Gym Buddy

Twenty minutes.

That was what Hailey said was ideal for the rowing machine. She didn't care about distance, she just insisted that duration was more important, taking a one-minute break every 500 meters. Much like the weeks previously, Sebastian's entire body was painfully sore by the time the twenty-minute alarm on the machine went off, about halfway through his ninth set. Hailey, who had been sitting on the floor, gave a bright smile and patted Sebastian's sweaty back.

"4300 meters, that's your new high score!"

"Not as good as yours. You rowed almost 6 kilometers."

Hailey smiled, stood up, and bent over to reach down into her gym bag. Her sports bra well hid her breasts, but Sebastian could make out the first traces of Hailey's small cleavage as she rummaged through the bag.

"That's only because I have more experience. You are already rowing more than most other beginners, since you are so strong and tall naturally. You are able to take longer strokes and put more power behind them, hence you go further. Not to mention your improvement this last month has been amazing. Have you checked your weight yet?"

Sebastian was barely paying attention to her words, instead watching the curve of her breasts. The bra kept them from moving too much, but they still gave an ever-so-slight jiggle when Hailey pulled free a towel from the bag and tossed it to Sebastian. While he pressed it to his face to soak up perspiration, he offered a meek response.

"Uhh... no. Not yet."

Hailey frowned. "Why not? You should be starting to see some results soon."

"I'm not sure." Sebastian frowned. "I don't want to have to look at another big number on a scale again."

Hailey shook her head and stepped closer. Since he was sitting down, he had to look up at her. He was not expecting her to close the distance altogether and embrace him into a hug. However, because of his seated position, this left his face being firmly pulled into the fabric of Hailey's sports bra, nestled into the small valley of her breasts.

They were soft.

"Progress is progress, no matter how small." Hailey began. "Whether it's two pounds or twenty, any loss is a stepping stone to your goal, which we will reach together."

Sebastian was expecting Hailey to pull away from the hug, but she didn't. For almost thirty seconds, she just stood there, holding Sebastian against her chest with one hand, and idly rubbing his back with the other. Sebastian hated when she finally broke away, but was secretly grateful. If she continued any longer, his erection would have torn a hole through his shorts. Hailey gave a sincere smile.

"There should be a scale in the locker room. I want you to go in there, weigh yourself, and tell me. Let's see how much you've progressed together."

Sebastian did the only thing he could do, and followed Hailey's orders.

397.

From the moment that Sebby said the number to her, Hailey couldn't stop smiling. Not only had Sebby managed to lose almost twenty pounds in just over a month, he also broke the 400-pound threshold and was starting his path down even further. Hailey couldn't help it- she needed Sebby to understand just how great an accomplishment it was. By the time they were climbing into the car, his face was bright red with embarrassment from Hailey's endless praises. As much as he tried to downplay it, Hailey could see the faint twinge of a smile curl at the edge of his lips. He was trying to hide it, but he also appreciated his achievement.

It wasn't long before the pair of them were entering through the door of their apartment.

"Mind if I take my shower first?" Hailey asked. "I'd like a bit of extra time to let my hair dry before our celebratory dinner."

Sebby collapsed onto the couch. "Knock yourself out."

Hailey kicked off her shoes, shed the gym bag, and started walking down the hall. Halfway to the washroom, she got a wicked idea. Her fingers clasped under the hem of her sports bra and began lifting it above her head just a few feet before she passed through the doorway. If Sebby happened to be looking back down the hall at her, he wouldn't necessarily see anything too inappropriate, but he would get a solid second and a half of her bare back, and a tasteful glimpse of her sideboob before she stepped out of sight. Although she had no way to know for sure, Hailey was fairly certain that Sebby was watching. With the addition of knowing that she 'forgot' to grab a towel from the closet, she couldn't help but smile.

Hailey closed the door behind her, but didn't lock it, and quickly got herself situated in the shower. The water was immensely refreshing. The streams struck her skin like hot needles, easing away the exhaustion and soreness almost as efficiently as a massage. Between her legs, Hailey was able to clearly discern the difference between the shower water and her natural, aroused moisture. As much as getting Sebby horny to make him exercise harder was working, she couldn't deny that the attention got her hot and bothered as well. Hailey was glad that her gym shorts were black, or Sebby may have seen the damp spot that formed on the front after he went and 'relieved himself' in the gym bathroom earlier.

The warmth in her lower regions tingled against the inside of her skin as she dragged a hand downwards and gave a light, experimental touch to her clean-shaven folds. Hailey shivered in pleasure, bit her lip, and slipped in a single finger. Now was as good a time as any.

In the small living room, Sebastian tried hard to focus on his phone. The video on the screen tried to keep his attention, but occasionally his ears twitched at the sound of soft, repetitive moaning piercing through the shower's white noise. Knowing that Hailey was playing with herself under the water was a dangerously sexy image, and Sebastian had to fight to keep himself from running to his room and jerking off.

His internal struggles reached their conclusion when after several minutes, the sound of the water ceased. There was silence for a few minutes before Sebastian heard Hailey call out.

"Hey, Sebby? I forgot to grab a towel, can you pass me one?"

Sebastian gulped.

"Yeah, sure..."

He stood from the couch and took careful steps down the hall. Taking a towel from the closet felt a little bit like pulling the sword from stone- suddenly he didn't feel worthy.

"Sebby?"

"I-uh... coming!"

Sebastian snatched the towel and walked a bit further to the closed door of the washroom. Just as he was about to reach for the knob, it opened slightly and Hailey's head poked out from the space, not unlike a cartoon character peeking around the side of a building. Her shoulders just barely showed themselves, but made it obvious that she was wearing nothing but a smile.

"Thanks!" Hailey extended one arm towards Sebastian as she reached for the towel in his hands, having to stretch slightly. As she reached, Sebastian's eyes widened as the upper skin of her breasts eased themselves into view, followed shortly by a single, stiff nipple. It was small and delightfully pink, a perfect topper to her beautiful breast. Sebastian could confirm, with his breath caught in his throat, that Hailey did not have any tan lines.

Hailey's fingers managed to catch the towel and pull it back into her arms. She seemed oblivious to both her exposure and Sebastian's dumbfounded look as she ducked back into the washroom out of view, before emerging a few seconds later with the towel wrapped around her torso. It fully covered her breasts, but the bottom edge dangled just barely below her hips.

"All done. Your turn, stinky!"

She spun with a small twirl, one that caused the towel to lift slightly and reveal the bottom half of her ass before settling back into place when she walked down the hall to her room, lightly dripping with water the whole way. When the door clicked in place behind her, Sebastian took his first breath in what felt like an hour. He at least kept the state of mind to grab a towel.

Sebastian did enjoy the warm water washing away his muscle pains, but not as much as he enjoyed finally spraying down the wall of the shower with almost a dozen ropes of cum from his aching member. Twenty years, and not a single time has Hailey ever gotten Sebastian as worked up as she has been doing the last month. Sure, he's had less-than-royal thoughts about his female friend- every guy has. But after so long, those thoughts had retreated back. He hadn't thought about her in that way for years. She wasn't an option. She was too perfect- too pure for Sebastian. A single ray of sunshine peeking through the storm. Sunshine that didn't deserve to be snuffed by smoke and fog.

Sebastian sighed and pressed his palms against the shower wall, letting the warm water run down his back. Why were these feelings finally returning now? He couldn't have her- it was his responsibility to make sure she got the best. He didn't matter, as long as Hailey was happy. That was something he had accepted a long time ago, yet for some reason his heart thrummed tirelessly against his chest. Sebastian splashed some water onto the wall to try and wash away his stains, but eventually turned off the water and stepped out.

Quickly drying off and turning to leave, Sebastian was caught off guard by a set of clothing resting on the counter. He hadn't put them there, yet a nice, baby-blue button-up shirt, tan shorts, black socks, and a pair of boxers sat neatly folded and waiting. Hailey must have put them there, which means she came in while he was showering. Did she come in while he was jerking off? Sebastian's face flushed with red that she might have stepped inside while he was busy stroking himself. If she was in the room, she would have definitely known what he was doing.

Sebastian swallowed his dignity and got dressed. It was a little formal for his taste, but if Hailey wanted him to wear it, he wasn't going to complain. When he slid out of the bathroom, he could hear Hailey rummaging around in her room. Before he could even take a step, Hailey emerged.

Wow.

Sebastian's jaw dropped. Hailey's hair draped in long, untied, golden waves that dangled a few inches below her shoulders, and seemed to glimmer in the light of the hallway. She was wearing a lovely dark blue dress, cinched around the waist with a similarly coloured sash that was tied into a simple, lopsided bow. The bottom edge was diagonally cut, reaching down from her right knee to her left ankle, and the top half was equally stunning. It had short, puffy sleeves that made it seem more 'casual' than a very formal dress, but a plunging neckline that remained modest... mostly.

The crevice between the edges of the cloth followed the tracing curves of her breasts. Although they didn't form the sharp line of traditional cleavage from more well-endowed girls, the skin of her chest did form a visible valley, as well as a gap between the edge of the dress and the centre of her chest. Since Sebastian was a solid foot taller, his gaze down at her showed a hint of more flesh deeper within that small opening. If she was wearing a bra, it was excellently hidden, because he couldn't see any trace of it.

Not that he was looking at that specifically, since his gaze was pulled upwards to the ragged string of white beads that hung around her neck. There was a contrast in quality when the old, yellowed twine was tied and fastened to a delicate silver chain. Even though all the glitter and letters had long since faded, Sebastian would recognize that bracelet anywhere. No matter how many times he said it was awful and should be thrown out, Hailey was stubbornly incessant. Considering she was wearing it when they were at the gym today, that means that she must have just attached it to the chain and made it into a necklace.

Sebastian didn't even realise he was staring until Hailey innocently held her hands behind her back and smiled.

"So, how do I look?"

It took several attempts before Sebastian's voice finally decided to form comprehensible words. "I- uhh, umm... you look... beautiful."

Hailey's smile somehow grew even wider. "Aww, you know how to make a girl blush. You look handsome as well."

Sebastian, like most of the time, wasn't sure what to say. As usual, Hailey decided to speak for him by jumping past, her bare, dainty feet skipping across the carpet. She grabbed his arm and partially dragged him back towards the living room.

"Come on, slowpoke! I'm starving!"

Sebastian felt a smile curl across his lips as he waddled forward, led by the beauty. As he sat down to put on his shoes, he looked to see Hailey bending over at the waist, slowly pulling on a pair of semi-formal heels that matched the colour of the dress, as well as the colour of her toenails. Wait, she painted her toenails? Were those shoes even there before?

Sebastian couldn't recall, since his mind was focused on trying not to stare at his friend. She never dressed up like this- she was even wearing earrings! They were small little studs, but they sparkled in the light and almost begged for Sebastian to keep ogling. It was a minor miracle when Sebastian secured the knots and stood back up.

Hailey grinned and opened the door. "Are you ready?"

It was a simple question, yet the look in Hailey's eyes sent a shiver down Sebastian's spine. Sebastian wasn't sure, but something told him that she wasn't talking about the restaurant.

"Sure."

Hailey couldn't remember the last time that Sebby sang. If a song happened to be playing nearby, it was rare for him to even tap his foot to the beat. Humming? Even less common. But actual singing of words? Hailey thought that it was impossible. As she cranked up the radio in the car and started loudly following along with Taylor Swift, the very last thing she expected was to hear a strange sound from the passenger seat. Looking over, her heart nearly stopped when she saw Sebby softly chiming in with the words. When she regained enough composure to find her voice again, her grin broke into a cheek-splitting smile and she continued at the next verse. They were untrained, off-key, and a little bit goofy, but a better version of the song did not exist. Not to Hailey.

Hailey didn't mind that the restaurant was busy, nor did she mind that her and Sebby had to wait several minutes outside. The cool night breeze felt wonderful on her skin, but left a tingling chill across her bare thighs and pelvis. She would have preferred to keep her lack of underwear a secret until a little bit later in the night, but the cold permeated through her top and made it apparent that her nipples were very hard, and very unrestrained. Judging by the way Sebby kept fighting to keep his gaze on her face, and the way the male server stared at her, she could only assume that her choice of going commando was quite obvious indeed.

Lack of underwear aside, it was a wonderful night. The food wasn't jaw-droppingly amazing, but it was almost worth as much as it cost. Hailey didn't mind. Sebby had been doing so well this past month, she was more than willing to fork over seventy bucks for a nice dinner. Sebby didn't talk much during the meal, but Hailey knew very well that Sebby was a listener more than a speaker. That was fine, though. She enjoyed talking to him, and knowing that someone was listening and fully caring.

Well, listening as much as he could. Hailey couldn't help but notice how his gaze kept accidentally flitting to her chest for fractions of a second at a time. The restaurant was warm, but to the obvious pleasure of Sebby, Hailey's nipples remained at attention, poking against the thin fabric of her dress. Every once in a while when Sebby would adjust himself in his seat, Hailey felt her lower lips flush with just a bit more heat, knowing that Sebby was hiding an erection. For her.

When Sebby stood to go to the washroom after they were done with their food, Hailey took the opportunity to slide a hand under the hem of her dress. Her actions were hidden underneath the table, out of view from the nearby diners, and Hailey was greeted by a hot, dripping mess between her thighs. Since she had bunched up the back of her dress behind her, rather than sitting on top of it, she knew that there was going to be a very large, very naughty stain left on the upholstery of the booth. A stain that only grew as Hailey slowly fingered herself under the table, encouraging more and more of her liquid velvet to flow free.

Sebby eventually returned, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he stood beside Hailey, looking down at her with a smile. If he noticed her reddened cheeks, flushed from her secret masturbation, he didn't say anything. "Should we head out now?"

"Ease up, cowboy. We still have to wait for the server to come back so I can pay."

Sebby did a poor job at hiding his grin. "No we don't."

Hailey cocked an eyebrow. "Even though I don't plan on coming back here, I have no intention of getting banned for not paying, you know."

Sebby extended a hand down to help lift Hailey out of her seat, which she took.

"The food's already paid for. We can leave anytime."

"Huh?" Hailey recoiled. After a moment, her eyes widened. "You didn't..."

Sebby's grin stopped hiding and came in full-force. "I may or may not have... paid for it so you didn't have to."

"Sebby!" Hailey scowled. "This was supposed to be my treat to you! I take you out for a nice dinner, and I pay. You deserve it after all the hard work you've been doing!"

Sebby slowly started walking towards the door. Luckily, their table happened to be almost directly adjacent, so within moments they were outside.

"I know, but I don't like you spending that kind of money on me. You've been so helpful recently, and I wanted to make it up to you after putting up with me for a month."

"Sebby..." Hailey began. "I wasn't putting up with you, nor do you have to make it up to me. I helped you because I wanted to help you. I don't just want you to lose weight, I want you to be the version of yourself that you want to be. Nothing else."

Sebby frowned. "Hailey, you don't need to-"

Hailey didn't let him finish. Roughly reaching up to grab his cheeks, she pulled him down into a slight hunch until they were directly face-to-face. Sebby paused mid word, obviously ready for Hailey to berate him and tell him how much he means to her, just like she did way back when he first tried to back out of doing a pull-up.

But Hailey didn't.

Instead, Sebastian was surprised when Hailey leaned forward, closed her eyes, and gently pressed her lips into his. Sebastian's eyes widened in shock as he simply stood there, held down by Hailey as if completely powerless. At that moment, he was. After several seconds, Hailey finally pulled away, but still kept her hands on Sebastian's cheeks. She slowly opened her eyes, the beautiful sapphires dancing in the night.

"You're right. I don't need to. But you can't stop me."

Sebastian couldn't even breathe, much less think. Hailey had kissed him. Willingly. It wasn't even some simple cheek kiss either, like an aunt would do at a Christmas party. That was a lip-to-lip full connection of a kiss, one that nearly brought Sebastian to his knees. His Hailey's hands on his cheeks, she wasn't holding Sebastian down to meet her- she was holding him from falling altogether.

This close, just an inch and a half away, Sebastian could feel Hailey's hot breath against his face. Not only that, Sebastian could make out other details with more clarity, ones that he would have never even considered. Her flushed cheeks. Her irregular breathing. The dangerous twinkle in her eyes that held something... more.

Sebastian found it hard to believe. Hailey wasn't interested in him, how could she be? He was nothing. He wasn't what she deserved. She needed to have-

Sebastian's thoughts were interrupted and pulled away like a windstorm when Hailey kissed him again. While the last one was a gentle touch, this was firm, driven. Hailey slid her hands from Sebastian's cheeks to the back of his head, curling her fingers in his shaggy hair and pulling him further into the kiss. For the first time in a long time, Sebastian knew exactly what he wanted to do.