Temple Adonis by anonymous

be me
tired of being a manlet
time to try the local gym
find a relatively cheap one nearby
pack a bag, put on some ‘gym’ clothes, and drive over
open the front door
ohfuck.jpg
there’s not a single other human here that I can see
it’s all massive anthro men of varying species
their biceps are bigger than my head
am I even allowed in?
there wasn’t an ‘anthro’s only’ sign anywhere (besides they removed those laws years ago)
and nobody’s told me to fuck off yet
granted I’m still standing just inside the front door
even the German Shepherd at the front desk hasn’t noticed me
okay, come on, I can’t give up before I even started
so what if I’m not as skilled as these guys?
that comes with time and experience
just gotta stick with it, and I’ll be as big as these guys in no time
well, maybe a year
or two
fuck, that’s a long time
and it’s hard to find the time between work and other stuff to squeeze this in
and what if I end up seriously hurting myself?
I could pay for a personal trainer, but how much would that put me out per month?
and what’s that on top of a membership?
can I really afford to—
“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

snap out of my daze
big tiger anthro standing in front of me
I only come up to his pecs
and what pecs they are
must be a regular

“Yeah, sorry, I kinda zoned out there.”

he smiles
“Alright. Coming in?”
I open my mouth, but hesitate, my earlier train of thought getting back on track

“Actually, I was just leaving.”

the tiger blinks
“Didn’t I just see you come in?”
fuck, did he?

“Well, you know, I just… looking around, I kinda figured you were…”

“Oh! Nah, man, we’re not exclusive! Everyone’s welcome here! What’s your name?”

“...Anon.”

“Well, welcome to the Temple Adonis, Anon! What brings you in today?”
he smiles, clapping his massive paws together
looking down, I see he’s wearing a sweat-stained ‘Temple Adonis’ tank top
and a name tag labeled ‘Trey’

“Well, I was looking to get into working out, but I think I’ll just—”

“That’s perfect! We’ve got some awesome beginner programs for you to choose from, and they’re free with a basic membership! Wanna sign up?”
his chipper attitude feels genuine, but still forced
he’s doing his job, trying to sell me something
probably gets commission
shouldn’t feel too bad about saying no

“You know, I appreciate it, but I think I’m just gonna… go.”

Trey deflates a little
“Oh… are you sure?”

“Yeah, I mean, I get pretty busy, probably won’t have much time to come here. Don’t wanna spend money on something I barely use, y’know?”

“You’ve got a point there…”
Trey taps his chin, thinking
“...tell you what! Since you’re already here with your stuff, why don’t I take you through the first hour, hour and a half of our beginner body-building program, free of charge? See if you like it.”
wow, that’s… exceptionally kind of him
and what’s the harm?
if I’m not into it, I can back out whenever

“Yeah, I guess I could give that a try…”

Trey claps again
“That’s the spirit! C’mon, I’ll show you the locker room!”

Trey helps me find a locker to put my stuff in
he explains how the showers work for when I need them and goes over some other basics
while he talks, some other anthros come in to do their thing, several of them stopping to greet him
he occasionally says hello and compliments them on their work
pretty soon we’re out in the gym proper
“So, first thing’s first, as a beginner, you’re gonna want to start with what we call the ‘five by five.’ That’s five sets of five reps with about 90 seconds of rest between each set. Now, in terms of weight, it’s gonna be what you can do maybe… 12 or so reps of before complete muscle failure. Make sense?”
not in the least

“I… kinda learn better by doing, you know?”

“Sure thing! What do you want to start with? Chest? Arms? Core? Legs?
Christ, this is a lot
beginning to have second thoughts
no, try to see it through

“What do you recommend for a beginner?”

“Whatever you wanna build up first!”
my eyes drift back down Trey’s torso

“...let’s go with chest.”

“Alright, good choice!”
Trey leads me over to the dumbbell rack
he looks between me and the rack for a few seconds
“Hm… let’s start you at… 20.”
he grabs two 20-pound weights and leads me over to an open bench
“Alright, so we’re gonna start you with a simple dumbbell press. We’ll start with a downward incline to hit the top band of the pectorals, then we’ll go flat for the—”
GRRRRGGGGGLLL
Trey pauses in his explanation, looking at me with raised eyebrows
“...Was that you?”
sheepishly nod
it was getting near lunchtime, and I’d had a pretty light breakfast

“Yeah, sorry, didn’t have much for breakfast.”

“Alright, well, big thing about working out, you NEVER want to do it on an empty stomach.”
something about the way he says that makes me shrink
it was my first time in the gym, I didn’t know
but I probably should’ve done SOME research before just jumping in

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

“It’s alright!”
it’s his usually cheery tone, but it doesn’t make me feel any less embarrassed
“Lucky for you, we’ve got some great pre-workout stuff at the juice bar!”
he replaces the dumbbells while I stay firmly in place
“C’mon, juice bar’s right over here!”

“Uh, listen Trey…”

Trey stops, his expression falling neutral as he faced me

“I appreciate your help with all of this, you’ve been great. I just… don’t think this is for me.”

he tilts his head
“Anon… we haven’t even started yet. How do you know it’s not for you?”
shit, he’s got me there

“Well, it just… seems like a lot.”

“It can be, but that’s why we’re starting with the basics. You’ll feel better after some food, I promise.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You will. Hunger messes with your mind just as much as it does your body.”
I still don’t move
I look down at my shoes, rubbing my arm
my face feels hot with shame
I don’t want to be here
I want to go home
this was a stupid idea

there’s a paw on my shoulder
look up, trying my damndest not to cry
Trey gives me an empathetic look
“It’s okay, Anon. Really. If you’re still not feeling it after some food, I’ll let you go, no strings attached.”
I didn’t think there were strings attached to begin with, but that must’ve been an attempt to reassure me
I force myself to take a slow deep breath

“Promise?”

Trey nods
“Promise. For right now, just take it easy and have some lunch with me, my treat.”
well, I’d be an idiot to say no to free food

the juice bar seems more like a cafe
they’ve got smoothies, but also some breakfast sandwiches and other protein-heavy stuff
Trey hooks me up with his go-to pre-workout meal
pays for it, just as he promised
have to remind myself that he’s just an employee doing a job
but this would definitely win him employee of the month
he sits across from me as I eat
“So, what made you want to start working out?”
I shrug

“I just got kind of tired of looking like… well, this.”

I wasn’t unhealthy by any physical standards, but I was skinnier than I would’ve liked
I didn’t need to be Herculean like some of these guys, but I felt like a little beef would do me well
“Nothing wrong with looking like that! God knows I’ve stopped bothering with looks these days.”
I find that hard to believe, but whatever

“Well what about you?”

“Me? Oh, dude, when I started working here, I wanted nothing to do with working out. I just wanted some extra cash while I went to school, and this place was hiring. Started out as a glorified janitor.”
Trey chuckles, taking a sip of his protein shake

“What changed?”

“Well, one day, I came in to grab my check. While the manager went to grab it, I just… picked up some dumbbells and started curling. Something just… clicked. I started buying up some home equipment, snuck it in when I could between class and my shifts here… I just had fun with it.”

“Just that easy, huh?”

again, I don’t buy it
Trey shrugs
“Well, it comes easier for some people than others. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t at least give it a try! Just gotta have fun with it!”
as nice as Trey is, his positivity is starting to get to me
doesn’t this guy have any problems?

“Well, if that was easy for you, what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?”

his demeanor changes on a dime
his ears flatten, and he breaks eye contact with me
fuck, I struck a nerve
just keep fucking up today, don’t I?

“…forget I said anything, it’s not—“

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m just thinking of how to say it.”
he doesn’t sound too hurt, but…
he takes a deep breath
“Few years ago, I had to make… a really difficult decision. Messed me up for a while. But, I ultimately had to do what I needed to do to be happy, and while it was hard at first, it didn’t stay that way.”

“What did you decide?”

he looks away again, then looks back, smiling
“I decided to stop being someone I wasn’t.”
not exactly a straight answer, but again, he’s just a guy working a job
probably not wise to pry too much into his personal life
what’re the odds I’m gonna see him again, anyway?
pretty much already decided I was done with this place

finish eating
“So, how are you feeling now?”
Trey is smiling wide, thinking lunch has solved everything

“I’m… still on the fence.”

“Totally fine! I’m proud of you for making it this far, at least. Even a little progress is still progress!”
at least he’s keeping his word and letting me go
“Before I let you go, though…”
Goddammit
“I have a proposition for you. I’m off work tomorrow, but I’m still going to come in to do my push day. If you’re not up for working out yourself, how do you feel about coming and watching me do it?”
what, sit on my ass and watch a big, sweaty tiger do what I can only wish I had the confidence to do?
there’s better ways to spend my time
of course, I’m off work tomorrow, too…
the hell am I saying?
this is ridiculous

“I dunno, Trey…”

“No pressure! I just figured it might show you how easy it really is!”
he grabs a napkin and a pen from his pocket, scribbling something down before sliding it to me
it’s a phone number

“Just let me know, alright?”

I mumble an ‘okay’ and we go our separate ways
after collecting my stuff and leaving, I stop by one of the trash cans outside the gym
pull out the napkin with Trey’s number
or what COULD be his number
for all I know it’s just the general number for the gym
one way to find out
pull out my phone and dial
rings for a good minute or so
expect to hear an automated voice answer with ‘thank you for calling Temple Adonis’ or some shit
“Hi, you’ve reached Trey!”
FUCK
“Sorry I can’t come to the phone! Leave me a quick message and I’ll get back to you when I can! Thanks!”
panic.mp3

“Uh… this is Anon—”

WHAT AM I DOING
I could’ve just hung up and left it at that
now I gotta commit

“Um, regarding that offer you made me, it… kinda depends on when you actually plan on coming in tomorrow. Just shoot me a time, and I’ll see what I can do.”

now I won’t feel bad for turning him down if the times don’t work out
I may not have work tomorrow, but there’s other stuff I could be doing… around whatever time he gives me
hey, maybe he won’t even get back to me and I can put all this gym nonsense behind me

get home
spend the next six hours trying to forget about today’s fiasco
would drink but finished the last Heineken yesterday and didn’t feel like going to the store
mostly eating junk food and watching YT on TV
phone rings
who the fuck is calling this late?
check the caller ID
recognize the number
fuck me, it’s Trey
I had six hours to think of an excuse for why I couldn’t come tomorrow and I blew it
alright, be normal about this
pick up phone and answer

“Hello?”

“Anon! It’s Trey! I just got off work and saw your message. Does 2 in the afternoon work for you?”

“2 in the afternoon tomorrow?”

“Yeah, things are pretty slow around weekday afternoons, so that’s when I always try to go in. If that doesn’t work for you, what’s a good time?”

“No, 2 works fine, I’m just… still kind of on the fence. I mean, I’d just be sitting there and watching while you do all the work. That’s kind of weird right?”

“Not at all! I figured if you weren’t feeling ready to do the movements, you could start small and just watch.”

“I dunno…”

Trey sighs
“Anon, can I ask you something?”
here it comes

“Sure.”

“You wanted to join a gym and start working out because you weren’t happy with how things are now, right?”

“…Yeah?”

“Right, so you made the choice to come to the gym, which is great, but it seems like all you wanted to do since you came in was, well… leave.”
sigh

“Yeah…”

“Right, so, I’m not trying to judge you, I’m just a little confused; do you want to start working out or not?”

“No, I do, Trey, it’s just…”

God I can’t believe I’m talking about this with someone I just met today
this goes WAY beyond the employee/customer relationship
but fuck it, I’m already in this deep
besides, maybe he’ll get weirded out and hang up and I can forget about all of this

“I’m… REALLY scared I’m gonna mess up and look like an idiot, and in a gym full of guys three times my size, that feels like a death sentence.”

“Well, you can always go the home gym route if that’s how you feel.”

“Still, it’s… paralyzing, always worrying about doing something wrong or making a mistake. I know that’s how people learn, but… I dunno, maybe I’m just not meant to learn.”

“That’s not true, Anon, of COURSE you can learn! Anyone can! You might not pick it up at the same rate as some people, but if you put in the work, and keep it consistent, you’re going to get results. I promise.”
don’t respond
seems like nothing I say can convince him I’m a lost cause
dunno if that makes him very determined, or very stupid
maybe both
“Listen, I… I’d still really like to see you tomorrow, Anon. You don’t have to stay for my workout if you don’t want to, but at least have lunch with me again. We can talk about whatever you want, and I’ll even buy again, okay?”
feel like there’s more going on here
why is he continuing to be so nice and cordial outside of his job?

“…one condition.”

“Sure, name it.”

“Tell me why you’re doing this. This can’t be part of your role as a personal trainer or whatever. Why are you so determined to help me?”

silence
feel a bit smug, like I’ve finally managed to stump him
fully expect him to hang up
to give up on me
hear him breathing
“…because I like helping people. See you tomorrow?”
…

“…yeah. See you tomorrow.”

phone beeps, the call over