Someone was nearby and intended to enter the room. But who? And did it even matter?

**It’s probably just Ellie coming to tell me they’ve made a ruling. She’ll jump for joy when she sees me get over the hump.

**Or maybe it’s Coach Ron. Surely he would understand my need to let off a little steam after that swimming performance. So what if he walks in and it happens? He’s already seen so much. Guys jack off all the time in their locker room. Coach Johanna must have seen it plenty of times. Why should the girls be treated differently?

An image formed in her mind of Oliver in the boys’ locker room stroking his gorgeous cock; the same one she had licked up and down and even wrapped her lips around only a few days earlier. Suddenly her legs failed as a particularly large wave of arousal pushed her closer to the brink. She dropped back to the seat momentarily then thrust her hips back into the air and resumed her session.

The latch clicked signaling that her privacy was being invaded. Even that did nothing to subdue her vigorous effort. She would deal with the fallout once she had come down. Right now all she needed was to finish the job. Only when the familiar voice called her name did she desist.

“Rachel?”

“MOM?!”

Rachel’s blood ran cold. Faster than she thought possible, she shot out of the chair and shoved the pinnacle back into place as her mom appeared in the doorway followed closely by Coach Ron. Content to stay out of the mother-daughter reunion, he went right to work tidying up the room and collecting various pieces of equipment.

Having been so close to climaxing, she struggled to remain standing as Kathy approached and examined her as mothers are wont to do. Although she had nothing left to hide from either her coach or her mom, she felt very self-conscious that they were at the same time seeing her so indisposed. It did not help matters that she was out of breath and still tingling all over from furiously pleasuring herself mere moments ago.

Tearful words were spoken in haste and with a sense of urgency. Rachel heard them, but caught none of the actual meaning. And before she knew it, her mom was embracing her and saying her goodbyes.

“I’m so proud of you, honey. Sorry I won’t be there to watch it in person, but I know you’ll do great. And I’ll be back to visit as soon as I can get away. Bye, baby. Love you!”

And with that, her mother was gone.

“Come along, Rachel.” She heard her coach say on his way to the door. “We need to get on the road and there’s a lot of ground to cover before dark.”

“But…my shower.”

“Oh. I you haven’t already taken it? Then what have you been doing all this…” Looking at her he, for the first time, really noticed the flustered and disheveled state in which they had caught her. Bemusement briefly flashed on his face as the realization kicked in. Then he quickly regained composure. “Never mind. Just finish up and make it quick. The bus will be waiting at the west side exit.”

The door slamming behind him broke her from her stupor. The room swam around her and she felt like she might faint. She needed to sit down. Instead, she remained upright and willed her wobbly legs to carry her into a shower stall. Having grown so practiced at it, she gradually calmed the sexual urgency that had built up earlier and was able to focus on scrubbing herself clean.

Only afterward, when needing to dry off did she realize how thoroughly Coach Ron had scoured the locker room. He had already taken the towels the team bus. But to her greater dismay, he had also taken every other piece of Thornwood equipment including the rest of her uniform!

Without the belt, cap and gloves that marked her as a swimmer, she only had the Pinnacle to wear. The only silver lining, she thought making her way through the halls toward the west side exit with damp hair dripping everywhere and goose bumps raised prominently all over her bare skin, was that the late hour made for sparse foot traffic. She only raised a few eyebrows of passers-by.

Once on the bus, she discovered that Coach Ron had loaded her uniform in cargo with the rest of the team equipment.

**If he considers my cap, belt and gloves to be accessory equipment, then where is my uniform? Is it nothing more than the Pinnacle itself?

That thought gave Rachel something to ponder as they drove on all that evening and late into the night.

Because of the late start, Coach Ron did not quite achieve his ambitious goal of driving all the way home that night. It was ok, though. Since despite all the urgent talk, they faced no serious deadlines. The kids would miss part of school the next day. But the reason for their absence was school related. That alone would earn them an exemption.

As for the flight to Orlando, Bystander’s charter jet provision afforded them a schedule lenience not typically enjoyed by air travelers. As long as they departed sometime around mid-day on Tuesday, they should arrive in plenty of time for Rachel to get acclimated before festivities ramped up on Wednesday. Olympic trials did not actually begin until Thursday.

So with that in mind, he resolved to drive only as long as he could remain alert and to find accommodations at the first sign of fatigue.

Rachel spent most of the evening drive alone. Ellie and Pip had been summoned to the front of the bus to coordinate logistics with Coach Ron. She was just nodding off when she heard Ellie’s voice above her.

“Hey there, sleepyhead. Mind if I join you? Are you excited about the trip?”

Rachel scooted over so Ellie could sit down.

“Yeah, I guess. I just wish she wasn’t going. I don’t trust that girl.”

“Who Pip? Oh, she’s not so bad.”

Rachel scoffed. “You don’t know her like I do.”

“Say what you want, but she seems friendly enough to me. You might as well get used to her. Coach Ron says we’re all rooming together tonight and in Orlando. Apparently, now that you are practically an Olympian, you need ‘handlers’”.

“Oh great! Just what I needed, Katie Davonleigh handling me.” Rachel sighed.

“Don’t worry, I promise to keep her in line.” Ellie said confidently; although Rachel doubted her ability to follow through on that promise.

It was late in the evening when the bus pulled off at a rural motel somewhere south of Nashville.

Pip engaged her in conversation while they were settling in. To Rachel, it felt more like verbal sparring. Every comment, no matter how sweetly delivered contained a jab of haughty disdain. She hadn’t the slightest clue why Pip considered her an enemy, but she resolved to keep her handler at arm’s length. Soon Coach Ron arrived to collect the uniforms. She took greater pleasure than she should have to have her frenemy stripped naked. Pip had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to physical assets. But losing her clothes sapped her desire to spar. She left Rachel alone after that and soon turned in for the night.

Unlike the previous place they stayed, all the rooms in this rundown motel exited straight to the parking lot outside. A cold front tracked down Interstate 65 in the night. The only insulation to speak of came in the form of cheap blankets on the beds themselves. Air seeped through gaps in the crumbling bricks and the old heaters did a terrible job of keeping up.

As Ellie cuddled close to her, Rachel was thankful for a bedmate to share warmth with. Pip spent the night tossing and turning all alone in the other bed. She figured Pip would find some way to blame her for the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement…