O’Melissokomos
The Bee Keeper

A Better Man

by Clarence591

Part 1

Ben was humming a tune he really didn’t know as he waited at the bus stop. It was a song his roommate, the aspiring rock star, was working on into the wee hours of the morning last night. The tune was now stuck in his head. Ben had another frustrating day of classes and just wanted to crawl into bed to catch up on his sleep, but he promised his boss he would work tonight. He looked down the street again, still no sign of the damn bus. He pulled a pile of papers from his backpack to put them in some sort of order. Ben thought the disarray could be a metaphor for his entire life. He thumbed through the slightly crumbled school work reviewing his collection of tests. Every one marked with a B minus or a C. The professors’ comments were as consistent; “good work!” or “good job.” The last test’s comment was written in red. “You could do better!” appeared on his statistics mid-term. Ben sighed, “I wish I could do better. We all can’t be fuckin’ geniuses like you, Professor Mandrel.”

He pushed the papers back into his backpack. He hastily swung the bulky bag over his narrow shoulder throwing his thin body off center. He caught his balance and moved closer to the curb as the number 8 bus approached. He felt his breath quicken as he saw the driver. It was Giovanni. Ben ran his slender fingers through his shaggy, brown hair pushing it behind his large ears trying to make himself look better. The doors opened and Ben raised his eyes to meet the driver’s. “Yo, you getting on or what?” the driver asked in a deep voice. Gio’s handsome face caused Ben to freeze in place. “Of course I’m getting on. I’ve been riding this bus for months. Don’t you remember me?” was what Ben wanted to say, but he didn’t. Then Ben’s constant self doubts resurfaced. Why would Gio remember him? Unlike the driver there was nothing noteworthy about this passenger. Ben lowered his eyes timidly and looked at his feet willing them to move. Ben boarded the vehicle and then remembered he needed his bus pass. He started to search for his wallet. “The fare is a buck, seventy five,” the driver said almost robotically. He wasn’t even looking at Ben any longer. Ben struggled to pull his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. Even though they were slim fit 514s, his lack of an ass made the seat sag from the weight of the wallet. “If you don’t have the money, you’ve got to get off the bus,” Gio added growing more impatient.

Ben finally managed to free his wallet. He opened the Velcro closure and held up his bus pass. He pulled his elbow into his body to control his nervous shaking. Gio looked at the pass to check the date. Ben’s eyes went from the driver’s excruciatingly handsome face down to his exposed chest. The tight top half of his uniform let everyone know he worked-out. The pale blue shirt strained to completely cover his well developed pecs. With just the top two buttons undone, the stallion’s thick chest was seductively revealed. The powerful cords radiating from his bull-like neck, along with the striations of his pectoral muscles were still visible on his olive skin despite the dusting of dark hair. Ben’s eyes next went to the large bulge between the driver’s thighs. The tenting fabric of his equally tight, navy blue pants made his abundant endowment obvious. The driver moved one of his hands to cover his attention grabbing package. Ben refocused quickly back to the driver’s face. “You can take a seat now,” the driver said in an even more annoyed tone. He knew his body was worthy of attention but he didn’t want it from someone like Ben. The student blushed and hurried to the first open seat. He placed his bag on his lap to hide his expanding crotch.

Ben casually looked around the bus’s interior to make sure nobody noticed his aroused state, Once assured he went unnoticed as usual, Ben began to relax. He stared at the back of the bus driver’s head. Ben scanned the transit employee’s thick, black hair and hoped he would have to look to his right so Ben could glimpse his Romanesque profile. Ben moved his eyes down to the neatly trimmed hairline at the back of his neck. Down the steep angle of his developed traps, and over the driver’s broad shoulder which protruded well beyond the edge of his seat back. His globe-shaped delts were encased tightly in his short sleeves. The sleeve’s hem was rolled up to accommodate his enormously developed upper arm. Ben exploration stopped when he got to his chucky tricep. Ben stopped breathing for a moment as the hunk’s muscle hardened as he turned the steering wheel to pull in to the next stop. The horseshoe shaped muscle formed in deep relief under his tight, smooth skin.

A beautiful redhead entered the bus. She was wearing a form fitting black skirt and white button-down blouse. The top few buttons undone to show off her own impressive cleavage. She bent at her waist to lower her bountiful breasts to the driver’s eye level, as she slowly put the coins into the fare collection box. She counted softly out loud, her face looking at the coins, giving Gio the perfect opportunity to oogle her assets without her knowing. When done, she turned to look at the driver. “One dollar and seventy-five cents.” The woman put her hands on her knees and straightened her arms, squeezing her breasts together. “Does everything add up to your satisfaction, driver?” She purred. Gio raised his eyes from her bulbous tits and smiled, “Yes, your figure is just right.” He then looked away to continue on his route. The women quickly stood and grabbed onto a pole so not to lose her balance in the quick moving vehicle. Her four inch heels didn’t help matters. Looking frustrated, she scanned the interior for an open seat. A smile formed when she saw Ben.

She hurried over to her friend, carefully counteracting the jerky movement of the bus. She dropped into the empty seat next to Ben. “This is a nice surprise. I didn’t think I would see you today. You don’t usually work on Thursdays.”

“There’s something going on at work tomorrow, and Mr. Griggs asked me to come in tonight to get things ready,” Ben commented with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

“Well, the extra money will be nice,” the woman added positively.

“True,” Ben’s face brightened. “Tell me Ellen, will you count out the money for me like you did for Gio?” He started to laugh before he could finish his thought.

Ellen backed her elbow into Ben’s stomach. “Not funny. I don’t know what I have to do to get that man to ask me out.” I tried ever trick I’ve got in my arsenal.” She looked down at her breasts and squeezed them in her hands. “The girls have never let me down before.”

Ben rubbed his soft stomach where Ellen hit him. “Maybe he’s gay” Ben said secretly hoping it was true.

“No way. Look at him. He’s Italian for God’s sake,” Ellen proclaimed as she gestured to the front of the bus.

“What does that mean?” Ben asked with laughter in his voice.

“It’s just he’s so, you know, manly.” Ellen looked at the driver and her eyes showed her yearning. “He’s incredibly strong and virile and masculine, and so fuckin’ hot. That body of his makes me want to…”

“Easy girl. You’re out in public, there are kids around,” Ben joked as he patted her on the shoulder.

“Sorry, but a man like that gets all my womanly juices flowing something fierce.” Ellen put her hands to her flushed face and smoothed out her long hair. She took a compact out of her purse and checked her reflection in the small mirror. “Maybe I’ll go blonde. Men like him always want a blonde.” She was quiet for a moment, she then turned to Ben. “Do you think I would look good as a blonde?”

Ben looked at her and imaged the change in her hair color. “Yes, you would look great as blonde. Of course you look great as a red head.”

Ellen smiled and ran her hand over Ben’s arm. “Thank you, Ben. You always know the right thing to say. You are such a good guy. I don’t know why you don’t have a girl.”

Ben smirked, “I guess I’m not the kind of man that gets a woman’s juices flowing.” Ben waited for the beautiful woman to contradict his assessment.

Ellen just chuckled and ran her hand over his thin arm again. “Don’t be silly; you are a decent looking guy.”

“Thanks,” Ben moaned.

“I mean a fairly good looking, that is to say a really good looking guy…er..man.” Ben shook his head. “Now, now. I know there is someone out there who would find you juice worthy.” It was obvious from her comments she was not that someone. Ellen could see she wounded Ben’s male ego. “Plus we all know looks aren’t as important as a great personality. And you have one great personality.” Ellen’s attention was drawn to Gio again, “Did you see that? He was checking out that Barbie wannabe who crossed in front of the bus. I knew he was into blondes. I’m definitely making an emergency appointment with my hairdresser.” She held the mirror up to her face one more time before returning it to the depths of her bag. “I need to schedule some time at the tanning salon too.”

After a few moments of awkward silence, Ben began to rummage through his backpack. “I have that demo CD from my room mate’s band. I asked Holt about their fee and he said they could do your sister’s wedding for $300, instead of the usual $450 since I know you.” He handed the generic disc to Ellen.

“Great. I’ll give it to Monica tomorrow. This wedding is all she can talk about anymore.” Ellen put the CD into his bag. “Too bad she’s marrying such a putz.”

“You’re going to be great maid of honor,” Ben quipped. Ellen jabbed her elbow into Ben’s defenseless stomach again. Ben laughed but it actually hurt. “Anyway, the band is very good. Holt plays guitar and sings lead. He’s got a great voice. He writes all their original stuff too. But they’ll cover any songs Monica will want, even the chicken dance.”

“You sound like a groupie,” Ellen joked.

“I wish I had one tenth of Holt’s musical talent.” Ben looked at the window and pressed the bell cord. “This is my stop.” The two passengers stood and Ben passed by Ellen trying not to rub up against her.

“See you soon, Ben.” Ellen said as she retook her seat. Ben made sure not to look at the driver when he disembarked in case Ellen was watching him. It took all of Ben’s will power not to get one last look of Gio.

Ben walked the two blocks to his part-time job, the Heavy Bar Gym. His official title was manager’s assistant. But when people asked what he did he explained he was a glorified janitor. As he walked he wondered where Gio worked out. He could feel a familiar swelling between his legs as he imagined Gio pumping iron and covered in sweat. The affect of his daydreaming was only enhanced as he entered the dingy lobby and was hit by the odor of men. This was no pretty suburban spa with shiny machines. It was a place for serious lifting, a real iron pit in the inner city. The walls were plastered with posters of the world’s best, hard-core physiques, not perfect looking fitness models. The lobby was a virtual shrine to the newly crowned Mr.Universe, ChaseJameson. He started his career in this gym. After winning a few regional titles he moved to California two years ago to accelerate his career. He was now the golden boy of bodybuilding. His youthful, handsome face, naturally massive physique, and impressive endowment made him a favorite for magazine covers. Some judges thought his insanely large arms detracted from his otherwise flawless symmetry, but what man doesn’t want big, powerful arms. The magazine editors called him the new MattMendenhall. Ben couldn’t help but stare at the poster of Chase doing a double bicep pose in front of his Mr.Universe trophy every time he saw it. He was so beautiful and powerful. His mind combined his fantasy men, the image of Chase and Gio making-out filled his brain. He was so distracted he walked right into the swinging door that led behind the deserted counter. His perky cock hit the door painfully first. He adjusted himself before entering the manager’s office.

“Ben, my boy, glad you could make it!” the leather skinned man behind the desk said in a gravelly voice. He was wearing a string top and nylon stretch shorts, oblivious to the fact he didn’t have the physique to carry the outfit. Once a top bodybuilding competitor, at 73, he was long past his prime. The flimsy shirt showed his drooping pecs and saggy arms. He held out his wrinkled hand to his employee. Ben shook it surprised by the strength the man’s old body still possessed. Of course, even though he could be his great grandfather, the owner still had more muscle mass than Ben. “You’re such a good boy helping me out like this on such short notice.”

Ben rubbed his hand, “No problem, Mr.Griggs. I’m glad to help out. So he really is coming.”

“Yes, he’ll be here tomorrow afternoon. It will be nice to see him again. Of course he’s here as part of the promotional tour for his supplement sponsor. But still, this is the only gym he’s visiting in the city. I’d like to believe it’s due to his loyalty and not dumb luck.” Griggs walked around his desk to be closer to Ben as he spoke.

“I’m sure that’s why he’s coming. After all you allowed him to work out here for free for an entire year after he graduated from high school,” Ben said.

“Just one look at him and I knew he had great potential. His arms were bigger than mine when he was just 17. Bodybuilding’s been very good to me, I was glad to give something back to the sport,” the old man said humbly. “Hopefully when I’m gone and he’s the old geezer, he’ll remember what I did and do the same for another young prodigy.”

Ben just smiled warmly at the kindly old man. It was apparent his mortality was heavy on his mind these days. “But enough with the deep thoughts, let’s get this place in top shape for Chase.” Mr.Griggs did his own double bicep pose when he said shape. The two men laughed and left the office.

After getting instructions from his boss, Ben went to the utility room which was also the employee lounge and stock room. He changed into his one piece work uniform. Ben’s slim build allowed him to wear his jeans under the baggy jumpsuit. The multiple layers of clothing hid his almost continuous hard-on as he watched the men workout during his shift. Ben started his normal routine by cleaning the locker room. A flow of customers came and went from the space. WayneBostick, known to everyone as Beef Stick, was a gym regular. He spent more time in the locker room than on the weight floor. Seeing him naked made his nickname make sense. His oversized endowment was the envy of every man who’d looked upon it. His cock and balls were easily twice the size of the average guy and beautifully shaped. He kept his pubes well trimmed as to not to cover his masterpiece. He got great joy from strutting around the locker room showcasing his superior equipment. His physique wasn’t the largest in the gym by far. His body was athletic, but not large in bodybuilding standards. And he liked it that way. He wanted his manhood to be his biggest body part. He savored his ability to intimidate men who had two or three times his muscle mass just by standing next to them. He sought out the new guys; the more muscular and egotistical the better. He would approach the larger man and start a simple conversation never loosing eye contact. Then he would look away to speak to someone else for just a few seconds, allowing the other guy to check him out. When he returned his gaze back at his target, he could see their confidence was gone. Out in the gym they may rule over him, but in the locker room he was the undisputed alpha male. While Beef Stick was nice to look at, Ben lusted for real muscle. He hurried out onto the floor to see who was there.

Ben scanned the room as he replaced the liner in a trash can. There were about a dozen people working out. Two women and some unimpressive men, but there were a handful of Ben’s favorites. He first noticed, Don AKA Iron Spike, he was a true weight lifter, not a poser as he called bodybuilders. The stocky man was as wide as he was tall. His shaven round head seemed to be glued onto his blocky body. At only 5’7”, he was shorter than average but he made up for it with his strength. He was the undisputed strong man of the gym. His barrel shaped torso was a hard as iron. His thing was having people punch him in his chest. He challenged any man to make him lose his balance with a single pec punch. To date no man, no matter how tall or muscular, had been able to do it. Hell, he didn’t even flinch most of the time. Everyone would feel up his burly chest amazed at how hard it felt, even when he wasn’t flexing. While Ben didn’t find his plump, furry body attractive; he did admire his unbeatable strength.

Next Ben’s attention went to a newer member, Damon Jones. Damon played semi-pro basketball. His coach told him to bulk up if he wanted to move up to the NBA. Damon had been on intense lifting regime for over 3 months and the poor guy looked as thin as when he started; maybe worse due to his increased definition. He was one of those guys with a crazy fast metabolism that burned through every calorie he took in. The other men watched in amazement as he constantly ate before, during and after his workouts without getting fat. While they had to carefully count every calorie and fat gram in an attempt to be that ripped. Like the others, Ben was envious of his naturally low percentage of body fat, but it was his height that Ben truly admired. Damon stood at 6’5”, the man closest to Ben’s perception of the ideal height for a man. Ben always wanted to be 6’6”. There was something about the way it tripped off the tongue. Also it was tall enough to stand out, over the crowd; but not too tall to make living difficult or uncomfortable. You could sleep in a standard bed and not have to duck when you passed through a doorway.

Ben then noticed in the far corner, Geoff Roberts, the model. Ben spent a lot of time covertly watching Geoff. Geoff was often alone. The other men and women never approached him. He was the gorgeous, surfer, blonde type Ben always wanted to be. His thick, wavy mane of spun gold framed a face that made people stop and stare; large, almond shaped eyes the color of a lapis, a nose immaculately straight and narrow, impossibly high cheekbones, and a set of lips that taunted you to kiss them. His flawlessly tanned skin was tightly wrapped around his prominent jaw bone and cleft chin giving a masculine edge to his ethereal beauty. Geoff’s awe inspiring looks did not end at his neck. His 6’1” frame looked like it had been sculpted by the gods. His tight, smooth skin showed every muscle in great detail, especially when he was covered in sweat. The V-taper of his torso and his large hands added to his classical masculine appearance. But it wasn’t only the way he looked that made some of the over men resent him. It was because he was able to add and maintain muscle mass so easily. He usually worked out with lighter weights than we could handle. Someone asked him once why he did, and he said he had to or he would get too big. When he first started modeling he was working out heavy and he gained so much muscle his agent told him to stop. Being too big would hurt his career in high fashion. When word got out about “his problem” all the bodybuilders were pissed. They struggled to put on mass and he was afraid of getting too big. To a bodybuilder there is no such thing as too big. Ben agreed. He often imagined what Geoff would look like with 20 or thirty more pounds of muscle. As the image of the beefier Geoff working out appeared in his mind, Ben felt his body respond. Thank God I’m wearing my jeans under this, he thought as he checked to make sure his excited state wasn’t apparent.

Ben was finishing the last few items on the list his boss gave him. He had spent the last six hours cleaning and oogling the customers. His body was tired and sore. He was just finishing the display in the lobby. The supplement sponsor, Size-Zup, had sent samples of their new creatine formula along with promotional materials. Ben put the samples on a fold-out table he set up. Mr. Universe would sit there to sign autographs and hand out the samples. Ben assembled the life-size cardboard cut out of Chase. He was wearing on a pair of posing briefs in the photo. He was flexing his left arm and holding a ten pound container of the product in his right. Ben moved the cut-out next to the table. He looked around to make sure he was alone. The gym was empty since it closed almost a half hour ago. After making sure his boss wasn’t near, he began to run his hands over the contours of the cardboard display. He traced his fingers over his idol’s voluminous thighs, over his narrow hips, and up to his cobra-like lats. He put his hand over his flexed bicep. It was bigger than his hand. He cupped his fingers around the amazing peak and closed his eyes. He pretended he was fondling the real thing. He tried to imagine want it must feel like to possess so much size and power. To be the best built man in the universe. To be a man who gets paid thousands of dollars to just pose and flex, nearly nude. To be rewarded for possessing a perfectly formed body. He wanted to be that man more than anything. He wanted people to lose control of their juices when they thought of him. Ben pressed his body closer to the cut-out. He bucked his hips, rubbing his hardened cock right on top of Chase’s larger bulge. Ben was about to release his own juices, when he Mr.Griggs called his name. “Yes, Mr. Griggs. I’m still here,” he said as he wiped his drool from his mouth and off the display.

His boss entered the lobby and smiled. “That looks great, Ben. You did a fine job today. I really you appreciate you coming in tonight. You sure you don’t mind coming back early tomorrow?”

“No, it’s fine. I only have morning classes, so I can be here around 2:00. Chase is coming at 3:00, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know what kind of crowd will show up. I did notify the newspaper and local TV news that Chase was going to be here. I figure they can do a fluff piece on how a local boy made it big. The publicity for the gym won’t hurt either.” Griggs gazed at the cut-out and a smile took over his face. The old timer seemed to be relishing the day ahead. Ben had never seem him this happy, almost giddy.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I can’t wait to meet him.” Ben said turning to the display. “He’s just amazing.”

“That he is my boy. That he is. But enough tonight, it’s time for you to go home. Go change, so we can get out of here.”

Ben jogged to the stock room and removed his jumpsuit, placing it on the hook behind the door. He collected his backpack and shut off the lights behind him. His boss was waiting for him at the main door. The two left and parted ways. Mr.Griggs owned the entire building and had an apartment above the gym. Ben walked to the bus stop, but realized the number 8 bus only runs once an hour after 7:00. Instead of waiting, he decided to take the 23A which took him through Chinatown. He could get something to eat and then walk home from there. It was only a few blocks out of his way. He did it every Friday night, which was he’s usual shift.

Ben stopped by his favorite Chinese restaurant and picked up his usual to go order. As he headed back to his apartment, the smell of the food he carried intensified his hunger pangs. He opened the bag and pulled out the egg roll. As he bit into his hot appetizer the scolding oil dripped down his chin. His reflexes kicked-in and he dropped the bag of food to wipe his face. “Shit,” he said aloud as he looked at the soggy mess at his feet. The soup container had broke open and was leaking out of the bag unto the sidewalk. Ben kneeled down to assess the damage and see what he could savage. He pulled out the wax paper bag full of miscellaneous goodies, then the paper boxes with his entrée and rice. Finally he carefully removed the plastic soup bowl and its unsecured lid. As he examined the bowl, a dog crawled out of the shadows. The spaniel sized animal whimpered and gave him a pitiful look. “Oh, don’t do the sad eyes thing,” Ben said with a crooked smile. The dog sat down but never took his big, brown eyes off of Ben. The man sighed, “I’m such an easy mark” as he pushed the partially filled soup container closer to the animal. The dog slowly approached the bowl. After another sorrowful glance at his benefactor, the dog lapped up the broth before chewing on the few wontons. After his meal, the dog showed his delight by wagging his tail. He looked at Ben while licking his lips, as if to say I’m still hungry. The dog lowered his head subserviently and edged closer to the crouching human. Ben leaned backwards, not sure what the strange animal may do. Ben lost his balance and fell on his ass. The clever dog took the opportunity and grabbed the container holding Ben’s pepper steak meal by the wire handle. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s MY dinner.” The dog backed away, before turning and entering the dark alley from which he appeared.

Ben got to his feet, grabbed the remaining food items and followed the four footed thief into the darkness. Ben realized it wasn’t an alley, but a tunnel like structure between two storefronts that lead to the back of the buildings. The height and width of the passage was slightly less than Ben’s meager measurements. He had to stoop and askew his shoulders as he progressed. The only light in the passage way came from either end. Something about the tight space disoriented Ben. He ran the fingertips of his free hand along the tunnel’s brick walls to keep himself from feeling dizzy. He had to stop halfway to take a deep breathe. There was a strange odor in the air. Maybe that was causing him to feel so strange. Ben thought about turning back. Then he got a glimpse of the dog as it reached the other end. It was moving at a leisurely pace, obviously not afraid of his pursuer. Ben looked back and realized he had passed the half way point. He decided to take the shorter course and continue following the dog.

Ben felt like he had run a marathon when he reached the end of the tunnel. He fell back onto the building and looked up to the night sky. He needed to see endless open space. He took a deep breath of the cool air. The odor was stronger now. Ben lowered his eyes and realized he was in a small courtyard about 15 feet square. The windows in the four story buildings that surrounded him were lit at various levels from within. The courtyard was asymmetrical with more space to his right than his left. He looked to his right and saw an older man in drab clothing and a Fu Man Chu mustache. Ben thought he looked as if he had stepped out of bad martial arts movie. The man was sitting, cross legged, on a rectangular pillow that rested on the ground. Above him was a simple canopy made of red cloth. There was a small camp fire in front of him with a tea kettle suspended above it. The man was smoking from a large water pipe, beside him was the dog.

“Does this belong to you, young man?” the smoker asked holding up the carton containing his dinner. Ben shook his head yes. “I am sorry. He can’t help himself. I believe he was a thief in a previous life,” the man said with a heavy Chinese accent. Ben did not answer; he just stared at the man. He didn’t know why, but something about him was totally captivating. After a few moments, the older man spoke again. “Do you mind coming to me? With my old bones, it will take me forever to get up.”

Ben woke-up and said “sorry” before moving toward the old man. As he approached the strange odor became stronger. It must be coming from the pipe. As Ben got closer, the Asian man’s clothing caught Ben’s attention. While plain in color, the cloth was rich in texture and immaculately kept. The long vest had exquisite pleating and intricate stitching. Ben was surprised that a homeless man would be wearing such well-made clothing. He went to take the food carton but thought it was the wrong thing to do; the man was probably just as hungry as his dog. “Why don’t you keep it? Maybe fate meant you to have it?” Ben said as he withdrew his hand. He then put the carton of rice and the wax paper bag in front to the old man. He stood up and put both hands in his pocket. He moved his weight from side to side nervously.

“So you believe in fate, do you?,” the man asked.

“Sure, why not.” Ben answered in a careless manner shrugging his narrow shoulders. “You have to believe in something, right?”

The man stared at Ben for a few moments. He squinted his eyes as if trying to see something in more detail. “You are so generous. Why don’t you join me?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine. I really should be going,” Ben said looking toward the tunnel.

“Then just a cup of tea.” The man picked up the wax paper bag and removed its contents. He pulled out the tea bag stuck between the soy and duck sauce packets. He then held up the fortune cookie, “And of course to find out what fate has in store for you.”

Ben looked at the tunnel entrance again and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He felt like he should leave, but the man still captivated him. He looked at the man’s kind face and felt suddenly relaxed. “Who am I to deny fate?” Ben sat on the ground, cross legged, in front of the small fire at a right angle from his host.

The old man smiled, “Good.” He reached for a small bell and shook it. A soft ringing echoed in the man made cavern. A petite Asian woman appeared from the building doorway behind the old man. She was dressed in a form fitting, short, silk dress that eluded to her heritage. The impeccably groomed woman bowed slightly as she stood in front of her elder. Her beautiful face glowed in the dim firelight. The old man spoke softly in his native tongue to the silent woman. Ben observed her posture. It was apparent the man was no penniless bum. With her lowered eyes, she seemed to be his servant. Ben became embarrassed by his assumption. The man’s dialogue went on for some time. Ben lost interest and started to explore his surroundings. He found himself looking up at the star filled sky. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure if it was the strange smoke from the man’s pipe or the fact his body was worn from work, but he found himself feeling more and more relaxed. He realized he was surrounded by silence. He brought his attention back to his host who was staring at him. The girl was gone. “My name is Wen Chu.” Ben said his name as he put his hand on his chest. “So tell me, young Ben, how did you happen to feed my dog?”

“I’m sorry to say it wasn’t intentional. I accidentally dropped the food and he took advantage of the opportunity to get a meal” Ben said with smile. “He’s a clever pooch.”

“Yes. Every creature should take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Don’t you agree, young Ben?” Ben nodded. “Is there an opportunity you hope will present itself to you?’

“Not that I can think of” Ben said after a moment of contemplation. He then smiled, “Unless you count the usual stuff.”

“The usual…stuff?” Wen Chu asked.

“Yeah, you know: fame, fortune, and stunning good looks,” Ben laughed. Wen Chu squinted at younger man again without saying a word. Ben felt as if he was looking right through him. He struggled to think of something to say to ease his discomfort. But Wen Chu released his gaze on Ben when the beautiful girl reappeared. She was carrying a tray containing two porcelain tea cups and a cherry wood chest. The girl rearranged the items in front of Wen Chu and prepared the tea. The older man looked over to his guest and found him looking up at the sky again. He whispered something to the girl before she left. Wen Chu opened the chest. It contained eight equally sized compartments filled with different colored powders. He put pinch of one powder into Ben’s cup.

“The night sky is beautiful. One being under the stars and moon helps to keep things in prospective. Yes?” Ben just smiled not really knowing what the old man was trying to say. Wen Chu smiled back and held up the cup for Ben. “Those things you desire. They don’t make a man a good person. You are a good person, Ben. This I can tell. Isn’t that enough to be happy, to embrace what fate has already given you?”

Ben tried to focus on the conversation. He took the tea and sipped the hot liquid. “Mmmm, that’s good. I usually throw out this stuff.” Ben took a larger sip. The warmth of tea raced through his achy body making him feel warm and even more relaxed.

“I’m glad you like the tea. We Chinese believe tea, like life, is to be savored.” Both men took another sip from the delicate cups. “Young Ben, you didn’t answer my question. Isn’t being a good person enough for you?”

“Good, oh yeah, I’m good.” Ben laughed before he continued, “Everyone thinks I’m good; a good friend, a good student, a good worker, a good employee, an all-around good guy. Tomorrow is my birthday and nobody will care. I’ll be lucky if I get a text message from my own mother. She’s busy with her new family. She always said I’m such a good son, that she doesn’t have to worry about me. But what she really means is she can forget about me. Being good is fuckin’ lame. Good is average, beige, vanilla. I don’t want to be good, I want to be better. I want to be special, talented, to be noticed, remembered and wanted and desired..and..and…and to make people’s juices flow. I don’t want to be this.” Ben said pointing to himself and spilling a little of his tea. “You know what I mean, Wen?” Ben finished his tea. He rubbed his forehead. He was feeling strange, almost like he was drunk. Why did he say those things to this stranger? Those thoughts he kept buried deep inside, too embarrassed to share with anyone.

A young Asian man appeared from the darkness. He was wearing an outfit similar to the one Wen Chu wore, but he wore no shirt under his vest. The younger man was as strikingly beautiful as the girl. His glossy, black hair was long and framed his handsome face. The sleeveless vest showcased his broad shoulders and strong arms. The deep v-shaped neckline revealed his defined chest and smooth skin. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off the hunk. Wen Chu noticed that Ben didn’t stare up at the sky this time when they were interrupted. The man bowed slightly and presented a larger cherry-wood box to the older man. Wen Chu opened the box and scanned the contents. To Ben, it looked like a collection of gold rings. Each one perfectly placed in a specific location within the box. The rings looked identical except for the symbol or Chinese letter engraved on top. Wen Chu selected one ring and slipped over his middle finger. He twisted the ring so the symbol was on the underside of his finger. His handsome assistant closed the box and removed the tea kettle from the small open flame. He made an adjustment that caused the flame to grow brighter. The old man pulled back the loose sleeve of his shirt, then stuck his hand into the fire and held it there. Ben let out a same gasp and leaned forward, almost toppling over. His crossed legs had lost on feeling. His instinct was to pull the man’s hand out of the fire, but he stopped when he saw no concern by the other two men.

“Do not worry, young Ben. This no longer causes me any pain. I’ve been doing this for many years; more years than you can imagine. To my people I am known as a zhong yi. What you may call a medicine man. People come to me for help when the usual means will not work. I must decide if the person making the request is worthy. What fate wants for them. You believe you are worthy, young Ben.” As Wen Chu spoke, the younger man moved behind Ben and held him still by grabbing onto his shoulders. Ben’s body was almost numb as it was, but now he was totally immobile. “I believe fate has brought you to me on the night before your birthday, the most important day in a person’s life. I can not deny what fate says I must do. I aim to help you become the better man you want to be.” Wen Chu removed his hand from the fire. The ring glowed red from the heat, but the man’s skin was undamaged.

Fear overtook Ben. He tried to scream but his throat seized. Wen Chu jumped to his feet effortlessly with the vigor of an adolescent. Wen Chu bent down and put his hand, palm side up, between Ben’s open thighs. He moved his hand closer to Ben’s crotch. He grabbed Ben’s package. The old man’s thumb pressed down on the fly of Ben’s jeans, while his other fingers pushed up from underneath. The smell of burning cotton reached Ben’s nose right before the searing heat from the Wen Chu’s ring hit the tender skin of Ben’s ball sack. Ben tried to scream again, but his drugged body denied him a vocal release. Wen Chu whispered in Ben’s ear, “On the day of your birth you will become more than those you admire. With a single touch, you will become the better man” Ben passed out at the moment the smell of burned hair and flesh overtook the air.

 

Part 2

Ben woke-up to strained music. He was in his bedroom. Like almost every morning, his room mate was playing the guitar in the next room. Everything looked hazy and his mouth was extremely dry. He was lying on top of his covers, completely dressed. He struggled to move his body, his joints felt stiff and achy. He forced himself to sit up, his legs dangled over the side of his twin-size mattress. He felt a jolt of pain when his package was squeezed between his thighs. He put his hand on his crotch. His ring finger slipped into a hole on the underside of his jeans. He bent forward to see the hole. It was about a half inch in diameter. The material around the hole was scorched. It looked like a cigarette burn. He stood up slowly and removed his pants to examine the hole again. He removed his underwear and found a similar hole in the same area. He grabbed his balls and felt the pain again. He gently lifted his scrotum and found a mark burned into his flesh, like he was branded. “What the fuck?’ Ben said aloud. His clothes had a strangely familiar odor. He pulled off his shirt. He put the garment to his nose. The sweet and spicy scent caused an image of an old Chinese man to flash in his mind. He struggled to balance himself on one leg as he pulled on a pair of cargo shorts he found on the floor. He staggered to the door and went into the living room. The volume level of the music increased as he passed his room mate on the couch and entered the kitchen.

“You look like shit, dude,” his room mate said without stopping his strumming. Ben didn’t answer as he continued his slow march to the refrigerator. He opened the appliance door and removed a bottle of apple juice. He twisted off the cap and chugged the contents. “What happened to you last night, Ben? Why were you in China town?”

“China town?” Ben asked in a gravelly voice.

“Yeah, this buff Chinese dude, in like these happening clothes, brought you home. You were totally shit-faced. He dumped you onto your bed and split without saying a word. I figured he had to be from China town to wear that getup.”

“I took the bus there to get something to eat,” Ben said as he rubbed his head. “There was this dog and this strange old guy who was smoking something. He gave me some tea. I’ve got his burn mark on my balls. I thought it was from a cigarette, but now I don’t know.”

“What?” Ben’s room mate stopped playing his guitar for the first time. He got up and walked to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. “Some old guy drugged you and burned your balls. My God you are such a loser.” He continued holding back his laughter. “Is your ass sore too? He probably fucked you with his shriveled Chink dick.”

“Fuck you, Holt. This isn’t funny. Who knows what he did to me? Ben cupped his balls again, this time the pain wasn’t as sharp. He squeezed is ass cheeks together, but felt nothing. He suddenly felt very vulnerable and exposed without a shirt on.

“Don’t panic, dude. I was only kidding. The guy might have been old, but not desperate enough to stake your scrawny ass. He probably jut mugged you.” Holt could see Ben was still concerned. “Hey Rockefeller, it’s not like you ever carry more than $20. The most valuable thing you own is that lame bus pass. The guy’s a freak, who gets off drugging young dudes. The burn was probably from a cigarette like you said. Was the perv smoking?” Ben shook his head. “There you go. How old was he?”

“Old, like Methuselah, old,” Ben said feeling more relieved.

“No worries, dude. A guy that old can’t get it up anyway. Good news, you’re still a virgin,” Holt joked as he put his large hand on Ben’s narrow bare chest and pushed him backwards. At the moment Holt touched him, a jolt of pain went through Ben’s head and throat. Ben groaned and bent forward in pain. “What a wus? I hardly touched you.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” Ben’s voice cracked as he spoke. “Uhm, hmm, it felt like someone put an ice pick through my temple and punched me in the throat at the same time.” Ben cleared his voice as he straightened up and rubbed his forehead and neck. “But it’s gone now.”

“Maybe it was a migraine? I hear they can come on very fast and intensely,” Holt commented.

“It was strange; I never felt anything like that before. Ahem, hmm. Does my voice sound different to you?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, deeper,” Holt said before adding, “Hey maybe you are finally going through puberty, Benji!”

“Ha, Ha!”

“In your case, it’s more likely a cold.”

“Why don’t you go back to working on your song? Don’t you have a gig tomorrow night?” Ben said feeling better.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on this same stanza for over a week. I just can’t seem to get it right,” Holt went back to the guitar on the sofa. He started strumming the strings again.

“I know. I’ve woken up to it every day. It‘s in my subconscious. I can play it better than you at this point?”

“Now who’s being funny,” Holt said with some arrogance.

“Yeah, I know you are the musical genius and I can’t tell the difference between an A sharp from a B flat,” Ben said with some remorse. He watched Holt play a few chords and sing the same lines over. Holt was an extremely good singer and songwriter. Ben was always a little envious of his talent. “I’m going to take a shower.” Holt didn’t respond, but then again there was no reason for him too.

Ben took a long, hot shower. He spent more time than usual cleaning his ball sack and ass crack. He thoroughly brushed his teeth and gargled twice with Listerine. He got dressed in some clean clothes and felt much better. He walked back into the kitchen, humming along with Holt’s singing. Ben started to make his breakfast. Once gain Holt got to the same point and stopped. He slammed this hand into the couch. “This is so frustrating. I’ve never been blocked like this before.” He played the song again and stopped at the same spot. “Fuck,” Holt said before throwing his guitar onto the chair on the other side of the room.

Ben stopped eating his cereal, and walked into the living room. He picked up the guitar. “I don’t know what the big deal is, the answer is so obvious.” Ben positioned the guitar on his knee as if he had been playing for years. He played the same part of the song then went into a complicated chord change. Go from the G into a split C/E to get to the bridge. And change the lyric from “She’s the one I dream about” to “You are the one I dream about”, the additional syllable makes the line flow better. Ben sang the song in perfect pitch. His voice was strong and pure hitting notes that Holt could not. After completing the song, Ben stopped and looked at a stunned Holt.

“What was that?” Holt asked. “Since when can you play guitar and sing like that.”

Ben didn’t think about what he was doing, it just came naturally to him. The realization of what he had just done sank in. He stood up and handed the guitar to Holt. “I don’t know. I heard you struggling with it, and somehow I just knew how to fix the song.”

“So now you’re suddenly a better singer and song writer than I am. Is that what you’re saying, Benji?” Holt stood. His tone was one of anger and jealousy.

‘No, of course not, Holt. I just thought I could help you”. Ben answered backing away from bigger man.

“Did I ask for your help?”

“No. I’m sorry.” Ben continued his backward movement toward the door. “I’ve got to be going. I’m late for class.” Ben picked-up his backpack. “I’ll clean up my dishes when I get home.” Ben closed the door and stood in the hall. He looked at his hands trying to understand why he could now play the guitar. He remembered how his voice changed after the sudden pain in his throat. Did that have something to do with his new singing ability?

Ben kept on thinking about what happened as he walked the campus. He hardly remembered anything about his first class. His daydreaming was abruptly ended in Statistics when the professor announced a pop quiz. The entire class groaned and the professor smiled. He then reminded the class that quizzes make up a quarter of their overall grade. He got some sadistic joy out of tormenting his students. He loved using his genius IQ to make others feel inferior. Ben heard the guy behind him talking to someone, “Which one of the five languages Maniac Mandrel speaks, do you think would be the best to tell him to go fuck himself?” The professor walked behind his students handing out the quiz and making sure everyone had put away their books and cell phones. He put the test face down in front of Ben, who went to turn it over. The professor grabbed Ben’s hand; again Ben felt an intense jolt of pain in his head. “Shit,” Ben whispered.

“What did you say to me young man?” Mandrel asked.

“Nothing, sir. My head hurt for a minute” Ben answered rubbing his forehead. “I’m sorry, professor.”

“Your head hurt, well based on your grades it’s not from having too much knowledge up there is it?” Mandrel said loudly. Ben heard several of his classmates laugh.

“No, sir.”

“I am going to say this again. I hope all your bright young minds will be able to comprehend this time. Do not turn over your quiz, until I instruct you to do so.”

“Yes, sir,” the class said in unison.

The professor finished distributing the quiz and returned to the front of the classroom. “You will have 35 minutes to complete the quiz. Those of you who do not finish in time, which I’m sure will be the majority, should be aware that no answer is a wrong answer. If anyone does finish, bring it to me and you can leave.” He looked at his watch, “You can begin now.”

Ben turned over his paper and wrote his name. He knew at least he would get that right. The read the first question, it was an easy one. He thought Mandrel was lulling the class into a false sense of security by starting off with something simple. But the second question was easy too. Ben found all ten questions amazingly easy. He finished in only twelve minutes. Ben slowly stood up and walked to the professor’s desk. He thought it odd he was the first one to complete the quiz. “Do you have a question?” the professor asked without looking up.

“No, sir. I’m finished”, Ben whispered.

“Finished? Did you finish or did you give up?” Mandrel asked loudly.

“No, I answered all the questions” Ben said holding up his paper.

“I’ll be the judge of that, young man” the professor ripped the paper from Ben’s hand. He looked at the first answer and gave Ben a strange look. “Congratulations, you got the first one right. Of course that was a soft one.”

“I knew it. I thought it was easy too. I was surprised; the whole test was kind of easy.” Ben said.

“Why don’t you take your seat….Benjamin,” the professor had to read the student’s name off the quiz paper, “while I check the remainder of your answers to my easy questions.” Ben turned around and saw several of the other students staring at him as he returned to his seat. He sat there while the professor reviewed his test. Ben used the time to review the older tests in had in his backpack. He didn’t understand why he got so many questions wrong. None were that difficult. Mandrel indicated he wanted Ben to come to his desk. “Congratulations, Mr.Hamilton, you have answered every question correctly. This is quite a feat for someone with a less than stellar track record.”

“Everything just seemed to click today,” Ben tried to explain his improved performance.

“Really, just out of the blue, you are a statistical genius,” the professor said in a sarcastic tone.

“I never said that, professor,” Ben put his hands into his pockets and hunched his thin shoulders.

“Well, you must be to sail through these questions. Questions I spent several hours putting together and which you called kind of easy. Maybe you think you should be teaching this class, since it is so easy.” Mandrel’s tone was getting louder and angrier.

Ben was getting nervous. He crossed his arms over his chest and squeezed to relieve some of the tension. “No, sir. I just think your great teaching has finally sunk in. The student is only as good as his teacher, right?”

“Don’t bullshit me, boy. The only way you could get every question right in only 15 minutes on one of my tests is if you cheated.” The professor stood up and leaned into the frightened student.

“No, I swear I didn’t…” Ben tried to defend himself meekly.

“I will be notifying the dean about this and ask for a full investigation. Until then you are suspended from my class. Now get out of my sight,” the professor yelled, his face turning red from his rage. He sat down and lowered his head to return to his paperwork. Ben took a few steps backward, before turning and running out of the class.

Ben wondered around campus and found himself at the cafeteria. He sat at an empty table to consume his chocolate milk and Twinkies, his usual lunch. He also ate alone as usual. He took out his statistics text book. He skimmed the chapters. It all seemed so obvious, almost at the level of common sense. He moved to the last chapters that hadn’t been covered in class yet. The new material seemed matter-of-fact too. He usually had to read each paragraph several times and highlight passages before it partially sunk in. But now he just had to glance over the words and problems before he understood it completely. Ben opened his English Lit book and it too seemed almost remedial. Two girls he recognized from his statistics class walked by his table. They looked at him then whispered to each other. Ben knew he was labeled as a cheater now. It would only be a matter of time before it spread throughout the entire school. He finished his chocolate milk before he opened another text book. He read an entire semester’s amount of work in less than an hour and thoroughly comprehended the subject. Ben tried to use his new found intelligence to make sense of what was happening to him. First the music thing and then the academics; somehow his brain was radically changed over night. That old guy in China town must have done something to him. That was the only explanation, regardless how implausible, of his new found abilities. Ben looked up at the clock and realized he had been in the cafeteria for over two hours. He was going to be late for work.

Ben ran to the bus stop in time to see the number 8 about a block passed his stop. “Damn it,” he said between gasps for air. Out of breath from his quarter mile jog, he took a seat on the bench. He checked his watch; that must have been the 1:16 bus. The next one wouldn’t be for another half hour. He couldn’t wait; he had to get to work. He saw the bus route map attached to the side panel of the bus stop enclosure. It always looked like a confusing mess of multi-colored spaghetti before, but now he saw patterns and order to the lines. He realized he just had to walk 2 blocks to catch the number 9 bus and transfer to the 14B, then to the 23A. He calculated, if he made all his connections, he would arrive at work at 1:54. “Perfecto!” he said aloud. He quickly walked 2 blocks and caught his bus. When he made his second transfer he was confident he would get to work on time, he finally started to relax. As he sat, two Hispanic women were in the seat in front of him. They were having a conversation, not particularly loud, but Ben could hear them. They two were discussing the bus routes and which would be the fastest to the county courthouse. Ben with his now detailed knowledge of the entire bus system knew both were wrong. The two went back and forth arguing the issue. Ben wished he had brought his mp3 player to help block out the noise. Eventually Ben had enough, he politely but sternly, interrupted the two women and told them the correct way in great detail. The surprised women thanked him. One woman commended him on how well he spoke Spanish, with no noticeable American accent. “Que?” asked a confused Ben. Then he realized he was speaking Spanish. He spoke and understood Spanish perfectly. Before today, the only Spanish he knew was on the Taco Bell menu. But to him the two ladies could have as easily been speaking English. Ben’s mind was reeling. What was happening to him? He didn’t have time to work on the problem, his stop was next.

Ben walked to couple of blocks to the gym rubbing his forehead, as if trying to squeeze the answers out of his brain. He found Mr. Griggs at the counter talking with a newspaper reporter. It was apparent he was enjoying the attention. The boss man waved to his employee to come over. Mr.Griggs shook Ben’s hand and introduced him to the newsman. Ben exchanged niceties and quickly excused himself. He entered his safe zone, the storage area. He hung up his backpack and stepped into his baggy coveralls. He pulled the top half up over his arms and shoulders, before zipping it closed. He looked in the full length mirror attached to the back of the room’s only door. He thought, why today of all days does this weird shit have to be happening. He was going to meet Chase Jameson, the world’s most perfect man today. He took a deep breath, then another. “Everything is fine. Just do your job and deal with all the other shit tomorrow. Okay, okay,” Ben gave himself a thumbs-up to enforce his pep talk.

Ben quickly walked through the locker room and picked-up the scattered towels. He emptied the trash can and carried the half-full bag onto the gym floor. He put the garbage bag he carried into the trash can in the gym. He looked around to see who was here. The gym was more crowded than usual, but most people weren’t working out. They were dressed in street clothes and hung around the lobby. It looked like they would have a good turn-out for Mr. Universe. Ben saw two regulars using the equipment. It was the Iron Spike and Geoff. He knew neither of them would be impressed by Chase. To Spike, Chase was just a poser. Geoff was a better looking man and saw the bodybuilder’s massive musculature as a hindrance, not an advantage.

Spike was working his superhuman chest on the incline bench press. He was had just finished a set with 440 pounds. He loaded another twenty pounds onto the bar. Spike positioned his square-shaped body under the bar. He threw his arms back to stretch out his thick pecs. He grabbed the bar and took a deep breath. Ben watched as his body fought to raise the weight. Spike’s face grew red, the bar shook along with the lifter’s arms, but it did not rise. Spike released his grip and sat up. He rubbed his solid tits through the sweat soaked t-shirt he wore. He turned to see Ben staring at him. Ben quickly turned away and bent down to pick up a towel. Ben looked back at Spike and saw him try the weight again, but again he failed. Spike got up and rubbed his chest again. He stood up this time. He shook out his legs and arms. He swung his arms back and forth the best he could. His muscle bound physique limited the movement. He sat down on the bench again and tried the lift for a third time; but failed. He sat up and pounded his fists into his massive thighs. He got up and walked the few feet to the dumbbell racks. He picked up a 120 pounder in each hand and started to do quick alternate curls to help psych himself up. Ben was standing next to the incline bench now which still held 460 pound bar. Spike tossed the weights back into the rack and turned around to face the bench. A startled Ben started to wipe Spike’s sweat from the vacated bench. Spike gave Ben a dirty look.

“Y-y-your s-s-supposed to wipe off the equipment when you’re done,” Ben said nervously.

Spike walked up Ben. The musky scent radiating from Spike’s pores invaded Ben’s nose. Ben could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Ben’s three inch height advantage was easily negated by Spike’s overwhelming breadth. Only inches from Spike, Ben felt like a stick figure. Spike finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity to Ben. “Then you wouldn’t have a job, little man.” To demean Ben even more, Spike patted the weaker man’s head as if he were a child. Ben felt intense pain flash throughout his entire body. His muscles seized, paralyzing him. Spike didn’t even notice, he walked by Ben, hitting him with his bowling ball sized shoulder as he passed. Unable to control his balance, Ben’s stiff body fell into the incline bench.

Spike continued his trek to the squat machine on the other side of gym. The intense pain left Ben’s body as quickly as it came. Finally able to move his arms, Ben clung onto the weight bench to keep himself for collapsing. He slowly lowered his body onto the bench. He twisted his body into the proper position; as he willed his limbs to move, they felt different. They were heavier and stiffer. Ben let his head rest on the back of bench. He was breathing heavy and sweating. His overalls felt confining and hot on him. This felt worse than the flash head aches he experienced earlier. He wanted to bring his right hand to his brow to wipe the sweat away. But, his upper arm and shoulder felt tight, he fought to make contact with his head. He felt like something was tearing around his shoulder. He twisted uncomfortably to look at his shoulder, his overalls look undamaged. He brought his left hand to examine his right shoulder. The tightness in his left shoulder was similar to his right. This time he heard the sound of tearing, but the sound was muffled. He took turns looking at and feeling the clothing around his shoulders. The cloth was okay, but what it covered felt different. His shoulders and upper arm felt larger and much harder. Ben stopped exploring his overalls and finally wiped his forehead dry. He let his arms drop, closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He was feeling much better, almost invigorated. But his chest still felt like it was in a vice. It made breathing difficult. He wondered if he was having a heart attack. But he deduced he didn’t have any of the typical systems and based on his age and family history, it was highly unlikely.

Ben opened his eyes. They slowly focused on the weight bar in front of him. He noticed black, scuff-like marks on the metal bar. “Damn, cheap weight gloves”, he said under his breath. He held the bar in one hand, and pulled a towel out of his pocket with the other. He brought the towel to the bar and started to vigorously wipe it. The marks proofed to be stubborn. He wiped faster and pressed up on the bar more. The edges of the glove and resin residue disappeared, but the larger deposits remained. Ben pressed harder, suddenly one side of the bar rose off the rack. Ben quickly lowered his arms. “What the fuck?” he said. He stared at the bar for few seconds. He wrapped the towel around the back of his neck. He grabbed the weight bar with both hands. He took a couple of quick, deep breaths and pressed up. He heard the bar rattle in the rack. Ben pushed harder, his back arching away from bench. He clenched his teeth and exerted more effort. The bar rose out off the rack. Ben felt and heard the tearing again, this time around his chest. Ben lowered the bar. Not truly believing what he just did, “Shit!” he said astonished.

It was easier to breath now; the restricting feeling around his chest was much less. He could feel his abdominals clench when he pulled himself into the sitting position. Ben put his hand on chest. It felt more round and much, much harder. He slowly lowered the long zipper that ran down the center his coveralls. The two sides of the zipper pulled away from each other revealing the source of the tearing. The t-shirt he wore underneath was ripped down the center. A set of defined pectoral muscles protruded through the tattered cotton. He pulled apart the coveralls to increase the size of the opening. He saw more tears of his undershirt at the shoulders. Ben put his hand over one of the solid slabs of muscle. “This is awesome.” His hand traveled to his other pec, his fingers falling into the crevice between the two granite mounds. It felt like someone implanted two 8 inch cast iron frying pans under his skin. “So hard”, Ben whispered as he instinctively flexed his new found muscle tits. As he continued to feel up his steely torso, his cock was becoming as hard as his muscles. Ben looked down and saw a growing bulge at his crotch. His confined erection brought to mind, his shirt wasn’t the only too tight article of clothing. Ben stood up making sure to keep his back to the rest of the gym. He undid the button closure of his jeans and struggled to pull down the taunt zipper. The slim-fit denim was now filled to capacity by Ben’s thicker thighs and ass. He stuck his hand down his underwear and pulled his still rather small stiffy up toward his newly toned stomach. The freedom from the painful pressure made Ben sigh in relief.

“Excuse me, do you work here?” a voice interrupted Ben’s pleasurable moment. Ben frantically tried to zip up his coveralls. In his panic, the zipper got stuck a third of the way up. Ben felt a hand tap him on the shoulder, “Excuse me. I asked if you worked here.” Ben saw a figure move around him out of the corner of his eye. He turned his body in the same direction so the other person wouldn’t see the state of his clothes. Ben pulled the towel from around his neck and draped it over his head.

“Can I help you?” Ben responded and quickly knelt down next to the inclined bench. He pretended to be working on it’s underside in attempt to avoid making eye contact with the other person. He saw the legs of his inquisitor appear on the other side of the bench. One glance at their flawless shape, tightly covered in smooth tan skin, and he knew they had to belong to Geoff.

“Yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any power going to the second treadmill,” Geoff stated.

“Okay, as soon as I get done here. I’ll check it out”, Ben said. His voice exhibited a lot of stress.

Geoff leaned in to try to see the worker’s face, but the angle and towel prevented him. He leaned in closer. He put his hands on the padded seat to stabilize his bent over stance. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes sir, I’m fine. I should be done here in a minute or two,” Ben answered as he lowered his head even more. As he squatted, the too tight jeans were restricting his blood flow. Ben repositioned his legs and lost his balance. He grabbed for the bench, Ben’s hand landed on top of Geoff’s. Another flash of pain ran through Ben. This time it was his entire body, from head to toe. Ben instinctively put his hands over the most painful area, his face. He toppled over in the fetal position, temporarily paralyzed.

“Oh my God, are you all right?” Geoff moved around the bench to kneel next to Ben. The model pulled the towel off of Ben’s head surprised to find a head covered in wavy blonde hair, a lighter shade than his own. Ben started to recover and lowered his hands. He turned and looked up at Geoff who had a strange look on his face. “Are you okay?” Geoff asked for a third time.

Ben twisted his body and sat up. “Yeah, I’m fine now. I just had a muscle spasm.” Ben answered running his fingers over his face. It felt strange, weird to him. He finally looked at Geoff. Geoff’s eyes darted from Ben’s face to his torso. Ben looked down and saw his coveralls were wide open due to his crunched position; his shredded t-shirt and chest on display. Ben did a double take, his chest looked different. He still had protruding slaps of muscle, but his pecs looked more defined. They were broader, flatter, more square in shape. He could see the striations of the muscles hanging from his breast bone. He could also see a perfect set of ab muscles bulging below his more perfect chest. His skin was tan almost golden in color, instead of his usual pasty complexion. There was no sign of his freckles or scattered moles either. His soft, doughboy appearance was gone. Ben pulled his overalls closed the best he could with one hand while he stood up. Geoff helped him. Once on his feet, Ben tried to straighten his clothes. They felt tighter, almost restricting everywhere except his waist. Ben ran his fingers through his hair pushing it out of his face. His hair felt different in his fingers; thicker and silkier. He found Geoff staring at him again.

Geoff must have noticed Ben’s discomfort. “Sorry to stare, but I thought you were somebody else. Do you work here?” Geoff asked scanning Ben’s uniform.

“Yes, for the past several months”, Ben said a little annoyed. He was getting tired of not being noticed.

Geoff looked at Ben’s face intently and scanned his body again before asking, “Have you ever done any modeling?’

Ben chuckled, “Eh, no.”

“I don’t want you to think this is some come-on line or that I’m hitting on you. Because I’m sure that happens all the time. I’ve got a girlfriend, I’m perfectly straight. But I think you could be a model.” Geoff hesitated for a moment still staring at Ben. “I’m sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Geoff Roberts. I’m a model and know what clients are looking for. And you have it. I’ve never seen such perfect bone structure and your skin is amazing. If you’re interested I could introduce you to my agent.”

Ben looked around the room trying to figure out why Geoff was saying this to him. Was he being punked? Would Geoff start laughing at him any minute? Ben took a step back and said “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure? You can make a lot more money modeling than you can working here.” Ben shook his head no as he continued his retreat. “Well, if you change your mind. I’m here almost every day.”

Ben turned and started to walk back to the storage room. He needed to figure out what was going on with him. He quickened his pace, looking behind him to check on Geoff. As he entered the locker room he ran into Damon, the basketball player. Ben raised his hands as did Damon when they collided. When the two men touched, the paralyzing pain overtook Ben’s body again. He fell backwards and was caught by someone behind him. Ben felt his head make contact with the person’s chest causing a second burst of pain centered in his crotch. Ben’s body was fully functional within seconds. Oddly he was getting used to these painful shocks. He straightened up, or tried to. His coveralls where forcing him to hunch over. When he tried to stand, he gave himself a painful wedgie. Ben pulled the coveralls off his shoulders allowing him to stand completely erect. He went to apologize to Damon for running into him, but stopped when he realized they were the same height. In fact Ben was slightly taller than the basketball star. “No, way,” Ben whispered. He then turned to see who caught him. It was Beefstick. Ben actually had to look down to see him. Ben quickly regained his composure. His body was racked with pain, he had to get out of there fast. “Sorry guys, totally my fault.” The two other men just stared, mouth agape, at the taller, larger, more handsome, muscular man in the torn t-shirt. Ben walked away as quickly as he could, but it felt like his legs were in a cast. His feet were gnarled inside his sneakers. It felt like an elephant was standing on his balls, each step adding more pressure. He hobbled into the stock room and locked the door behind him.

Once safe from view, Ben immediately fell to the floor. He reached for his sneakers and pulled at the laces. He heard a ripping sound and felt a little relief at his groin He pulled off his shoes. His feet were red and distorted. He rubbed each foot to sooth the twisted joints and tendons. As the pain subsided Ben wiggled his toes to encourage the blood to flow freely to his digits. With his legs spread out before him, he saw the coverall’s cuffs were now at mid-calf. He laid on his back and peeled the outer layer of clothing off of him. That’s when the real problem became apparent. The jeans which were once loose on him, now were so tight his legs looked like blue sausages. He couldn’t even bend his knees. Luckily he had unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans earlier. He saw the bulge of his cock behind his underwear protruding from the spread open zipper. He reached inside the fly of his boxers with two fingers and tried to pull out his rod which was trapped in a pant leg. But he couldn’t get a grip.. With the pain from his feet ended, the pain from his balls took top priority. Feeling frustrated, Ben brought his other hand to the fly and pulled, the thin cotton fabric of the boxers ripped easily. For the first time Ben could see his cock. It was amazingly thick and long, even in its flaccid state. He pulled the rubbery hose out and let it fall on his stomach. But Ben couldn’t enjoy his new endowment yet. He forced his hand into the larger underwear opening and pulled up on his balls. He bit his lower lip as the pain intensified momentarily until his big boys emerged from the hole and spilled out onto his lap. Ben fell back onto the floor to catch his breath. The cool concrete floor felt good on his back. He felt the cold on his ass too. He put a hand under his seat and felt his ass. At least he thought it was his ass. The seat of his jeans and underwear had split when he sat down. “good thing” Ben thought. He returned his hand to his balls and massaged them to encourage the pain to subside. God, they felt so good in his hand.

As the feeling to his balls returned, he realized his legs were becoming numb. The tight pants were acting as a tourniquet, cutting off his blood flow. He grabbed the waistband of his jeans and pulled down. The jeans only lowered to the top of his thighs. Ben pushed harder, but the jeans would not pass his beefy upper legs. Ben rested for a moment and looked around the room. He saw a pair of scissors he used to unpack the gym’s merchandise. Ben rolled over onto his stomach, crushing his balls again. “Fuck,” he moaned. He had to remember his boys were much bigger now. He stretched for the scissors. Amazed at how far his longer limbs could reach. He rolled onto his back and started to cut the jean’s waist band. As soon as he passed the pocket stitching, the fabric split open all the way to the cuff allowing his muscular leg to explode through. Ben cut the cuff before starting the other side. He gave a sigh of relief and flexed his legs to get the blood going again. Finally able to bend his knees, Ben got his feet. He used a combination of brute strength and the scissors to remove the tattered remains of his underwear and t-shirt. Ben was completely nude. He looked around the room. Everything looked so different, so small and fragile. He saw his reflection in the full length mirror and gasped. “Jesus Christ, is that me?” Ben walked closer to the mirror.

He ran his fingers through his wavy golden blonde hair. Then he followed the exquisite contours of his masculine face; the perfect arch of his brow, the straight line of his nose, the full outline of his soft lips, and sharp edge of his jaw line and strong cleft chin. “How now brown cow,” he said to make sure the man in mirror was really him. He made funny faces. But no matter what he did he still looked beautiful. Ben laughed. “I’m fucking gorgeous. I’m a bigger, better looking version of Geoff”. His attention then went to his body. He twisted his torso slightly from side to side to search for a body flaw, but found none. His physique was tall and perfectly symmetrical. Every muscle was large and full, pushing out through his tight, smooth, bronze skin. He flexed his arms in a double bicep pose and smiled as his upper arms grew and hardened into baseballs. He twisted his torso to see the sculpted hill and valleys of his shoulders and back. He followed his spine down to his smooth, round ass cheeks. His shifted is weight and watched the twin mounds lift higher. He commanded the long muscle slabs to emerge from his thighs. He turned to face the mirror again. He ran his hands over his broad chest. The slightest movement made his prominent pec meat bounce. Ben then crunched his waist, and counted six solid bricks morph from his flat stomach. The exploration of his new body was affecting one body part more than any other. His cock was standing perpendicular to his body. It’s massive weight and size preventing it was passing beyond the 90 degree mark. Ben wrapped his large, strong hands around the 2 ½ diameter testing its hardness. He gently stroked the foot long cannon enjoying every erotic sensation. He easily reached a bottle of hand lotion on the shelf 3 feet away without taking a step. The bottle looked so small in his large, square hand. He squeezed the bottle and a too large glop of moisturizer came out. “Damn, I have to get used to my new strength.” He worked the lotion in his hands than applied the excess to his athletic body. The crème made his skin feel slicker, like silk on warm steel. The coating made his skin glisten in the florescent light. He used the last bit of lotion to cover his now throbbing tool. The slick surface allowed him to quicken his strokes. Ben mixed his pre-cum with the lotion, making a better lube. He put one hand on the door to hold himself up, while the other hand slid across his burning hot shaft. Heat radiated from his entire body as his pulse quickened and his breathing became fast and shallow. Ben kept his eyes open to watch his new body reach climax. With a soft moan, he released his seed. Within seconds, the third and final volley was expelled from his enormously powerful balls. Ben couldn’t believe the amount of fluid he produced. The intensity of the pleasure he experienced surpassed the increase in cum. He recovered quickly and tore some paper towels from the dispenser. With a quick jerk of his arm, he sent the entire apparatus crashing to the floor. “Shit, remember, go easy”. He took the paper towel in his hand and wiped his cock dry, squeezing the last bit of juice from its decreasing length. With one hand on his cock, his other hand went to massage his sack. He rolled the huge stones between his fingers and gently squeezed the whole overflowing package. That’s when he felt the imperfection. He pulled his balls up and fingered the mark. Looking in the mirror, Ben remembered it was the branding from Wen Chu. The old man’s words came back to him, “With a touch, you will be better than those you admire.”

Ben looked into his reflected eyes, “Better than those you admire.” Ben released his abundant package and brought his hands to his throat. “I admired Holt’s musical talent. So when he touched me this morning I became the better musician.” Ben’s mind was working in overdrive. “That’s why I aced Mandrell’s quiz. I always wished I was as smart as the professor and now am I more intelligent?” Ben began to pace. “Wait, this can’t be happening. Mandrel speaks five languages, so do I speak six? English, Español, Portuguese, Italiano, Français, and…Deutsch. KeinWeg!” Ben walked back to the mirror and flexed his powerful arms. “I’m stronger than Spike”. He examined his flawless face, ”Better looking than Geoff”. He rubbed his long, taunt, vein crossed six-pack, “Taller and leaner than Damon and better hung than Beef Stick.” Ben grabbed his voluminous ball sack, “I bet little Beef Stick would finally throw on a pair of boxers if I started to lurk around the locker room.” Ben laughed softly. The sight of his muscular torso tensing from the chuckle made his cock pulse. “This is so much better than I ever dreamed.” Ben’s tool ceased expanding as a thought came to mind. What if this is only good for one day? Wen Chu said “on the date of my birth. Shit, I forgot it was my birthday. I’m just as bad as my mother. Does that mean after today, I’ll be back to good ol’ Benji? I’ve got to know.” Ben needed answers from Wen Chu.

Ben realized he couldn’t leave without some sort of clothing. One of the shelving units in the room stored the clothing the gym sold. He found a sweat outfit in size 2X. He knew it would be too big for him, but he needed the spare material to compensate for his towering height. He stepped into the pants and tied the long drawstring taunt around his 34” waist. He looked in the mirror. The outline of his manhood was obscenely noticeable in the loosely gathered material. Ben looked around and found a pair of spandex shorts. The same shorts he made fun of his boss for wearing. He pulled the large sized shorts up, the material reluctantly expanding as it moved up his thick thighs. As the garment reached its final destination, it protested against the bulk it was expected to contain. Ben stuck his hands down the front to adjust his uncomfortably encased junk, As he fought for more material up front, the back center seam dug deeper between the granite-like globes of his ass. He pulled the stretchy material in every direction in an attempt to make the snug shorts more accommodating. After a minute or two, he gave up on the losing battle. He realized he had to get used to his clothes being much tighter. He slipped on the sweatpants again. While still obvious he was a big man, at least it didn’t look like he was shoplifting salami. He pulled on the matching sweatshirt and stepped into a pair of shower sandals he had found. His long toes and heels surpassed the skimpy foot bed. The sandals were marked as one size fits most and at a size 12EEE they did. But Ben was no longer part of “the most”, he estimated he wore at least a size 14 shoe now. Ben gave himself one last quick glance in the mirror. He ran his hands through his silky tresses to smooth out his wavy mane. He still couldn’t believe the reflection was really him. He was the best looking man he had ever seen. He felt his cock pulse with lust again. He pulled himself away and opened the storage room door.

Ben stepped out into the locker room. It was deserted, not even Beef Stick was around. Ben heard the low rumble of a crowd echoing through the empty room. He thought he could take advantage of the mayhem and slip out the door without being noticed. He walked casually out onto the gym floor and made the left to the lobby. He tried not to think about how his new body felt as he moved. The powerful muscles flexing and relaxing with each step was a new sensation for him. The eroticism of simply walking both frustrated and delighted him.

When Ben reached the lobby, his hopes of going unnoticed were dashed. The lobby was packed with about sixty people. Everyone’s eyes went to him as he appeared. The majority looked only for a second, but others slowly scanned him up and down as he made his way through the crowd. Ben passed by his boss, who was calling out his name. Ben instinctively covered his face, but soon remembered he had no resemblance to his former self. Ben was almost to the door when someone grabbed his arm. “Where you gong big guy?” Ben turned to see a well groomed man with a strong build in an expensive looking suit. The business man grabbed Ben’s hand to shake it. As he held Ben’s hand firmly, he put his left hand on Ben’s upper arm. He squeezed Ben’s tricep as if trying to figure out what kind of physique he had under that bulky sweatshirt. “Real solid and strong, are you a fitness model?” Ben shook his head no, before looking longingly out the door. “With your face and build, you should be. Let me introduce myself. I’m Steve Garcia, the president of Size-Zup supplements. We are always looking for fresh, new, upcoming bodybuilders to promote our products. Tell me, uhhhh…”

Ben picked up all Steve’s prompt, “Bennnssson. Uhh.” Ben looked up and saw Zachary’s bakery across the street. “Zach Benson.”

“Zach Benson, I like it. It’s a strong name for a strong guy.” Steve finally released his grip of Ben’s hand and playfully punched him in the stomach. Again he was testing the condition of his potential spokes model. The hardness of his target must have pleased him for he continued his inquiries. “Nice to meet you, Zach. Tell me do you have representation.” Ben gave him a strange look. “You know, an agent.” Again Ben nodded negatively. “Great, no reason to get a third party involved. You and I can work out a deal, de hombre a hombre”.

“No lo sé,” Ben answered without thinking.

“Oh, you speak Spanish. That will help with the South American market. Do you have some time to talk after..” Before Steve could finish, his attention was distracted as the door opened. The crowd cheered as Chase and several other men entered the lobby. Ben took the opportunity to move in the opposite direction away from the new center of attention. He went to the back of the room; at his height we had a clear view over the crowd. He thought he would just wait until Chase moved to the display table to sign autographs on the other side of the room. Once everyone was away from the door he could make his escape.

The crowd surrounded the newly crowned Mr. Universe telling him how good he looked. He wore a pair of spandex shorts similar to what Ben had under his sweat pants. On top he had a form fitting sleeveless t-shirt with the Size-Zup logo blazoned across his broad chest. The logo was distorted slightly as it wrapped around his pectoral shelf. As he sauntered through his fans, a multitude of groping hands caressed his massive arms. Chase’s arms were his best body part. It looked as if a set of ten pound hams were hanging from his shoulders. His powerful limbs glistened; the tanned smooth, thin, moist skin reflecting the room’s filtered light. A roadway of thick veins entwined each arm; the thicker ones dividing, increasing in number as they descended toward his large hands. Ben wondered how much bigger they would get when he was fully pumped. Each vein struggling to feed his muscles with the nutrients they demanded to grow ever larger, harder, stronger. Chase raised his arms into the classic double-bicep pose. Two magnificent mounds of masculine might emerged. The crowd cheered and the lucky few closest to him were able to feel up his sharply peaked granite mountains. Ben couldn’t believe his eyes. Chase looked even more massive in person than in his poster. “More, more, more,” the crowd demanded. Chase lowered his arms and shook his head no. He then raised the hem of his shirt several inches to display his cobbled waist. The crowd cheered and whistled their approval. Chase laughed.

Steve, who had gone unnoticed along side his star since he entered, raised his arms to calm the crowd. After several attempts to speak, the crowd finally quieted down enough to be heard. “Chase, it seems your fans want to see more of you”. He whispered something into Chase’s ear. Chase went into a single bicep pose. Steve took the role of a carnival barker. He punched the ball of steel, his hand bouncing off with after a loud thud. “You too can have muscle like this with the quality products from Size-Zup.” Steve patted the massive man on his chest to point out his company logo. Chase lowered his arm and bounced his pecs, distorting the printed image even more. The crowd hooted. After a few moments, Steve quieted the crowd again, “I think they want to see the posing routine that won the overall Mr.Universe title.” The crowd cheered louder.

Chase’s smile grew wider. He raised one hand and began to speak. Immediately the room fell into a hush. “I’ll do it, but I need someone to join me. I hate to pose alone.” The murmur from the crowd filled the room, but no one volunteered. Everyone knew they would look pathetic next to Mr.Universe. “Come on, someone must want to pose with me” Chase said with a confident grin as he crossed his thick arms over his broad chest.

Steve thought of his newest find, his eyes searched for Ben. Once in his sight Steve called out “Zach, Zach!” It took a second for Ben to realize Steve was talking to him. “Zach will do it.” The crowd parted to make a path for Ben to reach Chase and Steve. Ben reluctantly moved forward. Chase’s confidence diminished slightly at the sight of the taller, more handsome athlete approaching him. His mind tried to guess want kind of muscle the hunk had under his baggy sweat clothes. Steve introduced the two alpha males, “Zach Benson this, as you probably already know, is Chase Jameson”.

Chase raised his hand and said, “Nice to meet you Zach.” Ben was in awe standing this close to his idol. He couldn’t believe Chase had to look up to make eye contact. Without thinking, Ben slid his hand into Chase’s waiting grasp. As they made contact, Ben’s body was racked with pain once again. He fell to one knee. He felt his body expanding, getting heavier and stronger. As the pain ended, he became aware of the uncomfortable tightness of his sweat clothes binding him. He looked at his sleeve; it was now so tight he could see the outline of a thick vein running along the top of his bicep. Ben thought about his situation. If he just stood up, his increased bulk would be obvious to everyone. How could he explain it to the crowd?

His sharp mind quickly developed a plan. Ben inhaled deeply; his expanding chest caused the side seams of his shirt to creak from the strain. Ben looked up at Chase and scanned the crowd. They all had a confused look on their faces. “Sorry, I just got a little light headed there for a moment. I mean meeting ChaseJameson and being asked to pose with him. Wow, it’s all a bit much.” Chase’s cocky smile returned and the crowd’s collective expression changed to one of understanding. “I’d be honored to pose with you, Mr. Universe.” The crowd cheered their approval. Chase removed his shirt revealing his perfectly sculpted torso.

With the crowd temporarily distracted by Chase’s display, Ben put his plan into action. He thought if he could combine the removal of his clothes with the act of standing, it would prevent everyone from seeing how different he looked. Don’t give them a clear “after” shot to compare with the “before”. Staying in the crouched position he removed his too small sandal from the foot underneath him. Ben then balanced himself putting both hands on the floor to pull his other foot under him. He heard the muffled ripping sound of his pants’ center seam as it was being forced apart from his added bulk. He quickly removed the other sandal. He then grabbed the waist band of his pants and straightened his legs while bending at the waist. He had hoped to lower his pants in a quick, smooth motion. But his tree truck thighs thwarted his plan. He was forced to roll them down his titanic legs. The whispered chatter amongst the crowd behind increased as more of his lower body was revealed. Ben stepped out of his pants still in the stoop over position. He then grabbed the bottom of his shirt. He lifted the shirt toward his head as he stood up. Again his massive physique impeded the removal of the garment. The bottom of the shirt was too small to pass his chest. With a strong tug, the hem snapped and Ben pulled the shirt over his head. He continued to struggle to free his arms from the confining sleeves. It wasn’t until the shoulder seams were destroyed that Ben’s body was fully revealed to the onlookers. Ben looked down to see if his shorts were still there, but his swollen chest muscles blocked the view of his lower body.

Ben finally looked at the crowd. The room was completely silent despite everyone’s mouths being wide open. He looked down at Chase who stood directly in front of him. His eyes were darting back and forth from one side of Ben’s chest to the other. Ben’s chest was heaving up and down from his wrestling match with his clothes. Chase finally looked up to meet Ben’s eyes. The look Ben saw surprised him. It was one of awe and more importantly lust. Ben didn’t need to see his crotch anymore to know if the shorts were still in place. The strangle hold the spandex had on his awaking cock made him aware of their painful presence.

“Let’s get this thing started,” Steve said. His voice strained even after clearing his throat several times. Chase turned around almost robotically and went into his signature double bicep pose. Ben, who was directly behind him, did the same pose. Ben couldn’t believe how strong he felt. His swelling muscles made him feel so masculine and confident. Chase changed into a side chest pose. Ben copied his movements the best he could. With every new muscle flexed, Ben felt more alive. He felt so powerful, it bordered on invincible. Chase went into a most muscular pose, Ben followed his lead. The crowd remained in a stunned silence. Chase could see them looking at Ben, then Chase and back to Ben again comparing the two physiques. Chase turned around to do a back lat spread. Once again the expression on Chase’s face surprised Ben. He looked embarrassed, almost ashamed. His eyes were distant and unfocused. After watching Chase’s movements, Ben turned around to duplicate the pose. Chase watched the writhing wall of muscle that was Ben’s back expand to an inconceivable width before his eyes. He decided to give up. Chase turned to the crowd and raised his arms and bowed, before quickly walking away from Ben.

The smattering of applause that finally broke the silence made Ben turn around. He noticed Chase was walking into Mr. Grigg’s office. The crowd virtually ignored him, the one who once held the universe’s attention. All eyes stayed focused on Ben. He mumbled, “Thank you,” and started to follow Chase, not sure what to do next. The crowd parted to make way for the larger man. The applause restarted, this time reaching a thunderous level accompanied by whistles and hoots. Ben entered the office and closed the door behind him. He found Chase pacing back and forth in the room.

“Who are you? Where did you come from? Why haven’t I seen or heard of you before?” Chase said in an almost angry tone.

Ben felt like he was under attack again. Why was everyone so mad at him? “I’m just from the neighborhood, nobody special. There is no reason for you to have heard about me.”

Chase laughed, “Do you think I’m a fool. You are definitely not a nobody, not with that body. Did someone send you here to show me up? Was it Steve? If I find out it was that asshole because I’m fighting my contract, I’ll crush him like the scrawny runt he is.” Chase flexed his arms before he started to pace again.

“No, I just met Steve five minutes ago. No one sent me here. I work here, I mean I work out here, or I was thinking about working out here.” Ben hesitated for a moment. “Because I knew you used to lift here. I really came here to see you.”

Steve stopped suddenly and he looked at Ben. He could see he was sincere. His body softened before he spoke, “Really?”

“Really, I think you are the most perfect bodybuilder in the….universe,” Ben said excitedly.

Chase laughed again. “Haven’t you ever looked in a mirror, Zach?” Ben got a confused look on his face. “Come on, you saw who the crowd was looking at when we were posing. I’ve never felt so insignificant. I’m just glad we didn’t meet on stage. You would be the one with the pro card instead of me.” Ben shook his head in disbelieve and lowered his head. Chase walked up to Ben and put his hand on the taller man’s shoulder. Ben watched Chase’s hand slowly move over his shoulder and down to his bicep. Chase squeezed Ben’s arm firmly, “And people say my arms are inhumanly large.” Chase slowly continued down Ben’s corded forearm. His hand then made the leap to the growing limb between Ben’s legs. Ben moaned softly as his tightly packed equipment was massaged in Chase’s strong fingers. “You are definitely some body”. Ben looked directly into Chase’s hungry eyes for the first time. Chase stretched up to kiss Ben’s perfect mouth. Just then Steve walked in. Ben turned away so the business man wouldn’t see his aroused state.

Steve could see he interrupted something. “Hey Chase, everyone is waiting for you out there. We’re on a tight schedule, so we need to press some flesh and move on to our retailer meeting.”

Chase gave Steve a dirty look. “I was pressing some flesh before you came in.” He turned to Ben, “We can finish what we started later tonight if you want. I’m staying at the Hyatt by the airport. I should be back in my room by 10.”

“Chase don’t forget we have the state sales leader awards tonight. It doesn’t end until 11.” Steve added.

Chase walked by the smaller man purposely bumping him with his broad shoulder as he passed. “Like I said, I’ll be in my room by 10.” Chase stopped before leaving, “I really hope to see you tonight Zach. It doesn’t matter at what time!” Chase left the room.

Steve turned to Ben who still had his back to him. “I brought you your things.” Steve held up the sweat clothes and sandals. “I’m not sure what happened, but they look the worse for wear. So, I brought you one of our t-shirts.” Steve moved closer and to one side of the hulking figure in the room. “I must say, you surprised me when you took these off. I had no idea what a monster who were underneath.” Ben turned and looked at Steve with an annoyed expression, “I meant that as a compliment. You are a real muscle monster. I’ve never known a man of your height to be able to put on so much mass. You’re as proportionally thick as Chase and have better symmetry. Damn good looking too. And don’t get me started about the double digits you’re packing in those shorts of yours. You’re like some kind of ultimate extreme fitness model. Every man that sees you is going to love to hate you.”

Ben laughed; maybe that explains why everyone was so angry at him. Ben became more relaxed. “Thanks, that sounds very encouraging.” he side softly as he finally turned around to face Steve. He took the clothing from Steve.

Steve decided to take advantage of the moment. “Zach, you have everything Size-Zup is looking for in a spokes person. I’m willing to offer you a 2 year contract as your exclusive supplement sponsor. We’ll pay to relocate you to L.A. Put you up in our company condo rent free and pay all the utilities. We’ll provide you a company car, plus a monthly salary of $5,000. Also for every title you win you get a $10,000 bonus. And all you have to do is a couple of photo shoots and go on a few promotional tours.”

“What about Chase? Isn’t he your spokes person?” Ben asked reviewing the poor condition of his clothes.

Steve turned and walked away from Ben, “Chase has made it perfectly clear he wants out of his contract.” He turned to look at Ben again. “Plus you saw the crowd’s reaction out there. Once the world gets a look at you, they’ll forget all about Chase. Every editor will want you for the cover of their fitness magazine. That’s money you get to keep. You’ll easily make a quarter of a million your first year. Once you turn pro, you can double that with no problem.”

“$500,000, just because I look like this?” Ben asked.

“Hell, yes. Maybe even more. Zach with your looks, the sky’s the limit. You have the potential to be the greatest name in bodybuilding since Arnold Schwarzenger; except you’ll be able to run for president one day.” Both men chuckled.

“I don’t know, something about it seems underhanded” Ben said as he pulled on the t-shirt Steve gave him.

“Do me favor Zach, and think about it.” Steve watched Ben struggle with the too small shirt. ”Sorry the largest size I had was a 3X”. Ben finally managed to get the shirt over his shoulders and chest. As he pulled the shirt down it didn’t reach the top of his shorts. The 1 or 2 inch gap allowed his washboard abs to show. He felt his chest trying to stretch the fabric more with every breath. He bent his right arm to adjust the twisted left sleeve and heard a ripping sound. His massive bicep burst through the right sleeve. “Fuck” both men said in unison.

Ben looked at the stunned Steve and smiled. “Oh, well, like you said symmetry is good.” Ben bent his left arm and burst the other sleeve.

Steve took a business card from his breast pocket and handed it Ben. “I better get out of here.” Ben took the card, his fingers touching Steve’s shaking hand. Ben like the fact he made someone else nervous for a change. Steve swallowed forcibly. He backed away almost tripping over his own feet, “I have to check on Chase.” Steve reached the door and opened it. He turned to Ben with a yearning look, “Call me”.

Ben lifted the waistband of his shorts over his hip and slid Steve’s card inside. He ran his hand to crotch and lifted up, trying to find a more comfortable position for his package. The stretchy materials felt like it was glued to his body. Without any thing else to wear, they would have to do. He then tugged at the remnants of his sleeves to remove the tattered fabric. He stepped into his sandals and walked out the office door. He headed directly for the exit avoiding eye contact or talking to people he passed His body felt so heavy and strong as he moved. The weight of his massive chest, made him pull back his shoulders so he could breathe easier. He had to rotate his legs outward slightly to allow his thigh to slide by the other. His new massive size and weight made him do the bodybuilder strut. He walked down the street deciding what to do next. He wanted to go home, but how would he explain his appearance to Holt. And could he go back to school? There would be so many questions. Questions he didn’t want to answer. And what about clothes; none of his old things would fit him. Ben was so deep in thought he didn’t even notice the stares from the people on the street. He found himself at the bus stop; he sat down on the empty bench. Ben was woken from his daydreaming by the sound of a bus door opening in front of him. He looked up and saw Gio. “Are you getting on the bus, sir?” the driver asked with a strained voice.

 

Part 3

“I don’t know?” Ben answered absent mindedly.

“Okay, take your time sir.” Gio racked his brain to think of something else to say to keep the dialogue going. “Do you have any questions about the bus routes?”

Ben didn’t answer right away. He thought how different Gio treated him now. He liked it. If he had only one day to live looking like this, why waste it searching for Wen Chu? He should take advantage of what fate had giving him as a birthday present. Ben stood up and watched Gio’s eyes widen. He stepped on the bus and felt the vehicle list from his weight. He banged his head on the ceiling. He lowered into a slightly stooped position. He reached for his wallet and realized he didn’t have one. “Sorry, I forgot my bus pass” Ben started to leave.

“Don’t worry sir. This one’s on me,” Gio said with a nervous smile.

Ben watched a bead of moisture roll down the driver’s face. It was the first time he saw Gio sweat. Ben leaned in closer to Gio. Without saying a word he put his hand on the Italian stud’s firm thigh. Ben applied a little pressure. “You work out?” Gio nodded, flexing his legs to prove the point. Ben decided to have some fun. “Don’t worry. It takes some man a longer time to put on real muscle. Maybe we can hit the gym together and I can give you some much needed advice.” Ben straightened up as much as he could and put is left leg forward. He flexed his thigh. A slab of muscle exploded forth. “Is this what you want your legs to look like?” Gio’s already unsteady confidence was shattered. His whole body became gelatin and his gaze fell to his feet. “Don’t worry, I can whip you into shape,” Ben said gently as he ran his hand through Gio’s thick hair. Gio raised his head and looked at Ben’s smiling face. “I guess I better take a seat.” Ben turned and walked down the aisle of the bus. He had to twist his body to the side to fit down the narrow walkway. He passed by Ellen who he didn’t recognize at first as a blonde. She was staring at Ben as if he was her favorite movie star. Ben found two empty seats on the other side and a row behind Ellen. He sat in the center with each ass cheek on a separate seat. His broad upper body completely covered both seat backs. Ben thought it was amusing he now demanded the same space which two people would normally occupy. He watched Gio in the bus’s large rearview mirror. Gio kept his eyes on Ben the same way. Whenever they made eye contact, Ben would flash a smile.

Ben only looked away from the mirror whenever Ellen would turn around to casually get a glimpse of him. Ben gave her an indifferent stare when their eyes met. After a few minutes the bus arrived at Ellen’s stop. Ben stood up and grabbed Ellen’s arm as he got up to leave. He leaned into her and whispered in her ear, “Do I make your womanly juices flow?” Ellen body melted into Ben, her legs giving away temporarily. She looked longingly at Ben and nodded yes. Ben smiled and said confidently “Good”. He released his grip. Ellen clumsily walked down the aisle, hesitating a moment to get one final eyeful of Ben before stepping off the bus.

As the vehicle emptied, Ben moved to the front. He sat in the first row opposite the driver. He stared at still nervous transportation employee. Gio became subconscious of his every move as he felt the beautiful passenger’s eyes on him. After about twenty minutes, Ben spoke again, “When is your shift over?”

“In about half an hour,” Gio said, his voice still showing signs of strain. “Why?”

“I’m a man who likes to pay his debts. I don’t have any money, but maybe there is something I can do for you or to you instead.”

“You want to go to the gym now?”

“I feel like pumping something, but it’s not iron” Ben said seductively. “Isn’t there anything else we can do together?”

The perspiration on Gio’s face worsened. “Sure, yes. I mean I can think of a thing or two”.

“Only two? I was hoping you had a better imagination than that,” Ben chuckled. The rumble of Ben’s deep laugh made Gio’s cock twitch. The tent pole in his pants forced his fly to rise higher. He repositioned his thighs to make it less noticeable. But it didn’t escape Ben, “That’s a good sign. I must have sparked a couple more ideas.”

Some of Gio’s confidence was returning. After all he couldn’t be all bad if someone like Ben was interested in him. Gio asked to Ben stay on the bus until they reached the city depot. Both stunning examples of humanity got into Gio’s truck. Ben suggested they go to Gio’s place, but Gio thought it would be more special if they went to a hotel. Gio, who was very familiar with the city, drove them to the nearest hotel, the airport Hyatt. Ben thought fate’s gift was getting better and better. They entered the hotel lobby to stares. Ben noticed a banner welcoming a convention of plumbers. There was a line at the check-in desk. Gio who was feeling more and more comfortable around the golden god, leaned into Ben, “I’ll get us a room, so we can start the most satisfying and imaginative night of my life”.

A realization came to Ben, Gio expected him to be a great lover. Someone who looked like Ben should have plenty of experience in the sack; but in reality he was a virgin. The pressure to perform beyond Gio’s wildest fantasies suddenly hit him. He looked around the lobby and saw an adjoining bar. He could use a drink, or at least he thought he could. He didn’t have much experience with alcohol either, but it couldn’t hurt. In the movies drunken people always ended up in bed together. “Great, I’ll be in the bar,” Ben excused himself. He walked across the lobby, all eyes following his progress. He could feel the people staring at him. Their collective gaze mesmerized by the movement of his body, especially what was happening in his tightly packed shorts. Both coming and going, the less than two square feet of Spandex held the entire room spellbound. He approached the bar and carefully balanced himself on a stool. He was constantly surprised how small and fragile everything was to him now. The bartender quickly came to take his order. Ben realized he was never in a bar before since he was still too young to drink. What if the bar tender carded him? “A... beer... please... eh, draft” Ben said deepening his voice even more to appear older. Within seconds a pint appeared before him without question. Ben took a sip of his cold ale. He licked his lips then took a gulp downing half the glass.

Ben looked around the dark room and suddenly felt a hand caressing his arm. “My, aren’t you a big boy?” Ben turned to see a man with a slight frame and cute face sitting next to him. He didn’t answer and just took another gulp of his beer finishing the glass. As Ben lifted the glass, his arm flexed slightly from the effort. The cute guy whispered “wow” as he continued to feel up Ben’s bicep. “You are so fucking hot. I love a man with muscle and my God do you have muscle. I heard Mr.Galaxy, Nebula or something was staying here.” Ben didn’t respond. Ben nodded to the bartender as another beer appeared. The aggressive suitor continued, “Listen, I normally don’t do this, but I’ll blow you at no charge. You only have to let me touch you while you slowly go through your posing routine. What’d you say, muscle man?”

“What?” Ben asked in disbelieve.

“Oh, please don’t act innocent with me. I’m sure you get propositioned all the time. I just want to cut to the chase. Believe you me, this is a great offer, I’ve been told by many clients I have a very talented mouth….and tongue.” The groper moved his hand from Ben’s arm to his crotch, “Of course with you I may have to dislocate my jaw. Jesus Christ, you are a very big boy.”

Ben easily removed the smaller man’s hand from between his thighs. “Are you a, uh, uh, call… guy?”

“If you mean a professional male escort, then the answer is yes. But being with you will be pure pleasure, not business.” The hustler’s hand went back to Ben’s arm.

Ben’s mind was working up a solution to his problem. “So have you been doing this long?” The other man answered proudly “about six years”. Ben was shocked, he estimated the scrawny kid had to be no older than 21 or 22. “You must have learned a lot of tricks of the trade.” Ben then quickly added, “No pun intended”.

“Oh yes, I’ve done and seen it all. But I’m always willing to learn something new.” The hustler moved his other hand to the underside of Ben’s arm. He now had one hand on Ben’s bicep and one on his tricep. “Fuck, even with both hands I can’t reach completely around you arm. What is it like 24 inches?”

“Probably,” Ben said quickly not really interested in his impressive measurements at the moment, “Anyway, I must say having all the sexual knowledge must be very useful in your line of work. I really admire…” Ben stopped in mid sentence as he grimaced in pain.

“Are you alright?” the cute boy asked.

Ben moved the hand of his free arm to his forehead and rubbed it. “Yes fine, just a little headache.”

“That came out of nowhere?”

‘Actually I was hoping for it.” Ben said with a smirk. His mind was flooded with erotic images

“What?” the professional asked finally dropping his tired hands from Ben’s arm. Just then Gio walked up to the other side of Ben.

“I’ve got our room key,” Gio said holding up the card.

The hustler leaned back and scanned Gio’s form. “Fuck me. Are you two together?” Ben got up off the stool and stood behind Gio. He wrapped his arms around his partner and licked the side of his neck. Both studs smiled at the smaller observer. “Hey are you two up for a threesome.” Gio and Ben just laughed and started to walk away. “I’ll help make it an unforgettable night!”

Ben looked back at the bar without stopping, “You already have.”

Immediately entering the room, Ben tore Gio’s shirt off his hard body. As Ben ran his fingers through Gio’s soft chest hair, Gio tried to pull Ben’s t-shirt up over his head. The tight fabric won’t budge past Ben’s pec shelf. Ben grabbed onto the t-shirt’s collar with both hands and pulled in opposite directions. With a loud snap the shirt ripped down the center revealing his hulking physique. After a moment of stunned silence, Gio’s mouth fell onto Ben’s right nipple. Gio sucked and nibbled at the downward pointing erogenous zone while pushing the remnants of the t-shirt off his shoulders. Ben felt his cock come to life. He grabbed the back of Gio’s head and guided him over to his left nipple. With his other hand he unbuckled Gio’s belt and nimbly unbuttoned, then unzipped his pants making them fall to his ankles. Gio moved his hungry mouth to Ben’s cavernous cleavage before he traveled down the deeply recessed line that divided Ben’s stacked abs. He started to lick and suck Ben’s growing cock through his skin tight shorts. He wrapped his fingers around the stretchy waistband and tugged. He worked them down to the roundest part of Ben’s ass without much problem. But he had to apply a lot more pressure to make the 34” waistband expand past Ben’s gigantic orbs. The shorts were lowered enough now for Gio to get his first look at Ben’s equipment. Ben’s twin boulders flowed out over the shorts like a landslide. It felt so good to finally have them free from confinement; Ben nudged Gio’s face aside to massage them in his hand. The tip of his rubbery cock was still stuck in the leg of his shorts. Ben pulled in out, the tip hitting Gio in the face. “Shit, it’s huge!” Gio whispered before continuing his struggle with Ben’s shorts. He had to inch them down past his girder-like thighs. Ben tried to stand still without flexing his leg muscles to make it easier for Gio. Eventually the shorts fell past Ben’s mayonnaise jar sized calves to the floor. Ben stepped out of the shorts and kicked them and his sandals away. Gio started to grope Ben’s legs testing their hardness. He ran his hands over the twin pillar’s sharply defined surface. Ben was now free to flex his legs, Gio moaned his gratitude. He began to lick the rocky crevice between Ben’s thighs. He ran his hands over the back of Ben’s legs. Gio continued to work his tongue upward. He used his nose to push Ben’s heavy ball sack up and out of the way. Ben’s capacious jewel box rested on the top of Gio’s head. When he couldn’t go any higher, he caressed the tender spot behind Ben’s balls with his tongue. He grabbed Ben’s ass cheeks, one in each strong hand, his thick fingers working their way deep into the profound crack. Ben’s cock became hard as steel. Precum drooled from the thick slit at the large, purple knob. It was Ben’s turn to moan. Gio took a deep breathe, inhaling Ben’s earthy essence. Gio wrapped his arms around Ben’s thighs in a powerful bear hug and forced his nose deeper into Ben’s core. Ben felt his cock become painfully harder. Finally needing oxygen, Gio emerged from under Ben’s balls. He looked up at Ben, his face red and sweaty. “You are so amazingly big and hard and so fucking strong. I can’t believe you’re real” Gio let go of Ben’s ass and began to stroke the rigid I-beam in front of him. Gio forced more precum from Ben’s arching shaft with his hands as if it were a tube of toothpaste. He then hungrily sucked the leakage. “You taste as good as you look.” While still stroking Ben’s meat stick, Gio moved his oral attention to Ben’s balls, mouthing one at a time. Ben was about to explode. He never expected Gio to be a sniffer and a licker. Of course in Ben’s fantasies, it was him doing the worshiping not Gio. Ben felt a twang of pain from his balls. “What’s this, a birth mark?” Gio asked as he examined Wen Chu’s branding with his tongue. Ben didn’t what to discuss it. He decided it was time for him to take charge. If Gio liked big, strong men, that’s what Ben would be. He’d be the top Gio wanted.

Ben had to stoop over slightly to see Gio below his protruding pecs. “I’ll show you how strong I am, little man.” Ben bent over more and placed his hands under Gio’s arms. He picked Gio up like an adult would a small child. Ben easily supported Gio’s 230 pounds. With his feet off the floor, Gio’s work pants fell off past his shoes.

Gio groped Ben’s bulging biceps. “Please let me lick them, I want to bury my face in you deep pits.”

Ben playfully tossed Gio onto the bed. “There’s plenty of time for that later.” Ben yanked off Gio’s shoes, socks and black underwear. Both muscular men were finally nude. Ben grabbed onto Gio’s throbbing 8 inches. He squeezed it tightly in his enormously powerful hand. Gio inhaled sharply through clenched teeth. “That’s what I call one well stuffed manicotti” Ben said. He took his other hand and squeezed Gio’s plump twins. “Nice meatballs too, amici”. Gio erupted, his thick cream landing on his washboard abs. Ben took his hand and rubbed the cum into Gio’s skin. He then brought his fingers to his mouth, “And the whole package comes with a sweet cream sauce”. Gio reached out for Ben’s hand. He grabbed it and licked it clean of his own cum.

Ben climbed onto the bed, his upper body dividing Gio’s spread eagle legs. “I’ve had enough foreplay. It’s time for the main event.” Ben pulled Gio down toward his awaiting cock. Ben positioned his pole at the entrance to Gio’s hole. Gio bit his lower lip in anticipation of the pain. Ben thrust his hips forward. With a loud moan from Gio the two men were one. With each breath Ben went a little deeper inside his lover. Gio stared directly into Ben’s handsome face. He blocked at the pain and concentrated on the intoxicating pleasure. That was the first time Gio had felt such sexual joy, the first of many that night. During the next several hours, both men experienced ecstasy over and over again. Each man’s tongue and cock went into every possible body cavity of the other. Ben took the led with the extensive knowledge he received from the hustler; rimming, fingering and fisting became second nature to him. But he encouraged Gio to live out his fantasies too. But, Gio was more than willing to acquiescence his alpha role in the relationship.

Taking a break between fucking sessions, Ben had taken a shower. When he emerged from the steamy bathroom he found Gio getting dressed. “Where you going, we’re not done here”, he said stroking his hardening tool.

“Please Zach, I can’t take anymore. My body is sore and my cock is so raw, it looks like a piece of tenderized brisket.” Ben said barely able to stand up straight.

“Come on, it’s still early. I’ll be gentler this time.” Ben now stood directly in front of Gio. He flexed his arm so the mountain of muscle was inches from Gio’s face. “I just took a shower, but I could use another one of your tongue baths.”

Gio eyes widened, his mouth began to water. Gio leaned forward and licked the peaked mass. He grimaced in pain and grabbed his crotch. “I can’t. I really can’t. Please don’t tempt me. You know I can’t deny you anything,” he pleaded.

“Okay, sorry.” Ben lowered his arm removing the irresistible lure. He sat down on the disheveled bed a little disappointed. ”We don’t have to do anything, Gio. We can get some sleep and have breakfast in the morning.”

“That sounds great, but it’s almost midnight. I have to get home.”

“Home? Why?” Ben saw a guilty look on Gio’s face. “Do you have someone waiting for you at home?”

Gio shook his head yes, his eyes darting from Ben’s face to the floor. “My wife and daughter.”

“You’re married? If you’re straight, why the hell are you here with me?”

Gio looked directly at Ben. “You’re kidding right? Has anyone ever said no to you?”

“Right, because the way I look. I actually forgot for a minute.” Ben fell back onto the bed. “This turned out to be one hell of a birthday that’s for sure.”

“You never said anything about it being your birthday. It seems like I’m the one who got the gift tonight.” Gio sat on the bed next to Ben and rubbed his chest. Ben just stared up at the ceiling. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you. While she can’t give me what you can, I really do love my wife. We’ve been together for almost seven years. I hope you can understand.” Gio bent over and gently kissed Ben on the lips. “Happy birthday!” Gio rested his cheek on Ben’s. The abrasive action of their two thick beards rubbing together felt strangely erotic to both of them. Gio whispered in his lover’s ear, “I don’t regret anything I did here tonight.” Gio lifted his head away from Ben’s.

Ben put his hand on the back of Gio’s head stopping his elevation, “Neither do I”. Ben pulled Gio closer. He kissed him deeply and passionately. He finally let go and the men separated. Gio and Ben held their positions, their faces only inches apart. Both men thinking how incredibly beautiful the other one looked at this moment. Gio.stood up and shuffled out of the room. He turned to look at the reclining hunk once more, but Ben didn’t take his eyes off the ceiling. Ben heard the door shut.

Ben took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face. He rolled over to see the clock that was lying on the floor. Like everything else in the room, it was knocked from it rightful place during one of their trysts. It read 11:38. He caught his reflection in the closet’s mirrored doors. He got off the bed and walked over to the mirror. Alone, in a private space for the first time since his transformation, Ben started to explore his body. He thought he better enjoy it while he could. It might all go away in a few minutes. He slowly ran his hands over each enormous bulge and deep crevice of his magnificently sculpted body. He did the same poses he preformed at the gym earlier.

He thought about how Gio commented on his incredible strength. Even Ben was surprised how easily he could subdue a man Gio’s size. At one time, he was able to hold back both of Gio’s thick arms with just one hand. Then Ben remembered how he admired Spike’s superior power. He wondered if some how that strength was amplified by the larger size of his muscles. That would mean he was one of the strongest men in the world. He reached into the partially opened closet and lifted the steel rod from its brackets. With a twist of his wrist, all the empty hangers slid off. He examined the five feet long, two inch diameter piece of steel pipe. He grabbed it with both hands about shoulder width apart and squeezed. Ben applied more pressure and the pipe began to curl, within seconds it reached it breaking point and bent in half. Ben forced both sides until perfectly parallel. “Damn that was easier than I thought”. Ben then wrapped his enormous hands around the doubly thick pipe and squeezed again. He squeezed harder than before but the pipe wouldn’t bend. He then put it behind his neck and squeezed the two ends toward each other in front of his face. In this position he engaged more of his pectoral muscles, Spike’s strongest body part. Ben watched his image in the mirror, his body was pumped. His muscles were swollen, his skin glistened with sweat. Suddenly the ends of the pipe moved. Ben didn’t stop until he formed a perfect U shape. “Now that’s what I call a test of real strength. Ben dropped the pipe to the floor and did a most muscular pose.

He massaged his balls feeling Wen Chu’s brand, the only blemish of his otherwise perfectly flawless body. He continued to play with himself while he watched his chest and ab muscles move as he caught his breath. He looked at the clock which now read 11:58. He started to vigorously stroke his cock. He wanted to come once more with this body. His cock was slow to respond. Maybe his time with Gio wore him out more than he thought. He pumped harder. He thought about all the things he still wanted to do as ZachBenson. He wanted to test how straight Geoff really was. He wanted to punch Spike in the chest and knock him on his ass. He wanted to spend a month on a tropical island wearing nothing but a thong and fuck everything in sight. He wanted to go to a nude beach and show them just how beautiful the human male can be. But most of all, he wanted to spend another night with Gio. Suddenly there was sharp pain in his balls. He fell to his knees from the paralyzing sting. Ben looked at the clock, it read 12:00. “Shit, fuck, not yet” Ben growled. But then the pain stopped. Ben stood up and looked in the mirror. He looked the same as he did a minute ago. He flexed his right arm and felt it with his left. It was as hard as before. He grabbed his rubbery cock and swollen balls. They were just as impressive. But then he realized the brand was gone. He twisted his ball sack the best he could to see the back skin in the mirror. It was as smooth and tan as the rest of his skin.

Ben was trying to understand what this meant when there was a knock at the door. From the other side, someone said “room service”. Ben wrapped a bed sheet around his waist and opened the door. It was a older black man with a silver covered dish on a cart. The man entered after recovering from the sight of someone like Ben answering the door half naked.

“What’s this?’ Ben asked.

“I don’t know sir” The attendant checked his notes. “It was ordered by Giovanni Apperone.” He lifted the lid off the plate. Underneath was a small birthday cake with a single candle. “Is it your birthday, sir?”

“It was,” Ben said feeling suddenly emotional. Someone did care about his birthday.

“Well, I hope you had a nice day sir,” the employee added as he placed the cover on the cart’s lower shelf.

“It was a day that changed me forever.” Ben thought about what had just happened. Did he still have the ability to modify his appearance? Ben looked at the older man trying to find something admirable about him. The man’s thick handlebar mustache caught his eye. It was something he could easily shave if he didn’t want it anymore. “You have a great mustache there…Willis” Ben commented reading the employee’s name tag. Ben took Willis’ hand in his and shook it. “I really admire your mustache, Willis. Oh, and thank you for the cake.”

“You’re welcome sir. Did you want me to light the candle?” the hotel employee asked waiting for the guest to release his grip.

“No, that won’t be necessary. But thank you Willis. And again I really admire that mustache of yours.” Ben let go of Willis’ hand and walked to the mirror. He looked below his nose. The only thing present was his thick, manly stubble.” Ben ran his finger over his relatively clean shaven upper lip.

Looking confused, Willis backed up toward the door. “Well, when you are done sir. Just leave the cart in the hall and someone will pick it up.” Willis shut the door behind him.

Ben sat down on the bed and tried to understand his situation. Wen Chu said on his birthday he would be the better man of those he admired. It was no longer his birthday, so it made sense he couldn’t change anymore. But then again, his birthday came ever year. Did that mean next year, the ability would return? A smile came over Ben’s face. “I might actually start to look forward to my birthdays”. He stood up and peered into the mirror while bouncing his pecs. “I think I can handle being stuck with this body for the next twelve months.” Ben laughed and walked back to the cart with his birthday cake. On the floor next to the cart was Steve’s business card. It must have fallen out of Ben’s shorts when Gio removed them. He reached down and picked up the card. “I have Zach’s future to think about now.” He turned toward the nightstand. He felt something cold on his cock. It was frosting from the cake. His cock must have brushed up against it when he turned. “I have to realize how far this thing hangs out away from my body or I’m going to be knocking things over all the time. Plus there’s my new height and strength and looks and intelligence. Being Zach Benson is a big adjustment for old Benj.”

Ben wiped the frosting from his cock. “Where’s my licker when I need him.” He put his frosted fingers in his mouth. He wondered if Gio would like the taste of the cake’s butter cream more than his man creme. Ben picked the telephone up off the floor and put it back on the night stand. He dialed the hotel operator. “Yes, could you connect me to SteveGarcia’s room please” Ben caught his reflection in the mirror. He ran his hand through his hair and over upper body. His cock began to surge to life. He grabbed it and pulled gently. “On second thought operator, connect me to Chase Jameson’s room instead. No, it’s okay. He told me to call anytime day or night. Just tell him it’s his posing partner on the line. I’m sure he’ll want to talk to me.”

 

Part 4

Zach pulled up in front of the Heavy Bar Gym. He sat back in the thickly padded seat of the SUV. It was the largest car the rental company had; still the agent apologized for its small size when he got a look at the driver. Zach gazed at the façade of his former work place. Somehow it seemed totally foreign, yet familiar. It had only been a little more than ten months since he was here last; but it seemed like a lifetime ago. And in a way it was, the end of Ben Hamilton’s life and the start of Zach Benson’s.

Zach lowered his head as he stepped out of the truck. When he moved his weight from the truck’s seat to his one grounded leg, the vehicle jerked back to level; as if to celebrate being freed from its 300 pound burden. He slung the handle of his custom made bag over his head. The extra long strap crossed over the front of his body. The strip of leather came over his shoulder and down the center of his imposing chest. It caught him under the protruding steel pillow that was his left pec making his chest look even more insanely developed. He pulled the strap away and adjusted the bag. But after a few steps, the strap worked its way back under his muscle shelf. Despite the cool February temperature, he wore his usual garb; a pair of Spandex shorts and an athletic-cut sleeveless t-shirt. His massive form generated enough body heat to keep him warm. He had finally become accustomed with his clothing’s ongoing battle with his powerful body. The squeeze of the fabric was no longer annoying but a constant reminder of his formidable size and strength. It helped him adjust to his new life of a world-class bodybuilder and strong man.

Zach entered the gym and looked around. Was it always this small? As he headed toward the weight floor, his eye caught his own image. Next to Chase’s shrine was one dedicated to him. Zach couldn’t help but smile. There were pictures of him winning the overall USA and Mr.Universe titles. He remembered how every one was shocked when a relative unknown walked away with the USA so easily. Zach only entered the Mr.Universe because his agent said it would be good for his career. Zach liked the fact that he won the same title as Chase and with more points from the judges. He knew that bothered him.

Zach’s trip down memory lane was interrupted by someone calling his name. “Zach, Zach Benson, Wow. I can’t believe you are here. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Zach turned toward the husky voice. He saw his former boss approaching him from behind the counter. He looked older and frailer than Zach remembered.

Zach forced a smile through his worried face. He held out his large hand. As they two men shook, Zach could feel the old man’s boney fingers. Zach purposely kept his grip even looser than normal so as not to crush the brittle hand. “Mr. Griggs, it is nice to see you again. How are you feeling?”

The gym owner’s face glowed. “I’m just dandy, young man. I’m surprise you know my name. The last time you were here we didn’t actually meet. You disappeared so quickly after the pose down. I didn’t get a chance to tell you how impressed I was. Now the whole world has told you, Mr. USA and Mr. Universe.” The old man put his other hand on Zach’s bowling ball sized delt. “I only wish I had your mass when I was your age.” Griggs squeezed Zach’s shoulder and gazed at it wistfully. He returned his gaze to Zach’s face and dropped his hand, “Your agent should have called to say you were coming. I would’ve notified the papers. It’s not everyday we get a visiting celebrity.”

Now it was Zach’s turn to glow. He smiled flashing his perfect white teeth and sparkling azure eyes. He saw the old man’s astonished reaction to his angelic appearance. Zach never got tired of seeing people react to his stunning good looks. “I’m here purely for personal reasons, not business. You have a great place, sir. I feel at home here.” Zach looked over the owner’s balding head and scanned the weight room. “It holds a special place in my heart.” Zach looked down to refocus on his confused companion. “This is where I got discovered after all. I regret I never had the opportunity to work out here. I’m in town for a type of reunion and thought, if you don’t mind, I could correct the situation today?”

“Mind? Please, it would be an honor.”

“I’ll pay the day rate of course.”

“I won’t hear of it.” Mr.Griggs moved his had from Zach’s shoulder and tapped lightly on his protruding chest with his index finger.. “A bodybuilder of your caliber is always welcome here. But if you would do me the favor of signing this poster, I’d consider it an even trade.”

“Of course. It would be my honor”. Zach gave a slight bow to the shorter man. Griggs walked over to the counter and picked up a black marker. Zach signed his name confidently. The practice he received from autograph seekers helped him perfect his new signature. “Will you need the use of a locker?’

“Yes, please.”

Griggs walked backed to the desk and went behind it through the hip-height swinging door. Zach waited on the other side fighting the urge to follow Griggs as he had done so many times. He put his large hands on the counter. He thought how low it felt to him now. He ran his fingers over the collection of initials gouged into the wooden surface. He found the BH he carved on his first day of work. It wasn’t vandalism, Griggs told him to do it. It was a tradition at the gym. Griggs returned with a key and held it up for Zach. “Lucky number 77.” Zach took the key with a slight grin. His expression changed when he saw a “Missing” flyer posted behind the counter with a picture of his old self. Griggs picked-up on his guest’s facial cues and turned to look at the flyer. “Benji was an employee here and a good boy. He just disappeared one day. In fact, oddly enough it was on the same day you and Chase were here.”

“Really?” Zach commented using his best acting skills.

Griggs nodded yes. “I was the last person to see him. It’s such a shame. Only his mother and I seem to care he’s gone.”

“His mother? Have you spoken with her?” Zach asked anxiously.

“Oh yes. When it first happened we talked almost every day. She’s a lovely woman. She’s got a lot on her plate, but I know she loves the boy.”

“So she’s worried about her son?”

“Of course, as any mother would be. But the last time we spoker, she said a psychic told her Benji was in a better place. That seemed to comfort her a great deal. Personally, I don’t believe in that crap. In my heart I know Ben is alive and one day he will be standing there in front of me just as you are right now.” Griggs pointed his boney figure at Zach. “That will be a day to celebrate, yesireee!” Griggs said with a clap of his hands and a big smile.

“Ben is very lucky to have someone who cares about him so much.”

“When you get to be my age son, you finally figure out what’s really important in life. It’s not how much money you have, or the size of your house, its how many people you have loved. Nobody wants to die alone.” Griggs said, his whole body seemed to soften as he spoke. The two men stared into each other’s eyes for a moment saying more than words would permit. “There’s something about you that reminds me of Benji.”

“Really?” Zach averted his eyes. He backed away from the counter and fidgeted with the shoulder strap of his bag.

“But you came here for a work out not to philosophize with an old man.” Griggs moved back to the lobby. “Do you need me to show you around?”

“No, I’ll be fine”, Zach said taking a deep breath to regain his composure

“Yeah, obviously you know your way around a gym”. Griggs put his hand on Zach’s broad back as he passed by him. “Let me know if you need anything, Mr.Universe.” Griggs watched the hulk enter the floor. After another reflective sigh he went back to his office.

Zach removed his bag and dropped it against a nearby wall. He pretended not to notice everyone watching him as he selected a preacher curl station and began to load on the plates. He stopped when they added up to 200. He sat down and pumped out ten controlled reps with his right arm, then switched to his left. Then he went back to his right and did another set. After completing a second set with his left, he did seven more before his right arm failed. After pushing his other arm to failure, he then did two sets with the same weight using both arms. Zach stood up and bent his arms to force the blood through his bloated muscles. Without a break he walked to the overhead cable station and did his triceps routine. Once done, his tight t-shirt became translucent from his sweat. He gazed upon his mighty cannons as he twisted his hands at the wrist. The muscles of his arms moved seductively under his tanned skin. The net of thick veins pulsed with every beat of his heart. Looking in a nearby mirror, Zach went into a double bicep pose. He heard gasps from the others in the room and one mumbled “shit” as he straightened then flexed his arms harder a second time.

Without acknowledging the onlookers he walked over to the bench press. The other patrons moved out of his way in complete silence. The only one oblivious to his approach was Spike working his chest on one of the three benches. Zach selected the bench next to Spike adding a couple plates to the 260 already on the bar. Zach swung his right leg over the bench. He moved into a comfortable position spreading his knees further apart and pushing Spike’s knee aside. Zach cranked out twelve quick reps before he sat up. He flexed his beefy tits as he groped them. Spike was in the same position, when Zach looked over at him. He scanned Spike’s bar before speaking, “What you pressing?”

“A hundred more than you,” Spike said in a cocky tone.

“Wow, 4. You’re one strong little shit,” Zach said with a sly grin.

“Who you calling little? I’m a hell of lot stronger than I look, pretty boy,” Spike stood up and puffed out his furry, barrel chest.

The two strong men were almost eye level with each other despite the fact Zach was still seated. “Calm down, dude. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I didn’t think so. All you posers are the same. All you care about is looking good on stage in your girly underwear instead of getting strong like real men.”

“Is that a fact? So you think you’re pretty strong, heh?” Zach asked knowing the answer.

“I’m the strongest guy in this gym, if not the whole city. Hell maybe the whole damn state. I can take any man’s punch without even flinching. Ain’t that right?” Spike asked as he looked around the room. The crowd nodded in agreement.

“That is impressive. Can I try?”

“Sure, but don’t blame me if you break a nail,” Spike answered in a mocking voice.

Zach stood up in front of Spike. The top of Spike’s head was just below Zach’s yard wide shoulders. At Spike’s eye level were four mounds of muscle; two huge slabs of pec meat and two gigantically swollen biceps. Spike’s eyes darted back and forth trying to take in the wall of human muscle in front of him Spike’s cocky attitude was gone when he finally raised his gaze to met Zach’s. “So what do I have to do, punch you in the stomach or arm?” Zach asked calmly. He then brought his large hand in front of Spike’s face and formed it into a sledge hammer sized fist. He then slammed it into his other open hand.

Spike swallowed hard before speaking. “No, you hit me in my chest,” he said softly.

“Your chest? Aren’t you afraid if someone hits you hard enough it might stop your heart” Zach asked as he slammed his fist into his hand again.

Spike just gave a subdued grin and moved to an open space in front of the benches. He stood tall and put one foot behind the other and leaned forward. His feet were further apart then his normal stance for performing the trick. Zach moved casually into position in front of Spike. “Ready?” Zach inquired. Spike nodded nervously and flexed his chest. Zach pulled back his right arm; he smiled at Spike then released his cannon. Zach’s fist slammed into Spikes left pec. The sound echoed throughout the voluminous gym. Spike gave a slight moan before his body was forced backwards. He tried to hold his position by flapping his arms wildly. But his foot instinctively moved to correct his balance. He took another step backward. He tripped over his own two feet. Down he fell onto his thickly padded ass. The crowd was as shocked as Spike himself. Zach stepped closer to the fallen former champion. He extended his hand “Are you all right?”

Spike slapped Zach’s helping hand away. Spike’s muscle bound body forced him to get on all fours before clumsily standing up. He rubbed his chest while gasping for air. “Lucky shot. I wasn’t really ready” he grumbled.

“I’m willing to go again if you are?” Zach said sitting down at the bench were Spike was working out. He leaned back and raised the 400 pound bar with ease, completing eight quick lifts. Zach got up and pulled several plates from the bar he had lifted earlier and put them on his current one. “Just let me know when you’re truly ready this time.” Zach sat back down on the bench and did six more reps with the 520 pound bar. He sat up and bounced his pecs. He looked directly at a stunned Spike, “I guess I’m stronger than I look too, I mean for being just a pretty boy, poser”. A humiliated Spike said nothing as he walked away and disappeared into the locker room.

Zach shook the hands of some of the gym members who congratulated him on besting Spike. He then reclined back on the bench and did another two sets. He sat up and felt up his pumped pecs through his soaked shirt. He loved how big and hard his body got when he worked it. His shirt was so wet and stretched to the breaking point it was almost transparent. The darker skin of his nipples could easily be seen through the pale yellow fabric. He looked up and saw GeoffRoberts entering the weight room. Their eyes met only for a moment before Geoff quickly looked away. Geoff was just a beautiful as Zach remembered. Zach nipples became as hard as the rest of his torso.

Zach spent the next two hours going through is normal routine. It took twice as long to complete because he was constantly being interrupted to answer questions, pose for pictures and sign autographs. Throughout his workout he would glance over to where Geoff was and often caught him looking back if only for a second. Zach also noticed Geoff was moving slower than usual, as if he was purposely extending his time in the gym. He asked around about Damon. He found out his team had traded him because he was never able to put on the muscle weight they wanted. He felt sorry for Damon, but was glad he had copied his fast, fat burning metabolism. It enabled Zach to be shredded even in the off season with very little dietary sacrifice.

Zach finished working his last body part on the squat rack. He stretched his mammoth thighs, before he picked up his bag and waddled into the locker room. He went to the locker Griggs had issued him after picking up a couple of clean towels. He opened the door and tossed in his bag. He set the towels on the bench that ran down the aisle between the rows of lockers. He continued to stretch out his heavily worked body to encourage the blood to circulate, feeding his muscles for growth. He bent forward at the waist to stretch the back of his legs and lower spine. After holding the position he straightened up and found Beef Stick standing next to him with a strange grin. “Hello” Zach said pulling his arms behind his back.

“Hi, I’m Wayne Bostick.”

“Zach Benson” he said as he extended his hand. Beef Stick was completely nude. Zach knew Wayne’s plan and purposely kept eye contact. The two men shook. Zach returned to his slow stretches, looking into his open locker.

“It’s nice to meet you, Zach. It was very impressive how you took on Spike. I didn’t think anyone would ever best that armored chest of his.” Zach looked at Wayne’s face momentarily and gave a slight smile. “Your t-shirt, it says MENSA. Isn’t that the group made up of genius types. Are you a member?”

“Do you find that difficult to believe?” Zach asked without moving his head. He pulled off his t-shirt over head. Wayne watched Zach’s pecs reform into massive muscle pillows as his arms lowered.

“No. I read about your high IQ.” Wayne scanned Zach’s enormously pumped up torso. “Wow, you look like that and have a brain too. I guess your gene pool was filled with Avian while the rest of us got stuck with swamp water, heh?.” Both men gave a slight chuckle. Zach sat down on the bench and began to remove his shoes. He turned his back slightly to Wayne. “Speaking of genes, it seems to me that competition is part of man’s DNA. Spike is a perfect example. He, like all men, has this instinctual need to beat our rivals. Bodybuilding is another example. A man trying to prove he is better developed than all other men. There are so many ways to gauge a man; physique, looks, intelligence, strength, fame, bank account. Many think we pursue those things to compensate for the one thing that nature meant as the true measuring stick, for lack of a better term, of a man. You seem to have it all Zach. What do you think is the true measure of a man?”

Zach listened to Beef Stick’s monologue without saying a word or looking at him. He stood up, turned toward his companion. Zach then bent forward to pull off his shorts and jock in one motion. Beef Stick smiled and put his hands on his hips as Zach’s face was only a few inches from his crotch. There was no way he wasn’t checking him out. This was the moment Wayne looked forward to. Zach stood up and said matter-of-factly, “I don’t think you can judge a man by the size of his brain, muscles, or any other body part. It all seems a bit superficial to me. All because a person has a few physical short comings doesn’t mean he’s less of a man.” Zach smiled and put his hand on Wayne’s shoulder, “Apparently it’s an issue that’s bothers you. There’s nothing you can do to change who you are. My advice is not to worry about it. A man’s size really doesn’t matter.”

Beef Stick’s was confused. Of course size matters. And what did he mean by physical short comings? Was he talking about him? That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. One look at his manhood should have turned this muscle bound freak into a shrinking violet. Wayne wanted to sneak a peek at what this guy was carrying between his legs. There was no way he was packing more than the legendary Beef Stick. Wayne wanted to look down so badly, but couldn’t when Zach was making direct eye contact. Wayne realized he had to say something, “Right, good advice.”

Just then Zach saw Geoff approaching from behind Wayne. He saw the model scan his body and blush. Zach just smiled. Zach continued to watch Geoff move pass him twisting his body slightly to keep him in view. He even caught Geoff turning around to get a look at his backside. While Zach was distracted, Beef Stick had plenty of time to check out Zach’s goods. Zach snapped his head back when he heard Wayne whisper “Jesus Christ all mighty”.

Zach turned to find Wayne still staring at his super-sized package. Zach put his hands on his hips and repositioned his weight to get Wayne’s attention. It didn’t work. Zach then coughed and bounced his fingers over his hip bones. Still Wayne continued to stare. Zach then called out Wayne’s name. Finally Wayne, his mouth agape, raised his eyes to meet Zach’s. He looked pale and scared. It was the first time Zach could remember Beef Stick was at a loss for words. “It’s perfectly natural to check out other guys in the locker room, but it’s rude to stare.” Wayne slowly nodded his head in agreement. He was in shock, not only was Zach bigger and thicker, but his cock was beautifully shaped as well. His balls were just as large and perfectly formed. “And like I said being a smaller man isn’t the end of the world.” Zach picked up one of his towels and handed it to Wayne. “But maybe you should cover yourself up.” Wayne took the towel and wrapped it around his waist. Zach patted his crestfallen acquaintance on the back as he turned to walk away. With a grin Zach tossed the other towel over his shoulder before heading to the shower. There was no need for him to cover up for he was now the gym’s new undisputed alpha male.

Zach was the center of attention as he cleaned himself in the communal shower. He had become comfortable with constantly being watched. It usually didn’t bother or arouse him anymore. But usually he didn’t have Geoff Roberts checking him out. He enjoyed knowing his presence now had the same effect on Geoff as Geoff always had on him. Zach purposely gave his voyeur a clear view of whatever body part he was soaping up or rinsing off. Zach left the shower room to brush his teeth in the adjacent bathroom. He wanted to be prepared for anything that may happen. Still wearing only a towel over his shoulder, Zach walked from the bathroom to his locker. As he passed Geoff, who was standing in front of his own locker wearing a towel, he smiled and said hello. Once again Geoff just looked away nervously. Zach had given plenty of hints he was interested with no response. He would have to take a more direct approach with this one. It was something he didn’t normally have to do, but Geoff should be worth the extra effort. Zach took his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He knew men were less threatened by him with the more clothes he wore. He headed back to Geoff’s locker. “Hey aren’t you Geoff Roberts, the model?” Zach asked enthusiastically.

“Yes, I am,” Geoff answered, his voice cracking.

“I thought so, but I wasn’t sure. That’s why I kept staring at you”

“Have we met before?”

“No, but we have worked with some of the same people.” Geoff gave Zach a confused look. “Photographers, I mean. I’ve done some modeling, mostly in the fitness industry, not the high fashion stuff you do. I’ve been compared to you. They say we have a similar look.”

Geoff laughed, “Maybe if I was on steroids”. He quickly realized he might have offended the larger man. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you take steroids. You’re just so much bigger than I am. I don’t know why I said that. I know nothing about steroids. I don’t care if you do take them or not. But if you do, they seem to be working. I mean it’s your business, not mine. You can do whatever you want. No one is going to try to tell you what to do, certainly not me. I’m just going to shut up now.” Geoff said sitting down on the bench embarrassed.

Zach sat next to him, “It’s okay, I know what you meant. And just to let you know, I don’t take steroids. I don’t have a problem putting on muscle. Something tells me that’s never been a problem for you either. You have a great body, good size and symmetry.”

“Thanks. I know I look scrawny next to you, but in the fashion world, I’m considered huge.”

“I can believe it.” Zach ran his fingers over Geoff’s nicely formed bicep.

Geoff looked at his arm next to Zach’s. “My God, your arm is twice the size of mine. Tell me how does it feel to be…” Geoff stopped himself and looked in the opposite direction of Zach.

“Finish your question, Geoff. It’s okay, you can ask me anything,” Zach said putting his hand on Geoff’s bare thigh, exposed by the gap in the towel.

“I can’t, not here. There are too many people around.” Geoff spoke softly as he looked down at the floor.

Zach stood up. “I know a place where we can have some privacy.” Zach began to walk away; he stopped and turned to make sure he was being followed. When Geoff saw Zach waiting for him, he stood and trailed behind. The two men entered Ben’s old sanctuary. Zach locked the door after they were both inside.

 

Part 5

“How did you know about this place?” Geoff asked scanning his surroundings.

“I’m a very observant person.” Zach stood near Geoff. Zach’s imposing size made Geoff take a step back until his back was up against the wall. Zach kept pace with Geoff’s pace keeping the gap between them less than a foot. “Now what did you want to ask me?” Geoff looked at Zach briefly before dropping his eyes to the floor. Zach put his hand on Geoff’s toned shoulders and ran his hand gently down the length of his arm. “It’s okay. The door is locked. And like I said Geoff, you can ask me anything. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. It’s just us two men now.”

Geoff raised his head and kept moving his gaze from Zach’s face to the empty space around the hulking man. “Well, it’s like you said out there. Like you, but to a lesser degree of course, I’ve always found it easy to put on muscle. At one time I was fifteen pounds heavier, with muscle I mean, but my agent told me I had to slim down. I was having a difficult time fitting into the clothes the designers sent for the photo shoots. She said if I wanted to be in high fashion, I had to be more slender. If I kept putting on muscle, I would be labeled a fitness model. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But I went with fashion because the money’s better. It took some time, but I dropped the extra bulk. But I tell you, I loved being bigger.” Geoff looked directly into Zach’s eyes now. He put his hand on his own solid chest and caressed his smooth skin. “The way my body felt when I moved and how other people looked at me. And the power, it was amazing. The strength I had made me feel like Superman sometimes. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” Zach shook his head yes. “I always wondered what it would feel like if I went in the other direction. You know, did the fitness stuff instead and put an effort into getting bigger. Maybe I could have won a couple of titles and old man Griggs would have a shrine in the lobby for me too.” Geoff forced a laugh and tried to interpret Zach’s reaction.

“People always want more than what the have don’t they?” Zach said looking over Geoff’s head. He was not only reflecting on Geoff’s words but his own desires. He lowered his gaze and saw a confused Geoff. Zach put his hands on Geoff’s forearms. He ran his fingertips up Geoff’s arms, stopping momentarily to press his thumbs into Geoff’s defined biceps. He continued until his palms cradled Geoff’s long neck. “You are an extremely beautiful man with an amazingly sexy body. Don’t waste time thinking about what could have been, savor what is.” Zach rubbed his thumbs over the other man’s recessed cheeks. His right thumb traveled to Geoff’s mouth, slowly brushing his full lips. Zach then pulled Geoff’s head closer as he lowered his own. The two men kissed; at first tenderly, then with more passion and aggression. Their tongues and noses battled each other. Geoff realized that unlike when he was with a woman, he didn’t have to be hold back. He could put his entire body weight and strength into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Zach’s torso the best he could and pressed harder against the column of muscle in front of him.

Zach reached down and pulled the towel away from around his waist, tossing it aside. He then did the same with Geoff’s. Soon another part of their anatomies were battling for space between them. Geoff moved his hands to Zach’s chest and pushed him away. Zach’s hard muscle prevented him for feeling Geoff’s effort. Geoff turned his head away gasping for air. Zach released his hold on the smaller man. Geoff fell back relying on the wall behind him for support. He ran his hands through his hair and shifted his weight as he caught his breathe. Each slight movement caused his steel hard 8” cock to slap against Zach’s same sized semi-soft rod. “Sorry” Geoff said after the third slap.

Zach looked down at their combatants, “Gives new meaning to the term cockfighting doesn’t it.” The two men laughed. Zach swiveled his hips quickly back and forth causing his tool to batter the smaller man's.

Geoff laughed and put up his hands, “Stop, stop. I surrender.”

“Don’t give up now. We both seem to be enjoying the battle.” Zach wrapped one of his huge hands around Geoff’s softening cock. Geoff took in a deep breath and immediately he pulsed back to steely hardness.

“But it’s not a fair fight. You’re a super heavyweight and I’m just a featherweight,” Geoff said between deep breathes. Repeated waves of pleasure swept over his entire body with each powerful squeeze Zach applied.

“You are no featherweight, Geoff. Definitely a middleweight and at the rate you’re growing you be a heavyweight contender at any second.” Zach leaned forward and licked Geoff’s left nipple which was as hard as his cock. Geoff moaned his approval. While still masterfully massaging Geoff’s cock, Zach licked Geoff’s equally excited right side and then moved up to his neck, then ear, before finding his hungry mouth. Within seconds Geoff couldn’t hold back any longer and released his load. The explosion of crème surprised Zach as it covered his abdominal wall. He released his grip on Geoff’s meat and took a step back.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I usually don’t come so early,” Geoff blurted out at the sight of his seed oozing down Zach’s cobbled waist.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you found our kiss so satisfying.” Zach flashed a sympathetic smile. He then reached for a paper towel from the still broken dispenser and began to wipe his stomach.

“Here let me,” Geoff said grabbing another towel. Zach lowered his hand to allow Geoff to do the work. “This isn’t easy, who’ve got a lot of deep nooks and crannies between your abs.”

“Most people wouldn’t think that’s a bad thing,,” Zach smirked as he tightened his eight pack causing the nooks to recede further.

“Stop that,” Geoff laughed as he finished. He ran his hand over Zach’s deeply defined waist to inspect his work. He soon realized what he was touching and his hand slowed to better enjoy his exploration. He felt a stirring deep within him, it was a new feeling and he was ashamed. He dropped his hand and took a step back.

“Before, you were going to ask me what it feels like to have muscles like this. Weren’t you?” Zach asked as he tensed his upper torso, causing his chest to ripple. Geoff nodded yes unable to take his eyes off the hypnotic movement of Zach’s pecs. Zach took Geoff’s hands into his and placed them on his chest. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Geoff took in a deep breath as his hands touched Zach’s undulating muscle tits. His lungs responded to his brain’s demand for more oxygen to prevent him from fainting. Geoff large hands tried to grab hold of the larger slabs of muscle. Their size, hardness and smoothness made it impossible to grasp. Geoff gave up and gently tickled Zach’s poker chip sized nipples. Geoff looked up to Zach’s smiling face for approval before continuing. The smaller man moved his hands up and over Zach’s shoulders, palming his huge delts like they were basketballs. He then cupped the back of the bodybuilder’s 20” inch relaxed arms before moving to the protruding bicep. Geoff traced the thick vein that ran along the top of each arm with his thumbs. Zach never took his eyes off of Geoff’s entranced face. He noticed Geoff was constantly licking his lips and swallowing hard to control the large volume of salvia forming in his mouth. “Do you want me to flex?” Zach asked softly. Geoff nodded without moving his eyes off the Herculean arms he was groping. Zach slowly raised his arms into the classic double bicep pose.

Geoff’s hands never lost contact with Zach’s expanding arms. He reached up and squeezed the softball sized peak, “So fucking big. I can’t even dent them, they are so hard. The power they possess must be incredible”. Zach didn’t say a word. He just slowly straightened his arms then flexed them harder. Geoff took in another deep breath. “My God, how strong are you?”

“I’m about four to five times stronger than the average guy or at least twice as strong as someone like you,” Zach said softly and calmly.

Geoff moaned, “Tttwwice as strong”. Zach could feel his cock was being attacked by Geoff’s hardening weapon again.

After several seconds of exploring the magnificent upper arm, Geoff ran his hands up Zach’s thick forearms. He then brought both of his smaller hands to Zach’s clenched right fist. Geoff pulled at it unable to move the powerful limb. He gave a pitiful look into Zach’s eyes and whispered, “please”. Zach lowered his arm and opened his hand. Geoff explored the mighty paw, lining up his own hand for comparison. Zach’s fingers extended several inches beyond Geoff’s. His palm was several inches wider too. “So big and strong.” Geoff returned his hands to Zach’s relaxed forearms and slowly went up Zach’s mammoth arms and shoulders. Geoff dug his thumbs into the deep crevice below Zach’s traps before trying to encircle his thick bull-like neck. He ran his hands up the back of Zach’s head, his fingers raking through his wavy locks of spun gold. Again the two men’s eyes met. Geoff drank in the virile beauty of Zach’s flawless face. While their faces appeared almost emotionless, their eyes expressed how much they were enjoying the experience. Geoff flattened his hands and ran them down over Zach’s chest. Mr.Universe then flared his lats. Geoff followed Zach’s lead and traced the dramatic taper he created down to the unimaginable narrow waist of the giant. Zach released the vacuum he created and reversed his abs into a crunch. Geoff moved his hands to the distinct individual bricks of Zach’s stomach. Geoff thumbs chased each other down the deep center line dividing Zach’s perfectly symmetrical abdominals. Geoff froze just below Zach’s belly button, afraid to go any lower.

“Don’t stop,” Zach demanded. Geoff looked up into Zach’s crystalline eyes briefly before lowering his eyes back to his hands. Geoff traced the highway of veins that led from Zach’s waist to his crotch. After a brief hesitation he ran his fingers over Zach’s semi-hard cock following the thickest feeder vein. Zach was the one to gasp for more oxygen now. His fantasy was becoming a reality at last.

Geoff ran one hand over Zach’s granite thigh as the other palmed the adjacent ball sack from underneath. The vast difference in their texture; the smooth hardness of the thigh compared to the fuzzy softness of the scrotum, excited Geoff for some reason. “Your boys are big”, he lifted upward “and very heavy”. Zach’s cock pulsed growing straighter, longer and thicker. Geoff moved both hands to explore Zach’s stiffening rod. He whispered hesitantly, “How big does it get?”

“I can think of one way for you to find out,” Zach commented between shallow breathes.

“I don’t know how to…” Geoff said releasing his grip. Zach could see the fear in the smaller man’s eyes. The big man knew he would have to take charge once again. He put his hand on the shorter man’s shoulder and pushed down. Geoff fought back making his body stiff. Zach gave him a disapproving look and pressed harder, his foreman flexing with the effort. Geoff knees buckled and he knelt before the hulk. Face to face with the one-eyed monster, Geoff wrapped his hands around Zach’s huge endowment. Geoff kept squeezing trying to stop the growth, but Zach’s powerful pole couldn’t be denied. It forced Geoff’s athletic hands further apart as it rose higher and higher. Geoff became more frightened. Geoff’s fear aroused Zach. Becoming impatient with Geoff’s awkwardness, Zach put his hand behind Geoff’s head and pushed his face closer to his aching organ. “Please, stop. It’s too big. My mouth won’t, I mean, I can’t get it…I don’t know what to do.”

Zach gave a loud sigh. Not another newbie, he thought. “If you’re afraid to suck it, trying licking it.” Zach finally released his grip on Geoff’s head when he felt the pleasurable licks of a wet tongue. “Yeah, work the entire length, that’s a good boy.” Zach widened his stance and arched his back making his hard rod more prominent and easier for Geoff’s probing tongue to reach. Geoff overcame his reluctance; he became more imaginative and aggressive in his task. “Good work the base, oh yeah suck my balls”. Zach put his forearms behind his head, he licked his biceps. The scent from his deep arm pits acted as an aphrodisiac on him as it did on every one else. “Move your hands to my ass” he commanded. “Put your fingers into my crack. Yes, that’s it. Deeper, deeper; try to separate my cheeks.” Geoff did what he was told; he enjoyed being the subordinate for a change. Zach’s breathing became quicker, his body moist with sweat. “I’m almost there. Work your way to the tip.” Zach dropped his arms and leaned forward opening his eyes. He saw the star of his many fantasies trying to stuff his cock in his mouth. A shiver went through Zach’s body as Geoff’s teeth scraped the sensitive knob. The spasm caused Zach to relax his granite ass cheeks allowing Geoff’s probing fingers to reach his tender hole. “Fuck yeah”, Zach growled. He released his built up load. The speed and volume of the ejaculate surprised Geoff. He started to choke unable to swallow all of the salty output. Geoff fell back onto his ass trying to catch his breath. He peered up at Zach, whose slick body was expanding and contracting with each deep breath. He looked inhumanly large from Geoff’s low angle. Zach took a step back and ran his hands over his face to wipe away the sweat. He looked down at Geoff, “You all right?”

Geoff shook his head yes, between coughs. “Sorry, there was just so much. I didn’t know if I was supposed to spit or swallow.”

Zach extended his hand. “I think swallowing is the more polite choice.”

Geoff smiled and grabbed Zach’s hand. He was quickly pulled up onto his feet. “I know I wasn’t very good. I’m sorry but I’ve never done this before, you know, been with a man like this.”

“Stop apologizing. It makes you sound like a woman.” With great care Zach pushed away the hair that was stuck to Geoff’s sweaty forehead with his thick fingers. “Don’t worry about it. You were great. Obviously, I was happy with your performance.” Zach bent down and kissed Geoff on the lips. He then walked to where he threw the towels earlier. He handed one to Geoff, then he wiped down his damp body with the other. Lastly he wrapped the towel around his waist, palming his package to dry the last bit of cum.

Geoff watched Zach actions intently. He was fascinated by the way his body moved. Why did he find Zach so desirable? He never felt this way about any other man. Finally he spoke. “I guess this means I’m gay now?”

“Oh yeah, you’re a big homo, a real flamer,” Zach mocked. He looked at the melancholy face of the brunt of his bad joke. “Listen you’re an incredibly handsome man in the fashion industry. I can only assume you have had plenty of invitations to be with other men before today.”

Geoff shrugged his shoulders, “I guess.”

“And yet this was your first time. Don’t feel you have to put a label on yourself just because of this one incident. Not to sound arrogant, but you’re not the first straight man to go down on me. And usually I don’t have to work so hard to get them to do it. Pretend you are in college and this was just an experiment in your sexuality. You are young, healthy and sensual. It was a chance to expand your narrow view of the world. Carpe Diem, Geoff. ”

“Really” Geoff asked looking relieved. “So I’m not gay?”

“I think curious would be a better description.” Zach decided to have a little more fun with the model, “Unless you have a sudden urge to see a George Michael concert?” Both men laughed.

Zach walked over to the mirror and checked himself out. He ran his fingers through his hair. Again Geoff found him fascinating to watch. “Can I ask you another question?”

Zach gave him a disapproving look, “I thought we already covered that.”

“Sorry”, Geoff said shrugging his shoulders. Zach shot him another disapproving look and put his hands on his hips. Geoff rung his hands, relaxing only when a smile formed on Zach’s beautiful face. “I don’t know how to ask this…”

“Do you want me to give you another hand job?” Geoff shook his head no. “Do you want to feel up my arms again?”

Geoff smiled and shook his head from side to side as if to say maybe before he spoke again. “Tempting, but what I was trying to say, before you interrupted me, was…. Damn, I don’t know how to ask this without sounding like a woman again.” Zach got a curious look on his face as he lowered his hands from his hips. Geoff dropped his eyes to the floor, “Could you…hold me?” He then raised his eyes to see Zach’s expressionless face. Geoff quickly added loudly, “only for a minute”. Zach raised his eyebrows to say “sure, why not” and opened his arms. Geoff took the few steps toward Zach, but not touching him.

“It’s okay, wrap your arms around me and rest your head on my chest.” Again Geoff did as Zach ordered. The two men stood in each other’s arms for a few seconds in silence.

“You are like a radiator; your body heat is very soothing. It reminds me of a rock massage I had in Arizona last year.” Zach could feel Geoff’s body becoming more relaxed as he melted into him. “You smell better though”.

“Thanks.” Zach put one hand on Geoff’s head and gently rubbed the smaller man’s back with the other.

“Ummm” Geoff purred, “Now I know why women always want to cuddle. I feel so safe like this.”

“Don’t worry Geoff, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Zach whispered. He realized it was something Geoff wanted, no needed to hear him say. Maybe this was Geoff’s fantasy. Geoff squeezed Zach harder. Zach felt Geoff’s body shake. He heard what sounded like a whimper. Was Geoff crying? Geoff’s body became limp, but he was easily held in place by Zach’s strong arms. Zach used his knowledge of psychology and took a guess why Geoff was reacting like he was. “It’s not always easy being a handsome man, is it Geoff? Society expects you to be in complete control at all times. As a model you are supposed to be the ideal man. The definition of masculinity: strong, stoic, and emotionless. You aren’t allowed to show any signs of weakness. But sometimes you want to be the weak one, don’t you? You want to be held instead of doing the holding. It’s all right Geoff; I’ll hold you for as long as you want me to.” Geoff’s sobbing became louder. Zach started to gently sway their bodies. Soon Geoff became quiet. He released his arms around Zach and he raised his head from Zach’s muscle pillow. Zach let go. Geoff wiped his tears from Zach’s hard chest. He then wiped his own eyes.

“I’m not going to apologize. But, I don’t know what just happened. I feel like a total fool.” Geoff turned to the mirror. He grabbed a paper towel and dried his face.

Zach moved in behind him and put his hands on the model’s shoulders. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to be feel foolish about.” Zach squeezed his shoulders gently. “Today turned out to be pretty unforgettable, eh?” Geoff shook his head. “And to think all I wanted was a good work out and a blow job from a hunky model.” Both man laughed.

Looking into Zach’s reflected eyes, Geoff said, “Thank you”.

“No problemo, dude. You okay?” Geoff shook his head yes. Zach removed his hands after another comforting squeeze. He reached for the doorknob. “No one has to know what happened here if you don’t want them to. So it may be a good idea to wait a couple of minutes before you come out of the closet.” Zach laughed, “And I mean that literally not metaphorically.” Zach stepped into the locker room and closed the door behind him. Geoff looked back into the mirror and fixed his hair. He took a deep breath, adjusted his towel and puffed out his chest. He then left the supply closet. Zach got dressed and walked by Geoff as he exited the locker room. The two men didn’t acknowledge each other as he passed.

Zach said his goodbyes to Griggs and walked out into the daylight. He stepped into the SUV and started the engine. He took one more look at the gym’s facade. He knew it would be the last time he would ever see it. He had finally closed the chapter of that part of his life. He was shaken from his deep thoughts as a bus zoomed passed his driver’s side window. A smile came over his face as he thought about his plans tonight.

---

The hotel suite door opened and two powerfully built men kissing emerged. “Enough, I really have to go this time”, Gio said pushing himself away from his larger companion.

Zach released his grip on Gio’s narrow hips and held up his hands. He then crossed his arms and casually leaned his massive frame against the door frame filling the entire opening. “Fine, I guess you don’t find me attractive anymore.”

Gio scanned Zach’s seductive pose. He wore only a pair of square-cut, white designer underwear. The crisp white fabric made his tanned skin look more golden than brown. The overburdened contoured pouch fell well below the hem of the leg openings showcasing his manliness. He looked like a morphed image from a gay porn site. Gio licked his lips. His eyes finally made it to Zach’s face with its mischievous grin. Gio chuckled and started to walk backwards away from the room. “Oh no, you don’t. That’s not going to work this time.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll behave. If you really have to go, let me at least walk you to the elevator.” Zach shifted his entire weight back onto his feet and followed Gio down the hall. He playfully slapped the Italian’s hard ass.

An older couple passed by the two men. The stunned look on their faces made Gio laugh. “Do you want to put on something with a little more coverage first?”

Zach looked down and palmed his package, lifting it slightly before letting its heft fall back into place. “Why, I wear less than this when I’m at the pool.”

The two men reached the elevator. Gio pushed the call button, then turned to Zach. “Thank you again. I really enjoyed spending time with you again.”

Zach ran his hand over Gio’s shoulder and upper arm. “I could tell.” The men smiled. “Seriously, I enjoyed seeing you too. It made up for us missing Valentine’s Day.”

Gio put his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m glad you understood. That day means a lot to us; it’s our wedding anniversary after all.

“How… romantically bourgeois.”

“Hey, it makes it easy for me to remember. I did love the text message you sent me.”

“I know it’s a little impersonal, but I thought that would be safer than mailing a card to your home.”

“Speaking of anniversaries, ours is only a couple of months away. Will I see you then?”

Zach wanted to say “7 weeks and 2 days to be exact”. But instead he pretended not to have remembered. “Is it? Wow, this year has flown by. I don’t know what my schedule will be. There’s this movie thing I’m supposed to do, then my manager wants me to focus on the Olympia. I shouldn’t get distracted from my training.”

“Is that what I am, a distraction?” Gio asked being coy.

“Definitely,” Zach answered as he ran his finger over Gio’s plump lips.

Gio opened his mouth and began to suck on Zach’s thick digit. Zach felt his cock pulse. “Don’t start something you aren’t going to finish.” Gio opened his mouth and Zach lowered his hand. “You’re such a tease.”

There was a ding as the elevator reached their floor. The elevator door opened and Gio stepped inside. He put his hand on the door to keep it from closing as he spoke. “Well I hope you reconsider and you can pull yourself away from your training. I want to share your birthday cake with you this year.”

Zach thought about how he would enjoy Gio licking clean his iced cock. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”

“You do that.” Gio let go of the door, “Goodbye.” Zach raised his hand and gave a slight wave. The two stared into each other’s eyes as the door slowly closed.

Zach turned and walked back to his dimly light room. He entered through the door he had left open and closed it behind him. He sighed and flopped onto the unmade bed. He grabbed one of the pillows, placed it under his nose and inhaled deeply. He wanted to smell Gio’s scent one more time. He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his back. He slid his hand down into his underwear and pulled out his growing cock.

“Did you want to be alone with your pillow?”

Zach sat up quickly. He saw someone sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. It took a moment to figure out who it was in the soft lighting. “Shit! What the hell are you doing here Chase?” Zach got to his feet and stuffed his rubbery rod back into his underwear.

 

Part 6

“Please continue. It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.” Chase said snidely.

“Fuck you!”

“And it’s not like you haven’t done that before.”

“That was a long time ago.” Zach flipped on the light switch to better illuminate the large space. “Damn, you’re still here. I thought vermin scattered when the lights were turned on.”

“You and your witty comments. Tell me, does your Middle Eastern friend find you funny or just annoying like everyone else?” Chase asked not moving from his seat.

“He’s Italian.” Zach quipped as he pulled a matching white tank top over his sculpted torso.

“You always did like the taste of garlic.” Chase waited for a cutting remark, but Zach just folded his arms over his chest and gave him a “go away, you bothering me” look. “This hotel must be where you entrap all your victims. It’s where we first fucked that long time ago.”

“What I do isn’t any of your business anymore, Chase.” Zach said calmly.

“Everything about you is my business. The great Zach Benson wouldn’t exist without me. I made you what you are!”

“Here we go again.” Zach sat down on the bed and put his head into his hands and muttered, “Dammi la pazienza di affrontare questa, merda.” Zach realized he slipped into a different language. “Sorry.”

“I think you do that on purpose, just because you know how much I hate it.”

“I said I’m sorry, like for the millionth time.”

“You certainly are sorry, a sorry son of a bitch who came to me with not even clothes to wear. I literally gave you the shirt off my back. I held your hand and led you into this business. I introduced you to my agent and publicist. And how did you repay me? You turned everyone against me. Suddenly you are on the cover of every magazine. All the articles inside say you’re the future of the sport. The man who’s going to have the Olympia title handed to him because no one can challenge him. All the things they used to say about me. Then, the biggest knife in my back, you supplant me on the Size-Zup campaign.”

Zach raised his head, “Supplant, that word of the day calendar is finally paying off.”

“I can’t believe I ever loved you”

“Neither can I. You are so bitter and angry; I don’t know how you could love anyone. You’ve twisted the facts to make your delusions seem real. You had alienated Steve beyond the breaking point before I even entered the picture. You told him you wanted out of your contract and when he let you go, you blamed me. And you know the magazine editors always want the freshest face on their cover. It was just my time, just as it was yours a few years back. As for Olympia, only the judges know who will win. Historically they don’t give it to the new guy. They prefer the more experienced man, so you still got a shot at the title.”

“A shot? You are an arrogant SOB”.

“That’s not what I meant. It sounds like you would prefer anybody to win it besides me. If you truly loved me, you would be happy for my successes, not resentful. No matter how many times I thanked you, it was never enough. I’m tired of going in circles with you.”

“That’s bullshit, I gave you everything and got nothing in return but hollow words. You never loved me, you just used me.”

“We used each other and you know it.”

Chase finally stood up, the volume of his voice rising too. “I risked everything for you. I bribed a government official to get you a passport without any identification. I could end up in prison because of you.”

“Bribed?” Zach stood up too. “Are you forgetting I was there? I think the correct word for what we did is sodomy, not bribery. And you loved every minute of it.” Both men stared at each other. The anger raged in their eyes.

Zach finally spoke, “Listen, I thought we resolved this back in L.A. I just can’t be angry any more. What’s the point? We know it’s over between us. We fell in love with the image of the other person, not the real man. It’s time to move on. I am truly grateful for all you did for me. I never intentionally meant to hurt you. We’re going to be running into each other all the time at trade shows and competitions. I don’t want it to be awkward. If we can’t be friends, can we at least be cordial?” Zach sat back down on the bed. “I was worried about you. No one has seen you in months. Where do you go?”

“I needed some time away from you and all the other leeches. I came home to rethink things. I couldn’t deal with the fact the world thought of me as a 22-year-old has-been.” Chase took a deep breath. “But something happened this morning that changed everything. I now know there’s a bright future ahead of me. One I only dreamed was possible. I won’t be stuck in your shadow any longer.” Chase got a strange look on his face and moved closer to Zach.

“A positive outlook is the first step. I wish you the best, Chase.” Zach stood up and extended his hand to the approaching man.

“Please, after all we have been through,” Chase stood on his toes and leaned into Zach. He whispered, “I want 75% your strength” before kissing Zach quickly on the lips.

Zach felt a little dizzy. He raised his hand to rub his forehead. The feeling quickly subsided, “What did you say?”

“It’s not important.” Chase answered with a strange grin on his face. “Do you feel all right? You look tired; I think it’s time for me to go.” Chase took a step toward the door, but stopped. “Maybe we should shake hands after all, as friends would.” Chase raised his hand.

“Sure.” Zach slipped his hand into Chase’s. Chase tightened his hold on the larger man. After a few seconds, Zach released his grip. Chase did not. He continued to squeeze harder. Zach gave him an annoyed look. “What do you think you’re doing? This is really childish. You know I’m stronger than you.” Chase kept the same smile on his lips as he applied more pressure. Zach’s hand began to hurt; he decided to retaliate. But Zach’s pain only increased. “What the fuck?” he gasped. He looked at Chase’s face, he was enjoying this. It felt like the bones in Zach’s hands were about to break. He gritted his teeth, his body became contorted from the pain. He fell to one knee, then the other. “Stop, your breaking my hand!”

“Say please,” Chase demanded.

“Please.” Zach was in tears from the pain. Chase finally let go. Zach rubbed his battered hand. He noticed the bloated bulge at Chase’s crotch. He was really enjoying this, so much so he was getting off on it. “I don’t know how you did that but…” Before Zach could finish Chase slammed his fist into the right side of Zach’s jaw. Zach fell onto his side. He was confused, why was Chase suddenly so much stronger than him. Zach struggled to his knees. Chase hit him again with a punch to the left side of his jaw. Zach fell to his other side; he could taste his own blood. He pushed himself upright using all the strength left in his body. He swayed back and forth for a moment. He saw Chase pull his arm back to hit him again. Zach raised his arms to protect his face, “Please, don’t.” Chase twisted his stance and put a powerful uppercut into Zach’s unprotected stomach. With a pitiful moan Zach collapsed onto the floor in the fetal position.

“Well, it looks like Samson got a haircut. How I dreamt of this moment. Me knocking the shit out of the unbeatable Zach Benson.” Chase adjusted his hard package. “What, no witty come back? Not so cocky when you aren’t the strongest man in the room, heh? That’s something you better get used to.”

“How..did…you..” A winded Zach tired to speak through his bruised mouth.

“How did I become stronger than you? Easy, I stole your strength.”

“What?’

“Whaaat?” Chase mocked, “You should see your face; your confused, bloody, face. I love it.” Chase rubbed his hard cock again as he walked over to the large chair in the corner of the room. He picked it up and balanced it in one hand, before setting back in place. “This is fucking great. I always thought your strength was on the freakish side. I’m going to enjoy being a freak.” He flopped down in the chair and smiled as he saw Zach still in pain on the floor. “I’m going to share a story with you that should explain everything. When I was in high school; of course I was a jock and very popular. I’m sure you were too. But, unlike you I wasn’t the biggest. There was another dude by the name of Sergei, a real muscle monster. He wasn’t always a hunk, when I first met Sergei we were in the fifth grade. His parents came here from the Czech Republic. We became best friends. People said we looked and acted like we were brothers. The friendship evolved into something more during our freshman year in high school. We were each other’s first fuck buddy. It was amazing. But during our sophomore year, puberty erupted and changed everything. At first it was good. We both matured it seemed over night. Having been active boys, our new hormones made our bodies muscular and strong. We easily ruled over the other boys in our class. We began to hit the gym, working out like madmen. We became obsessed with lifting. We explored each other’s body as we grew into men. But our genetic differences became more and more apparent. By our junior year we didn’t look like brothers anymore. I was taller and fairer with the so-called swimmer’s build. Sergei was wider, more dense and compact. His hair became darker and face rugged with an always present 5 o’clock shadow. I remember how proud he was of his chest hair. He joked that it was a sign of a real man. I think he only said that because I was completely smooth.” Chase stopped speaking for a moment, as images of Sergei played in his mind. He rubbed his crotch before looking down at Zach.

“He was like you in many ways; cocky, virile, and incredibly beautiful. He also had your ability to put on muscle with little effort. I would spend hours in the gym, but like you he was sloppy about his training, He would stroll in, pump out a few reps and leave. However, he just kept getting bigger and stronger. No matter how much I worked out, I couldn’t keep up with him. He would tease me; make me beg to touch him. He’d make me kiss his flexed arms and tell him how much more of a man he was than me. The sex became less frequent but more violent. I grew to resent him as much as I resent you.”

Chase had rolled over onto his back as the pain in his stomach ebbed. “I never hit you or treated you like that”, he slurred his words as he spoke.

“You were clever enough to intimidate me with a more subtle approach. Your constant comments about the light weights I used at the gym and how we didn’t achieve the same gains because I lacked intensity. When we fucked, you manipulated my body to suit your needs. And when you were done, we were done.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You never said anything.”

Chase walked over and stood over Zach’s horizontal body. He knelt down. “What was I supposed to say, that just being in your presence made me feel like less of a man. You were just so fuckin’ big, everywhere.” His eyes went to the immense bulge between Zach’s legs. He wrapped his hand around Chase’s jumbo eggs and squeezed. Zach put his hands on Chase’s forearm trying to pull him off his man makers. Chase just laughed and squeezed harder. Zach moaned in pain. Chase could see all of Zach’s muscles flex as his body was racked with pain. Zach pleaded for him to stop his torture as tears rolled down his face again. Chase let go. “Those big boys of yours are the worst offender. But don’t worry you won’t be burdened with them much longer.”

Chase ran his hand over Zach’s right thigh, easily denting and pinching the cords of muscle. Zach leg twitched in pain. “Being able to so easily overpower you makes me feel so alive, so masculine. Now, where was I? Resentment I think? Yes, that’s right. My resentment grew into hate. I started to avoid Sergei. Because even though I hated him, my lust had greater control of me. He was so beautiful I had to be with him, like I had to be with you. That seems to be a pattern with me. I guess that makes me a bit of a sadist.” Chase continued the painful exploration of Zach’s sweaty body. He dug his fingers into the crevices of Zach’s stomach and pulled on his bricks. Chase ignored Zach’s cries. “I used to play b-ball at the courts on Juniper, I’m sure you know it. Anyway, one evening, exactly four years ago today, I was there practicing my foul shots. I heard something happening over by the chess tables. I saw a bunch of kids harassing this old guy. I went over to see what was happening. One of the punks said something to me I didn’t like. Back then it was easy to do, I had a hair trigger from juicing to try to keep up with Sergei. I beat down two of the scrawny ass dudes and the third one ran away. The old guy was so grateful, little did he know it was more an act from roid rage instead of kindness. I asked if he wanted me to call someone. He said no but wanted me to help him home. I don’t know what it was about that old Jap, but I agreed.” Chase grabbed Zach’s hand and put on his chest. “Somehow he touched me right here, in my heart.” Chase then pulled Zach’s fingers backwards until he heard him whimper. Chase laughed and then slapped Zach’s face with his own hand several times. “Why you hitting yourself, Zach? Why you hitting yourself? Are you a sadist too?” Chase laughed furiously. He then stood up, straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair. He started to slowly pace as he continued to tell his story.

“He lived a few blocks away in little Korea, I think. We talked along the way and I told him what an asshole Sergei was and how he treated me. He had this camp site set up behind a building. I originally thought he was a bum or something. But he had a pretty sweet deal with this geisha girl helping him out and even a dog. He offered me some tea for my trouble.” Zach suddenly stopped moaning to listen more intently. “I drank the tea, and the old fuck drugged me. He put on this gold ring and then he did something that really freaked me out, you’ll never guess.” Chase stopped his pacing in front of Zach, “I said guess”.

“He stuck his hand in the fire” Zach said after spitting out some blood. Chase’s face became angry again. He gave a quick stomp into Zach’s sore gut. “Fuck!” Zach screamed.

“Sometimes you are too smart for your own good, Zachary.” Chase began to pace again. “He put his hand into the fire and whispered something into my ear. Do you want to take a guess on what he said?” Zach shook his head no. “I didn’t think so. He said tomorrow, a special day for fate, I would have a special power. With a kiss, I could take the things I desired from those I love. He then grabbed my balls and burned his ring into my sack. I know it’s hard to believe. I didn’t quite believe it myself at first. I mean what crazy mother fucker burns some dude’s balls right?” Chase looked down at Zach who was listening to every word. “You don’t seem surprised.” Chase squatted down next to the larger man again and grabbed the back of his head; his fingers pulled Zach’s hair painfully tight. “I guess the only emotion you can feel now is fear. You should be afraid.” Chase ran his free hand down the side of Zach’s face. “The old guy said it was a curse as much as a gift; because if I truly loved them, I wouldn’t be able to take from them. That Jap was one crazy, old fuck.”

Chase stood up without letting go of Zach’s hair. It forced him to clumsily stand as well. “The next day was Leap Day. I went to school and was violated by Sergei again. He tormented me and asked; I bet you wish you could put on muscle as easily as I can? I said yes and then he made me kiss his bicep. My balls felt like where on fire again, but only for a second. The next day the burn mark on my balls was gone and I forgot about the whole thing. But as the weeks went by, I started to make remarkable gains. I was packing on muscle like crazy. I thought at first it was due to the steroids, but I was short of cash and skipped a cycle. I haven’t needed the stuff since. What made it even better, Sergei was shrinking. He started to come to the gym more often, struggling to keep his big muscles. By the time we graduated he had lost about twenty pounds, while I put on over 30. It both cases it was all muscle. People couldn’t believe how big I was getting. After graduating I had to find another place to lift. I wound up at the Heavy Bar and the rest is bodybuilding history. A great story, don’t you think?” Chase forced Zach’s head to nod by yanking on his hair. “But it’s not over. Just think how delighted I was when this morning, Leap Day morning, I was woken out of a sound sleep at midnight with my balls burning. The old Jap’s mark was back. Suddenly everything made sense. If I knew I actually had this gift four years ago, I would have taken a lot more from Sergei. I won’t make that mistake again. Think how delighted I was when I found out you were in town on this very day. It seems fate wants me to knock you down a peg or two…or three.”

“Please don’t do this, Chase. I have something to tell you. The same….” Zach pleaded.

“I don’t want to hear anymore of your shit. It’s time to pay for how you treated me. I’ve been playing this moment over and over in my mind all day. I want two and half inches of your height and thirty, no forty, what the fuck, fifty pounds of your muscle mass”. Chase forced his mouth on a struggling Zach. Both men felt a searing pain throughout their body as Chase’s bones elongated and Zach’s became shorter. Chase could feel his muscles expanding as he grew taller and thicker. He had to adjust his stance as his legs enlarged in length and width. He had to pull Zach’s shrinking body closer to him to stop from dropping him. After the pain ceased Chase smiled as he looked down and saw Zach’s knees were no longer bent as he held him up. Chase compared his newly enhanced upper arm to Zach’s pinned in limb. His bicep was now bigger than the once mammoth muscle giant. “I would take more of your height but it may be difficult to explain my sudden growth spurt. No one will probably notice 2 inches. They’ll be too busy trying to comprehend my new insane muscle mass. Plus I like the fact we are the same height and I weigh more than you. It will make it easier for the judges to compare us on stage. Now to perfect my new look. I want your coloration and complexion.” Again Chase kissed Zach’s clenched mouth. The two men watched each other’s appearance change. Chase’s hair and eyes lightened as his skin darkened and cleared. Zach’s hair darkened, it lost its luster and wave. His eye color muddied. His skin became pale and ruddy.

Chase held Zach tightly against his body with one hand still grasping his hair while the other was at the small of Zach’s back. Now the same height, Chase could feel Zach’s larger manhood pushing up against his own. The sheer volume of the larger man’s equipment dominated the space between them. “I want four inches of length and an inch of girth from your cock plus 60% of your balls’ mass.” With the kiss, Chase could feel his cock growing filling the space vacated by Zach’s receding equipment. “Shit this feels so fucking great.” Again Chase was forced to adjust his stance. “I want your freaky metabolism that allows you to stay ripped while putting on muscle so easily”. Chase kissed Zach again, who no longer bothered to struggle. After the flash of pain dissipated, Chase let go of Zach. The beaten man collapsed onto the floor like a pile of wet rags, his sweat-soaked underclothes hanging loose on his shorter, thinner frame.

Chase walked over to the mirrored closet doors. His larger muscles made him waddle more than usual. He rubbed the newly enhanced meat between his legs. A smile overtook his face as he saw his reflection. His fitted t-shirt now hugged his torso so tightly every muscle detail was clearly visible. His baggy cargo shorts now clung to his larger legs. “Look at the size of me,” he said turning from side to side while tensing every muscle. He went into a double bicep pose and heard the shoulder seams of his shirt start to tear. “Fuck yeah,” he flexed harder making his titanic muscles break free from their material constraints. The tear continued around his shoulders to his arm pits before stopping half way down his flared lats. He yanked the tattered shirt off his body. He then pulled down his pants and almost came when he saw his thicker cock head sticking out several inches above the waistband of his briefs. He pulled his larger balls out over the waistband and stood sideways. He squeezed his ass and thighs forcing his manly protrusions further from his body. Chase wrapped both hands around his pole, “So fucking big and thick.” He moved one hand to his skin encased eggs and squeezed. With another look in the mirror and flex of his balloon-like pecs, he shot his load. Gobs of thick, white goo erupted from his purple head. “My God, that felt incredible. I love being you.” He said looking at the motion less Zach. “Hell, I’m better than you. I’m absolutely gorgeous.” He leaned in to get a closer view at his face. “I look like I just returned from a month at a spa on a tropical island. While you look like you haven’t slept in weeks.” Chase covered his enormous package with his underwear and after making several adjustments, pulled up his pants. He opened the closet door and removed one of Zach’s XXXL short sleeve dress shirts he wore to business meetings. Chase pulled it on. He liked the fact the shirt was tight across his back, shoulders and around his arms. He fastened only the three bottom buttons on the shirt letting his thickly developed chest and eight pack show. The pale blue color of the shirt matched his new eye color and made his deeply tanned skin look more beautiful.

Zach moaned, “Por favor, não me deixes comoeste.”

Chase walked over to him. “That didn’t sound like English to me, boy. This is America, we speak English here.” He kicked Zach in the gut again, “You are either incredibly stubborn or stupid.” He bent down over his host. “It’s probably stubborn now but I know how to change that.” Chase grabbed the hair on the back of Zach’s head once more.

“Please, no more” Zach pleaded curling up into a tight ball.

“Don’t fight me. You know you can’t win.” Chase lifted Zach’s head ignoring his weak slaps. “I wasn’t planning on doing this, but I know how much you enjoy speaking that jibberish. So I want your foreign language skills and I don’t know, say 25 IQ points.” With a kiss, and a brief headache, it was done. Chase stood up and went back to the mirror. “It is time for me to return to the limelight. Like a conquering hero after facing an insurmountable trial. I am a modern day Napoleon, or better yet, Alexander the Great, he was blonde too. I reemerge smarter and more powerful from the depths of fiery despair.” Chased raised his arms triumphantly, “Ich bin der Phoenix!” He turned to look down at Zach. “See you later, Zachary, maybe on the Olympia stage? If you have the courage to face me. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to humiliate you in front of the entire bodybuilding community. It will prove once and for all who the future of the sport is.” Chase checked himself out in the mirror one last time before walking to the door. “Addio perdente!” he slammed the door close behind him.

---

Zach stood in back of the small crowd. He wore baggy sweat clothes, a hat, and sunglasses. He didn’t want to be recognized. That was highly improbable now. He wasn’t the stunning head-turner he once was. In the distance we could see Chase working with a stunt man. They were going through the moves of a fight scene for the newest JamesBond film. The stunt man would stand in for James while Chase would have to do his own dirty work. No stunt double could be found for a man like Chase, especially since the scene called for him to be shirtless. Chase did look amazing. His new larger size made him even more menacing, the perfect henchman for the movie’s bad guy. His hair was cut into a flat top and dyed black. Zach guessed with James being a blonde now, the bad guy couldn’t be as well.

Zach felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Glancing at the LCD screen, he saw it was Gio. He stepped away from the crowd to answer the call. “Hello there sexy… I’m fine and you… Really, I’m fine. I’ve just been really busy, you know with training and stuff… Well you should know better than to believe everything you read in magazines or on the net. Did you get my e-mail?… I wanted to do it… Yeah, it’s an e-ticket, just give the number to the person at the counter to get your boarding pass. Are you able to get away?… What did you tell her?…An emergency bus driver’s convention in Miami? And she bought it?… I’m not saying a word. I never me the woman… Don’t worry it’s a small, exclusive resort, no will know who you are… No, I’m already in Aruba, about hundred yards up the beach from the hotel. I arrived yesterday… Oh, it’s absolutely beautiful… Yeah I’m sorry, I know I didn’t give you much notice. I had to make sure everything would be okay before I sent you the ticket. That’s why I sent it to you just after midnight so you would have it first thing in the morning… Yeah, everything is perfect now that I know you’re coming… You remembered! Thank you. Yeah, I’m another year older. I can’t wait to open your present (laughs). A can of cake frosting, how did you know?… I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Bye.”

Zach closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He returned to watching the movie’s location shoot. After a few hours, the director called it a wrap. Zach followed Chase as he left the old abandoned fort in which they had filmed. He still wore his costume, a pair of custom made black stretch jeans, and the movie make-up. His torso and face were smudged with dirt, sweat, and dried blood. His darker hair and dirty face made his large, pale blue eyes more alluring. He stopped to pose for photos with some of the onlookers. All seemed to be bikini clad sand bunnies. He allowed them to feel up his ripped and pumped physique pretending not to notice their groping hands. Chase just smiled and watched the girls melt. It was obvious he approved of their swooning as much as they his hyper-masculine appearance. He signed autographs for all that asked. Many returned the favor and slipped him their name and phone number for future reference. Chase finally disappeared inside his trailer and the adoring crowd left

Zach walked up to the trailer and raised his hand to the entry door’s handle. He stopped himself and lowered his hand. He took a deep breath to summon his courage. He then remembered something. He reached for the water bottle attached to his waistband. He drank the contents. His face scrunched up from the bitter aftertaste. He took another deep breathe. He raised his hand again this time it landed on the target. He tried the handle. It was difficult to open. At first he thought it was locked. But after a second thought he knew a man like Chase, with his incredible physical strength and even more powerful ego, had nothing to fear from normal men. Zach applied more pressure, using both hands. It opened.

He cautiously entered the well appointed space. He heard running water. He peered into the bathroom and saw the shower door open. He could only see the top half of an extremely muscular back. Apparently Chase’s shoulders were too wide to be contained within the trailer’s smaller sized stall. Zach prepared for the planned encounter. He removed his clothes. He caught his reflection in the mirror over the make-up table. He couldn’t believe how much muscle he had lost. Almost twenty pounds in addition to the fifty Zach stole. He had increased his work-outs to six days a week and cut back drastically on his fats and carbs. But he still he was shrinking. He looked flat and pudgy. Images of Ben filled his mind. He put his hand on his soft, pale gut feeling for the muscle that laid somewhere underneath. He lowered his hand to his smaller cock and disproportionably small ball sack. He sighed as the self-doubts that have plagued him for the last two months resurfaced. His confidence waned. What if this didn’t work? Chase was so big and strong now he could easily beat Zach to a pulp again. The opportunity to change his mind evaporated as he heard the water stop.

A nude Chase walked out of the bathroom into the main part of the trailer where Zach stood. He wasn’t startled until he realized it Zach. “I expected someone to sneak in here, but you are a surprise. Zachy you should really cover yourself up. No one wants to see that body.” Chase threw a towel he had over his shoulder at the smaller man. Zach tried to catch it, but his reflexes were too slow and it hit him in the face. Chase walked past Zach, who instinctively moved out of the larger man’s way. “I now have the body everybody wants to see and thanks to you it’s so easy to maintain. I’m down to working out only 3 days a week and still making gains.” Chase flexed his right arm and felt it up with his left hand. “I bet you remembered those days fondly, don’t you boy? I can also eat a couple of doughnuts each morning and still have a waist like this.” Zach crunched his abs, making his bricks pop up through his paper thin skin. “The other actors stare in disbelief at the amount of food I put away from the craft services table. I can see the envy in there eyes.” Chase stopped rubbing his hard eight pack. “I hope you’re not here for the movie. They called me when you fell off the face of the Earth. I told them about your chronic alcohol and drug problems (laughs). Combined with your rumored steroid abuse, the producers were thrilled that I was available to step into the role. Especially after they saw the shape I was in. They even added another scene with me and gave me a line. My manager tells me after this the movie roles are going to be pouring in. I guess I’m going to be the next Arnold, not you.” Chase flopped down onto the built in couch. “Boy do you look like shit. What have you been doing to yourself fat-boy? Besides eating that is. Haven’t quite adjusted to the new you I see. Naturally scrawny nerds, like women, have to hit the gym every day to maintain what little muscle they have and carbs aren’t for someone with you sluggish metabolism.” Chase snickered.

“I guess you stole my arrogance along with everything else,” Zach said crossing his thinner arms over his soft chest.

“Comment pathétique. Sorry forget you only speak English. I said, how pathetic. I guess that’s the best someone with your limited intellect can devise as a comeback.”

Zach anger was building. He dropped his arms and walked closer to Chase. He stopped right in front of the seated smirking hulk. He stood between the more muscular man’s spread open knees. Zach couldn’t help but stare momentarily at the huge cock and balls on display. “Despite of what you did to me, Chase. I still admire you.”

“I bet you do.” Chase ran his hand down his chest, over his abs and along his cock before giving it a slight squeeze. “I hope you’re not hitting on me. I’m way out of your league, tubby”.

“I admire all the things you took from me and your added mass,” Zach said ignoring Chase’s remarks.

Chase was ignoring Zach as well. “You’ve got a real spare tire forming there, don’t you fatso?” Chase raised his hand and pinched a 2 inch thick roll of fat above Zach’s hip. A second after he made contact, both men gasped in pain. Zach’s skin fold of fat melted away between Chase’s fingers until all that was left was a millimeter of bronzed skin. Then the skin was pulled out of Chase’s thick fingers and snapped tightly back in place in the deep crevice above Zach’s exposed hip bone.

Free from the paralyzing pain, Chase moved his gaze up Zach’s pulsating torso. What he saw shocked him. Gone was the Zach he created, in his place stood the God as he looked on the first day they met. No, he even looked more perfect, if that was possible. Zach bent down and put a hand on the couch on each side of Chase surrounding him with his muscular torso. “Usted no es el único bolas para obtener su quema en Chinatown,” he growled enjoying the rush of power he felt throughout his spectacularly developed body.

“Wen Chu?” Chase mumbled.

“Si. After you beat the shit out of me, I went to speak with our old friend again. He saw what you did to me. I told him everything, including all about Sergei. He wasn’t happy with how you are using the gift he bestowed upon you. He feels the fates wouldn’t approve.”

Chase squirmed in his seat. “So what is he going to do? He branded me. It can’t be undone; it’s burned into my flesh.”

Zach leaned in closer. “Maybe not. But he had a collection of rings in the box, didn’t he? Who knows what would happen if he branded you with a different ring. Maybe instead of taking things with a kiss, you gave them away instead.” Zach titled his head and puckered his lips as if to kiss Chase. Chase turned his head away. Zach whispered in his ear. “I would give up drinking tea for the next four years. Just to be on the safe side.” Zach then gently kissed Chase on the cheek.

Chase began to fidget as his nerves became frayed. He put his hands on his body trying to feel if he had changed.

“Don’t worry, unlike you I don’t steal from others. I sort of copy them. Fortunately, I don’t have to wait for leap year either. My fateful day comes every year, appropriately on the day of my birth and now many rebirths.” Zach stood up and flexed his restored body.

Chase swallowed hard seeing the incredibly powerful man in front of him. He slid further down the couch to avoid Zach and got on his feet, He went to the mirror to check out his body for himself. Once assured he was unchanged, he turned back to Zach who was massaging his package. “Your birthday? We first met on your birthday” Chase was putting the pieces together. “You copied my muscles when we met. I knew it wasn’t feasible to have a body like that under the clothes you were wearing.”

“I glad to see you are finally using those IQ points you stole from me.”

Chase scanned Zach with a critical eye. He looked incredibly thick and ripped. His face and skin were flawless. His eyes and teeth sparkled. His hair shimmered giving him a golden halo. Chase couldn’t imagine a more handsome man existed in this physical world. Chase realized Zach was several inches taller than him now. He had to look up at him again. ‘You fucking liar, you did more than just copy my muscles this time. I won’t wither under your shadow again.” Chase took a step forward, drew back his powerful arm and threw a punch at Zach’s face.

Zach didn’t flinch; he just raised his hand and caught Chase’s smaller fist within it. The momentum of Chase’s fist stopped immediately as it hit Zach’s palm. “Well, copying may not be exactly the right way to describe my gift.” Zach nonchalantly held onto a struggling Chase’s useless fist in his hand. “You know how some photocopiers have an enlarge button. Well, that’s what I do. I enhance everything I copy. So now I’m bigger…” Zach tightened his hold on Chase’s hand, “and stronger than I was before.” Chase resisted not wanting to look weak in front of his nemesis. Zach applied more pressure. There was a snapping sound. Chase fell to his knees from the pain. Zach let go surprised by his strength. He thought about the tea Wen Chu gave him. He said to drink it right before he met Chase again. It would give him the extra strength he needed to confront him. Zach thought he was talking emotional strength, but now he wasn’t sure. He raised his hands and clenched them into fist. His arms rippled with power. “Everything you stole from me, I took back and bumped it up a few notches.” Zach flexed his arms and turned his head from side to side to take in his amazing peaks “Quite a few notches it looks like.”

“You asshole, you broke my hand. You actually broke my hand” Chase sobbed.

“Stop being such a cry baby, it’s unbecoming even for a man of your small stature. You can tell everybody it happened while you were filming your big fight scene. It will make a great story for picking up twinks at the local bar.” Zach walked over to Chase’s dresser and searched the drawers. He pulled out one of Chase’s custom made bathing suits. “I should break every bone in your body for what you did to me. But I won’t. I know that wouldn’t resolve anything. I sure would enjoy it. But as Wen Chu says, revenge is for a man of limited wisdom.” Zach stepped into the stretchy garment and pulled it up his massively carved legs into place. He adjusted his equipment forcing the material to cover his larger endowment. He walked over to the mirror ignoring the still kneeling Chase in front of him. Zach combed his golden man with the brush on the table. He then ran his hands over his chest and stomach muscles, flexing them on contact.

Chase stared at the overstuffed pouch of Zach’s thong that was at his eye level. Every detail of the enormous tool was clearly displayed before him. Chase felt his own cock start to react for being so close to a superior man’s equipment. His lust took over and Chase ran his good hand up the backside of Zach’s thigh to his totally exposed bulbous ass. The transition from thigh to ass was perfectly smooth without the usual skin crease to mark the delineation. Chase felt as if he was exploring the flawless curves of a Stradivarius. Chase’s self destructive thoughts resurfaced. “Are you sure you don’t want to hit me or punish me some other way. I’ve been a really bad boy. I deserve to be taught a lesson.” Chase kissed Zach’s pillar of muscle. Zach flexed his leg. Chase didn’t think it was possible for a man’s thigh to be so hard, he almost cut his lip on the deep muscle striations. “Please, Zach, make me your bitch”, he begged.

Zach looked down at Chase, “I don’t think so. I’m out of your league, shorty.”

Zach walked toward the door. “I always wanted to spend a month just relaxing on a tropical beach wearing almost nothing.” Zach palmed his package and pulled the thong’s thin straps higher on his thighs. The adjustment made his legs look longer, his waist narrower, his shoulders broader and his manhood larger. “Now thanks to you it’s possible. I can eat whatever I want and work out only a day or two each week and still be in top competitive shape.” Zach could see the defeated look on Chase’s face. “Don’t worry we’ll see each other again in a few weeks at the Olympia, right? You were so looking forward to humiliating me on stage.” Zach laughed. “It will definitely be a night you’ll remember.” Zach pulled on the door knob. It broke off in his hand. Zach smirked as he looked at the bent piece of forged aluminum. He raised his knee and with little effort kicked the door. The portal swung open violently, smashing into the side of trailer. As it returned to the opening, it no longer filled the space. The metal door was badly twisted and misshapen. The aluminum was folded and bent around the imprint of Zach’s large foot. He turned his attention back to Chase. The smaller man was still on his knees looking up at the muscle god. Zach dropped the handle and did a most muscular pose. “Ke yi gèng hao dì ying dé nán zi.” Chase gave him a confused look. “Oh that’s right, you don’t understand Chinese. That’s my new one. I said, may the better man win.”

END

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