The Stronger Vest (Part 9 added 29 Nov 2023)

[LukeXL]

Part 1:

Simon glanced at the bigger guys in the gym.

He'd always been a skinny guy, but as he got into his forties and his sedentary academic lifestyle had taken hold he had started to get a bit rounder. "It's normal" he thought. "I'm a middle aged professor. I'm supposed to have a bit of a belly." But when his size 32 jeans became too tight he realized he had to take action.

He joined the university gym and started working out, and after a few months had lost almost all of that middle age flab, even getting down to a size 30. But he knew that what he'd always wanted was to be a huge muscular guy. So in the spirit of now-or-never he'd started trying to bulk up for a few months now, but it was a slow process. He was getting stronger, but he still felt like a twig compared to the younger guys. "When did students get so muscular?" he wondered. "They're only in their early twenties, how early did they start working out to become so massive?"

He sighed and went back to his workout. He was doing some bench presses, and he was up to 150 pounds. He was proud of that, but he still felt like he was a weakling. He was just about to finish his set when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, you're doing that wrong."

"What?" Simon asked, turning around. He saw a guy standing there, looking at him. He was a big guy, with a muscular build. He was wearing a red stringer vest and gray shorts. He looked like he was in his mid- to late- twenties.

"You're doing that wrong," the guy said. "You're not supposed to do it like that."

"Um, okay," Simon said. "How am I supposed to do it?"

"Here, Lie back and I'll spot you," the guy said.

Simon lay back on the bench and the guy stood over him. "First, put your shoulder like this," he said, and held Simon's shoulders, tucking them down and back. "Now, grab the bar like this," he said, and held Simon's wrists, placing his hands on the bar in a medium-wide grip. "Now, lift the bar off the rack and lower it slowly to your chest." Simon did as he was told. "Now push it up as fast as you can. Nice, keep going."

Simon stared up at the muscular guy as he did his reps. Simon was surprised at how much he liked the way the guy had taken hold of him and moved him around. He was also surprised at how much he liked the way the guy was standing over him. The guy was standing so close to him that Simon could almost see up his shorts. He could see the guy's bulge, and he could also see the guy's pecs, and he could see the guy's hard nipples poking through the fabric of his stringer vest.

"Oh fuck!"

The bar was on his chest, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't lift it.

"Easy now!" the guy said, and grabbed the bar to help lift it. "Awesome!"

Simon panted, out of breath and red in the face.

"That's what spotters are for!" the guy said.

"Thanks..." Simon gasped. "I think I'm done with bench press for now."

"No problem!" the guy said and wandered over to the other side of the weights area.

Simon went back to his workout. He was doing some curls when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, you're doing that wrong."

Simon turned around and saw the same guy standing there, looking at him.

"You're not supposed to do it like that."

"Okay," Simon said, "show me how to do it!"

"Don't swing your arms like that," the guy said. "You're supposed to keep them at your side." The guy grabbed some dumbbells off the rack and gave a demonstration. His biceps were already pumped from his workout, and Simon was entranced by the way they flexed as he slowly lifted and lowered the dumbbells. "See?" the guy said. "You might not lift as much weight, but you'll get a better pump."

"Okay," Simon said. "Thanks."

Simon turned away took a lighter dumbbell off the rack and pinned his upper arm to his side. He watched himself in the mirror as he slowly lifted and lowered the dumbbell. He could feel his biceps working, and he could see them flexing in the mirror. He was surprised at how much of a pump he was getting. He was so focused on his biceps that he didn't notice the guy standing behind him.

"See, that's how you get a great pump!" the guy said. "The only problem is those t-shirt sleeves hiding them." The guy grabbed the hem of Simon's t-shirt and pulled it up, exposing his biceps. "There, that's better." The guy squeezed Simon's biceps, and Simon felt a jolt of pleasure shoot through his body. "You've got some nice arms," the guy said. "You should show them off more. You should wear tank tops and stringers."

"Um, okay," Simon said. "I'll do that."

"Awesome," the guy said. "I look forward to seeing that. My name's Cody, by the way."

"Simon," Simon said.

Simon tried to do some more curls, but he was distracted by what had just happened. He was surprised at how much of a pump he was getting, and he was surprised at how much he liked it. He was also surprised at how much he liked Cody. He was a big guy, and he was handsome. He was also nice, and he seemed to know a lot about working out. "And he said I had nice arms!" Simon thought. "I've never had anyone say that to me before."

Simon finished his workout and went to the showers. While he showered he thought about Cody, and about how much he liked his body, and the way Cody had touched him. He liked it, and he realised he wanted it to happen again. "He said I should wear tank tops and stringers," Simon thought. "Maybe I should. Fuck it, I'm gonna buy one right now."

Simon grabbed his phone and opened the ebay app. He searched for "stringer vest", and was surprised that there was only one result. It was red like Cody's but it had constrast stitching on the hems and sides. Simon didn't have his glasses on, so couldn't see all the details, but he saw it had next-day shipping, wasn't too expensive and there was only one left.

Buy Now. Done.

The next morning, shortly after Simon woke up there was a knock on his door. It was the vest he'd ordered. "That was really quick!" he marvelled as he tore the package open.

The vest wasn't like he expected. It shimmered like it was made of satin. Or even silk? Yes, it seemed like it was made of woven silk, not knitted cotton like he was expecting. And the contrast stitching turned out to be some writing that wound all around the bottom hem, up the sides and around the neck and arm holes. He tried it on and posed in the mirror. It was totally unlike his usual style, but he loved the way he looked in it. He flexed his biceps. "Cody was right," he thought. "I do have nice arms."

[arpeejay]

Nice start! More, please!

[citizenies]

Interesting ~ cant wait for the next part/s

[LukeXL]

Part 2:

Simon shoved the vest into his gym bag and got dressed for work. He was wearing a button-down shirt and a pair of chinos. He looked at himself in the mirror. "I look like a middle-aged professor," he thought. "A middle-aged professor who's trying to look younger by wearing clothes that are too tight. And failing." He sighed and went to work.

All he could think about all day was getting to the gym in the afternoon. He couldn't believe how much he was looking forward to wearing his new vest. Just yesterday he'd been a bit embarrassed about the idea of wearing a stringer vest, but now he couldn't wait. He was so excited that he left work as soon as his last meeting was done and went straight to the gym.

He got changed and put on his new vest. He looked at himself in the mirror. "I look like a middle-aged professor... No, wait a minute, I look hot!" He flexed his biceps. "I look really hot! I look like a guy about to become a massive muscle hunk!" He grinned and went to do his workout.

Simon headed for the squat rack. He was loading up some plates when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, you're doing that wrong."

Simon turned around and saw Cody standing there wearing a black stringer vest and black shorts, grinning at him.

"I'm loading plates wrong?" Simon asked.

"I'm just messing with you, Si!" Cody laughed. "So, we're doing squats today?"

"That was the plan," Simon said.

"Awesome!" Cody said. "Let's do this!"

Simon finished loading the bar and stepped under it. He was about to lift it off the rack when Cody stopped him.

"Wait, you're not wearing a belt," Cody said. "You need a belt for squats."

"I don't have a belt," Simon said.

"No problem," Cody said. "I've got one you can borrow."

Cody went to his locker and came back with a belt. It was black leather, and it had a big silver buckle. Cody put it around Simon's waist and fastened it. "There, that's better," he said. "Now you're ready to squat."

Simon stepped under the bar and lifted it off the rack. He was surprised at how light it felt. He was used to squatting 100 pounds, but this felt like it was half that. He placed his feet and slowly lowered himself down. He was surprised at how easy it was. He was used to struggling to get back up, but this felt like he was just standing up. He did a solid 12 reps, and then racked the bar.

"Awesome!" Cody said. "You're a natural! I have no comments, your form is perfect. My turn now!"

Cody pulled the small plates off the bar and added 1 full plate on each side.

"135 pounds, this is my usual warm-up weight," Cody said. "I'm gonna do 20 reps, just to get the blood flowing."

"I'll spot you," Simon said, passing the weight belt to Cody.

Cody laughed as he put the belt on and lifted the bar onto his shoulders. He stepped forward and squatted 20 reps, smoothly and easily. Simon watched him, entranced by the way his quads and glutes flexed and bulged as he squatted. Cody racked the bar and stepped back. "Your turn!" he said.

Simon had never lifted that much weight before, but he felt like he could do it, and didn't want to let Cody down. The bar felt solid, but not overly heavy. His quads moved like pistons as he squatted, and he felt like he could have done 20 reps, but he stopped at 12. He racked the bar and stepped back, passing the weight belt back to Cody.

"Thanks. Nice set! And nice vest, don't think I didn't notice. I like the writing."

"Yeah, I have no idea what it says," Simon said. "I just saw it on ebay and thought it looked cool. It looks like Japanese maybe?"

"Maybe," Cody said. "I don't know. I don't speak Japanese. But it looks cool. I like it."

Cody added another pair of plates to the bar and stepped under it. "225 pounds, this is my working weight," he said. "I'm gonna do 10 reps."

Simon watched as Cody squatted. He was squatting 225 pounds without much difficulty. He didn't grunt or strain, he just smoothly pumped that bar up at down. Simon was mesmerized.

Cody racked the bar and stepped back. "Your turn!" he said.

Simon looked at Cody. Up until yesterday the most he'd ever squatted was 100 pounds. This was more than double that! He felt strong, but felt nervous.

"I know it's a lot of weight," Cody said, "but give it a go. See how it feels. Just do half or quarter reps if that's all you can. It's good to push yourself."

"Alright, but you'll have to spot me," Simon said.

"No problem, bud" Cody said. "I've got you."

Simon got the bar on his shoulders and hesitantly stepped forward. "This is crazy!" he thought. "I'm gonna blow my knee out just to impress some hot gym stud." He tried a quarter rep, and it felt okay. He tried a half rep, and it felt okay. He did 4 more half reps and then paused.

"Awesome man!" Cody said. "You're doing great! Keep going!"

"Get ready to catch me," Simon said. Cody got into position behind him. Simon slowly lowered himself all the way down. At the bottom he paused, and then slowly stood back up.

"Fuck yeah! Ass to the Grass!" Cody shouted.

Simon managed 4 more full reps. He racked the bar and stepped back. He was breathing hard, and his legs felt like jelly. He looked at Cody. "I did it!" he said. "I squatted 225 pounds! I can't believe I did it! I had no idea that a weight belt could make such a difference!"

"It does make a difference, but usually not that much difference!" said Cody. "Maybe you've been holding back. Maybe you've been inspired to push yourself harder."

"Maybe," Simon said. "I don't know. I just know that I feel great! I feel like I could do anything!"

"Awesome!" Cody said. "Let's do some more squats, and then we'll do some other leg exercises."

They did 3 more sets of squats, and then moved on to leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls and calf raises. On every exercise Simon managed to lift the same as Cody. He'd always worked out alone, but he was really enjoying having a workout partner. He was also enjoying the way Cody looked after he's worked up a bit of a sweat. His pumped, glistening legs looked amazing, and his vest stuck to him revealing even more of his ripped body. Simon was getting hard just looking at him.

"Lucky I'm wearing loose sweat pants..." he thought.

"Just one more thing..." said Cody.

"What's that?" Simon asked.

"Shorts. You need to get some shorts. You can't squat in sweat pants."

"Ah, I see," Simon said. "I'll get some shorts tomorrow."

"Good," Cody said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Oh, you're going to be here tomorrow too?" Simon asked.

"Yeah," Cody said. "I'm gonna be here tomorrow. I'm gonna be here every day. I'm gonna be here every day until you're as big as me."

Simon's mouth moved as if he was going to say something, but no words came out. He just stood there, staring at Cody.

"See you tomorrow, Si," Cody said, and walked away.

In the locker room Simon carefully took the red vest off, folded it up and put it away in his gym bag. He kicked off his shoes and peeled his sweat-soaked sweat pants of. Wearing just his briefs, he looked at himself in a mirror. "I sure don't look like a guy who just squatted 225 pounds," he thought. He flexed his quads. "But I feel like a guy who just squatted 225 pounds." He grinned and went to take a shower.

By the time he got home he was starving. He had a protein shake and started frying up some chicken pieces, but had to make himself a peanut butter sandwich to eat while he was cooking. As soon as the chicken was done he ate it right out of the pan. He was still hungry, so he had another peanut butter sandwich.

He tried to get some of his marking done, but he couldn't concentrate. He kept thinking about Cody. It all seemed a bit strange. "Who is he? Why is he so interested in me? Why is he so keen to help me? I mean, he's hot. Really hot. And I'm... Why is he so keen to see me get bigger? I want that, though. Fuckl, I really do want that. Did he really like my arms? Why am I still so hungry?"

Simon grabbed the loaf of bread and started snacking on slices while trying to care about his students' half-assed attempts to string a coherent sentence together. Soon he found himself scratching at the end of the bag wondering where all the bread went.

"I ate that whole loaf?" He looked at the student's papers with dismay. "Ah, to hell with it. I'll get the teaching assistant to deal with this." He sent an email with marking instructions and went to bed.

He dreamt he was working out with Cody. The gym was dark, and they were alone. Cody took his shirt and shorts off off and started posing in his briefs. "This is a double bicep pose" he said. "This is a lat spread. This is a most muscular pose." Simon was mesmerized by his muscles. "Now you do it."
Simon stood up and took his shirt and sweat pants off. He flexed his biceps. "Good double bicep" Cody said. "It's working, you're getting bigger. Now do a lat spread." Simon spread his lats. "Excellent" Cody said. "Flex hard, it's working, you're getting bigger. Now do a most muscular pose." Simon did a most muscular pose. "Good, now flex your legs." Simon flexed his legs. "Harder, flex harder" Simon flexed even harder. "Yeah, feel those legs grow!" Simon could feel them growing, and started getting an erection. "Harder, Si, harder!" Simon flexed harder, and his legs grew even bigger. He wanted to tell Cody that he was flexing as hard as he could, but every time he tried to speak he couldn't make a sound. And every time Cody said "harder, Si, harder!" Simon flexed harder, and his legs grew even bigger.

Simon awoke with a yelp. Ah, yep, he'd definitely had a wet dream. He could feel his briefs were tight and soaking. He pulled the covers back to clean up, and was shocked by what he saw. His legs looked enormous! He moved his toes just to make sure they were actually his legs. He couldn't believe it. He moved his legs off the side of the bed. For things so huge, they felt really light. He sat on the edge of the bed and poked his enormous, muscular thighs. They definitely seemed real. He flexed them a bit, and watched the muscles dance underneath the tight skin. His muscles! He stood up, and his enormous new glutes tore his briefs apart at the seams.

"I'm gonna have to buy some bigger pants," he thought. "And some shorts. I need shorts for the gym."

[growthfan96]

An amazing build up

[cycologie]

Love. This.

[atleest]

Logging on to eBay now..., I want one of these magical vests, too!

[LukeXL]

Part 3:

Simon searched through his clothes for something to wear.

Underwear was the first problem. All the Smalls he'd recently been so glad to fit into again were all now far too small for him. His huge new thighs couldn't even fit through the leg holes of the Mediums he'd hoped to never wear again. Eventually he found a baggy pair of knit boxers that he could squeeze into. They were tight, but they'd do for now.

But there was no easy solution when it came to trousers. His new size 30 chinos which were a bit too tight yesterday were now useless to him. He tried his old size 32 jeans, but he couldn't get them up past his thighs. He desperately looked for anything that he might fit into, but he was out of luck. As a last resort, he got his gym sweatpants out of his gym bag. "Yeah, they might be baggy enough to fit over my legs", he thought. Like squeezing a sausage into a condom, he managed to get them on. They were ridiculously tight, but they'd do for now. He took a few steps, but his flexing thigh muscles split the outside seams.

"Oh for God's sake!" Simon said out loud. He sat down, peeled the shredded sweatpants off and threw them across the room.

With a sigh, he called his Teaching Assistant.

"Hi Ken, it's Simon. Sorry to do this to you, but I'll need you to handle the class this morning. I'm having a bit of a personal emergency. No, no, I'm fine, it's just a ... family thing. I should be in after lunch. Thanks Ken, I owe you one."

He hung up and stared at his phone. An ebay notification popped up, so he put his glasses on to read it properly. It was nagging him to review his recent purchase. "Hmmm, I wonder if they have shorts to match the vest?" he thought and opened the ebay app and tapped his recent purchases. There it is... Oh wait, what?

"Stronger Vest?" He tapped on it to read the description.

Stronger Vest

Vintage. Well used. Satisfaction guaranteed. Only selling because I've outgrown it.

Condition: Second hand
Style: Vest
Brand: Unknown
Department: Men
Material: Unknown
Sleeve Length: Sleeveless
Activity: Bodybuilding
Size: M to XXL

"That's... weird" said Simon to himself. He checked his ebay search history. Yes, he did in fact mistype "stronger vest" two days ago.

He checked the seller's other items. He had some second hand button down shirts for sale, but no matching shorts. He checked the seller's feedback: 100% positive. The stuff the seller had previously bought (as far as he could tell from the feedback comments) was mostly bodybuilding memorabilia: Some vintage bodybuilding posters and magazines and a VHS copy of Pumping Iron.

This was all fascinating, but it didn't solve his problem of getting out of the house in something more than his underwear. He looked at the shredded sweatpants again.

"They're only torn on the thighs... I could cut them off and make them into shorts. I've got nothing to lose."

He grabbed his kitchen scissors and went to work hacking the shredded legs off of the sweatpants. After a few tries, he had a pair of shorts that were just about wearable. He looked in the mirror. They were very short. And very tight around his thighs. As someone who actively avoided wearing shorts in public he felt very self conscious, but he had no other choice. "I'll just act like I'm someone who always wears this kind of thing." He put on a t-shirt and his sneakers and headed out the door.

At TJ Maxx, Simon flicked through the racks of shorts. He had no idea what size would fit him. His waist was still roughly the size 30 it was yesterday, but his thighs and glutes were far too big to fit into a standard Small. Only paying attention to how baggy the legs were, he grabbed a selection of shorts in various sizes and went to the changing room to try them on. They were almost all too tight. Eventually he found a pair of size 36 khaki cargo shorts that were just about wearable. The legs were slightly loose over his thighs although they were very baggy around the waist. But they did come with a belt, so he could tighten that up a bit. "Cargo shorts aren't going to impress Cody", he thought. "But these will!" It was the last thing he had to try on, a size Large pair of fluorescent yellow running shorts. "Who would wear something like this?" he thought. "No wonder they ended up at TJ Maxx". He tried them on. They were short enough that they rode above his thighs, and elasticated enough that they stretched over his glutes but didn't hang loose around his waist. He looked in the mirror. "I guess I'm now the kind of guy who would wear something like this," he thought. "I look like a complete douchebag. And I'm loving it!"

He grabbed some multi packs of Large briefs and Large boxers and went to get a basket to put it all in. Then he noticed the rack of vests. "Cody did say I should wear tank tops and stringers" he remembered. He grabbed three size Large vests in hunter green, brick and teal and added them to his basket. At the end of the rack was a lone, black size XXXL stringer vest. He picked it up and held it at arms length. "This is ridiculous," he thought, "I'm not going to fit into this." He thought back to the ebay listing. Didn't it say the Stronger Vest fit sizes M up to XXL? And the previous owner outgrew it? With a shiver of excitement he added the enormous stringer to his pile. "I AM going to fit into this eventually!" he thought.

The last thing he needed were some trousers he could wear to work. He went to the rack of chinos and picked up a pair of size 34s. He held them up to his waist. They looked like they might fit. He grabbed a few more pairs in different sizes and went back to the changing rooms to try them on. None of them fit over his legs. "Damn slim-fit fashion!" He went back to the racks and searched through them again, looking for something, anything that might fit over his new tree-trunk legs. But there was nothing.

He paid for what he'd found and asked if he could change into his new clothes in the changing room. The cashier nodded indifferently. He went back into the changing room and stripped off his clothes. He pulled on a pair of the new Large briefs. They were tight around his legs, but at least he wasn't being crushed up front anymore. He put on the cargo shorts and the teal vest, which was loose and baggy. "Hmmm, upper body needs some attention now" he thought.

As he wandered around the mall looking for somewhere that would sell wide legged trousers he noticed a GNC. "I'll need way more protein if I'm going to get as big as Cody" he thought. He looked at all the different brands, but felt confused by all the choice.

"Hi, could you help me pick out a protein powder?" he asked the cashier.

The cashier looked up from his phone. "Uh, wow! Great legs man!" he said.

"Thanks. They're new!" Simon replied.

"Oh, haha," the cashier laughed, "New? What do you mean?"

"I mean I've only had them for a couple of days. I've been working out and they've grown a lot."

"Ooooh, right! I got you!" the cashier gave him a wink. "So, what are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure. I want to get bigger, but I don't want to get fat. I want to get as big as I can, but I want to stay lean."

"Right, right. Well, I'd recommend this one," he said, pointing to a tub of protein powder. "It's got a good mix of protein and carbs, but not too much sugar. It's got creatine in it too, so you'll get a good pump. And it's got a good mix of vitamins and minerals. It's a bit more expensive than some of the others, but it's worth it."

"And is that the absolute highest protein content I can get?"

"Well, no. There are some that have more protein, but they don't taste as good. And they're more expensive. And they don't have the creatine or the vitamins and minerals."

"I think what I need now is as much protein as I can possibly get. I'll worry about the other stuff later."

"Hardcore, man! I like it! You're going to get huge!" the cashier grinned.

"Thanks. I hope so. My only problem is I can't get trousers to fit me any more. I've got these huge legs now and I can't find anything that fits over them."

"Wow, that's a good problem to have! I wish I had that problem!" the cashier gushed. "I'm trying to get bigger, but I'm having trouble putting on weight. I'm eating loads, but I'm not gaining any weight. I'm stuck at 180lbs. I'm trying to get to 200lbs."

"I'm sure you'll get there if you keep at it but you must see huge guys in here quite often. What do they wear?" asked Simon.

"Well, a lot of them wear shorts like you've got on. Oh, some of them wear Burly Brand sweatpants or jeans. They're cut for guys with big legs. Athletes, firefighters, that kind of thing. I think the Big & Tall store in the mall sells them. You should check them out."

"Thanks, I will. And thanks for the advice. Now, the protein powder."

"Oh yeah, here you go!" the cashier said, handing him a tub of protein powder.

"Better make it four tubs," said Simon. "I'm going to need a lot of this stuff!"

Simon dropped his bags off at his car and went back into the mall. He found the Big & Tall store in a quiet corner of the mall he'd never bothered to visit, between a pet toy store and a hair extensions wholesaler. A sign in the window announced that they were proud to be an official Burly Brand dealer. He went in and looked around. There were racks of clothes, but they were all for fat guys or tall guys.

"Can I be of assistance?" asked a voice from across the store. Simon looked up and saw a tall, muscular guy in a tight polo shirt and chinos walking towards him. As he got closer he looked Simon up and down. "Oh yes, I think I definitely can be of assistance!" he said with a grin.

"Hi, I'm looking for some trousers that will fit over my thighs."

"Yes, I can see that. You've got some serious quads there! What style are you looking for?"

"Something I can wear to work. I'm a teacher, so I need something smart."

"Right, right. Well, lets do some measurements and see what we've got in stock."

William, as his name tag said, took out a cloth tape measure and crouched down. He measured Simon's waist, and also his hips around his butt. Then he measured his inseam and outseam, his thighs and his calves. He made a note of it all in an app on his phone and then stood up. "Right, I think I've got some things that will fit you, if you'll follow me?"

William started taking out pairs of trousers from behind the counter. "We have these three pairs in stock at the moment that will fit you. They're all Burly Brand, which are excellent quality and designed for men with your physique. These black formal trousers, these chinos and these jeans. The formal trousers will be a little long, but if you like them I can take them up for you while you wait. The jeans might be a bit loose, but perhaps you're planning on growing into them?" he said with a wink. "And the chinos should fit you perfectly."

Simon took all three pairs of trousers into the changing room and tried them on. The formal trousers were a little long, but they fit perfectly around his waist and thighs. The jeans were a little loose around his waist, but they fit over his thighs and calves. The chinos were perfect. He turned around and looked at his butt in the mirror. "Wow, I've got a bubble butt!" he thought. The legs were loose enough that he could move around easily, but not so loose that they looked baggy, and his quads and calves were clearly visible. He put his cargo shorts back on and took the trousers back to the counter.

"They're amazing, I'll take them all!" he said to William.

"Wonderful! With tax that will come to nine hundred dollars and thirty cents."

Simon gulped. "Nine hundred dollars? For three pairs of trousers?"

"Yes, they are unfortunately quite expensive. Burly Brand are a premium brand made in the USA. Because of their custom sizing they don't benefit from the standard mass production techniques. But they're exceptionally well made, from premium cloth. They'll last for years and years."

Simon hesitated. "But... I'm kind of hoping... I'll grow out of them."

William's eyes lit up. "In that case, you'll be delighted to know that we offer a trade-in service. If you outgrow your pants, you can bring them back and we'll give you a discount on a new pair. In fact..." William's voice lowered to a whisper, "some of our customers even make a profit selling their used trousers to... specialist collectors." William nodded knowingly at Simon.

Simon's eyes widened. "Oh. I see. Wow. Um... I'll just take the chinos for now." Those would do for work. He'd have to wear shorts for everything else for a while.

"Of course sir. That will be two hundred and seventy three dollars and eighty nine cents."

Simon winced as he got his credit card out and paid. William put the chinos in a bag and handed them to Simon.

"I've put the Burly Brand brochure in the bag for you to have a look at. If you sign up as a Burly Man on their website you'll get a discount code for your next purchase. We can also special-order any style they offer, custom made in your size, and have it shipped to the store. There's no extra charge for that for registered Burly Men. I've also put my card in there. If you need ANYthing else, please don't hesitate to call me. I'm always happy to help a fellow bodybuilder."

"Oh, there is one other thing," said Simon, "Do you do button down shirts for guys with arms and chests too big for normal sizes?"

"Absolutely sir. We have a good range of shirts like that. Burly Brand and others too. I'll show you what we have in stock."

"No, don't worry, I'll come back in a few days when I know what size I'll need."

"Well, I look forward to seeing you then!" William said.

Simon drove home and changed into his new chinos and a white button down shirt. He put the massive black XXXL stringer vest on a hanger and hung it next to his mirror. "That's my goal" he said to himself. "I'm going to get so big I'll fit into that vest!" He drank a protein shake and went to work.

At the office, Simon met up with Ken, his Teaching Assistant.

"Hi Ken, did everything go OK with the class this morning?"

"Sure, no problem. I just gave them an overview of the next module. Are you okay? Did you sort out your family thing?"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine. It was just a misunderstanding. I'm sorry to have left you in the lurch like that. And as for that marking, please don't spend too much time on it."

"I didn't." Ken grinned. "I gave them all A's."

"What?"

"Kidding."

"Oh, right. Well, thanks again. I owe you one."

"No problem. Hey, you look different. Have you been working out?"

"Um, yeah, I have actually. I've been going to the gym a lot recently."

"Wow, it's really working." Ken looked Simon up and down. "Are those... Burly Brand trousers?"

"Yeah, they're new! Have you heard of them?"

"Yeah, I'm a big fa... I mean I've seen them advertised in some of the magazines I read."

"Oh, right! I hadn't heard of them until today. I've been having trouble finding trousers that fit me, but these are great." Oh damn, he'd just let on that he'd been shopping all morning. "Uhhh, what magazines do you read?"

Ken looked embarrassed. "Oh, you know, just muscl... fitness magazines."

"Haha, well it looks like we've got something in common to talk about sometime!" Simon said with a grin.

Simon actually managed to concentrate on his work that afternoon. But as soon as his last meeting was over, he rushed to the gym. He got changed into the Stronger Vest and his ridiculous new neon yellow shorts. He looked in the mirror. "Oh my God, I look amazing!" he thought. "The yellow shorts go perfectly with the red vest!" He took a selfie but then wondered who he'd show it to. He didn't have any friends who'd appreciate it. He'd have to make some new friends. Gym friends. Bodybuilder friends. Cody friends!

He found Cody in the free weights area, chatting to some of the other Big Guys. He was wearing a baby blue stringer vest and black shorts. He looked amazing. Simon felt a shiver of excitement. He walked over to him.

"Hi Cody, you ready to do this?"

Cody turned around. "Yeah bud! Let's... Holy shit man! Where have you been hiding those wheels!?"

"My legs? Yeah, they've grown!"

"Fucking hell! Those are huge."

"Yeah, they just kind of exploded overnight!"

Cody laughed. "Modesty is obviously your superpower." He paused. "Well, I think we'd better get your upper body to start matching your legs!"

"Chest and back?"

"Chest and back!"

"Fucking A!" said Simon.

[PosingP]

This story is excellent, I can't wait to hear how this gym session goes!

[LukeXL]

Part 4:

"Let's start off with Bench Press" said Cody. "How much were you lifting last time?"

"It was 150" said Simon.

"Okay, let's warm up with 75" said Cody.

"You know, I'm feeling pretty good today. Let's start with 145" said Simon.

Cody looked at Simon, surprised. "Alright, a plate and a nickel on each side" he said, as they loaded the bar. "Let's see what you've got."

Simon lay down on the bench and gripped the bar. He lifted it off the rack and lowered it slowly to just above his chest. He paused at the bottom, and let the bar wobble a bit.

"Come on, you can do it" said Cody.

Simon laughed, and pushed the bar back up. He did ten reps, and held the bar above him. "I think I've got a few more in me" he said, and proceeded to do ten more reps. He racked the bar and sat up.

"Showing off, Si?" said Cody.

"Maybe a little" said Simon, grinning.

"Don't wear yourself out" said Cody. "We've got a lot of work to do." Cody did his ten warm up reps, and then replaced the 5s with 25s. "185" he said. "Try that out."

Simon lifted the bar off the rack. It felt heavy at first, but each with each rep it got easier. After he'd done ten reps he felt like he could do ten more, but didn't want to show off too much, so he did two more reps, making it look like he was struggling. He racked the bar and sat up. "This is so weird" he thought. "I'm lifting more than I ever have before, and it feels like nothing."

"Nice work" said Cody and did his ten reps. He got up and waited for Simon to do his next set.

"The same weight again?" asked Simon.

"You want more?" asked Cody.

"Yeah!" said Simon, more enthusiastically than he'd planned to.

"Alright, let's do 205" said Cody.

"225" said Simon.

Cody looked at Simon incredulously. "225?" he asked. "You sure?"

"Yep!" said Simon, flexing his arms and pecs. "I'm feeling..." he paused and looked Cody in the eye, "Stronger."

Cody laughed. "Alright, 225 it is." They loaded the bar and Simon lay down on the bench. He gripped the bar and lifted it off the rack. It felt like it was the same weight as before. Simon did ten slow reps with good form and re-racked the bar.

"Nice work" said Cody. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks" said Simon. "I'm impressed too."

Cody lay down and did his ten reps. "I'm not going any higher than this today" he panted. "I don't want to show you up too much."

Simon looked at Cody and how much effort he'd put into his reps. "I could easily go heavier" he thought. "I could probably do 250, maybe even 275. Am I stronger than Cody already? I've only been working out for a few weeks. This is crazy." He looked at Cody, who was still breathing heavily. "I'll wait until next time" he thought.

"Okay, let's stick at 225" he said.

Simon easily pressed out his ten reps. "I can do a few more" he thought, and did two more reps. Then another one. "Oh wait, that was thirteen reps. I'm not superstitious, but I don't want to tempt fate." He did one more rep and racked the bar. He sat up.

One of Cody's friends had come over and was watching them.

"Hey Scott" said Cody. "This is Simon. He's a professor at the university."

Scott was a big guy, almost as tall as Cody, but maybe even more muscular. He was wearing a white stringer vest with gold stripes down the sides and matching shorts and shoes. His legs were huge, his arms were huge, his pecs and lats were huge. He was clean shaven and had bleached blond hair.

Simon sat up and put his hand out to shake Scott's hand. Scott looked at Simon's hand, and then looked at Simon. He stared at Simon's enormous legs, now proudly visible for all to see in his new yellow short-shorts.

"Look," said Cody, pointing at the bar, "225!"

Scott looked at the bar with a look of fury on his face. "Fuck you, Cody! Fuck. You!" he spat, and stormed off to the other side of the weight room.

"Hey, wait!" Cody called after him. "Sorry, Si, let me deal with this. I won't be long." Cody rushed after Scott and they started having a hushed yet heated discussion. Scott was clearly really angry about something, and Cody was trying to calm him down.

Simon sat on the bench and waited for Cody to come back. He looked around the weight room. There were a few other guys working out, but they were all much smaller than Cody and Scott. He tried to hear what Cody and Scott were saying.

"...you knew..." said Scott.

"I had no idea!" said Cody.

"You knew, and you fucked me over!" said Scott.

"I swear, I honestly didn't!" said Cody.

Cody reached out and touched Scott's arm. Scott pulled away. Cody reached out again and held Scott by the shoulders. They were speaking quietly now. Scott looked upset and angry.

Simon was fascinated, but didn't want to stare. He did another set, slowly keeping the tension tight the whole time. After a while, and who-knows-how-many reps, Cody came back. Simon racked the bar and sat up.

"Sorry about that" said Cody.

"Everything okay?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, it's fine" said Cody. "Just a lover's quarrel." He laughed.

Simon tried to hide the disappointment from showing on his face. "Oh," he said, "is Scott... your boyfriend?"

Cody laughed again. "No, no! Just a figure of speech! We're just friends. Well we've hooked up a few times, but we're not dating. We'd be terrible together."

"Oh" said Simon. "He's not your type?"

"No, he's not" said Cody. "He's a great friend. And he's got a stunning body, but he's not my relationship type."

"I see. So you and Scott... you're...?"

"Fuckbuddies, I guess" said Cody.

"Gay, I was going to say" said Simon.

Cody roared with laughter.

Simon worried that he'd said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." he said.

Cody squatted down so he was eye level with Simon. He put one hand on the back of Simon's neck and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Simon," he said with a deadly serious look on his face, "I am Very. Fucking. Gay."

Simon swallowed.

"So you know what we have to do now, right?" said Cody.

Simon shook his head.

"Incline Bench Press" said Cody. "Let's go."