G-rowing Pains - 1. Chapter 1 - Getting soaked

In… Out… In… Out…

Wait, get your mind out of the gutter, we're talking about rowing here! Oars going in and out of the water. Jeremy shook his head from left to right, attempting to clear his stinging eyes of his soaking wet hair. In his single scull, he was practically soaring over the water. Jasper, his rowing partner, was nearly a full-length behind him and making no progress in catching up to him. Putting his final reserves into play, Jeremy could feel his oars bending as he gave them his all. He crossed the virtual finish line on the water in two… one… and a horn sounded.

He sagged in the boat, hung over his oars, and waited for his opponent, Jasper, to finish his final strokes. This only took him a few seconds, he had been right behind Jeremy. It was cold out here on the water, and Jeremy could see steam rising from Jasper's heaving shoulders. The sweat and heat were being wicked away from his back by the tight-fitting shirt. It felt like he was watching a human steam engine powering down. In his boat, Jasper turned around to face Jeremy. He could only manage a careful thumbs up because he didn't have any more air or energy to spare. It was only a practice match, so why be a grumpy loser?

"Excellent match!" Jeremy called out to Jasper, feeling he was able to sit up again.

"Thanks, you too! You were killing it today!" Jasper yelled back, his voice still trembling with exhaustion.

Jeremy held his oars with one hand while carefully brushing his long blonde hair out of his face with the other. His mother kept nagging him to get his hair cut, but he preferred it long like this. At fourteen, it was past time for mom to have less say over what he did or did not do. Especially when it came to his hair, what he wanted to wear… or who he wanted to see.

With the finish line placed close to the rowing dock, Jeremy carefully aimed his boat and landed it neatly at the dock with just a few strokes. Someone rushed over to hold his boat while he unhooked the oarlock on the waterside and slipped his feet out of the footboard. For those who are unfamiliar, a single scull is a long, narrow boat. Consider sitting in the water on a long, round tree trunk. The smallest mistake can cause your boat to capsize and land you in the water. It's a massive blessing to have someone hold your boat after a race when you're exhausted. You really need it.

Jasper had also just landed his boat, but he had the misfortune of finding no one to hold his boat when he attempted to get out. Just as he wanted to get up to step out of his boat, he noticed one of his oars rising much higher than it should. Quickly followed by him falling much faster than he should. After unlocking his waterside oar, he had accidentally capsized his boat, with him ending up in the water.

Jasper landed in the water next to his boat with a gigantic splash and a lot of sputtering. He was already drenched from sweating and catching splash water, but now he was absolutely soaking wet. Fortunately, the water was shallow right next to the dock, so he could stand up, push his oar on the dock, and walk around the boat to get out. Because it was November, the water was already icy. Jasper was shivering, and his teeth were chattering.

Jeremy quickly dashed over to Jasper and extended his hand to assist him getting back on the dock. He could already feel how cold Jasper's hand had turned. Someone else was already hurrying out of the boathouse with a large towel. He took it and quickly draped it over Jasper's shoulders.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, sounding deeply concerned. He knew full well what a giant shock it was to your body to be plunged into ice-cold water after running so very hot in a race, just moments ago.

Despite his chattering teeth, Jeremy managed to respond, "I'm fine. It's a little colder than I expected."

"Go inside and warm up. Take a hot shower," Jeremy told his friend as he pushed him towards the boathouse. "I'll look after your boat for you." Jasper grinned gratefully and dashed up to the boathouse and the promise of a hot shower.

While Jasper was running towards the boathouse, Jeremy really noticed him. He took in what he was seeing and drew in a sharp breath. Jasper's tight-fitting Lycra rowing suit was now clinging to him like a second skin, it had pulled a vacuum, leaving Jasper virtually naked. Jasper was slightly smaller than Jeremy, but their two years of rowing together had given him a well-defined set of back muscles, as well as everything else being very nicely proportioned.

Jeremy had been aware for about a year that he felt a strong attraction to his male peers. In the previous two years, all of his classmates had begun chatting and making fun of girls. But, while the girls were nice, they weren't particularly exciting, to him. He used to have a girlfriend when he was younger. Three years ago was ancient history at his age. It had not lasted. There had been kissing, fondling, and even some groping. She had been more enthusiastic about it than he had really been. He had not been in any kind of new relationship since she had moved away.

Jasper vanished around the boathouse door's corner, on his way to the locker rooms. Jeremy took care of both their two boats and this took him a good ten minutes. He had made a bit of a rush job of it, wanting to get back in and see if Jasper was doing alright. He could hear the showers were still running as he approached the locker rooms. There had not been that many people left on the water, probably just a few. They were now in the clubhouse drinking coffee or soda. So, he figured, it must be Jasper he was hearing in the showers. When Jeremy entered the locker room, he saw steam coming from behind the division. A row of four showers was hidden from view behind the division and the steam.

He walked over to his sports bag and clothes, removing his Lycra rowing kit until he was left with only his underwear. He grabbed his towel, walked to the showers, and hung it on a peg on the wall directly outside the showers. As he walked in, he noticed Jasper sitting on the floor in front of a hot shower, arms wrapped around himself. He must have been startled by Jeremy entering the showers because he jumped up. He, like Jeremy, was only wearing a pair of underwear, soaking wet and clinging tightly to his body. Jasper appeared to still be shivering.

Jeremy took a step closer to see if Jasper was okay. The shower was warm, but not exactly piping hot. He could feel some warm water splashing up against his feet and upper legs. He extended his hand and touched Jasper's arm. Jasper wasn't as cold as he had been when he had first emerged from the water, but he wasn't exactly warm either. "Man, you're still cold," he said, now running his hand up and down Jasper's right arm.

"I know," Jasper acknowledged, "but I just can't seem to shake it." The feeling of Jeremy's hand running up and down his arm was pleasant, warm, and comforting. He took a step closer to Jeremy and noticed him reaching out with this other hand for his other arm, but Jeremy let his hand fall back again before he had touched him. Too bad, Jasper wouldn't have minded. Jeremy's hand was nice and warm, and he needed all the warmth he could get right now. In a daring move, he got a little closer to Jeremy himself, "That's really nice; could you do my other arm as well? I'm freezing," he requested.

Jeremy had almost started rubbing both of Jasper's arms out of reflex, but, he had decided against it because he would rather not weird out his friend. I mean, they were both in the showers, nearly naked. Getting all touchy-feely could send the wrong signals. Well, wrong? It'd send out signals for sure, and he wasn't certain how Jasper would react. They had become pretty good friends since they had joined the club on the same day a year ago. They had even spent some afternoons after practice at each other's houses. At the rowing club, they were also always together. Two peas in a pod. When asked, Jasper's question caught him off guard. Did Jasper want him to touch him? To help him warm up? Jeremy really wanted to, but that was also the problem. He wanted to, so, so bad. Could he? Really?

Feeling very brave, he took a step closer, now standing with Jasper under the pouring water, and he grabbed his other arm, now rubbing both of them. His hands could feel the muscles in Jasper's arms, the tension , and the shivering. He began to massage the arms by instinctively kneading into the tense muscles. As he kneaded deeper into the hard muscles, he could hear Jasper making a faint and deep moaning sound. He could feel a heat rushing through his body that wasn't caused by the warm shower.

Meanwhile, things were becoming equally confusing for Jasper, but in a good way, he figured. He could feel Jeremy digging his fingers into the tensed up muscles of his arms. As he felt someone else taking care of him in this way, warming him, holding him, he couldn't help but let a very contented noise escape his throat. He had tried to keep it quiet, but he was afraid Jeremy might have heard anyway. He was so relaxed that he didn't even notice his body going into autopilot mode, and he stepped in even closer to his friend. Now, he could actually feel the heat emanating from his friend's body. It was like stepping up close to a campfire after a cold night of camping outside. The warmth of Jeremy's body drew him in, like a fish on a line. He felt their shoulders brush against each other; how had he suddenly gotten so close? He looked up at Jeremy, and it felt strange to be this close to his friend. They were almost nose to nose, if his nose hadn't been slightly lower because he was a tad smaller.

While Jasper was gradually closing the gap between them, Jeremy could feel it too. Jasper didn't seem to be looking up; he appeared to be deep in thought. He just kept getting closer and closer. And with each small step, Jeremy felt as if the heat was being turned up a notch, or two. If it hadn't been for the hot shower, he would not have been able to hide how hard he had started to blush. And to his horror, that was not the only thing his body tried to do or get hard. He turned his hips away a little from Jasper. He wasn't quite poking out yet, but he was definitely getting chubby. That's when Jasper looked up and stared him straight in the eyes, almost nose to nose. He'd never noticed the brightly colored specks in the brown of his eyes. It was like there were tiny crystals hidden in there. The intense stare between them was not helping his self-control; he was losing the battle in his underwear, and he was afraid Jasper might notice at any moment.

With Jasper so close to his body, he began to move his hands from the arms around his friend's lean body. His hands probed Jasper's back, detecting even more overworked muscles. He traced a finger along some of them, and his hands grew closer to each other, clasping together and drawing Jeremy into a close bear hug. Their chests pushed against each other. He could feel Jasper's stomach contacting his own, and he could feel his breathing speeding up. Their legs had now come together as well, and they were in a full embrace. Whereas Jasper had been tense before, he now appeared to suddenly give in to some kind of internal struggle, relax, and place his head on Jeremy's shoulder.

To his surprise, Jasper was enjoying the feeling of Jeremy's arms encircling him; he was never comfortable touching people or being touched. But right now, it was as if the shower was washing away his inhibitions as he was standing there. He felt Jeremy's arms pull him closer, and as their bodies made full contact, he began breathing more deeply, more rapidly. He wasn't even thinking about what he was doing anymore. Standing in the shower, nearly naked, and being touched like he'd never been touched before… by Jeremy, whom he secretly considered his closest friend. Was it strange to do this with a guy? He had never been preoccupied with whether he was into girls or guys. He'd never felt a genuine connection with anyone before, so he didn't really know, and he didn't actually care. However, he had to admit, this felt good. So, so good. He could finally relax as he felt the shivers leave his body. He rested his head on Jeremy's shoulder, surrendering to their embrace.

Jeremy was noticing how he was thinking less with his thinking brain and more with the hormonal brain in his little head, and how his body was now being controlled by the little head down there. He couldn't help himself; he was now at full mast in his underwear. To be honest, right now, he didn't care. He pressed his entire body against Jasper, attempting to envelop him. He wanted to share all the warmth he could give with Jasper. However, he could have sworn he felt something poking into his thigh as their bodies fully connected. It did not matter anymore. He wasn't going to be able to disguise this as anything else than what it was. He was hugging his almost naked pal. It could not feel much better than this. Well, they could of course both be less than near-naked. But that seemed a little too risky. They weren't the only ones at the club this afternoon. On some training days, they had the boathouse and the club completely to themselves. They were not always getting coached, just like today.

Time seemed to stand still as they continued standing there, in a tight embrace. Everything had quieted down around them. There was nothing but the sound of the shower and their heavy breathing. Then, there was a sharp knocking on the locker room door, bringing them out of their reverie. A woman called out loudly, "Guys, we're heading out. You're the last ones here, so don't forget to lock everything before you go." That shook them out of their trance. They quickly split from each other, how long had they been standing there like that? Jeremy felt he was not even trying to poke a hole into Jasper anymore. The last few minutes they had just been standing there, hugging, caressing, feeling each other's bodies. Lost in the moment. And now that the link had been severed, all they could do was smile sheepishly at each other.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm no longer cold," Jasper bluntly stated. They both burst out laughing at Jasper's remark.

Jeremy stepped away and over to the shower next to Jasper's and turned it on as well. With all that had been happening, he had kind of forgotten that he had come into the shower to actually shower. As was quite normal for them, especially when it was just them, clothing was entirely optional in the showers. Some of the club's younger boys were shy or hesitant to shower naked, but in the previous year, both of the boys had seen each other's bits numerous times while changing. So showering with underwear on had started feeling like the weird thing to do. They both quickly undressed fully and continued showering. Jeremy could not help but notice that Jasper's excitement had not quite gone down yet.

"I thought I felt something poking my leg just now," he said, pointing at Jasper's boner. It was also not uncommon for them to have a random hard on in the shower. The adrenaline of a good workout can often cause the body to become overly excited about almost anything. And feeling hot water streaming down your body was unfortunately a good way to lose control of one's nether regions.

"You're one to talk. Just a moment ago, I could feel something pressing into me as well," Jasper fired back.

Jeremy looked a bit contrite now, "But, in all seriousness. I'm… sorry. I just wanted you to feel less cold, and things just happened," the last bit came out more in hushed tones, but Jasper got it. "I hope you don't hate me now," Jeremy said. His greatest fear was losing his good friend. It's why he had never said anything about having feelings for guys. It's sports and being bi, or gay; it felt like two things that did not mix.

"Well, it seems like I wasn't really minding it," Jasper grinned as he looked down at himself.

A wave of relief washed over Jeremy. "Soooo, are you sure you're not weirding out on me?" He had to double-check, just to assuage his fears.

"No weirdness. But shouldn't we finish our showers now?" Jasper suggested. He did not feel troubled over what had happened, at all. However, he had to admit he was somewhat confused. He had never felt any sort of physical attraction to anyone before. To be honest, and he had to be honest, he thought he was the only guy he knew who wasn't… ehm… handling himself, regularly. It's like something that had never seemed all that important before. He certainly enjoyed the sensation of getting a boner. He might even touch it a little occasionally to get things going. But the only times he had experienced something resembling a climax was when he woke up at night to find a wet mess in his bed. He considered himself to be a late bloomer. Again, not something he'd brag about to anyone. However, what had happened just now, that had somehow rocked his world.

The boys finished showering, toweled themselves dry, and began getting dressed. They had resumed their conversation, this time about practice, just as if it were any other regular day. But they both sensed that something had changed, that their friendship had been altered, and that there was now a new sense of tension in the air. And both were only hoping it was going to be a good change.