Working Out Issues Ch. 03

"Oh god, this feels amazing!" I gasped.

After two weeks of Michelle Champion's At Home Aerobics, I was making amazing progress. True to my word, I had started the first DVD the morning after Adam and I had our little futon bro hang. Back then, I had struggled with just the beginners class. But I had kept it up every morning since then, and now all the lunging, squatting and jogging on the spot was starting to pay off.

"Yes, dude!" said Adam. He was standing next to the TV, watching me like a proud cheerleader at her boyfriend's football game. Or a proud football player at his girlfriend's cheerleading competition. Usually when I was doing my aerobics, Adam was at the gym with a client. But today I was feeling so hyped after my first class, I had gone straight on to the next one. Adam had come home to check some emails in between sessions, but when he saw me working out in front of the TV, he couldn't help but watch.

"Feel the burn, ladies!" Michelle Champion chirped from the screen, breaking into a fast jog with her knees up high in front of her. I had learned to tune out all the references to "ladies" and "girl power" but there was no way I could tune out the burning in my legs. My thighs were on fire, in that awesome "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" way I was just starting to appreciate. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing going on down there.

"Don't stop!" Adam shouted, "You can do this!"

"Not with a wedgie I can't!" I groaned. I had stopped jogging and was feebly bouncing on the spot as I tried to fish my boxers out of my ass crack. All the bending and squatting and stuff had really worked them up there, and now my pants were starting to slide down, and the loose fabric and sweat was just tangling everything together. I sighed and walked away from the TV as Michelle yelled out "Last thirty seconds, girls!"

"Nooo!" Adam groaned, "You so had that, dude! You HAD that!"

I grinned over my shoulder, still trying to rearrange my downstairs, "I definitely would have gotten it if it wasn't for these shorts. How do they keep riding up AND slipping down?"

"It's cause they don't fit you any more, bro! You're getting, like, really in shape now."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, sure. I'm sure anybody would look at the two of us together and think, wow, Mel's in such good shape."

Adam put his hands on hips crossly, perfectly syncing up with Michelle Champion's triumphant pose on the TV. I laughed. Now that was a dream team. After two weeks I was starting to get jaded to Michelle's tight, toned body, but Adam's bulging muscles were still as jaw-dropping as ever. I think anyone would agree.

"I'm serious, dude," said Adam, "You've been eating healthy, and working out, and you need to realise it's having a really good effect. You look awesome."

I blushed, "Shut up, Adam." I gave up on my cargo shorts and let them drop to the floor, pulling off my sweaty and admittedly now kind of oversized old T-shirt. I displayed myself in just my boxers and sports bra, "Look at me. I'm still a fat, gross nerd."

Adam crossed his arms, "Well... you're my fat gross nerd." He grinned. I giggled but quickly regained my composure. "Come on," he said, "I think I have a solution for your pants problem."

I followed him to his bedroom, "Adam, please never say "pants problem" again. It sounds like I shit myself."

"Hey, it sometimes happens with squats."

"Ew! Adam!"

I shoved him, laughing, through the door of his bedroom. Of course, I could feel that the way my weak, flabby arms pressed helplessly against his thick back muscles was never actually going to push him anywhere. But he pretended to stumble through anyway.

"Okay, okay!" he opened up one of the surplus merch boxes that the gym had asked him to look after, "So I was originally thinking I would just get you some workout shorts or something--"

"My boxers would literally be bigger than the shorts."

"I know, I know! But, it turns out, this stuff is literally all women's gear anyway. It's a very male-dominated gym."

"Oh yeah. Bro city," I said.

"Total sausage fest," Adam laughed.

"Must have made it even harder when that lady trainer was so shitty to you."

Adam paused, "Could we... not talk about that, please."

My face turned red, "Sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"It's fine," Adam shrugged. He forced a laugh, "Nah, yeah, it was such a bummer. I'm so over it though. I mean, obviously not, but, yeah. Haha. Anyway. I figured... some of the sports bras you use were actually in a set with matching briefs, so you could use those."

"That's perfect, Adam," I said. Adam was just kind of poking about listlessly in the box. I sighed and went over and joined him.

"I think these match my bra today, don't they?" I asked, holding up a pair of navy blue underwear. Adam nodded. "Well, I'm gonna try them on right now. They're gonna end up getting all sweaty eventually, so I'll just cut to the chase. Don't peek at my butt!" I nudged Adam's shoulder. He chuckled noncommittedly, still obviously lost in thought.

I quickly ducked around the corner, shed my sweaty boxers, and shimmied into the sports briefs. They actually felt pretty good, which shouldn't have been that surprising after what a lifesaver my sports bras had turned out to be. The material was light and breathable, but kind of tight in a comforting way. The only problem was, as I pulled the high-waisted briefs up around my bellybutton, I could feel my dick kind of uncomfortably pressed up against the front. I reached my hand into my new panties and fiddled around a bit, quickly figuring out that things fit much better if I tucked it back between my legs and let the tight material press my balls up into my body. I adjusted my sports bra and stepped back into the room.

"Ta-da!" I said. Adam was sitting dejectedly on his bed, but looked up at me as I posed with my hands on my hips. He perked up a little.

"You look really good, dude," he said.

I smiled and took a few more steps into his room so I could judge for myself. Adam had a full length mirror (who wouldn't if they had a body like that?) and as I stood in front of him to check myself out, I realised he was... kind of telling the truth? The high-waisted briefs had a similar effect as my sports bras did, compressing my flabby body into nice, smooth curves. I turned around on my tiptoes, looking over my shoulder as I shifted my weight from side to side. My panties cupped my butt cheeks, offering a little support and squeezing them tight enough to show how firm and round they were starting to get. I could see the muscles in my glutes and thighs working, and realised that my hard work with Michelle Champion's DVDs was actually starting to translate to my appearance. Not bad! Although the rest of my body still looked pretty gross. I couldn't stop looking at my legs. I had overheard girls complaining about cellulite, and I think I knew what they meant. But my butt looked good, and my hair still looked shiny and nice tied up in a ponytail, and I tried to focus on that.

I looked back at Adam and smiled shyly, "I guess I do look kinda okay."

He grinned, "You do, man. You gotta keep this up. A few more months, you won't be able to keep girls away from you."

My smile faded, "Hey, Adam, I'm really sorry about bringing that thing up before."

He sighed and slumped back on the bed, "It's fine, man. I really just gotta forget about it."

"Oh, Adam," I sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. Well, I tried to. He had such broad shoulders, and my chest kept getting in the way, so I ended up settling for just kind of caressing his back, "You don't have to hide your emotions from me, man. I never would have made this much progress without your help. I want to pay you back somehow."

I could feel how tense he was through his shirt, "Thanks, man, but I gotta just handle this myself."

"Oh shut up, you doofus," I snapped. I shoved his shoulder again, and he didn't budge. "As if you're gonna act all tough in front of me after I just let you see me in my boxers today. I never even let my parents see me without pants on."

"Why?" said Adam.

"No one wants to see my gross, pale legs," I said.

"Well..." Adam pointed at the open box, "Maybe try wearing leggings or yoga pants or something."

"Maybe I will!" I said, "And maybe you try opening up about your feelings, dude!"

Adam groaned and fell back on the bed, "Dude, I honestly just... I just want a freaking hug sometimes. Like, just to be close to someone. And comfortable."

I looked at him thoughtfully, lying back on the bed, his arms straight down by his sides, staring up at the ceiling. I'd never seen someone lying in bed look so stressed, "Don't you get that with your gym bros?"

"Kind of," he sighed, "When someone gets a PB, and we bro-hug... but even then, you can feel everyone trying to flex! I just want to be able to touch someone without having to prove myself!"

"Like that night we passed out on the futon?" I said.

Adam rubbed his face, "Honestly, dude, yes. I think about that all the time. That's like the most relaxed I've been in ages."

I flopped down next to him on the bed, "Well, relaxing on the couch is kinda my thing."

He smiled at that.

"Do you really want a hug?" I asked.

"...yeah," he said quietly.

I rolled over and reached an arm across his chest. His breathing caught for a second, then he rolled towards me and wrapped an arm around me too. For a second we lay there, hugging.

"My feet are hanging off the edge of the bed," I said.

Adam laughed, and we quickly wriggled up until our heads were resting on pillows, then wriggled some more to figure out the best position for a hug lying down. I was about six inches shorter than Adam, and obviously had way narrower shoulders, but somehow it worked out that the most comfortable way was with him resting his head against one of my shoulders, with one of his arms circled around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his thick shoulder and neck muscles as well as I could, pulling him into me. My fat tummy was still getting in the way, but he nestled his face against my chest and sighed contentedly.

"Mm," I said, "Does that feel nice, dude?"

He nodded and tightened his grip around my waist. I smiled, and relaxed some more, letting my soft, curvy body press into his hard, ripped physique. He sighed again. I had never been this close with another guy -- with anyone, really -- but I had to admit, this was nice. I guess this is what friendship is like when you start letting go of insecurities.

Adam still felt so tense, though. Poor guy. It was hard to imagine such a physically powerful guy being so fragile, but I felt like it was the least I could do as a friend to cheer him up.

I whispered into his ear, "I really appreciate you, Adam. Not just as a personal trainer, but as a friend. You're such a kind, and positive, and thoughtful guy."

He mumbled something that sounded like he was brushing it off.

"You really are," I insisted, squeezing him tighter, "I couldn't have done any of this without you. You've given me so much more confidence in my body. You really came to my rescue."

Adam mumbled again, refusing to accept the compliment. Well, if he was going to be annoying about it, so was I.

"You rescued me, Adan," I teased, "You're like my knight in shining armour."

Adam mumbled something that definitely sounded like a muffled, "Shut up dude."

"Oh, you are Adam!" I said, "You're my sweet prince."

Adam burst out laughing. The vibrations felt funny against my chest, nestled into my sports bra. He turned his head to the side.

"What does that make you?" he laughed, "The beautiful princess?"

"You wish," I smirked, "Don't get any funny ideas just because I'm in a bra and panties right now," I leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the forehead, "My sweet prince."

"Hey!" he said, reaching up to push my face away, "Stop calling me that!"

"But you are, bro! You saaaved me!" I said, pecking his hand with a bunch of little kisses. He shoved me, and I rolled away laughing. I got on my knees and tried to shove him back, but he didn't yield and easily grabbed me by my shoulders and wrestled me onto my back. He pinned me down on the bed. His muscular hands held my arms by my sides, one muscular thigh pressed between my legs, just barely rubbing against my hidden dick tucked back in my panties. A shiver went up my spine and I gasped breathlessly. Obviously I was still exhausted from my workout.

"Thank you for the compliments, beautiful princess," he smirked, "But I've got another client to get to."

And with that, he leaned down and gave me a big smooch right on the lips.

"Ew!" I yelled, as soon as he moved his mouth off mine. We both started laughing again, and I threw a pillow at him as he headed off, back to the gym. Well, that definitely took his mind off of things. I had also way underestimated his boundaries when it came to embarrassing each other. I guess he was usually so supportive and nice I hadn't expected him to be so willing to up the ante. I was actually kind of impressed!

I slowly clambered off Adam's bed, letting the adrenaline from our wrestling match wear off. I went through the merch boxes for a bit, finding the matching briefs from the sports bra and panty sets I had already taken the bras from. Plus a few extras, now that I knew I really was committed to working out every morning. I tried on some leggings as well, and was really pleased with how they looked. Again, like my underwear, they clung tightly to my legs, letting me see how they were actually starting to get kind of shapely. I had expected some gross fat rolls, but they weren't really happening. I guess I hadn't noticed how slim I was getting. I was definitely wearing these from now on.

Come to think of it, I was breaking some boundaries myself. I really hadn't ever let anyone see me in my underwear before. I don't even know if I would have let a girl see me like that. Not that the chance had ever come up before. But now I was willing to show my body off, and pose, and look at myself in the mirror and not just focus on the bad parts. And I had Adam to thank for that. I smirked to myself.

He really was my sweet prince.