Page 19 of Beyond the Stroke

While I’m happy bleach is off the table, I’m still wondering what we’re doing.

I turn my attention to Charlie. “What exactly are we doing here?”

“As you know, we have a tradition. The tattoo before Sydney. The hair dye before Paris. We have to set the tone for the months of intense training before trials.”

He’s right. It’s tradition. The previous medley teams I’d swam with in Singapore and Atlanta had done the same thing. Back then, I was the young, inexperienced swimmer looking up to the older leaders. I’d been seventeen and twenty-one, so they’d been tame. Before the games in Singapore, there was a towel we passed around, each of us drying off with it after every practice that week, never washing it, which is disgusting now that I think about it.

While Charlie talks, two words on the form hit me like a truck: anal waxing.

“What the fuck?” I hiss. “Anal waxing? Really, Charlie?”

Eli starts laughing which does not seem to be a normal reaction for his usually serious nature.

“What the hell is going on?” I ask.

Eli’s eyes are alight with amusement. “Some girl told Charlie his ass was too hairy.”

“I told you that in confidence,” Charlie whispers.

“Yet, here we all are.” Eli gestures to the waiting area.

Logan shakes his head. “First of all, can we all agree that anyone who is back there should be comfortable enough to handle what they find? Hair and all.”

The pink tinge of Charlie’s cheeks deepens. “I need the moral support and figured this was two birds with one stone. We’re always eliminating body hair for drag purposes anyways.”

Eli shakes his head. “You cannot convince me that waxing my asshole is going to shave time off my split.”

“Now that it’s out there, we might as well share. Anyone else have this issue?” Charlie asks.

Logan shakes his head. “I don’t have any comment on this subject. I’ve never looked at my asshole and I really hadn’t planned on it.”

“Liar, you know you like ass play. You told me about one of the women you hooked up with was into it and you couldn’t believe what you’ve been missing out on this whole time. It’s why I suggested it to Marika and how she discovered I have a hairy asshole. So really this is all your fault.”

“Your hairy asshole is my fault? It couldn’t possibly be your Italian heritage?” Logan claps back.

Eli and I exchange a glance. Today is the weirdest fucking day.

“Are you scared?” Charlie goads Logan in a baby voice. “Do you need someone to hold your hand?”

“I’m not getting my asshole waxed and even if I was, I wouldn’t need anyone to hold my hand while doing it.”

“How are you shy about this? We see your dick in the shower every damn day,” Charlie argues.

“Yeah, but I draw the line at showing you all my asshole,” Logan growls.

“Fine. Be a baby. I didn’t want to see your asshole anyway.”

I shake my head at the ridiculousness of this conversation. I think we might be too close knit for our own good.

“It’s Rory’s decision,” Eli announces, nodding toward me. His eyes filled with the respect representative of the twelve years we’ve been teammates and friends. Without directly saying it, this is likely my last international run and the last time we’ll be doing something like this as a group.

Do I want to wax my asshole? Absolutely not. I haven’t even read the fine print to know what the procedure and side effects are. I’ve never even seen my asshole to know if I’d be a good candidate. I know what’s on my razor when I shave before a meet, though, so I’m guessing I’ve got something back there.

I glance over at Logan.

“No one has to do it,” I say, shifting my gaze to Charlie, “but it’d be really fucking cool to support our teammate and have this experience together.”

Charlie grins ear to ear.

---