Theo clasped hands with Chad in a manly bro-shake. “What’s up,” he chimed in his confident
baritone.
“ ‘Sup,” Chad replied.
Theo glanced at the clock.
“Early as usual. Good man. I marked a couple extra tasks for you to
complete before closing.”
Chad scanned the clipboard Theo handed him. He nodded.
“You got it.”
Theo rapped his knuckles on the counter. “If you’ve got things under control here,
I’ll hit the weights.”
“Sure. You’re the
boss.”
Yes he was. First in
command; head of this branch. Trusted
enough by Corporate to basically run things however he saw fit. Not bad, for having moved here just two years
prior.
Handing over the keys to Chad, he rubbed his hands together
and looked out across the gym floor.
There was a respectable number of clients in the gym right now, but a set
of free weights was available. He happened
to move toward it at the same time as a customer. The man, a wiry 5’10” or less, took one look
at Theo’s 6’6” frame and his layer upon layer of muscle; and, like a skittish
doe, he quickly averted his gaze and veered right, pretending he’d been heading
for the situp bench all along. Pfft.
This was exactly the sort of beta-male behavior that irritated
Theo. Not every man was a Theo; but
still, have some self-respect!
Loud, punchy music filled the room as he crossed over to the
weights then, with a smirk, took off his shirt and his work pants covering his
athletic shorts beneath. As he got into
it with a tough set of arm curls, it was no surprise when one of the two ladies
nearby slapped her friend on the arm and nodded in his direction. Exchanging coquettish laughs and knowing
smiles, they sauntered forth for a better view, their smoldering eyes settling
on his rippling chest.
These two had been here before – coming just to watch him,
for all he knew. They wouldn’t have been
the first. He tacked some additional
plates then, throwing some powder onto his hands, he took his stance, heaved
the heavy bar off the floor, and thrust it up to his shoulders.
The ladies murmured in approval. A few other pairs of eyes around the gym
turned to watch, as moments later he piled on another hundred pounds on each
side. “Holy hell,” he heard a guy to his
left mutter, in reaction to Theo’s 490 pound deadlift.
A smirk crossed Theo’s lips as he glided through one workout
and another with methodical rhythm. This
was his Zen; his most natural state. The
poised thrill of being completely in his element.
Minutes later, wiping the sweat from his brow, he tossed the
towel aside and strutted past the two babes still watching with close
intent. “Ladies,” his smooth baritone
voice hummed, making them practically purr with pleasure.
“Heyyy, Theo,” said the blonde, slinking toward him. “I’m Julie.”
Damn—she was tall, for a woman.
5’10”, maybe 5’11”? Strap some
heels on her, and he wouldn’t even have to stoop to take her breath away with a
kiss. Taller women always held a special
fascination for him. They seemed more of
a challenge; less overawed by his size.
Making him work a little harder to get them. And the reward, in his experience, was very
much worth the effort.
“And I’m Zoe,” the brunette next to her chimed. Mmm,
but the petite ones had so much to offer too.
The wide-eyed excitement in her gaze, the twitch of her lips as they
curled into a hopeful, eager smile. He
could almost hear her breathless moans already…
His brow arched cockily.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“We hear you’re quite the personal trainer,” Julie purred.
Ah. “I am,” he smoothly affirmed. He stretched his arms behind his head, well
aware of the ladies’ gaze. Although
running the gym occupied much of his time nowadays, he still lent his
long-honed trainer expertise now and then—if the pay was right.
The blonde continued, “We were wondering if you’d like to … train
… us.” She batted her eyes up at
him. “Personally.”
He laughed. Women weren’t
often this forward.
“It’ll be fun,” Zoe chimed sultrily, resting her hand on his
arm.
Theo smiled smoothly.
“What would my girlfriend say, ladies?”
“She doesn’t have to know,” Zoe purred.
Hmph. He knew his boundaries. That didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little
more fun, though. Swiftly he wrapped his
arms around the two ladies’ slender waists and lifted him easily off the ground
in tandem. They both yelped in surprise
and grinned broadly.
“Tempting,” he said to them, “believe me. But I must decline.”
He set them down by the front desk, amidst their disappointed
sighs. “Have a good day, ladies,” he
told them—chuckling not because he enjoyed letting ladies down, but because he
had something even better waiting for him back home.
* * *
Elaine, as usual, went off on him like a firecracker the
moment he stepped in the door. “What the
hell, Theo? I asked you to take a load
down to the recycling center today. Look
at all this crap piling up!”
Theo cracked an amused smile. “You moved in just two weeks ago, and already
you’re trying to run things around here.”
“I—“
“Take it easy,” he quipped.
“No need to blow a fuse over it.”
“Excuse me!?” the petite brunette roared up at him, small
hands on her bony hips. He started past
her, and she punched his arm as hard as she could—simply to get his attention. “Don’t blow me off!” she steamed. “You didn’t help clean up, either! I can’t do everything around here!”
“Can’t you ask Jen to help more?” he replied rationally.
The little pixie threw her hands in the air. “She’s not my daughter! And you know damned well that’s not the point!! I had a hard day at work, and people gave me crap
all afternoon, and now I come home and—“
He took his shirt off, revealing a sea of glistening muscle.
“And…” Elaine said slowly, her eyes drifting down. She snapped out of it and glared up at
him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
she demanded.
“What? I’m still a
little sweaty from work.” He made sure
to flex as he tossed the damp shirt aside and turned to her.
“That’s … hey … stop that,” she protested, eyes gravitating
to his muscles.
“Hmph.” He shrugged
and drew closer, propping his hand on the wall above her head as he leaned over
her. “Is there a problem?” he asked
cockily.
Her face flushed. “I
hate when you do this.” Her eyes flitted
down to his six pack, then his pecs.
“Do what?” he teased.
“Screw you,” she said, then sighed.
Theo drew his head down closer to her. “Baby, we got the house to ourselves for
another hour. You really wanna waste it
talking?”
She bit her lip. “I
hate you,” she reiterated, half-heartedly.
As he brought his lips closer to hers, she put her hand up. “This isn’t over,” she insisted. “Afterwards, we’re still—“
His hand ran through her hair, making her sigh softly.
“We’re still … going to … talk about …”
Her voice gave out as her hulking husband cupped his hand
behind her head and effortlessly pulled her forward. He bent and kissed her deeply, expertly. A flood of desire took hold, but her hand on
his solid chest convinced him to pause.
“Wait,” she said breathily.
“Bedroom. Five minutes.”
“Or I could have you now,”
he deeply hummed.
Elaine bit her lip and slipped away, looking back at him
briefly. “Two minutes,” she conceded,
before flitting into the bedroom.
She was still readying herself when her boyfriend barged in
right at the appointed time. One look at
her in her sheer lingerie set his eyes aflame. He gazed greedily, admiringly, then swiftly
closed the distance and swept her high off the floor.
Elaine’s heart fluttered.
There was no feeling in the world like it: being completely under his power,
helpless to his whims. All the strength
in her body could hardly have budged even one finger of her grip … Not that she
wanted him to. She loved everything he
did. Every—
She yelped as he spun toward the bed and flung her savagely
onto it. Her pupils narrowed and she
clutched the bed in anticipation, instinctively spreading her legs as Theo
descended onto her. His hand crashing
down beside her sent shockwaves through the mattress; she gasped as his free
hand roamed her leg, her torso, her breast. So coarse and rugged was his skin, yet so
gentle and expert his touch.
Confident. Possessive.
He yanked her hair back, making her gasp in excited fright. He kissed her deeply, stoking her passions, spurring
her to unfasten his belt with frantic haste.
Soon his pants came free, and the sight of his rigid pole set her aflame
with breathless awe. A familiar,
irrepressible anxiety took hold of Elaine as his beautiful cock lowered toward
her, the tip of it toying with her swollen clit. Her fingers clutched the sheets already,
bracing. He wouldn’t possibly fit inside her! She always felt that way at first; and yet--
Her cry pierced the air as even his initial probe filled her
as much as she could take. And when he
pressed even deeper…
Theo smiled ravenously as his lover threw her head back and
shrieked again in passion. Many a woman
had Theo conquered; and many more, after he moved on from Elaine. All had been awed by him in their own way. But none were quite so awed, so overwhelmed,
as the petite ones. Like Elaine. The ones who quaked in his presence and held
on for dear life, utterly enraptured, as he had his way. Such a thrill it was, to see that look in her
eyes. Something he could never live
without.
His every thrust commanded her response--each one shriller
than the last. Her head rolled back and
her toes curled, as a wicked smile played across his lips.
* * *
Theo breathed deeply, a satisfied smile on his face as he
gazed at his lover’s disheveled hair and flushed red cheeks. She clutched the bedsheets, then his arm,
sighing. “We should get dressed,” she finally
gathered the will to say.
Theo grunted in reluctant agreement. His daughter, Jen, would be home from her track
and field practice at any moment.
Getting dressed, he picked up his phone—and found an unusual news alert.
“Theo?”
He frowned and turned on the TV.
“… not a hoax. The World Health Organization has confirmed: inexplicable
and rapid height loss in adult men; height gain in adult women--often several
inches in just the last few weeks, with additional change in body mass as well.”
“What in the…?”
“Scientists have yet
to identify the cause of what has been so far been dubbed the Emerging
Gender-Specific Auxological Disorder.”
“EGAD.”
“EGAD, indeed.”
Elaine's eyes were wide.
“Growing? Shrinking? But that’s impossible,” uttered Elaine.
Theo said nothing and turned up the volume.
* * *
Three Months Later
Theo looked up to find Chad walking into the gym, fresh off a
two-month vacation to visit family. Seeing
him now, it was hard not to cringe.
“Chad … what’s up?” Theo greeted, trying to sound normal.
“Everything,” his coworker replied dourly. “Everything is ‘up’.” He tilted his head up toward Theo pointedly. “Lucky you.”
Ouch. “I’m dropping
too,” Theo pointed out. “Four inches,
since you last saw me.”
“A half foot, for me.”
Chad shook his head. “Half a
freaking foot.”
So they were both unlucky, then. Or unluckier
than most. Three inches was about
the average; but some men had hardly shrunk at all, while others had shrunk six
inches, eight inches…
“Probably just means you’ll stop shrinking sooner,” Theo
opined.
Chad scoffed. Yes,
doctors believed the changes would stop eventually—but when? And how small would men get? No one knew.
Theo tried to ask about Chad’s vacation, but Chad didn’t
bite. After sulking a bit, though, he
spoke up. “Where the hell is everybody? It’s usually packed this time of day.”
Yeah… “We’ve lost customers,” Theo admitted. “Lots of them.”
Chad frowned. “Shouldn’t
guys be working out harder than ever?”
“They were, for a while.
But I guess they gave up.”
“Gave up?!” Chad
banged his fist on the counter. “Cowards.”
Theo grunted in agreement.
It was demoralizing to lift weights every day but still lose muscle
mass. Theo had stuck with it
ferociously. Chad no doubt had too –although,
geez, he looked soft.
“I mean, what is
this?” Chad fumed. “There’s as many girls
lifting weights as guys!”
Indeed, about a half dozen of each. Pretty typical nowadays: oftentimes women who
once frequented the ellipticals were as likely now to be found with their hands
wrapped around barbells. And many of the
men, perhaps in self-consciousness or wounded pride, steered increasingly away
from the clang and clamor of weights in favor of the calmer privacy of
treadmills and stationary bikes.
At least, that was Theo’s theory. And really, most patrons got along just fine. Generally, civility reigned. Except for a few bad seeds who…
“Oh hell.”
Chad jerked his head and was just about to ask—when the
front doors slammed open. “HELLO,
BOYS!!” a deep female voice called.
“MISS US??” another chimed.
Theo cursed under his breath as the two thick, athletic
women strolling in like they owned the place.
“Howdy, fellas,” the bigger of the two blathered, sizing
Theo up as she sauntered past. “Got you
by, what, two inches now?”
Theo felt a now all too familiar tingle down his spine. It’d been a month ago, the first time he’d
ever seen a woman taller than him. The sight
of it still felt so strange.
Confusing. Uncanny. It left even proud Theo speechless for a
moment before he composed himself. “Ronda,”
he replied frigidly. “Lynn.”
The other woman, barely any shorter, shot him a cocky wink
before her gaze swept across the floor.
“Any of you boys wanna help with some workouts? Hmm?!?”
Lynn laughed. “Or
maybe stand back and watch – wouldn’t want you lil’ guys to strain yourselves!”
Theo watched Chad’s eyes enflame; and before he could stop
him, his coworker stormed out from the desk to intercept them. “Hey! Watch
your tone!” Chad barked. But as the two
ladies approached him, stopping just inches away, he appeared to realize his
miscalculation.
“’Watch our tone’?” Lynn scoffed, as her chin hovered just higher
than the top of Chad’s head.
The even taller Ronda snorted. “You new here, short stuff?”
Chad’s jaw worked up and down, flustered by how close these
two had planted themselves; by how thick their torsos were and how meaty their
arms. They must have each had, what,
eighty pounds on him? And it certainly wasn’t
flab.
“I’ve worked here for two years,” Chad countered
staunchly. “But if you keep that
attitude up, you won’t be allowed in here for another two seconds.”
Ronda’s brows rose comically. “Take it easy, fella! We’re just havin’ fun.”
“Here,” said Lynn, reaching for the rack nearby. “We’ll get right to our workout, hon, if you
could help carry this?” She dropped a
45-pound plate into his hands. “And
this?” A second one. “Aaand…”
“That’s enough!” Theo barked, as the third plate clanked
down and nearly toppled the struggling Chad over! His body stooped; his arms shook... until
Ronda swooped in.
“Tsk… Lynn, you know that’s too much for him to handle,” the woman
chortled, her biceps bunching but not shaking as she carried them away.
Theo clenched his fists.
“You ladies—!“
“We’ll be good, stud!” Lynn called back at him with a
flippant wave.
Theo cussed under his breath. Chad, rubbing his shoulders a moment, stopped
and scowled. “Who the hell—“
“Ignore them,” Theo counseled.
“Ignore them? Bro:
kick them out!”
Sigh. “I can’t.”
Chad reeled. “What?”
Theo leaned on the desk with a heavy shake of his head. “You’ve heard there’s new leadership at
Corporate?”
“Yeah. Some woman’s
the new CEO, right? And she hired a
bunch of female execs?”
Theo nodded. “The
‘landscape is shifting’, they say. Women
are ‘flocking to gyms in unprecedented numbers’, they say. We need to ‘stay ahead of it’ … ‘remain
competitive’ … keep an ‘agile mindset’…”
“Corporate bullcrap.”
“Right. But they’re
serious about it. I gave Ronda and Lynn
a warning twice; and the third day I kicked them out. And they promptly called the main office. Next thing I know, our new regional manager Alicia
calls me on the phone and says I need to ‘find a way to accommodate them’.”
“She let them back in??”
“Let them in? She
gave them a two-month free membership!”
“Dude! Holy--! Are you kidding me?!”
“No joke.”
They watched the two women crowd around a male customer and
pester him into vacating the arm press machine.
Chad waved his arms irately. “But
we’re losing guys because of it!”
Theo sighed. “Doesn’t
matter. All the big gym companies are bending
over backwards trying to become the
place for women, thinking they can hit it big.
I guess they’re willing to lose male customers along the way.”
“That’s a terrible
idea! Man, if that’s how it is… I don’t
know if this is a place I wanna work anymore!”
“You mean quit? … Yeah,
that’s occurred to me too.”
Before they could mull further, Ronda’s infuriating voice
rang through the gym: “BOOM! Take that,
sucka!” Her upraised elbow nearly
whacked an innocent bystander’s face as she gloated at the man she’d kicked off
the machine. “Fifty pounds? Turns out I coulda beat you by seventy!”
“New record for you, ain’t it?” Lynn chimed, over the
hapless man’s head.
“Damn right it is! …
Ooooh, looks like we’re in trouble…”
Theo, approaching, shot Ronda a withering glare – one that,
in times gone by, would have made anyone think twice. Today, it prompted only a laugh.
“You’re up, stud,” she challenged, pointing to the leg
press. “Oh—unless you’re chicken?”
Chicken? That’s the last thing Theo was. But he was also an employee, and needed this
job, and—
“Bawk Bawk Bawk!”
Oh damn. It nearly worked. He nearly ripped off his shirt and put this
big bimbo in her place, but…
“You’re not worth it,” he growled, walking away under a
chorus of snickers.
* * *
Theo went right to Elaine when she got home, gliding in for
a boldly dauntless kiss…
…which she, frustratingly, almost immediately withdrew
from. “Whoa… hold on,” she beseeched.
“Why?” he pressed.
“Why wait?” He knew how much she
enjoyed romantic persistence, how easily she was won over with stalwart
confidence and—
“Not now,” she maintained, slipping away with surprising abruptness.
Confounded, he eyed her closely as she cross the room. Today she looked particularly fetching in her pink, fitted dress. She used to be so petite; now she was much
lankier, longer-legged. More like a
runway model. It had taken some getting
used to at first, but by now he definitely
saw the benefits to it.
“I had a rough day at work,” she intoned, taking off her
earrings and letting down her hair.
In months past, this would be his cue. Even today, he decided to risk it. “Sorry to hear that, babe,” he said, dropping
his tone a little more, down to his old husky baritone, as he stepped forward.
“Gerald has been hounding me all week about those quarterly
reports. And Stephanie’s being such a
pill.” Her tired hands massaged her
temples wearily.
“Anything I can do to make you feel better?” he hummed,
drawing closer to her firm backside, her deliciously tapered waist.
“No.” She
sighed. “Just need some time to relax
and unwind.”
His cocky grin returned as he readied to embrace her soft
shoulders and delicate neck. “I could help you unwind…”
Finally catching his drift, she swung suddenly around. “Hey—seriously?” she huffed. “Is that all you can ever think about? Sex?”
He blinked. Once,
that was all she ever thought
about. The right look from him would send
her into excited shivers; the right look would make her swoon. Nowadays, he had to try so much harder; and
even then…
“But you look so good, babe,” he coaxed, posing, flexing his
not inconsiderable guns…
She scoffed and rolled her eyes! “I’m not in the mood,” she declared
firmly. Only at the door did she pause
and glance back. “Maybe later,” she tersely
conceded on her way out.
Maybe? Pshht.
Of course they would. He was
still a stud! Although, it had to be
said: the sex lately was not quite what it once was. And happened less frequently. Elaine claimed she was ‘still getting used to
things’; that this whole situation still felt ‘a little strange.’ But he was beginning to wonder if those
feelings of hers would ever really go away.