> # Ryan's Unexpected Swim

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> Posted by wetlass on December 06, 2014 at 18:44:09

> IPart 1 of my story. Hope you enjoy it! One thing in this is implausible; check the disclaimer at the bottom. I'm not giving a lot of background, either. I was going to, but I'd rather just get this guy wet already!

> -----------------------------

> "I guess you don't want to go out on the lake," Kevin said. "After what happened last year."

> "No, I'll go." Ryan looked at the skiff, bobbing in the water by the dock. "It wasn't the getting wet part that bothered me," he said. "I wouldn't get in a boat if I wasn't prepared to go overboard."

> "Really? I just try not to go overboard. Or capsize."

> "But sometimes it can't be helped. So you have to assume the risk. You'll remember I wasn't wearing anything good. So I didn't mind the unexpected swim." A jolt went through Ryan as he said those words. He heard them again in his head: "unexpected swim". What had truly been unexpected was how much he had enjoyed it. "It's that you didn't tell me we had to hike five miles--"

> "One mile."

> "Well, it feels like five when you're soaking wet and the sun's gone behind the mountains, and you can't even take your shoes off because of the gravel. That got less fun every minute." Ryan scowled, hiding that the few minutes he had spent in the lake had been the most fun he'd had all summer. He followed Kevin down to the dock, reflecting on that day.

> Oars in hand, Ryan and Kevin had set off for the opposite shore. Ryan was wearing jeans and a cotton rugby shirt under a cable-knit sweater. Less than halfway across, Ryan's arms were tired and his rowing was out of sync with Kevin's. Soon the skiff was wobbling. Trying to follow Kevin's instructions, he only upset the balance further. The left side of the skiff dipped below the waterline, and liquid ice slopped in over his legs and into his boots. He tried to lean right at the same time Kevin turned around, and rolled left again. "No--" Ryan's cry of alarm ended in a gurgle; the skiff was no longer beneath him and the lake was over his head.

> Ryan pedaled his legs frantically and cringed as the frigid water flowed into, under and through every layer of clothing. He reached towards the light above him and broke the surface in a frenzy of spluttering, flailing limbs and scattered droplets. Too proud to call for help, he took in quick gulps of air punctuated by yelps. Ryan could swim, but the lake still might claim him: its strength-sapping cold and his heavy, waterlogged boots made treading water nearly impossible.

> "Ryan!" Kevin's voice rang out. "Ryan, you all right?" Still struggling, his head tipped back to keep clear of the water, Ryan could only answer with a gasp. He clenched his teeth and lunged forward full-length. Praying that he could stay afloat by swimming with all his might, he kicked hard with his feet and carved the water with his arms. A few strokes more and Ryan began to relax. The cold was now invigorating, sending a thrill running from the pit of his stomach up to his throat. His sweater floated around him while the shirt alternately stuck to him and ballooned with water, and his jeans and underwear clung to his skin in a way that excited him like nothing ever before.

> "Ryan!" Kevin called again. "Come back here and be rescued!"

> Ryan pivoted and began swimming back. Kevin's rowing towards him caused him to overshot the skiff again. Groaning, he paddled back and held to the side with numb hands. "It's cold-d-d," he explained. "I have to keep -- keep moving."

> "You have to get out of there." Kevin took hold of him under one arm and pulled him up enough for Ryan to sling one leg over the side, then the other. "That's right; gotcha." Ryan lay face down in the skiff, his feet dangling over the stern, not sure why he was smiling when he was shivering, soaked to the skin, and had seemingly brought half the lake with him.

> "Sure you're all right?" Kevin asked as Ryan squirmed upright and settled back on his seat, wriggling a bit to enhance the feeling of water being squeezed from denim.

> "Yes...yes. Th-thank you." Ryan wrapped his arms around himself. "Thank you." He took note of his dripping shirtsleeves, his sweater pulled out of shape, and his jeans molded to him, especially in one area he hoped Kevin wouldn't notice.

> "I am sorry. That was my fault."

> "I forgive you." Ryan took up his oars again. "Let's...k-keep on. Rowing will keep me warm."

> I'm going to make that happen again, he thought now.

> --------------------------------

> Disclaimer: Of course, if Ryan really fell overboard in the way I described (which probably wouldn't happen that way either), he'd be in no danger. He'd be so close to the skiff that he could just reach out and grab the side; wouldn't even have to tread water. So I'm using cartoon physics: the instant he hits the water, he's instantly transported twenty feet away. Because what fun is it if he climbs right out and says "Gosh, that water's cold! Glad I'm out of it!"?

> Follow Ups:

> - Re: Ryan's Unexpected Swim LevilovR 21:31:22 12/06/2014 (1)
>   - Re: Ryan's Unexpected Swim wetlass 04:15:46 12/07/2014 (0)
> - Re: Ryan's Unexpected Swim aaron 19:13:25 12/06/2014 (1)
>   - Re: Ryan's Unexpected Swim wetlass 04:16:55 12/07/2014 (0)

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