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The Sweet Life	By : jai Category: Individual Celebrities > Athlete/Sports Misc Views: 8241 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the people written about in this fanfiction. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Two To Tango (the missing chapter - added 11/12/04

October 30, 2009 Philadelphia

Michael finished gluing down the last item to a light blue long sleeved T-shirt and cackled maniacally. He thought the little swim fins and snorkel really made the costume.

Grant and Ian, who were relaxing in the family room, looked over at him.

“He’s clearly gone wacko, Thorpie.” Grant commented out of the side of his mouth. “Be afraid, be very afraid.”

Ian shrugged and grinned. “Michael love, how’s it going in there?”

“Great. I’m all done. You want to see?”

“We’d love to.”

Michael grabbed his costume and disappeared into the downstairs powder room and then reappeared wearing the blue shirt covered in little Barbie toys with blue sweat pants with Hot Wheels running up the sides.

“What am I?”

The men in the living room shook their heads and Michael helpfully pointed to the cars and then to his chest. Grant snapped his fingers. “You’re a car pool!”

Ian laughed in appreciation. “Michael, that’s brilliant. What are you doing for me?”

“I have a lot more Barbie Pool stuff and I was going to do a shirt similar to this one but you’d be wearing jeans. You get to be ‘Gene Pool’.”

Grant started laughing. “I like it. Pretty good costumes.”

“Thanks. Grant, are you sure you don’t want to come to the costume party tonight?”

“I’m sure, that flight wore me out and I’ll be fine here with the puppies and the demon cat. Pieter’s supposed to call around seven anyway.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

Michael went back to the bathroom to change and Ian looked at his friend.

“You look a little depressed.”

Grant started to deny it but Ian knew him too well. “I am. I know Pieter will be here in January and I’m going there for Christmas but it seems so far away. Are you guys sure you don’t mind me staying here until then? I don’t want to house hunt without him.”

“Of course not,” Mil sal said from the doorway. “You’re tidy, you don’t play loud music and you’re willing to walk the dogs. Why would we mind?” Michael sat back down and grabbed the glue gun.

“He’s right. It’s good having you here.” Ian toasted Grant with his glass.

“Thanks. I’ll try not to get underfoot.”

**

Ian admired the costumes on the group of trick-or-treaters as Grant handed out the candy. It was getting late and the kids were coming in dribs and drabs now. They were almost out of candy so Ian considered turning off porch light. The kids yelled their thanks and ran back down the front walk to the adult waiting for them.

“Did I miss anything good?” Michael asked as he came back outside.

“Two ghosts, a bum and a referee. I think all the cute costumes are over; these were older kids.”

“Oh well. How are we doing on candy?”

“Ten pieces left.” Grant said after a quick count.

“It’s almost eight. Let’s give it five more minutes; it’s nice enough out here.” Michael sat down on the step next Ian.

“How’s Deb?” Ian asked after slinging an arm around Michael.

“She’s fine. She warned me that Whitney and Craig might be making a big announcement soon and Hilary’s been dating someone pretty seriously but she hasn’t brought him around tet tet the folks yet.”

“I liked Craig; he’s kind of quiet but seemed a steady sort.”

Eight o’clock arrived without another group of kids so Ian turned off the light and they stayed out on the porch for a while.

“What time to you have to be in New York on Monday?” Ian asked after snitching one of the remaining candy bars.

“Before ten and I’ll be back Thursday night. I’ve worked it out and I’ll catch the train down the hill which connects to the New Jersey trains in Trenton. It takes about two hours from here with only one transfer. The trip back takes a little longer and it’s a little trickier but if I use Amtrak, it’ll take two hotoo.too. “I “I always forget how close we are. Michael, we should go up for the weekend.”

“Sure, I’d like to go up and see how the facilities for the Olympics are coming anyway if you don’t mind making a side trip. I still can’t believe they got the bid.”

December 1, 2009 Wharton School of Business, University of PA

Ian shook Dr. Wicket’s hand, picked up his briefcase and left the office. He liked his advisor but the older man was very talkative and he was now running slightly behind schedule. He made his way out of the building and over to Walnut Street. He waited a minute or two, checked his watch and considered calling Michael when he heard the beep of the horn.

Michael pulled up in his SUV with Grant in the back seat and Ian ran around and got in the passenger seat. He leaned over, gave Michael a quick kiss and then buckled in as Michael merged back into traffic.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem, we have plenty of time.”

Ian twisted in his seat to look into the back. “Hey Grant.”

“Hello.” Grant extended a piece of paper forward. “There’s the list and we made sure we got everything.”

Ian took it and turned back around; making sure every item was ticked off. “Looks like you’re good to go then.”

The trip to the airport didn’t take long and Michael pulled up in the departure area, putting the car in park.

“Tell you what, I’ll get our bags while you two say goodbye.” Grant slipped out of the vehicle and opened the back hatch.

“I’m sorry I can’t go with you love.” Ian said after they’d looked at each other for a moment.

“It’s okay. I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.” They kissed briefly and got out of the car. Grant had gotten his and Michael’s bags out, shutting the hatch behind him as Ian approached.

“Thanks for doing this, Grant.” They shook hands in a manly manner before hugging briefly.

“No problem. It’ll be weird going to a meet without my bathers but I’ll take good care of him.”

Ian turned to Michael who gave them both looks and hugged him quickly. “Call me when you get in, okay?”

“I will. Don’t let the cat boss you around too much and remember to take out the trash. Love you baby.” Michael kissed him quickly, handed him the car keys and stepped back; they were both taking their first separation since the wedding hard and Michael was half tempted to just stay home.

Ian waved and got in the car, pulling off before he talked himself into blowing of the seminars he had scheduled this week and going anyway. Being a responsible adult really sucked sometimes. He stopped at the mall on the way home and took care of the last of his Christmas shopping.

He quickly found the sweaters he’d seen in the flyer, picked up four of them in different colors and then picked up two more for himself. He took them up to the counter and waited patiently while the sales clerk dealt with another customer. Finally, the customer walked off and Ian set down his burden.

“Thank you for waiting sir, will this be all today?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Will you be putting this on your Strawbridge’s charge?”

“No.” Ian pulled out his wallet and handed over his platinum Visa; the one with Michael’s picture on it.

“Do you know that we’re offering a free gift for new charge accounts opened during the month of December?” The clerk asked as she scanned each tag and folded the sweaters.

“No I didn’t but no thank you, I’m not interested.”

The clerk shifted her eyes towards another store employee who was lurking near by and gave him a small moue of apology.

“I understand. Do you need gift boxes for your purchases today?”

“Yes, please. Just four if you would.”

“Yes sir.” Her expression eased and Ian knew without looking that the other employee had left the area. She laid his credit card and sales slip on the counter. “Sorry about that.”

“Quite all right. I understand; you do know the term ‘free gift’ is-” Ian said softly as he signed the receipt and pocketed his card again.

“Idiotic? Yes, that’s why they’re watching me. Can I ask where you got that credit card from? It’s a great picture.”

Ian looked at her and realized he’d once again gone unrecognized. Maybe it was his new short hair cut, or the lack of any blonde highlights. “My spouse does work for the company; I don’t think it’s available to the general public.”

“That’s a shame; my sister just loves Michael Phelps.” The woman handed him his bag with a bright smile.

“Ah. Well, I’ll be sure to tell him he’s got a fan. Have a happy holiday.” Ian said with a wave and walked away. He still had one more present to get.

6:45 PM Dallas, Texas

Michael followed Grant off the plane and down the gangway with a sigh. He already missed Ian and it had only been six hours. Grant paused and waited for him with an inquiring look; Michael just smiled ruefully.

“I know, buck up. It’s only four days.”

“I was going to ask if you’d been here before and knew where the baggage claim was but as your temporary coach, I’ll go with yours.”

“It’s this way, I think. I’ve been here but that doesn’t mean I remember or that it’s still in the same place.” Michael led them down and after following the signs, found the right area. They picked out their bags and went towards the shuttle area.

A representative from the US Swim organization was waiting for them and gave Grant a look of surprise. “I thought Thorpe was your coach?”

Michael and Grant looked at each other and Michael pulled back in fake shock. “You mean this isn’t Ian? I guess all those Australians do look the same.”

“We do actually. Australia is an island after all, must be the inbreeding.” Grant said solemnly.

&&

Michael threw his bag on the bed next to the window, sat down and looked up at Grant. “Sometimes I’m ashamed to be from this country.”

Grant sat on the other bed, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been here enough times to know that not all you Yanks are like that.”

“Still. Talking about how foreigners are ruining the country in front of someone from another country?”

“I gather he wasn’t talking about my kind of foreigner, he meant the ones who weren’t white. Which doesn’t make it right but those types of people don’t think beyond their own little worlds.”

“I know but he ticked me off.”

“Well good, he’s got a swimmer in one of your races so make sure you beat the tail off the boy.” Grant kicked off his shoes and made himself comfortable.

Michael did the same. He wasn’t scheduled to be at the pool for another two hours so he could afford to relax a little. “This is going to be so weird; everyone I know has retired.”

“Larsen’s still swimming but it’s the same with the Australians. You’ll probably see a lot of guys swimming today who got into the pool because of you; you know that right?”

“Icky. Don’t remind me; I’m only twenty four.”

“All right but I did try to warn you. You want to get some grub before we head to the pool?”

“Sure, let me call Ian first.”

%%

Struggling not to laugh, Grant watched Michael smile politely, put down his plate and give another autograph to one of the young swimmers who populated the hotel’s restaurant. Michael had been trying to take advantage of the buffet for the last ten minutes without much success. The seat next to him was pulled out and Larsen plopped down with a friendly grin.

“Hackett, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m here with the old guy over there.” Grant nodded in Michael’s direction.

“I heard that Ian was coaching him now.”

“He is but there’s seminar at Wharton that he can’t miss.”

“Oh. What have you been up to since the wedding of the year?”

“I’m working in New York and staying with Ian and Michael on the weekends.”

Larsen laughed. “Okay now I get it. I thought you were still living in Australia. It makes more sense now.”

“You thought I’d come all this way?”

“Well you and Ian are tight, everyone knows that. And you’re both crazy so I think you would have done it if you weren’t here.” Larsen shrugged with a grin.

Michael had finally gotten his plate filled and made his way back to the table. He greeted Larsen as he sat down and picked up his fork only to be interrupted with yet another autograph request.

“Dude, don’t you know you’re supposed to wait until after the meet?” Larsen asked.

The tall skinny kid frowned but Michael graciously signed the magazine. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

After the guy scurried off, Michael finally got a few minutes of peace to eat as Grant and Larsen continued their conversation which mostly consisted of making fun of all the new guys.

9:20 PM Philadelphia, PA

Ian poured himself a cup of tea and made his way into his study, walking through each room on the first floor; he fluffed the pillows on the couch in the family room, straightened the pictures in the dining room, picked up and tidied the newspaper in the sunroom and checked the water in the vase on the hall table.

Michael always laughed at this evening routine but Ian saw nothing wrong with keeping the place in good order. He was house proud and unashamed of it. Besides, Michael did a similar thing every morning before he left for school. Their families thought it was semi-hysterical that such messy little boys had grown into absolute neat freaks but it was different when it was your own home or that’s how Ian always looked at it.

The dogs had followed along behind him and took their positions in front of the lit fireplace with canine sighs of pleasure. Flannel was already lounging in the leather chair closest to the fire and blinked up at him for a moment before returning to his nap. Ian sat down behind his desk, set his cup down on a coaster and relaxed for a moment before reaching for his journal and pen.

*&*&*&*&*&
From the journal of Ian Thorpe December 1, 2009 Volume III, page 122.

Michael left this afternoon for Dallas and although Grant is with him, I find myself worrying anyway. Will he remember to eat? Will he be able to sleep in the hotel? Will he do well?

I suppose it’s silly to worry that a grown man wouldn’t remember to feed himself, especially Michael, but it doesn’t stop me. I have no worries that he’s not eating the right things because he’s still able to eat anything without apparent effect but he’s been out of competition for over a year.

Who am I trying to kid? He’s the perfect swimmer. He’d no more forget how to compete that he’d forget how to breathe.

As for sleeping, he’ll probably toss and turn a bit but he’ll manage. He’s only swimming three events and he could do that without sleeping a wink the whole time. I’ve always known he was a great swimmer but until I actually started watching him train, I never saw how committed he was to every mind numbing lap.

Bob was right, onlyonly the window dressing; Michael is perfectly capable on his own. Although he does seem to appreciate my paltry contributions especially since we started swimming together. It was strange at first, being in the lane beside him and not going all out but he says it calms him to hear me next to him. Since I’m the only one who can keep up with him even during training, I guess I am helping.

We’ve been discussing New York lately. He hasn’t said much but he mentioned he wants to finally go to the Opening Ceremonies. That’ll cut back on the number of events he’ll swim but it’s his last Olympics. He deserves to actually have the time and enjoy the moments.

^&^&^&

Ian put down his pen and reached for his tea, only to discover it had gone cold. Typical. He got up and returned a few minutes later with a fresh cup. This time he sat down and actually drank his tea before returning to his writing.

%^%$%$

I’ve been avoiding thinking of being here alone for the first time since we got married. I do miss him but its four days, I can manage four days.d I’d I’ll just keep telling myself that until he comes back.

It’s eight in Dallas so he’s at the pool, doing a few laps. Grant promised to yank him out at nine and haul him back to the hotel. If Debbie didn’t have direct evidence of his birth, I’d be tempted to say Michael was part naiad.

I promised Charles before we left Michigan that I wouldn’t give up writing and that I would use this journal to examine myself and my motivations. I don’t do that very well, not out of the pool anyway and I’m not my favorite subject. Maybe I’ve given too many interviews to ever feel comfortable putting things on paper.

This is the first chance I’ve had since Michael proposed to sit down and attempt to write. That’s not true. I’ve made several attempts. It’s much easier to write about Michael than myself.

The wedding planning got out of hand. It shouldn’t have been so complicated. We agreed on most of the details, we had tremendous help from the cruise line but it seemed like it never ended. If we didn’t have to decide who to invite, we were trying to figure out who got what suite.

the there was our wardrobe, the flowers, the menus, the decorations; I feel nauseas just thinking about it even now. I got so caught up in having the perfect wedding that I almost forgot I was marrying the perfect man.

I think it all comes down to the fact that I was ready to get married four years ago and Michael was nowhere near that point. Well I thought I was ready. I was just so happy that I finally had a person to share my life with and I needed to close the deal, so to speak. That’s not really a good reason for marriage.

Two years ago we almost broke up because we didn’t express our insecurities. We didn’t have a total breakdown of communication this time but the wedding did push us apart. Waking up in the dining room with my face stuck to a magazine was the last straw. I was pissed that Michael left me there all night but it got his point across, didn’t it?

I could either spend my time with magazines and color swatches or spent it with him. He didn’t come out and say it like that; he merely mentioned he was more interested in what happened after the wedding than at the wedding. After all, what were three hours compared to the rest of our lives?

I didn’t just wake up that morning; I woke up to the situation I was causing. Again. Why do I keep doing these things to drive him away from me?

Am I testing him? Giving him chances to fail me?

&*&*

Ian closed the journal and put the pen in the drawer. The fire was almost out so he got up and opened the screen, putting the ashes into the pail and taking them outside after pulling on his jacket. The dogs went with him and got their last run in before bed while he watered the pail and stored it away from the house.

It didn’t take long and he took a few minutes to wash out his cup and clean up the tea pot. He checked the alarm and turned off the lights as he headed upstairs. He brushed and flossed and used the bathroom before getting into bed. It was almost eleven and Michael would be calling soon.

In the meantime he thought about what he’d written. As he absently stroked the cat who’d taken up residence in his lap he knew that he had been testing Michael, pushing him to see how much it would take before Michael threw up his hands and walked away. Sinking back into the pillows he looked over to Michael’s side of the bed.

He pulled one of Michael’s pillows over to him and squeezed it tightly while resisting the urge to wonder why Michael bothered with him. It was that kind of thinking that caused the situation in the first place.

When the phone rang ten minutes later, he was ready.

“Michael?”

“Ian! Hi baby.”

“Hello to you. How’s Dallas?”

“Eh. It’s Dallas, land of rednecks. How was the rest of your day?”

“I did a little Christmas shopping, raked the last of the leaves. The compost pile is coming along nicely. How does the pool look?”

“It’s okay. I remember it being a bit slow the last time I was here but it’ll do.”

“Whs Grs Grant?”

“He’s downstairs in the bar talking to Bob about horses.”

“Wdoesdoes Grant know about horses?”

“I think he was being discreet and giving us privacy.”

“Ah. I should have known.” Ian squirmed around, “When you get back, can we go out for a walk?”

“A walk? You need to talk about something?”

“Yes.” Ian said, relieved but not surprised that Michael understood what he was asking.

“Okay.” Michael said, sounding unconcerned. “We might have to find a big building to walk around in but sure.”

“Good. Now that that’s out of the way, what are you wearing?”

Michael giggled, “Sweats and one of your T-shirts.”

“Oh really? Which one?”

“The orange one you wore last night. It smells like you.” Michael said with a sigh.

Ian clutched the pillow tighter. “Aw, why did you say that? I was already to have phone sex and you get all mushy on me.”

“Oh please. We’ve never once managed to have phone sex.”

“We haven’t?”

“No, remember that time when you were in LA and I was home? I kept dropping the phone and missed all the good parts.”

“Um. Maybe we should invest in speaker phones.”

“That might work but I think we need to face the grim reality. We’re just not phone sex people; I like watching you and touching you and smelling you.”

“And I supposed video conferencing and webcams are out of the question?”

“I’d say so. Sometimes I do think with setting up the video camera one night so we could watch ourselves but we don’t own a video camera and I have no intention of becoming the next Pam and Tommy.”

“What if we watched it the next morning and erased it?”

There was silence on the line for a full minute. “Are you serious?”

“I kind of like the idea, actually.”

“You’re really serious?”

“Of course, you’re the one who brought it up. Why are you so shocked?”

“I- I just never thought you’d consider it.”

“Don’t tell me I’ve finally managed to shock you?”

“You have. Okay, put that on the list of things we can talk about when I get back. We both need to get some sleep and I need to take care of something before Grant comes back.”

“Hold on there. Are you going to masturbate?”

“Ian! Ah, yes. Okay? I am going to masturbate. Happy?”

“Well no because I’m not there to watch.” Ian paused and considered the situation. “But I’m dropping the subject, you have to swim tomorrow and I don’t want you to get wound up over this.”

Michael gave a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks. I miss you.”

“I miss yoo. o. Love you.”

“Love you too. I’ll call you tomorrow around six your time.”

“I’ll be here. Sleep well, love.”

“You too. Night.”

“Night.”

Ian hung up the phone and reached over to turn off the light.

December 5, 2009 Philadelphia, PA

Kicking off his shoes and removing his clothes, Grant turned on the shower and unpacked a few of his toiletries. A minute later he stepped gratefully under the hot spray and felt the goose bumps finally subside. Going from Dallas’ relatively balmy weather to the cold relentless rain of Philadelphia had been an unwelcome experience.

The rain turned to tiny missiles of ice by the time they’d arrived back to the house in Chestnut Hill and Grant blessed the fact that his friends had a garage. He hated cold weather in any form and as the weather forecast called for sleet through the night; he knew he would not be making the trip to New York in the morning.

His other trips to the city had been quite productive and he had plenty of data to work with so it wasn’t imperative that he be there anyway. The truth was that most of the data could have been gathered by the Consulate staff and sent to him in Australia but he liked doing his own research.

As an assistant to the Assistant Minister of Trade, he had access for his research and a title to get to even more researct itt it was a job in name only. He didn’t receive a salary and no one expected him to keep regular hours or any hours at all. The payoff for the Consulate would be when he finished his thesis.

Instead of paying for a study on why certain investments in the US failed while others thrived, Grant was doing the work for them. He knew the deal had only been possible because he was a sports star but he didn’t mind taking advantage of that fact in this situation.

He turned off the water, quickly dried off and pulled on his heavy sweats and thick socks. Even with the heat turned up, it was cold upstairs so he got under the covers and grabbed a couple of pages of data while he waited for Pieter to call.

Thirty minutes later, his cell phone rang and he picked it up in an absent manner. “Hello?”

“Grant?”

“Pieter!” Grant sat up and set aside his paperwork. “Sorry, I forgot you were calling.”

Pieter laughed knowingly, “You were fiddling with your numbers again, weren’t you?”

“You make it sound so dirty.”

“With you it almost is beminde. How was Dallas?”

“Warmer than here. Michael did well, he set another record for the 200 meter fly and he wasn’t even breathing hard afterwards.”

“I saw and may I mention how dashing you looked when you congratulated him?”

“That was on TV there?”

“No, it was on the front page of the sports paper. Along with speculation regarding you and Michael.”

“Oh. But I was only there because had had to be here.”

“We know that but you know how the press is; any chance to make a scandal. I know you’re long over your little crush on the man.” Pieter said teasingly.

“Very funny. How are things there?”

“Much the same. She’s being very stubborn; the mediator is ready to tear her hair out. Remind me again what an idiot I was not to have a pre-nuptial.”

“You weren’t an idiot, you were just hoping for the best. Is there any chance she’ll finally give in?”

“Not until I give her what she really wants this is not possible. We can’t go back and undo what happened. So she will drag this out until the bitter end.”

Grant paused and then made the offer he didn’t really want to make, “Should I not come there for Christmas?”

“Why would you not come? Has something happened?” Pieter asked in a panicked voice.

“No, I just thought if she’s that mad; it might not be wise if I was in town.”

“Grant, please come. She will just have to deal with it; you did nothing wrong. I’m trying to be a gentleman about the situation but she’ll have to find out eventually.”

Sitting up, Grant tossed the covers aside and got up to pace. “She doesn’t know about us?”

“Of course not. You think I want to add insult onto injury? She knows I’ve found someone else but not who. She’d kill both of us.”

“I guess she would.” Grant sat back down. “So you’ll pick me up on the nineteenth?”

“Yes. I can’t wait to see you again. You have no idea.”

“You think I don’t? After living here with the lovebirds? You’ll need to check me for diabetes by the time I get there.”

Pieter laughed and said with a suggestive tone that Grant read loud and clear. “That’s not all I’m going to check.”

“Oh, tell me more my little witch doctor.” Grant settled down for a nice long talk.

&&

Michael looked up from his reading when Ian walked into the room. “Hey baby.”

“Hello, love. The dishes are done and I’ve locked up everything for the night. Have you finished reading it yet?”

“Yep.”

“Okay then.” Ian sat down a few feet from Michael and crossed his legs under him, stealing the end of the blanket Michael was using. They stared at each other for a minute and then started laughing when they realized they were each waiting for the other to start.

“It’s my journal so I’ll go first.” Ian offered.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Right. I’m going to apologize for what I was doing before the wedding. I used our wedding for my own selfish purposes and I’m sorry. I also want to thank you for stepping in and giving me that wake up call.”

“I accept your apology but as my intervention was a bit too passive aggressive, I’m giving you a pass on the gratitude.”

“That’s awfully big of you. Now that we’ve got the Oscar portion of this event over, let’s move on. On some level, I knew what I was doing but I just couldn’t stop myself. I guess that’s an improvement over two years ago or it could just be a sign that I’ve spent way too much time in therapy.”

Michael waved his hand with a small grin, “Oh! Do I get a vote?”

Ian grinned back and squeezed Michael’s foot. “No comments from the peanut gallery. I’m also going to admit that if I really wanted to, I could have gotten out of the seminar on Friday but I wasn’t ready to face going to a competition just yet.”

“Okay, that’s totally understandable.” Michael nodded. “I sort of suspected that was the reason why that seminar suddenly popped up a week ago but its okay. I did miss you but it was fun hanging out with Grant. Is this going to be a problem with other meets?”

“No because I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Yes. Oh, wait.” Ian got up and headed for his study.

Michael leaned over and watched that tight little ass walk away, admiring the view. The view coming back was even nicer considering Ian wasn’t wearing any undies and his sweats outlined his-.

“Are you checking me out?” Ian asked with a knowing grin as he stopped right in front of Michael and posed a little.

“Uh huh.”

“Shall I leave the two of you alone?” Ian motioned between his groin and Michael and sat down.

“What?” Michael shook his head and put those thoughts away. “Oh, sorry.”

“Michael, the day you stop doing that is the day I’m going to wonder if I’ve lost all my charms. Anyway, take a look at this.” Ian handed over a couple of sheets of paper he’d printed off the internet.

“An application? Are you getting a job?” Michael asked.

“No, it’s an application to compete at the Gay Games next year in Paris.”

Michael looked at him and then read the page a little more carefully. “Oh. I’ve heard of them but-”

“Yes, I know. We’re gay, we’re married but we’re not very active in the community.”

“Ian, we don’t even know anyone in the community aside from people back in Michigan.”

“What about Grant and Pieter?”

“Sure but it’s not like they’re out so-” Michael said absently as he flipped to the next page.

“Wait a minute! They’re not out?”

Michael gave Ian a look and realized Ian wasn’t kidding. “Uh, no. Pieter’s still married and considering the circumstances, they’re waiting until Minouche signs the divorce papers. No one even knows they’re dating, Ian.”

“But they were sharing a cabin and kissing in the corridors!”

“Officially, they were in their own cabins and they told us because we caught them in said corridor at four in the morning. I know we were a little busy that week but surely you noticed that they didn’t act like a couple in front of everyone else.”

“No I didn’t notice but I’ll take your word on it. What circumstances and why hasn’t Grant told me any of this?”

“He’s probably been waiting for you to ask. That’s all I had to do.”

“God.” Ian bent over and pis his head in Michael’s lap. “I’m not only self-involved, I’m a bad friend.”

“Hey, stop putting yourself down. Grant’s only been back a few weeks and you’ve both been busy. When he is here he’s been holed up in his room with his data.” Michael reached down to run his fingers through Ian’s hair soothingly as he continued to read. “Oh my god! Did you see some of these times?”

“Yes. It means I have a good shot at not embarrassing myself even without an extensive training regime.”

“I’ll say; you could do 1:50 in the 200 Free in your sleep.”

“It’s nice that you have that kind of confidence in me but I’m not doing this to break records. It’s just going to be a way for me to have fun with swimming again. I’ve really enjoyed being with you in the pool and I miss racing. I considered the Masters program but the IGLA will let me swim without the citizenship issue.” Ian rubbed his face against the nubby blanket and relaxed into the scalp massage.

“I see. I know the Philadelphia Fins practice on Sundays at Kuch but I didn’t know they affiliated with the IGLA, I thought they were just a Masters club.”

“So do you have any objections?”

“Heck no. If this is what you want to do, I’m all for it.”

“Good. Can you try using both hands up there?”

Michael chuckled and put the papers down. He dug his other hand into Ian’s neck and listened with a pleased smile at Ian’s groan of satisfaction.

“So what were the circumstances?”

“Huh?”

“With Grant and Pieter.” The way Michael’s hands stilled for a moment piqued Ian’s interest, “you mentioned circumstances.”

“Um. Are you sure you don’t want to ask Grant?” Michael hedged.

“I will but can you give me the highlights so I’m not going in blind?”

“The highlights? Minouche lied about wanting to have children; she had her tubes tied five years ago. Grant found out and he confronted her, he tried to give her a chance to come clean with Pieter. Instead she told Pieter that Grant had hit on her. Pieter decided to call Grant to find out what really happened. Pieter was devastated when Grant told him but he's getting over it with Grant's help.”

“She really did that? Poor Pieter.”

“I know. I couldn’t believe it either. You know the rest of the story but Pieter hasn’t told anyone why Minouche left; he especially didn’t want to tell us. Not exactly the best news you could share with friends heading into their own wedding.”

“Why would she do something like that to him? Pieter’s the sweetest guy in the world.”

“I think she just wanted him out of swimming but I don’t know for sure.”

“Unbelievable. Wait, how did Grant find out?”

Michael stopped to think about it. “Um. I don’t know. But that’s something you can ask him; I’m out of info.”

“You’ve certainly proven your worth as my loyal minion.”

“Thank you dear.”

The magic hands continued for a few minutes and Ian considered taking his man and those hands upstairs but he was much too relaxed at the moment.

“Do you ever feel guilty that we’re not more out?”

Well that woke up him. “I don’t know. How much more out could we be?”

“We’ve never been to a Pride parade; we don’t go to any types of meetings. We don’t even go out dancing anymore.”

“We can go dancing whenever you want you know.”

“I know but sometimes I’d like to do more.”

“Then we’ll do more. I will admit that I’m much more comfortable with the idea of doing more now that I don’t have to deal with any repercussions from the AOC. I know I should have done more if only for anyone else who came after me but I wanted to swim.”

“It’s not like you were totally silent on the subject Ian. You raised quite a fuss over the Commonwealth Games fiasco. I think it’s hard knowing what to do sometimes and how far you can push without turning yourself into a martyr. You made your point about the AOC and ever since Derrick got tossed out, they’ve been looking into some of the problems.”

“All right then, since you’re still competing I’ll follow your lead on this subject. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to take a look around and see what there is out there. When are you going to make your splash with the Fins?”

“I was planning to check it out next Sunday. Do you want to come along?”

“Sure. It might be fun. You know, the longer I rub your head the less time I have to rub on other parts of you.”

Ian immediately sat up. “Shall I see if the dogs would like to go outside?”

“Okay, I’ll just wash up the cups. I don’t want them sitting all night.”

“Go on, I’ll do it while they’re taking care of business.”

“I’ll meet you upstairs then.” Michael gave Ian a quick kiss and started towards the stairs. “Any particular position you want to find me in when you get up there?”

“Surprise me.”
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The Sweet Life