Finally, Brandon got up and headed toward the front of the classroom to hand in his finished test. Nick’s eyes were fixed on his muscular bubble butt protruding through the seat of his trendy cargo shorts, on his calves as they jumped with every step he took. Never had he seen a body so perfectly built; Brandon almost didn’t seem human. Ripping his gaze away from him, Nick glanced at the clock. Shit, he only had 10 minutes to finish the test! He bit his lip hard and forced himself to focus on his own work, completing the exam with barely a minute to spare. He sighed with relief as he walked out of the room and toward his locker. It was the last day of school and he had still not taken JP’s advice to strike a friendship with Brandon. What was he waiting for?

Mentally kicking himself, he opened his locker and began emptying it out. It would probably be all summer before he could have another chance to talk to him; he had to do it now. Nick looked across the hall at Brandon as he picked up his backpack with one arm, his round biceps bulging out of the sleeve. Instantly, Nick’s heart began to beat faster. Maybe he could ask if he wanted to workout together. He had mentioned it when they first met. Surely, Brandon would make a great training partner. Nick swallowed and made his way over to the stud.

“Uh, hey, Brandon,” he greeted him, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. Brandon immediately smiled, his baby blue eyes sweeping right into Nick’s brain.

“Hey, Nick,” he replied, offering his hand for Nick to clasp as if they were best friends. That was a good start. “That math test was tough,” he went on. “How’d you do?”

“Fine,” Nick shrugged, thought he was sure he aced it – he just didn’t want to sound too cocky. “Um, I was wondering,” he began, “if, if you were, uh, you know, doin’ anything this weekend.”

“Not really,” Brandon answered, “just training with my dad.” But then, his face lit up. “Hey, you wanna come over and work out with us?” Nick’s mouth nearly dropped open at the notion that Brandon had nearly the same thought he had just had. He almost couldn’t put together the words to respond.

“Um, yeah, I mean, sure,” he stuttered, feeling his heart pound even harder.

“Great,” Brandon smiled. “We’ll meet at my place at nine on Saturday. I’ll IM you later and give you directions.” This was almost too easy, Nick thought. Brandon clipped his backpack across his broad chest and shut his locker. “Oh,” he suddenly added, “I hope you don’t mind my dad. He gets pretty rough when we work out.” His eyes widened comically as he spoke, making Nick wonder exactly what he meant, but the guy’s voice wafted through him so strongly, he barely could think about anything. “Well, see you then,” he said cheerfully before turning away and jogging down the hall. Nick watched his wide back as he darted between the other students with athletic grace. He took in a deep breath. Working out with Brandon Jones…this was going to be interesting.

Ryan headed across the parking lot of the Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus. Never in his life did he think he’d ever be here. Only a year ago, all he thought about was how many chicks he was going to fuck at the next party. Now, he was taking summer business classes, beginning the second life he sometimes thought he didn’t deserve. Quickly glancing at his schedule, he searched the directory for the right classroom.

“Excuse me,” a female voice called from behind him, “do you know where room 231 is?” Ryan turned to see a pretty blond girl. Her face held soft features, but it was her calm, brown eyes that attracted his attention the most. He stood there silently for a split second before he realized she had asked him the question.

“Um, actually,” he began, “I’m looking for the same room. Introduction to Business, right?” She nodded, smiling.

“You’re lost, too?” Ryan grinned sheepishly. There was something about this girl’s voice that sounded familiar. It was soothing, almost motherly. That seemed weird. At first, he had thought – with some horror – that he had fucked her somewhere along the line, but she didn’t seem to be affecting him in that way. He certainly wouldn’t be remembering her voice.

“My name’s Ryan,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand. The girl took it.

“Maloney, right?” she said with a sudden expression of recognition. Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. How the hell did she know his name?

“Have we met before?” She nodded, laughing softly – God, that laugh!

“You had a broken rib and you were worried about your brother,” she answered. Then, it finally dawned on Ryan where he had seen her and it all made sense to him. “I was your nurse when you were in the hospital, remember?”

“Oh my God!” he exclaimed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.” How could he forget those kind eyes and angelic voice?

“It’s all right,” she shrugged. “My name’s Ashley Bennington.” She looked down for a moment before continuing. “So, I guess we’re in the same class,” she went on. She crouched her head and made a goofy smile as she spoke. Ryan couldn’t help but be charmed by it.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Imagine that.” God, how come he could barely think of what to say? He used to be so good with girls. “Um, well,” he started, “we should find this place. Uh, maybe we could meet later for coffee or something.” Ashley smiled sweetly.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him and Ryan felt himself blush.

Nick took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell of Brandon’s house. He had come prepared – his gym bag was packed with everything he could think of – but he still didn’t know what to expect. The door opened and Nick instantly felt weak in the knees. On the other side was Brandon; he was wearing gym shorts and an old T-shirt with the sleeves and bottom torn off in the style that the high school football players sometimes wore at practice. It stretched tightly across his huge chest and the words “Jasper Middle School 6th Grade Pool Party” could barely be made out. But it was his abs that blew Nick away. Brandon had a flawless eight-pack; every cut and detail was impossibly etched, from his serratus down to his obliques, it was all perfect.

“Hey, what’s up?” he greeted Nick with a broad smile. Nick gulped at the sight of him. In the morning sunlight, Brandon Jones looked like a true god. “Come in.” And as if he was on auto-pilot, Nick followed the boy inside. The interior of the house looked normal with the exception of sports memorabilia scattered as knick-knacks all over the place. This was obviously the home of a family of athletes: trophies were displayed on the mantle – some looked quite old – autographed photos and posters of famous athletes lined the walls. The place even smelled of testosterone; it reminded Nick more of the high school weight room than a home. That’s when he wondered who else lived with Brandon and his dad, if anyone. “My dad’s already downstairs warming up,” Brandon remarked, leading Nick toward the basement steps.

Before they even took a step, he could hear the clank of weights and the breathing of a well-polished lifter – Mr. Jones. Immediately, pictures began to form inside Nick’s mind of what the man looked like, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Brandon’s dad was gigantic, with a thick neck and even thicker chest. He was easily repping 300 on the bench press – it must have been his warm-up weight which made Nick wonder how much he could max out at.

“Yo, dad!” Brandon called to him. “Nick’s here!” Mr. Jones racked the bar and sat up. Even sitting, he seemed to tower over them with his tremendous size, but his face was youngish and soft-looking with round eyes and full lips. It was obvious from whom Brandon got his looks.

“So, you’re the famous Nick Angelakis,” he boomed, his voice filling every inch of space in the room. He got up to shake Nick’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Brandon’s been telling me about you since you first met and…” he raised his eyebrows, an impressed look on his face, “…apparently, he doesn’t seem to be exaggerating about you. You are pretty built.” Nick bit his lip and blushed.

“Nick,” Brandon slapped him on the back, “take your shirt off and show him what you got!” Nick glanced over at his friend and couldn’t help but obey those gorgeous blue eyes of his. Reluctantly, he stripped his shirt and timidly flexed his 16-inch biceps – which looked miniscule next to Mr. Jones’.

“Wow!” the man exclaimed. “You weren’t joking when you said the kid had guns, Brandon.” It wasn’t anything new to Nick for someone to be shocked by his physique, but it was weird coming from the beast of man that was Brandon’s father. “By the way,” he added, “you can call me Brian.”

“Sure,” Nick muttered hesitantly.

“Excuse me,” Mr. Jones bellowed, “there will be no mumbling in this gym.” The sudden outburst made Nick jump, but then he saw the beginnings of a smile creep across the man’s face and then, Brandon began to laugh. “You do have great biceps,” he grinned jovially, “but today is legs day. Let’s see those wheels of yours!” There was something in the way Mr. Jones talked that made Nick already seem comfortable with him; he now had little hesitation showing off his legs. He lifted up his shorts and flexed his thighs as best he could. Mr. Jones seemed genuinely impressed. “They look mighty strong,” he remarked. He looked over at his son and shook his head. “I think you may finally have some competition, Brandon.” Brandon looked happy about it, almost excited actually.

“Should we start warming up?” he asked his dad. Mr. Jones nodded and peered over at Nick.

“Are you ready for the hardest workout of your life?” Instantly, a chill went down Nick’s spine and he couldn’t help but grin. He glanced over at Brandon who was beaming brightly, his perfect teeth shining, his bright blue eyes sparkling. Yeah, he was ready!

“So, let me get this straight,” Ashley said, sipping her latte, “you used to model, but now you don’t anymore.” Ryan nodded. “Why would you quit something like that?” Ryan looked away for a second and bit his lip, trying to figure out how to explain it. The two were sitting in a nearby Starbuck’s, having met up again after class. Ryan had hoped she wouldn’t bring up modeling.

“It,” he began, “it didn’t exactly work out the way I had planned.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ashley immediately rebutted. “You’re frickin’ gorgeous!” Ryan began to blush. Why was she having this affect on him? She squinted her eyes at him and cracked a devilish smile. “You used to be that model for those underwear ads, right?” Ryan squirmed in his seat and laughed nervously. “Yeah, you were,” Ashley went on, a look of sudden recognition on her face. “I used to drool every time I passed that billboard.” Ryan could feel his face get even redder. “You have a fabulous body!”

“Well,” he muttered, “they touched it up a bit.” He remembered that campaign; it featured him in only briefs, surrounded by a half dozen girls, all ogling him lustfully. It seemed so stupid to him now.

“Still,” she went on, “you probably had a future in it. Why…” Then, their eyes met and Ashley instantly stopped talking. She could tell he wasn’t keen on talking about it, so she changed the subject. “Anyway, so why are you taking business class at NOVA now?” Ryan shrugged.

“I was getting tired of sitting around the house, doing nothing,” he explained. “I needed to change gears.” He knew he was being vague, but Ashley didn’t seem to mind; just talking to him was apparently good enough for her. “Why are you taking those classes?” he asked. “I thought you were a nurse.” Now it was Ashley’s turn to laugh nervously.

“Well, I wasn’t crazy about working in a hospital,” she admitted, “but I didn’t want to start from scratch.” She smiled, immediately sending Ryan’s heart beating; God, she was beautiful. “I figured I’d go more into the administrative part of nursing.” She looked back up at him with her brown eyes, eyeing him fondly. He could tell right away that she felt the same way about him. “I guess we both have something in common, then,” she said.

“What’s that?” Ryan asked, though he thought he knew what she meant.

“We both are taking advantage of our second chances.” They looked at each other from across the table and that’s when Ryan realized what his brother and his sister had discovered long before him in their own lives.

Ryan had fallen in love.

“Two more reps, kid,” Mr. Jones yelled in Nick’s ear as he was on the leg press. “Two more!” Nick screamed out as he blasted his legs upward yet again. He couldn’t take much more of this; his thighs were pounding with pain. “If you quit on me, I’m adding three more reps,” the man went on. “Come on!” Nick pushed himself far beyond his pain barrier, his face scrunched up, his legs shook; tears were practically rolling down his cheeks. “Come one! One more!”

“I can’t,” Nick whimpered. But as soon as he said those words, he regretted it.

“WHAT!?!” Mr. Jones screamed. “You get those words out of your vocabulary right now.” Nick’s chest heaved up and down; he tilted his head back in agony. “You just gave yourself three more reps, son! Let’s go, PUSH!” The man was in his face, breathing down his neck.

“Come on, Nick,” Brandon encouraged him from the other side. “You can do it.” Nick gritted his teeth and used every amount of strength he had left to press the weights upward. His hands held a death-grip on the handles, his knuckles having already turned white two reps ago. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced his legs to push…and they did. “Two more now, come on,” Brandon leaned toward him.

“GAAAAH!” Nick roared as he attempted another rep, pain shooting through his entire body. He felt the cords in his neck straining, his butt quaking, his arms pulsing. He had nothing left… “Do it!” Brandon yelled. “You’re not gonna be a big, strong muscle-god if you give up!” …there had to be something in there. With Brandon’s words echoing in his head, he went for the final rep. His legs were screaming to stop, but his brain ignored their pleas. He had to finish the set; he knew he could finish it. With strength he didn’t even know he had, Nick powered the weights up one last time.

“Go, go, go, go!” Brandon cheered. Finally, with an animalistic cry, Nick finished the set and instantly locked the bar. As soon as he did, a wild sense of exhaustion swept over him. He had never pushed so hard for anything in his life. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t talk, he could barely breath. “That was awesome, Nick,” Brandon beamed, patting him on his chest.

“Good job, kid,” Mr. Jones congratulated him. “Look at those legs of yours now.” Nick did. Shit, he barely recognized them. They were so pumped and red with veins snaking all over the place. His mouth dropped open. They looked amazing! “Now that’s a pump,” Mr. Jones remarked. “A few weeks of that and they’ll be bigger than you’ve ever imagined.” Nick couldn’t help but smile. Hell, all this work was worth it.

The man hadn’t been kidding when he said it would be the hardest workout in Nick’s life. The Jones’ gym took up the entire basement and was packed with every workout machine known to man. No matter what muscle you wanted to train, there was something for it down there. Over the last few hours, Nick was put through the most intense, most grueling training session he had ever experienced. They were only working legs that day, but every bit of his body hurt at the end of it. They had done squats, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises and now leg presses. And with each exercise, Mr. Jones had forced Nick beyond what he ever thought possible.

“Come on,” Brandon grinned, helping Nick to his feet, “let’s go upstairs for lunch.” Good, I’m starving, Nick said to himself. He was shocked that he could barely walk and needed Brandon to help him up the stairs, but even in this state, Nick knew his legs would get super strong and super big. “You did great this morning,” Brandon complimented him. “I was in tears the first time my dad put me through a workout like that, but you get used to it, especially when you start seeing the results.” Nick looked over at him, gazing into his baby blue eyes. This was the closest he had ever come to Brandon, only inches from his face, his arms wrapped around his broad shoulders. There was nothing that could stop him kissing him on those full lips of his. The boy was so beautiful, so gorgeous, angelic…no, more than angelic somehow. Nick felt his heart beating, his stomach churning. There was no mistaking it.

Nick had fallen in love with Brandon Jones.

“Oh, fuck yeah!” Ian screamed as he spewed his load into Kim for the umpteenth time. It was three o’clock in the morning and the two had been having sex all night. As good as it was, frankly, Kim was exhausted. She could barely move as her boyfriend lifted himself off of her and without saying a word to her, sauntered over to the mirror and admired his reflection. “Now was that good, or was that good?” he smirked, checking himself out. He flexed his huge biceps and curled his upper lip. “Damn, I’m a GOD!” he yelled. Instantly, his cock began to get hard again.

Meanwhile, Kim – still sprawled out on the bed where Ian had left her – shook her head. The guy never seemed to run out of gas. He could go all night and all day and he never seemed to get tired of fucking her over and over again. He wanted sex all the time and when he wasn’t having sex, he was in the gym, working out to make his muscles even bigger and stronger for even longer and harder sex. To Kim, this had at one time been a major turn-on. I mean, what girl wouldn’t want a teen muscle god who was pumped and hard 24/7. But now, it was starting to get exhausting. Ian constantly wanted to do it…but it didn’t matter what Kim wanted. And there were times when he didn’t even acknowledge her presence; he was so into himself that he sometimes ignored her completely.

“Fuck, I’m a 187-pound teen muscle god!” he boomed, flexing over and over in the mirror, his thick cock standing on end. Rolling her eyes, Kim climbed out of the bed unseen and headed into the bathroom. Just as she did, Ian screamed out as he blew yet another load all over the mirror and roared like a hungry animal.

Kim tried to shut the sound of him out of her head and closed the door. What had she gotten herself into? When they first met, Ian had been just a confident kid with a nice body. Now, he had morphed into a narcissistic, egotistical, sex-maniac. She knew he didn’t care a bit about her…only himself and how good he looked, how good he was in bed. Kim sat down on the toilet, laid her face in her hands…and began to cry. •