Chapter 5: First Date
When I met first Gary, it was at the end of the first week of June. He gave me a small sliver of his power and awakened me of my potential. Since that fateful weekend, I've stuck to a simple routine.
Wake up at 8, shower, eat breakfast, and spend 3 hours learning everything I can about building muscles. Wait for my brother to leave at noon. Then head out to my job. After work, I head out to gym. It takes me 20 minutes to jog to the gym, then I work out till 8, come back at 9, and eat dinner before rushing upstairs to cuddle with Gary.
I already signed up for gym membership, so once I walk in, I can immediately change and start my workout. Ben has basically become my personal trainer. Even when jogging, I reach the gym at 6, when most people have already left. Which means Ben can focus on making sure I don't kill myself on the equipment. I always try to get on the treadmill, but he refused since he knows I jog here. He still works me as hard as he can. Warming up with some stretching, lunges and crunches. Then, we start the workout.
He told me we were doing training splits, the exercises divided into the push/pull/leg split. Monday and Thursday, I did push exercises, which focused on my chest, shoulders and triceps. Tuesday and Saturday, pull exercises that focused on the back and biceps. Then on Wednesday and Saturday, we focused on leg exercises, which obviously focused on my leg muscles. By Saturday, I was dragging my sore body to the gym, each hour I spent there left me tired and sluggish each night. I had to walk to the gym this time, so I got there by 6:30. Every part of my body felt stiff when I walked in the gym. Ben must've noticed because he ordered me to do way more stretching exercises than usual. Lunges, calf stretches, the cobra - the works. I must've spent at least 10 minutes stretching my body out, and by the time we were done, Ben only let me have two minutes to rest before starting the leg exercises.
"Make sure you stretch at home after we're done here, you need to take care of your body outside of the gym." Ben chastised me after I drank my water. He gave me this advice after I signed up for the gym's membership, and I forgot to follow it. No wonder I feel so sore.
I soon realized the break didn't last long enough. From the first set I knew it would be a long walk home. The barbell squats were straining my legs way too hard, and the next set brought me to my knees. Ben knew that I needed a minute, but he could only give me a few seconds. If I spent more than 5 seconds on the ground, he gave me a warning before hauling my ass up to continue my workout. 3 sets of leg presses, 3 sets of leg extensions, and was merciful by only making me do 2 sets of calf raises. Then I realized I was wrong assuming Ben would let me walk home. I would be lucky to limp home in the state my legs were in. Sitting on the floor, my trembling arms struggled to lift my water bottle. Ben stood over me, glaring as I tried to catch my breath. Even with Ben glaring at me, a silent warning to get up on my feet, my legs just didn't have enough strength to stand. Ben sighed, extending his hand to me.
"Come on," he says, lifting me up. "You can't stay here overnight. I'll drive you home." Wait, what? I can't go home with Ben! My parents will demand they meet him, and my brother will figure out what gym I'm going to! I try to get up and walk on my own, only to trip and fall. Ben easily catches me, holding me up as my legs shake under my weight. Ben's strong, with lean muscles, a rippling six-pack along with well-conditioned arms and legs. But he wasn't big. He's tall, at 6'4", but his muscles were slim. They didn't pop off his frame like the hulking monsters that usually came to this gym. As he helps me sit down, I realized I never asked him about his physique.
"You know, most people who go here, are huge. They're all built like Greek gods." I say, sputtering out each word.
Ben glances at me with his eyebrow raised. "You say I'm not?"
"Well, I thought the gods would be bigger." I'm not sure if Ben appreciated my little quip, since he started glaring at me again.
"Well, I might not be built like Zeus," he says, standing up, "not all the Greek gods are hulking monsters." He takes off his shirt, letting me see his lean pecs and rippling abs, his dark skin stretching over his powerful muscles. "Apollo and Dionysus, for example, are more known for having a slim physique, compared to the rest of the pantheon," then he slings his shirt over his shoulder, stretching it over his arm. He must be trying to mimic Apollo's statue in Vatican City. "Despite his smaller physique, the Belvedere Apollo is considered the epitome of aesthetic perfection." He looks as muscular as the statue itself, maybe even more so due to how well conditioned his body is. Despite the lack of muscle mass, he looks nearly as impressive as Apollo himself. My heart skips a beat as I imagine him in proper godly attire.
The hint of a small grin appears on Ben's face. He raises his right arm and flexes it, his chiseled bicep is aesthetically sculpted, while his corded forearm had nearly every muscle visible, with veins snaking all the way up to his hand. My eyes were locked onto his arm, wondering how long it would take for me to look like that. I took a moment to look down at my arm, it was closing in on his size, but it was nowhere near chiseled as his. I have a lot of work to do.
Ben regains my attention by tapping my shoulder. "The reason why I'm not a hulking monster like most of the gym's patrons because I'm a professional kickboxer." He stretches his arms before sitting beside me. "Many people think a fighter could never have enough muscle, but that's not true. Too much muscle can end up slowing you down and tiring you out in long bouts. I don't need to be built like Hercules when I'm already black Apollo."
That's something I didn't know about fighter, but I had to ask, "Keeping your muscle mass low can help you in the ring, but won't it make it hard to control some of the rowdier patrons?" I've seen some of these guys. Man, they're huge. They haven't said much to me, but I can tell they wouldn't mind putting their hands on me.
