Alice watched Lola slather jam over yet another slice of toast, taking a break from her pile of eggs and bacon. The woman must be single-handedly keeping this diner in business.
“Come on … no more details?” the barrel-chested woman asked.
“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Lola covered her mouth in a snort. “Since when were you a ‘lady’?”
Alice rolled her eyes but smiled. “All I’ll say is, he enjoyed the experience very much. Trust me.” She sighed. “Although … he does still insist on seeing himself as an Alpha. After everything I did to him last night, he still can’t see himself any other way.”
“Maybe he always will,” Lola mumbled through a forkful of eggs. “I’ve seen it happen. Some men are just stuck in that mental rut forever, it seems.” She chewed thoughtfully. “Think he’s ready enough for Saturday yet?”
“Oh gosh no. He and I have much more … ‘business’… to conduct before then.”
“Ha! I’ll bet you do. In the meantime, now that you’ve got him in a good mood: I wonder if I could borrow him for another workout?”
“Hmm? Oh.” Alice’s eyes rounded humorously. “Yes, please do.”
“Good.” Lola cracked her knuckles. “I say it’s time to turn up the heat.”
* * *
Jen was just rolling out of bed when Alice stopped back at the apartment. The redhead trudged to the kitchen, still wearing the same Dorito-stained shirt and sweatpants as yesterday. The only difference was that today her hair was even more disheveled. The girl had been wallowing in self-pity since she’d arrived, broken up only by the occasional bouts of angry frustration.
But Alice addressed her with a smile. “Good news: I’ve made arrangements. You’ll be staying with someone else the next couple days. I’m taking you to meet her this afternoon.”
Jen looked at her, shell-shocked. “I don’t want to meet someone else!”
“You’ll want to meet her. Trust me.”
The girl’s dimpled cheeks turned down in a frown. “I doubt it.”
“Aren’t you going to ask who it is?”
She defiantly, even petulantly crossed her arms under her budding chest. “No,” she huffed.
Alice sighed. “Well, I’ll be back at 3. Be ready.” Halfway across the room, she remembered: “I know you left your Apo-Amplifier doses back home, but for today’s dose I’ve put a spare for you on the bathroom counter.”
“Really?” At least the teenager’s excitement perked up a bit at that, if only momentarily. “I mean … whatever.”
Well, this afternoon’s visit ought to snap the girl out of her funk. Or Alice hoped it would, at least.
* * *
Amazing what one evening could do to cheer Theo up. “Daaaaamn,” he was still muttering with a wistful smile, shuffling downstairs for his morning workout. The things Alice had done to him -- and his willingness to go along with them -- still bewildered and embarrassed him to no end. But every time he felt abashed about it, it wasn’t long before he was caught up in pleasant shudders and whimsical grins. Maybe he could get used to that kind of play. Who knows?
Oh. His eyes settled on the box of vials. He was scheduled to take one today; and for once, he didn’t simply look upon this moment with dread. Perhaps there could be some benefits too. Perhaps the height difference had made things spicier last night with Alice. Perhaps a little more wouldn’t hurt. With only a brief hesitant shrug, he gulped the syrupy liquid down.
Fascinating -- he felt the full tingling sensation instantly today. And just a few reps into his first workout, the shrinking began. “Damn.” So much for finishing this set. Today’s shrinking seemed less severe; but still, the bar got heavy, real fast.
After struggling through it, he looked to the chalkboard with chagrin. Jen would be taking a dose today, too -- Alice had texted him so, this morning. He shuddered, imagining competing against Jen now. No amount of trickery would eke out a win for him now. Not like Sunday.
Maybe he shouldn’t have taken today’s dose, after all. Oh hell … there’d be another dose on Thursday, too. Alice’s text had also mentioned Jen spending a couple days at a cabin out of town. He was glad he’d given the OK. Geez … he’d be fine with her spending the whole week there. Part of him was almost dreading their next encounter…
*BaDoop!* Another text -- not from Alice, but from Ned. >
Today? >
>
This seemed a bit … odd. >
>
Wait. >
>
Theo sat up. A lump formed in his throat. A day apart from that woman was not nearly long enough! > he lied.
His phone rang with an incoming call. Slightly miffed, he answered, “Yeah? What’s the--“
“Theo.”
He jerked back from the phone. “Lola?”
“I didn’t take you for a coward.”
A what?! “Look, sorry, but—“
“You’re just going to run from your problems, is that it!?”
“I—“
“Rather than face them head-on?!”
Yikes! “Lola … I don’t know what you’re talking about. Regardless, I’m not obligated to come.”
“Obligated? Of course not. But you’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday, and you ought to be doing every last possible thing you can to prepare.”
“Hey, I know the stakes here.”
“Do you? ‘Cuz it sounds like you’d rather sit at home than step even a little outside your comfort zone. Despicable.”
“What!?” He double-taked. “H…How dare you!”
“You face a new challenge, Theo. One that doesn’t require brawn or machismo, but something else entirely. If you’re brave and curious enough to face it head-on, you’ll be at my door by 10:30, sharp. But if you’re too afraid, then our business is done. And you can content yourself with showing up twice a week for Ned.” Her voice turned to scorn. “For pilates.”
Theo stared in disbelief as the line hung up. Meanwhile, at the other end, Ned blinked up at his wife. “Geez … I think you scared him off!”
Lola cracked a wry smile. “How do you make a proud man do what you want? Turn it into a challenge.” She mussed Ned’s hair. “It’s not rocket science, hon.”
“Dang,” her husband muttered admiringly, all the same. Hah… he really was easy to please.
* * *
“Hey man!” greeted Ned, in a clingy lime green tank top and matching shorts.. “Come on back!”
I’m no coward. Theo had convinced himself of that enough on the way here … but it seemed to bear repeating, as he followed Ned through the kitchen and down the hall. Afraid? Pfft! His body tensed. Curious, maybe. That word had rung surprisingly true. Perhaps he was a bit curious what exactly Lola had …
*Whoomp*
… in …
*Whoomp*
… store.
*Whoomp*
What was that sound?? He followed Ned cautiously through the open door and stepped into the gym.
*WHOOMP …. WHOOMP… WHOOMP … KaTHOONK!* The giant weight hit the mat with a resounding *KaTHOONK!*, as Lola straightened up. He swore he could see her arms pulsating from here, their size swelling and receding with the flow of blood through her veins. Something he hadn’t noticed before.
“Come in!” her voice boomed, with such loud suddenness that Theo jumped in his shoes. He tore his eyes from her vein-crossed pecs in time to see her gaze flit to the clock over the doorway. She gave a crisp nod. “Good.”
‘On time’, is what she meant. 10:29. What would she have said if he’d been late?
“Take ten minutes to stretch,” she told him, direct and simple as could be, as she bent and gripped the kettlebell once more.
“Uhh…”
“With Ned,” she clarified, fixing her gaze. “Now, please.”
His mouth parted slightly. What? “We normally take five.”
*WHOOMP!* The kettlebell cut like a massive pendulum through the air. “Ten!” *WHOOMP!*
He looked to Ned, who unhelpfully shrugged. Theo wasn’t so easy though. “As the only qualified trainer here, I think I’ll be the one to—“
Theo realized the noise had stopped. He looked up in time to see Lola gliding next to him, an air of clear displeasure on her face. *Thud* Her hand fell onto his shoulder like a sack of grain. “Today will operate differently. For now, make the most of the remaining … nine and a half minutes, to get completely warm and loose.”
“Lo—“
“Will that be a problem?”
This was scandalous and completely unacceptable! He almost called off the whole thing, right there. … So why the hell didn’t he?? “No,” he muttered, his shoulders feeling rather heavy as he shuffled off and started stretching with Ned. Maybe just because it was easier than confronting her.
* WHOOMP! * WHOOMP! *
The spot where he stood happened to be in a straight line from the swinging kettlebell. One slip of her grip could send a multi-hundred-pound metallic ball of death hurtling right at him. Probably plaster him to the wall like a scene out of Looney Toons. *Pow!* *Skreeek…* as he slid to the floor.
Yeesh. It was far-fetched, but … “L-Let’s slide down a little.” He shifted a few feet left.
Not that it mattered. Minutes later, Lola began orbiting the kettlebell around her head, setting off an endless cascade of firing biceps and triceps and delts which, despite his efforts to the contrary, kept drawing his eye.
*KaTHOONK!* Precisely as the minute hand struck 40, the kettlebell hit the floor. Stretching her fingers, she approached and spoke with a strident air of command. “There are four days left before Saturday. Theo: we need you to be ready in time. Ned: a strict regimen would do you good, too. So I’ll be keeping a close eye from now on to ensure maximum progress.” She seemed to catch Theo’s impulsive squirm of distress. “Yes, Theo?”
“I think … I think we were making good progress already,” he asserted. Why was speaking up to her so hard? He turned to his compatriot for support. “Right, Ned? We already have a good thing going?”
Ned only shrugged and turned back to Lola. Sellout!
“If that’s the case, then excellent,” Lola opined. “I’d still like to watch.”
God damn it. “Uhh…”
“Don’t worry – I’ll spend most of my time lifting.”
That’s not any better!!!
“Just keeping an eye on your progress, here and there.”
What the hell, woman! “Can I talk to you?” Theo muttered through clenched teeth, gesturing Lola aside.
“What you can say to me, you can say to Ned.”
Grrrr. “Please?!”
Lola rolled her eyes and followed Theo across the room. He waved her down, and regretted it. Lola hunched her back, and her knees, bringing her closer. It felt like a grown-up crouching down to listen to a child, with even a light smirk on her lips to boot…
He told her softly, gruffly, “You brought me in because of my skills, my experience, my …” He grunted. “How’s Ned supposed to respect me as personal trainer, if you’re ‘overseeing’ everything?!”
Lola snorted. “Don’t worry about Ned. He’s a follower, Theo. The question is: can you learn to be, too?” She leaned in. “Or is that not what you came here today to find out?”
Oomp. That struck an unexpected chord. Is that why he came? Surely he’d known things would run differently today, with her around. Yet he’d come anyway.
She stood tall. “Now,” she announced to both of them, as if it were settled, “Treat this just like a normal workout – but put your very best foot forward. The harder you work, the more likely it is that I’ll throw in something special at the end.”
“Ooh! Like what?!” squeaked Ned.
“You’ll see,” replied Lola cryptically. “But you’ll very much enjoy it.” Her eyes turned down toward Theo. “Both of you.”
A shudder jolted through him. What could it possibly--?! … No. Don’t ask. He’d hate to let her see he was curious.
“C’mon!! What’s up first?!” Ned asked Theo, literally jumping with excitement.
Ugh. “Jumping jacks, into lunges.”
* * *
Theo doubled over, totally gassed. Those burpees were brutal!
“Wha…What next?!” Ned wheezed, at his side.
What?! “H… How are you not dead already??” Normally, Theo was the fitter of the two of them, by a fair margin! And yet Ned was the first to stand up straight.
“Keep pushing, man!” he told Theo, glancing again toward Lola and gasping for air. “We gotta!”
What, the ‘power of love’? How could his wife’s mere presence motivate him so? He--
*CLANK!* Weights slammed onto a rack. “How many?” Lola called -- as she’d done for each of their exercises so far.
“Thirty, I think!” Ned managed. “In … two minutes! Right, Theo?”
Theo confirmed with a breathless nod.
“Continuous, or with a break in the middle?” queried Lola.
“Break in the middle,” reported Ned. “Thirty seconds?”
Theo nodded again. Why does she care?!
“Twenty minutes to go, boys…”
Reminding them, or scolding? Ugh! “Kickboxing!” he gruffed, without further delay. He’d show that judgmental broad what he could do -- without her help!
But a loud grunt drew his attention. His eyes almost popped out when he saw Lola doing leg extensions. The amount of weights sliding up and down in the machine … the way her quads exploded each time!! Compared to that, his and Ned’s kickboxing -- just punching and kicking the air -- was starting to feel pretty damned silly.
… Crap! She caught him staring. “Keep up the pace over there!” But it was hard to avoid it, with all this distraction.
* * *
Agony! Theo’s mind and body roiled. He dropped to his knees and was about to fall flat.
“Five minutes left! End strong, boys!”
He braced. C’mon … can’t let her down …
Wait, what? ‘Gotta stick it to her’ -- that’s what he meant! That’s why he rose to his feet, fighting through it yet again. Not because he wanted to make her proud!
“Treadmill,” he wheezed, stumbling to the handrails and lifting one foot then the other. “Five minutes. End strong.”
Wait – those were her words. He’d repeated them without thinking. Bah! “Pick it up … pick it up!” Both men ramped up the speed on their respective treadmills, to a brisk and unrelenting jog.
* * *
A minute ten left. Why oh why did he set it to a jog?? Sixty seconds … Fifty … I can’t go on! I--
“Gah!” Lola appeared beside him, filling the space between the two treadmills. He stumbled. Good thing there were handrails.
“Almost … done … honey!!” Ned somehow forced a smile -- more than Theo could have mustered.
“Mmph.” It’s like she knew. Like she sensed that he -- Theo -- needed the most coaxing. “Keep going,” she breathed, turning right toward him.
Thirty …
“You can do it, Theo.”
She’s being encouraging!?! Her!!?
Twenty …
* Pew Pew Pew Pew * His feet pummeled the moving tread, each step harder than the last, but …
“You can do it.”
I can do it …
Ten …
“Push it, Theo!”
Push it! … I can do it! … Push it!!
Zero!!!
His legs buckled; his free hand waved at the Stop button and missed. Thank god Lola was there to hit it for him. Also there to catch him before he fell. There to walk him to a chair and sit him down.
When he eventually lifted his head from his lap, Ned was sprawled atop his own chair alongside, equally tired but smiling. One tree-trunk-like leg swept past him then another. “Well done,” said the towering female, reserving a sincere nod for each of them. “Both of you – much better than expected.”
He must have been loopy now -- the praise almost brought him a smile.
“The rest of this will be fun.” She dropped a water bottle in each of their laps. “You’ve earned it.”
His mind was too muddled to object. At first he didn’t think much past the cool water he was chugging; but then … What is this? Lola was lifting weights again, and the chairs were facing her.
“Is this the … reward?” Theo whispered to Ned, who grinned cheerily.
“Best part of my day, man! Isn’t she amazing?”
“But…” God, the amount of weight she was curling. The swell of those biceps!! “Um…”
“Rrragh!” growled Lola. “RrrrAAGHH!”
Ned leaned forward, his eyes alight. “Ten,” he whispered, pumping his fist as his wife gritted and groaned. “Come on! … Eleven … Twelve!” He clapped, weary or not. “Wooo! Woohoo!!”
*CLANG!* “Thanks, babe.”
Those arms were swollen. Don’t stare … Don’t stare …
“What next?” she asked, pushing her hair back. “Any requests?” Her eyes fell on Theo, too, to his bewilderment.
“Lunges!” exclaimed Ned. “Or one-armed pushups!! Or … gosh, there’s too many to pick!!”
She gave a deep, throaty chuckle and dropped straight to the floor, catching her fall with both hands and immediately firing off a dozen textbook pushups. So many muscle groups working together in seamless tandem to lift the remarkable incredible weight of her body in metronomic rhythm … and that was just the warmup.
Without skipping a beat, her torso swiveled to face them, her near arm propping onto her hip as her other arm continued the pushups alone. At the same pace. But now with a cheesy grin … and a yawn.
Ned clapped in delight. She’s showing off, Theo realized, his jaw threatening to drop open as she hopped from one hand to the other and gave them a view from the other side. He didn’t know back muscles could move like that, as her arm pumped and pumped. Finally, she went two-handed again, thrust hard, and clapped them together in midair. Landed for another pushup, did it again, then hopped to her feet.
“She can do more pushups!” Ned chimed proudly. “Show ‘im!”
“Aww, but I’d hate to ruin the big show!” Lola quipped, livening up.
“Oooh!” At mere mention, Ned hopped back against the seat and rubbed his hands.
“Another show?” huffed Theo.
“What, didn’t you find that little exhibition entertaining?”
“No! I …!”
Lola smiled at him until his voice trailed off. She seemed to enjoy his blushing. Then things got weird. She strode to a cabinet along the far wall and returned … with a cape and a top hat. Planting her feet in front of them, she gave a dramatic sweep of her cape and spread her arms wide. “Are you ready, ladies and gentlemen!?”
Ned gasped in excitement, bouncing on his seat.
Theo furrowed his brow. “What the hell is hap—“
“Come one, come all!!” Her voice immediately drowned out his. “Gather ‘round, to see feats you’ve never dreamed of! Sights that will amaze!! Here is she whom you’ve come to see: …”
“THE GREAT LOLA!!!” Ned belted out.
Theo felt like he’d just entered a loony bin. “Nope!” he said, cutting the air with his hands. “I’m out.”
“It’s just a character she does!” Ned murmured, nudging his elbow.
“What, a magician?” he snorted.
“A magician – YES!” Lola bellowed. “A Defier of Physics! A Doer of the Impossible! A Worker of Miracles!”
“Umm… yeah…”
“Stay, dude!” Ned coaxed. “It’s fun!”
Theo shook his head. “This is too weird. Thanks for having me.” He rose. “I’ll just be g—“
“HE-MAN!” Lola boomed.
He jumped in his skin. Bloody hell…
“Yes, you there, in the audience! Stand up! … Good!”
He frowned. “Very funny.”
“THANK YOU! And what a strong lad you are! The strongest man in the room, I’ll wager! Folks, look around; do you see any man stronger?”
“I don’t, Lola the Great!” Ned cheered.
“No-o-ope.” Theo shook his head. “Not doin’ this.” He turned to leave.
“Now, what kind of He-Man is this!?” chided Lola. “Who would turn down a chance to impress The Great Lola herself??”
“I don’t care about impressing you.” He started to walk.
“The Great Lola wishes to know how much you can lift, He-Man!” she declared, undeterred. “She’s yet to have the pleasure. Perhaps she will be impressed; who knows??”
His gait slowed. I don’t care, he repeated to himself.
“Perhaps even these ten-pound dumbbells are too much for you!”
He stiffened. “Those are NOT too much.” She was twirling a ten-pound dumbbell in each hands like one might twirl a pencil. Surprisingly, her goading was working. “Gimme the damned dumbbells,” he hissed.
Ned clapped his hands. Lola beamed. “So what will it be, He-Man?” Her hand swept over the dumbbell rack with a flourish. “Twenty pounders? Thirty?”
“What’s the exercise?”
“Overhead press!”
“Single rep, or …?”
“One mighty heave is what we need!”
“Single rep,” he translated dourly. “Give me the thirties.” He blinked. “Wait, those are--!”
Two 40-pound dumbbells fell into his hands. “Oof!” The weights dropped to his waist amidst his curses. “Hey! Why did y--?“
“Can you lift these, He-Man?”
He brought them partway up … but who was he kidding? “I can’t!” he fumed, giving up.
“No?”
“No!”
“Mmhmm. For my first trick, ladies and gentlemen …” Her arms extended from the cape and fell on his shoulders. “The Great Lola believes in you, He-Man! The Great Lola believes you can.”
“But I--“
“Believe!” The fervor in her eyes, the intensity, not to mention how damned close she was standing … it struck him dumb as her fingers pulsed into his flesh. “Focus your strength! Refuse to give up!”
Theo blinked. He was the expert motivator here -- it was his job, as trainer! Normally, if someone tried to motivate him, he’d laugh in their face. Except, this time… it was working. Somehow, some way, this giant woman’s fervor was actually getting to him.
“Yes,” she coaxed, as he tightened his grip. Stepping back, she pumped her fist. “Rise up! I know you can.”
She believed it so fervently, that he started to believe it too. He hoisted the weights to his chest, then his shoulders.
“SEIZE the moment, He-Man!”
Damned if his arms didn’t feel just a little more capable now. I can, he mused, his grip steadying.
“SEIZE it now!”
His sudden heave brought the weights halfway up … Now two-thirds … “Argghh!” His strength flagged …
“NO PAIN!” bellowed Lola. “NO PAIN!!”
“Rrrahhhh!!” With renewed effort, he heaved again -- and fully extended the weights above his head!
“Ha-HA!” the chesty woman exulted, pumping her fists. As his arms wobbled, she fluidly reached over him, and instantly the crushing weight of the dumbbells became light as a feather. His overtaxed arms dropped to his sides, finally free.
“My first feat, ladies and gentlemen!” The top-hatted woman stepped aside and gestured, weights and all. “The impossible, made possible by yours truly!”
“Bravo, Great Lola!” cheered Ned. “Bravo!”
“Hey!” protested Theo. “I could have lifted it by myself.”
“Oh?” She stepped closer … MUCH closer. All he could see now were breasts, and muscles… “ ‘I can’t’, is what you said, He-Man. Did you not?”
He gulped. Well… he did. And he might have been right, too.
She swept backward. “Regardless, He-Man, you’ve impressed me!” Why did he blush at that? “As a reward, you get to be my first volunteer for the NEXT trick!”
“I… Wait!--Oomph!” A 40-pound barbell dropped into his unsuspecting hands.
"I require one more volunteer!" She waved the other dumbbell about, scanning the empty room.
"Me, The Great Lola!" pleaded Ned. “Pick me! Me!!”
"Ah -- there, in the front row! What a delicious morsel of a man you are!” She leaned in with lascivious eyes and told her husband, “For my next trick, perhaps I shall make your clothes disappear…”
Ned inhaled in excitement and Theo coughed in alarm. “Umm, what?”
“Ha! Perhaps you’re right, He-Man. That will wait until after the show.” She flashed a wink at Ned who smilingly batted his eyes. Looking back at Theo, she smirked. “Your cheeks match the living room curtains, He-Man!” The curtains, weren’t they a dark burgundy red? Oh hell. But every time he looked at her now, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. She was already wearing so little …
“Can your dainty arms handle this?” the woman hummed, holding the 40-pound weight out to Ned.
“Umm… I’ll try!” He took it with considerable strain, shifting it about, finding that propping it against his waist helped. Theo blushed again -- he’d already done the same...
“Now, my assistants…” Assistants?? “… if there's one thing you should never ask a man, it's...?"
"His age?" guessed Ned, straining. “Oh, his weight!”
"Precisely! Always a delicate question indeed … but I must ask my assistants: what do you weigh?”
“One twelve!" Ned eked out, really hunching over the barbell now.
“Mmm, so nice and slim.”
There were those eyes again. Those--Yeesh. Theo tried to distract himself from it.
“And, my other assistant…?”
Theo grunted. The barbell was getting heavy. "Who are you calling--?!" Ugh. "One forty one.”
“Stocky, indeed! Perhaps I should pull out a weight loss trick as well!” That’s rich, coming from her… “But for now … my assistants may set those down.”
‘May’? He glared. But he was listing to one side now, shoulders hunched, arms burning. It was a relief to set the heavy iron at his feet.
"Take your places, Assistants!" She pointed to either side of her.
There? Why there? He approached far more timidly than Ned, fidgeting beside her burly bicep…
"You’ve seen the strongest man in the room lift a staggering eighty pounds!” she announced to an imaginary audience. “But tell me, Handsome Assistant…” She turned to Ned. “Can the Great Lola lift more?”
“Oh yes she can!”
Her hard gaze swept to Theo. “How much more?” she demanded.
Theo blinked. “Uhh…”
“Guess!”
His eyes flitted to that arm again. “I’d rather not--“
“What’s one forty one plus one twelve, Assistant?”
“Huh? That’s--“ His breath caught when he caught the implication.
“Hahaha!” Lola laughed arrogantly. “Yes – you lifted eighty pounds of metal, but The Great Lola will lift two hundred and fifty three pounds of MAN!”
“What!?”
“AWESOME!!” Ned cheered.
Theo was speechless. He started turning to the door – but a huge, rough hand clamped around his arm and held him in place!
“Hey!!” Theo protested sharply, yanking and prying with all he had.
“Oh, it’s a little late to un-volunteer, He-Man…”
“I never ‘volunteered’! I—“
She gave his arm a hard, abrupt shake. “Stop this foolishness.” Her voice, like her fingers, had turned to steel. She stared down at him like a schoolteacher quelling a student. And, by god… it worked.
“I must demand that my Assistants behave!” she grated curtly. ‘Behave’ -- that’s the second time in two days a woman had used that word on him. But with Lola, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what would happen if he didn’t. In fact, he was quite certain to the contrary…
So when her hard fingers withdrew, he didn’t even try to leave. It seemed better to just see this through. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad, and … well …
Lola gave a ‘Hmph’ of satisfaction and widened her stance. Turned her palm upward and held it out. “Assistants!” she decreed, facing ahead and closing her eyes.
It was clear what she meant him to do. But was he really going to do it?? He looked forebodingly at her legs, flexing and undulating even as he watched. Jesus, her calves were big. Her quads. Much closer to his eyes, her enormous hand made his seem so very small. Yet he reluctantly wrapped both his hands around her palm nonetheless. Past her broad bosom, he saw Ned doing the same.
The woman hummed, like a huge diesel engine coming online, readying for the boggling task ahead. “Hold tight,” she gruffed, but didn’t deign to look at her ‘assistants’ anymore, treating them like what they were at this point: glorified handweights!
Her knees bent; her arms flexed. Deltoids and biceps swelled in front of his increasingly nervous eyes. As she crouched, her hand rose, hovering level with her clenched, stony jaw. His hands were now above his head, the flesh of her palm tough and solid as leather as he anxiously kept his grip tight. He became absorbed in the rhythm of her breathing, listening to her steady inhales and exhales as her face gathered ever more focus and determination.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” she graveled, her steely gaze still fixed ahead, “prepare to be amazed.”
The veins in her neck bulged; her entire body tensed; her grip tightened. He could feel the quiver of power in her arms -- right before it unleashed. Mighty legs straightened, and his arms shot upward. A sudden jolt, and his feet left the ground. He yelped in disbelief and gripped as hard as he could as his body continued to surge upward, a foot off the ground, now more!!
“Holy SHIT!!!” he blurted, peering past her massive triceps to her face hovering near level with his. Ned’s, too, hovered beyond. But Lola’s face: it hardened and sneered with unbelievable grit as she held the impossible pose for three, four, five seconds. Her mighty arms began to shake, sending ripples through his dangling body, causing his legs to sway …
“FUCK!!” Theo blurted further. Ned laughed with glee, but Theo was outwardly awed. “Holy--!!”
His last exclamation was punctuated by another yelp, as the huge arms fell and his feet hit the ground. He stumbled backward, gained his balance, shook his head … and stared.
Whoa…
Now just the mere sight of her evoked a whole new awareness; a feeling of imminence toward her strength – no longer an abstract thing to be viewed and observed from a distance, but something to be experienced directly. Physically. In its purest form.
He well recognized the look playing out on Lola’s face: satisfaction, from achieving a lofty, hard-fought goal. How strange it was to be on the other end of it -- merely an accessory to this woman’s accomplishments. Nothing more.
“Your little outbursts have pleased the Great Lola,” her baritone voice rumbled, jarring him.
He positively squirmed. “O…Outbursts?” I guess I was pretty vocal…
“It’s made your appreciation quite clear.”
He sucked in air. “What?? That’s not--!” Appreciation wasn’t the right word … was it?
Her broad chest rose and fell with a contented sigh. "The Great Lola will take a rest." Her voice turned more familiar as she went to a chair and sat down, leaning back heavily. "Assistants, keep me company."
Theo hesitated but followed Ned’s lead, even though this felt … strange.
"Pull up a chair."
As Ned sat to Lola’s right, facing her, Theo did likewise on her left. Even stranger now. Something about her closed eyes, her serene pose, the controlled rise and fall of her chest with each steady breath. Like some lumbering beast taking her repose; doing nothing, but somehow still commanding every attention and drawing every eye.
It was her arm in particular that drew him most. That single arm, strong enough to lift his entire bodyweight. The several layers of textured muscle pulsating, seeming so alive. It was Ned who murmured aloud, though, seeming about to burst with anticipation as his eyes fixated on her opposite arm -- perhaps not all too dissimilarly from Theo...
Though Lola’s eyes were closed, Ned’s mumurations must have tipped her off. "Go ahead," she encouraged, with a low rumbling chuckle.
And Ned's hand went to his wife's biceps.
What the--??
"You may, too," added Lola. It took Theo a second to realize she was looking at him.
Theo coughed violently. "I-I... excuse me?!"
Lola’s gaze didn’t waver. “There’s no harm in being curious.”
“Curious? A-About what??” He feigned ignorance, but … her words may have struck a chord. As she closed her eyes and serenely turned forward, he found his gaze sliding right back to where it had been. He’d already touched her shoulder yesterday, hadn’t he? Perhaps a brief touch to her bicep wouldn’t be amiss, just to confirm if this too was as hard as it looked…
“Help yourself, little one,” she hummed, mouth quirking into a smile. Gah! Was she talking to Ned, or to him?! He had no idea, but … but it really couldn’t hurt. No one else would know...
Lola suppressed a pleasurable sigh. Her husband never failed in his diligence, did he. Always keen, always eager to give her body parts the admiration they deserved. His efforts very much had the feel of foreplay at this point, his soft hands sliding and kneading and--Oh my, his mouth was even working its way down her tricep now with kisses...
But she forced this to the side of her mind now, with effort, as the first light touch on her left arm tingled her senses. Good. She wasn’t surprised Theo had taken her up on her offer, but she hadn’t been certain. Buried beneath all that ego, you never could quite be sure what a man’s thoughts truly were. Or whether he’ll even act on them in the first place. This was certainly a promising continuation from yesterday, and--
Innnnteresting. After pulling back, the man’s fingers returned, pressing a little firmer this time. And even inching up her arm. A smirk formed on her lips. Well, well…
Feeling mischievous, Lola shifted in her seat as if to get comfortable. Made sure to give her arms a good flex, in the process. Ned burbled in bliss; but Theo … she could hear his sharp inhale as his touch withdrew like a skittish mouse. And then … wait for it ….. Mmmmmhmm. Sure enough, his touch returned -- as a series of prods this time: three up the swell of her bicep, then four more traveling back toward her tri’s. Timid still, but each one growing ever so slightly bolder.
My, she was learning much about Theo today. She opened her mouth, with half a mind to encourage him further … but no, that might overwhelm. Men like this -- even the unexpectedly receptive ones -- could only handle so much at once. And meanwhile, Ned’s talented hands were still stoking her desire …
“The Great Lola is rested now,” she hummed, rising to her feet. “That will do for today.” To her enjoyment, she caught the look in Theo’s eyes -- the confusion, the growing realization of what he’d just done. His cheeks became an ever deeper shade of red, his fidgeting increasing while his hands couldn’t decide where to put themselves. Yes… once you had a hint of a man’s thoughts, the rest became quite easy to read, didn’t it?
He opened his mouth, working his way towards saying something -- perhaps excusing his behavior with some silly pretense -- but another look at Ned put much more urgent needs to her mind. She had not forgotten his worshipful, scintillating touch… “Off you go," she brusqued, preempting Theo with a wave of her hand.
Ned -- beautiful Ned -- came up to her. Greedily she wrapped her arm around him, feeling his meek body melt against her side. Her hand clutched tighter, gathering his shirt.
“What, just like that?” she hardly heard their guest ask, as he hovered nearby. “So I’ll…?”
“Yes. Goodbye.” Her other hand clutched Ned’s jaw, then stroked his cheek.
“But, what--“
Lola turned her head sharply, affixing a purposely fiery gaze on their lingering guest. She didn’t care that Ned’s face was against her bosom now, his cheek nuzzled to her breast, his hands already starting to explore her arms again as he wistfully sighed.
The dense-headed Theo finally realized what was happening and took a hint! With a short grunt of alarm, he mumbled some hasty farewell and double-timed it out of there. He looked back briefly from the doorway, though he pretended not to. Finally the man vanished, leaving Lola free to follow her desires.
“Amazing,” she heard Ned murmur, his eyes heavy-lidded, his fingers in full exploration mode, oblivious to anything else.
“Does The Great Lola impress you, little Assistant?” she hummed, feeling him nuzzle her tighter.
“Yes, she does! Oh wow, yes!!”
“Now shall I make your clothes disappear?”
Ned’s head bobbled in excitement … but Lola tossed her cape off instead. “Mine first,” she decided, peeling off her bra.
Theo found himself lingering in the hall again. Why don’t I just leave!? His heart still beat at an elevated pace, his head swimming with confusion. He--
He heard noises. The damned itch of curiosity convinced him to turn back and poke his head in …
“Yeesh!!” He ducked his head back to safety, shuddering. Lola was facing the wall, her bra having vanished entirely. Magician indeed. And he would have wondered where Ned was, except for the small hands gripping her back, and -- God, Ned’s face must be right at her chest level. What could he be doing there, unseen, with those bare, heaving breasts? Theo could only imagine.
Lola thrusted her arms and Ned shot upward, his feet now dangling. The man yelped in surprise, and Theo just about swooned. He turned and took off at a run, lest he see any more of this flummoxing scene unfold. You know, he wasn’t much bigger than Ned now, himself, and--
Gah! Don’t even think about that, man! Theo put it out of his mind … or, at least, he tried.