The Fundraiser

"About 4:00" I replied after looking at my cell phone to check the time. "Why"?

"Shit, shit, shit" she swore distractedly. "I have to go". And with that, she pulled on the bikini bottoms she had hidden in her towel, strapped on the top and made to leave.

"Whoa" I said. "What's the rush?"

"It's Rachel" she answered. "I am supposed to meet her in five minutes and she will be pissed if I'm late". And, worse, she is going to know that I've been fooling around with someone."

"How will she know that and, more importantly, why do you care?" Then, thinking, I added, "Just don't let her know it was me."

Julie gave me a small smile and laughed, "There is a lot you don't quite get do you? Don't worry, our secret is safe."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I queried. I was confused and feeling as if there were something so obvious that I must be an idiot for missing it.

"Shhh" whispered Julie, kissing me lightly on the lips. "Forget about it. I'll see you later". And she then quickly zipped open the door to the tent, looked around to make sure she didn't recognize anyone and slipped away leaving me naked on the ground.

The rest of the afternoon passed slowly. Everyone ate their fill and hung out in groups talking about the day and making plans for the early morning departure. Riders continued to stream in until the early evening and all of us rued the idea of taking almost 12 hours to complete the first day's ride.

As the sun drifted lower, the live music ended and even before darkness fell people began to make their way to their accommodations for the night. The combination of a challenging day in the saddle, full stomachs and the prospect of a 3:30 wake-up call led many of us to crawl into our beds and sleeping bags at a very early hour. As Craig and I walked back to our tents, I saw Julie and Rachel standing near the entrance of one of the dorms. Rachel did not look happy and was jabbing a finger at Julie as she spoke. I couldn't make out any of the conversation but it was clearly having an impact on Julie who stood with her arms crossed looking defiant. "They don't look very happy" I said to Craig. Craig glanced over at the women and shrugged. "Probably a lover's quarrel" he commented in an off-handed manner.

"Right" I nodded. "They're quite a pair".

Craig had arrived several hours after me because he had been riding with a friend from out of town who was a painfully slow cyclist. He had pitched his tent about 30 feet from mine. When Julie was with me he had not yet arrived so we knew he had not seen us together at all. Craig had been doing the ride for almost 20 years and knew everyone in our small group of riders better than most. He had a very easy way about him and was one of those people that everyone liked and respected. Generally, we didn't have any significant interpersonal issues in our club but occasionally there were flare-ups because riding is such a dangerous sport and everyone was always looking to shift responsibility to others whenever there was a problem when we rode in a pack.

Normally exceptionally discreet, Craig slipped and said, "I was serious. They are kind of a pair you know".

Stunned, I looked at him and could only exclaim "No fucking way. Rachel is married and Julie is always with some guy when she comes out here. What is the deal?"

He looked at me with an expression that clearly indicated a struggle; should he say something or just let it go. Likely deciding that there was no way I would let him get any rest if he didn't clarify his comments he shrugged and started giving me some history.

"Okay, I REALLY shouldn't be telling you this and they will crucify me if they find out that I said anything."

"Don't worry" I said quickly to encourage him. "Tell me".

"Okay. Well, first of all, Julie and Rachel have known each other since undergraduate school. You knew that right?" I nodded my assent and he continued. "Well, it turns out that they had a very close and special friendship at school and from what I can gather those fires have never really been extinguished. Personally, I think each of them is bi-sexual. I actually think that Rachel leans more towards liking girls than boys but that Julie is either right down the middle or leans hetero."

"And what do you base these conclusions on? And how do you know any of this anyway?" I just couldn't believe what I was hearing though on some level, deep down, it resonated as true.

"Christ, I shouldn't have opened my mouth in the first place. Listen, I have a very good friend who was at college with Rachel and Julie. It was generally known that they were into each other but that each also went out with guys. You know, experimentation is something that a lot of people do at college. And be real, you've met Billy, Rachel's husband, haven't you?" I nodded and Craig continued "Well the guy is gay. Maybe he's bi-sexual, I don't know, but I have gay friends who swear they see him cruising all the time. So there you have it...a lover's quarrel, over what I can't tell you. Come on, you knew that Rachel and Julie always get a room at the Crest and stay down here for a couple of days after the ride didn't you? Put two and two together man."

And with that last comment Craig said goodnight and crawled into his tent.

Normally this kind of revelation would have kept me up all night with worry. What if Rachel found out who Julie had been with and got angry and decided to get revenge by outing me to my wife? What if she tried to blackmail me? These and other thoughts of horrifying consequences crammed my head but I was so exhausted from the day's activities that I couldn't keep my eyes open and, thankfully, by nine o'clock I had drifted to sleep.

I woke at three in the morning with a bladder bursting from having drunk what had to have been at least a gallon of water the night before. Rehydrating after a long ride is key, especially if you are going on another long ride the next day. I grabbed a flashlight and stumbled to the dorms to find a bathroom. The portable toilets were a closer option but managing them in the darkness is a challenge that has only downside attached to it.

Relieving myself my head began to clear and I remembered the conversation with Craig from the night before. I determined not to worry about it but to ask Julie directly as soon as I had an opportune moment.

I meandered back to my tent and tried to get a few more minutes of rest before reveille. Unsuccessful after fifteen minutes of tossing around, I began to get dressed and to pack my gear. Finishing, I hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders and trudged over to where breakfast was being set up and the trucks were waiting to transport our bags from the campus to the finish line 90 miles away.

On the first day of the ride 95% of the participants wear the same jersey, given to each of us by the ride sponsors. On the second day, people either wear the same one (ick), jerseys from prior years or, for groups like ours, club colors often designed specifically for the ride. Groups of teammates are easily identified this way making for colorful pelotons on the road. Our team sported matching shorts and shirts that were a combination of navy blue, red, white and yellow. Stamped with the year, our club name and a small sun sitting over a rider pedaling down a road, the outfit was simple, yet classy compared with many of the more garish uniforms worn by other teams.

Almost 30 of us sat around a table waking up while we drank coffee and ate bagels, slurped cereal, gobbled egg and bacon sandwiches, peeled bananas, spooned yogurt and started squeezing carbohydrate gels into our mouths. We would not all ride together but we tried to at least begin the day as comrades. The pre-ride meal was always a careful balancing act between actually sating your hunger and ingesting the right amount and kinds of calories for the effort that lay ahead.

Julie was nowhere to be seen. I asked Rachel where she was.

"I have no idea" she spat. "What does it matter anyway, she won't be riding with us".

"I know" I replied. "Just curious. But I will say she finished in pretty good time yesterday so she might surprise you".

"Yeah, she's full of surprises these days" Rachel muttered to herself.

We rolled out of the campus at 5:00 and rode along on streets lit only be streetlamps and the headlights of passing cars. Fifteen minutes later the faintest color began to inch above the horizon and with each additional minute the sky began to waken and the stars were chased away. The night sky turned a pale pink and then a cloudless blue and we recognized that we would once again have glorious weather for the ride. Our pace picked up as we became more confident of the road conditions and soon we were a 20 person line of blue flying along a six-mile straightaway at a blistering 26 miles an hour yelling out "On your left" as we whizzed by other packs that seemed to be riding in place.

Our pace line was coldly efficient, silent except for the whirring of pedals and the tell-tale noise of ball-bearings that cawed or whined when wheels turned but the pedals were stationary. We didn't talk except to encourage each other as someone moved from the front of the line to the rear. "Nice pull" was the typical refrain and pull it was because we all knew that the person in front expends 25% or more energy than those behind them.

It seemed like a blink of an eye when we flew into the second water stop of the day after having blown by the first without stopping. As was the case every year, our 20 person group had grown to almost 50 as other riders grabbed on to our train happy to be swept along in our wake, reveling at going fast without having to do any work. We didn't care...we had a reputation to protect.

"Halfway there" I said to Craig.

"Man, we are flying" he responded. "I've got over 21 mph for the day".

"Sounds about right to me" I said.

"Hey Jake" Craig started, "You didn't say anything to Julie or Rachel about what I said to you last night did you?"

"No fucking way" I answered. "You think I'm crazy? Why do you ask?"

"Well, Rachel made a very odd comment to me this morning so I wanted to double check".

My throat constricted and I caught my breath. I had visions of my worst fears coming to pass and the thought of a vindictive Rachel was terrifying. Trying to keep the tension out of my voice I asked "Yeah, what did she say?"

"Something to the effect that she thought that you knew about her and Julie and that she wasn't happy about it. I asked her what made her think that and she told me to forget about it but it made me kind of curious and nervous."

I nodded my understanding and gave Craig all the reassurances I could and five minutes later we were back on the road.

I couldn't wait for the ride to end. While I was having a wonderful time being with the group, thoughts of Julie and Rachel and what had happened kept invading my mind making it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. The miles clicked by as we rode past marshes and sand dunes, through quaint towns and along bluffs overlooking the ocean. The sea breeze was negligible enabling us to maintain what was for us a breakneck pace along flats and the rolling hills we encountered as we neared the finish line. Along the way we dropped all of the poseurs who had tried to latch onto our group but who, in the end, could not maintain the pace that we set. With one mile to go we stopped and arranged ourselves into rows and then rode easily to the finish which was lined with cheering observers, television crews and volunteers waiting to herd us past the finish line and towards the showers which were located on the grounds of the Crest Hotel an old, two story horseshoe shaped property that sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

We all gave each other high fives and hugs, took pictures and then split to get our packs and suitcases so that we could wash, put on a change of clothes and start eating. I made my way to where the thousands of bags were piled, organized by groups according to where we had slept the night before. After 10 minutes of digging, a volunteer found my pack and, straining, lifted it from beneath several other bags and handed it to me offering her congratulations and thanks for my efforts.

It was one of the strange aspects of the weekend. We had a blast doing this but everyone who lined the road or volunteered just thanked us and looked at us with wonderment as if what we did was the most monumental accomplishment one could imagine.

As I began to work my way from the baggage area to the mens' showers, Rachel called out to me.

"Jake" she said waving "Come here".

Nervously I walked over to her and said, "Hey Rachel. Man, you were awesome today. I can't believe how strong you are."

"Can it" she said "We were all pretty good today but it was a fast ride and I'm pretty sore. Listen, you know Julie and I are staying down here for a couple of days and we have a room. If you prefer to shower in there instead of in the group area you are welcome to. I've checked in and am going to the room right now. You can sit outside on the deck until I'm done."

"Umm, who else is going to be there? I wouldn't want to intrude" I said thinking to myself that going to the room was a very bad idea.

"Don't be silly" she said in a voice that was altogether too pleasant for her. "You aren't going to tell me that you would rather stand in a group shower with 50 naked guys than to have the privacy of your own bath are you?"

"No, of course not" I began, flustered. "It's just that-"

"Fine" she said. "That's settled, come on". And I gave up and followed her to the room.

Rachel opened the door and we both slung our bags onto one of the beds.

"Man, I stink" she said. "I can't wait to get into that shower".

She opened her bag, grabbed some clothes and ran into the bathroom shouting at me from behind the door to grab anything I wanted from the minibar and to wait on the deck.

I did as instructed and sat in a deck chair with my feet on the railing looking out at the ocean, the people on the beach below and the sailboats and cargo ships out at sea. Even though it was only 10 in the morning, I had grabbed a beer form the tiny refrigerator in the room and was relaxing to the point where I could feel myself begin to slip into a dream.

"Hey" Rachel said, startling me and snapping me wide awake, "Your turn".

I slowly pulled myself out of the chair with a groan that reflected my stiffening muscles and turned around to see Rachel wrapped in a towel with a second one turbaned on top of her head. I handed her the beer and shuffled off to the bathroom.

I turned on the water and stripped out of my riding outfit. Gingerly I climbed into the tub and sighed as the shower hit my head and began to rinse away the hours of grime that had accumulated on the ride. I stood there limp just letting the water stream over me, not even having the strength to open my eyes and pick up the soap.

Suddenly the air temperature dropped and I jumped as I heard "You are one good looking dude Jake."

My right hand flew to cover my crotch and I shouted "What the heck are you doing?" as I saw Rachel standing naked and staring at me.

With a look that said 'What the fuck do you think I'm doing?' Rachel stepped into the shower and picked up the soap.

She rubbed the bar inside a washcloth and when it was thick with lather she began to wash me. Starting from my neck she slowly wiped away the sweat and dirt that clung to my skin. She turned me around and worked my shoulders and then scrubbed down my back and over my buttocks and along my legs. Rubbing vigorously to remove the accumulated grit and grease she turned me around again and one by one washed my feet and then began to move back up my body. Without saying a word she looked me straight in the eyes as she put the cloth around my dick and tugged and wiped thrusting her hand under my sac and moving my legs apart to ensure she cleaned me fully. She then moved back up my abdomen and circled the washcloth around my chest and up my neck and around my face. Squirting some shampoo into her hands she told me to lean forward so that she could wash my hair. Finally she stopped and pushed me under the shower to rinse.

Clean, I stood looking at her as the water continued to course over us both. I felt myself begin to stir as I stared and fully appreciated her powerful body.

"Umm", I started, "Thank you for the, uh, unexpected help with that."

I maneuvered to get myself out of the shower and to a towel. Rachel pouted a little as if she had begun something but didn't quite know where to take it and let me extricate myself from the tub. I started to dry myself and she grabbed a towel and then with a quick move opened the door and walked out.

I followed her and quickly tried to change the dynamic to find out what she really wanted to do.

"Hey, can I help you dry off?" I offered.

She turned, gave me a little smile and said "Sure, I think I would like that".

"Great" I responded nervously. "You aren't worried about Julie walking in are you"?

She stared at me. "No, why should I care about that? Besides, she's so slow she probably won't be here for another hour and I hope it won't take you that long to take care of me."

"Yeah" I agreed, "You're probably right. I just wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea" I added as I took a hand towel and started patting Rachel's head.

As I moved the towel down her neck, Rachel and I both jumped as we heard a card key slip into the lock on the door and the door handle move with a thunderous click.

"Quick" Rachel whispered, "Get into the bathroom".

Not needing to be told twice, I grabbed some of my clothes, dashed back into the still steaming commode and quickly pulled on my shorts and a t-shirt. I could hear Rachel and Julie talking through the door but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

I then nonchalantly opened the door while making as if I was still drying my hair. It was clear that Rachel and Julie were in the midst of a discussion that had become intense rather quickly.

By her reaction I could see that Julie may have concluded that there was someone else in the room but that she hadn't expected it to be me.

"Hey Jules" I said with feigned indifference, "You made great time this year. How are you feeling"?

"Jake" she smiled, "I feel great. My ride was wonderful and I am looking forward to a shower. And you know what else?"

"Um, no, what?" I asked.

She smiled at me with her golden eyes but I couldn't tell what she was really thinking.

Sweetly, yet with an unmistakable bite she said "I would love to get another massage from you after I shower. You did such an incredible job yesterday. Rachel, you wouldn't belief how relaxing and invigorating Jake's technique is. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Please Jake, will you do me again"? "Wow Jake, you must be a real master" piped in Rachel in a cool but mocking tone. "Maybe you could do me too."

Julie, who was standing just behind Rachel glanced quickly at her friend and then shot me a pleading nod as if to say 'help me out here'.

"I don't know ladies" I started, "I'm kind of tired today".

Landing in the middle of what even I could have surmised was a significant quarrel without having been told the background story was making me extremely uncomfortable.

"Come on Jake" prodded Rachel. "I promise that if you do this it will remain between just us. As will the body work you gave Julie yesterday."

Julie and I both shot horrified looks first at each other and then at Rachel who smiled archly. The implicit threat was clear.

"Sure, why not Rachel" I said resignedly. "You are the boss but you know it was just a lame massage. Julie, go take a shower. Rachel, get on the bed...I'll start with you."