I win! But...

Santiago and I were pretty much evenly matched. He had more experience in the water so I shouldn't be surprised that he beat me to the buoy. When it was my turn to circle back, I had a renewed motivation. It was my birthday so I wasn't going to let anybody else show me up, not even one of my best friends. Plus, I really wanted to collect my prize from Sage. As I propelled myself off the buoy I kicked in the water like I never kicked before. Just like that, I felt a weight lift from my waist, as if some kind of resistance just slid right off my legs and I was swimming faster than I was before. Feeling more aerodynamic with my determination to win, I sped past Santiago right to the shore. I was welcomed with a crowd full of cheering fan girls...

I won!

Sage came forward with her applause while I was still waist deep in the water. I pumped my fists up in the air in victory as I emerged from the ocean. As my feet rejoined the warm sand, the applause of my female coworkers became a thunderous uproar. Sage actually blushed as she looked me up and down.

Man, victory must look really cool on me.

To make the occasion more noteworthy, both Cassidy and Zayne came zooming in with their high definition cameras and started flashing pictures of me from every angle. This gave all the other girls around me the idea to pull out their own cameras and phones to preserve this moment. I was feeling really good about myself right now so I started posing dramatically for Cassidy and Zayne's pictures. I flexed my biceps and pecs with a tremendous smile on my face as I jumped into various poses for my adoring audience. I bulged my arms in the air and across my chest, I held up peace signs, I winked flirtatiously while pointing my fingers like pistols at the crowd, and I blew everyone kisses as their cheering grew even louder. All the while my eyes constantly kept returning to sexy Sage, who seemed to be cracking up about something.

"Oh Lord! This is the hottest thing I have ever seen!"

"He is so damn sexy when he poses like that!"

"Mmmn, I can't get enough of that bod!"

"Take more pictures, I am getting off on this view tonight!"

Wow, these guys just can't get enough of me! And I couldn't get enough of their praise. I leaped in a circle to show off my delts and dorsal muscles to my screaming public. I had the crowd eating out of the palm of my hand...at least that is what I thought.

With my back facing the accumulation of women, I spotted Santiago returning from second place. As he looked at me his face contorted with worry. Waving his arms in the air he tried to yell something but I couldn't hear anything between the clicking of cameras and deafening applause. Resorting to pantomime, he pointed at his eyes and then towards the ground. Is he trying to tell me to look down? When I didn't react immediately, he pointed out towards the ocean in the direction of the buoy. Turning my focus out at sea, I saw a ragged blue garment floating in the water...uh oh...as familiarity descended, reality came crashing upon me.

With my fists now resting on my hips, I should I have realized it sooner. Between the excitement from the cheers and the adrenaline I completely overlooked my predicament like some kind of idiot! Numbly, I slowly turned around to face the crowd again while my heart was palpitating. I don't know why I did that. For I knew exactly what was happening now. The reason why I felt so light swimming back from the buoy, the reason why there is a pair of blue swim trunks now floating in the sea behind me, the reason why Sage looked so embarrassed, the reason why all the women cheered so thunderously when I came out of the water, the reason why Cassidy and Zayne look like cats in the cream as they took endless high definition photos of me...

I was making eye contact with Sage who was having the time of her life grinning from ear to ear. I patted down my swim suit area and surely enough...I felt only skin. Sage rubbed her legs together invitingly and I looked down. You already guessed it...I was naked! Those old blue swim trunks without a drawstring must have slipped off when I pushed off the buoy. I owe my victory to a humiliating disrobing. My face lit up like a Christmas tree. I crossed my legs and threw my arms in front of myself as the bevy of cameras clicked away at my exposed body.