JP - Ep. 9: The Competition

[luvyalots]

EPISODE 9: The Competition

?This is it. Turn in here,? Chrissy instructed from the passenger seat.

?Ok,? I said as I turned into the Robinson High School parking lot. My stomach was in knots. ?You nervous for JP?? I asked.

?A little bit,? she answered. ?You??

?Nah,? I lied. It was mid-February, the night of the district wrestling finals. JP had finished the rest of the season undefeated and breezed through the early rounds of the district tournament. It was, his coach remarked to reporters, as if the kid had some new-found motivation added onto his already blazing confidence and skill. He had new fire. Of course, both JP and I knew where it came from.

It had been a little over a month now since we had come out to each other?and it had been the best month of our lives. I guess you could say that the two of us were more than just best friends. We did almost everything together. I drove him all over the place, to school, to band, even to wrestling if his brother couldn?t. We were always over at each other?s houses. He would help me with my homework, even though he was in a lower grade, and we would watch TV together.

Every once in a while, and only when we were alone, we would part our arms around each other and kiss. It felt so good knowing I had JP in my life. Sometimes, he?d take off his shirt and let me feel his muscles. They seemed to get harder and more beautiful every time I saw them. We would lie on the couch watching TV, his arm around my shoulders, my head leaning against his shredded chest, fondly caressing the crevices of his abs. I couldn?t imagine how my life could get any more perfect.

Chrissy and I entered the packed gymnasium and quickly found our seats. I immediately spotted JP in his warm-up suit, mentally preparing for the biggest match of his career, and pointed him out to Chrissy.

?Isn?t he gorgeous?? she sighed.

I smiled in response. Chrissy adored JP, realizing that he wasn?t interested in bedding her like so many other guys were. She was refreshed at the maturity he displayed when he was with her. Obviously, she could never know the true reason for this, but I had the feeling that even if JP were straight, he?d still treat her the same way. He genuinely was that kind of person?and that made me love him even more.

At last, the tournament started and the top two 103-pounders in the district were called for the opening bout. Having now gone to a few wrestling matches over the course of the season, I explained to Chrissy how the sport worked. Being a fast learner, she caught on by the time JP?s match was announced.

?On the center mat,? cried the voice over the PA system, ?wrestling at 130 pounds, Christopher Baldwin of South Lakes and JP Maloney of Central.?

Supporters from both schools cheered as the two athletes approached the mat. I recognized the other wrestler?s name as the only person to have defeated JP, handing him his only two losses of the season. Seeing him for the first time, I could see why. Christopher was built almost exactly like JP: broad shoulders, tiny waist, ripped torso. It was almost as if they were carbon copies of each other. A second look however, brought a few differences. Christopher was no where near as good-looking as JP; his nose seemed a little big for his face, which was covered in acne. JP?s complexion was absolutely perfect, as his acne had cleared up. Also, and I shivered when I thought about it, JP?s package was considerably larger than Christopher?s. Unfortunately, none of these differences would matter any in a wrestling match.

The two jocks met at the center of the mat and bent down into the neutral position. Christopher had a menacing sneer on his face, like he was ready to rip a head off. It scared me, but JP returned it with his own look of confidence. There would be no psychological game in this match.

As soon as the referee blew his whistle, both wrestlers were at each other in lightning-quick speed. They were so evenly matched, they were deadlocked in the standing position for nearly an entire minute, their upper bodies intermeshed, each one?s arms searching for the other?s weakness. Finally, the pair of muscular bodies landed with a crash on the mat. Shit, Chris was awarded the takedown, 2 points. JP was on his back in a dangerous defensive position, but no sooner had he entered it, he escaped, receiving a point himself.

My mind worked hard to process the action, the match being so fast, I couldn?t catch every move. By the end of the first period, the score was tied 5-5. Both wrestlers stepped off the mat sweating heavily, their bodies heaving up and down. After taking a quick drink of water and receiving advice from their coaches, JP and Chris met again for the second period, ready for more. The next two minutes were almost a repeat of the first two, neither wrestler staying ahead for long. By the second intermission, the score was still tied, but this time at 9 all.

The bodies of the two highly conditioned athletes were dripping with sweat, their muscles pumped and flushed from the energy. The entirety of JP?s singlet was drenched, his pecs and abs protruding clearly through the fabric. His hair was matted flat against his forehead and he looked exhausted, but as soon as he was called back for the third period, he immediately turned his game face back on. Being the higher seed, Chris was asked in which position he wanted to start. He chose bottom and got down on his hands and knees, while JP arranged his body above him.

The whistle was blown once again and Chris immediately set to work, attempting to flip JP over. Suddenly, with a primal yell, JP threw his opponent from underneath him, literally picking him up off the ground and launching him onto his back. The muscles in JP?s arms bulged and rippled tremendously as Chris? limbs helplessly flailed in the air. He landed with a loud smack as JP moved to pin him. JP?s face turned beat red, exerting incredible strength and power, Chris? shoulder blades inching excruciatingly nearer and nearer to the mat. He was so close?shit! In the blink of an eye, Chris flipped the position, receiving two points for the reversal, but not before JP was given two points of his own for the near-fall.

This was how the match progressed. One wrestler would assume control, only for the other wrestler to switch advantage. The third period of regulation ended in an 11-11 tie yet again. A one-minute overtime period was needed to decide the victor. Whoever scored first would win. I just couldn?t believe it. Each had met his physical match in the other, yet both boys were so determined, they ignored the pain, their bodies? cry for rest.

The tension was feverously high in that gym as the two wrestlers met for the final time. If either was tired from the six minutes of sheer power they exerted, they certainly didn?t show it. Fifteen seconds after the whistle was blown, JP and Chris were still deadlocked in the neutral position. Suddenly, the two went down. My eyes immediately flashed over to the referee?s hands. This was it. Whichever one had scored the takedown would become the district champion. My heart was racing uncontrollably. The ref held up two fingers signaling two points for?Christopher Baldwin.

Damn! I dropped my shoulders. No, it couldn?t be! After an impossibly hard-fought match, JP lost by the smallest of margins. As his opponent jumped up and ran to his coach in celebration, JP solemnly laid down on the mat before slowly getting up again. Never before had I seen this look of defeat on his face. Never before had I seen the boy lose a wrestling match. I almost felt like crying for him, I was so devastated. I couldn?t watch as the referee raised the other wrestler?s hand in victory.

?I can?t believe he lost,? Chrissy said downtrodden once we had exited into the lobby. I nodded my head in reply, unable to speak. We walked outside into the cold night air of the parking lot and headed toward my car. I had told JP we?d meet him there, but I thought twice about it.

?Chrissy,? I said, stopping short, ?why don?t you wait for us at my car. I?m going back in to see if I can find him.? I handed her my keys and ran back inside. He would want me there for him. And that was the least I could give after that performance. It didn?t take me long to find him. He was standing in a corner of the lobby talking to a burly older man. I moved within earshot.

?I?m sorry, dad,? JP said, holding back tears. ?I tried my best.?

?Unfortunately,? Mr. Maloney answered dryly, obviously very disappointed, ?your best wasn?t good enough tonight. Was it?? JP nodded gravely, his head hung low. ?At least you?re still a sophomore,? he continued. ?You still have two more years.? Then, after a moment?s pause, Mr. Maloney turned and walked away leaving JP alone, leaning against the wall. Once I determined the coast was clear, I headed over to him.

?You ready to go?? I asked feebly.

JP sternly raised his head and the look in his eyes made me shudder. The utter defeat that filled them minutes earlier was now completely replaced by sheer confidence. I could tell with one glance that tonight was only going to make him stronger. For the first time since the match, he smiled, and with a determined voice, said, ?Yeah.?

?Let?s go,? I said, a little more surely, ?We?re going to Five Guys. I know you?re hungry.?

Thirty minutes later, the three of us arrived at Five Guys, a local burger joint frequented by all the high school kids for the sole reason that the place offered the juiciest, greasiest burgers you?ve ever tasted in your life. As we parked, Chrissy was unsuccessfully attempting to raise JP?s spirits. She failed to see the certainty that I saw in him.

?Come on,? she urged. ?That guy?s been wrestling longer than you. He was two years older. He?s expected to win States. And you took him to overtime. You should be proud of that.? JP didn?t answer her, instead completely avoiding eye contact with either of us. JP was a perfectionist. He hated to lose, especially something he worked so hard for. But he never let it get him down.

?Maybe a burger or two will cheer you up,? I suggested.

We entered the restaurant and headed straight to the counter. A pimply-faced teenager behind it promptly came to our service, eyeing Chrissy fondly. ?What would you like?? he asked. Chrissy ordered a salad and a diet Coke (typical girl!) and I asked for a medium SuperBurger. The kid looked over at JP, raising his eyebrows, and said, ?And you??

?Three GigaBurgers, please,? he answered flatly.

My eyes practically flew out of my face. THREE GigaBurgers? Even the biggest football players in the county had trouble downing the ?biggest pieces of meat this side of the Mason-Dixon Line? as the place advertised their most colossal of meals. They were so huge, you couldn?t even get your mouth around them. The teen behind the counter couldn?t hide his smirk.

?You think a kid your size will be able to eat all that?? JP was wearing a baggy sweatshirt, so other than his thick wrestler?s neck, there was no way the guy could detect what lurked underneath. JP narrowed his eyes and stared the kid down. Suddenly, he rolled up his left sleeve and flexed a perfectly peaked, striated bicep right in front of him.

?You think this kid can?t eat all that?? he challenged, thrusting his arm into the poor guy?s face. The kid gulped and squeaked a barely audible reply. That was the end of that conversation.

Once we picked up our order and found a booth for the three of us, Chrissy and I watched in utter amazement as JP devoured the three humongous burgers as if it was the last meal he would ever eat. A shiver went down my back as he tore into his late-night meal. No doubt, he was taking out the evening?s disappointment on food, but I had the feeling that this was only the beginning.

And I was right. From that night on, all JP wanted was to get bigger and stronger. He wanted to make sure that no one ever beat him again. So, in the ensuing months, he hit the weights hard and ate massive amounts of food. Being now his boyfriend, I gladly helped him and marveled at his drive.

But there was another reason why I became JP?s workout partner. After a year hiatus, I was going to row on the crew team again, so I had to lose some of the extra fat I had gained since freshman year. JP always commented on the strength of my legs when I worked them. I mean, I spent more time on that muscle group than any other because it?s actually the thrust of the rower?s legs that propels the boat forward and not the stroke of the oar like most people think. Of course, you have to have strong shoulders, chest and back to, but mainly for endurance and for sprinting toward the end of the race.

?Dude,? JP said, laughing. ?You look like a speed skater.? I lifted up the bottom of my boxers and flexed my thighs. Small ridges of muscle popped out. I guess I was a little out of proportion since my upper body wasn?t that big. JP squatted down and felt my legs. ?Jeez, man!? he said. ?It?s all hard muscle down there.? It felt weird having my hunk of a boyfriend comment on my muscularity. I sighed.

?That?s the only part of me that?s hard.? He looked up and smiled. I knew exactly what he was thinking. ?Don?t you dare say it, you little fuck!? I said, breaking into laughter.

?Your thighs are almost as powerful as mine are,? JP said, standing up again. ?But what you need to do is build the rest of your body up that way.? Then, he raised both of his arms and flexed. ?Like this.? My heart skipped a beat. There just seemed to be no limit to how big JP could grow.

Now that wrestling season was over, he started growing again. I could tell that the wife-beater he had been wearing all winter wasn?t going to hold his muscles much longer. His arms were beginning to look like thick, dense pythons. Forget the tennis balls of the old days; this kid was starting to get baseballs?and he didn?t even have a driver?s license yet! His strength was growing too. His maximum bench press was now up to 240, while mine was somewhere around 160. In fact his working weight was more than what I could max, at about 185. I would curl with the 35 pound weights, which isn?t that bad, but it was nothing compared to the 65 pounds JP curled with. I didn?t even want to know how much he could max out on.

?Dude,? JP exclaimed, dropping his arms. ?If you started working more on your upper body, we?d be an awesome pair.? I had no doubt we would. He took off the wife-beater and let his torso just hang out. Just standing there in his boxers, JP looked beautiful. His neck was beginning to inch near his cheekbones like his brother?s did; his broad shoulders were capped with an ever-thickening layer of hard muscle, while his python-like arms bulged every time he moved them. The striations and veins in his forearms were unbelievable to watch when he lifted. His chest was just getting huge; two round slabs of rock, and his abs were as glorious as ever, perfectly carved. His lats now clearly showed from behind pushing his arms further, it seemed, away from his body every month. His waist was still smaller than mine at 27 inches, although mine was a trim 29 inches. I had to laugh when he called his brother ?fat? and Ryan only had a 32-inch waist. Every muscle in his legs was beginning to stick out when he took a step. But above all this, the best thing about him was his eyes. Hauntingly blue, they would look at you and you had no choice but to sigh.

?You?re so hot, you son of a bitch,? I said, punching him in the chest. That hurt. And he wasn?t even flexing or anything. His pecs were like stone. JP immediately swung his left arm around my waist and picked me up like I was nothing. I mean, this is a kid who can bench 240, so picking up a 145-pound guy in one arm isn?t too hard for him.

?You know,? he said, mockingly. ?I hardly even felt that.? With my entire body under his left arm, he walked across the room to the couch. I clutched onto his right side with my hands. God, I thought, this kid doesn?t even have love handles! When he got to the couch he threw me over the back of it and I landed with a plop on the cushions. Then, just as I was able to catch my breath, JP vaulted over the back of the couch himself and landed on top of me. It didn?t hurt, but he was still pretty heavy.

?Man, JP,? I said, gasping for air, but laughing. ?How much do you weigh now??

?Oh, I don?t know,? he said. He knew; he was just making a dramatic pause. ?Maybe?139?? I just shook my head. He had packed on about 10 pounds of pure muscle in barely a month. He weighed almost the same as I did, but still carried me across the room effortlessly. He was now lying on top of me and we were looking face to face. ?Actually, I?ve got news for you.? JP raised his eyebrows with a sort of humble expression. ?I?m getting growing pains in my shoulders again.? My eyes started to widen.

?That doesn?t mean what I think it means, does it?? I said.

?Well,? JP explained. ?The last time I had growing pains like these was about a year ago?? Then, he started smiling again, ?right before I gained 20 pounds and grew a shitload of muscle over the summer.?
?Shit, man!? I said with disbelief. ?You?re going to get even bigger.?

?Yep,? he responded, lifting his head and turning his eyes up to the ceiling. ?Just more of me to love.? We both burst out laughing, but then quieted down, looked into each other?s eyes and kissed.

?Keep growing.? I whispered. ?Don?t ever stop. I want you to be fuckin? huge.? JP then suddenly got a little serious.

?Hey, I wanna show you something,? he said. He got up off me and stood up.

He grabbed the elastic band and started pulling down. Immediately, I sat up, knowing exactly what he was going to show me. Slowly, JP pulled down his shorts and as he got past his pelvis, he unleashed his dick to me for the first time.

***

Have any of you or your friends ever were a wrestler in high school (or college) and have had this experience watching a thrilling match? If so, share it with us! This chapter was based on a real match I saw when I was in high school - it was amazing!
BTW, for those of you who might know the sport of wrestling better than I, I apologize for any inaccuracies in this episode. I did a little research before writing it, but I only like to watch it; I've never actually participated in it.

Next: Episode 10 - The Challenge - coming Friday, October 28

[xythan_shadow]

Well done. I'm enjoying reading your story as much as I do writing mine.

Edit:
Actually, I just noticed something. It's wierd how I just put up the part of my story where my character's dad is showing his full support when you put up yours where the dad is disappointed.

Ironic. Two guys that want to impress their dads more than almost anything. And such different responces in the two fathers.