AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey folks. This marks the 15th chapter since my return in August. I would love to hear from you with your thoughts on events after those 15 chapters. I'd also like to offer my thanks to everyone who has left consistent feedback on each chapter since I returned. Despite my love of writing, your engagement with my story is my ultimate reason for writing. The last comment I have before the chapter is that I wrote a standalone piece that covers what happened between the last chapter and this one, which is intended for mature audiences. You can find it on my profile. I guess as my latest reviewer for the piece said, you can call it Chapter 62A.
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Sixty-Three: Pool Day: Part One
Hereford
Saturday, 1 December, 2007
Chuck woke, taking his first conscious breaths of the day, feeling the warmth of his girlfriend's body snuggled up against him.
His eyes soon opened to the sight of Sarah's blonde hair cascading over his face, a gentle reminder of their closeness.
Chuck couldn't help but smile as he pulled her closer, savouring the sensation of her body pressed against his.
Sarah felt the movement and backed herself into him in reply.
"Good morning, baby," he whispered, taking a firm squeeze of her bare chest.
"Morning," she moaned, her voice hoarse with sleep. "Head hurts."
Chuck kissed her head in reply.
He then moved his arm that was around Sarah into a position he could see and raised his head to check the time.
"Oh, crap!" he exclaimed, his observations complete.
Sarah groaned in complaint, the loudness of his voice disorientating her in her less than functional present hungover state.
"Sorry, beautiful," he whispered. "But it's almost one in the afternoon. We have to get up."
Sarah emitted her loudest moan in complaint so far.
"I hear you, baby," he breathed, taking a firm hold of her again and nuzzling his head into the back of hers. "But we have to be at the pool by two and we still need to shower, have breakfast, leave for our places to collect our swimwear, and change clothes. So we're gonna be late regardless, but at least we can be late within a reasonable period as long as we get up right now."
Sarah groaned in complaint again. "I hate being in the army…having teammates who rely on us…getting up so early after getting drunk…having a hangover from hell…and making plans at a stupid time…"
Chuck suppressed fond laughter. "Me too."
She backed her hips into him. "Let's leave the army and take employment in the most casual place possible so we can spend the rest of our time in bed."
He muted laughter again. "I can't think of anybody better to do it with."
"Sweet talking won't get you sex from me again…because I feel too exhausted to even move…as much as I want sex again…"
Chuck stifled further laughter. "We don't have time to, anyway."
Sarah groaned again.
"Come on, let's get up," Chuck encouraged, moving gently to sit them both up in bed.
Sarah grumbled, a sharp, aching pain throbbing through her temple as she raised her hand to massage it. "I'm never drinking again…"
Chuck swallowed a laugh. "I feel the same. But we really don't have time to dawdle. Come on."
With a gentle grip on her hand, he pulled her up from the bed and they walked gingerly towards the connected bathroom inside Cole and Sophie's home.
A few minutes later, they emerged from the bathroom wrapped in towels.
Sarah's gaze fixated on her leopard print dress resting on the bedroom floor. "I have to wear the same clothes… I'm worried about wearing this dress out now."
"Don't worry about that, because I'll gladly buy you a new one," he said with a smile. "But so do I. I'm starting to get used to wearing the same clothes now…"
"That's okay for you because you're a guy," she said, holding back a smirk.
Chuck winced, shooting a hand to his heart. "Ouch. Don't let Cole or Jamie hear you say that."
"I'll kick their ass, too," she said with a smile.
He narrowed his eyes. "That implies you may want to kick my ass."
She nodded, stifling a chuckle. "I do. Because I'm walking funny and unsteady on my feet because of you."
He grinned. "Sorry, but it's too late to complain about those activities now."
"I was drunk. You took advantage of me," she said with a giggle.
He shook his head at her. "You're trouble. I should find someone else before you get me thrown in jail!"
Sarah giggled, then dropped the surrounding towel around her.
Chuck paused all action, his glance locked on her figure.
She caught his glance, then said in amusement, "Still want to find someone else?"
"I'm having second thoughts about that," he said, his eyes locked on her body.
Sarah giggled again, satisfied with his reply.
She then stepped toward him and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "Let's get ready before we're late and Chris kills us."
He nodded.
Sarah turned in search of her bra and panties.
She found her panties on the floor, picking them up, and she climbed into them.
After a moment, she found her bra on top of the duvet too and as she went to pick it up; she froze in place, her glance locked on the sheets.
"Oh god!" she said, flinging a hand to cover her mouth in embarrassment.
Chuck paused from dressing to query her outburst. "What's wrong?"
Sarah changed her horrified glance away from the stained sheets to look at her boyfriend. "Did I do that when we made love?…"
He nodded, suppressing laughter. "Yeah. You did. Neither of us certainly wet the bed, so it was the other thing… from sex."
"Sophie will kill me!" Sarah's cheeks burned with mortification. "It looks a mess!"
Chuck tried to hold back a chuckle but was unsuccessful.
Sarah narrowed her gaze at him. "Thanks for your support on this issue right now, Chuck!"
"Sorry!" he said, trying to control his amusement again, but he failed once more. "It's just hilarious!"
She shook her head, her glance burning into his orbs. "It's not fucking funny, Chuck! It looks like one of us has wet ourselves and they will either know what I've done or think one of us had an accident! I don't want Cole to see this and think badly of me and tell everyone! I don't want Sophie to, either! And what if I've ruined the mattress?!"
Chuck stopped laughing, knowing he should take his girlfriend seriously right now because she wasn't finding the situation amusing, so he was at risk of being a selfish douche again. "They won't say anything or think badly of you," he assured. "I know them both very well and they won't say anything. I promise."
"They will say something because I know I would if somebody left my place looking like this," Sarah said, her voice trembling with dread.
There was no further feeling of amusement for Chuck. "So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know…" she said, troubled in thought.
A few minutes later
Chuck and Sarah moved to take a seat around a breakfast table in Cole and Sophie's kitchen.
They exchanged a glance with Cole and Sophie, who were standing close to each other.
Chuck's greeting was warm and friendly, but Sarah's glance was uneasy and awkward, thinking about the mess she had left behind in their spare bedroom.
"Good morning," Sophie said with a smile.
Chuck held his grin.
"Hey," Sarah said, meeting the friendly English girl's glance.
Cole matched Chuck's warm gaze. "I hope you both slept well."
"We did," Chuck said with a nod. "But we would have preferred to have slept in longer and we regret agreeing to a two o'clock rendezvous at the pool."
Cole chuckled. "You took the next words out of my mouth, Chuck!"
Chuck suppressed fond laughter. "Next time, after getting drunk, I'm not agreeing to anything before four!" he said, shaking his head and raising a hand to his head, which hurt.
Cole pointed in endorsement at Chuck.
Sophie moved to hand Sarah and Chuck a bowl of cereal each.
"Thanks," Sarah said with a smile.
Sophie returned the warm glance to her. "I hope you enjoyed your night with us."
Sarah nodded. "We did."
"So did we!" Cole said with a manly chuckle. "We'll have to do it again a lot more often."
Chuck nodded, holding his loving gaze at his best friend.
Cole, Sarah, and Sophie shared the warm moment with him, each feeling the same and enjoying being in each other's company.
The sound of chairs scraping broke the brief silence as Jamie and Emily arrived and took their seats across from Chuck and Sarah.
"Morning," Jamie said with a warm gaze.
Jamie got an identical reply and gaze from Chuck, Sarah, Cole and Sophie.
"I regret suggesting we all head to the pool at two o'clock now!" Jamie chortled as he rested a hand on his forehead. "The way I'm feeling right now, I won't be ready until six o'clock at the earliest!"
Everyone laughed.
Sarah met Jamie's glance. "We're all feeling the same right now, Jamie."
Jamie increased his laughter and everyone else as they shared a warm moment.
Sophie soon handed cereal bowls to Jamie and Emily, too.
The group entered brief silence for their breakfast.
However, Sarah was only picking at the cereal, the mess she'd left in Cole and Sophie's bedroom at the forefront of her mind.
She soon looked over at Sophie and blurted, "Would it be ok if I can take home the sheets from our room to wash?"
Cole and Jamie erupted in immediate laughter, but Sophie slapped Cole, which made him fight to control his amusement, but he found it difficult.
However, Jamie continued. "Fucking hell!" he roared, unable to stop laughing.
Chuck, noticing Sarah was now very embarrassed, pointed at Jamie in a warning.
Cole, who was still chuckling but in a more muted fashion as he tried to control it, said, "Don't worry about it. We've left Chuck's place in a mess once or twice before when we stayed over."
Sophie nodded, sporting Sarah a reassuring smile. "Usually I'd call Cole out on his crude talk, but this time I agree. And besides, I would be unsatisfied as a host if that hadn't happened."
Chuck suppressed laughter as a grin spread across his face.
Cole, meanwhile, continued his chuckles.
But Sarah remained uncomfortable, finding it hard to look at anyone feeling shame for what she did. "Are you sure because I'd-"
"I'm sure," Sophie said assertively as she moved to rub her hand down Sarah's arm in reassurance. "I don't care how either room was left. We were all drunk and had great fun. That's all that matters. Cole feels the same."
Cole nodded. "Agreed. Forget about it because neither of us will say anything about it. You have our word."
Sarah's concern finally eased as she nodded, happy to let the issue go, saying nothing more.
Chuck went for a topic change. "Besides, the only issue from last night is whether Big Dan's missus will find out that he went back to John's place to get some."
Everyone except Sophie snorted.
"I'm not happy that he did that," Sophie said, her less-than-impressed glance backing up she meant what she said. "I thought everyone on the team was better than that."
Jamie chortled. "Then you don't know Speedy Gonzales, Dan, and John."
Sophie glared at Jamie for his remarks.
However, Chuck waved it off. "Nah, Sophie, he's right. Our team isn't squeaky clean and nobody would ever pretend that we were."
"Well, I'm not happy with it and I'm warning now that if Cole ever does something like that…" she said, directing a burning glance at Cole.
"Don't worry, Sophie," Chuck said, smiling in reassurance. "I'd kill Cole for you if he ever did that to you."
Cole emitted a deep chuckle at the remarks.
"Yeah, and you don't need to worry either, Sarah, because I'd kill Chuck if he did it to you," Jamie said with a nod. "I'm not too happy with Dan's conduct because I agree with Chuck that we all know why he went back to John's place last night. He's still my mate, but this morning, he's nothing but a gobshite for what he's done to his missus in my view."
Everyone nodded.
"Chuck wouldn't ever do that to me anyway," Sarah said, looking around with a smile, before finishing with a loving glance at her boyfriend.
Jamie met Sarah's glance. "Not that I don't agree, but can I ask why you're so sure about that? You've only known each other for two months and I don't advise blindly trusting each other with anything and everything so early, mate."
"I already offered him an amazing time when he was still with his ex-girlfriend," she said with a smirk. "He turned it down and told me why he couldn't ever do that to somebody, even though he knew they were likely going to break up within weeks. So I know he would never do that to me, even if things were bad between us like they were between them. And if he ever did anyway, he wouldn't be breathing anymore."
"I'm starting to question my choice of best man!" Cole said with a rowdy chuckle. "He's lost his marbles turning you down! If I was in that situation, I'd have ditched Jill without a second thought and got with you at that moment!"
Sophie smiled at Chuck, Sarah's words about him reaffirming her belief that he was the best guy she knew. "I'm not questioning it, and I think you made the perfect choice, Cole."
The group shared the warm moment as Cole and Sophie collected their own cereal and moved to sit with Chuck, Sarah, Jamie, and Emily.
After a moment, Sarah and Sophie met each other's glance and paused their cereal.
"God, Sarah, you're such a welcome relief from Chuck's previous girlfriend," Sophie declared with a loving gaze.
Sarah blinked and swallowed. "Am I?"
Everyone nodded in sync, muting laughter as a result when they saw each other nod.
"Sophie's right," Cole said with a warm grin. "We all know it here, and so does everyone else on the team. You blow her away and it's not even a contest. She wasn't in the same league as you and I've not seen Chuck happier in all the time I've known him. And anyway, Sophie knows his ex better than anyone."
"Why?" Sarah asked, glancing between Cole and Sophie.
Sophie drew out a sigh. "I went to the same primary school and then high school as her," she said.
"Wow," Sarah said, narrowing her glance in surprise.
Jamie winced at the revelation.
Chuck stifled laughter because he knew the story already.
Sophie laughed softly. "Yes, so I can tell you she's always been as she is. I knew she was never an ideal match for Chuck, but it was not my business to interfere. I'm just glad he met a nice one, because he deserves it, and so do you."
Sarah smiled at Sophie, and the rest of the group mirrored the actions, each feeling touched by the moment shared between the two new friends.
"I wish I had fresh clothes," Sarah said, attempting to fight off laughter.
Everyone shared the laughter with her.
"Don't worry, mate, you're about the only one who still looks great!" Jamie said.
Sarah snorted, directing a friendly glance at Jamie. "My hair is tousled all over, I've no makeup and a headache from hell. So I'm not sure, Jamie."
"We are," Sophie said with conviction.
Chuck, Cole and Jamie nodded.
"Your natural beauty is striking," Sophie said with a sincere smile. "Chuck's a lucky guy and I'll remind him every time I have to. But as for your headache, I can help with that. I'll fetch some paracetamol."
"I'll get it," Cole said as he moved to stand before Sophie could.
Sophie smiled.
"Yeah, I could use some, too," Chuck said.
"Same here, mate!" Jamie laughed, shaking his head.
As Cole went to fetch the painkillers, Sarah looked at Sophie and smiled. "Your natural looks aren't bad either."
Sophie suppressed joyful laughter. "As I said just earlier, darling, you're such a welcome relief from Chuck's last girlfriend. I think I might have found a great friend."
Sarah matched Sophie's friendly gaze. "Me too."
Chuck laughed fondly, touched by the friendly exchange between two people who meant a great deal to him. "It feels good not being the third wheel anymore."
Cole joined the rest in laughter as he arrived back with the box of over-the-counter drugs. "Not only aren't you the third wheel anymore, Chuck, you've also turned up with a knockout!"
"Hey, don't get any funny ideas, Cole!" Chuck joked, getting revenge on Cole for the times he'd gotten him with that.
Sarah was the only one who didn't laugh, instead taking the comment seriously as she glanced at him. "I would never do that to you, Chuck."
"He knows," Sophie assured with a reassuring smile. "They're just being fools and joking around."
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, they are. And if I thought he thought that, I'd knock him out for insulting a good friend of mine."
Sarah smiled at the remarks while playfulness lit up Cole's face.
"I'm getting more suspicious of Jamie by the day!" Cole joked.
"Shut up, Cole," Sophie said through a narrowed glance at her fiance.
The group shared final amusement and then finished their cereal.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Chuck and Sarah arrived outside the large indoor leisure pool after two p.m.
They were late, but other than Chris in attendance waiting outside the venue, they couldn't see anybody else who had arrived yet.
The young lovers departed Chuck's car and collected two backpacks from the boot containing their swimming attire and towels.
Once they had them, they shared a smile as Chuck closed the boot and they moved to join up with Chris outside the leisure complex.
They walked labouredly towards their team leader, still reeling from the effects of their late night with the team and everything after.
Sarah was walking more gingerly than Chuck because of the intense drunken sexual activities she'd received from him.
"You're late," Chris said with a stern glance once they stopped in front of him.
Sarah went to speak, but Chuck got in first. "I know. We shouldn't have agreed to turn up so early after how drunk we all got at the club. Two o'clock was far too early and some of us should have questioned it."
"Yeah, and by the time we got back to Cole's, and did a few more things, all of us who stayed at Cole's regret having to get up so early," Sarah said.
Chuck nodded.
Chris took a moment in thought. "I'll let you off because I'm feeling the same way. I'm not waiting an hour for everyone to turn up, though."
"That's fair. We'll give them a few more minutes, then start making calls," Chuck said.
Sarah and Chris nodded.
The three teammates paused for two minutes, then they spotted Jamie and Cole arriving in their cars, in convoy.
Jamie and Cole parked their cars, collected their bags, and then linked up with Chuck, Sarah and Chris.
"Sorry we're late," Jamie said with an apologetic nod.
Cole looked at Chris. "The short story is that pillock suggested two o'clock without stopping to think about it."
"Yeah, and none of you questioned it!" Jamie chuckled.
"I know," Chris said, his glance formed. "Chuck and Sarah already told me."
Jamie chortled. "That's the last time I'm ever suggesting an afternoon gathering after getting rat-arsed! Next time, it's evening only!"
The teammates shared laughter, then waited a few minutes until they noticed John Murray's car arrive.
After a minute, John Murray departed his vehicle with Bryce, Big Dan, and Dan's two boys.
The small posse collected their gear from the boot of John's car, then they walked to link up with the team.
"Here they are," Chuck said, glancing at their arrival. "The Three Stooges."
"Fucking hell!" Jamie laughed his head off, shaking his head. "Chuck always has a nickname for everyone when you need it most!"
The group shared the laughter as they glanced around, sharing nods and friendly glances.
"Good night, was it?" Cole asked, lifting his head back in query at the new arrivals.
"Aye," John Murray said with a nod. "We had a blast like you all did at your place."
The full unit shared additional amusement.
"Right then, let's all go in and cool off and recover from how wasted we got last night," Big Dan said with glee, his mood chirpy.
Everyone nodded as they turned and moved to enter the leisure centre.
Bryce looked around at his teammates. "I need to buy some swimwear in here because I haven't got any."
The team snorted, further amplified when Big Dan said, "Fucking hell, Speedy, fella, you'd think with a name like that you'd have some speedos lying around somewhere!"
"He's living up to his other namesake!" Chuck said.
The team turned to look at Chuck as Jamie asked, "What one is that?"
"Curly Howard," Chuck said, chuckling away. "The silly stooge."
Red Team snorted and spat out everywhere to try to hold additional laughter, but most of them failed to control it.
When it calmed, Chris said, "Hurry and buy what you need. We've waited long enough."
"Might I suggest a nice and cushty banana hammock for you, Speedy?" Big Dan said, holding onto his two kids by their shoulders stood in front of him. "It would suit your slender frame very well."
The team spat out again, with most of them succumbing to additional laughter, as well as Dan's kids, who found their dad's joke hilarious.
Red Team queued up and waited to pay their entries into the facility.
Bryce was first up who paid and took an extended moment, deciding what swimming trunks to purchase.
"Hurry up, laddie!" Chris chastised with impatience. "The pool will bloody well close before you finish!"
Big Dan snorted. "He's not being very Speedy, so maybe his nickname will indeed have to change to Curly Howard."
The team shared additional laughter over Dan's latest remark.
Bryce finally settled on his chosen swimwear and purchased a towel, too.
A staff member behind the desk handed him a key to a locker in the changing area to store his belongings while at the pool, then he entered through the turnstiles and beyond the reception area.
The rest of the team then paid their own entries into the facility, received their own keys, and then moved one by one to link up.
"Right, I'll see all of you inside the pool," Chris said.
Everyone nodded, then entered the changing area of the pool, each splitting off to find unoccupied cubicles.
Chuck walked with Sarah for a moment, entering a row housing changing cubicles.
He walked down the aisle and found two unoccupied rooms.
"Two rooms for us. Perfect," Chuck said as he walked past the first and was about to turn to enter the second when he paused because Sarah grabbed hold of him.
He narrowed his eyes and shot back around to face his girlfriend.
She smiled at him, her hold of him changing to grip hold of his shirt.
With her free hand, she gestured him towards her and the unoccupied room he'd walked past.
His gaze narrowed tighter. "I wanted to give you some privacy. Are you s-"
She silenced him by raising a finger to his lips to shush him.
Sarah then returned her hand to grab hold of him, dragging him into the changing room after her.
Once they were inside, she closed the door with her free hand and locked it.
She turned her focus back to her boyfriend, locking eyes with him as she moved to kiss him.
When their kiss ended, Chuck looked at her with a raised eyebrow and whispered, "In here? Are you sure?"
"Shut up and kiss me," she commanded, staring deeply into his eyes.
Sarah's words set Chuck's desire ablaze.
He moved to pull his girlfriend close, his grip strong on her.
Their lips met in a feverish kiss, their yearning for one another growing with every passing moment until they shed their clothes and lost themselves in a world of desire.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Sarah entered the poolside where she saw all of her teammates except her boyfriend in the pool.
The changing area was halfway between the deep and shallow end of the main pool.
She paused to attach the locker key to her ankle via the wrist/ankle band attached to the key.
When finished, she looked back towards the changing area in search of Chuck.
He appeared after a moment.
She shared a smile with him as he approached her.
On his arrival, he moved to scoop her into his arms.
Sarah laughed, not disapproving of his actions as he picked her up and held her against his upper body.
They were a few yards from the water.
Once she was secure around him, Chuck led them with a determined mind towards the water, their teammates behind their actions every step of the way, each cheering them on.
However, several lifeguards disapproved of their actions, each shouting with authority, "No!"
Chuck ignored the calls and scornful looks from the lifeguards and jumped into the pool with Sarah locked around him.
Their actions led to widespread laughter in approval from all of their teammates.
Underwater, they exchanged a smitten lover's look with each other, savouring the moment until they had to appear for air.
Once they came up for air, they shared wide grins and stifled amusement as they moved to kiss.
However, a lifeguard's arrival disrupted their intimacy.
The lifeguard held a less-than-friendly glance towards Chuck. "Oi!" the lifeguard shouted to get Chuck's attention.
Chuck turned to meet the lifeguard's glance bent over at the edge of the poolside looking down at him.
"If you do that again, I'll have you removed!" the lifeguard warned.
Chuck nodded in acknowledgement.
The lifeguard then directed Chuck and Sarah towards the pool rules.
Chuck and Sarah followed his gesture to study them, and then they looked back at the lifeguard and nodded.
The lifeguard, now satisfied with his reprimand, moved on.
Chuck and Sarah turned back to look at each other, sharing amusement.
The rest of the team then joined them, approaching their position.
"This is just what we needed to recover from last night!" Cole said with a grin.
Heads nodded as the team took in the busy indoor swimming pool on a lively Saturday afternoon, the sounds of splashing and laughter filling their ears, and the smell of chlorine overpowering their nostrils.
"We should go clubbing more often rather than Jim's all the time!" Jamie said. "It was a boss night!"
"Well said, mate!" Bryce said in immense excitement.
Big Dan looked at Jamie. "Sounds good to me, fella."
"Aye. But Chuck and Sarah haven't had enough, which is why they took so long coming out," John Murray joked.
Sarah glared at the Scot.
"Oh, here we go, not even five minutes in, and we're throwing jabs already," Chuck complained, shaking his head. "Fair enough. I'll play too. Did you end the night beating the meat in the bathroom again?"
Snorts erupted among the team over Chuck's joke, but Bryce intervened. "Nah, not last night he wasn't, mate."
"And how would you know that?" Cole asked.
Bryce laughed. "Because Dan kicked him out of his bedroom and had John and me stay on his sofas."
The group laughed as Chris shook his head and drew a sigh. "I didn't need to know that."
"Neither did I," Sarah said in immediate agreement. "Just like it's none of your business what Chuck and I do together."
Some of the team nodded while Jamie replied verbally, "She's right as well. It has fuck all to do with any of you what either of them do, so keep your mouths shut about it."
"Well said, Jamie!" Cole said.
Bryce looked around at his teammates. "Did all of you feel that earthquake just before 5 a.m.?"
"Yeah," Chuck nodded. "About the same magnitude as ones I've felt before, so not powerful enough to cause damage beyond a few things falling."
"Yeah, Cole and I had the radio on when he took me to my place to collect my swimming stuff and my car. There are no reports of significant damage, and it's mostly just the South-West and Wales that felt it," Jamie said.
Chris narrowed his glance. "I felt nothing, and it never woke me up."
"It happened, Chris," Cole said with a nod. "Would we lie to you?"
Chris didn't even have to think about that. "Yeah, you would. And now that you've said it, I'm not falling for it! An earthquake, my arse!"
The team shared laughter at their team leader's suspicion despite them all feeling the very real earthquake.
"Always the cynical, isn't he?" Big Dan snorted, gesturing everyone with his thumb to his team leader. "I can assure you there was an earthquake, fella."
"Yeah, fella," John Murray said, nodding. "And we probably caused it, with everything we did at the club and back at our places!"
An eruption of laughter broke out amongst the team except for Chris, who shook his head, refusing to fall for it.
"Honestly, though, at first I didn't think it was an earthquake," Big Dan said, looking around. "My first thought was leaning towards Chris. I thought he'd paid off the gas man to blow up the area and keep us all from having a good time!"
Snorts broke out among the team as they attempted to contain additional amusement.
"Now you've said that my thoughts were leaning towards Jeffster escaping police custody!" Chuck joked.
The team mixed snorts in with spitting their lips to prevent another burst of laughter.
"I knew as soon as it happened that we'd all caused it!" Jamie chortled. "We'd all been deprived of a good time and sex for so long because of our constant ops and lockdown that we all caused the earth to shake and rattle all around us!"
Jamie's remarks caused the team to be unable to hold in their laughter this time, which they shared for a long moment.
"Yeah, Jamie, we all caused it!" Cole let out a manly chuckle as things calmed. "I know I certainly contributed towards it!"
The team laughed again.
"I'm not falling for it!" Chris said, still believing they were having him on.
Big Dan scoffed. "What you believe is irrelevant, fella. Because all of us know what we felt. I nearly fell out of the fucking bed because of it!"
A fresh wave of snorts erupted.
"That wee tosser had me sleep on the sofa and kicked me out of my own bedroom, so he did!" John Murray complained. "My back is aching because of it."
"Good," Chuck and Sarah said in unison.
Chuck and Sarah's comment led to chuckles among the team, but Bryce complained, "Yeah, mine's in agony as well."
"I think Speedy Gonzales was expecting to sleep in the same bed as John!" Chuck said.
"Ya wee tosser!" John Murray hissed while Bryce complained, "Fuck off!"
Big Dan joined the rest in snorting at Chuck's latest remarks, then said, "So I think all of us can agree our activities were too much for the ground to handle. But the only question remains is: whose activities caused it the most? I'm personally going for Chuck and Sarah's."
Chuck and Sarah shot a glare at Big Dan as everyone else laughed at their expense.
However, Bryce soon said, "Actually, you were just as bad, Dan. All of us in John's living room could hear you."
"Aye," John Murray said.
Chuck raised a hand to his chin. "Now that's interesting. I wonder what he was doing in there?"
"The more important question is why Sarah's walking funny, fella," Big Dan said back. "Because Sarah certainly wasn't relegated to sleeping anywhere else, unlike Speedy and John."
Sarah's piercing glare at Big Dan increased in ferocity. "Actually, the more important question is like Chuck said. But what I want to know is how can you live with yourself knowing you cheated on your wife last night?" she asked in a tone loud enough for a few people not part of the team to overhear what she'd said.
Winces erupted among the team as Big Dan narrowed his glance and glared at Sarah. "My kids are over there!" he said, pointing over at his boys, then returned his less-than-friendly glance to Sarah.
"So what?" Chuck said, taking the lead. "If my personal life with Sarah is up for debate, then so is yours and everyone else's on this team who can't keep your mouths shut. Sarah asked an excellent question, one I'd like to know the answer to as well, considering today's hot topic seems to be what Sarah and I get up to in moments that have nothing to do with any of you."
Sarah joined Cole, Bryce, Jamie and Chris in nodding.
"They're right," Jamie said. "If none of you want Chuck or Sarah talking about your personal life, then all you have to do is keep your mouth shut about theirs. It's simple."
"Well said, laddie!" Chris said, nodding in approval at Jamie. "For too long now, Chuck and Sarah's personal lives have been the topic of discussion among the team. So long as you keep making comments about them, I'll support their comments about you."
"Let them talk," Sarah said, rolling her eyes with a less-than-friendly glance at John Murray and Big Dan. "Chuck and I are dating. Exclusively… Unlike some." she finished her glance and fixed it firmly on Big Dan. "So who cares whatever we do together? At least we aren't cheating."
Sarah's comment elicited additional winces as Sarah and Big Dan exchanged an additional stare.
Chuck grinned at what she said but soon tried to lift the tension from the team with a joke. "Now, I didn't agree to exclusive!"
Sarah's gaze shifted away from Dan and locked onto Chuck, her eyes intense and piercing.
Chuck squealed nervously, immediately regretting his joke. "Just kidding!… Honey?…"
"HONEY!" Jamie roared in an immediate laughing fit. "FUCKING HELL!"
The rest of Red Team shared the laughter with Jamie, but a few other swimmers looked at him with disdain because of how loud he was.
Chuck couldn't help but feel like he was about to be devoured by Sarah's intense gaze.
She was looking at him in a way that made him feel like a cornered animal.
Suddenly, she reached out to grab Chuck, pulling him underwater as the rest of the team laughed on, the tension easing.
Once the lovers returned to the surface to join their teammates after a long moment, Jamie chortled, "Now we have our answer as to who the boss is in their relationship."
"It was never in doubt," Cole said with conviction.
Everyone nodded.
Sarah was still shooting Chuck a belittling glance for his teasing, but Chuck was grinning at her.
"I'm never getting with an SAS soldier," Big Dan said, snorting. "They are terrifying."
"She's the boss of all of us now!" Cole joked with a chuckle. "And all it took was Dan pissing her off last night to make her stop caring!"
"I regret that now," Big Dan said, snorting.
The team laughed.
"But Chuck doesn't!" Jamie said through his chuckles.
"After the look he just got from her, fella, I wouldn't be so sure," John Murray joked.
Sarah shot an instant glare at John Murray, identical to the one she gave Chuck.
The amusement increased among the team seeing Sarah's piercing glare directed at John Murray.
"It looks like there's going to be blood in the water!" Jamie chortled. "So let's make all of ourselves scarce before she kills all of us!"
"Good idea!" Cole said instantly.
The team laughed for a last moment, then split off to swim.
Chuck and Sarah remained behind for now, sharing a glance.
"I'm going to kill that Scot before this year is over," Sarah said with conviction, shooting another glare at John Murray, swimming away.
Chuck suppressed laughter. "I'll hide the body and give you an alibi."
Sarah giggled in approval.
Chuck moved to take hold of her where they floated in the pool, then kissed her lips.
"Just for the record," he said as their lips parted. "We are exclusive. Fully exclusive. I was joking to lift the tension."
They shared a smile as they moved to kiss again, then split from each other to join the team in swimming.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Next chapter, the last half of Red Team's day at the pool. There's still a lot of fun to be had for Red Team at the pool, which is why I split the chapter because feedback dropped despite a huge chapter last time out. I'd appreciate a brief review from you today if you're able. Thanks! :)