A Wave Of Desire

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Ocean

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"You think that's funny!? Do you think you can say shit about me and laugh behind my back!?" Trent was stalking toward me and the others. He hadn't heard what we said, but he had heard the laughter and saw us looking at him, so he had put two and two together.

"So, what if I do?" I laughed back, not at all afraid of him. There was still the tiniest hint of a bruise left on his face but it looked like it had been weeks since he was hit and not just two days. I guess he really was a merman like Makai. He wasn't the only one that had healed. Since there were no stress inducing factors after the fact, my hand had healed and didn't hurt anymore. That meant that I could hit him again if I needed to. Though I wouldn't do it until I had to. I needed it to be self defense so that my prize wasn't taken away.

"I will tell you just what I am going to do to you, asshole." Trent was looking right at me. He was somehow fixated on the fact that I was the only one over here causing him trouble. "I am going to fucking kick your ass, that's the first thing that I am going to do. Then I am going to take Makai back from you. And lastly, I think I will just end you, one way or another."

Trent was not being quiet at all. Everyone in the surrounding area could hear him as his voice echoed throughout the room. He was being a first rate and world class psychopath. Well, this meant that I would be able to put him on his ass again. If he came over here and threw a punch at me, then I would be allowed to go to town on him. This was going to be good. Or so I thought.

"ENOUGH!" A deep, rumbling voice echoed throughout the entire venue. It was louder than when the announcer used his microphone to call out to Trent earlier. However, I could tell that this person hadn't used a microphone at all. This was someone that just had a lot of projection behind his voice. And the moment that the entire place was silent and everyone was looking around for who had spoken, we all saw someone making their way to the stage.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was insane. The man before me, the one that had yelled out, was none other than Reece Gray. My idol was the one that broke up the commotion.

"You, there." He was pointing directly at Trent. "You are disqualified from this tournament. You and your entire team. Your team will not receive the prizes for anything that they have won from placing and you will not get your third place prize. I will, however, give a slight compensation to your teammates that do not deserve this punishment because of you. The team with the overall best time from the remaining semi finalists will be bumped up to tenth place and every other team moved up in accordance. The same will happen with the individual swimmers. Whoever finished the semifinals in eleventh place will be bumped to tenth and people will move on from there. Get out of this place now, as quickly as you can."

Oh my God! Reece Gray had just thrown out that douchebag. I knew there was a reason why I liked him so much. He was a good guy. This here was enough to prove that to me. This was awesome. And I was so happy to be seeing it firsthand.

"You can't do that. I earned my right to be here. I was supposed to win before those two got here and cheated." Trent was still whining like a baby.

"Cheated, you say? Hmm. I don't think that is what happened. I think they just swam faster than you and you're just too much of an idiot to process that. You're a baby and an asshole and you should never have been here in the first place. Get out. And before you try again to tell me that I can't do that, remember who is sponsoring and funding this entire competition. Just think about the fact that without me, you wouldn't have even had this chance that you just wasted. I can do this, and I just did. Now, get the fuck out of here."

Trent's face fell as if he was in shock. He was still trying to think of ways to get out of this, but there was nothing that he could do. Still, he didn't move until his coach marched over to him and grabbed his arm. He was literally pulling him out of the pool area and reprimanding him at the same time. Oh, that was a fun sight to see. I was so happy that this asshole was getting what he deserved.

"Good. Now that the baby is gone, let's continue. We still need to find the last winner." Reece Gray was smiling at everyone as he looked around. Then he turned to look right at me and nodded like he was trying to tell me something.

What? What was he trying to tell me? What did that nod mean? Oh come on, Mr. Gray, what was that all about?

I was agonizing over that mysterious nod all through the next heat. As the girls decided on who was going to finish in first place and who wasn't, I was busy trying to micro analyze what that simple little nod meant.

I was still really happy when Faith finished in fifth place and Katie finished in first. The two of them who wouldn't have even been here in the first place if there hadn't been a lot of girls that dropped from the roster, the two of them ended up doing so well. And Katie coming in with first place, that was amazing. That meant that our school had taken first in every category.

And what was even more special than that, was when we went to take our place on the stage for the prizes, those that finished in first place only, Mr. Reece Gray was once again back on the stage and he had a row of trophies behind him. Those were the trophies for us as well as the others that were going to be getting them for their participation and placement. They were going to be getting engraved though, at least ours were, so we couldn't take them just yet.

"Welcome everyone." He called out to the waiting crowd. "This is the first time that I have had to stop a fight at one of my tournaments, and it is also the first time that all the first place winners here on the stage with me were from the same school. This is quite an amazing feat if you were to ask me. I mean, what are the odds of this happening?" At that moment, Mr. Gray paused to laugh and looked at the eight of us on the stage with him. The two first place teams, one of each also happened to be the first place individual team. "I think that this showing here only goes to display what hard work and dedication can do. Also, it shows that you have an amazing coach that does his best to train you all on a regular basis."

There was a slight pause then as the entire crowd applauded for us and our coach who was standing nearby. I could see tears in coach's eyes as he looked up at us. He was so proud that it was manifesting itself as water works.

"Without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the winners of this competition. All the way from Jasper High School in Waterton, California, here are the first place winners. The individual swimmers that finished first were Ocean Shores for the men and Katie Matthews for the ladies." There was another round of applause for the two of us before Mr. Gray started to talk again. "For the ladies team, we have Katie Matthews, Cassie Berger, Alexis Hunt and Whitney Little. For the men, we have Ocean Shores, Makai Rivers, Benton Kennedy and Ryan Johnson." The applause just didn't seem like it was never going to end. It just kept coming and coming non stop as our names had been called. "These eight swimmers here have shown us that they have what it takes to be in the top of this tournament. And I think you can all agree with me on that. To all of you, congratulations."

After congratulating us, Mr. Gray started to shake our hands and speak with us briefly one on one. I was so excited for this part. I was standing there with Makai, Ben and Ryan as we watched the girls get their final congrats. I didn't even know what it was that I was going to say. I was meeting the man that ran the company that I dreamed of joining later in life. This was a dream come true.

Finally, it was my turn to talk to the man. Well, it was actually just the men's turn since he turned to face us all together.

"Well, congratulations gentlemen." He reached out his hand to me first since I was the one that came in first two times over. "You're an amazing young man and an excellent swimmer Mr. Shores. And might I say that is quite the unique name." He laughed as he leaned in a little. I didn't know what was going on. Was he going to hug me or something? "And I would say that it is quite fitting of someone from the sea." He pulled back a little and winked at me.

"Wha..?" I was at a loss here. How did he know that?

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I mean, we both have our own." For some reason, a feral grin flashed across his face as he said that. Was he not human? And if so, what was he? That was the big question. "Ahh, Mr. Rivers, another man of the sea." He whispered to Makai next to me. "I am proud of you as well. That was an amazing set you did today."

"Uhm, Mr. Gray, h..how did, how did you..?" I was having trouble getting my question out as I spoke to him.

"I have a good nose." He nodded and winked at me. "Plus, those marks are quite telling." He pointed as if he was indicating something on my back. Well, I guess that he was, since that was where my mark was.

"Hello there, Mr. Gray. It is such an honor to meet you. I am Ryan and this is my fiancé Ben. Those two are like our brothers and are also likewise engaged." Ryan, the blabbermouth that he was, couldn't keep that a secret, could he?"

"Nice, congrats again then. I am happy to see that you have all found the person that you want to be with at such a young age." Holy shit! He knew we were all gay and didn't have a problem with it. That was awesome. And apparently my shock showed on my face because it just made Mr. gray laugh at me. "Are you alright?" He asked me after a moment.

"Yes. I just feel like I am living a dream. I have dreamt of meeting you, Mr. Gray. I adore your company and I plan to apply to work for you after I graduate from university. In fact, the four of us have made a pact to all apply to work for you." I don't know why I said that. He was going to think that I was an idiot or something.

"That's amazing, Mr. Shores. I hope you do just that. I can't wait to see what a bright and determined young man like you can do in the future. Here is my business card, when you graduate, give me a call. All of you. You will definitely have a future in Alpha Corp."

That was it. He left after that. And it all felt like a dream. Except, I was still holding the card, so I knew that it was all real.

"D..did that really just happen?" I asked in awe as we started back toward the locker room. In all honesty, I was being dragged back to the locker room since I was still too shocked to move.

"Keep looking like that, Ocean, and I am going to get jealous." Makai laughed at me and my stupor.

"I don't love him, just his work. You have nothing to fear, my love." I spoke like an idiot in my stupor. Everyone was definitely laughing at me now. I couldn't help it though. That was Reece Gray. THE Reece Gray. And he told me to call him when I graduated. That was awesome. I had somehow managed to talk to my idol and to get his card so that I could call him when I graduated.. I was securing my future right before my eyes, and that was an awesome feeling.