Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:23:00 +0100
From: Lewis Morales <lewsmorals@mail.com>
Subject: Bailey and Me 19

So we're off to London - I hope you enjoy the change in setting for the
final few chapters of this story (just three more to go after this one).

As always, please remember that 'Bailey and Me' is purely fictional and the
characters are not based on anyone in real life. This story contains
male-on-male sexual contact. If you are uncomfortable reading about
homosexual content between and adult and a minor, then please do not
proceed. In this story the characters are having unprotected sex, but in
real-life you should always use protection.

I love getting your feedback about the story, so please send me an email to
lewsmorals@mail.com and let me know what you think.

And don't forget to donate to Nifty http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html so
they can keep publishing stories like this.


*19*


For the final week of term Bailey was like a zombie around the boarding
house, only coming out of his room to go to training, and barely speaking
to anyone. I tried to remain focused on my work so that I wouldn't worry
about him, but I couldn't hide my concern about how withdrawn and isolated
he had become. I told myself that this was just how he prepared for such a
big race and that I shouldn't let it bother me, but nevertheless it did.

Bailey's wealthy parents had booked first-class tickets for our flight
across the globe to the London championships, and as we boarded the plane I
was feeling a mix of excitement and awe at being in such luxurious
settings. I was far more accustomed to flying in cattle class and this felt
like I had died and gone to heaven, but where I was like the proverbial kid
in the candy store, Bailey seemed completely disinterested in his
surroundings and shortly after take-off he closed the doors to his private
suite and drifted off to sleep. He didn't speak to me for the entire
24-hour journey from Australia to England.

After checking into our hotel we went to collect our identification tags
and scope out the event complex. We walked around the aquatic centre,
seeing the pool for the first time, and it was a fairly intimidating
experience. Bailey's body language showed me that he was nervous - an
emotion I wasn't used to seeing from him - and even though I wanted to hold
him in my arms and tell him that it was going to be fine I figured this
probably wasn't the right time or place. After registering as his
chaperone, I followed him back to the hotel before we settled into our
separate rooms for a quiet evening.

I knocked on Bailey's door the next morning but there was no answer. I
figured that he must have gone to the pool so I walked over to the aquatic
centre where I found him doing laps of the pool. I sat in the spectator's
stand and watched him silently swimming up and back, and I could see that
he was completely entranced in his own little world. Again, I was worried
about his state of mind.

"Stop worrying," I heard a voice say to me. I looked up and saw Coach
Foster staring back at me. "He always does this before a meet."

"Really?" I asked. "It can't be healthy for him to shut down like this."

"I already told you he's not like everyone else. He retreats into his shell
before a race, and this particular one is the biggest of his life. Just let
him do what he has to do."

"So should I just leave him here by himself?" I asked the coach.

"Yep," was his blunt reply. "If I know anything about Bailey, it's that he
will have it all planned out in that head of his. Right now the best thing
you can do for him is to leave him be."

Despite his gruff and curmudgeonly manner, I actually felt reassured by
what the coach had said about Bailey having it all planned out; over the
months that we'd spent together the thing I had become most sure of was
Bailey's ability to plan out every single detail. I decided to follow the
coach's advice and I headed into the centre and become a tourist for the
day, figuring that if I couldn't do anything to help Bailey then I could at
least enjoy my time in this incredible city.

As I took my seat in the grandstand for his heat the following morning, I
was feeling a mix of excitement and anticipation. I was surrounded by
hundreds of noisy spectators, most of whom appeared to be friends and
family of the competitors, as we all looked down at the unforgiving pool
and waited for the competition to commence. I knew that there were three
qualifying heats of Bailey's event this morning, with swimmers in all three
races vying for a place in the final to be held later this evening. I knew
that the heats presented an interesting challenge for the young athletes,
as they had to go fast enough to try and qualify for the final, but not too
fast that they would burn up all their energy and have nothing left for the
race that really counted. It was a delicate balancing act and with such
incredibly fierce competition it took a toll on minds as much as bodies.

Knowing that Bailey was in the third heat, I watched as competitors in the
first two races recorded blistering results. The qualifying time for the
100M freestyle at the last Olympic Games was 48.82 seconds, and I was
surprised by how close many of these teenagers were coming to beating
that. Most of the competitors were still in high school, and yet some were
recording times that would have broken the world record just a decade or
two ago. The competition for a place in the final was intense, so when
Bailey finally walked out for his race I was so nervous that I felt like my
heart was in my mouth. When the whistle blew to tell the competitors to
climb onto their starting blocks, I think I actually stopped breathing. I
stared at him, noting the intense concentration on his face as the entire
stadium waited for the noise that signalled the start. When the race began
I jumped to my feet and cheered until my throat was hoarse, and I didn't
stop screaming for the entire 49.51 seconds of his swim.

When Bailey touched the wall he immediately turned to face the scoreboard
and check his time. My eyes were glued to him as I watched and waited to
see how he might react. Having seen the efforts of the competitors in the
first two heats I knew it was going to be a close call, and I held my
breath and waited for the list of finalists to be published on the
screen. I exhaled audibly when I saw his name right at the bottom, meaning
that he had qualified for the final. I turned my attention from the
scoreboard back to his face, noting that his expression remained stony and
unchanged. I was confident that this would have been part of his plan, but
I was also aware that there had been just 0.03 of a second between him
making the final and his dream being shattered. That margin was much too
tight for me to feel comfortable.

After watching a few more events at the swimming complex, I went back to
the hotel for lunch and to rest before the evening final. Even though I
wanted to talk to Bailey, I knew that he needed to be left alone, so I
turned on my television and lay down on my bed for a while. I must have
fallen asleep at some point because when I woke I could feel the familiar
sensation of Bailey's chest against my back, with his arms pulling me
tightly against him. I lay there in silence, feeling comforted by his
strong limbs around me and his breath on the back of my neck. I smiled as
we lay there together for what felt like an eternity, before he silently
got off the bed and headed back to his room to prepare for the big race. I
wanted to say something, but I thought it best to follow the coach's advice
and leave him be.

That evening, as I sat in the crowd waiting for the finals to begin, my
nerves were almost overwhelming me. My breathing was laboured and I felt
like I wanted to throw up; I could only imagine what Bailey must have been
going through. As the announcer introduced the event that I had been
waiting for, I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead. The crowd
cheered as the eight swimmers were ushered in and before I knew it they
were standing on the blocks waiting for the starter to sound. My eyes were
glued to Bailey's body in the furthest lane, and the entire crowd watched
on in silent anticipation as we waited for the flurry of action to begin.

The competitors quickly rocketed off the blocks and in less than half a
minute they had reached the end of their first lap. Despite qualifying in
an outside lane, Bailey turned in third place in a tightly packed field and
I screamed words of encouragement as I willed him to go even faster. With
less than half the length of the pool to go, Bailey and two other swimmers
were almost inseparable, so I knew the final result would all come down to
the touch on the wall. All three swimmers seemed to hit it at almost the
exact same moment, and I had to turn my head to the scoreboard to see the
final result.

There it was - the outcome I had been hoping to see but dared not think it
possible. Bailey had edged out the other competitors, finishing in first
place with a time of 47.95 seconds to become the fastest junior swimmer in
the world for this event. Tears began to form in my eyes as the realisation
of what had just happened hit me, and when I looked from the scoreboard
down to his face I saw his steely face breaking into an expression of pure
elation. The crowd was cheering for him as he pumped his fist in the air in
euphoric delight; he had achieved his goal.

He exited the pool where he was met by an unusually joyous Coach Foster who
quickly pulled him into a celebratory hug. I was feeling so dizzy with
excitement by what was happening around me that I had to sit down. As tears
began to spill down my cheeks, I couldn't stop smiling and I just stared at
his elated young face. Eventually he looked up to the grandstand and found
my face in the crowd; his gaze met mine and we shared a moment of intense
intimacy in the middle of a jam-packed, noisy stadium.

I knew that Bailey would be surrounded by hordes of well-wishers for the
rest of the night, so after watching him getting presented with his medal,
I headed back to the hotel to wait for his return. I lay down on my bed,
closing my tired eyes for a brief moment to relive the joyous moment over
and over in my head, and I must have fallen asleep because just after
midnight I was woken by the feeling of Bailey's body pressing against
mine. I opened my eyes to see his euphoric face and I smiled back at
him. Before I could utter a word he kissed me hard on the mouth.

"I love you, Steve" he said when he finally pulled his lips from mine.

For a moment, time stood still as a look of shock spread across my
face. Did he just say what I think he said? "What?" I responded. Never in a
million years could I have anticipated that those would be his first words
to me in almost two weeks.

"I said, I love you," he replied before kissing me again.

"I love you too, Bailey," I responded, before our hungry mouths again found
one another's. I'm not sure if there were actual fireworks being set off
outside the room, but that's how it sounded in my head as I felt my heart
exploding with love for this beautiful boy. It wasn't long before our
kissing intensified and our hands began snaking along each other's chests
and groins; oh how I had missed the feel of his body against mine over
these past two weeks!

We made love that night, and again the following morning - I was so
desperate to feel him inside me that I wanted to stay in our room forever,
making love over and over again. I needed him. I loved him. And he loved me
too. I had never been happier or felt more fulfilled in my life. We lay in
bed for hours, holding our cum and sweat spattered bodies firmly against
one another's as we savoured the incredible intimacy.

Eventually our hunger finally got the better of us, and at around lunchtime
we showered and headed out to find something to eat. As we got into the
hotel elevator I was shocked when Bailey took my hand in his; we had never
shown affection in public before.

"Are you sure?" I asked him as I tried to pull my hand away, knowing that
our relationship was something we kept secret from the outside world. After
all, he was a seventeen year old high-school student, and I was his much
older, male teacher and chaperone. I wondered how people might react if
they saw us together like this.

"I'm sure," he replied taking my hand again and pulling my body towards him
so that our shoulders and arms were touching. I looked at him with an
expression of worry and doubt, but he just smiled back. "I love you,
Steve," he reassured me.

For the next few hours we wandered around the streets of London together,
his hand holding mine tightly as we explored the many amazing sights. Being
a very liberal-minded city with a large gay population, it wouldn't have
appeared all that unusual to see two guys holding hands, and nobody seemed
to give us a second glance. But even so, such a public display of intimacy
made me feel anxious, and I continued to worry that our teacher/student
relationship might be obvious to onlookers

Tired after our exploration, we eventually took a break in Leicester
Square, as we sat and watched the crowds of people for a while. Bailey
pulled my body back against his as he wrapped his strong arms around me
before leaning forward and giving me a soft kiss on the lips. I
blushed. This was the first time we'd ever kissed in public and even though
nobody seemed to react, I still felt as though everyone was looking at
us. Bailey smiled as I recoiled from the kiss and chuckled at my
discomfort.

"Sorry. I'm just not used to doing that," I replied sheepishly.

"You've never kissed someone in public before?" he asked.

"Well yes, but..." I began to say but stopped myself.

"Well you need to get used to kissing me in public, Steve McQueen," he
responded. "Because I plan on kissing you all the time." I gave him a sly
smile as he squeezed my hand even more tightly. "So what do you want to do
tonight?" he asked me. "Now that I'm the junior world champion I think we
should go out and celebrate."

"Absolutely - what did you have in mind?" I asked him.

"One of the other competitors was telling me about this cool bar in
Soho. Apparently it's an awesome place just to hang out."

"But you're only 17," I responded.

"That's not what this driver's license says," he replied, pulling a fake ID
out of his wallet and smiling at me. My two worlds were suddenly in
conflict with one another; as Bailey's lover of course I wanted to go out
and celebrate with him, but I was also Bailey's teacher and chaperone and I
knew that he was underage. I knew that if he got caught he could be
arrested. "So are you interested?" he asked.

"Well...." I began before pausing mid-thought.

"I know what you're thinking, Mr McQueen" he replied, emphasising my school
teacher name to show me that he knew why I was hesitant. I don't know why I
was surprised that he knew what was going through my head; he seemed to be
able to read me like a book. "Trust me, it'll be ok. I promise I won't
drink. I just want to go for a few hours to see what it's like to go out
like a normal couple," he said as he smiled at me. Against my better
judgement, I finally acquiesced to his request causing him to lean in and
gave me another kiss on the lips. I blushed an ever brighter shade of red
than before.

It was getting dark, so we took the tube back to our hotel and got ready
for our night out. When Bailey came into my room wearing dark slim-fit
jeans and a tight, v-neck shirt that hugged his athletic frame, I couldn't
help noticing how sexy and grown-up he looked. The gorgeous hunk standing
before me was such a contrast to the shy kid who usually wore
loose-fitting, oversized sweats that hid him in plain sight when we were in
the boarding house.

"How do I look?" he asked me.

"If I hadn't just spent a fortune to buy you that shirt on Oxford Street
I'd be ripping it off you right now," I replied, my immodest response
taking us both by surprise. You look so hot!" It was all I could do to
resist ravishing him right there and then.

"I'll take that as a complement then," he joked back.

It was around 10 o'clock when we entered the bar that Bailey had been told
about, and we soon found ourselves a table in the corner. Even though it
was still pretty early, the place was getting busy and the funky music and
cool lighting gave it a great vibe. When I offered to go to the bar to get
us some drinks, Bailey asked for water, to which I responded by shooting
him an incredulous look. He just laughed at me, explaining that he had only
ever tried alcohol once and hadn't liked it, so would stick to water for
tonight. I returned with our drunks, and we sat at our table for ages just
talking and people-watching as the crowds really started to roll in.

"Bailey?" a voice called out, taking us both by surprise. "Bailey, is that
you?" the voice asked.

I turned to see the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on in my life - he
must have been about 6' 2" tall with sandy coloured hair a pronounced,
chiselled jawline, and an incredible body that immediately caught my
attention. My eyes drank in his strong, broad shoulders before noticing the
way his fitted tee clung to his chiseled chest and exhibited his muscular
frame. This 20-something year old guy was smoking hot, and for some strange
reason he seemed to know Bailey.

"Oh fuck!" was Bailey's first response when he looked up at the gorgeous
man who was walking towards us. He dropped his glass, almost causing it to
smash as it landed on the table with a giant thud. He sat there frozen as
he stared at the other guy.

"It is you!" the beautiful man exclaimed as he came towards our table.

"Oh my God!" Bailey shouted out as he clambered from his chair and lunged
towards the hunk. He threw his arms around him and grabbed hold of his
muscular body. "Ben!" he exclaimed. I realised straight away that this was
the same Ben that Bailey had told me about; Ben who had been his first true
love and his first sexual experience, Ben who had rescued Bailey from the
loneliness and isolation he had felt when he first arrived at school all
those years ago, and Ben who had broken his heart when he graduated and
left him behind a couple of months later. They had been inseparable at
school, sharing everything with one another, but had lost touch after he
had graduated.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ben asked as he broke free from their
long embrace.

"I'm in London for swimming," Bailey responded.

"The junior world championships?" Ben asked him. "No way!"

"Yes!" He replied with a hug smile. "I told you I would get there one day
didn't I?" he laughed. They both wore beaming grins across their handsome
faces.

"You sure did. Fuck! It's so great to see you. You look amazing!" Ben
continued.

"Yeah, you too. I can't believe you're here!" Bailey replied excitedly as
he hugged him again.

"What are the chances of running into you in this bar? I didn't even know
you were in London! Who are you here with?" he asked.

"Oh..." Bailey said suddenly realising that neither of them had
acknowledged that I was sitting right there at the table. "Ben, this is
Steve," he added. I stood up to shake the hand of the giant adonis, feeling
slightly intimidated by the 95kg (210lbs) of sculpted muscle standing
before me.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Ben asked me. I didn't know how to
respond. The question seemed so harmless and innocent, but I knew there was
no way I could answer it without opening Pandora's Box. It was one thing to
walk anonymously around the city holding hands like any other couple, but I
knew that telling the former Captain of the school where I worked, not to
mention Bailey's ex-boyfriend, that I was involved with my teenage, male
student could lead to catastrophic consequences.

I turned to look at Bailey as I searched his face and prayed that he would
once again jump in and save the day.