Craig inhaled deeply. He had made the decision. Today was the day all would know his secret. His family was in the stands and his friends/ Elaine, his close female friend who everyone thought was his girlfriend and Manny, the friend who explored, experimented and loved with him.
Video cameras were there too. Craig knew what they saw would be posted on the various social media and more.
And of course he counted on the fingers of his classmates and friends whose twitter messages would spread the word.
His coach would be pissed off but probably suspected something was up. After all, Craig had confided in him two years before. He had said to the man "today is the day" as he jogged out of the locker room.
"Just run fast that's all that counts today" The man said patting Craig on the butt as he always did.
Indeed it was the final meet. And for Craig the final race. Graduation was near, a summer in Europe in a college prep course and then four years that would prepare him for life.
Manny would be with him and for that Craig was grateful.
But now, he was alone, a person, an individual and an important self appointed spokesperson for a cause that didn't yet know he belonged.
The others were already on the track and stretching. Craig joined them, nodding to the competitors he recognized and shaking the hand of the red warm-up suit wearing racer named Swarlling, who was favored to win.
The crowd cheered and Craig knew the response was for him and Swarlling; both were much publicized for their victories.
It was the State Final Meet and this race in particular was focused on by state wide media.
Craig turned in his lane and stretched. His stomach quivered and his lungs demanded deep inhalation. It wasn't the race that made him nervous.
Elaine had helped and Manny disapproved. But Craig felt a growing need inside him to express what he needed to that day.
Manny came into his bedroom that day and pushed his pants down. It was late summer and they both looked forward to their second year. No longer would they be the kids, the freshmen the seniors laughed at. Sophomores at last.
"What the fuck?" Craig asked
"Pubes at last" Manny said flicking his fingers through the patch of hair above his penis. They both hadn't seen each other for months, each going to camps and on family vacations.
Manny's body hadn't displayed the usual evidence of puberty until now. Despite Craig and Manny both masturbating in hopes of promoting it, hair hadn't grown.
The runners began to remove their warm-up suits. Each wore their school colored shorts and tank tops and approached the blocks. Craig waited, taking more time to stretch his legs, back, arms. The starter moved into place and he hadn't yet removed the blue satin coat and pants.
"What are you doing?" Craig asked. It was the holidays that sophomore year.
"It's your birthday isn't it?" Manny asked
Craig didn't have to answer. He stared as Manny's hand encircled his erection. It felt weird, good in fact and something in his gut churned like a boiling pot.
"Just relax" Manny stroked his friend and himself delighted to be able to do what he had thought about since they first began to share the very private session. To his surprise Craig didn't lay back but instead turned on the bed until he could reach, touch and reciprocate until they both were traveling the path to satisfaction.
"Runners to your blocks" the public address system blared. Craig looked up and inhaled. There was no turning back now. He had made the decision. He had committed. His life was about to change.
"Wow" was all Manny could say. Craig's mouth was warm, wet. His tongue slid under Manny's erection inside his friend's mouth. The summer had enabled them both to get together for their physical sessions more often then during the school year.
Craig had become one of the school's budding athletic stars running track. Manny continued his computer club pursuits. Sophomore year had ended with them both satisfied with their public reputations and their private relationships.
"I'm gonna ... "Manny didn't finish his sentence. His body was excreting his sperm into Craig's mouth. He watched his friend's throat expand as he swallowed.
"Shit man that was hot" Manny said. He stared at Craig who was stroking himself so hard the cock was bright red.
"Here" Manny said and without hesitation or planning bent over to lick and suck the cock of the friend who had just eaten his own cum. They had tasted each other before as part of their exploration and experimentation with each other's hidden and undefined desires.
They had seen videos and pic on the Internet of guys doing things to girls and other guys. Their hands had pleasured themselves and each other while watching. And both had wondered what it would be like to do what they were now doing.
"Does this mean we're queer?" Craig asked as he lay panting after his body had released what seemed like gallons of jism into his best friend's orifice.
"Brown are you ready?" The starter asked.
Craig the only runner from Brown High School looked up and nodded. He wasn't really ready, but there was no turning back. He could walk off the track and forfeit saying he was sick. But the Coach would know better, his teammates would be disappointed and there would be questions from his parents he hadn't wanted to answer, at least not in a one-on-one way.
"So are you going to tell them?" Manny held Craig. It had been a wonderful night and weekend. Craig's parents and sister were out of town. Manny had come to his house on Friday for a sleepover.
That wasn't unusual. Manny and Craig stayed at each other's houses often over the years. Their parents just accepted the close friendship.
"Like David and Jonathan" Manny's religious oriented mother said not realizing how truthful she was being.
"This weekend will be ours" Craig said and Manny nodded. They had talked about going further. There had been fingers and erections tested over their junior year and the summer. That weekend it would be different, not experimenting at all but a full committal. They didn't use the "g" word but both knew it would be appropriate.
Standing naked in the kitchen Craig prepared the pizza that Friday night. Manny wrapped his arms around him pressing his hips against Craig's back. He kissed, pet and by the time Craig turned around both were ready.
The kiss was different then the other times, harder, hungrier, tongues desperate to explore, slide and tasting.
Their hands moved over each other's bodies as if they had never touched before. Each finger electric sensing, each body nerve responding. Their erect nipples felt the other's body.
Every inch of their flesh charging and being charged by the other's skin. Unseen sparks danced like a Tesla's coil.
The ignored pizza remained as if waiting or watching the magic that had begun and as Craig felt Manny inside him what seemed like seconds later, he knew they had waited longer then was necessary.
Somehow their bodies had transported from the kitchen to the familiar mattress in his bedroom. Manny had prepared himself and Craig and the sounds they made were unbridled from worries about anyone overhearing them.
They were animals now, actions desperately guided by their bodies. They turned, rolling over each other, Craig into Manny and Manny taking his turn to anally swallow his realized lover.
The night became morning by the time their dried sweat covered bodies lay intertwined. They were enthused, enlightened and energized by the night of planned but naturally controlled desires.
"Shit" Craig said as he stretched in the bed. He was naked and wanted to be naked. Manny's body looked natural though laying in a twisted pose on the bed, his light snore indicating his status.
Craig kissed the boy's genitals which lay like relaxed fruit. He licked the penis and the ball sac. He smiled and kissed each nipple not wanting Manny to respond, just wanting to freely express his emotional tie which could be redefined as something more serious now.
They spent the day watching TV, playing Video games, touching and petting when desired. Craig lay in Manny's naked lap as they used the couch alternative to the bedroom. He let the penis rest in his mouth, occasionally petting it with his tongue until it grew to leak sweet precum.
Manny finally took time away from their ongoing intimacies to make breakfast with Craig helping. Both naked in the kitchen, they ignored the possibility of anyone seeing them through the open windows and kitchen door.
"Hey guys" Andre appeared in time to share the food and realization. He just nodded "shit everyone knew" he said without any further comment entering to eat the free food.
The three watched TV for awhile, Andre ignoring the nudity or the two boys hugging each other.
The afternoon brought rain and thunder, an excellent scenario for their return to romantic sexual re enactments; this time slower, less animalistic, more uninhibited testing of positions, giving and taking pleasurable sensations.
The night was like a blanket wrapping around the two as their arms, legs, and bodies became one.
And in the middle of the night, their bodies rested, their organs swelled and the desire to repeat that first night found them laughing, panting and doing just that.
Craig stood and moved to the block.
"Warm-up suit?" the starter asked raising his gun.
Craig inhaled deeply then yanked the Velcro fastened coat off. Everyone saw the familiar blue tank top trimmed in the school gold. The school logo was different however. There wasn't the usual face of the Lion, their school logo. Instead there was a bright circle with a yellow EQUAL sign in the middle.
Nobody reacted which gave Craig a renewed inhale of fresh air.
"Runners, ready" the starter urged Craig and the others now. The gun shot was seconds away. Craig had to go to the next step.
He yanked the cloth of his warm-up pants and tossed them aside. He felt the cool air on his body now.
Nobody reacted again giving him a chance to concentrate on the race ahead as he got into position just in time.
The gun blasted and the race began.
Craig had always been a fast runner. As much as he wanted to concentrate on the race, his mind recalled the memory of running naked out of the house and down the street while his parents and an Uncle chased him.
He remembered how free he felt that time, the winter air flowing over his body as if he were an animal galloping through the forest. It felt good to him, a realization that was clear to him despite his young age.
Then ahead of him, he saw the Coach urging him to run, ignoring the sight the man saw. The others that were along the track seemed to realize what the man hadn't, cheering, smiling and waving.
Andre and other teammates were there and laughing but cheering him onward. Once around the track and the race would end, the meet would end, the school year would end and his new life would begin.
He felt the breeze now across his bare chest and stomach, his thighs too felt it and his painted genitals felt it. The longer he ran, the harder he ran and the freer he felt.
Elaine has laughed when he told her his plan. Manny was pissed off. Yet Craig stripped naked in front of them both.
Manny shaved the familiar and worshipped pubic area.
"So they won't realize it before I run" Craig explained enjoying the feeling of Manny's attentions as usual.
Meanwhile Elaine began painting the body she had often wished was hers. They had dated, danced, partied, got stoned and had fun together. She had gotten used to Manny always being nearby and eventually realized there might be a reason other then childhood friendship.
"So you and Manny are gay?" she asked once as they sat along the lake sharing the rolled up joint.
"Naw, just you know, I guess experimenting stuff" Craig said admitting more then he had planned to.
"Elaine can we uh have some coffee?" It was his senior year, a week after that weekend that Manny and he had been able to admit and accept their relationship for what it was.
She knew before sitting at the coffee shop table. But she listened nevertheless. And months later saw the naked body of her friend in front of hers, available only as a canvas for her to paint.
"Elaine will do it" Craig said to Manny before that day. "She's one hell of an artist, hell probably nobody will know anyway"
Elaine spread the blue paint over the pink skin, the even pinker nipples the indented belly button and the lower abdomen.
The elastic waistband was a challenge to her artistic abilities but she accomplished it, returning to the blue paint to create the skin tight looking runner shorts over the body she had felt only through clothing in months and years past.
"Manny can do that" Craig said as Elaine's brush began to color the dangling penis.
"No it's ok, it's not the first one I've touched" Elaine said lifting the penis she once wished was in her hand, mouth or body and turning it into a blue appendage.
"That feels uh, if it uh gets you know bigger I'm sorry" Craig stammered while Manny laughed seeing his lover blush with embarrassment.
The cock expanded as he feared.
"Makes it easier to paint and under too" Elaine said delighted to handle the erected penis and brush the testicles that hung underneath.
Manny was taking pictures with his phone now as his friend's body became hidden by the blue and gold paint.
"If you post those, I'll kick your ass" Craig warned.
"Shit after today, everybody will see it" Manny said
He was running now. It wasn't about anything but the race. Craig had wanted to just run and end the race in what he expected would be second or third place, respectable results for his school record.
But now he wanted to win. The track gave to each foot print. He heard the breathing of the runner in the next lane. Swarlling was good, fast, and sleek. And hot looking too.
Craig had visually recorded the boy's body in the locker rooms they shared in the past. Tall and lean, the boy had a rounded chest, obviously ignoring the usual runner concerns about bulking up with heavy muscle. His cock was curious, uncut and got Craig's eye.
Swarlling was near him one time using a locker on the same bench. Craig stared once seeing the pink cock head half out of the foreskin. When he looked up, Craig realized Swarlling was watching him.
He smiled and winked before putting his hand on a hip, fingers pointed to where Craig was looking. "He knew I was looking" Craig told Manny.
"Go go man" Swarlling was saying. Craig turned his head, another no-no for runners. "Go go" Swarlling said.
He pushed hard, running as hard as he could, ignoring the training to measure his steps until he got close to the finish line to sprint.
Craig heard the crowd cheering, yelling. He wondered how many were just cheering the team and his run. But some had probably realized he was naked, his body painted but displaying his private parts..and others might realize the EQUAL logo was saying he supported gays and perhaps was gay too.
There were no "boos" just cheers. Craig concentration needed to be back on the race and he now wanted to do whatever he could to win.
"Winning is everything, nothing else maters" the Coach had said when Craig admitted to the man he was indeed gay. There was no reason to tell him but Craig needed to tell someone. His parents should have been the ones he told but the Coach was like a father to him, accepting him as a team member.
When Craig walked out of the glass walled office, he felt relieved. In the back of his mind, Craig feared the man would reject him, even kick him off the team. Instead the man smiled. After all, he had heard Craig's confessions about Manny...so it was probably no surprise.
The finish line was within sight. Craig was exhausted having long since passed the point of pain. The stands were packed with home team supporters, family members, visiting team supporters, cheering, yelling and waving various school banners.
Manny was there just like the others, sitting beside Elaine and among other classmates all laughing as they discovered his nudity and perhaps his secret too. They were cheering him as a runner and perhaps as a senior who was now out of the closet.
"Go go go" Swarlling was beside him "It's yours man, do it for me too" Swarlling was saying stuff that distracted and confused him. Was the guy gay too, still closeted or just supportive?
The finish line was close...and getting closer. Craig wanted to collapse, but his body didn't. Like each race he had run, the muscles moved on their own now, He felt the heat and the thump of his heart while his lung inflated and deflated based on need. It was all training he knew and he counted on his body to do what he had learned to do.
But Craig still needed to concentrate, pushing each step as if he needed more response from the muscles, the blood flow, and the air support. He neglected the thoughts of his painted naked body now, the penis that visibly moved with each step the ball sac that shrunk for body heat in the open air and the nipples that had erected out of his excitement and need for sensations.
"Shit, he's naked" someone yelled as he passed them "Fuck me" But whoever it was laughed and cheered. Nobody cared.
Craig felt the plastic across his chest, each nipple felt its coldness, he kept running until arms slowed him, held him from falling and hands pounded his back, his butt, his chest.
The race was completed. He had won. It all mattered and yet it didn't.
Nobody rushed to him to cover his nudity. Instead it was like any other race, hands congratulating him, the Coach's arms around him, Manny running towards him.
He felt and heard but didn't really absorb even when Manny kissed him on the lips among the crowds of others around them.
His arm held high the crowd cheered him and next to him was Swarlling, patting his butt with one hand out of sight of the crowd.
The locker room noise had quieted as Craig sat on the bench. His head was still numb and his body ached like hell. Despite a stop to spit up on the lawn, Craig had survived.
Manny sat nearby talking to Craig's Dad. The Coach was there too. Craig slowly regained his awareness as he heard "a record the kid did it" and "My son never ran like that" and "He's ok".
Craig sat there, naked, his body paint glistening with sweat and he nodded accepting congratulations from other runners.
He felt the pat on his back as the men left him. Manny offered to help him but Craig shook his head "give me some time, gotta shower anyway"
Manny laughed "No man I want you to go out there like that, hell I'll strip down too" he leaned over and kissed Craig who laughed "I bet you would".
The room was empty by the time Craig was able to stand. He moved to the shower room he had shared with his naked teammates for the past three years. They were all gone, presumably already at the year end meet party that was being held.
The hot water spray felt good on his face, washing his fears and reactions away.
"Hey" the voice was quiet, almost silky.
Craig saw Swarlling's naked form. "Want me to help you wash that stuff off?"
Craig laughed "if you want" which he did want. Swarlling's hands were already soapy and soon moving over his body.
"Just let me do it all" the fellow senior from another school soaped washed and played as Craig's body though totally tired responded hardening and eventually spitting out the unexpected volume of sperm.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time" Swarlling said hugging Craig.
Craig turned and soaped the boy's body eventually relieving him of his own amount of jism too.
Manny reappeared as he began to towel dry. He glanced at Swarlling nearby and took the towel to dry his lover. Perhaps a bit jealous he seemed to be reclaiming his role.
Swarlling smiled as the three talked. He was not out of the closet but knew who he was. Craig admitted he just needed to be accepted for what he was too.
And as the three entered the party, the cheer that the crowd gave him was not only because he won the race but because he was proud to admit who he was. At least that's the way Craig accepted their adoration.
There was still ahead the previously dreaded discussion with his parents. But there would be no surprise at least, hopefully acceptance.
For now, there was Manny, the lover whose body was wrapped in Craig's arms. The one wearing a te shirt with the large yellow EQUAL logo.
And the race didn't really matter beyond that day. His record, the teams trophy and the school memories wouldn't last beyond that year.
But for him, there would be a future with Manny, Europe, College, profession and perhaps Manny or others to share it with him.
Most important was Craig knew who he was and glad to share it with those he loved at well. It was his true victory.