by Daring Diane
Both women were laughing when they rejoined the family. After dinner, Jack and Liam moved to Jack’s office and put some football on while having an after dinner drink. The mothers, Darby and Lee found a holiday movie and got comfortable on the couch with a fire in the fireplace. They sat Sally, Lee, Darby, Erin.
It had been a really nice evening. Everyone was worn out. As the movie went along, Sally found herself falling asleep next to Lee. Her head lolled onto Lee’s shoulder. Not long thereafter, Erin was drifting off. Lee slipped off the couch down to the floor. He put a fleecy blanket onto his mother and got another one for Erin. Darby slipped off the couch and their mothers adjusted and fell back asleep.
Lee moved near the fireplace and gathered some pillows and a comforter. He laid down to watch the movie and Darby sat down next to him. The pillows created a pit on the floor and this is why Sally had bought them. When there was a commercial break, Darby said, “Lee, I really appreciate your gift. It means a lot to me. Thank you again.”
Lee wasn’t sure if he should feel uncomfortable. “No problem. We both knew you liked it.”
Darby paused, “That is a true statement. I think we both liked how the top looked.”
Lee wasn’t sure he understood what she said. But, he did not want to explore this area.
They silently watched the movie.
Jack and Liam entered the family room a little later and found their wives asleep on the couch and the kids asleep on the floor in front of the TV. Laughing, Liam said, “It’s a holiday tradition. Every year they fall asleep at the end of the night. It’s kind of cute. Let’s have another drink and then we can get people to their own beds.”
Starting Thursday, practices intensified in preparation for their first contest. Unlike many kids their age, Darby and Lee liked to spend time with their parents. While they wanted to go out and do things with friends, they tried to have family time during the holidays. They went to the local zoo one day and visited other museums and vacation stops in their local area. Other evenings they hung out with different groups of friends.
Friday evening after Christmas, their group invaded a local bowling alley. Darby wore her new yellow top and earrings along with a yellow bra under her top with a matching camisole. Lee wore his new white baseball earrings. All the girls complimented Darby on her top. One of the girls from the cheer squad said, “Isn’t that the top from forever 21?”
Darby proudly responded, “Yes. I really liked it.”
“It looks perfect on you. You should have just bought it when we were there.”
Darby said, “I appreciate it more now.”
Lee and Darby did not tell their friends about gifts they gave each other.
Saturday evening the cheer squad invaded a local laser tag business. Afterwards, they joined other friends at the local ice cream shop. Sunday, the two families headed out to a family style Italian restaurant.
Chapter 19 – Week Five – New Years
Monday afternoon, Lee and Darby prepared a meal for the two families. They marinated chicken and prepared a special rice dish along with vegetables and a huge salad with all the fixings. Lee baked a cake while Darby baked fresh bread.
Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, found Lee and Darby practicing with Jerry. Darby was getting more serious and planned to go out for softball. That evening, at midnight, Liam and Jack lit off fireworks. Lee and Darby shot some roman candles and they lit the Japanese floating balloons with a candle in the bottom.
New Year’s Day, in the morning, Lee went over to Darby’s to watch the parades on TV. Jack and Lee spent the afternoon preparing chili and watching football. Liam, Erin and Darby arrived late-afternoon with cornbread, jelly and brownies. Lee pulled out the crackers he loved with chili and everyone sat in front of the TV and flipped between football games. Even Darby and their mothers found it a nice tradition to spend the afternoon and evening relaxing and watching the games.
After cheer practice on Thursday, Jerry spent extra time with Lee and Darby on fielding techniques.
Saturday they planned a full dress rehearsal for their first competition which was only a week away on Saturday, January 11. On Saturday, the plan was to gather on the parking lot outside the gym and pretend like it was the real event. Sylvia set up the floor. They asked Erin and Sally to act as judges and officials for the practice event. Since they did not have anyone else, Sylvia would also act as a judge.
It had been several weeks and Lee had adopted the pattern of shaving his legs, chest and underarms. It had simply become part of his regular routine.
Saturday morning after his run, Lee showered. He was dressing for their dress rehearsal and pulled out the cheer squad uniform. He donned his own cheer panties and matching camisole. After adding his uniform socks Lee pulled on the shorts that matched the skirts. Having not worn the shorts before, he was surprised by two things. The shorts had a very brief inseam along with wide legs. Lee realized that he would have to be careful how he sat with these shorts. The uniform top fit well when he pulled it on. His hair was held high on the back of his head in a black scrunchie. The decision was to wear hair in a high ponytail. Lee loaded the designated items in his cheer bag. He added his cheer shoes and loaded extra items into his cheer bag.
His mother was thrilled with the look and took several pictures. When they joined Darby and Erin to head over to school, more pictures were taken. Lee had to admit, Darby looked good in her uniform. It occurred to Lee that the skirt might be longer than the shorts.
When they got to the school, everyone was excited. All the girls were jumping around and squealing. Everyone loved how Lee looked. Erin and Sally went into the school with Sylvia. Sylvia explained the point risks for behavior on and off of the matt. She had given them copies of the rules for judging and explained unacceptable behavior on the matt. Erin and Sally were excited to help out. Marcia’s mother had come by to see everyone in their uniforms. Sally and Erin enlisted her to help in the judging. Sally and Erin had actually watched a couple of videos on the computer ahead of time to have some idea what they were looking for. Sylvia further explained the strategy she and Lee had selected and asked them to note any inconsistencies in behavior.
As the time arrived, Lee called everyone into formation. Using his snapping fingers, Lee directed the squad into the building. They arrived at a location along a wall where the team set down their bags and sat down in unison. There was a pause of time until Sally called out their team name and asked them to approach the floor.
Lee had the team gather their pom-poms and stand up. He handed command off to Darby. Darby snapped her fingers and led the squad onto the floor. The squad got into position and on a signal from the judges they began the program. Lee coordinated the music and was so proud of the girls. He found himself cheering on the sidelines when they were done. The girls all high fived and then got in formation to leave the matt. There were two different programs with 15 minutes between.
Afterwards, the judging mothers expressed how impressed they were with the team. They thought it was so cute how the team tried to do everything in unison. Lee had some concerns when they said they tried to do things in unison. They ran through the program a second time before calling it a day.
It was decided that video from today would be reviewed and discussions held with the judges. On Sunday, the team would come together at Lee’s house to review the videos and discuss their successes and problems.
Lee, Sylvia, Darby and the judging mothers discussed the panel’s analysis of the program. The six of them reviewed the video on a computer which unluckily had a small screen. Everyone noted many high points and a few errors. The mothers identified several consistency issues in the before portions of their performance. A few things were noted as poor taste.
Saturday evening, Darby and Lee continued to review the videos and made note of timing errors and subtle changes needed. When they were satisfied that they had a plan for Sunday, they made some popcorn and turned on the TV.
Sunday be
ing the last day of the Christmas break was both a review meeting and a last holiday celebration. The girls and Sylvia all arrived early in the afternoon. The first thing they did was review the video in normal running time. Lee and Darby walked through their analysis of the program. They highlighted everyone’s successes while suggesting adjustments where problems had been seen. Lee wanted to focus on timing. He and Sylvia had agreed that operating in unison was the one thing they could excel at. Sally and Erin identified several dressing inconsistencies and behavior issues.
Unexpectedly, Erin and Sally suggested that Lee and Sylvia needed to wear the cheer briefs worn by the girls under their skirts. The reason this was important was because of the brief nature of the shorts. Sally pointed out that all the girls and Sylvia either wore the bow with the scrunchie built-in or the hair clip. Lee wore a black scrunchie and looked out of place. Sally said that to maintain total consistency, Lee needed his matching scrunchie.
A couple of the girls had worn shirts or camisoles under their uniform tops and the mothers said it was obvious. Their recommendation was that everyone stick to a totally identical uniform inside and out. It was their position that the uniform should only have the uniform sports bra under the top. None of the girls would wear earrings or any other jewelry during the program.
Everyone agreed. There were some uniformity issues when pulling out pom-poms and standing up before the program. These were issues they would work on in the coming week. Several problems in the program would receive focus in coming days. Everyone had a great time and they were all excited about the competition the following Saturday.
Chapter 20 – Week Six – First Practice Competition
The week seemed to fly by. Sally waited until Friday afternoon to talk to Lee about his uniform. “Lee, we need to talk about something. Remember our discussions on Sunday.”
“Of course, I remember.”
Sally slowly explained, “I did not push it on Sunday, but one of the things we discussed has odd implications for you. The squad, including you decided that you would all wear the same uniform. On Sunday, we specifically discussed that everyone would wear the squad sports bra under the uniform top and nothing else. That means that on Saturday, you will need to wear the sports bra under your cheer uniform top.”
Lee stared at his mother. He was instantly torn inside. He was being told he had to wear a bra in public. He wanted to wear a bra. He may not want to be exposed in public. But maybe this was a reason he could justify stepping over this line. Mentally, he felt like he was a ping pong ball.
Sally could see the indecision on Lee’s face. “Lee, you don’t have a choice at this point. You are going to the competition and you are going to wear your cheer sports bra. More importantly, we both know you want to wear it. So enjoy it secretly and tell people you were forced. I love you.” Smiling, she turned and left Lee dumbfounded.
Lee and Darby both planned an early evening Friday so they would do well on Saturday. It was going to be their first competition and they wanted to do as well as possible. Saturday morning, Lee ran a short route alone. Darby didn’t want to risk wearing herself out or hurting herself before the competition.
Lee sat staring at the sports bra and uniform top. With his heart trying to beat out of his chest, his head seemed foggy as he stared at the sports bra. Sally knocked on the door. After no answer, she cracked the door. Lee was sitting on the bed with his socks, underwear and cheer briefs on. He seemed to be staring at his sports bra.
Sally smiled as she walked over to the bed. “Honey, let me help you.” She picked up the sports bra and moved towards Lee. “Hands over your head.”
Simply following directions, Lee raised his arms. Sally guided his arms and head into the bra and worked it into place. As she did so, Lee seemed to become more aware and lent assistance to get the bra in the right place. Sally helped Lee put on his uniform top. The sports bra was visible in the arm holes of the top and gold had been selected since it was a school color and accented the uniform. That is what the mothers had seen the previous week.
Lee stood up and pulled on his shorts and competition shoes. The girls had agreed to wear just the top from the warmups on arrival at the event. They would have the pants for after their competition. Sally sat on the bed talking with Lee to keep his mind off the sports bra.
After arranging his cheer bag, Lee walked to the dresser and sighed. He picked up the scrunchie with the ribbon and his name on it. Sally approached from behind and took the scrunchie from his hand. She arranged it on his head with his name clearly readable.
Jack and Liam planned to come to the major competition. But, they had arranged to meet some friends on Saturday to avoid going to the preliminary meet.
Many parents were planning to go to the event and several families carpooled. Lee, Darby and their mothers arrived early at the event. Sylvia was already there and met them outside. It was cool outside so people waited in their cars until everyone was there. The squad pulled out their bags, removed their warmup coats and lined up. The parents moved into the facility to find seats near each other.
In the same way they had been practicing, the squad entered the facility in unison. No other team was behaving in a similar way. They found a location and everyone sat down in formation. Sylvia made sure the team was registered and got the schedule.
She informed Lee and they let the rest of the squad know the schedule. While this was a much smaller competition than the state regionals, there were still a number of teams. The first program would be about an hour into the competition and the second program would be 45 minutes later. After the second program, there would be about another 45 minutes before results were announced. Sylvia thought that would be a good time for a snack/lunch. Several of the mothers had gotten together and brought wraps, fresh fruit, a trail mix combination, energy drinks and water bottles.
The girls watched as team after team sort of cheered their way onto the program matt. Discussion centered on the abilities of other teams and the differences between how they did things. Some teams jumped around and cheered after their routines. Lee had told his squad not to do that.
When the first program was called, Lee called for them to stand in formation. The group stood together and Lee handed off responsibility to Darby. Darby led the team to the floor. A hush seemed to develop as they marched in formation to the floor and divided into position. No other team that day had entered the matt in a similar manner.
The routine was simple. But it used elements in a different way than most of the other squads. After the routine, the squad moved in unison into formation and moved off the matt back to their waiting area. Forty five minutes later, the squad entered the matt in a similar manner for their second routine. After performing well, they again returned to their waiting area.
Lee stood on the sidelines proudly watching his squad doing their routine. As the girls bounced around and demonstrated their skills, Lee unconsciously ran his hands over the bottom of his uniform top. Fingering the hem and he ran open palms over the top of his shorts, savoring the feelings of wearing the uniform while his squad was performing.
Sally looked away from the performance to observe Lee and Sylvia on the sidelines. While their attention was clearly locked on the performance, Lee’s hands moved slowly sort of caressing his uniform as he watched. That was something she would need to talk to her son about.
After their performance, several parents and people from other teams seemed to come by just to mention how nice it was to watch their team working in unison.
Before their snack, several girls wanted to go to the bathroom. They marched off in groups of four to use the restroom. Lee was scared to death of having to go to the bathroom. More people came by and mentioned how neat it was that even when walking around inside the facility the group walked in unison.
At the end of the day, their team was ranked 5th out of 12 teams. They received many compliments and advice on things to work on.
Lee could not believe tha
t they were not in last place. He and Sylvia were thrilled. Before leaving the competition, the team changed out of their competition uniform tops and put on their team polo shirts. Darby and Marcia realized Lee was embarrassed about how he was dressed and dragged him into the girls’ room. They shoved him in a stall to relieve himself and replace his top.
The team and their parents invaded a burger joint and snatched a group of tables. The parents sat together and allowed the team to hang together. Sylvia moved back and forth between the groups. Everyone was thrilled that they had not fallen into last place and talked excitedly about future prospects. Darby and Lee relived their days’ activities late into the night after they got home. They had another practice competition in two weeks and the real competition started the week following.
It wasn’t until he changed for bed that Lee realized he was still wearing his sports bra. He felt a thrill remembering his day in the sports bra. He even got to go to the girls’ room. Lee pulled on his soft pajamas over his sports bra and climbed into bed. He lay there in the dark savoring the soft material sliding on his skin. He felt the bra and its presence gave him some kind of inner comfort. He loved these clothes.
Waking early on Sunday morning, Lee wondered if he was nuts. He, a boy, lay in his bed wearing a bra and soft women’s pajamas. Why did he want to do this? Maybe he should hide all these things and just act normal. What if anyone found out? What if Darby found out? He couldn’t even talk to his mother about these weird feelings. My god, what if his dad found out?
Lee got out of bed quickly and removed the bra and pajamas. Somehow, he was not overly bothered by the underwear. He put on plain blue panties and a matching tank styled t-shirt. On top, he wore jeans. They were his new looser jeans but no one knew where they came from. After adding a black t-shirt, Lee looked at his hair. He pulled out his brush and started brushing his hair. Brushing his hair calmed Lee down and helped him get comfortable with the day. After over 70 strokes, a black scrunchie was carefully used to control his mane of blond hair.
