Sweet and Strong Ch. 04

Over the next few days, Liam shared a text exchange with Kaeo.

Liam: Let me take you out on Friday night

Keao: I want to, but I need to go to the gym.

Kaeo: I've been kept away with work and dates this week.

Liam: What are you working?

Kaeo: Lots of compound lifts. Basics are best for overall size.

Kaeo: Would you like to join me?

Liam: Sure, are you happy to show me the ropes?

Kaeo: I'd love to. But I have to warn you, I'm a girly girl until I pick weights, then I get a little hardcore.

Liam: You have an alter-ego? Intriguing. I'm in.

In the late afternoon on Friday, Liam entered the gym at the Metropolitian Aquatics Centre. He glanced around for Kaeo. It didn't take long, her figure stood out among the other patrons. There she was, warming up on an exercise bike. A sports bra bound her large breasts and contained her powerful torso, bare stomach showing off her incredible abs, gym shorts outlining her shapely ass, and thick thighs flexing as they worked the pedals. As she pedalled, she was securing her long hair into a high bun, the act of which showed off her muscular arms. Liam mounted the bike next to her and started pedalling.

'Liam!' exclaimed Kaeo, she finished securing her hair and leaned in for a kiss. 'I'm so glad you made it, I'm just warming up. Five more minutes and let's hit the weights.'

The pair continued cycling in silence. Liam followed when Kaeo stopped and headed to the squat rack, and started loading plates on the bar. 'Do you know how much weight you can squat?' she asked.

'No' Liam admitted, 'I've been performing routines with a pair of 32 kilogram kettlebells, but I don't know how to translate that to barbell exercises.'

Kaeo sized up his leg muscles. 'You'll be able to squat one hundred kilos, easy, I'll bet.' She drew a twenty-kilo plate from the rack. 'The bar is twenty, so we'll put thirty kilos on each side.' Once loaded, Kaeo placed herself under the bar. 'When you prep to lift, place the bar on your traps, don't hold it hard against your neck. Use your hands to keep it in position, but don't worry about exactly where, this is all about working your legs.' She stamped her feet for emphasis. 'Feet a little wider than shoulder width and keep your back straight throughout the lift. When you're ready, push up with your legs, lift the bar off the hooks and squat until your legs are parallel with the ground, like so.' Kaeo demonstrated several times, the muscles in her legs flexing attractively throughout the motion. 'Clear?'

Liam nodded, he positioned himself under the bar, it was a little low for him, but the two of them elevated the hooks to accommodate his full height. She gave his starting position one last check, gently moving his feet closer together and repositioning the bar on his traps. 'When you're ready, lift the bar off the hooks and squat. Her instructions were concise and deliberate.

Liam lifted the bar and squatted low, 'Down, down, down and stop' instructed Kaeo. 'Too far, only parallel is required, and press back up. Good, do it again.' Liam repeated the action, limiting the depth of the squat. 'Much better' Kaeo commented. 'Keep going'. After six reps, Kaeo asked how her felt, and suggested he try more weight. They loaded another twenty kilos. Kaeo instructed him to keep repping until failure.

Liam ground out seven reps before slowing. Kaeo encouraged him. 'Good, stay strong, keep going!' Liam slowly pushed out another rep. 'That's it, another!' Liam squatted down and started his approach back up. He got half-way up before stalling. Kaeo came in from behind, supported his body and got the bar safely on the back hooks. 'Good work. Have a rest for a minute, I'll get you to do two more sets until failure, then I'll do mine. The second set was better, completing ten reps, though he could only complete eight sets on the final before needing to be rescued. 'Good work. Shake off your legs and help me load the bar. I want another 25 kilos on each side. Liam did the math quickly in his head. 180 kilos? That's a lot. He said nothing, but was eager to see Kaeo's body execute this lift.

Kaeo took her position and lifted the bar from the hooks, her eye's focussed on a point ahead of her at dead level. She lowered herself into the full squat, the muscles in her legs showing off their full definition as they tensed under the load. She then propelled her torso upward, a controlled exhale escaping her lips as she rose. She completed six reps before re-racking the bar.

Kaeo ducked out form the bar and wiped a feint bead of sweat that started to gather on her brow. 'One-eighty kilos, that's good.' She shook her legs out, the relaxed muscles shaking slightly. 'Always stay hungry, always keep working toward that next goal. I'm going to attempt two more sets of six. I want you to spot me from behind, like how I did.

Kaeo re-took her place under the bar, Liam positioned himself behind. I'm aiming for six reps, if I stall, I want you to help me complete the rep, but not before.' Liam acknowledged. She lifted the bar and slowly and deliberately churned through six reps.

After a short rest, she was ready for her last set. She lifted off the bar and worked her set. One, two, three, all strongly executed. Four, five, her body started straining, but she dug deep. Six, she dropped deep and paused, her legs were burning with the exertion. Liam was just about to intervene, when she let out a growl and her legs pressed the bar all the way home, she let out a massive breath but didn't rack the bar. 'I think I have one more in me.' she panted, I'm gonna go for it. Her legs were on fire, but she dropped into the squat, Taking a deep breath and forced her shaking legs to perform. She almost reached the top of the bar when her legs failed her, and the bar started to drop. Liam sprung into action and wrapped his arms around her waist, helping her lift the bar back into the hooks. 'Oh my!' She panted, 'So close. Perfect timing on the spot, Liam. That was my limit.'

Liam eyes widened 'That was incredible, how much do you weigh?'

'About seventy-five kilos.' She replied, still panting.

Liam knew full well she was strong, but hadn't been able to put any kind of number to it 'That's over twice your body weight!'

Kaeo slapped her muscular thighs 'Proves these bad boys aren't just for show, huh! Come on, let's get set up for deadlifts.'

They unloaded the bar and lowered the hooks to just above ground level, then reloaded the bar up to 140 kilograms. Kaeo took the bar, one overhand and one underhand and demonstrated the movement. 'I want six reps out of you.'

Liam took position over the bar and pushed through the set. His muscles were burning when he set the bar down for the last time.

'Great work!' Keao said. 'I'll do my set next, help me load up another 20 kilos each side.' Took position and started her set. Her body had a sheen of sweat, catching the light and accentuated every muscle straining to lift that weight. She completed six reps, released the bar and shook her arms off.

They completed another two sets each, modifying the weight on the bar for their respective lifts.

They two of them completed sets of the bench press, shoulder press and overhand row. Kaeo continued amaze Liam with the enormous weights she could lift, and he marvelled at her body's display of strength with each exercise. After re-racking the weights for the last time, Kaeo invited Liam to the wall mirror. 'Flex with me, everyone deserves to check out their pump after a workout like that.'

Keao double bicep-flexed in front of the mirror, she had visibly swollen all over from the workout, and her arms were stunningly huge. Liam looked her up and down, 'Wow, you are a beast!' She lifted her breasts and tensed her abs, causing them to burst into incredible relief. She grinned at Liam, lapping up the attention.

'Well, don't be shy. Show me what you've got.' She said. Liam hesitantly pulled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep. Truth be told, even Liam thought it looked pretty good, the workout had given him a pump, too, exaggerating his size. Sure, he wasn't as big as Kaeo, but he couldn't help but be pleased with his results. Keao wrapped a hand around his bicep and gave it a squeeze. 'Mmmm, hard! I can tell you've worked hard to get arms like this. You should be proud of them. I know what it takes.' She positioned herself in front of him, placed the fingertips of both her hands just under his shirt and gently touched his abs. She looked him up and down, then bit her lip as she looked into his eyes.

Liam gently held her wrists. 'Is everything OK?' Liam asked.

'I... ummm...' Kaeo paused and breathed deeply prior to finishing '... I want to see your body naked.'

Liam wasted no time. 'Let's get changed and get out of here.'

Liam entered the change rooms. His hands were shaking. The prospect of having sex with Kaeo had him giddy with excitement. No sooner had he take off his shirt, that voice from the other day addressed him. Michael had followed him into the change rooms.

'I thought I told you to stay away from Kaeo!' He said.

For fuck sake! Liam thought to himself. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists for a moment before responding. 'Piss off, mate.' Liam replied. 'You had your chance, you failed.'

Michael squared up and attempted to close the distance between them. Liam pushed back to keep him at arms length. 'Don't come closer.'

'Don't fucking touch me!' Michael demanded.

'Don't get in my space and we won't have any trouble.' Liam replied.

'Kaeo's is my girl.' Michael insisted as he pressed forward.

Liam pushed back again. 'Keep out of my way, and there won't be trouble.'

Michael sneered, and backed off. Liam tentatively turned back to his clothes, keeping an eye on the aggressor. Michael sensed this as an opportunity and leapt at Liam, throwing a wild haymaker.

Liam wasn't a martial artist by any means, but he had been in his fair share of scraps out in the field. He raised an arm to block the incoming strike, and countered with a blow of his own, striking his assailant in the chest. The blow landed solidly but missed anything that would have cut the fight short. Michael stumbled back momentarily.

Rushing forward, Michael tackled Liam, trying to use his height to his advantage. The rush caught Liam off balance and the assault bashed his head against the locker in a tangle. Pain flashed through his head from the blow. He grit his teeth as his arm searched for an opening. He managed to get a hold of Michaels head and lock it down on his shoulder, where he smashed his fist into Michael's face twice before he could break free.

Once more the combatants faced one another. Liam quickly wiped his brow, blood was flowing. Michael was sporting a red mark on his face where Liam had struck.

Michael made two sloppy feints, which failed to bait Liam, then charged once more, throwing another wide haymaker. This time, Liam was ready for it. He caught it with both hands and used the momentum to throw Michael off balance. Michael crashed to the concrete floor. Liam descended on his assailant in no time. He knelt across Michael's right arm and pounded him in the head relentlessly with his fist. Michael flailed desperately with his left arm, but Liam was able to fend it off easily between blows, until Michael went limp.

Liam stood up from Michaels prone body, blood welled from a swollen lip and a black eye.

'Liam, you're hurt!' Kaeo shouted. She was already in the room, phone in her hand. She ran up to Liam and inspected the trickle of blood running from his forehead. 'I'm taking you to the doctor.' Kaeo took Liam's hand and lead him into the foyer.

Kaeo briefly reported the incident to the attendant at the front desk. He took one look at Liam's bloodied face and scrambled to notify security. He offered the couple a room to wait in while they assessed the situation. Kaeo thanked him, but insisted that she was leaving immediately for the nearest hospital. The attendant protested, but Kaeo was already heading out the door with Liam in tow.

Liam was bundled into Kaeo's car and she hit the ignition. While slamming the car into gear, she nearly clipped another reversing vehicle. She left the carpark and reached the public road. 'There's some wet-wipes in the glove box.' She said. Liam found them and stared to clean his face.

The adrenaline in his blood had started to thin. 'I think I'm going to be fine.' He said. 'I don't thi...'

Kaeo cut him off. 'No! You're head hit took a real blow and I'm not letting you ignore it. You're going to be fine once the doctor has treated you.'

They arrived at the emergency entry of the hospital within minutes. Nurses approached the car and Kaeo wasted no time stating the situation. The nurses took Liam from the car and informed Kaeo where she could park. They quickly assessed Liam and set him down in the waiting room.

'The doctor will see you soon.' They informed him. Although sore, Liam was lucid. He observed a flurry of activity in the emergency department, nurses and orderlies rushed in and out of the room, The whole place smelled of disinfectant. This could be a while, he thought to himself.

Kaeo arrived at the waiting room and sat in a chair beside him. 'I'm so sorry, Liam. I didn't think Michael was going to get so worked up about this. I saw him follow you into the change rooms just raging and knew he was going to cause trouble.'

Liam groaned. 'I think I might have to make a police report.'

'Don't worry, I caught the whole thing on camera.' Kaeo said, showing him the footage.

Liam laughed softly. 'You're a quick thinker.' He watched the footage, clearly showing Michael as the aggressor. 'That's a relief.' He paused, then continued. 'That's a really big relief.'

One of the doctors approached. 'Good evening... Liam?' He said, flipping between pages on the clipboard in his hand. Liam confirmed and nodded. 'I'm Doctor Floyd, please follow me.' Doctor Floyd led them to his office and sat the couple down. He enquired about the injury, Liam described the situation and Kaeo was able to show Liam's impact on the video she captured. Doctor Floyd typed out his record on his computer with practised hands.

He inspected the wound, asked a few questions and ran some simple tests. 'I think you have avoided anything serious, its' doubtful you've sustained any concussion. It was good you came here straight away, but I think your injury looks worse than it is. I'll have the nurses dress it properly and prescribe a short course of antibiotics to ward off any infection.' The doctor continued to provide some advice to Liam on what to look out for that would warrant anther appointment.

The Doctor called in a nurse, who trimmed back Liam's hair, washed the wound, applied some antiseptic and a dressing. Doctor Floyd was already out the door with clipboard in hand. Kaeo and Liam gave thanks and headed back to the foyer. Liam settled his account with reception.

It was getting late and the night was getting chilly. When he finished, Kaeo stroked Liam's face and said, 'How are you feeling?'

'Tired, more than anything.' He replied.

She dropped her hands to his shoulders. 'This wasn't the sort of action I had in mind for tonight.' The two of them chuckled and shared a hug. 'Let me drive you home. We can pick up your prescription on the way.'

They shared the ride home in relative (but comfortably) silence. Kaeo parked her car in front of Liam's flat. 'Are you still feeling OK?' She asked.

Liam's wound was a dull ache at worst. 'Yeah, it's not too bad.' He replied.

'I'm going to call you tomorrow...' Kaeo said. '... and if you're feeling up to it, I want you to come over for dinner tomorrow night.

Despite the turmoil of the evening, Liam's crotched stirred again. 'I'd like that.' He said. They shared a kiss and Liam left for his front door.