G-rowing Pains - 3. Chapter 3 - Tuesday training

A few days had gone by, Jeremy and Jasper had not seen each other since the weekend and their very tumultuous day at the rowing club. They went to different schools and thus didn't see each other very regularly outside of practice. Except for a few random afternoons when they decided to do some homework or play video games together. However, it had been a hectic couple of days for both, with school, homework, and parents nagging them about chores and getting things done.

However, Tuesday evening was their training night. They had started real early so that they still had some light to go on the water. Rowing in fragile boats in the dark was not a good idea, and the club forbade it. So, they spent half of their practice time in the boat and the other half doing weights and other indoor exercises.

The weekend's experience in the showers, as well as the subsequent heart-to-hearts, had not gone down easy for either of them. Each had their own different troubles with it.

You could argue that Jasper had had it the easiest. His main issue was that he was completely unfamiliar with everything. Jasper, who was twelve years old, was almost a year younger than Jeremy. He looked up to his older friend and wondered how much of a difference a year could really make. His primary concerns during the day were school and his difficulties with math. Or where to go with the latest story he was working on, or how to find new photographic challenges. And rowing, of course, but he was afraid that that was more important to Jeremy as well.

Most of all, he wondered if it was 'normal' for him to be uninterested in girls. Or any other type of relationship. Some of his classmates were going on about how hot this was or how hot she was. The stories they told couldn't possibly be true. And Jeremy was usually the first to bring up which actresses or actors he thought were 'hot'. Or he was telling about the girlfriend he had just before he had started rowing. Whatever.

But, oh my goodness! This weekend's events had thrown him for a loop. He had never felt himself become so consumed by emotions before. He'd been so cold after falling into the water while trying to get out of his boat. He couldn't shake the cold, even after sitting under the hot shower for quite a while.

And then Jeremy had walked in. He'd begun by simply touching his arm and rubbing it warm. That had felt fantastic. And when Jeremy had hesitated rubbing warm his other arm, he had stepped closer himself. Inviting Jeremy to go on. And, after that, something had come over him and taken control. Thinking about it now felt like watching a movie. Had he really been the one who inched closer and closer until they were finally locked in a tight embrace?

He must have been, but as Jeremy's arms wrapped around him, rubbing up and down his back, his body decided to summon all of its hormonal reserves and serve up a raging young teen boy's erection. Of course, he'd had erections in the past; he was a normal, healthy young man. However, they were almost always random occurrences. If it didn’t happen at an awful moment, he had even spent some time playing with it at times, discovering how his body was changing and reacting. This time, however, it was definitely not a random occurrence. He was well aware of what, or rather, who, was causing his boner to attempt to poke a hole through his underwear. But Jeremy's embrace had made him feel safe at the same time. It felt like, coming home after a long vacation. And he wasn't the only one who had given a standing ovation, which he had found very amusing. Perhaps it was even a compliment? Was that a real thing?

Jeremy had gone down an entirely different rabbit hole. He'd had 'the talk' when he turned ten. He was now well aware that he was in puberty and that hormones had taken over his life. For the time being, at least. While they can be a lot of fun, they can also wreak havoc on everything.

Jeremy's parents had given him the talk, fully expecting the need to warn him about teenage pregnancy, STDs, and what might happen if he and his girlfriend decided to take the plunge and really 'go for it'. It had been awkward, graphic, and confusing all at the same time. His parents had tried to rip the band-aid from his innocence.

At the time, he had still been with Abby, his girlfriend. But, as he learned more about the birds and bees, he became increasingly uncomfortable with his current relationship. He'd tried some kissing and even a little feeling, but it was more because Abby had pushed for it. The kissing had been nice, though. Lips were mesmerizing, whoever’s they were. He'd heard of guys who liked boobs or butts… but if he was anything, he was a lips-guy.

Not long after, Jeremy began to have the uneasy feeling that he was acting as if he were in a relationship. He was playing a part. And Abby was willing to go a lot further in the whole relationship thing than he was. Breaking up with her was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his young life. He'd tried the 'let's just be friends' approach. But that didn't work because one of them still wanted more. Starting rowing had been a lifeline for him. It took up a lot of his time, and it felt like he had a reason to be doing something else, to not hang out with Abby any longer. Which meant that even being friends had to come to an end at some point.

Now, let's get back to the hormones. A lot of what his parents had told him didn't make any sense. Besides the physical changes he was noticing in himself. And in his classmates in gym class, or in the showers after rowing practice. And he'd discovered a certain fascination in comparing himself to his friends, looking at them, and thinking about them. One thing had led to another. While lying in bed at night, trying to rub away the most vexing boner of his life, his thoughts had taken a wild turn, with guys soaping up after gym and everyone getting a boner. Some were small, while others resembled what he had only seen on the internet. And they'd all started rubbing those boners like he was rubbing his own at that moment. It only took about ten seconds for him to have the strongest climax he'd ever had. WTF!

It was, like, finally locating the missing puzzle piece. He'd never felt like this about Abby. He'd never felt this way about any girl before. But he realized how much more he had been thinking about guys lately, and he realized now it wasn't just out of curiosity. It had all been just for lust. And, looking back, it wasn't anything new. At his previous school, he had been bullied by students who referred to him as a sissy or a nancy-boy. Gay-boy.

But, was that perhaps what he was? Gay? He didn't consider himself a sissy. Nah, not while he could run laps around anyone. He could bench press more weight than the majority of his classmates. He knew that for a fact, they had tried it in gym. Not only that, but he had left them eating his proverbial dust!

And so, just three weeks after learning how to not get a girl pregnant, Jeremy came to a life-changing decision. He had nothing to be concerned about in that regard because he was gay. He wasn't bi or flex, not even a little. Jeremy… liked… guys.

That's when a whole new can of worms opened up to make life just a bit more difficult. He didn't want to be bullied again. Changing schools had been necessary because he couldn't stand another day at his old school. But it was extremely difficult to start over at a new school. However, for the first time, he was in a class that was not ruled by bullies. He wanted to keep things as they were, safe, secure. As a result, he found himself unable to express his true emotions to anyone, and he was forced to take on yet another role. Perhaps he should consider a career as an actor. Was that why so many actors seemed to be gay? Did they have too much life experience in playing roles?

All of this had combined to making his experience with Jasper one of the best, but also one of the scariest, he had ever had. He couldn't believe he'd told Jasper he was into guys. Not in so many words, but he guessed Jasper got the gist of him, asking if Jasper was into guys… too. I mean, it was pretty self-evident, right?

But that meant his secret was no longer a secret. He was out. Would everyone know now? What if people at his school found out? Was he going to be bullied again? Was he going to be 'the sissy guy' again? He didn't think he could handle it. No, not again.

So, before they met again for rowing practice, both boys had had a tumultuous couple of days, and there was a lot of raw tension in the air. Their coach, a twenty-five-year-old guy with extensive rowing experience, couldn't help but notice. As far as coaches go, they'd had a pretty good run. Rick was a tough coach with a laid-back personality. He was also quite large. Not like heavy, but he was tall! Six feet four inches would be a safe bet. Dark brown hair, a slim build, but with a massive chest. Jasper and Jeremy were secretly hoping that all of their hard work in rowing would pay off in the form of a similar physique.

Rick had started their training that day with some time in the boats. He had one boat for each, so he could set them up to compete for a few runs. He had timed them, and they were way off from what they were normally capable of. Rick had them dock their boats, and after they had cleared them away, he took them aside for a talk.

"So, guys, what's up?" he wanted to know. "Your times are way off, and Jeremy, you should know better than to dip so deep."

Jeremy looked down, knowing he hadn't brought his A-game today. "I'm sorry, Rick," he apologized in a tiny voice, "I'm not sure what's wrong today."

They were still in the boathouse, the boys sitting down next to the weight rack and the ergs.

"How about you, Jasper?" Rick inquired, towering over the two of them.

Jasper felt intimidated. He wasn't exactly tall for a twelve-year-old. And Rick seemed to be twice his height.

"I… ehm… I'm not sure," Jasper stuttered. He was feeling truly sorry. Not for himself, but primarily towards Rick. He was continually striving to make his coach proud. That was the kind of inspiration Rick provided; he made you like him, which made you want to do your absolute best. His compliments were rare, but they were enormously satisfying as a result.

Jasper and Jeremy were both staring at their feet at this point. Still in their tight rowing attire, short pants, slip on shoes, Jasper noticed how much hairier Jeremy’s legs were. What a difference a year made; his own legs were silky smooth! Wait, he should stop thinking about Jeremy’s legs. Stop… Looking…!

Jasper snapped out of his trance and looked back up at Rick.

“We could do some weights, perhaps? And practice some more on the ergs… to make up?”, he tried to placate Rick.

Rick put on his best serious face. He was not mad at all, but he did demand to be taken serious, as a coach. As a result, some acting was required at times to get through. Especially for the younger children. Even though Jeremy was fourteen and Jasper was thirteen, they were still kids to him.

Rick was now making a real show of giving in. “You know what? I believe I have earned a good cup of coffee… and I believe you have earned the privilege of lifting weights while I sit and drink my coffee. Agreed?” he made a pretence of glaring at them.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Both Jeremy and Jasper stood up right away.

Rick took off his jacket and went inside to make some coffee and have the guys figure things out for themselves. He would have been content to leave the training where they had left it, but if they felt they owed him a little more effort, who was he to argue?

Jeremy watched Rick leaving the boathouse and going back inside. You should be aware that boathouses are extremely long. They house very long boats that can seat up to eight people in a row. And their boat house could accommodate three of those boats, in a row. As far as boathouses go, their club had a relatively large one. As a result, Rick took a while to leave their sight.

“So, where do you want to start?” Jeremy asked Jasper, looking around.

“Let’s use the weight bench, I’ll spot you,” he answered.

Jeremy approached the bench that had a large bar installed above it. He put on some weights, nothing too heavy, and laid himself down. Jasper walked over as well and stood at his head’s end, handing the bar to the waiting Jeremy.

When Jeremy looked up, he couldn't help but notice that he was staring directly at Jasper's crotch. The tight rowing pants left little room for his imagination. He lowered the bar and then raised it again.

Under the pants, he noticed he could see the lines of Jasper's underwear. He dropped the bar again and began pushing it back up.

It was almost as if something were twitching in Jasper's pants. The bar dropped, and pushing it back up became increasingly difficult; he began to breathe heavily, and he felt sweat appear on his forehead.

Jasper, meanwhile, had been focused on keeping his hands ready on the bar. Ready to seize it if Jeremy became too tired and dropped the weights, or let it slip. He noticed that Jeremy looked very focused. And, as he watched the muscles in Jeremy's arms grow taut, he let his gaze glide over the rest of his body.

It was strange, almost as if Jeremy had become an entirely different person. Or, he was looking at Jeremy through very different eyes. Just as he had noticed the hairs on his friend's legs earlier, he now noticed the abs that crunched together with each lift. And how his shirt had lifted slightly to reveal a hint of his flat stomach. When he dared to let his gaze venture further south, he was surprised to notice something long and elongated in Jeremy's equally tight pants. 'No way, seriously? Was he sporting a boner?' The mere thought caused his body to react, and he nearly missed the fact that Jeremy had almost failed to lift the weights that last time.

"Once more… with feeling!" He chuckled as he gently assisted Jeremy in pushing the weights back up. Slowly, the bar rose, and he made it safely lock into the stand.

Jeremy was gasping for air and needed a moment to catch his breath. As he recovered from his exertion, he attempted to sit up and only then realized he had a horrible erection, and it was pressing up against the elastic fabric. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized to Jasper, pointing at his crotch.

"No worries, dude," Jasper shrugged it away. But, in secret, he couldn't take his gaze away from Jasper's package. The enchantment was perplexing. He tried to cover for himself by getting busy, "My turn!"

As Jasper laid himself down on the bench, Jeremy quickly dropped the weights to something a little lighter. He could see Jasper rolling his eyes. "Seriously, I'm not trying to hurt you here! Let's see if you can match my fifteen with these," he told Jasper.

Jasper grabbed the bar and looked left, then right, and finally straight up. Jeremy's dick was still obscenely tenting the front of his Lycra pants and was now protruding over Jasper's head. He dropped the bar and pushed it back up. The bar almost caught Jeremy on the dick, which made Jasper laugh.

He dropped and lifted the bar again, this time almost aiming for Jeremy's protruding dick. "Hey, knock it off!" Jeremy complained.

The bar dropped again, and this time he made actual contact. He expected the dick to be soft and squishy, absorbing the impact, but it turned out to be much more rigid than he had anticipated. Jeremy pretended as if nothing had occurred.

So, Jasper lowered the bar and continued to aim for Jeremy's crotch; he managed to gently press against it at least eight more times before he felt he didn't have enough energy to lift the bar.

As he pushed up one last time, he made a strange, primordial "Ungh" sound and clicked the bar into its stand. He let his hands slide across the bar to the center, where they collided against Jeremy's stomach. Would he dare? Yes, he did dare! He let his hands drop in such a way that they both glided down completely against Jeremy's erection. It felt warm and smooth, and the moment passed far too quickly for Jasper's liking.

Jeremy didn't fully comprehend what had occurred, except that he felt a very satisfying touch on his groin after becoming quite excited as the bar continued to press into his raging erection time after time. He was certain that Jasper was not doing this accidentally. And just as Jasper was about finishing his set, Jasper managed to drop his hands in such a way that he could have almost grabbed a full hold of him.

“Dude! You are rock hard," Jasper exclaimed, both eyebrows raised in astonishment.

“No shit, doofus, you kept feeling me up!” Jeremy retorted, his cheeks now flushed with embarrassment.

However, things took a turn for the worse when they noticed light appearing at the other end of the boathouse. A door had been opened.

Jeremy swiftly turned around and grabbed a sandbag. He tried holding it up against himself, similar to how he would hold up a backpack if he were in the same predicament at school. It must be some kind of second nature to teenage boys.

As he watched Rick walk briskly down the aisle, Jasper looked down at himself and saw that he was nearly presentable again himself.

Jeremy made a show of lifting and dropping the sandbag, all the while hoping that the damned thing hidden behind it would just go down.

"We must stop doing this!" he exclaimed to Jasper.

“What?” Jasper asked.

"If we keep touching each other, someone will notice." Jeremy replied.

Jasper realized it wasn't necessary for anyone to see him touching Jeremy's dick, even if it was accidentally. Maybe especially not if it wasn't accidentally? But it couldn't be that big of a deal, could it? Weren't they friends? Jeremy also frequently threw his arm around his shoulders. Friends joke around.

"Whatever," Jasper said, truly unconcerned.

This irritated Jeremy even more. "Just don't!" he softly hissed.

“Don’t what?” Rick wanted to know, approaching the boys with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nothing, really," Jeremy said quickly, his face flushed, again. He couldn't keep the sandbag up any longer. To his relief, his annoyance had reduced his boner to something relatively decent. Nothing worse than what Jasper was still sporting.

Rick shrugged, indicating he didn't really care. "All right, guys, enough is enough. Take a shower and go home." He began to walk away, but then turned around. "Oh, and could you please lock up? My girl is waiting for me at home," he said, winking.

Jasper and Jeremy exchanged glances. "Sure, no problem," Jeremy replied, feeling it was his duty as the older of the two to respond. "Ehm, have fun?" he tried, trying to sound older than he was. He knew what Rick's wink had meant.

Rick continued down the aisle, waving to them. They saw him leave the boathouse.

Jasper snatched his towel from the chair, spun it a few times to tighten it up, and flicked it at Jeremy with a quick wrist movement.

“Ouch!” Jeremy exclaimed.

"That's what you get for being such a grump!" Jasper said. "What were you fussing about right now!?"

Jeremy rubbed the sore spot on his upper leg. "You should be more careful with what you do," he advised Jasper, "what if someone notices?"

“So, what?” Jasper inquired. “We act silly all the time. We’re friends. Is it because of our hug? The shower?" he continued asking. “And you were the one sporting a massive boner over my face just now,” he added accusingly.

Jeremy became irritated as well. “Well, sor-ry! As if you're Mr. Perfect, always in complete control of your body," he replied. He was agitated, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. In more ways than one, puberty was turning out to be a b*tch. Welcome mood swings!

Jeremy sat himself down on the bench again. What was going on? What was the cause of this argument? He buried his face in his hands.

Jasper let out a deep sigh, willing himself to unwind. His mother had taught him meditation exercises since he was really young, and it helped him now when he needed to relax. The pang of rage subsided as he felt the air leave his lungs, he visualized a black cloud leaving on his breath. He took a seat next to Jeremy on the weightlifting bench.

"I just don't get it," Jasper admitted. “You let me come all close first, and then you just clamp down completely and shut me out again.”

Jeremy thought about it. Is that what he did? Yes, he thought he might actually be doing that. He couldn't reconcile how, on the one hand, he was ecstatic that Jasper had allowed him to get this close to him. On the other hand, he was being terrified of being found out by anyone else. A tremor of fear went through his body as he experienced a short flashback of how he had been bullied at his previous school.

Jasper had thrown an arm around Jeremy and felt the shudder go through him. “Dude, what’s wrong?” he asked.

"I'm not sure if I can tell," Jeremy began, "some bad things from my old school. I'm sorry, but I never really told you about it."

Jasper had an idea as to what was wrong. As a student himself, he was well aware of bullies and the impact they had on others. He had a feeling whatever was bothering Jeremy had something to do with being bullied.

"Did people give you a hard time?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to pry too deeply.

Jeremy only managed to nod his head.

“Was it… really bad?” Jasper went on.

Jeremy nodded his head again, tears welling up in his eyes now.

Jasper was at a loss as to what to say or do. He could only think of one thing. He grabbed a hold of Jeremy and pulled his older friend in for a close embrace.

"I'm here for you," he whispered gently.