Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. Author: Ribeye98 Title: Thornwood Episode III - In training Part: 26 - 30 of 59 Summary: Rachel enters swim training while her spiral of arousal and embarrassment continues. Keywords: fsolo, mast, exhib, voy, humil, nc, mf, Mf, 1st, bd, blackmail, toys, nosex *************************************************************************** ********** Author's Note Copyright 2012 all rights reserved. Please do not repost this story on other sites without permission (ribeye98@gmail.com). By accessing this story, the reader hereby certifies that he/she is of an appropriate age to access adult material and that such material is permitted in the locality or country where the reader resides. The following is a creative work of fiction, and the characters or incidents described do not resemble any persons or events in the real world. You can read the rest of this story at https://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Ribeye98/www/ *************************************************************************** ********** Thornwood Episode III - In Training Part 26 Susan was not happy to discover Richard had taken the mostly naked girl with him to get dinner. She didn't like it when she couldn't keep an eye on him. She forgave him later that night when he gave her the most potent sexual experience of her life. Keeping a naked teenage goddess around really did work better than Viagra. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Rachel looked longingly at the house. That the sun had gone down was little consolation. She was still leaving the safety of Eric's house while wearing nothing save a loincloth of an apron. **It might as well be nothing. Richard was just as surprised by the request as Rachel, but he wasn't about to decline. He jumped at the offer and even opened the car door for her. Every street light they passed made Rachel sick, but she didn't try to cover herself. She had to act like she didn't mind being topless. She couldn't let him know her suspicion. Not until she figured out the truth. Richard might not even be part of the conspiracy; though it made sense for him to be involved. He was definitely one of the primary beneficiaries of her exposure. They drove along in silence; Richard barely watching the empty road. When they came to their first stop light, he finally spoke. "Are you cold?" he was staring at her perky nipples. Judging by the way they wrinkled up into stiff points, it was a good guess. Rachel blushed. She shook her head and said nothing. When the light finally changed and the car was moving, Richard spoke up again. "So, did you have some place in mind? I was thinking sub sandwiches or burgers." Rachel weighed both options. The burger place had a drive-through which could be embarrassing. At the sub shop, she could stay in relative safety of the car while Richard went inside. "Uh, sandwich, I guess." Rachel slumped down in her seat as they turned onto a busier road which had more street lights. Richard had seen her bare breasts several times over by now. This was no worse than being home...as long as no one else saw her. When they had driven two or three miles, they turned into a strip mall where the sub shop was located. He took Rachel's order and headed inside. The dome lights came on and flooded the interior with light. Rachel curled into a ball. It became clear that something was wrong when the dome lights didn't turn off after a few seconds. With one arm over her bosom, she reached up and fiddled with the overhead buttons. No luck. The headlights of another car approaching made Rachel duck back down. She felt like a nude figurine in a display case. Anyone who happened by was sure to notice her. **This sucks. Rachel dared to peek out the window. The coast was clear, but that could change at any moment. She would be better off waiting in the shadows between cars than trapped in this bright cage. Just then a truck turned into the parking lot. It was all the motivation she needed. She slipped out the passenger side and quietly closed the door. The dome light stayed on. The parking lot was warm on her bare feet; but not uncomfortably so. Rachel stayed low and sneaked around the front between Richard's car and an SUV. She huddled there as the truck parked a few spaces down and its passengers exited. They walked right behind Richard's car. Had she decided to stay in the car, they would have seen her for sure. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief that she had made the right decision. The busiest traffic this time of night centered on the sub shop. Before long the owner of the SUV returned and took away her hiding spot. So Rachel started looking for a safer spot further away from the crowds. She didn't want to move too far and risk being left when Richard got back to his car. As she scanned the area, she noticed the thrift store a few places down from the sub shop. Oh how far she could stretch $50 at a place like that! She didn't mind the styles at all. In fact, thrift store clothing was considered trendy fashion these days. And it was close enough to Eric's house that she could walk if she had to! Rachel was so happy she would have marched right over in her apron and started shopping. But she didn't have her money. It was at home in her backpack. And the store didn't look open anyway. All the lights were off. **I wonder what their hours are. It was a trivial challenge but at least it would give her something to do while she waited. Nonetheless, the anticipation of undertaking a nearly naked stunt made her body tingle with excitement. Driven by that excitement, she began her journey to the thrift store. The journey took longer because of the roundabout route. Moving covertly from car to car and staying away from the parking lot's few light poles added some distance. But she would rather be safe than sorry. The closest car to the thrift store awning was about 30 feet away. Rachel left the last source of cover and made an excited sprint across the open space to the building. She was a bit more exposed out here, but still not likely to be seen. Except for the sub shop, most of the tired stores in this strip mall were either closed for the night or out of business. A dull glow from the sign overhead illuminated the naked girl slightly, but Rachel figured she was too far away for anyone to tell. At least the glow gave off enough light for her to read the hours. Rachel was delighted to learn the store would be open tomorrow until 6:00pm; just enough time to make it over here after swim practice. Triumphantly, Rachel followed the same route back to Richard's car. She stayed on high alert because something could still happen. But she was feeling pretty confident. Just then a caravan of cars turned into the parking lot. A group of young drivers making a food run. They looked to be about Rachel's age. Another rush hit her. If they only knew there was a naked girl sneaking around the parking lot! She'd had her fun sneaking around naked in the shadows, but her idea of fun did not include actually being seen. Rachel should have waited until they were all inside the building before making the last move. But her illicit bravery overwhelmed her and she was feeling risky. Keeping both eyes on the group of students, she stood tall for the last 10 feet and marched straight to the car. **Hmm. Looks like the stupid dome light finally went off. She pulled the handle but the door didn't open. Thinking it had locked automatically, Rachel had to suppress her panic. She wasn't in any real danger as long as she stayed calm. Looking for a solution, she noticed the back window was rolled down a few inches. **How did I not notice that before? It was just big enough for her to reach in and unlock it from the inside. Rachel praised her ingenuity as she squeezed her long skinny arm between the gap in the window with some contortion. With her whole arm in the window, her warm, bare breast pressed up against the cold glass sending a shiver over her body. Forgetting she was supposed to be searching for the lock, she pressed her entire body against the car's cool side panel eliciting more shivers and a whimper. Her body, supercharged by arousal, was radiating heat. As she fumbled for the lock, Rachel paused to experience the sheer exhilaration of exposure. She was home free. Why not take a moment to enjoy it? Not once did it cross her mind that she might be breaking into the wrong car...TO BE CONTINUED Thornwood Episode III - In Training Part 27 "HONK...HONK...HONK" All at once, the car began blasting its horn and the headlights flashed. Everyone in the parking lot heard the commotion. Rachel froze for a few seconds trying to figure out what had happened. Then she peered in the window. **Wait a minute. This isn't Richard's car! Oh shit! Every second, more and more people turned their attention her way. She couldn't be caught trying to break into someone else's car. Not dressed like this. She would be forever labeled the naked car thief. Rachel yanked her arm but it didn't budge. It was wedged between the glass and the frame. She squirmed against the car as some people started coming to investigate. Her heart was now pounding. She should have moved her arm further down the sill where the gap was bigger, but the situation made it hard to stay calm and the noise from the alarm made it hard to concentrate. The alarm switched to an even louder annoying whoop. The naked girl struggled harder but the car refused to release her arm. She was trapped. Rachel frantically reached up with her other arm and heaved with all her might. All at once the tempered glass gave way and shattered into little pebbles. She felt a stabbing pain in her elbow, but at least she was free. The sound of breaking glass got more people's attention. All thoughts fled from her brain except the raw instinct to run. Rachel took off in a dead sprint. She ran toward the emptiest part of the parking lot. Someone yelled for her to stop, but she didn't dare; not dressed like this. Past the parking lot was a field with a fence around it. The fence was too tall to climb. Rachel turned and followed it away from the road. Still running, Rachel came to an open space in the fence. It was darker here, but too bright to feel safe. She needed a real hiding place. The car alarm stopped but another alarm was raised as people arrived at the crime scene and saw the broken glass. Once it was determined which direction the perpetrator had run fled, the chase was on. Rachel ran toward the center of the field as yells went out behind her. She wanted to stay away from the edges where she was most likely to be caught. She came upon some playground equipment and realized she was in a neighborhood park. She scampered up a tunnel slide before daring to look back at the parking lot. Someone had driven their car over to the edge of the parking lot and was shining the headlights on high beam into the park. A few others were walking the fence line hot on her trail. Rachel took a minute to catch her breath. She was in great shape, but her muscles had worked hard all afternoon. They did not like the idea of more running. When the police lights appeared, Rachel really started to get worried. A group of concerned citizens huddled around the police car. They kept pointing into the park. The policeman had a spotlight attached to his cruiser. He turned it on and started scanning the park. A few people went to their cars. They were being sent to watch the other exits while the rest organized into a search squad to enter the park. Rachel was running out of time to escape. She guessed the park would be completely fenced in with hopefully a break on each of the four sides. If she ran straight to the opposite gate, she might get there before it was blocked off. She waited until the spotlight passed by the playground equipment then took off running in the opposite direction from the gate she had entered. Hope flickered when she came within sight of the open gate. But when she got near, a car arrived and two men got out. She turned and dove behind a small play castle. It was barely big enough to hide her naked body, but still at least 20 paces from freedom. One of the men was talking on his cell phone; probably coordinating with the main group. The other stood in the gap like a guard sentry and lit a cigarette. With two exits blocked, the park started to feel like a cage. She was trembling with fear, but she didn't give up quite yet. Her options were dwindling but she had to try something. On her left the park bordered the busy road. That exit was surely blocked off by now. On her right, the park backed up to a neighborhood. The searchers would have to travel on foot to get there, but it was no guarantee they weren't there already. Rachel turned back to the men at the gate. This was still her best option. She might be able to force her way through if she ran fast enough and caught them by surprise. They might catch a glimpse of her as she ran by, but it was becoming more and more likely that someone would see her naked body; especially if she didn't do something soon. The seconds ticked by as Rachel waited for the right moment. She was close enough to hear them. The phone guy told the sentry that a search committee had entered the park over by the mini mall. When the sentry turned around to ask him something, she seized the moment. **Now! Rachel jumped up and charged toward the gate. She silently ran one step, two, three. He didn't turn around. She built her courage as she ran. Using a technique she employed while swimming, she visualized achieving her goal. She WOULD make it through that gate and settle for nothing less. No one would stop her. Her arms were pumping and her legs gave her everything they had left. Over half way there and the sentry was still distracted. Her feet were flying but made no noise on the soft grass. This was it. She would lean into him and knock him back to make an opening. Then she would keep running down a sidewalk leading away from the park. They wouldn't be able to follow her in their car and would never catch her on foot. Only a few more steps. But just as Rachel was about to strike, she slipped on some gravel. Both men heard the noise and the sentry turned around on full alert. "...what the hell?" Rachel was too close to change course or stop. She skidded right into the sentry as he reached out with two strong hands to grab her. She tried to pull away, but his grip was much too strong for her and held tight. How foolish she had been to think she could overwhelm this fully grown man. She had officially been caught. She lowered her head and tried not to cry. But for once, her nakedness proved an asset. The men were expecting to catch some scummy hoodlum, not a gorgeous naked goddess. When the sentry realized what his hands were grasping; he loosened his grip on the naked young lady. Sensing the change, Rachel yanked as hard as she could and miraculously came free. The sentry yelped and reached for her again, but she ducked under his reach. Then she took off in the opposite direction while both men yelled for her to freeze and took up pursuit. All the while, the caller was talking excitedly into his phone. Rachel was easily able to outrun the two middle-aged smokers. And her fortune finally started to turn. She made for the park's last exit which was still clear. Like a bullet she shot through the gate and into the adjoining neighborhood. She kept running at least a block before ducking into an alley. Immediately her hands shot between her legs and started working as she tried to control her breathing. The naked streak had made her horny, but she couldn't afford to deal with that right now. She was still in plenty of danger. She had escaped the commotion behind her, but patrols were surely out looking for her. And without clothes, she couldn't exactly hitch a ride with someone. She needed to keep moving if she was going to make it back to Eric's house on foot. Rachel didn't know this neighborhood, but she knew the general direction to go. Forcing her hands away from their pleasure, she resumed her trek. It took over an hour to complete the trip back to Eric's house. Carefully choosing her path and ducking behind bushes and trees when necessary, she made her way home. The question of the pinnacle nagged her as she approached. She still hadn't found out if it was real. At this point, she would rather endure the temporary humiliation and know the truth than play peek-a-boob with Richard all evening and remain in doubt. She saw Eric's parents waiting at the front door as she approached. Rachel tried to act as casual as a naked girl who had been running from the police could be. "I decided to get some air and walk home" was the only explanation she gave. The excuse was absurd, but what else could they do but believe her? She was disheveled and still mostly naked, but as long as she kept her mouth shut, no one would ever learn of the mischief she had just caused...TO BE CONTINUED Thornwood Episode III - In Training Part 28 Richard was visibly relieved to see her appear strolling down the street. He had left her in the car to go into the sub shop. When he returned, she was gone and there was quite a commotion in the parking lot. He didn't stick around to learn the whole story but apparently someone's car had been broken into. He never suspected that Rachel was the culprit, but he was concerned that something had happened to her. He could only imagine the damage it would do to his political career. The headline would read "Local politician drives teenager to her demise. Naked body found near scene." He was extremely happy that she had returned unharmed. Even though she was only wearing a skimpy apron and was completely topless, Rachel walked straight to the computer and sat down to resume her search. By now she was willing to trade a little humiliation for the sake of expediently learning the truth. No sooner had she clicked on the Bystek.com home page than she noticed a link in the footer. It said "new product announcements" with a flashing star next to it to draw attention. **How did I miss that? The pinnacle was the second product on the announcement list. Rachel sat stunned as she read through the press release. She didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't argue with the evidence. The announcement linked to a product page which showed the pinnacle as being in the prototype stage. That explained why she couldn't find it in the catalog. She remembered Coach Ron mentioning something about having connections at Bystek aquatic. He must have acquired it the same way they got all the exotic training equipment. Now that she had uncovered the proof, Rachel started looking for more info. She found a PDF labeled `manual (prototype)' and started reading. Most of it was a blank template except for the section on cleaning. According to the manual, the pinnacle was self-cleaning inside the box. It used UV light for disinfection along with a soap and water cleaning cycle. That explained the power cord. When she had finished reading, she sighed and turned toward Eric's parents. Resigned to her fate, Rachel gave up trying to hide her nakedness from Richard. She went and pulled the clean laundry out of the washer then marched herself back through the living room toward the back yard. **Modesty must yield to propriety. Modesty must yield to propriety. Rachel kept reminding herself of the phrase as she hung the laundry out to dry. She hated being worked like a servant in the evening after a long day. She hated being treated like a dress-up doll in the mornings before school. And she was tired of being practically naked around the house all the time. From morning to night, her modesty was tested without reprieve. While waiting for the clothes to dry, Rachel started the pinnacle on a cleaning cycle. Then she sat by herself in the dining room and ate her sandwich. Driven to exhaustion by the day's events, she barely had the energy to chew. She looked down at her tiny apron and tried to figure out how she had got to this point. **So the pinnacle is real. But when did it become appropriate to dress like this around the house? I guess some people do it. But I've never heard of it before. Starting with the tryout, circumstances had gradually chipped away at her old sense of modesty. First it was a new uniform and only while swimming. Then came the nightgown. Then her school outfits became more revealing. Now she was down to a loin cloth apron in the evenings and probably wouldn't remember how to put a bra on if she had one! She showed more and more skin with each passing day. Where would it end? Willingly baring her breasts for certain activities was a big hurdle. Her nipples were such an obvious indicator of her boundless arousal. Even now, if she were to walk into the living room, Richard would stare at her perfect mounds with fascination and her nipples would instantly perk up under his gaze. Why did she have to treat it as normal while he got to ogle over her breasts like a horny teenager? And how could she hide her feelings with her nipples on display and betraying her constantly? At this point, she only had one intimate thing left; her pussy. Her mind clung to that final caveat. While her overall clothing coverage had shrunk, both the uniform and the apron still preserved her modesty where it apparently mattered. She took solace in knowing that, as long as her pussy was covered, she could still be properly dressed. After finishing the laundry, Rachel changed into her cup-less nightgown. The short gown had lace trim around the bottom which gave tantalizing glimpses of her pussy. No amount of tugging on the hem would get it to properly cover her down there. So she gave up and placed one hand over her crotch. She had to draw the line somewhere. Preserving her modesty with her hand, Rachel stood proud as she went back downstairs to say `goodnight'. Her breasts were framed and on display like before and Richard drooled over them as usual. But this time she didn't try to hide. If she was going to make it through swim season with the pinnacle she had to give up on that battle and stop being childish. She overruled her misgivings and forced herself to let him have a good look before taking her leave. Back upstairs exhaustion overtook her before she hit the pillow. She slept soundly in the belief that she had surely survived the worst of her ordeals. Her belief couldn't be more wrong...TO BE CONTINUED Thornwood Episode III - In Training Part 29 Another day another skimpy dress. Rachel continued to marvel at the creative methods Eric's mom employed to `fix' her outfits. This time it was the summer dress. At the mall, the dress had been both too short and too tight all around. Susan's fix was to pop the seams down both sides of the dress so that it was two separate pieces of fabric; a front panel and a back. Then she laced them back together with long string like a shoelace; creating a gap between panels. Susan designed it to be able to grow with her by loosening the strings and widening the gaps. Rachel had to adjust the laces twice. Without additional fabric, the dress would continue to expose more and more of Rachel's body as she grew. And nature had already been so kind to the young lady. She looked like she was literally bursting at the seams in places. But that wasn't the worst part. The only real solution to the length problem was more fabric. But Susan's solution was to make the spaghetti straps longer. The dress could be lowered, but this did not actually solve anything. Now her round breasts bulged out the top and threatened to spring out of the dress. Because she no longer had any panties, she couldn't risk pulling the dress up any higher without exposing her bare pussy mound to the world. Her butt cheeks peeked out the bottom as well. It would have been obscene if she didn't have her backpack for extra coverage. This was the worst outfit Susan had come up with so far. But Rachel didn't even bother to protest. She knew how that would turn out. She just focused on getting through school one more time. **This is the last day** she told herself. After swim practice she was going to walk to the thrift store and buy some real clothes. She would settle for anything at this point as long as it was not child size. She would give anything to walk through the halls of Thornwood High School in a normal sized outfit. She had yet to really get to know any of her classmates this year. It's hard to make friends when you're the new girl. It doesn't help when you are parading around school in skimpy clothes on a daily basis. She had come to expect the stares she got from the other students; though she could never get used to it. The boys leered at her like she was a piece of meat. The girls gave her dirty looks and whispered to each other as she walked by. She endured it and took comfort that it would soon come to an end. By the end of the day, word had obviously got around that she wasn't wearing panties. Rachel figured it out when she saw a group of horny nerds waiting at the bottom of the stairs as she approached. She didn't give them the satisfaction. She flipped them off and found another route. Unfortunately, her luck ran out just before last period. Rachel was casually walking down the hall; mentally congratulating herself for making it through the day without a major incident. But the color drained from her face when she turned the corner. "Well, well, well. My birds are telling me things, you naughty little bunny. Somebody's been hopping around without her underwear today." Brenda the bully got a special joy from harassing Rachel ever since their first meeting in the lunch room. "It's pay day. Do you have my money or is someone going to class naked today?" Being so distracted by her myriad other problems, Rachel kept forgetting about Brenda. Now it was finally catching up to her. She was about to pay for her negligence. Then Rachel remembered the $50 from Eric in her backpack. She fumbled over her words. "I don't suppose...you...have change?" Brenda and her gang burst out laughing at that. To Rachel, that $50 represented her salvation from this extended nightmare of exposure. She had hung all her hopes on using that money today to buy some proper clothes. She even considered letting Brenda take her dress. She could sneak home naked and make her way to the thrift store. Anything was better than giving up the cash. Brenda sensed the internal conflict within the girl. She made the decision easy by grabbing Rachel's backpack and digging around until she found the bill. "Let's see. $5 promised TWO days ago. Add $5 per day of interest and a small penalty for late payment. You're in luck, bunny. That comes to exactly $50. We'll call it even." She stuffed the cash in her pocket. "No!" Rachel cried out. Brenda rose up to her full height and dared her to object again. She looked twice Rachel's size now and Rachel got the message. $50 was a small price to pay to be rid of Brenda's harassment. Rachel gave up trying to pay attention in her last class. With Eric's money gone, her evening plans had been destroyed. She had come so close only to have the escape slip from her grasp once again. She stewed in her own pity for an hour. But she cheered up a bit when the class ended. It was time for swim practice. Rachel stood with trepidation over the pinnacle box. Having worn it yesterday, she wasn't worried about her teammates seeing her in it. But no one had witnessed her inserting or removing it. That was the embarrassing part. She repeated her practice of stalling while the rest of the team trickled out to the pool. Only Ellie noticed the strange behavior and stayed to investigate. In the few short days since they'd met, Rachel and Ellie shared much between them. If they could talk freely about their experience in the warm down tub, why shouldn't she know about the pinnacle? If Rachel could trust anyone, it was her. Ellie's initial shock at seeing the complete pinnacle soon morphed into wide-eyed fascination. "...and you stick this...thing...in your..." "Anchor device", Rachel corrected "...and, yes." "Anchor device" Ellie couldn't take her eyes off it. "Can I hold it?" "Sure" Rachel sat the box down. Ellie eagerly reached down and picked it up, "ooh". She held it in her hands with the tip pointed at the ceiling. One hand was wrapped around the base near the protective outer disc. She moved her other hand up its length feeling the ridges and bumps along the way. "Does it hurt?" Ellie squeezed the shaft and giggled as the tip bulged. "I can't believe you were wearing this at practice yesterday. I can't believe it's real." If she didn't know it was a swim accessory, Ellie would have guessed it to be some kind of masturbation aid or sex toy. "It's a prototype." Rachel told Ellie about searching the website last night. She left out the naked carjacking incident. She rubbed her elbow as she talked. She had a pretty big bruise and the ligaments were a little tender. She hoped she hadn't injured it seriously when she broke the car window last night. Ellie was too distracted to listen. She remained fixated on the device; weighing it in her petite hands. "I want one. You're so lucky. So, how do you insert it?" **She's going to see it eventually. Rachel sat down and relaxed her muscles. Ellie's juvenile excitement was a distraction. She was practically giddy with anticipation. Rachel spread her legs and positioned the tip right at her opening. Then a few seconds ticked by with nothing happening. Having an audience was making things more difficult for her. "This is stupid." She pulled the pinnacle away and sighed. "No way" Ellie really wanted to see how the pinnacle worked. But she could tell she was making her friend nervous. She leaned back a little to give the girl some room. "Come on, Rach. It's no big deal. You did it yesterday. Just do it so we can get to practice." Drawing confidence from Ellie's encouragement, Rachel moved the pinnacle back in position. **Once you get going, don't stop. Just keep pushing until it's completely in. That's the best way to do it. Then, without further hesitation, Rachel began the insertion...TO BE CONTINUED Thornwood Episode III - In Training Part 30 Stars burst in front of her eyes as Rachel steadily forced the pinnacle inside. Her internal muscles tried to squeeze closed before the pinnacle could invade. She squirmed with discomfort but kept her legs spread and did not stop until it was inserted up to the hilt. It was completely deflated to its smallest size, yet the memory of yesterday's impaling caused a sensation of fullness in her young canal. A muscle spasm hit Rachel when she stood up. It was her pussy's way of sending a warning signal. It wasn't going to let her forget what happened yesterday. But Rachel was more prepared this time around. She was in control. She would make sure the device stayed deflated this time. She turned to her friend. Ellie sat with her jaw slack and a strange look on her face. It was a mix of innocent surprise and yearning; with just a hint of jealousy. It made Rachel uneasy. "Done! How does it look?" Ellie was speechless. She nodded and tried to process what she just witnessed. She had seen Rachel at practice yesterday with something over her crotch but assumed it was some kind of decal. She never stopped to wonder how it was attached. Picturing what was going on behind the disc put her in shock. Ellie couldn't stop thinking about what it would feel like to have a pinnacle of her own. "You would tell me if I were making a mistake, right?" Rachel fished for confirmation to counteract the doubt Ellie's gaze created. After a moment, Ellie finally looked up and gave her verdict, "I'm sure it's fine as long as Coach Ron said so" then she casually added "...and he only had this one?" "Yes, like I said. It's a prototype. Now come one. Let's get to practice before we get in trouble." 5 minutes in and Rachel started to question why she kept looking forward to practice so much. Surrounded by at least a million dollars in training equipment and all Coach Ron wanted to do was lap drills. No amount of technique would matter if the kids were too slow or had no finishing kick at the end of a race. His plan was to work them until they dropped and develop technique later. It was a perfectly sound training strategy but was little consolation to the kids. In reality Rachel didn't mind the lap drills. Sure, she would rather be at one of the fancy training stations. She felt like she didn't really need all this extra conditioning. She was probably in better shape than any of her teammates. But she would do it to help the team get better. After all, at least she was swimming. This was the only place she truly felt comfortable with her state of undress. Last summer she had endured plenty of boring days alone at the community center. As her body developed, so too did her mental willpower. That willpower had been severely tested these past few days. She could use a little mindless boredom about now. It wasn't all physical conditioning, though. She had developed a pretty good swimming technique, too. Her weaker strokes could probably use some work, but she had a natural talent for steady kicks and measured breathing. Today she took it easy on account of her elbow. No point in pushing herself for no reason. With her uniform she could coast and still finish in the top three every lap. **The pinnacle is less of a hindrance today. Maybe I'm getting used to swimming with it. Rachel's worries about the pinnacle slipping were unfounded. The anchor held firm and didn't require any inflation as practice wore on. Though the pinnacle did not hinder her, it was impossible to ignore. Nestled tightly within her crevice; it provided steady pressure. On kick turns she felt a particularly strong tweak. But the sensation was not painful and therefore not worth fretting over. One way to pass the boredom was to daydream. Rachel tried to let her mind wander as she swam. But the regular signals from between her legs kept bringing her thoughts back to the pinnacle. The irregular and unexpected spasms weren't helping. At first she was angry at her inability to ignore the signals. She took it as a personal failure to control her body. But then she was reminded of what the original brochure from Coach Ron said. The pinnacle was designed to exercise muscle groups only found in the female body to improve endurance and speed. It was a ridiculous claim, but she might as well give it a chance. She had nothing better to do as she swam, so she started experimenting. On every fourth stroke between breaths she purposely squeezed her lower muscles tight over the shaft. After that she felt no more irregular spasms. It became less like a hiccup and more like swallowing. She was able to control her body after all, as long as she didn't forget to squeeze regularly. It was easier than trying to fight or ignore the constant stimulation. **Stroke, kick, kick, stroke, breathe, stroke, kick, kick, squeeze! It took a couple laps before this new stroke pattern felt normal. But once she adjusted to the new rhythm Rachel found the pinnacle to be no problem. In fact it was quite enjoyable. The squeezes continued and drove her ever onward. Rachel couldn't understand how this was supposed to improve her lap times. But somehow it made sense to keep squeezing. She didn't get any faster, but as the practice wore on her pace didn't drop off either. Perhaps there was something to the endurance claim after all. After practice, she couldn't deny she had exercised some new muscles. She felt sore but happy. She could adapt to this new workout routine if that's what it took to become the best. She would attack it with the same vigorous determination that had made her such a good swimmer in the first place. Things were looking up once again for Rachel. But when she got home, a fight with Eric ruined her evening...TO BE CONTINUED

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