I froze only for a second, and then instinct took over and I pushed away from Mike. He was still laughing as his body fell backwards into the water near the pool stairs. I stood up and found myself staring directly at Mike's crotch from about six or seven feet away. When I realized I was staring, I slowly lifted my head to look at him. He was still smiling, although clearly he was also wondering why I freaked.

"Eric! Dude! Take it easy. It's just teenage hormones raging. I get this way when the wind blows hard." In my head it was like all the images of the past minute were all there at once. I'm sure it only took a second, but it seemed like my brain was putting everything together in slow motion. Finally the pertinent facts came forward - I freaked out because the new built kid had a hard-on while wrestling with me - then he said that it was just hormones - ok, that means neither of us said anything about being gay - cool. I smiled a forced smile and said something about just being taken by surprise. I could feel my heart beating in my chest; it felt like it would break through my ribcage at any second.

Mike was still laughing at me, which oddly didn't seem to help. "It looks like I'm not the only one who can't control his dick", he said, pointing at my crotch. Sure enough I was rock hard and hadn't even realized it. My head was starting to clear and I was finally able to start releasing the tension from my body- it seemed like every muscle in my body was tensed as tight as it would go. Words finally started coming out of my mouth. "I'm sorry bro, but I guess I'm not used to wrestling with guys like that."

I could see that Mike was still clearly amused by the whole ordeal. He was smiling that "what the hell just crawled up your butt" smile that I would come to know so well. "It's OK, I'm just really used to having lots of buds around - back home someone was always wrestling around with someone else. Most of the guys came away with hard-ons too. In fact one time two friends of mine where wrestling after a workout and one guy actually came! We gave him total shit about it, but we knew it could happen to us too"

I was in total disbelief of the whole conversation. I shook my head and ended up doing this lame western accent. "Well, son ahhhh tell ya, thar ain't nothing like that goin' on 'round hare." I slide back into my regular voice, the western voice came out when I was really nervous. Pretty weird, huh? Anyway I kept talking - "There aren't very many kids who live around here, so you probably aren't going to develop a huge group of friends to hang with. In fact, there are only two other guys our age in this neighborhood and they are pretty stuck up. That's the price of living in a high rent neighborhood, there's no one to hang with." Mike looked almost sorry for me as we slowly got back into talking about bodybuilding.

We were both amazed at the weight we lifted earlier in the afternoon, so after talking a bit, we decided to start working out together. It was late June, so we had almost eight weeks to train before school started. Mike mentioned that since we were going to be working out together, he'd give his weight set to Justin.

I hadn't thought about Justin all afternoon, but the image of the two of them talking as they got out of the van quickly came back to me. I wanted to know Justin's story too. "Wow, I would have thought that Justin already had his own weight set, he's pretty beefy for his age." The smile slid away from Mike's face - "Justin's pretty beefy for any age. I think the kid is some sort of genetic freak. Justin has been dying to start lifting weights, but my Dad believes that it's not a good idea to lift weights before you hit puberty."

Mike had moved into one of the chairs by the pool and was resting his head on hands with his elbows on his knees. He was really into telling this story. "Since he wasn't allowed to lift weights, Justin has been doing push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups since he was seven. Dad started me on that routine when I was ten; Justin started doing the same routine then. He's totally driven - it was everything I could do to keep ahead of him over the past few years.

When I finally hit puberty, Dad got me weights and I was able to get some breathing room between me and 'little' bro." He said the 'little' with obvious sarcasm. "When I was twelve and he was nine, he actually was able to do more push-ups and pull-ups than I could for a while. I really had to work to stay ahead of him."

"That was a big wake-up call, I really started pouring it on and finally got stronger than him - but it was work. I guess you could say that owe my body to him." As he said this, he struck a double bi pose, and I began to worry about my hard-on showing up again. He was really built - honestly, when I fantacized about guys, I didn't even imagine guys as defined as Mike. Then my mind wandered back to Justin. "So how big is Justin?"

"The little shit is 5'3" and 135 - but he's incredibly solid, Eric." The smile totally disappeared from his face. "I know he'll be bigger than me someday, and he'll be stronger than me well before that." He paused for a second and then looked me straight in the eye. "He loves to wrestle too. He's been going to wrestling camp since he was six. That's my Dad's idea too, I went for one year, it was clear that I was meant to be a lover, not a fighter. The kids at camp basically used me as a taken-down dummy. But Justin is a totally different story - he's a natural.

I was soaking this all in with a bit of disbelief. I could tell by the tone in Mike's voice that not only was Justin a good wrestler, but that he could beat Mike pretty easily. But that shouldn't be possible, I thought. Mike almost lifted enough to set a record at our school - how could his brother who was almost three years younger be able to out-wrestle him? He had to be lying; I smirked at him - "You can't be serious. Are you telling me that your little brother - whom you outweigh by thirty pounds."

"No, closer to forty pounds." he corrected me. "Right, whom you outweigh by almost forty pounds. can take you wrestling?"

He almost looked sad now. "In a heart-beat, Eric. Trust me, he's stronger than you are, and not too far off my heals. He's been in wrestling for seven years and in martial arts for four. If he wants half my sandwich, he gets half my sandwich - you know what I mean?" Then he got really serious - more serious than I thought he could get, his voice became hushed. "Eric, he's a really cool kid - in fact, he and I are really tight, but he really has a thing about strength and control. I learned not to push him on it. If he says he can kick my ass, I agree with him - and then remind him that he never would. That keeps him cool, but if you challenge him, he'll stay after you until he's totally kicked your ass. So don't challenge him, and even if he challenges you, don't accept - trust me."

"Damn" was the only word that escaped my lips. I thought about it for a second, Mike was definitely the sort of guy who wa always happy and joking, but this was clearly no joke. "If you say treat him with respect, then I will. It might be kind of hard with him being almost three years younger though."

"Eric. please, trust me. You don't want to test him."

We let it go at that and talked about our workout for the next day. I talked Mike into doing legs next. If any part of his body was lacking, it was his legs - and if any part of mine was over-developed it was my legs. He looked at me laughed. "OK bro, you can kick my ass around the gym tomorrow." I hoped he was right; damn I wanted to impress this guy!

It was getting late, so we gathered up our stuff and headed back into the house and out the front door. I was just turning around to go back into the house when Justin came around the corner on his bike. "Mike, why didn't you wait for me, I wanted to check out this guy's weights with you."

"Sorry J, you took off on your bike and Mom was starting to get on me about unloading boxes and shit. I had to get out of there."

"So how is it?" Justin was a typical impatient 13 year-old. He had to know what he wanted to know right that very second. Before Mike could answer him, I asked if he wanted to see my gym. Of course he did. He threw his bike in the grass and I opened the garage door.

The 365 that Mike tried and missed was still loaded on the flat bench. "Hey Mikey, is this you?" said Justin as he noticed the weight. "No bro, I missed it, but I got 345. Never done that before." Mike said proudly.

Justin looked at him almost like a coach looks at a player. "Big weights bro! you'll get the 365 bro, no doubt." Mike smiled and siad "Yeah I will, I just hope you don't get it first!"

I was amazed at their exchange - it was totally opposite of what I would have expected. Justin was in control, calling the shots, driving the conversation. Mike seemed to be looking for Justin's praise. As I was summing up the situation, Justin's attention turned to me. "So Eric, you look pretty damn strong, how long have you been training?" I told him that I'd been at it for three years, and that I'd put on at least thirty pounds of muscle since I started.

Justin smiled that killer smile which apparently was a genetic trait in his family. "Wow, impressive, I hope I get to be as strong as you some day." Mike quickly gave me a look that said: 'he's baiting you - don't take it!'

So I didn't. "Justin, from what Mike tells me, I'd be lucky to be as strong as you dude!" I thought I was totally giving him his due as Mike had suggested, but the look on his face said that I was in trouble.

"So you think you might be as strong me?" Justin immediately shot back. "In your dreams, dude. You want to test me?" As he said it, he pulled off his shirt and hit a most muscular pose, .and my jaw hit the floor. Mike was sort of motioning me to compliment Justin - but he didn't have to; there was no doubt that this fucking thirteen year old who weighed 25 pounds less than I do was A LOT stronger than me.

"Damn Justin! I take it all back, I'll be lucky to be as strong as you someday!"

"It'll probably never happen dude." With that, he walked over and picked up a wooden pole that I used when doing trunk rotations. "What do you use this for?" he asked.

I told him that I used if for trunk rotations to stretch out. He put it across his back and wrapped his arms around either end. "Looks like you'll have to find another way to stretch your back." As he said it, he started pulling against the pole with his arms. I shook my head in disbelief and he mouthed back to me the words: "this is you." First his face, and then his entire body turned flushed red. He was pulling harder and hard - and to my amazement, the bar was bending. After about a minute, the poor bar was finished. It splintered across Justin's back. His green eyes sparkled as he handed me the two pieces. "I'm a lot stronger than you bro!"

What else could I do? I agreed with him and told him that he was a total freak of nature. He seemed to like that. Mike finally picked up the conversation. "Hey Justin, Eric and I are thinking about working out together. If we do, I won't need my weight set anymore; you want it?" I couldn't believe it. Hot, totally built, incredibly powerful Mike was asking his thirteen-year-old brother for permission to work out with me.

"Awesome bro! Dad shouldn't mind, fuck I've got hair growing under my arms and I'm in the middle of a growth spurt - I must be in puberty - right?" Mike and I both agreed, and Justin very happily accepted the gift of the weights. He walked back out and picked up his bike. He looked at Mike and me - " Mikey thanks, you know how much I want this! Eric, it looks like you've got a lot of equipment here - if I need more weights can I borrow some of yours?"

I almost made a joke about Mike's 275 lb weight set being enough for him for a while - then I thought about the wooden poll breaking across Justin's back. Not a good time for a joke. I promised him that if he needed to use some of my equipment, I'd be OK with it. He peddled away toward his own house. I turned to Mike and was amazed to see the relief on his face. He seemed to feel the need to explain. "Wow, you almost stepped in it with him. I'm glad you didn't. Ever since his body discovered testosterone, he's been a little hard to control. Don't worry though - he'll be cool - you were nice to him. As you get to know each other, you like him - he's just always got a chip on his shoulder and you definitely don't want to knock it off."

I thought about that for a second. "Have you?" I asked. As I asked the question, I thought about how any other guy I knew would have answered it. Even if their little brother was 50 lbs heavier and three times as strong, no one I knew would admit that a 13 year-old could take them. But even after only knowing him for the afternoon, I knew that Mike would tell the truth. He was a total open book - I really envied that quality in him.

"We used to wrestle around all the time when we were pretty little, but for the past three years it's been a different story. I mean we still play fight, but I know not to challenge him. When I was 13 and he had just turned 11, I was the one with the newfound testosterone. Hair started growing on me and you could start to see my pecs and abs. I was starting to get agressive. We shared a bathroom at our old house, and I was flexing in the mirror. He came over and watched me; we started talking trash and before you knew it we were wrestling."

I was sitting at the end of a bench totally mesmerized by the story and the way Mike told it. "I pretty much knew right away that I had made a mistake, but the hormones were raging and I decided to give him a good fight. That was probably the worst idea I've ever had. The whole time, he just played with me. He'd let me escape and then he'd take me down hard. I really don't know whether he learned it in wrestling or marshal arts, but he'd put me in nerve holds, or twist my body until I cried for him to stop. I was sore for two weeks after that."

Mike was looking blankly at the ground. Just telling the story was pretty painful for him. "After that, Justin and I had a long talk - in a way, that talked defines the way we relate even now. We talked about how different we were, and how we had different goals. I was amazed that he listened and understood what I was talking about. Since then, we've had a ton of respect for each other. We're really good friends - just as long as I don't challenge him."

I laughed a little and smiled at Mike. "And I thought I had it rough as an only child! You are a piece of work bro. You are the most built guy I've ever seen, and you are totally cool with your younger brother being able to take you. That's pretty damn cool."

He grinned at me, got up and walked over the bench where I was sitting. He stopped right in front of me so that his crotch was right in my face. "Don't start thinking I'm too humble - and still take you, little man." I lifted my head not realizing how close he was and found myself staring straight into his crotch. He had a hard-on again and it was staring me straight in the face. "Looks like it's time to make Eric say 'Uncle'!" And with that, he pulled me onto the mats and we started wrestling. I tried my best, but I honestly had never wrestled anyone since I was about nine. Mike was stronger and more skilled and soon found myself with my back to the ground and Mike sitting on my chest.

"Hmmm, looks like Eric isn't much of a wrestler, what shall we do with him.? Maybe we should make him suck some hard dick!" I was in total terror as Eric pulled down the red speedo and pulled out his now very hard dick. He started slapping it on my chest as I turned away and hid my eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa take it easy bro! I'm not going to make you suck my dick. I'm just teasing you. Wow you are touchy."

"Sorry man - I'm just not used to this much physical contact. I'm cool." As the words came from my mouth we both became very aware of my now very hard dick pressing on Mike's rock hard ass. The silence between us was deafening. Mike looked down at me and smiled. He stood up and put out his hand to help me up. As he did, he said, "With that big ol' boner you popped, maybe you would have liked to suck my dick."

"In your dreams!" I was beginning to understand Mike. Sure he was challenging my sexuality, but he did it in a way that challenged his own. I pretty much realized then that whether I was gay or straight wouldn't stop me from being friends with Mike, he wouldn't let it. I also realized I wanted to be his friend whether he was gay or straight - but much more interesting than that, I also was pretty sure that we were both gay - and there was no doubt in my mind that if he was gay too, we'd have much more than just a friendship!

Next: Summer workouts. •