Cheerleader- Boy for the Cheer

by Daring Diane

  Lee folded the list and headed out in search of Darby. Darby was very chipper as they walked home. Darby had to drag Lee into the house to tell her mom about Lee’s choice. Then the pair ran over to Lee’s house to tell Sally. Both mothers were very excited and proud of the mature way Lee had handled the situation.

  Lee had eventually moved all of his cotton underwear and t-shirts to a box in the closet. He loved the material and the fit of the cheer panties and the different shirts his mom bought for him. Every day he felt like he was on a secret mission of sorts. No matter what he did, or where he went, in the back of his mind he had to remain aware of the fact he was wearing different underwear than all the other guys. He always had to avoid leaving his zipper down. When in a bathroom, he had to make sure no one could see his underwear. If he was in a stall, he never let his underwear show below the partitions. He constantly made sure his underwear was not visible above his pants waist. Having to worry about his underwear all the time was sort of like being a spy. It gave him a little buzz. And yet it also helped him focus on other things.

  On Wednesday, Lee and Darby laid out their plans for the half-time show. Everyone worked hard and setup the timing exercises. After practice, Lee met with Sylvia regarding selections for the cheer competition.

  It was decided twelve members was the right size. Everyone should have a part in the competition. They would try to design the routines so that losing a person would allow them to still compete even thought that might not be possible. They did not want to have more people than could compete. Until they got some experience and learned about the competition, Sylvia wanted to limit the number of students involved.

  Lee was devastated when they identified the members who would not be able to be on the squad. Sylvia insisted that all the girls knew this was a possibility and she would try to explain that next year everyone would get a chance.

  Once they identified the squad members, Sylvia told Lee they would need to get sizes from all the girls. New uniforms would be ordered for the competition squad. Sylvia said one of the shops in town was going to measure all the squad members on Friday after cheer practice. The shop was a few blocks from school and she figured everyone could walk there after practice. She instructed Lee that he would also need to get measured since he and she would also be getting matching accessories. Sylvia was vague about the new uniforms. Lee figured it was new coach shirts or cover-ups to match the squad uniforms.

  The squad’s schedule was pretty regular week to week now. They finalized the program for the weekend. Thursday afternoon, Sylvia sat down during practice with every girl on the squad. Lee figured she must have a secret skill. Even the girls who were told they would not be on the competition squad seemed happy after their talk.

  After practice Friday afternoon Sylvia, Lee and the rest of the competition squad headed to a nearby shop to get measured. It turned out to be a ladies shop that had an on staff tailor. As they entered the shop, Lee was suddenly stuck with the horror that he might have to disrobe for the tailor. He started sweating and looking for a quick exit. As his breathing ramped up, Darby grabbed his hand. “Calm down Lee. We aren’t going to force you to try on dresses.”

  Lee looked at her wide-eyed. Were they going to have to try something on? Darby and several of the girls nearby started laughing.

  “I’m just kidding you.” Darby explained. “Usually, you’re the one pranking me. I finally got you.” Darby was very proud of herself. She held onto Lees arm. Marcia snatched his other arm at the elbow and arm in arm the three made their way into the bowels of a ladies clothing shop. Lee was fascinated by the dresses and different clothing. As they approached the back, there were night gowns and other lingerie before a final section of bras and panties. Lee found himself staring at the intimate items as they slowed near the back of the store.

  There was a three mirrored wall with a raised platform to allow women to see themselves from different angles while the tailor would be able to mark the hem of a long gown. The girls were excited to be in this higher end store. But Marcia and Darby were looking at Lee. Lee was clearly enraptured with the variety of bras and panties on display.

  Marcia reached up and put her hand in front of Lee’s eyes. “Hey mister, these are the secrets of women. You are not allowed to see them.”

  All the girls laughed. Lee was jarred from his staring and now he was embarrassed. He realized that his staring had elicited a physical response which he was now more worried about. He looked at the floor as he tried to kill the blood flow to his nether regions. Luckily, his underwear had a lot of spandex. Because his cheer shorts were so tight, Lee had taken to tucking his manhood which avoided a large bulge in his shorts. He had not wanted to embarrass the girls or himself. At this moment, he thanked the spirits above for spandex and for having tucked himself.

  Interestingly, when practicing with the girls and working on the programs, he had never had a physical reaction like this. He was focused on what he perceived as his job and it never occurred to him to look at the situation as erotic. Now however, Lee was surrounded by delicate items that for some reason fascinated him.

  As Lee tried to relax and kill his physical reaction, the girls all thought he was just embarrassed to be in a women’s store. Everyone laughed and told him it was alright.

  The girls all jumped in line to get measured. Lee was thankful for the time to relax as he waited to be measured last after the other girls. After Lee, Sylvia got herself measured. Then everyone headed home.

  Saturday night was another successful show. Sylvia and Lee congratulated everyone. As with every game, spirits were high after the game. Everyone headed to a local restaurant to have a snack after the game. Lee and Darby’s parents drove several squad members and then found a table as far away from the mayhem as possible. Sylvia showed up and sat with the parents.

  Sylvia talked to both Lee and Darby’s parents about Lee’s decision and about his presentation to the girls. She stressed how every day she was more and more impressed by Lee and his accomplishments. Jack and Sally were appreciative of the compliments and all of them talked about the new competition team and what it might mean.

  Jack looked around and said quietly, “I think we were most impressed when Lee gave his evaluation of the prospects of how the group might perform in their first year. He had no illusions that you guys were suddenly going to go out and win some statewide competition. He gave a succinct evaluation and then told us that he thought it could take years to learn the process and the skills needed to place in the top ranks of these types of competitions. We stressed to him that while that was a mature view of things, he should only talk about it to you. It might deflate the girls otherwise.”

  Sylvia had not had this conversation with Lee. While everything Jack said was true, it had never occurred to her that Lee understood it. “Every day, he does some little thing that impresses me. You should both be very proud.”

  Turning to Erin and Liam, she added, “Darby has performed at a level I would expect from a junior or senior. She has poise and character and demonstrates leadership at every turn. She and Lee are an unparalleled team.”

  The girls were all chattering and giggling. After they had placed their orders, several players from the football team entered. Some of the older girls were dating players and they jumped up to welcome their boyfriends. The players sat at a nearby table.

  Observers hardly noticed that one of the cheer squad was not a girl. Heck, Lee and Darby’s hair was longer than anyone else on the squad. Lee was just hanging out with a group of good friends.

  Chapter 9 – Week Nine

  The final week of the football season, everyone was in the groove. The girls wanted to demonstrate all of the skills they had learned during the season. Lee had a joint planning session on Sunday. Everyone offered ideas and in the end, every one believed they had contributed to the final product.

  The routine would include all the cheer routines for the school with interspersed cheer skill demonstratio
ns. The girls demonstrated control and timing. At the game, the crowd gave the cheerleaders a standing ovation. For the entire second half, all the girls on both squads entertained the crowd and cheered their team on to victory.

  The end of the game was a high and a low at the same time. Everyone was excited and proud of their performances. However, there was a disappointment that it was coming to an end. While everyone knew they would be in school on Monday and see each other, there were hugs and a lot of tears after the game. Lee felt the same emptiness at the realization the season was over. He shed tears along with everyone else. All the girls expressed their gratitude to Lee for all that he had done.

  Chapter 10 – Week Ten

  The following week they skipped practice on Monday and Tuesday which allowed Lee to meet with Sylvia to discuss strategy, practices and potential routines. Darby tagged along because Lee and Darby were always together. Since Darby would be on the squad and had demonstrated a lot of leadership, Sylvia was happy to have her there.

  The first local competitions which were designed to help squads hone their skills would be right after the Christmas holidays. There would be only two practice competitions before the regional competitions leading to state rankings.

  Lee felt that the most important thing was to make sure all squad members were in shape and would be able to perform the necessary elements to at least be counted for points. Sylvia wanted to make sure they were scheduled, qualified and registered for everything so that there would not be any disappointment there. Lee suggested that they start a fitness regime similar to what they had been doing and focus on basic skills that would be involved in the competition. Then as they learned a little more and honed the routines, they could build on the basics.

  Lee and Sylvia agreed that if the girls were in excellent shape that would be a good basis for their squad. They also agreed that for a first year, they should not try anything outrageous. Their goal should be to meet the requirements for each category. Once they had some experience they could try adding more difficulty. Since Lee had only ever seen video of such competitions he felt they needed the real world experience of participating and observing other teams. They all agreed that they would learn a ton at the practice competitions.

  Sylvia had competed in competitions when younger. But, participating was totally different than running a team and the rules changed all the time. Lee and the girls needed to be exposed to things to get them in the right frame of mind.

  The weather had been getting cooler as Thanksgiving approached. Lee wanted to continue to work out outside whenever possible. However, there would be space in the gymnasium for the cheer team to practice as the weather began to deteriorate.

  Beginning Wednesday, the competition team began working out. Lee took them through the exercises and everyone felt pretty good afterwards. They talked and decided that as long as reasonable they would continue to wear the same practice attire as during the football season. However, Lee was going to talk to Coach Steiling to see what her thoughts were about colder weather. The girls suggested wearing tights on their legs. Once everyone was active, if they were inside, the practice tops they had been wearing would be fine. The girls needed to have something to wear home other than shorts or they needed to change clothes at the school. There were some issues with the locker rooms since there were several sports working out inside at the same time.

  Sylvia told Lee to bear with her until Monday and then she would let them know her decision. Lee figured she had something up her sleeve.

  On Saturday, Lee and Darby went for their run. They were surprised when most of the girls showed up expecting there to be a Saturday practice. The problem was it was getting chilly. Being a flexible group, Lee and Darby got everyone working out and the chill was minimized. However, for their snack everyone piled into the Corcoran house. A couple of the girls called their parents to come pick them up so they could avoid walking home in their slightly sweaty workout clothes and freezing to death. They told the girls that this week there would be no Sunday practice.

  Lee looked at Darby, “I think we have to figure something else out for the bad weather.”

  Darby agreed. They helped their mothers clean up the mess and headed to their bedrooms to shower and change.

  Chapter 11 – Week Eleven

  On Monday after school it was raining. Sylvia gathered all the girls and Lee into a group outside her office.

  “Girls, Lee and I have talked and with the changing weather, we are probably going to concentrate on indoor practices from now on. We may go for an outdoor run on certain days, weather permitting. Now, Darby and Lee have been nice enough to host their weekend workouts. But, they have no place to hold these practices in bad weather. Also, the competition will be an indoor event. I have talked to the school and we will have access to the gym and the locker room at assigned times on Saturday and Sunday. Lee and Darby’s mothers enjoy having the weekends with you girls so much that they have volunteered to help chaperone the practices along with me. However, I think we should spread out the snack responsibilities to everyone on the squad.”

  All the girls thought that sounded great.

  Sylvia continued, “I have a much more exciting surprise for everyone. Marcia’s mother owns the ladies store where we all got measured for the cheer squad’s new uniforms. Her mother was very impressed with Marcia’s improvements in this last semester. I am excited to tell you that Marcia’s mother has decided to sponsor the cheer squad and she has purchased all new uniforms for everyone involved. That includes a few extras.”

  The girls all mobbed Marcia. Everyone was excited to see the new uniforms. Sylvia pulled out a large sport duffel bag and placed it on a table. The bag was mostly navy blue and white with gold accent stripes. Those were the school colors. It had handles and a strap from end to end for carrying over the shoulder.

  All the girls oohed and aahed while looking at the new bag. Then Sylvia spun the bag around. The school name was emblazoned in large letters across the bag. On the second row in large letters it said ‘Cheer Squad’ and on the third line in gold letters on a blue portion of the bag it said ‘Darby’. The room went crazy. Darby was squealing.

  The girls all yelled at once, “Do we all get a bag with our name on it? That is so cool. Does anything else have our name on it? Do we get to keep them?”

  Sylvia raised her hand to get everyone to calm down. “Everyone gets a bag. Everyone’s bag has your name on it. And, you get to keep the bag. And there are some more goodies. The uniforms stay with the school at the end of the season. But the other items are a gift from the sponsor. So, let’s see what else is inside.”

  The girl’s excitement was fueled by the fact that the bag was obviously full. Sylvia unzipped the bag and pulled out a shell top which was clearly the upper portion of the uniform. The shell was sleeveless and had wide shoulders of about three inches. The neckline was a V-neck in front. The neckline was not deep. The upper half was white. And the white ended in a V shape 5 inches below the bottom of the V-neck. The bottom of the white V was almost exactly where the center of a bra band would be. The blue started at the armholes and came down the V described above. Then there were two more white stripes separated by blue stripes. The bottom was all blue. The school mascot was named in gold lettering across the upper bust. The letters were highlighted by blue on the edges.

  The girls loved the top.

  Sylvia pulled the uniform skirt out. It was a pleated skirt with blue on the outside and white on the inner pleats. It would hang to mid-thigh.

  A gold cheer brief was next from the bag. It was not underwear. It was to be worn under the skirt and over the participant’s underwear. The following item was a sports bra. It was a gold base with blue stripes like a tiger print with blue instead of black.

  Next came a large bow with a hair clip attached. The bow was blue and white striped and had Darby’s name in gold on the top bow. Sylvia held it up to her head and when placed in her hair, everyone could read Darb
y’s name.

  A second similar bow with Darby’s name was removed which had a built in scrunchie.

  “I know everyone is going to love this.” Sylvia said. She displayed a warmup jacket in the school colors. On the back it said the Mascot name on top. Under that a big megaphone filled a large part of the jacket. Cheer Squad in large letters was below the megaphone.

  Matching warmup pants had Cheer Squad written down the outside of the right leg and it said Darby down the left leg.

  There was a polo shirt that simply said Cheer Squad in a small logo over the left breast. For working out, two sleeveless t-shirts in blue and white with a slightly v-neck in a wicking material also had the small gold logo on the left breast. There was a workout tank top that had a racer back in the same blue and gold tiger pattern of the sports bra and it had a built in wireless sports bra. Then there was a pair of blue and gold striped cheer shorts and a matching pair of cropped leggings that would fit to a few inches below the knee. Two pair of socks with colored accents went well with the brand new pair of cheer tennis shoes in the school colors of blue and white with gold shoe laces.

  Sylvia dug in the bag and pulled out a string backpack with the same logos and Darby’s name which could be used for carrying things to and from practice.

  Several little accessories included floppy conical style hat pointed with yarn ball at peak all in the school colors. In a jewelry box the girls saw earrings and a heart shaped necklace with built in blue jewels on both sides. The pendant had the word Cheer in silver across the top of the heart on one side and Darby’s name on the other side. The earrings, designed for pierced ears, had a silver dangle in the shape of a megaphone and the word Cheer across it in blue and gold. It had a few of the blue jewels which were on the necklace pendant in the opening of the megaphone so they matched the necklace.

  Lee thought everything looked great. As each item was revealed, the girls kept crowding in closer to Darby and Sylvia.