Today just seemed so surreal. Last year, I had trouble keeping up with the warm-up after the jog, but today, everything was so easy. The guys around me were winded after warm-ups but I felt energized. And god, did it feel good to toss that senior around like a rag doll. I still can’t believe it. Have I really come so far ahead of everyone else? They’ve been working at it for years. It’s all because of Armstrong and Sam. My teammates can’t be working as hard as Armstrong and Sam made me work.

I walk into my house and sit down to eat. My dad comes down from his room to talk to me.

“So how did it go son?” I try not to smile too much, but I almost yell, “I’m on the team dad!” He walks over and gives me a hug and says, “Good job. You deserve it. You’re a big man now and I know you’re going to do well. Tell me all about it.”

“Well, first we started with a jog. Nothing like what we do though. It was 4 times around the track, you know, easy stuff. Then it was a bunch of warm up exercises. Some of the guys around me were tired when we finished, but I was good and excited. Then they told us who to see for what positions. Oh, and Sam and Armstrong were there. I stopped to talk to them before I walked over to the defensive linemen tryouts. They told me to take it easy on them.” I smile a bit.

“The test was the guy I couldn’t move last year. I knew this year was going to be different. He was still taller and a bit larger than me, but I saw he was a lot fatter than last year. I hit him just like Sam and Armstrong trained me. I got under his pads and I carried him a bunch before I slammed him on the ground. Sam and Armstrong went crazy on the sidelines and the coach was shocked. I ran over and asked coach how I did and he was speechless. Sam said to him, ‘This is Big Mike Evans, you’re new defensive lineman,’ and all coach could do was nod. Sam and Armstrong congratulated me on the nice hit and I was so proud. It was all thanks to their training. They watched as we did the rest of the day’s practice and when it was over, we hit the weight room.”

“You weren’t tired after all that practice?” my dad inquires.

“No, I was so hyped. It was only two hours and the guys put me through a lot more than that. So, we hit the weight room and it’s a decent one. We do our normal workout and Armstrong was pushing me while I’m trying a slightly higher weight. I get 12 out and I’m proud, then I noticed the football guys were watching me. I felt kinda funny at first, but then I started flexing at them.” I held up my arm and flexed a little bit for my dad. “They were shocked and it made me feel good. I mean seniors were impressed by my size and muscles.”

“Sounds like you had a nice day today.”

I scarf down some more steak and respond “Yeah dad. I can remember when I didn’t think this was gonna be possible, but you and Sam and Armstrong made it all happen. I really love you dad.” I get up and walk over to my dad. I’m bigger than I used to be, but he still picks me up and hugs me. We stand for a moment in that hug and he puts me down.

“You are becoming a big man. I won’t be able to do that much longer,” he laughs. “Heh, don’t worry dad, I’ll pick you up instead soon!”

I head upstairs to take a shower. When I get into the restroom, I catch myself in the mirror. I’m wearing the shirt that Sam gave me the first time we met. It’s faded from its original black, and there some holes in it in various places, but what caught my eye is how I looked in it. When I first got it, it fit me like a dress. It hung down to my knees and was completely wide. Now, I fill it out a lot better. It hangs off my shoulders well, my body is wide enough to make it look baggy but not completely funny. It’s still a bit long for me, but it’s amazing to see the gains. Why didn’t I notice this stuff before? I flex a bit and I can see myself fill out the shirt a bit more. “Amazing” I say to myself. Then I begin to take the shirt off and I catch the smell of it. I’ve never noticed it before, but the shirt smells like that same smell I smelt the first day. But now I know what it was. This shirt, which was worn by Sam when he lifted and worn by me while I worked hard, smelt like muscle. I can label the smell now. It smells like Sam, Armstrong and I, sweating hard. It smelt like the metal and the weight. There was the scent of the locker room where we showered and there was even a slight hint of blood and tears. I took a deep breath of it and exhaled a giant “Ahhhh.” Now I knew why my father did the same when he first took me to the gym. It was great. It was like how men should really smell. Screw colognes, the stench of muscle and metal should be all over us, the exhilarating scent of power and hard work should be what defines us.

I take off the shirt completely and look at myself. I look a lot better than I used to, but I still have a long way to go before I get to where I wanna be. I flex a bit more and I see myself getting hard. I look down at my cock and I say, “Yeah, I know you like that too." I love getting the muscle as much as I like watching it. I jump into the shower and wash up, my mind reeling from today’s events.

It can only get better. •