FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER 6

"Wait...how much did you say I should lift again?" Adam asked the bison who was standing over the barbell. His arms bulged menacingly in his white muscle shirt, a towel wrapped over his shoulders as sweat dripped down his body.

"One hundred pounds really isn't that much, Adam!" Lance laughed as he put the weights on either side of the bar. "This weight is practically child's play!"

"I knew I should have done more pushups when I was just a young fawn," Adam said as he watched the bison lift the weights up like they weighed nothing and pushed them onto the bar. The atmosphere in the gym was bustling, but a lot of the gym rats were away. The clang of weights around the room could be heard, as well as grunts of exertion.

The smell of sweat and musk was evident, as well as the smell of rubber. Adam was dressed in loose-fitting gym shorts and a simple black t-shirt that had a dodecahedron snake built out of red dice on it. The snake was cut up into sections, and below the picture of the dice, it said, "Crit or die". It was one of Adam's favorite shirts, and the bleach stains showed off how much it had been through the wash. The gym shorts were also black, but had a blue streak going down the sides. Many of the patrons were busy doing their own thing and paid no attention to the buck's lean form as Adam stretched his arms, bending his body until he felt the familiar burn in his muscles.

"Just lay down on the bench and try to lift the bar. I'll have my hands under it to catch it if you start to lose control, okay? Trust me, you'll be perfectly safe, so no need to worry about it falling on your throat and crushing your windpipe!" the bison chuckled.

"Oh, gee, how nice of you," Adam laughed in response as he brought his back down onto the cool weight bench. He could feel the material hug his back to provide cushion, and he scooted his body up to the bar until his face was right under Lance's legs. The view was particularly pleasing, and Adam had to shift his eyes away from Lance's package, which was hidden inside a stretchy pair of dark red gym shorts. Adam could sneak peaks at the bison's massive chest every so often as Lance shifted above him, and it was a sight to behold. Adam could smell the earthy musk coming from Lance, but he shook the scent away; he was here to work out, not be a perverted buck in heat. A quick thought of Jericho's warm smile kicked the naughty thoughts out of his head. He wrapped his hands around the bar and said, "If it crushes my windpipe, I expect you to run me to the hospital."

"If it crushes your windpipe, I expect you'll likely be dead before the ambulance even got here," Lance said with a roll of his eyes. "Now, lift the bar, and stop wasting time. We've got a lot left to do before I need to get home and get ready for work." The bison positioned his hands at the ready, waiting for Adam.

Gripping the bar, Adam felt the cold metal against his hands. "Is this punishment for taking too long changing, or something? Because, if it is, I apologized like a billion times," Adam joked as he took a large breath in and began to flex his arms to lift the metal bar off of the rack. He fumbled a bit, and his arms wobbled, but he held it high before bringing it down to his chest and lifting it right back up into the air. Lance's hands hovered below the bar, ready at a moment's notice. Although the weight was light to Lance, Adam felt his body begin to strain already as he brought it up to until his arms were straight. Adam let his breath go and brought it back down to his chest to do a second repetition.

"There you go! See? You can totally do this! And, yes, maybe it's a little bit of a punishment, but there was no excuse for it taking you like twenty minutes to get changed!" the bison grunted. "Just keep this up a little longer, and then you can take a rest."

As Adam finished the fourth repetition, his muscles began to ache, and his breaths started to turn more into grunts and groans. Sweat began to drip down his forehead, and his arms began to wobble a bit harder than before. Gritting his teeth, he managed to make it to the seventh repetition, with Lance's encouragement, before he brought the bar down and tried to push it up. He huffed and panted as he tried to lift the bar, his face red as he pushed the bar about a quarter of the way up, until he brought it back down to his chest.

"L-Lance, I don't think I can make it to ten," the buck said with a bit of embarrassment mixed with concern as he tried to lift the bar again. His pectorals began to strain as he worked the bar upward once again.

"Don't push yourself too hard," the bison advised. "This is still just your first day of this, and I wouldn't want you to go pulling any muscles in your chest. Here," Lance said as he lifted the bar up off of Adam and put it back onto the rack. "Seven out of ten isn't too bad for the first time lifting that much weight. After you get a short rest, we'll try again, but I'll knock it back to seventy-five pounds. Sound good?"

Nodding, Adam said, "Yeah, that sounds fine." As he got up off the bench, his arms throbbed as his moved them, and his pectorals felt stiff. He found his water bottle close by, took a sip, and then sat down on the bench in a casual posture. He wasn't sweating anymore, but he was panting pretty hard. "You haven't lifted anything for a while. You sure you don't need me to spot you for something?"

Lance smirked. "You'd make for a pretty bad spotter, if you can't lift one hundred pounds hardly, but sure, why not. Let me show you what you have to look forward to, once you bulk up some more!" He ushered Adam off the bench, and he proceeded to put on an absurd amount of weight onto the bar. "There, four hundred pounds. Nothing quite like benching something a little heavier than you are!"

Many of the people around were a bit more interested now in the comical pairing between the huge, musclebound bison and lean buck. Some people glanced over, and others stared at the strange pair. The duo just ignored them.

The bison lay down on the bench and gripped the steel bar, lifting the bar up off the hook it was resting on and bringing it down to his chest before lifting it the whole way up with a soft grunt, repeating the motion with what seemed like little to no real effort.

Adam was in shock as he moved behind the bison, standing over his head and watching the bar move up and down like it was a natural motion. "I'm going to be like that?" Adam mumbled out loud as Lance continued his routine. Adam watched Lance's muscles dance underneath his clothing, pushing and pulling the bar where they pleased. Imagining himself being lifted by Lance, the buck felt a blush form around his cheeks as he imagined being lifted upwards like he weighed nothing more than a bundle of feathers. The incredible feat of strength sent a shiver down his spine, and he felt a twinge of envy, as well as awe.

"Can be...if you...mmmf...keep at it," Lance grunted as he continued lifting roughly his own body weight, which was beyond substantial, due to his hulking musculature. It wasn't long before the bovine was beginning to sweat, the perspiration only magnifying the bison's already strong, natural, masculine musk.

Adam couldn't help himself and subconsciously inhaled deep. His heart began to thump harder in his chest, and his mind began to space out as his hands hovered below the bar. The smell was one that Adam could not quite put his finger on, but it was intoxicating to him. He never liked the smell of a sweaty man, and always made sure to keep himself clean, but for some reason, Lance's odor got to him. If he wasn't wearing a jock to keep his arousal at bay, he would have been embarrassed beyond measure. Eventually, he shook the feeling off and concentrated on watching Lance's body move and dance as it lifted the bar again and again.

"Jesus, Lance, I thought the muscles were just for show, but...damn," Adam said as he admired the strength and grit it took to lift the bar over and over like that.

The bison chuckled as he put the bar back up on the rack, sitting up slowly. "Trust me, you don't get to be this size without having some serious power behind the muscles. Well, unless you use steroids, I guess, but fuck that stuff." He flexed a bicep, the muscle expanding to the point where it looked like it was the size of Adam's head. "See what I mean? These babies aren't just for show, but customers love them, and I love having them!"

Adam smiled, enjoying Lance's boastful attitude towards his body. It was nice to see such confidence every so often. "Yeah, I definitely see what you mean," Adam chuckled as he watched Lance flex his biceps. "If I can work out even a fourth of what you do, I'll be happy. Then maybe we can have a flex off," the buck joked as he flexed his own bicep, but winced a bit as he felt the strained muscle stiffen a bit. He proceeded to stretch his arms to limber them up.

Lance smiled at Adam and laughed. "I'm sure it would be a flex-off for the history books, but let's focus on getting you some actual mass, huh? Gotta make you all big and strong if you're ever going to become the fifth dancer at the Foxhole Lounge," he chuckled.

Adam laughed and said, "Yeah. The library was too boring, anyway." Giving a mischievous wink and a giggle, Adam continued, "And jars would be easier to open. Anyway, what's next on the agenda?"

The huge bison laughed at the comment about jars. "You'd think they would be easier to open, but, spoiler alert, they're still assholes, because you still can't get a good grip on them!" He thought to himself for a moment. "Well, how do you feel about pull-ups?"

Over the next hour, Lance put Adam through a rigorous workout, and by the end of it, even Lance was feeling a bit winded. "Whew, okay, I'd say that's enough for today. That last sprint around the track got me feeling a little faint! One of the few curses of a body this big, just can't handle a long run quite as well, because there's so much to move!"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...." Adam grumbled as his body came down from the sprint with sweat pouring down his fur. His arms fell to his sides, and he winced as he lifted them up to feel them strain worse. The pull-ups strained his arms, the crunches strained his abs, the planking did the same, and the horrifying weights strained every part of his chest and arms.

"Why do you do this to yourself daily?" Adam asked as he stretched to hear his back give a loud pop, making him whimper. At the same time, though, his heart beat like a drum, and his mind was high on the rush of endorphins. His body felt like it was floating as he stretched his aching muscles, bringing his arms, one after the other, behind his head and pushing on his elbow until he felt the familiar burning sensation. At the same time, while the sensation was dull and throbbing, it also made him feel more alive and in the zone.

"Little bit of being a glutton for punishment, little bit of devotion to keeping this body looking perfect," Lance chuckled as he did his own warm-down stretches. "Plus, I kinda like the weird high you get after a good workout. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but satisfied. I've never gotten this much of an exhausted feeling while jogging before. I guess I just needed someone to push me. Holy shit...I stink," Adam said with a tired laugh as he leaned over and watched sweat droplets fall off his forehead and onto the floor below.

Lance couldn't help but laugh. "That's called the musk of a real man, right there! No one really likes their own brand, but other males sure seem to like it," he grinned. "What do you think of mine? Think I need a shower?"

"You smell fine" was what Adam wanted to say, but instead, he swallowed his words and, in his hunched over position, he panted out, "You smell just as bad as I do, but I guess if smelling like a man is your thing..."

The brown bovine shrugged. "Guess my natural charms don't work on you, then. That explains why you weren't practically clawing off my clothing when I brought you up to the second floor for that private show." Lance yawned as he stretched. "Well, unless you wanna grab a smoothie or somethin', looks like it's about time for us to get cleaned up and part ways."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm thirsty, but I think I'll just stick with water," Adam said with a smile as he felt his body start to calm and the sweat begin to subside. "I just have a good resistance to your siren song." In truth, he had been watching Lance's body work and move throughout the whole hour, and he just didn't want to admit it.

"Some siren song it is, then!" Lance laughed loudly with his deep, charming laugh. "Wouldn't that just be the definition of ironic if my siren song only worked on females, when I myself am one-hundred percent gay?" He burst out with a second round of booming laughter. Adam felt the sound vibrate through his being and the rich sound filled his ears. It was contagious, and a smile broke across his face.

Chuckling at the thought of the bison with a leaf over his crotch and a harp cradled in his massive arms as he sang him a song, Adam replied with a laugh, "I can see you calling someone you didn't mean to call and then just turning them down with a stern expression on your face!" Adam then burst out laughing as well, but then started to whimper again when it hurt his chest. "That would be a cruel fate, indeed."

Lance chuckled to himself. "Not too unlike the fate of someone who goes and becomes a professional male dancer, I'm afraid. You're always the eye candy, drawing others to you, but you keep drawing guys you either don't want, or aren't interested in, to yourself. Surprisingly lonely profession, really, which is ironic, since your profession literally involves crowds of people."

Taken aback by how open Lance was, Adam said, "I'm...I'm sure you'll find someone." Walking over, Adam placed a hand on Lance's arm and gave him a warm smile. "Life has a strange way of falling into place in unexpected ways." The touch was not meant to be creepy or sexual, just affectionate and caring. Adam hoped Lance was okay with the intimate expression.

The bison looked a little surprised by the touch, but he didn't push Adam away either, even though the more shy side of the bovine was clearly resurfacing. "Well, hey...it, you know...it pays the bills pretty well, so I can't complain," he said, scratching the back of his head in a gesture that showed his mixture of shyness and embarrassment of having been quite so open about his personal life just then. "But hey, it's a different kind of love that you feel when everyone is fawning over you," he added with a small chuckle. "If I find someone, then hooray, but I'm not really expecting to find anyone, and especially not among the patrons at the club. They'd be too busy trying to worship me, or something, to be coherent enough to even ask for a date," Lance added with a laugh.

Giving a laugh in return, Adam took his hand away and said, "Your clientele has more lewd objectives in mind. You're a nice guy, Lance, but you are also extremely attractive. You are like a forbidden fruit that everyone wants a piece of." Giving a shrug, Adam continued, "Or maybe I read too much, and I am analyzing your situation a bit too deeply." Giving a small chuckle, Adam nudged Lance and said, "Anyway, we are a bit dirty and running a bit behind schedule, so maybe we can talk more as we walk."

Lance nodded, wiping his face with his towel before following Adam down the stairs which were the only way down from the track which overlooked the rest of the gym. "Yeah, thinking you're right about that. People have a way of making you feel like you're the One Ring, like you're some treasure they have to fight over, because they want you so badly, and like you have this crazy kind of power over them, which you totally do when they're horny like that, but I digress."

Adam laughed, "On a different note, that is a fantastic reference! Loved the progression between the characters and the way they worked together as a party, even with different goals!"

Stopping on the stairs, Adam turned around, crouched low with a hunch in his back, and said in a scratchy, nasally voice, "My precious..." Some of the gym patrons who were walking up and down the stairs stared at Adam while others just chuckled to themselves, getting his reference. Adam blushed and straightened himself. "Sorry, huge nerd here."

Lance burst out with laughter, his deep, velvety tone echoing in the stairwell. "That was a pretty good impression! Can you do a Smaug one too? Or perhaps a Treebeard impression? No, wait, do Radagast!" the bison requested a little excitedly.

Giving a low, deep sound, as much as he could, Adam continued on and said, "The Ents are going to war." Adam had to hold in a laugh at Lance's amusement and commented, "You're just as much of a nerd as I am!"

The huge bison blushed slightly and turned his face away from Adam as his shy side reared its head once more. "H-hey, I just like movies is all. I'm not really...a nerd, ya know? Besides, I don't think anyone could be half as nerdy as you are," he added with a soft chuckle.

"You may beat me in flexing, big guy, but are you suggesting we have a nerd-off sometime? Let me tell you, I play D&D, watch anime, and read tons of books, so I don't believe you can beat my prowess in nerd culture!" Adam said as he stepped down from the last step and looked over his shoulder at Lance with a teasing smirk.

The much larger male was smiling and laughing as he replied, "Yep, you definitely have me beat, Adam. No contest there at all!" There was an almost imperceptible tone to his voice, however, that suggested he wasn't telling Adam everything.

Although Adam was not convinced, he left the conversation hanging as the duo passed through the door into the men's locker room. The room was not that crowded, and many of the people hanging in the hallway moved out of the way to let the two pass, Lance nearly taking up half of the already narrow area. The hiss of shower water hitting tiles echoed around the room, and Adam inhaled the steam deep into his lungs. It was calming to him as he walked over to his locker and opened it to see a red duffel bag full of clothes within. Zipping open the duffel bag, Adam grabbed the shampoo and body wash. Looking over, Adam was surprised to see Lance's locker was extraordinarily close to his own, and he watched Lance rummage through the locker, his tail flicking back and forth.

Lance grabbed his own gym bag out of his locker and slung it over his shoulder, closing the heavy metal locker and putting his padlock back on it. "Good workout today, Adam. Same time tomorrow?" he asked with a polite smile.

"Yeah, if I heal enough," Adam said with a weak smile, but not without nudging the bison's shoulder in a bro-like fashion. Noticing the bison was giving a statement of goodbye. rather than heading towards the shower, Adam realized that he may be showering alone today. He wasn't upset by it, but he was disappointed in the back of his mind that he wouldn't get to have man to man shower talks. "But, that would be great, Lance. I enjoy working out with you."

The bison smiled warmly in reply. "I'm glad to hear that, Adam. I had fun today, at least when I wasn't all worried you were going to pass out on the track," he added with a friendly laugh. "If you happen to pass by the Lounge tonight, feel free to stop in and say 'Hi'," he added, the faintest of blushes on his face.

"I'll make sure to say 'hi' to your alter ego, if I come tonight," Adam teased while sticking out his tongue. "Don't be a stranger yourself, either. It's nice to have a fellow guy to talk to about muscles, working out, and stuff. Would you mind if I got your phone number?" Adding the last part as a natural transition, Adam smiled innocently up at Lance. "We can keep in contact easier for working out and such."

Lance looked like he was about to refuse, but then he nodded, accepting that Adam had a point. "Um, yeah, sure," the bison said as he sat his gym bag on the nearby bench and reached in to fish out his phone before hitting the button to turn the screen on. "Here," he said, handing his phone to Adam so the deer could put his contact information into the address book that was open on the screen.

Putting in his information, Adam giggled at Lance's hesitation. "Don't worry, I won't send you dick pics, or something. I have SOME amount of dignity," the buck joked as he clicked the last few buttons to solidify his contact details in the phone. "If you ever want to do something besides working out, the good news is we now have our contact details."

The bison nodded in agreement as he took his phone back, sending Adam a text so that he, too, had Lance's phone number. "I'll keep that in mind," he chuckled. "And it's good to hear I won't have to worry about you sexting me! That said, it's not like I haven't seen most of you anyway, since, you know, the whole swimming pool incident. Wet swim trunks tend not to leave much to the imagination," he winked, pocketing his phone and slinging his gym bag over his shoulder once more. "See you around, Adam!"

Adam was finding it hard to find his voice as he watched the bison saunter on out of the locker room, his body displaying its raw power even just through the simple act of walking. "'Wet swim trunks tend not to leave much to the imagination,'" Adam mimicked with a deep voice before feeling a blush across his face, causing him to chuckle. "I'll have to remember to wear something underneath the trunks next time...or not," he said out loud with another chuckle.

"See you later, Lance!" Adam said as he peeked out in the hallway and back before the bison got out of the door. Grabbing his sweaty shirt and beginning to strip it off of his body, Adam threw it into the locker, along with his shorts, with a disgusted look across his face. Admiring himself in the mirror, Adam began to imagine himself as large as Lance, his muscles brimming and full. Smirking, Adam flexed his biceps to feel the familiar dull ache, but instead of wincing, he enjoyed the pain. It felt like he was progressing, at least.

Shaking his rump as he hooked his thumbs on his aqua blue jockstrap, Adam began to strip out of the underwear and had it join the clothes pile in his locker before admiring his naked form. "Someday, you'll be a six pack," Adam grinned as he poked his lean stomach and giggled. Walking over to the showers, Adam walked to the communal area and began to hum as he turned one of the nozzles from one end to the other. He instantly felt hot water hit his body, and he had to suppress a moan as his tired muscles tensed before relaxing. There were some people surrounding him as they took their own shower, but he paid them no mind as he squeezed the bottle of shampoo and began to lather up his hair.

His mind was focused on Lance. The bison was sweet, and although he thought he no longer had feelings for the him, he could feel the warm thoughts of what could be starting to assault his mind. He shook his head and said, "It will never happen. Don't get any ideas," the buck's rational mind said as it beat back the thoughts of being held by Lance and enjoying each other's company. The more creative part of his mind kept telling him a different story, however: "Submit yourself to him, and see what happens." Gulping at the thought, Adam washed the shampoo out of his hair before beginning to wash his body down. The sweat and stench of a hard workout was beginning to subside, and soon he began to smell a bit more fresh. Eventually, the warm water began to lose its appeal, and the buck turned the knob back down to the blue end, watching the water turn into a trickle before shutting off. Beginning to towel himself off, the buck made extra care to rub the rough towel softly against his more aching areas as he walked back over to his locker.

Still humming as he unlocked and opened up his locker and pulled out the clothes from his duffel bag, Adam began to change into a lime green jockstrap, baggy shorts, and a light blue tee shirt that had one of his favorite drum and bass labels on it. The jockstrap slipped over his package and hugged it close to his body. He loved the familiar snugness of the material, and the baggy shorts and tee shirt gave his body room to breathe. Shrugging on the shirt, the buck began to think about his own internal struggles between wanting to be loved and his more carnal desires. He saw Lance in his mind and asked himself if he wanted to be loved by Lance, or if it was just another carnal lust. Adam thought for a moment before shaking the thoughts from his head. "This is just two guys being friendly. I don't feel anything for Lance anymore," the buck thought to himself as he rummaged through his duffel bag.

As he did so, a pair of swim goggles fell onto the floor. They were the exact same dark blue that he wore the first day he met Lance. The buck gave a sigh as he leaned down and began to pack them back into the duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder. Closing the locker and clicking the lock into place, Adam shuffled out of the locker room with Lance still on his mind.