The coach who stole his ex.

William woke up, getting dressed in a loose, flowy, sleeveless shirt that doesn’t hide his arms, his chest or his back, but makes sure to hide his belly. He had been self-aware of his lack of abs but knew damm well that some fat was necessary to lead a healthy life. He has always told his clients this as well, but few listened to this advice. As he headed to work by car, he would have preferred to walk or cycle. His workday was chill. Only 5 clients were planned for today, and babysitting the gym for the rest of the day. The clients brought in much-needed extra money for his girl- Missy is a big spender!

He rolled his shoulders as Becky wandered into the gym. The girl was his last client and had been working with him for a while. Saying she was overweight might be an understatement, but she could lift. Over the past year, they had worked out together there was a lot of muscle growth but not a lot of weight loss. His client had done 190 kilograms last time he checked, switching for his own reps, only needing to add another ten.

The coach thought Becky was doing her best. Came in three times a week, once a week for a session like today, twice more to use the machine, always pushing herself. The girl evaded the topic of food if he brought it up, she knew his vision on things. That was all he could contribute. Insurance didn’t give a shit about what the girl had done or was doing. They didn’t cover the medication for what she wanted it for, end of story.

“Becky, you okay, need me to get you a drink?” He asked, knowing the answer.

“No, Will, I have plenty of water.” She said, holding up the bottle. The girl's chest and legs wobble as she does. Suspecting that she has too little fuel, too few sugars or any type of carbs, the coach could do nothing for her if his client didn’t want it.

“You are doing great. Keep going like this, and you might outlift me one day. But that also worries me. Working out almost as much as me? Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Doctors say I am fine. No fat near my organs, no diabetes, I am just fat. Not that they know why or how to fix it. They say GLP-1-agonists might be an option, but frustratingly enough, that costs more than five sessions a week with you would cost.” At that, William’s eyes burst out of his head. That expensive? “I prefer this over that. This might not treat the symptom they see, but at least it makes sure my heart is in good health, as well as all the other benefits you have from exercise.”

Taking a deep breath, he nodded and smiled at her. “That is not what I meant. I think you are pushing yourself too hard on too little. I am glad you like our time together that much. I have a girlfriend, just to be clear.”

“Ohh, I know. I didn’t say that to imply anything romantic. Just think that exercise is a better way to spend my money than some drug, especially one with unknown effectiveness for me. Exercising with you has brought me a lot, and I don’t want to lose it. Mainly because moving heavy stuff has become super easy.” She admitted to him, frustrated at the situation.

“I never hear you talk about love or romance, but all my other female clients do. Why is that?” He asked, hoping to shift the conversation to a better tone.

“I had a crush when I was a kid. But as my weight increased during my teenage years, no one wanted me. Got bullied and assumed I was unlovable. Never considered it afterwards.” She admitted before looking into the void.

He could tell she wanted to find love or at least friends again, but instead of actually providing comfort reacted with. “Heavy stuff...” The coach realised not only did he fail to shift the tone in a positive direction, but he actively made it worse. Looking at the clock, the time she had booked was over, and he needed to move to a different appointment. “I don’t want to wave you off, but I have a date with my girl, and I need to hit the shower. Do you want to plan anything before I leave?” He said awkwardly, frustrated that he had to leave for his date.

“No, no problem, really. Next week, at the same time possible?” She asked kind of down and regretfully. He had been the first person in ages to show an interest in her as a person. Will treated her like she was a normal human, not someone to be avoided or a fetish object.

“Yeah, that works. Hey, if you need to just talk and I am not with a client, you can ask, you know.” He said, receiving a small nod in response. Hoping this had quelled her worries a bit, he got ready for his date.

William got dressed in a shirt with buttons at the top partially open due to it not quite fitting. He headed out to his girlfriend'shome and rang the doorbell. “Hey, Missy, you ready for our date?”

A redhead with C-cup breasts in a sports bra greeted him, Missy, leaning into the doorframe. She must have been changing and decided to answer the door anyway. “Wait, we had a date planned. I just set up the gym for a recording. I want to be able to upload today. You know how it is, filming, editing, and stuff takes time. Can I take a rain check?” Frustrated, he decides to let her have her way.

He regretted not spending more time with Becky. It had been a bad day for her, likely in part due to his questions. He liked leaving his clients in a better state than when he met them, excluding the obligatory exercise-induced exhaustion. However, now there was more time to game. He did some math in his head. A cheap burger was on the table today. He did work out with Becky and did an alternating workout so she wouldn’t break herself. You need to be willing to give yourself a break occasionally.

He logged in and messaged Homebody Toad. William asked if Toad is up for a few rounds of Valorant. The coach had seen that Toad was playing Rimworld. It is a 50/50 whether Toad’s colony was doing well. If it was, he usually wanted to continue playing, but might still have wanted to hang. If it was going okay or bad, he usually wanted to switch games and shoot the shit. It seemed the latter, as he wanted to play Valorant. William started complaining about the fact that Missy dumped him for filming a video for her social media. Dumb bullshit! Usually, she was good about remembering appointments or making time. Here and there, he slipped up and almost said Missy, but corrected to Misses, and Toad doesn’t notice. Afterwards, his head was completely empty, and he went to bed.

William found himself in a campground, with Alex in his face, barely a hand's width away. “You don’t seem to be Melissa Thomas, or some weird transformations have already happened. Who are you?” She asked with more suspicion than strictly necessary. Irked that something had gone wrong.

“Ohh, Missy is supposed to be coming? I don’t know where she is. I am William Moore with double o. Why do you ask?”

“Good, then my order of arrival must have been wrong. I must have swapped you and Mellissa. Your connection to the Master depends on it. There is logic that you might have been swapped. This works out.” She starts rambling as she realises things are wrong. “We just happened to have swapped you. The boss will not be mad, I hope. I have to ask. I need to make sure everyone who comes in is an actual contestant, not some random person. This is an invite-only type of camp.” She said with a nod. “By the way, I am Alex. Can you please follow me?” Leading him to the semi-circle.

The semi-circle of chairs had three people. The first is a guy drooling over him, nice. The second is a guy about to pop a vein out of anger, not nice. Lastly, a woman a decade older, he could leave it or take it. "I show up and now this guy is staring daggers at me. What's happening?"

Before Chris could respond, Ryan shouted excitedly, “Giraffe?”

“Toad? If so, yeah, that’s me.” William responded, surprised at finding his gaming buddy here, drooling over him.

“He is also the next contestant,” Syl interjected, popping out of nowhere again. “Can you answer me a few questions? They might fill you in on some things.”

“Sure...?”

“Who are you? How old are you? What is your job? Hobbies? Last sexual encounter? Relationship to your Master? Anything fun you want to add?”

Compelled by the mic, William started to answer. “I am William Moore. Am currently 29, and a professional personal fitness coach. My hobbies are going to the gym, jogging, cycling and playing games with my buddy Toad over there. I last had sex with Missy two days ago. She was Master's girlfriend until she cheated on him with me. I have nothing fun to say.” He stops for a moment. “Is what I just said, dude? That is why you are so mad.... I don’t know what I could say to alleviate your hurt. I didn’t know, she told me she was single.” He thought back to how suspicious Missy had been acting this evening as he finished his sentence. Had she been cheating on him as well? It couldn’t be true, could it?

“Now, Mr Moore, if you would take a seat next to Heather over there whilst we wait for the other contestants.” He walked defeated to the chair. The weirdness is one thing, but the fact that his relationship was built on a lie is another. On top of that, she might be repeating that behaviour. What will he do when she shows up? How should he react to all of this?