Baby, how you feelin'? (Feelin' good as hell)

Nick was keenly aware of the fact that Kim and Dani were messing around with him. But he wasn’t sure why.

“Come on you two,” he said, looking down at his soaked swimsuit. “Dani, maybe I get her playing around and messing with me, even if I don’t know why she’s so insistent about getting me into those shorts. But Kim? Come on.”

“Sorry,” Kim said, giving him an apologetic smile. She raised her hands and drew the water out of his clothes, forming another blob. “But I can undo it just as easily as I did it, don’t forget!”

Nick recalled the text of Kim’s acquired transformation. It was one he remembered clearly enough.

• Wet T-Shirt Contest: Kim can, at any time, summon up some water to douse her clothes and the clothes of other contestants, making them semi-transparent. It will only affect their clothing, however, and not even result in their hair getting wet. She will also gain the ability to dry out her clothes and the clothes of other contestants immediately to ensure that nobody is **** to go the rest of the day with wet, sticky clothes. (Fashionista)

…He found it somewhat ironic that Kim was using a transformation originally intended for Vivian to troll him the way the heiress seemed to enjoy doing.

“It’s okay, Nick,” Dani said, coming over and patting him on the back. “If you don’t want to wear those shorts, you don’t have to. We don’t mind.”

“Even though you’d look adorable in them!” Kim chirped, batting her eyelashes.

Nick blushed. Kim’s sunny smile always managed to disarm him. It really was her best feature. But he had to put his foot down. He shook his head.

“Look, I just don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of it,” Nick said. “Do you really care that much about what I wear?”

Dani and Kim shared a look. Dani stepped aside and let Kim handle this, since she was the one who had wanted to come along on her date in the first place.

“It’s really not a big deal,” the tomboy admitted, scratching her cheek. “Maybe we were having a bit of fun with you, sorry about that. But no harm, no foul, right?” She tossed the water orb she’d conjured into the pool and turned back to Nick with a cheeky smile. “Dani and I just thought it would be good if we evened the playing field a bit, that’s all.”

Nick squinted. “‘Evened the playing field’, what do you mean by that?” He asked suspiciously.

“Weeeeelll…” Kim rocked forward and back on the balls of her feet, and clasped her hands behind her back. She tilted her head up to look coquettishly into Nick’s eyes. “Dani and I are going to be wearing pretty skimpy outfits while working out… it’s kind of embarrassing showing our bodies in front of a boy, right? Don’t you think it’s fair if you get a bit of embarrassment too? Just saying…”

Nick wasn’t sure what to make of that for a moment. For one thing, Kim’s explanation was ignoring the fact that Dani’s Just One of the Guys transformation made it so she wasn’t embarrassed at all. And as for Kim…

“I thought you liked when people looked at you in skimpy clothes these days?” Nick said, raising his eyebrow.

Kim stiffened up straight and her eyes popped wide. A red flash jumped across her cheeks as she let out a surprised gasp, but the way the corners of her lips tugged up slightly didn’t go missed by Nick’s sharp eyes.

“I-I don’t like it or anything!” She said hastily, shaking her head. “I’ve just gotten used to it thanks to that stupid job, that’s all! Besides! Look who’s talking, at least I’ve got a shirt on!” She pointed out, jabbing her finger into Nick’s belly.

Nick twitched out of reflex and bent over slightly. He wasn’t the proudest man in the world about the lack of tone in his midsection, but now was hardly the time. “We’re at the pool!” He protested. “That’s normal!”

“Exactly! And short shorts are normal in the gym, so…” Kim shrugged, exasperated, and looked at Dani with a “Can you believe this guy?” expression of disbelief.

Nick rolled his eyes. “You really care that much about this?” He asked sincerely.

The change in Nick’s tone from playful to genuine caused the embarrassment to return to Kim’s face. She hastily averted her eyes. “I mean… look… it’s not that important, I mean…”

“Kim was just trying to lighten the mood a little,” Dani said, coming to her friend’s rescue. “Me personally, I thought that if you were feeling self-conscious about what you were wearing, you wouldn’t be self-conscious about your subpar performance!”

Nick stared at her, wondering how in her mind she thought that would make the situation better. “…So it’s just a given that I’m gonna do badly in your eyes?”

“Well, not necessarily badly,” Dani said, shrugging. “But how much weight training have you really done, Nick?”

Oof. She had him there.

“Well…”

“Everyone needs to start somewhere,” she continued. “And for you, it’s gonna be pretty low. If you really wanna get ripped, it’s a long process that involves hard work and discipline, you can’t half-ass it! And we need to start small so you don’t injure yourself.”

Dani was pretty sure that Dakota would keep Nick safe from any serious injuries, muscle, or bone damage. But at the same time Nick had gotten sore from too much sex in the past, so there was definitely some wiggle room as to what the show considered “injuries” and she didn’t want to take any chances.

“…And you think that me wearing shorts is going to help me feel less self-conscious about starting out with ten-pound weights?” Nick asked, not really buying that.

Dani glanced at his arms. “…Maybe five pounds,” she joked. “And no, I mainly just thought it would be really funny and wanted to justify it.”

Well, Nick wasn’t amused.

“Also, if you’re going to be checking me out in this, then I deserve some eye-candy myself, right?” Kim pointed out, striking a pose in her workout gear.

“…YOU asked Dakota if you could wear that, though,” Nick reminded her.

Kim didn’t see how that was relevant. “And?”

Nick blushed. “You… really think it’s… eye-candy?”

The idea that Kim would actually want to be checking him out in those shorts seemed so alien to him. Nick had no illusions that nearly every woman in his harem had a disparity with him in terms of physical attractiveness, and that was before they started getting sexy transformations. While most of the women in his harem were gorgeous, or beautiful, or just plain cute, Nick was, well… just plain. Not _un_attractive, but decidedly average. Even Kim, who hadn’t received any beauty-enhancing transformations and was one of the more average-looking women in his harem, still had a smile that could light up a whole room and had only gotten cuter since she started eating healthy and getting regular exercise.

So to be told that his looks were actually something a girl like her would be seeking opportunities to drool over… it kind of left him a little speechless.

She’s probably manipulating me by trying to appeal to my vanity, since she wants to laugh at me in those shorts. A shadow crept into Nick’s mind as he looked at Kim’s innocent smile. Even with all the beautiful women he slept with, women who claimed to love him and were fond of him, a lifetime of low self-confidence and self-esteem issues was difficult to shake. But Kim, she wasn’t that kind of girl.

A sharp elbow in the side knocked him back into the present and he gasped as a slight shot of pain jolted his thoughts. He looked at Dani in shock, stunned by her glare.

“Dani, wha-” Before he could finish she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off, leaving a very confused Kim standing by the pool.

“What are you doing?!” Dani hissed once they were out of earshot.

“That’s my question! What was that elbow for!? Are you trying to break me before we even get to the gym?!” Nick demanded.

Dani swatted him on the head. Gently, not enough to do more than ruffle his hair. Which was good, because she did it two more times for good measure.

“Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here,” Dani said, narrowing her eyes. “You’re doubting her, aren’t you?”

“W-well…” Nick looked past Dani back over to Kim, who looked kind of bored and was starting to get impatient. “…Can you blame me?”

“Yes,” Dani bluntly replied. “You know Kim doesn’t play games like that, and neither do I.”

“You’ve both been playing games with me all morning,” Nick pointed out.

Dani blinked. “…Okay, yes, but that was just for fun. She’s being sincere now. Do you really think it’s impossible for a girl to be physically attracted to you, Nick? …Someone other than me, I mean,” she quickly added.

“Well, I mean, no…” Nick blushed. Frankly, an emotional bond could only go so far. If the women in his life didn’t find him at least somewhat attractive they would definitely be a lot more resistant to this whole harem thing. “It’s just… really? Eye-candy? Me?”

Dani shrugged. “Hey, you’re asking the wrong person. But if that’s how she feels, are you really going to question her?”

Nick looked over at Kim again. Her bored impatience had shifted to looking a little more ****.

“…I guess not,” he admitted, shaking his head.

Dani’s frown turned into a grin and her eyes twinkled. “Well, good! That’s the spirit!” She clapped him on the shoulder. “Now go and tell her that you think she looks cute in those gym clothes!”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Come on, Dani, I know how to flirt with girls.”

“Sure, but sometimes you don’t think about it. Girls like to be told they look nice every now and then without being prompted, that’s something way too many guys just don’t understand,” Dani said, shaking her head.

Nick could tell she maybe had a point. Regardless, he really did want to make Kim smile, so he walked over to her, getting her attention immediately.

“You guys done flirting?” Kim asked playfully.

“Sure, it went great, she didn’t even slap me this time,” Nick joked. “By the way, Kim, you really look good in that.”

“Eh?” Kim’s eyes widened and her fingers unconsciously tugged the hem of her shirt down over her bloomers as she smiled. “Really? You think so? I was actually kinda nervous about it, since it’s kinda a fetish thing…”

“I mean it, you look good,” Nick said, nodding.

The smile on Kim’s face wasn’t one of her masterpieces, it was a little too crooked for that. But it was just as bright as always.

“…If you want me to wear those shorts, I’ll do it,” Nick relented. “Since it seems to mean a lot to you.”

“Oh, uh, no, no, it’s fine,” Kim said hastily, waving her hands and shaking her head. “You obviously don’t want to, and I don’t want to **** you!”

Sigh. Why did things always have to be so difficult? Nick felt like he wanted to laugh at the irony. Instead he rolled his eyes.

“Kim, I’m fine with it. You have to work four hours a day in lingerie, I can wear some skimpy bike shorts for an hour or two,” he said, scratching his head and laughing.

Dani’s hand swatted him on the back and made him jump. “Oh, that’s cute, just an hour or two,” she cooed. “It’s so adorable that you think we can be done by then.”

Nick wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.

The resolve Nick had mustered over the course of the morning was starting to waver the closer it got to the time to work out.

“Shouldn’t we have gotten food before we came here?” Nick asked as they stepped into the gym. He kept adjusting his tank-top in an effort to cover the skimpy shorts he’d reluctantly agreed to wear. “I mean, working out on an empty stomach, that doesn’t sound like…”

“It’s fine,” Dani said. She had changed out of her swimsuit to a sports bra and a pair of shorts even skimpier than Nick’s, which she looked great in. “You had a pretty big breakfast, right? That should stick with you for a whle. We’ll get a late lunch after.”

“You don’t want to eat right before a workout,” Kim pointed out. A shadow crossed her face as the light drained from her eyes. “It took me a long time to learn that lesson…”

Dani looked away. “Yes, it did,” she said, murmuring sympathetically.

Nick raised his eyebrow. “…Right, well… I guess if it’s not going to be a health issue, we don’t need to worry?”

“If you feel like your energy is flagging, just drink a protein shake,” Dani suggested, patting him on the back. She pointed over to the counter by the door, which was practically like a bar for dispensing all manner of supplements. “That should help give you the boost you need.”

“As long as it’s not the kale-flavored one,” Kim said, turning green. “That might actually be poison if I’m being honest.”

Nick laughed. “Well, I’ll trust you guys, then.” He still felt really nervous about all this; he’d tried working out with Dani a few times, but it had been difficult to keep up with it. Mainly because the experiences hadn’t been pleasant.

But now he had something he was working towards. If he wanted to do better by the girls in his harem, then he would need to get in better shape. There were a lot of them and only one of him, and they all deserved his full attention.

“We’re going to start off light, don’t worry,” Dani assured him, tying her hair up into a ponytail. “We don’t want to scare you off, after all.”

“Are you sure that’s for the best?” Nick asked.

Dani and Kim both looked at him. The stunned expressions on their faces spoke volumes.

“Well, I mean, it’s not like I’ll be able to make this a regular thing,” Nick pointed out. “What if I have a date with another girl on a workout day? Or a Dream Alley date?”

“Ooh, yeah, good point,” Kim said, wincing. “It’s not like he can keep a strict schedule…”

Dani wasn’t impressed, even if she could see the validity in what he was saying. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Nick, if you’re not planning to take this seriously, what are we even doing here?” She asked.

“I am taking this seriously!” Nick protested. “That’s the whole reason I said… well… look, I want to get in better shape but I’m also trying to be realistic. Can you imagine if Kim still had to work the whole day? How hard that would be for her to also try and work in some exercise?”

“He makes a good point,” Kim admitted sheepishly. She scratched her cheek. “Maybe we do need to think about this a little, Dani.”

Dani frowned. Then she sighed. “…Getting in shape isn’t about doing one super-strenuous weight-lifting session and then calling it a day,” she said firmly. “You seriously need to give it the proper time and dedication, Nick. Now, I get it, it’s gonna be hard trying to fit to your schedule, but are you at least willing to try?”

“Of course!” Nick nodded. “I’ll try whatever you think will work, Dani!”

She grinned. “…Well, good then. That’s all I’m asking.” She patted him on the shoulder. “So let’s start off with something manageable, okay? Free weights.”

“Yeah, I remember those,” Nick said, looking over at the assorted weights lined up in a row on the corner rack. “You said you wanted me to start off with 10 pounds?”

“Just to see how they feel,” Dani said, picking up a 10-pound dumbbell like it was a plastic toy and bringing it over to him. Nick bristled as she passed him the weight. He half-thought it was going to drag his arm down to the ground, but once he held it, he realized that he was just being silly.

It was 10 pounds. It wasn’t going to break anything.

“That’s lighter than I expected,” Nick said, bouncing his hand slightly as he tried to adjust his grip to feel more comfortable. “I can do this, no problem.”

Dani grinned. “That’s good, I’m glad. If THAT was too much for you, we might have some issues.”

Nick took that as a challenge. “Look, I can probably go up to 15 or even 20, honestly,” he said, moving the dumbbell like it was nothing. “This is really light.”

Dani bit her lip. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, shaking her head. “It feels light right now. But after you’ve been curling it for a while? That thing’s going to be brutal. There’s no rush, Nick. Just trust me, and take it slow.”

“…Okay,” Nick agreed. While he felt like he should be able to handle something a little heavier, and didn’t like the idea that he was being patronized, he trusted Dani implicitly when it came to working out. If she said this was enough weight to start with, he wasn’t going to argue with her.

“Good,” Dani said, nodding. She suddenly looked a little embarrassed. “Oh, um, and one more thing, before we start…”

“Yeah?” Nick looked at her questioningly.

Her blush deepened. She stepped forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around Nick, hugging him tight. Nick nearly dropped the dumbbell in surprise. But he held onto it, and after the initial shock wore off and he realized what Dani was trying to do, he hugged her back.

Hugged the Master! +1 VP

Dani stepped back, adjusting her ponytail. She cleared her throat as the blush faded from her cheeks. “Yeah, I thought… it would be better to do that before we got all sweaty,” she said. “Thanks for the help.”

“Aww, how cute,” Kim joked, earning her a glare from Dani. She held up her hands and stepped back. “…You know, while you’re doing that, maybe I’ll go work on my yoga routine.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you go do that,” she scoffed, turning back to Nick. “Okay, so, you ready? I’m not gonna go easy on ya!”

“Thanks,” Nick said sincerely. “I wouldn’t want you to.”

Dani flashed him a crooked grin. She was excited to see just what she could make out of Nick!