Swim Coach: A Novel

by Sam E. Kraemer

  "You two are already fucked up. I should take you home," I attempted to reason.

  "Look, just because you don't want to find a boyfriend doesn't mean we don't. You don't have to go with us. Actually, you'll likely cockblock us, Colt. You should go home and weep for the man you love," Amanda slurred. She knew about my crush on Andre, and fuck her for using it against me, but I wasn't going to leave them alone.

  "Wow, the preacher's daughter has a bit of the bitchy slut in her? Good to know," I responded as we walked down the sidewalk to the frat house, seeing it was overflowing onto the lawn already.

  "Listen, you two. You don't go anywhere without me, got it? I'm going to follow you to the fucking john because you've put me in this position to watch out for you since you’re already fucked up. You're ripe for the picking at a frat party," I instructed.

  "Ripe…we're ripe. Fuck yeah, we are!" Bryana was yelling, and I knew I needed to take her ass back to her dorm room but she wouldn't have it. I had a very bad feeling about what would happen, but I wasn't going to leave them there alone.

  The rest of the night was spent with me following my friends from room to room to keep an eye on them. I took drinks from their hands which had been offered by random guys because I knew their types. I was pretty sure more than one of those drinks had been laced with something and I couldn’t let it happen to my friends. The girls weren't happy when I followed them to the bathroom and stood outside the door like a bodyguard, but I didn’t give a shit. They weren’t running me off.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Andre's roommate, Lance standing there. "Hey, Squid. How've you been? We haven't seen you around in a while. Who are your friends?"

  I bumped his fist when he offered and laughed at him calling me by the name of my old swim team. "They're my best friends and they were dead set to come here. I'm just keeping an eye on them. You know, trying to keep them out of trouble. They're both drunk," I responded.

  He laughed. "That's probably smart on your part. They're really cute, and these guys are looking for freshman chum, so it's good you're looking out for them. Juan and I could take over duty if you wanna have some fun yourself. I mean, Juan has to be here because he's a brother, but we're not drinking," he offered.

  I eyed him carefully. "And why would I leave two eighteen-year-old girls in the care of you and Juan?" I asked skeptically.

  He cracked up. "Damn, you have no gaydar whatsoever, do you? Dude, Juan and I are a couple. We're not interested in your girls other than to make sure nobody takes advantage of them. Where do they live?" he asked.

  Fuck, I didn't know they were a couple. When Juan walked up and kissed Lance on the cheek, I got it. I'd bet they had some pretty wild fucking times. I actually cackled because I was so lame and didn’t know they were together. It should have been glaringly apparent that morning when I was at Andre's place as I looked back on it, but I was so fucking paranoid about my own shit, I didn't see it.

  I calmed down just as the bathroom door opened and Bryana and Amanda slid out. "Shortie, Bookworm," Lance greeted the two of them, causing them to crack up.

  He turned to Juan. "Ready to babysit?"

  "Sure, baby," he responded as he took Bryana's hand. "Come on, Shortie. Let's dance."

  Lance winked at me as he led Amanda away. I sighed in relief because if those two brick walls couldn't keep two tiny freshmen girls safe, I didn't stand a chance in hell on my own.

  I walked back into the main room and tried to make my way through the crowd to leave. I was fucking tired, and if someone else was going to look out for my friends? I was going back to my room to go to bed.

  As I approached the door, I saw Andre in the corner of the room with a redhead hanging off his neck. That was the nail in the coffin for me. I headed out and walked back to the dorm, wishing I'd gotten drunk. One of these days…it’s Colton's turn for some fun.

  The next morning, I woke up to a lot of noise in my room. I opened my eyes to see Jamie and some guy with long dreads packing up his stuff. There was a huge fucker sitting at my desk watching them, and I was completely confused. It then dawned on me the guy at my desk was the RA for my floor, Ahmed.

  "What's going on?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

  "Colton, I'm sorry it's taken so long to do this. I need you to fill out a report about the assault for the file. Jamie here is relocating to another room in another dorm. I was going to get to it, but I had to wait until we found out which rooms were going to be available. Again, I'm sorry it took so long," Ahmed explained.

  I looked at Jamie and saw the glare of hatred in his eyes and I got a distinct impression that morning wasn't going to be the last time I saw him. "Where are you moving to?" I asked him as he turned his back to me.

  He stopped throwing shit in a box and wheeled around to face me. "Well, faggot, since you bitched to the RA about me…and I didn't assault you, by the way…I've gotta move across fucking campus. I hope you're fucking happy, asshole."

  "Knock it off, Jamie. You're only gonna make it worse on yourself," Dreads told him as he hauled a box out of the room and dropped it onto a hand cart.

  I sat up and leaned against the wall, watching the whole thing with a satisfied smile. I really needed to piss, but if the RA had to leave, I couldn’t be sure that half my shit would still be there when I got back. After another half-hour, Jamie finally had all his junk packed up. I was thankful because I was about to piss my bed.

  "Wixsom, this ain't over," Jamie threatened as his friend carried out the last box.

  "Turner, anytime, anyplace," I responded cockily. He started to leave when Ahmed stood up and blocked the door.

  "Keys, Turner." Ahmed held out his large hand and after Jamie slapped the key into it, Ahmed shoved him out the door and closed it, remaining in the room.

  "Kid, go pee. I need to talk to you, but I'd bet you’re about to bust as much as you were jumping around," Ahmed joked. I nodded and hopped out of bed, hurrying into the little bathroom. I was sure he heard the sigh of relief as I emptied my bladder.

  After a flush and a quick wash of my hands, I noticed all my clean towels were gone. I guess if that’s the only thing I’m missing, I should count myself lucky. I went back into the room and saw Ahmed leaning against the door, staring off into space.

  "So, what do I need to do?" I asked as I started making my bed.

  He sighed. "Why didn't you tell me he attacked you? You should have called campus police and filed a report, Kid. On your request for relocation, your reason was that you weren't compatible. If you'd have filed an assault report, I could have had him out of here the next day."

  "Look, Ahmed, I'm not one to cause trouble, okay? I try to keep my nose clean and blend into the woodwork. I don't try to make waves, but if someone fucks with me, I can defend myself. He hasn't been spending a lot of time here so I haven't really had to deal with him much lately. If he'd have started anything, I'd have handled it. Now, do I get another roommate or what?"

  "Well, not right now, but maybe next semester if someone comes mid-year. Anyway, I'm glad Dre mentioned this last night at the party. I'll see ya later. If you need to talk about anything, knock on my door or leave me a note. See ya," he offered in passing.

  Andre? What the hell?

  I grabbed my phone and tapped out a text message for Andre Dupree.

  Coach - I appreciate what u did, but u don't have 2 keep tabs on me. I'm fine. CW

  I grabbed my stuff and went down to the shower room, happy not to have to worry about being attacked in there again. There were a couple of guys in there who I recognized from coming and going in the dorms, so I decided to try to be friendly with the one closest to me…without being creepy because well, we were all in our birthday suits.

  "Hey, how's it goin'?" I asked the small Asian guy with glasses next to me who was rinsing off. Thankfully, there was a half wall so you could only see from the waist up, or in that guy's case, his chest up. Unfortunately, there was no curtain at the end, so anyo
ne coming or going could see your bare ass, but college shower rooms were not a place to spend a lot of time, as I'd learned.

  He looked at me and then looked around. "You talkin' to me?" I laughed because I could have sworn he was impersonating DeNiro's ‘Travis Pickle’ from "Taxi Driver."

  "Yeah, I am. I've seen you coming and going, and I really haven't met any of the other guys on this floor. I'm Colton Wixsom. I hope you don't mind if I don't shake your hand," I responded as I stood under the spray to wet my hair.

  He took off his glasses and rested them on top of the wall next to my shampoo. "Nicholas Tran and no shake necessary. I saw your roommate being relocated. How'd you manage that? I hate mine, the fucking homophobe."

  I turned to look at him while I shampooed my hair. "I hear ya. The asshat I had tried to get me to suck his dick after I told him I was gay. He said some shit about a blow job is a blow job, regardless of who gives it. He wasn't too fucking happy about moving out, but thankfully, the RA hung around to make sure there wasn't a problem. Now, I've got a room to myself," I explained.

  "Lucky! My roommate is from Italy, and I swear he's prissier than me, but when my boyfriend and I were Skyping one night, I heard Anton on the phone with someone and he said ‘fascina’. I don't speak Italian but my boyfriend does and he said it’s Italian for faggot. My guy got really pissed about it and said he’s coming here next weekend to scare the piss out of the guy. I'm not looking forward to it," Nick told me.

  By then, we were both finished and exited the shower stalls with towels around us. My towel was dirty since the asshole stole all my clean ones, but I was covered at least. "That sucks. When my roommate left, the dick took all my clean towels. I'm gonna have to go to the store and buy a couple more, and I don't have a fucking trust fund for shit like that."

  Nick laughed. "Dude, don't do that. I'll give you a couple of mine. My mom's very smothering and she sent me with a dozen new towels. I've got a bunch in a tub under my bed I haven't even used yet," he offered.

  He seemed like a nice guy, and I was actually glad I'd spoken to him. "Man, that's generous of you, but I can't take your shit. I'll figure it out."

  "If you won't take 'em, at least let me loan you a few until you can get some. I don't, uh, have any friends here and I'm the kind of guy who likes to have friends. Maybe we could get food together sometime," he stated with a slight blush.

  I laughed as I pulled on my boxers under my towel. Once they were up, I dropped the towel on the bench next to my shower caddy and stepped into my jeans. "I'm guessing you mean as friends since you just told me you have a boyfriend. I don't want to get my ass handed to me by some jealous guy," I joked.

  He giggled, much like Bryana, as he dressed. "Just as friends. Damon is more than enough man for me, trust me. He's in school at Morehouse in Atlanta where he plays basketball. He worries about me being here on my own, so if I tell him I have a friend who's a big guy I think he'll be a lot less worried," Nick clarified.

  If I understood him right, it sounded like his boyfriend was pretty big himself, and with Nick just coming up to my shoulders, I'd bet the two of them were pretty comical together. "How big is he?"

  Nick giggled again and then got all moony eyed on me. "Six-six, two-twenty."

  I cracked up and thankfully, he laughed with me. "I know. My boyfriend outweighs me by about a hundred pounds, but he's a gentle giant, really. Well, unless someone gives him a reason not to be."

  "Is he out at school?" We were walking back toward my dorm room by then.

  "No, unfortunately, but our friends and family back in Brooklyn all know, so it's not like he's ashamed of me or anything. It's just easier for him at school if he’s not. He's a junior this year and he'd like to play in the NBA after he graduates. We thought we'd have to stay undercover forever in order for him to play professionally, but with Jason Collins coming out, I've got hopes. So, I'll get a couple of towels for you. I'll be right back." He hurried off as I unlocked the door to my room, quite surprised at who was sitting on the now-empty bed across from mine. His stalker-like tendencies were starting to concern me.

  Chapter Five

  H-O-T

  I walked into the room and dropped my wet towel and dirty pajama pants and t-shirt into my laundry hamper, seeing I needed to get some quarters and do some laundry. "Coach, what are you doing here? I guess I don't have to ask how you got into my room."

  He chuckled. "Ahmed owes me a few favors. I kept him from failing biology his freshman year and for a time, we were close. So, you've been avoiding me again, and really, it's getting old, Colton."

  I walked into the bathroom and dropped my shower caddy on the shelf over the commode. I glanced around and saw I really needed to clean the bathroom since Jamie had moved out. He was a fucking pig, and I couldn't stand living in filth. I had to accept it while he lived with me, but now having the place to myself? Well, it didn't have to be that way any longer.

  I walked back into the room and sat down on my bed. "I'm not avoiding you, Coach. It's just I'm a freshman and you're a senior. You have your friends, and I have mine. I don't see there's a lot of reason for us to hang out. I'm making friends here, and now that Turner is out of here, I've got the place to myself. Thanks for that."

  He closed his eyes and seemed to be clenching his jaw, though I didn't know why. When he opened them, I could see he was a little pissed. "Colton, if you don't stop calling me 'Coach', I'm going to have to go to a fucking shrink. Why don't you want to be friends with me? Have I done something to offend you?"

  I felt my nerves taking hold, so the quicker I got rid of him the better. "Look, I saw you with your girlfriend at the Sigma party last night. I only went because of my friends, Bryana and Amanda. After your friends, Lance and Juan agreed to watch out for them, I left. I'm not really into partying, and as I said, I don't see where we have a lot in common, what with me being gay and you being straight." Just then, there was a knock on my door.

  I walked over and opened it, seeing Nick standing with three thick bath towels. "Here ya go. Seriously, keep 'em, Colton. I won't use them, and if I need more, well, my dad's a stockbroker so it's not like my mom won't be sending me more shit over the school year. You wanna grab some lunch?"

  Just then, the door was ripped open and Andre was standing next to me. Nick backed up a little, surprise evident on his cute face. "Oh, um, sorry, Colton. I didn't realize you had company. We can, um, maybe do something another time."

  He started to walk away, so after I gave Andre a dirty look and shoved the towels into his hands, I took off down the hall and caught up with Nick. The little dude was fast. "Hey, wait. He's just a friend of mine from back home. He stopped by because, well, I'm not sure why but he won't be here long. Which room is yours? I'll come get you after I get rid of him and we'll get lunch."

  "Dude, get rid of? Fuck, I'd lock him in and never let him out. That man is H-O-T, Colton. Who is he?"

  "He's Andre Dupree. He used to coach my swim club back home. He has this big-brother complex and it's starting to pluck my fucking nerves." I didn't tell him the man made me hard when I was within a mile of him because I didn't know Nick that well. I prayed to God it didn't show on my face. Or, in my pants.

  Nick looked over my shoulder and smirked. "I don't think he's thinking very brotherly thoughts right now. I'm gonna head over to the food court. If you make it over, look for me. If I don't see you, stop by when you have time. I'll let you get a look at the freak I've gotta share with. You’ll be more grateful for your current living situation."

  I nodded and turned to go back to my room, seeing Andre standing in the hallway with a scowl on his gorgeous face. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his feet were shoulder-width apart. He didn't look very happy if you asked me.

  "Who's your little friend? He's cute," he sneered a bit. It was almost like he was jealous. I breezed by him and into my room without comment. I picked up the towels he'd placed on my bed and put them in the bathroom, returning just as he closed
the door and leaned against it, arms still crossed, along with his ankles.

  "That's Nick Tran. We met in the showers," I responded as I grabbed my phone and fiddled with it like I had something interesting to tell anyone.

  He was silent, so I turned around and saw his eyebrow was arched at me and he didn't appear to be thrilled with my response. "What?" I asked.

  "In the showers? Is that a new place to hook up? When I lived in this dorm, we didn't hang out in the showers. He, uh, he doesn't seem like your type, really."

  "We weren't hanging out in the showers. We both happened to be in there at the same time, and we started talking. Why would you think he's not my type? What do you know about the type of guy I'm attracted to?" Fuck him and his sexy hair and gorgeous green eyes and hot fucking body in a tight black t-shirt and dark wash jeans.

  I shoved my hands into my pockets in a futile attempt to flare out the front of my jeans so my hard dick wasn't completely obvious. "For your information, Nick's a nice guy. While I'm not completely sure what my type is yet, I'm not opposed to meeting different types of guys to try to figure it out. I figure we all have to kiss a few frogs before we meet our Prince Charming," I snapped at him.

  The next thing I knew, he wasn't by the door anymore. He was standing in front of me with his hands on both sides of my face. If he thought he needed to hold me in place, he was wrong. I was so fucking stunned, I couldn't have moved if I wanted.

  "If that's the case, then … ribbit." He licked his lips and leaned forward, brushing his mouth gently against mine. I swallowed loudly…embarrassingly loudly. God, his lips were so soft, just like I imagined them to be. He tilted his head a bit and kissed me again with a bit more fervor.

  My hand involuntarily moved up to touch his tight abs, and I moaned a bit. He took another step closer until our bodies were just millimeters apart. His tongue darted out and teased my lips until I parted them and sucked his tongue inside. When he moaned and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, I thought I was going to pass out.