But he had just finished his second year of High School, and had made the varsity squad. He wasn't first string, but had been knocking at that door, and knew that with those seniors who had graduated gone he would be a valuable player the coming year. He had come with all his attentions focused on improving his game during this month of camp.
That had been his intention upon arrival. But then he'd seen Kelly. Little shrimpy Kelly from across the county, who'd been attending the camp only a year less than he. Brace-faced, straighthaired, scrawny and quiet; that had described Kelly just the past summer.
But Kelly had changed this past year. Her braces were off revealing perfectly straight, dazzling white teeth set within a cute mouth. She had purchased contact lenses and had her hair styled. Where her gymnastic leotard had shown practically nothing the year before, now it showed off some very nice curves. Her gymnastics uniform revealed a blooming chest, a tiny waist, and curvy hips. Her laugh came out naturally, not forced at all, and her brown eyes sparkled especially (he was sure) when she looked at him.
Tommy didn't know if this was love, but he sure knew it was at least lust. Every moment he had free he spent watching Kelly practice, and when he wasn't free he was thinking about her. He had had girlfriends in the past, but nothing to write home about. Kelly, though, made his blood boil as no other girl ever had.
And for her part, Kelly felt a new confidence around Tommy that she hadn't in the past years. She had become quite good in the field of gymnastics, specializing in the free exercise event to the point where she had actually won that category in a varsity meet the previous year. Her all-around was still lacking, but it was coming along well, and the confidence she had gained in gymnastics had carried over into her social life. She was no longer shy and awkward around boys but could hold her own in a conversation without becoming self-conscious. She had seen Tommy hanging around the gym when he could've been horsing around with his soccer buddies, and she knew that it was she he was interested in. She had had a boyfriend the past year, but one of her own grade, and she hadn't let him get past second base. He had been nice enough, but didn't really know what he was doing at the theatre the time she'd let him feel inside her blouse. He ended up with more of a handful of her bra than of her, and she had left the movie feeling cheated somehow.
But Tommy was older, and was likely to be more experienced with girls. They had been away from home only a week, but she enjoyed being on her own and making her own decisions. Thinking about Tommy had begun to occupy much of her thoughts.
Dana and Jim got a call the next morning from Barbara inviting them to go horseback riding. The two of them still had a couple of days to finish unpacking before Jim's new job kicked in, but Mike had gone back to work at the television station that morning. Barbara was there with Tanya, but Tanya had informed her that she had other plans for the day before attending the night's concert that she had visited for.
Dana checked with Jimmy who heartily agreed, and they made plans to meet late that afternoon to go for the ride. That way they could unpack more and still go riding.
That afternoon Tommy had a scrimmage and scored two of his team's three goals. He was feeling pretty good, and enjoyed the adulation of his teammates. Most wanted to hang out at the snack bar and get pizza after the game, but he begged off. He wanted to see Kelly at her gymnastic meet. She had told him that she had added something into her free-exercise routine just for him.
He showered, put on some shorts and other warm weather clothes, and headed for the gym. The stands were mostly empty, but the floor was cluttered with girls, coaches, and judges participating in an organized chaos. There were little youngsters walking the beam, running down the floor to hurl themselves over the horse, swinging on the uneven bars, tumbling on the mats, and walking around in huddled giggling groups.
Tommy finally saw Kelly chatting with the older team members on the far side of the floor, so he found a place half way up in the stands to watch. Over the next hour she did her uneven bar routine, but fell off once. Then she did the balance beam, and he marveled at her ability to stay on while doing flips. Finally she took the floor for her free-exercise routine.
He noticed that her leotards were cut a little higher than most of the other girls', and showed a good bit of her cheeks as she did her different routines. But even before she began he saw her hike the back up just a little more and glance up his way. He leaned forward in anticipation of her performance.
The music began and she did a tumbling routine diagonally across the floor that included some impressively fast flips and twists. When she landed the music went into a flowing classical piece and her movements matched. She had a good bit of dance included in the routine, and some of it had her laying on the floor, rolling and spinning to the music. After another quick twisting run of flips the music became sassy and she launced into another part of her choreography.
As the jazzy music concluded she paused, looked his way, shimmied her hips, blew him a kiss, and went into her final series of tumbles and acrobatics. The crowd saw her actions as just part of the routine that showed her "personality," but Tommy knew that he was included in her thoughts as she had designed her program.
When she finished there was a smattering of applause from the few spectators in the gym, not the least of which came from Tommy. She had him mesmerized with her gymnastics, and was flattered that she could find a way to work him into her routine. She received lots of hugs from the other girls on her team, and then she headed up the stands to where he sat.
"What did you think?" she asked shyly.
"You were great!" he replied enthusiastically. "Your routine had me amazed, and I think I got a kiss in the middle of it."
Kelly just looked down and nodded her head.
There was a brief awkward pause, and then he changed the subject. "Hey, do ya want to go for some food?"
"Sure. Just let me get changed and I'll be right out." She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then bounced on down the stands towards the locker room. She waited outside the door until her score flashed up indicating she had won the gold. She had to postpone her shower to receive the medal, and finally headed into the locker room amidst her jubilant teammates.
About ten minutes later she reappeared carrying a tote bag, and looking very fresh. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore sneakers, a very short stretch skirt and a neon green bare-midriff cut-off T-shirt. The shirt would have really drawn attention to her blossoming chest, except for the fact that her skirt really hugged her little derrier. While he stood there trying to take in her upper and lower curves simultaneously, she grabbed him by the hand and headed him out into the warm evening toward the snack bar.
Jim and Dana met Barbara about 3 o'clock that day and drove their sedan out of the city to a horse farm in the foothills of the mountains about 30 miles away. Dana had packed a picnic dinner, and they pulled up to the riding stables around 4 p.m. Barbara was an experienced rider and was outfitted for the task. She had on tight fitting brown riding pants, knee-high leather boots, and a cotton plaid shirt with bandana around her neck. Jimmy again thought about the many personas this woman could exhibit. He and Dana had on jeans and comfortable shirts.
Barbara showed them how to saddle the horses, joking all the while about their mounts being hung like horses.
They carefully tied the bag with their picnic dinner to Barbara's saddle, and then she led them across the meadow toward the beckoning hills.
Dana's horse was named Thunder, which she was not informed of until they had already begun their ride. She wasn't very sure of herself with a beast this size and it sensed it. Thunder took off toward the path most familiar, and Jimmy and Barbara had to dig in hard to keep up. Once under the coolness of the trees her horse slowed to a trot, and she breathed a sigh of relief.