Crew Teammates

This story is based on real people whose names have been adjusted, but the events are pure fantasy. Thank you to the editors who helped me.

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It was a crisp fall day. The leaves had just begun to turn shades of yellow, red, and orange, and the University women's crew team was pulling their shells out of the water at the end of practice. The first shell on land was also first in terms of skill of the rowers. Annie, Kelly, Katie, and Suzanne had been rowing together since their first year at college. Now, as seniors, they hoped to compete with some of the better teams on the east coast.

"Good workout today girls," said their coach, Jim Phelps. He admired their teamwork as they loaded the boats onto the trailer for the ride back to campus. His wandering eyes fell on Kelly Wagner as she lifted the boat over her head and onto the rack of the trailer. Her spandex outfit showed off all her womanly curves. In his opinion, she had an amazing body with slender legs, shapely rear, ample breasts, blonde hair and a very pretty face. She had it all.

Jim's eyes traveled over to Annie Calcagni as she strapped the shell onto the trailer. She was the largest of the four women, not overweight, but definitely big-boned. Her dark brown hair was cut short in an attractive way that framed her face well. She was blessed with long, athletic legs and a decent sized chest, but definitely had some extra weight on her butt, hips and stomach. Jim wondered if the rumors about her were true. He'd heard through third parties that she swung both ways sexually. Of course, he'd never brought it up, and the girls on the team didn't either.

He looked over at Katie Measley. She, too, had strong athletic legs. Her body was tighter and more toned overall than Annie's. She didn't have much to speak of in the chest department, which was a bummer, Jim thought. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders. I'd definitely prefer Kelly in my bed if I had to choose between the three of them, Jim mused to himself.

Suzanne, the coxswain, was the smallest of the four. Jim liked her. She was a good leader and also a very cute girl. She had a slim frame with few curves, but that's what a coxswain needed to be; he couldn't afford to have her weighing down the boat. She was also practically engaged to a guy on the men's crew team whom she'd been dating for three years. He'd never have a chance with her.

As the girls climbed into the van for the ride back to campus, they could feel their coach's eyes on them. Annie shot her roommate, Kelly, a knowing look. Kelly just rolled her eyes and mouthed the word "creep" to her.

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Back on campus, after stowing the boats, the girls walked back to their dorm rooms. Kelly and Annie roomed together in a suite. Katie had her own room a couple floors down from them, while Suzanne lived in a different building.

"I can't stand the way he looks at me," said Kelly after she and Annie had gotten back to their room.

"Who, Jim?" asked Annie.

"Yeah, he's always looking at my ass," replied Kelly with a look of disgust on her face.

"Oh come on, you know you flaunt it," teased Annie. "You don't have to wear spandex. We were issued sweatpants too."

"I don't like sweatpants," replied Kelly. "Besides, that's no excuse for him to leer at me."

Annie laughed as she walked to her bedroom. She knew why Kelly wore spandex shorts and tight shirts. Kelly wanted people looking at her tits, legs and ass; she just didn't like their coach doing it. She wanted all the guys to look and admire and all the girls to be envious.

In her room, Annie pulled her sweatpants down her legs and pulled her tee shirt over her head. She didn't go out of the way to show off her body. Besides, with girls with Kelly's body around, guys aren't going to be looking at me anyway, she said to herself. She looked at herself briefly in the mirror. She didn't like the way her stomach and midriff bulged around the waistband of her underwear and bra straps. It's better if I just wear bulkier clothing, she thought. She shouted to Kelly in the other room. "Are we still meeting Katie for dinner?"

"Yeah, think so," Kelly yelled back. "She said around seven."

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The three girls met at the campus eatery. They got their food and found a table near the center of the crowded dining area.

"Is Suz out with Scott tonight?" asked Annie.

"What do you think?" asked Katie rhetorically. Suzanne had been dating the same guy for three years. They did everything together, which left little time for Suzanne to spend with her teammates.

"Is Saturday the big night?" asked Kelly looking at Katie.

"Yep," said Katie with a big smile. Tomorrow night she was going to one of the fraternity formals with a guy in which she'd long been interested.

"Rich is picking me up around five-thirty or so."

"Oooo, are you excited?" asked Kelly. "Do you think you'll...do it?" she teased.

"Oh Kel, stop that," Katie said spearing a piece of lettuce with her fork. "You know I don't do it on the first date."

"Unlike some people we know," said Annie with a giggle and a wink at Katie.

"Hey! That was just that one guy last semester, and Brian sophomore year, and..." Kelly stopped. "Whatever, all I meant was are you going to kiss him?" Kelly backtracked.

"Oh right, sure that's what you meant," said Katie laughing. "He'd better kiss me! Anyway, changing the subject, what are you two doing Saturday night?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Annie.

"We're going out to find our own party," replied Kelly.

"I don't know," said Annie taking a bite of her sandwich. "The parties always seem so lame lately. I just think I'm ready to graduate and move on."

"Annie, you've got a semester and a half to go. We should make the most out of it," Kelly said, trying to inspire her. "We don't have to go to a party. We'll go to the bar instead."

"You mean the meat market," Annie retorted.

"Don't think of it like that," Kelly responded as she took a sip of her drink. "You'll never meet a guy with that attitude." Annie looked down at her food.

"Kelly!" said Katie with a look of scorn.

"Sorry, that came out the wrong way," apologized Kelly. "I'll make sure you have a good time tomorrow night."

"Oh, that's okay, it's not your responsibility," replied Annie.

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Annie was lying in bed on Saturday morning, sun shining through her window. She was supposed to go for a run this morning with Katie but the warmth of her bed sheets was too tempting to leave. She wanted to lie there a little while longer, but it wasn't to be. She heard a knock on the door to the suite and heard Kelly out in the main room go to answer it. The sound of Katie and Kelly's voices filtered through her bedroom door. She heard them talking about Katie's date party tonight. Annie was a little tired of hearing about it. She'd never been invited to a fraternity formal and guys rarely showed interest in her. She couldn't wait to graduate and get out into the real world.

Annie heard Katie knock on her door and then the door opened. "Rise and shine," said Katie with a smile as she poked her head in. "You're not even up?" she exclaimed as she saw Annie still under the covers.

"I was thinking about it," grinned Annie. Katie opened the door wide and jumped into the room and onto the bed giggling. "You're crazy," said Annie playfully as she tried to push Katie off her bed, but Katie fought off Annie's outstretched arms.

"No, it's just a beautiful day!" replied Katie. She jumped off the bed, grabbed the sheets and pulled them off of her friend. Annie gave a shout. Katie dove on top of her tickling her midriff through her tee shirt, knowing her friend was ticklish. Annie cried out again and tried to fight Katie off, pushing her off of her. Katie responded by grabbing Annie's bare thigh and squeezing it playfully. She squirmed and giggled as Katie's fingers tickled her thigh. Annie finally pushed her away.

"You're awful!" said Annie. "Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" She pulled her tee shirt down over her panties and bare thighs.

"Oh, don't get all modest on me," joked Katie. "Get your shorts on and let's go running."

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The women jogged down the street from their dorm for about a half-mile until they came to a small green space along a stream that ran through campus. They stopped, as was their usual routine, to stretch a little. Annie sat on the grass with her legs spread, and leaned down towards one knee. Katie, standing erect, leaned over to touch the ground in front of her.

"So can I ask you a personal question?" Katie asked her friend. Annie didn't respond at first. Their conversation this morning while jogging had mostly centered on their crew team and how annoying their coach was.

"Sure."

"What happened that night with Caroline? I mean, I'm not asking for all the details, not trying to pry or anything," she sputtered. "I'm just curious. People ask questions sometimes. I'm not judging," she fumbled over her words as she backtracked.

Annie looked down at the grass and then back up at Katie. "No, no, it's okay," she replied.

Caroline was a junior on their team, and a lesbian. She was outspoken about it too. Last spring the team had been at the bar after the season had ended. There had been some heavy drinking. At some point in the evening Katie and Kelly noticed that Annie and Caroline had left the bar. Katie didn't know for sure what had taken place, but there were rumors. When teammates had asked Annie the next day where she'd gone she said she hadn't been feeling well and had asked Caroline to walk her home. Caroline, however, didn't always stick to that story.

"I've never really talked about it with anyone other than Kelly," Annie began. "I was pretty drunk, but not feeling ill. I was feeling great, in a great mood. Caroline was drunk too, and coming on to me. I gave in to her." She paused. "We went back to her place and I left the next morning."

Katie smiled at her friend compassionately. "And that was the end of it?"

"Yeah, that was it. It was fun, but Caroline isn't what I'm looking for."

"I can understand that. She's definitely not your type." Katie grinned.

"No, I'm not sure who is." Annie stretched her legs out in front of her and touched her toes. "I mean, I like guys and all. I just wanted to try it out."

The women were silent for a moment as they continued to stretch. It felt good to Annie to be honest with her friend. She didn't like hiding things.

"Thanks for confiding in me," said Katie.

"Of course, Katie. You're one of my closest friends. I can trust you."

"You can, I won't say anything. You know, it's Caroline who was spreading things around."

"Yeah, I can't do anything about that. She's her own girl. As you said, not my type," Annie said chuckling.

"Ready to get going?" asked Katie.

"Yep, let's go."

The women kept up a fast pace as they jogged through the residential streets of the small college town. It was another clear day and the sun filtered through the fall leaves. "So is Rich your type?" asked Annie between breaths.

"I like him, and I assume he likes me. Why else would he invite me to his party?"

"That's true. You'll have a good time."

"I'll come over before he picks me up so you and Kelly can evaluate my dress and hair," said Katie. "I might need some help."

"Sure. We won't be doing anything anyway."

After two miles or so they turned back towards campus. After a long silence Katie blurted out, "Do you ever think about being with a girl again?"

Annie didn't respond immediately. "Sometimes." They paused before crossing a street to wait for a car to go by. "But it's not so much about being with a girl. It's more about being with someone. I guess I'm just lonely." She glanced over at Katie. "But I don't want what Kelly has."

"You mean a new guy every two weeks?" giggled Katie.

"Exactly."

"I know what you mean," Katie responded as they continued down the sidewalk.

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That evening found Kelly and Annie at the bar with drinks in their hands. They'd walked downtown after assisting Katie with her dress. She'd looked great and was bubbling over with excitement about her night ahead with Rich. The two women had run into three guys from the men's crew team. They joked about how, as it was nearing eight o'clock, they'd have to be turning in soon because they had practice tomorrow morning. "The life of the crew team," joked Matt, one of the guys. "Aren't we fun? I hope Coach doesn't stop by."

Another hour of drinking and small talk went by and the scene at the bar didn't pick up. One of the guys knew of a party at house downtown that started around nine. He suggested they ditch the bar and check it out. The five of them agreed and left the bar. There wasn't much going on at the house either. One of the guys on the team, Rob, made Kelly and Annie drinks. Annie observed that Rob was not so subtly hitting on Kelly. He laughed way too hard at her silly jokes and took any opportunity to touch her arm or side. Kelly ate it up. Annie wasn't that amused and sat down on a couch with Matt and a girl she didn't know. The three of them made small talk for a little while. After a few moments Annie realized Kelly was no longer in the room. Neither was Rob.

"Hey, where'd Rob go?" asked Matt. Another guy standing near them smirked and laughed.

"Don't bother him dude," he replied. He looked over at Annie. "I think your friend wandered off, too."

"Yeah, she probably went to the bathroom," replied Annie. Boy, is this guy annoying, thought Annie.

"Yeah, the bathroom," snorted Annoying Guy. "I wouldn't go looking for her there." He laughed into his beer cup.

All of the sudden, Annie felt very uncomfortable. She wanted to leave, but she didn't want to leave Kelly. Of course, Kelly could be with Rob for the rest of the night. Annie stood. The blood rushed to her head and she felt a little tipsy and swayed.

"You alright, Annie?" asked Matt.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. She walked down the hall to the bathroom, went in, and locked the door behind her. "Obviously Kelly's not here," she said to the empty room. She used the toilet, washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked uncomfortable and unconfident. She brushed her short hair back from her face, but that didn't help. She sighed, went back into the room and left the house.

It wasn't too far back to her dorm, and it was a safe town and campus. Somehow Annie had known this was how the evening would turn out. She'd go downtown with Kelly, all the while Kelly telling her she'd make sure she had a good time, but Kelly would meet a guy and wander off. Annie wasn't about to hook up with one of the guys on the crew team; there would be too much drama. But she wasn't going to meet any other guys hanging out with Kelly. She counted the months until graduation.

She pondered college as she walked back to her dorm. She'd come to college mostly to get an education. She'd joined the crew team on a whim with her friends and she loved it. Outside of class it was her life. She hadn't really dated anyone over the three years she'd spent here. And she hadn't expected that partying would be such a large part of the social scene. The drinking and the hook-up scene that went with it wasn't her idea of a good time. Or was that just because I don't let myself enjoy it? she asked herself. Is this all there is to college social life? Drunk people jumping in and out of bed with each other? She was discouraged.

Back at her dorm suite Annie stripped out of her clothes and took a shower, washing the smell of her time downtown off of her. She pulled on comfy, cotton pajama pants and a tee shirt, got out some chips and hummus and sat down on the couch in front of the television in the main room. She flipped on the TV.

A little under an hour later Annie heard a knock at the door. She wondered who it would be at this time of night. Unless Kelly had left her key somewhere, she couldn't imagine who it could be. She looked through the peephole to see Katie standing in the hallway. She quickly opened the door.

"Hey Katie."

"Am I interrupting anything?" Katie asked.

"No, not at all, come in," Annie replied smiling. "I was just watching TV. Kelly's still out."

"Thanks," she said meekly as she walked through the doorway.

Annie could tell something was wrong as Katie sat down on the couch. She was still in her black cocktail dress, but looked like she was going to cry. "What's wrong?" Annie asked, taking a seat next to her.

"He just walked me home and left," Katie said.

"Rich?"

"Yes."

"Did he do something wrong? What's wrong?"

"No, no he didn't do anything, that's just it. We went to the formal, ate dinner, danced, and then he walked me home and left." Katie's eyes welled with tears. "He didn't even want to kiss me."

Internally, Annie didn't know what to think or say. She had been worried that Rich had mistreated her friend in some way and it turned out Katie was in tears because he hadn't made any advances. As Katie sniffled, Annie could tell she had been drinking and probably wasn't thinking too clearly. Inside she was chuckling a little, not out of pleasure at her friend's discomfort, but at the fact that she was so upset about this. It all seemed a little extreme to her, but she realized she needed to be compassionate.

"Oh, Katie, it's okay. I'm sure he had a good time. Maybe he was just nervous or didn't want to do anything that you might regret in the morning after a night of drinking."

"It's not like I'm drunk!" Katie almost shouted as she wiped her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Annie leaned towards Katie and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders to comfort her. She felt Katie's arms around her body. "You smell like a frat house," Annie said, trying to lighten the moment.

Katie sighed. "It wasn't the effect I was going for," she said, her words muffled by Annie's hair. Annie relaxed her arms, but Katie continued to hold her tightly as she sniffled.

"Why are guys so hard to understand?" Katie asked.

"I don't know. They'd probably ask the same thing about us."

Annie felt Katie squeeze her a little tighter and move her hand up and down, almost stroking her back. She felt Katie nuzzle her neck with her cheek. She could feel the wetness of a few tears. "Just hold me, Annie," Katie mumbled.

Annie clenched her friend tightly as Katie's hands pressed against her back. Katie sniffled again and sighed deeply. Some of Katie's hair fell over her face and she inhaled the scent. She felt her face start to feel flushed and hot and felt a twinge deep inside her. "It feels so good to have you hold me," Katie whispered into Annie's hair.

Annie noticed her own heart rate pick up a little. What was going on here? she asked herself. She felt the short hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Is Katie coming on to me? Or is she just need comforting? Is this appropriate? She felt a familiar feeling deep down inside of her and it excited her.

"Of course, I'm your friend, I care about you," Annie managed to say trying to keep her voice level.

Katie pulled back slightly, slowly drawing her cheek past Annie's. "It feels good to be held tonight," Katie said softly, her eyes red from her tears as she looked at Annie. Annie reached up to brush some matted hair from Katie's face and opened her mouth to say something. Before she could, Katie leaned in, touched her lips to Annie's, and held them there for a moment.

Oh my God, thought Annie. She's kissing me right here on my couch. Katie's lips were soft and tender, but Annie pulled back and looked Katie in the eyes.