
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
The Strivers - 5. Chapter 5 - Under the Stars, the Weight of Doubt
In the Quiet Office
The air was heavy, filled with an almost imperceptible tension. The coach, leaning slightly against his chair, observed the owner with a curious look. The way the latter had orchestrated the medical examination puzzled him. A strange, almost calculated restraint had caught him off guard—especially after that scene where the boys didn’t even have to lower their underwear. To him, it felt like a missed opportunity.
Fidgeting with the edge of the desk, he tapped his fingers before venturing,
“I’ll be honest, your approach escapes me. With all the theatrics surrounding this so-called medical checkup, I would’ve thought you’d… see it through. A precaution would’ve allowed for, let’s say, a more… thorough ‘examination.’”
A smirk played on his lips as he raised an eyebrow, letting his words hang in the air like a suggestion.
The owner responded with a faint, controlled smile, as cold as it was deliberate.
“Patience, my dear friend,” he said in a measured tone. “These boys, especially ones like them, require a delicate touch. Their trust is a precious resource, far more valuable than forcing them. If we push too hard, they might shut down. And that would ruin everything we’ve so carefully set up.”
The coach’s jaw tightened slightly, and a flicker of irritation crossed his face.
“Maybe,” he muttered, almost to himself, “but it was the perfect opportunity.”
After a brief pause, he looked up again, frowning.
“And by the way, if you don’t mind me saying, having them sleep here wasn’t part of the plan. How am I supposed to explain that?”
The owner, unfazed, inclined his head slightly as if to signal the end of the discussion.
“I’ll leave the excuse to your imagination. And to make it worth your while, I’ll double your payment upon your return.”
The coach raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.
“You’re saying I have to go back to the School tonight?”
“Yes, precisely,” the owner confirmed in a neutral tone. “I’d rather handle the rest on my own from here.”
A tense silence followed. The coach stared at the owner, torn between frustration and incomprehension. Finally, he gave a slow nod and rose from his chair. He cast one last glance at the owner, who was already absorbed in a folder on his desk, before walking out.
On the Terrace
The night wrapped the villa in a peaceful shadow, but the atmosphere on the terrace was anything but calm. A few steps from the table where they had dined, Dimitri, Alexei, and Ilya had stopped under the starlit sky. They were finally alone, but the silence between them was heavy, like an invisible weight pressing down on their shoulders. The sea murmured softly below, a steady and hypnotic sound.
Alexei was the first to break the silence. His eyes were fixed on the dark horizon, but his voice carried a palpable tension.
“That so-called ‘medical exam’... wasn’t it a bit... weird to you guys?”
Ilya turned his head, caught off guard, while Dimitri raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed.
“Seriously,” Alexei continued, as if the words were spilling out on their own, “he spent so much time touching us. I get that he needed to check some things, but wasn’t it... too much? And he’s not even a doctor, is he?”
Ilya swallowed hard, visibly uneasy. He hadn’t dared to put words to his feelings, but hearing Alexei voice them out loud awakened a discomfort he’d tried to suppress.
Dimitri, however, let out a sigh, crossing his arms in a gesture of dismissal.
“Come on, you’re imagining things. He just wanted to make sure we’re healthy, that’s all.”
“Really?” Alexei shot back, incredulous. “And when he pulled down Ilya’s and my underwear, you think that’s normal?”
“What? Pulled down?” Dimitri scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re exaggerating. He barely pulled it down in the back, and just enough to check your spine or whatever. You’ve seen it before, they do the same thing at the School during checkups. Stop overthinking it and trust him, okay? He just wants us in top shape, nothing more.”
Alexei’s jaw clenched at Dimitri’s casual tone.
“In top shape?” he repeated, his voice heavy with disbelief. But he stopped himself, frustration choking his words.
Ilya, still silent, looked between the two boys. His gaze shifted from Dimitri’s confident posture to the sincerity in Alexei’s troubled eyes. The conflict was written all over his face: one part of him wanted to believe Dimitri, but another couldn’t ignore the unease Alexei had voiced.
Finally, Alexei slowly nodded, but his gaze remained somber. One thing was certain: that night, doubt had crept into his mind, and it wouldn’t leave him anytime soon.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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