When I finally got the confidence to open up my own garage for custom building race cars and trucks, it was one of the greatest decisions I ever made in my life. I was an angry, 26 year old man unhappy with everything and full of angst working in an office around people I hate. I went broke by deciding to buy a section of an old warehouse, purchasing dozens among dozens of different pieces of equipment in the creation of my own engine machine shop, and putting some money into business advertising. I could now work my dream job on my own time helping other people with their driving pursuits and it was fantastic. There was only one person that I took from my previous job to work with me and it was Jess.
Jess was a sweet, young woman at 24 years old of a mixed descent of Japanese and caucasian descent. She was rather tall for a woman, maybe 5'9" and in fantastic shape from working out. I instantly found attraction in her myself as I was into bodybuilding and was 240 pounds of muscle at 6'3". I offered her a job working front office at my new company and to handle other duties I can't always handle and between me, her, and a friend of mine who was a mechanic, we had this company up on all 4's and running. Our first year was rather slow but there is one memory I have from it that forever took the highlight of the company being out the gate and me and Jess' relationship.
During the first few months we got the company out and running, the pace was rather slow. In our first month, we only worked with 4 cars that came in our doors from customers and most of them were Japanese domestic market cars that were expensive to get parts for so our profit wasn't as great as expected. It was a few months before summertime in the evening hours one day. Jess was wrapping up some parts receipts paperwork we had purchased earlier as the day came to a close. Something I always did was work out when work was done. I owned a barbell set I kept in a spare room of the warehouse and would go at it for an hour or so doing my exercises maintaining my strength. Sense we finished the car we were working on a few hours early, I decided to do my workout before we closed. I dressed in my muscle shirt and athletic shorts and went to work per say.
***
I'm almost finished with my workout as I work on my squats, the sweat beading on my body and dripping out of my black hair. On my 5th rep of my last set, I hear a door open and I look up to see Jess. I finish my final reps and slam the barbell to the ground.
"Sorry to interrupt." She says in a rather shy tone.
"No. You're fine. What's up?" I question.
"Well I wasn't sure if you're keeping track of time but we're locking up in about 15." She states.
"Yeah. I just finished my workout anyways." I begin gathering my barbells and weights.
"Do you always workout in this room?" She asks.
"Yeah. I mean it works. If it's a slow day then I grind it out in here." I explain.
"I'm surprised I haven't noticed." Jess claims.
"Funny. I guess it takes a while to pick up on things. I see you go for a run early in the morning on occasion. I guess we all have our own routines." I put everything back in its place and walk out into the front office.
Jess shuts the door behind me. "God damn, how long have you been weightlifting?"
"About 9 months." I respond.
"That's a lot of muscle to put on. You're built up as much as some of the guys I see at my gym who've been there for a while." She compliments.
"I'll take that as a compliment. It's really all about your effort versus time. It took me a lot of effort but I was already swollen 3 months in." I inform her as I turn around with my keys in hand off the desk.
I can see a blush on her despite it being clear she's trying to not seem amused. "I've always wanted to build a little bit of muscle on me myself but I just..." She trails off and walks around to gather her things behind her desk.
"Just what?" I question.
"I just don't think I'd look how I want to look." She finishes almost stuttering.
"Why?" I prod.
She almost looks up at the ceiling as if in thought shaking her head. "I know we're supposed to be professional in here but since we're nearly closed and off the clock soon, I guess I can speak a little differently. My dating life has been horrible, okay? I don't get many dates much and the fact that I have a tight waist but no ass makes me physically not attractive and if I was to start building a little bit of muscle, I may end up intimidating guys and I would lose what I have left of my bra size."
"Well, I can tell you this and don't take it as ego bashing or anything. You may not be a top notch 5 star person in terms of your looks but in complete honesty, it's not about your looks all entirely. You're trying to compare yourself to the Instagram models you see that have too big of titties, an ass so fake, it might as well be on a manican, and a face that half of its weight is makeup. You can't get down about it because your personality charm matters most in dating. Looks are a bonus if you got it. Look at Hollywood actors and other famous people. Harrison Ford is an example. Handsome for sure but not hot and he's charming to everyone he's around. Chris Pratt who used to look like a college dropout living with his parents now has got every girl wanting him and when he started working out, it made things even better. You've seen Toby working with me back in the shop. He ain't good looking. You should see what his Snapchat DM's look like. He gets nudes from girls constantly. Anyways, I'm trailing off a little bit. You have to find the guy who's not superficial and if you're concerned enough about how your boobs look then that's okay because there's workouts that actually not only improve your physique but also firmen your chest which gives the illusion of them being bigger." I explain.
"That sounds nice and all but I just don't know if I should because..." Her sentence falls off again.
"Because why?" I continue.
"I would really want to be with a muscular guy like you but it seems that they like a...weaker woman." She claims.
"That's entirely false. A weak character or body are both not good things. You're thinking of submissiveness and generally, that's a yes. If anything, I think they'd really like a girl who works out and enjoys it just as much as they do. It's sexy to see a woman who takes care of her body and is lean but has good strength, too. The guys who maintain muscle to be with the girls with the best looks are the ones that are in it for the wrong reasons. They want it for aesthetic purposes when those girls don't deserve them when their ugly on the inside. If you've ever seen a couple at the gym together, they always seem to have a great relationship and there's a reason why." I explain.
"If that's the case, how am I supposed to find a workout buddy that's interested in a relationship?" She questions.
I raise my hands up to my side showing that I'm here.
"No. I shouldn't." She begins to walk out toward the door.
"Hold on just a second." I grab her arm.
"This isn't professional." She claims.
"Come on. Bring some workout clothes tomorrow and give it a half year of time, I can get you where you want to be." I offer.
She pauses for a moment.
"There's nothing to lose." I add.
"Okay." She accepts.
***
The next day comes by. We get a new car in the shop early in the morning hours and go to work on tearing the engine and transmission apart after the owner raced it way too hard. Jess continues to do her office work and I begin the long process of tearing a motor down and putting it back together with new parts.
The end of the day comes and we begin closing up. Toby makes his way out of the shop as I change into my athletic shorts and muscle shirt in the bathroom. I come out to find Jess in the office already in a workout bra and skin tight gym shorts.
"You ready?" I ask.
"Maybe." She explains.
"Well come on now." I wave her over to the spare room.
