Gym Hang With Tess (Zan POV)

In accordance with our summer routine, I swung by Tess's place for our daily gym trip.

"My pass comes with a plus one," was how I sold the idea to Tess a couple years back right after she graduated high school. I needed a workout buddy to stay motivated, and Tess wanted to be less of a blob (her words), so it was a good fit. Each morning, unless one of us had something else going on, I picked Tess up bright and early. Then we spent the next 90 minutes (or more realistically, 45 minutes) on a mix of cardio, light resistance work, and stretches.

This marked being the beginning of our third year in a row doing summer workouts together - one of the proud traditions that anchored our friendship. Tess and I had little else to do without classes, and my part time job at the local music store only offered so many hours. Tess, the sweet summer child, had neither job nor classes. She was trying to do the YouTuber thing with her gameplay videos. She'd have more views if she showed her face, but Tess wasn't about that life. She wanted people to like her content for what it was, not because it was run by a girl.

More power to her with that. I was glad she had a hobby featuring social interaction, even if was through a screen.

This morning, as usual, Tess traipsed out to the car with her headphones on, swaying to a beat I couldn't hear. I rolled my eyes. "If we weren't friends..."

In the last month or so, Wyatt had introduced our poor innocent mutual friend into freeware music in the worst way possible. Anywhere Tess went, her utterly forgettable cardboard music came with her. Techno, ambient, rock, whatever genre it was, it was only one step above listening to white noise, and had a tendency to leave my head buzzing even after we parted ways.

When Tess climbed into my car, I motioned her to take the headphones off.

"You know the rules," I said, pointing to my ear. "No staying in la-la land while I play the part of Chinese chauffer woman #2."

"Whoops, forgot I even had these on," said Tess. She unplugged her headphones, jacked her phonne straight into my car's sound system, and we rocked out on the drive over to the gym.

The headphones had been my idea. Whenever me and Tess drove anywhere, we used to listen to real music. Nowadays she insisted on listening to her music wherever we went, and god it was meh. We compromised with headphones, but that put a barrier between us that I didn't want. So, we compromised again. I agreed to put up with her freeware music, and in exchange, Tessa agreed not to evangelize her new passion genre to me.

Long hair is high maintenance... dye my hair a fun color...

The music blew hard. Very hard. And yet, though I was **** to admit it at first, it was charming, in a way. How hard it tried to be real music. It was both baffling and intriguing how the closer the tracks came to perfection, the further away their efforts fell.

It was all too easy to sigh, smile, and bob along to the barely-passable baseline. Its influence was insidious.

I don’t mind listening to Wyatt’s CDs... I love this music...

I love this music. It's what I thought, but I didn't dare say that aloud. It was true, even if in an ironic sense - I enjoyed the music for what it was. But I'd been too prissy up front and now my reputation with Tess was on the line. Objectively speaking, the music was bad. I couldn't in good conscience endorse it outright to my impressionable friend.

"I don't mind listening to Wyatt's CDs," I decided to say instead. "They're not much up front but they do the job of filling up the background all right."

"That's what I've been telling you," Tess laughed.

Normally I didn't want to talk about the CDs, it was embarrassing to admit that I even put up with them, but it was safe for me and Tess to talk about them since she knew way more about them than I did. The secret was safe. "Why does Wyatt keep burning these things for you, anyway?" I asked. "Can't he just share his Spotify playlist with you or send you the MP3's like a regular person? Does he have a crush on you or what?"

Tess became cagey. "I can't really talk about it, but..." She stopped and debated something with herself internally.

I gave her a questioning glance.

She took a breath, mustering the courage to ask something important. "You don't happen to know any key phrases, do you?"

An inkling of some memory tickled the back of my neck. "What are you on about?" I asked. What I wanted to say was Tell me my hair looks great, but it felt odd fishing for a compliment like that with Tess, especially when I hadn't yet put aside the time to get my hair cut.

"Oh, nothing," said Tessa, apparently satisfied with my answer. "The scripts must have more effect over headphones..."

I had no idea what she was talking about but nodded like I did . Idly, I ran my fingers through my hair, focusing on the feel of my scalp.

My hair was getting out of control. Lately, I'd been thinking about what I'd look like with short hair. I'd been thinking about it more and more since Tess went and got her hair done. You could say she was my muse. I wouldn't go as **** as Tess's pixie, I was too skinny to pull off the androgynous look without people assuming I was a boy. But maybe I could dye it without having it cut as short as hers? Blue wasn't my color, though something bright and fun like that would attract a lot of attention.

For the last week or so, I'd been feeling that it'd be nice to be noticed more than I was. I'd let myself be single for way too long.

The errant thought, oddly enough, led me straight back into the music we were listening to. I must've been tired, I kept making weird connections like that lately. But the music pumping out of my car speakers wasn't the same CD we'd been listening to during workouts since the beginning of this week.

I want to have sex. I suppressed the intrusive hot flash - I'd been getting those during our workouts too. Another sign I needed to get laid.

"What happened to the CD we were listening to yesterday?" I asked, a little miffed. "That set was a banger. Usually when Wyatt gives you one of his CDs you listen to it nonstop till he gives you the next one."

"I do, but I must have misplaced it somewhere, I couldn't find it yesterday," said Tess, sounding as frustrated as I felt. "I want to see if it turns up before I ask Wyatt to make a replacement, though. He uses these... custom, extra-expensive CDs. I don't want to give up on finding it that fast. If it hasn't shown up by the next time I see him, I'll ask him about it."

Tess looked so serious. She lost a CD, so what? I lost more CDs than Tess owned.

She continued, after a thoughtful pause. "Lately... there's been a lot I've wanted to ask Wyatt about, so maybe it's a sign," Tess said, quietly. "Me and him haven't had a real talk in a while. There are things I've been putting off telling him."

That, I could understand. "I should probably talk to Wyatt myself, too," I said absentmindedly, watching a stoplight for it to change color. "We haven't caught up since high school. I feel bad for letting the relationship wither."

I didn't feel as strongly about it today as I did yesterday, but while I was working out with Tess the day before, it really hit me how important it was that Wyatt know about me. We were both in college, both had the same struggles. We were both single. No sex life to speak of. I was cool with that for a while (not being sexually active, that is), but lately, I was ready for something new.

Touching base with Wyatt, somebody in the same boat as me, felt like it could be the breakthrough I needed to change things up. We could share stories, swap advice. Getting Wyatt's perspective on dating - a boy's perspective - was as good a place to start with that as any.

Such thoughts occupied my mind through the rest off the drive, finding a parking spot at the gym, and beeping into the locker room with my membership card.

I was still thinking about how to approach Wyatt as I changed into changing into my workout clothes. Which, to be fair, consisted only of removing my orange windbreaker.

I wore a brand new yoga bodysuit beneath, in a deep forest green color. The bodysuit sported a tank-style top and front with a square neckline, while the back consisted of a couple of crisscrossing straps. Like a swimsuit, it provided all the support and padding I needed, so I didn't have to wear anything beneath it. It fit me like a glove and left little to the imagination.

Another reason to be happy Tess was with me today - I was excited to show it off.

Tessa took note of my new attire, with a keen interest I hadn't expected from her. "What happened to your comfy clothes only rule, Zan?"

The truth was that recently, looking in the mirror, I could tell my daily exercise routine had caught up with me. I could see my abs. I barely had an ounce of body fat on me. I hardly considered myself athletic, but these days, I certainly looked the part. So, yesterday, I treated myself at Big 5 Sporting Goods and bought a new set of workout clothes - bodysuit included. It was on the daring side for me (when had I ever wanted to draw more attention to my chest), but I was feeling daring, so I splurged.

"This thing is comfy," I told Tess, grinning. "Barely even feels like I'm wearing anything." I patted my flat stomach demonstrably. "And it'll be too hot for sweats soon, for me at least. I figured I'd beat the curve."

It was an excuse, not that I needed one to show off. I used to worry that I was too skinny, but who cared how small (sporty!) my boobs were? Or how flat (pert!) my ass was? Haters would hate, but I knew I had a great body.

I didn't want Tess to feel self-conscious, but with her new makeover, I thought she could keep up. In comparison, with Tess in her nondescript black sweatpants and athletic t-shirt, she only looked a little shlubby. Her cute blue pixie cut and shiny new glasses made anything she wore look intentional in a way that almost made me jealous.

Instead of clamming up at the reveal, Tess surprised me by lighting up at my cop-out explanation.

"Well, hey then, mind if I join you?" she asked, unzipping her backpack and setting it on the dressing room bench. "I don't have to wear sweatpants."

I attempted to ease her out of my accidental peer pressure. "Oh no girl, don't change just because I did," I said. "I tend to run hot when we're working out. You don't have to match me."

But Tess was already taking off her clothes, which again, caught me off guard. A shy girl, I would have expected Tess to duck into one of the shower stalls to change. But here she was, already topless and shimmying out of her underwear right in front of me, without so much as facing away - what had this woman done with my Tess?

"Okay, okay," I laughed, holding up my hands in defeat. "Let's see what you brought."

Tess slipped into a pair of baseball-style knee socks first, then dressed in a pair of compression shorts and a matching t-shirt made from a deep blue synthetic material. Her clothing stretched tight across the shoulders and chest, and everywhere else, leaving her lower arms and legs and a strip of her stomach visible.

I'd never seen Tess go out in such form-fitting clothing before. I had to admit, she looked way better than I feared. I wasn't sure how I felt about her not wearing underwear with her outfit, but look who was talking. Neither was I.

Tess winked at me over her shoulder in a flirty little pose, running her fingers through her short hair. "How do I look?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Oh my god. Cute cute cute," I singsonged. I bounded over and enveloped Tess in a hug. "My little girl is all grown up!"

"I can't breathe!" laughed Tess, enduring the hug till I let her go.

"I'm dead serious," I said, leveling with her, eye to eye, woman to woman. "You look great. You could live on a magazine cover."

She laughed it off, but I meant it. But it wasn't just her figure. Tess carried herself with a quiet confidence that accentuated and enhanced what was already beautiful about her. Where had that come from? I would have envied her if I hadn't noticed my own, more subtle transformation just recently. I knew that in my own way, I was just as pretty as Tess, and that I had the lean, sexy figure to back it up.

I was smiling my face off. "So when did all this happen?" I asked, motioning full-body at Tess.

She bounced in place. "I know, right? It's crazy, I look amazing!"

"You're being too adorable, don't make me hug you again," I warned.

Tess calmed herself, but only slightly. "I... I can't tell you the details just yet, but it's big. Big news."

"Ooh. Big news?" I connected the dots. Tess dressing up? Finally seeing her own beauty? Trying new things, getting into new music? Tess had a crush. And a positive feedback loop like that only forms when there's real chemistry. Tess's mystery man had to be crushing back.

"You better not sit on that egg till it hatches," I said, grabbing the girl's shoulders and shaking her affectionately.

Tess awkwardly slinked out of my hold. "Sorry. It's complicated. And nothing's proven yet. But, but I will tell you, when we know for sure."

When we know for sure? Oh god. Did Tess legitimately have a secret boyfriend? Was she getting married? Secret marriage! Was she eloping?! No way in hell, if I wasn't at least a bridesmaid at Tess's wedding, I'd sue.

I circled Tess like a shark, hands folded behind my back, inspecting her for any further signs of duplicity. "Well well well, little Miss Confidential, when you are ready to tell me your secret, I expect you to tell me everything. Especially before I hear any other big news from you." I pointed accusingly at her. "And I'd better be the first one you tell."

Tess surrendered immediately. "I promise I'll tell you first, Zan."

"Damn right you will," I said, swatting her sharply on the butt.

Tess jumped and yelped - I'd never done anything like that to her before - but it served her right for putting my heart through this rollercoaster. And with her newfound confidence, I knew she could handle it.

I led the way out of the locker room. "Let's get started then, shall we? I want to see you sweat through that stupidly cute little top of yours."

"Ditto to you," said Tess, pulling a wireless speaker out from her backpack. She fixed it to play a familiar track different from the CD we were jamming out to in the car before hurrying after me.

Legs, hips, butt... Back, stomach, chest...

A secret boy! What a surprise, and from Tess of all people. I fucking love secrets. One way or another, this summer was shaping up to be an interesting one.

I'm comfortable showing it off... Comfortable showing it all off...

I grinned when Tess caught up with her speaker, and automatically adjusted my steps to fall in time with the beat. Without a conscious thought, I found myself nodding along with the melody as we reached the spongy mat to do our opening stretches.

I'll listen as often as I can... Ask me to take off my clothes...