"So when are you two gonna make out already?!"
Michael, Ian, and Michelle all met in a Chemistry class at university, becoming fast friends. Over the last few years, the trio were inseparable, especially Michael and Ian. In the last few weeks, Michael and Ian had formed a habit of working out together when they found gaps in their schedules. As the warm spring days stretched into early summer and evenings grew longer, the two found the best way to take advantage of the extra sunlight was spending the added time working themselves into peak physical form. Once classes ended and they completed their after-school duties, the two would follow Ian's strict regimen of body-perfecting exercises for hours until both boys were exhausted and their muscles ached.
At first, Michael hardly registered Michelle's question. Out of instinct, he nodded, a knee-jerk reaction by someone only half-listening as another person talked. But it didn't take long for the gears to start turning and for Michael to, once fully comprehending her question, break into a full-on flop-sweat.
Michelle smirked - their playfully-coy friend lived with a smirk on her face. She gave Michael a playful nudge.
"C'mon," she goaded, "you guys have some crazy energy! Especially earlier when Ian was spotting you while you were doing bench presses?" Michelle let out a long whistle, fanning herself.
Michael remembered laying down on the bench, struggling with the extra 10 pounds Ian had goaded him into adding to the bar. He could feel sweat dripping from Ian's muscles onto his forehead. At some point when Ian leaned in to guide the bar into Michael's hands, he felt a very solid lump brush the top of his head, and Michael hoped the even breathing he maintained would hide the heat rising in his cheeks.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Michael stuttered, wiping the sweat away from his brow.
Michelle raised her eyebrows at Michael, grinning. She leaned against the wall, watching Ian do some post-workout stretches.
After hours of intense exercise, they both stretched their overworked muscles. Michael had finished his workout a few minutes prior, but waited until Ian had run a few cool-down laps around the building and did his own round of post-workout stretching before heading to the showers together.
"When did he take off his shirt..?" Michael wondered aloud, blinded by the glistening sweat covering Ian's sinewy frame.
"He takes off his glasses while he works out, huh..." Michelle looked over her shoulder at Michael. "Don't you think it's cool when guys who normally wear glasses suddenly take them off?"
In Chemistry lab, Michael had gotten so blindsided by the sight of Ian in his too-tight workout shirt and accidentally burned himself with a bunsen burner. He imagined the heat coming off his face was hotter than that.
"Y-you sure keep a close eye on Ian when he's working out..."
Michelle claimed she watched their training sessions to "keep an eye on his progress," and as a Biology major, Michael could understand intense observation in the name of gaining knowledge. Still, he had a suspicion there was more to it than she let on.
"It's not just me," Michelle defended herself, "you two watch each other pretty carefully when you're stretching before and after workouts."
Michael's heart pounded in his throat. "W-well, sure, it's like Ian says, monitoring each other for proper stretching form is important s-so we don't hurt ourselves. That's all it is." This didn't sound like the kind of research of a casual student. Or frankly, like research at all.
"Michelle! Michael! I'm finished with my post-workout stretches!"
Michael turned around, and unintentionally grimaced.
Adonis. Hercules. Achilles. Put the most striking men of antiquity in a pair of grey sweatpants, and you had Ian. Towering over both of them, Michael found himself eye-level with Ian's chest, sparkling in the afternoon sun, and found himself unable to look away. "Ian!" Michelle greeted him with enthusiasm, snapping Michael from his daze. "You two were really fired up this afternoon!"
Ian smiled. "You think so?" His smile rivaled the light of the sun. "Well, my success wouldn't be possible without the help of Michael."
Michael's face burned like a thousand fires. Unfortunately, Ian noticed.
"Michael!"
Ian gesticulated to his classmate's scorched cheeks.
"Y-y-y-y-yes?!"
Michelle snorted.
"Your face is bright red!" Ian yelled, without any pause, his hands waving frantically. "Did you forget to wear sunblock during our training session? Even if it's late, the sun's rays are actually strongest in the afternoon! You have to be mindful of your exposure to UV rays!"
Michael tried desperately to hide his face in the collar of his shirt, but to no avail.
"N-n-no, it's just-"
"Are you overheated?" Ian carried on. "Maybe it would be best if you took a cold shower!"
Michelle stifled laughter, and Michael knew if this kept up he'd actually die of a heart attack.
"Y-yep, good idea!" Turning on his heel, Michael kept his face covered with one hand, and waved over his shoulder with the other. "S-see you in the showers - crap! - I-I-I mean, see you!"
Unable to control herself any longer, Michelle broke into a fit of giggles.
---
"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Michael?" Ian asked.
Michael wasn't insecure about his body at all; he'd always been on the leaner side, and was considerably shorter than most guys, but had no qualms about being naked around others. The problem was, Ian wasn't just anyone Ian was tall and broad, an avid bodybuilder who took as much pride in his muscle as he did in his Kinesiology research. No one would be able to resist sneaking peeks in the shower at someone so statuesque. Today, however, the showers were empty, save for the two of them.
"Hm? Oh, yeah..." Michael replied, and meant it. Cool water always managed to soothe his nerves. Still, he wondered if telling Ian about his tangled thoughts courtesy of the seed planted by Michelle would do more harm than good.
"...Can I ask you something, Michael?" Ian chimed in.
Michael turned to look at Ian, soap dripping down his head, water rolling down his perfectly-sculpted body.
"S-sure," Michael responded, only slightly distracted.
"Did Michelle ask you about our training session too?"
Michael felt his stomach drop through the floor.
"...Too'?"
