Valencia Vicory
I was almost done with my 200m butterfly, coming up for air I heard Michael scream “Vicory for Victory.” That was the only incentive I needed, I pushed myself the last few meters, slamming the wall a fraction of a second before the second place swimmer. Pulling myself out of the pool, I threw my arms around Michael’s neck, kissing him on the mouth. Even though our time apart while we were competing was doing wonders for our swimming, it was driving me crazy. I couldn’t wait until I could spend another night in his arms.
The rest of the days spent competing for swimming all blurred together. After my 200m butterfly I only had the 200m individual medley, which I got silver in, and the 4x200m freestyle relay, which we got gold in. I barely had time to focus on what was happening. I remember watching Michael win silver in the 200m butterfly, gold in the 200m individual medley, gold in the 4x100 medley relay, and gold in the 100m butterfly, making him the most decorated Olympian.
I barely had time to breath before I was whisked off to synchronized swimming heats. I had a day off from everything before finals for synchronized swimming. Sofia and I had to perfect our routine if we wanted to medal, so we had decided that we needed to completely forget about it and calm down before finals. I slipped quietly into Michael’s room as Ryan was leaving. Smiling as I saw that he was still asleep, I pounced on his bed landing on top of him.
Michael’s bewildered look quickly turned into a gigantic smile. We didn’t even say anything more than I love you. We spent the entire day cuddled next to each other. I had missed him so much even though I had seen him for a few minutes every day it wasn’t enough. I stayed in bed with him until Sofia came pounding on the door the next day, yelling at me that we needed to get ready. I dragged myself to where Sofia attacked me with waterproof make up, hairspray, and practically shoved me into my swimsuit.
“Nervous?” I asked her, helping her apply her makeup.
“So nervous.” She replied, sighing.
We finished getting ready quickly, going to sit where we were designated to. Clutching hands and sitting with our heads bowed we talked over our routine. We were favored for silver, but no one even considered us gold medal contenders. We had gotten a bronze in the duet category, and were very proud of our accomplishments with a routine that we hadn’t been working on for very long.
Soaring through our routine we couldn’t help but feel pleased with ourselves, which resulted in us jumping up and down as we waited for the last country to go. We were currently in position to take the gold! The ceremony that night brought Sofia and I to tears as I stood on the podium with a gold medal around my neck at my last Olympic games.
That night Michael took me out to a fancy restaurant, surprising me with the appearance of all of our friends and teammates, including his sisters and his mom who I hadn’t been able to see in months. We all spent the evening talking, eating, and dancing. Michael and I were twirling around on the dance floor, I leaned my head against his chest, knowing that he was the one for me.
Later, as I laid down with my head against Michael’s chest, both of us breathing heavily after our ‘victory romp between the sheets’ I couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t proposed to me yet. I knew that we had agreed to hold off on letting our relation get any deeper until after the Olympics, but what about before that. Shaking the thought from my head I told myself that when the time was right, Michael would know it and I would just have to trust him.
My eyelids fluttered shut and I felt Michael kiss my forehead and whisper that he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with me. I fell asleep with a smile planted on my face, and woke up with it still planted there. I considered closing my eyes again, but I saw what time it was and jumped up, causing Michael to jolt awake.
“What on-” Michael started, before he realized that we had agreed to do an interview in ten minutes.
“No time, just get dressed.” I yelled, jumping into the shower, and throwing on jeans and a random shirt I found on the floor.
Panting, Michael and I made it to the interview just a few minutes late. Apologizing a billion times, we were forgiven and led to our seats before cameras.
“I love when you wear my shirts, if only we were in my room and that was all you were wearing,” Michael whispered into my ear, causing my face to turn beat red when I realized that I had in fact snagged one of Michael’s shirts.
“So Michael, you got a record breaking twenty-two medals, are you sure there isn’t going to be any more added to that list in Rio?” the interviewer asked, interrupting our conversation.
“There are no more medals in my future. I am officially retiring, and staying retired this time. I just want to spend all day with Valencia and our dogs, cuddling on our couch and doing nothing with our time.” Michael answered, smiling over at me.
“Trust me, he’s actually done this time,” I laughed, slipping my hand into his.
“Valencia, you got medals in two different sports, and quite a few medals I must say. How does it feel to be the first to be able to do that? And is there going to be any more medals in Rio?”
“It was amazing. Being able to combine my two passions into one sport was the best retirement present I could have asked for. Getting the gold just made it even better. I couldn’t have done it if my teammate wasn’t Sofia. No more medals for me, though. As Michael said, all we’re doing is sitting around with my babies, Herman and Stella.” I answered. The rest of the interview was more boring questions and we had to confirm our retirement several more times before we were let go back to our hotel, where we started packing up our stuff so we could return home and start our futures.
My friend read this and was freaking out that this was the end. Trust me, there's a few more chapters to go! :D
