Demur and back out

"I'm... I'm sorry..." You nervously run your hand through your hair and glance away. "I don't think I'm ready for this just yet." You're suddenly acutely aware of your own muscle tone, especially on your arms... you're not sure you could take either Emily or Ada.

She is very understanding about it. "I really should've made sure you knew about this from the beginning. It's ok, you don't have to decide right away! Would you like to complete the tour first? I can show you the showers."

You follow her into the showers... and it's really nice. The air is thick, however, with sex, and you see why - there're a couple of (nude) women arm wrestling on one of the benches. One of them is clearly winning, and the reason is apparent: there's a third woman crouching behind her, twiddling her nipples. The losing woman's face is scrunched up, teeth bared with frustration and effort. Her other hand is in between her thighs - she's trying to rub one out before she loses, probably.

Emily is standing beside a nice new-looking tampon vending machine. She gestures to it cheerily. "We make sure these are always well-supplied and in good working order! Also, they're complimentary!"

Talk about unique selling points!

You toss and turn in your bed, biting your lip from time to time. You remember the smell of sex pervading the gym... the drop of sweat trickling down the cleavage of a woman's chest muscles as she pressed weights above her head... the anguished cry of the woman who lost that little contest in the bathroom... the triumphant, almost orgasmic look of bliss on the winning woman's face... the proud look on the face of her lover as she kissed her victorious girlfriend... and that large, velvet mat in the middle of it all...

And free tampons.

Experimentally you squeeze the muscles on your upper arm again, for the umpteenth time since coming home. Surely a gym would want more members, yes? Surely they wouldn't turn you away for, well, not being strong enough to outmuscle one of their receptionists! But well, they'd explained that those were the rules. As for the intent behind the rules... apparently, a prospective new member had to offer some kind of "proof of purpose". You had to want it, at least badly enough to be able to win a simple arm-tussle with a receptionist.

You don't want to be embarrassed by the prospect of losing, of failing at the very first obstacle, in front of a bunch of sexy strangers. That was why you'd declined. But just how determined are you? Would you perhaps want to see about some practice arm wrestling with some friends, maybe pick up a few pointers, train up a little for a week or two before going back? Are you regretting your earlier indecision and ready to go back tomorrow, find one of them and challenge her for a membership? Or do you want to just give up the idea entirely, and find some other way to get stronger?