Making Moves

[Jayder]

Hey y'all, started this story a while ago and got motivated to pick it back up in between working on chapters of my other story. This one is a fairly grounded story about two people near the top of their respective fields. Hope people enjoy!



I was hunched over a small folding chair, underneath the beating Las Vegas sun while bantering with the man across from me as I delivered yet another crushing checkmate, throttling my opponent's weak kingside with a blistering attack. My opponent thanked me for the game and we chatted for a couple minutes about where he went wrong and how he could've tried to counter attack me on the queenside. He ended with a joke about how he was lost before we started playing. Another person wandered over to our group of tables and sat down. A few minutes later he departed as well, another win for me.

That's how it had been going for the last couple hours at this makeshift chess park we threw together within spitting distance of the Bellagio fountain. People would notice the tables, come up and ask for a game. A few people recognized me but I got into the habit of asking my opponents if they had played and usually mentioned that I was a Grandmaster before the game started. I preferred it that way, it always loosened up the vibe, which was what I was looking for today. People ease up and have fun when the pressure of winning is removed from their shoulders.

I was in Vegas for a tournament. It normally wasn't the caliber of tournament that I played in but I wanted to have some fun and spend a bit of time in sunny Las Vegas. It was an Open tournament so anyone could enter, although most of the players were strong and experienced. I won it fairly easily with 8 points out of 9, 7 wins and 2 draws. That was expected though, I was ranked 6th in the world and the next highest ranked player in the tourney wasn't in the top 100. I probably should've scored better but can't argue with a trophy. I'd been growing slightly tired of the professional tournaments. You grind for weeks preparing for the same opponents, a lot of my fellow pros play cautiously to avoid losing and you end up with a lot of draws. Playing in these bigger amateur tournaments was fun and allowed me to spend time with friends that I didn't normally see on the pro circuit

Nobody had come up to my table in a couple minutes, so I had my back turned and was watching a master buddy of mine taking on a young boy that had competed in the tournament. They were running low on time and pieces were clattering chaotically across the wooden board. A feminine voice behind me grabbed my attention back towards my table.

"Do you mind if I play a game?" I started responding that I didn't mind at all as I swiveled back in view. My eyebrows shot up a bit at the sight of the woman sitting right across from me. She had very deeply tanned skin, as if she bathed in bronzer. Her face was angular but beautiful. Big blue eyes, high cheekbones, soft looking lips, and a disarming smile. She was pretty stunning, if not a little odd looking with her skin tone. Her jaw line was slightly more defined than most women, but it flowed pretty well with her sharp features. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail.

She wore a light and flowy flower-patterned top with sleeves that extended loosely just past her elbow. The material was light and rested on her body in a way that outlined some of what was underneath. She was quite flat chested but what was unusual was it seemed the fabric was outlining hard spherical shoulders and clear bumpy traps poked out the top. Unless this women's shirt was playing a trick on my mind, I'd never seen a woman with muscles quite this defined. She didn't look huge really but damn this chick was ripped.

She extended a hand out to shake mine. My suspicions were correct, veins were everywhere on her forearm, starting on the back of her hands and snaking their way up her absolutely shredded forearm, I didn't even know there were that many separate muscles in a forearm. Each individual one danced and darted as she spread her fingers to grip my hand. Her grip was strong and firm and as she squeezed into my hand her forearm bulged out near her elbow.

"I'm Grace" she said, in a sandy but feminine voice.

"I'm Ryan" I replied. "Do you play chess Grace?"

"Hmmm. Define play? I haven't played in years but I know how to. I used to play with my grandpa when I was a kid. I assume you play?" She asked before letting out a cute laugh "I guess it would be kind of weird if you were just sitting here and didn't play."

"Yea, between you and me," I leaned in and continued in a fake whisper "I have no idea how to play, I just sat down here hoping nobody would notice. Would you show me how to play?" That got a laugh from her. I was a little surprised with myself. Not by the confidence with which I delivered my dumb joke, one thing I didn't lack was confidence, especially at a chess board, but with how flirtatious I was being with this woman right off the bat.

"Ahh yes that is totally believable" and now it was her turn to lean in and fake whisper to me "no offense but you definitely look like a chess player". She was right though, I was short and slim and had a nerdy vibe with my glasses and beard. To my credit though I dressed pretty well, a little geek chic if you will.

"Well, you definitely do not look like a chess player, I can tell you that. And yes, I play. I'm in town for a tournament." Another laugh from her, its like I was on a roll. I started setting up the pieces and rotated the board so she could play with the white pieces.

She made the first move and I responded quickly. I would keep moving quickly but I told her to take her time as she thought through the moves. I chatted her up a little bit when it was my turn to move. She was making sensible moves, albeit not the best but pretty good for a beginner.

"So, what are you doing in Vegas?" I asked casually after we had just finished laughing about a group of Elvis impersonators that just walked by. I won one of her pawns with a little tricky combination soon after.

"I just competed in a bodybuilding competition actually. It finished up yesterday but I'm staying a couple extra days."

"O , you're a bodybuilder? That explains all this I guess" and I playfully gestured at her. I still hadn't seen her all that well yet, her lower body was obscured under the table and the flowy blouse covered her upper body. "How'd you do?" Her face screwed up a bit with slight annoyance as I asked, before returning back to its vibrant natural state.

"Well..." she hesistated, looking down at the board but not seeing it, her mind on something else. "I don't know... I mean I got second place but I don't think I did as well as I should have or at least that's what the judges thought. It's a bit annoying, if I won I would have had an automatic qualifier back into the Olympia, but now I'll have to keep competing earning points I want to get in. Sorry, I won't bore you with the details."

"No, it's not boring at all. It's interesting actually, sorry you don't feel you did that well. Excuse my ignorance on the subject, though. Do the judges give feedback on how you can get better? And wow, the Olympia? That's the really big one? You've competed in it before?"

"Haha yea, it's the "big one". I've competed the last three years in the Figure division, I got 3rd each year." I gave an impressed nod upon hearing that. She looked fairly young, probably mid 20s, only a few years younger than me so it seemed pretty impressive. "But yea, the judges always give feedback if you ask for it, they want to help..." Then she sighed a bit before continuing. "They gave me the same feedback I've gotten in the last three shows. I'm getting too big for the division."

"Oh, isn't that the point of bodybuilding?"

She laughed again; she had a really cute laugh. There was something about her, she was confident, funny, and beautiful. She hadn't made a move in a while so she moved her knight hastily. It was a mistake; I'd be able to take it in a couple moves. The game wasn't important anymore though, I kind of just wanted to chat with this enchanting woman.

"No, its not just about size, at least not in this division. You have to have good conditioning, be proportional, have good posing, an aesthetic physique. We have to stay feminine too. A lot goes into it, but I feel like I check most boxes when I'm on. Like this weekend, I might have missed the mark just a bit. My conditioning is always good but it has been better. And my proportions could've been a little tighter. And I don't know... they might be right; I've been the one of the biggest ones on stage the last few shows and that's not really what they are looking for apparently." It was oddly refreshing hearing someone talk so honestly; I'd been trying to be more self-reflective when it came to my own game as well. Talking with Grace was easy, like running into an old friend. I checked her with my queen, it'd be checkmate in a few moves unless she found a creative sacrifice of one of her bishops.

"There are higher divisions you could go to, right?"

"Yea, physique and bodybuilding. I don't know... I'll probably end up jumping up. My coach always said I have the frame and genetics for bodybuilding. And I put on muscle relatively easily.... But jumping up was discouraged by my now Ex so I... I'm sorry, ss this weird that I'm spilling this all to some random person I just met. I don't mean to dump things on you." She made the wrong move in the game; it'd be checkmate in 3 moves. She seemed not to notice though.

"Ha no not of course. Trust me this is not the strangest encounter I've had on the Strip. I was playing a contortionist earlier and you don't even want to know how she was moving the pieces."  This got the biggest laugh from her; she had a warm look in her eyes as she looked at me.

"This game is over isn't it? You crushed me..." She looked over her shoulder, there was a group of similarly muscular people standing over by the fountains taking some pictures. There was a slender woman, fit but with little visible muscle being flanked by two big guys, all three flexing their biceps.

"Don't worry about it, you played pretty well for someone who doesn't really play."

"Can we play again?" she asked quickly "That was fun and my friends over there seem to be entertaining themselves."

"Yea of course. Wanna even the playing field a bit?"

"Sure, that was rough. How do we even the playing field?"

"I can take one of my pieces off of the board from the beginning and we can play from there."

"Can you beat me without one of your pieces? Yea sure let's do that"

"Well, I could probably beat you without my queen." I said it kind off hand, not meaning to insult, just being realistic. After I said it though I kinda regretted it, might have come off as a bit too cocky.

"Oooo ok Mr. Hotshot let's see that then." She started rummaging through her bag, leaning over to her right and thrusting her hand into her purse. Her left trap muscles bulged from her neck, the fabric being pushed from near her clavicle closer to her ear as she bent over. The right side of her top slid down her shoulder, if not for her delt acting like a roadblock the fabric would have slipped off. The movements made her shoulder look crazy; I'd never seen anything like it so up close. Densely packed with striated muscle, just bundles and bundles of muscle fibers were clear under her paper-thin bronze skin. If someone gave me a bow I imagine I could play her shoulder like a fiddle. Then she straightened up, pulled her shirt back to normal and opened up the protein bar that she had grabbed out of her bag. Call it mundane curiosity or something else that I couldn't put my finger on but for the first time I really was curious what she really looked like under her shirt and sweat pants. Besides, what lunatic wore sweat pants out on the Vegas strip. As I finished setting up the board, my curiosity got the best of me.

"What's with the sweatpants and long sleeves? Aren't you boiling?" I asked, as I moved my king pawn out to start the game.
She smiled a bright, knowing smile as she looked down at the board. "Haha, they are pretty light so I'm all right.... I just didn't feel like dealing with people gawking at me today. Or asking me to armwrestle". She smiled again at that last part and rolled her eyes a bit.

"Ahh, yea I can imagine that could get pretty old pretty quick." I was playing a pretty solid setup since I spotted her the queen, kind of just waiting to capitalize on mistakes.

"Ehhh I usually don't mind it. Most people are kind, and I get a kick out of a lot of reactions. But there are a lot of people out today and I'm in contest shape so I draw even more eyeballs when I'm like this. Besides, I'm depleted from my contest so I don't think I can take any condescending shit from people who don't think 'muscle belongs on a cute girl like you'" She did finger quotes and feigned a meathead voice.

I laughed "Ehh fuck em, I think it does belong on a cute girl like you"

"Thanks Prince Charming" She chirped sarcastically "Ugghh, how are you avoiding all my plans so easily"

The game continued for a few more minutes. I eventually was able to win a couple pieces and pawns and even the odds a bit. The rest was pretty trivial, without the big advantage I was able to finish her off in a dozen more moves or so. She kept fighting and concentrating the whole time though, not intimidated or down on herself when the odds began to shift in my favor.

"Damn, you are good at this game. Did you do well in your tournament?"

"Ha, yea I won it" I said, kind of bashfully.

"Wow, that's amazing, congrats. Are you like one of those Masters or something? Did you just hustle me?" Her pearly white teeth shone through her smile; her baby blue eyes bore into me. The contrast of her beautiful feminine features and her bronzed, ripped to the bone musculature was such a foreign sight. And I'd only gotten mere glimpses of this woman.

"I mean, I wouldn't call it hustling... but yea I'm a Grandmaster."

"Wow" she was feigning outrage, and getting pretty flirty. "A chess player beating a poor woman in the park and not telling her that he is a Grandmaster seems like the definition of hustling."

"Nah, no hustling here..." I paused, and found myself returning Grace's flirtatious tone as she looked at me bemused. "Grace, if I was hustling you, you'd be broke right now."

She laughed harder than I expected. "Well, I thank you for that then Ryan... And thanks for humoring me, but I think my friends are ready to go. Good luck with your chess, I'll have to follow your progress"

"Thanks Grace, I have to admit that was a lot of fun. I'll have to follow you too, whether that is in Physique or Bodybuilding". I was pierced again by that smile; it was soft against her dried-out features.

Then she turned away and bound toward her friends. That was going to be the last I'd see of this mysterious muscled minx.

.....

"GRACE" I shouted out when she was 50 or so feet away. She looked back over and cocked her eyebrows up. "You forgot something!" She told her friends to stay as she ran back over.

"What did I forget?" she asked quizzically, looking through her purse.

"You forgot to give me your number". I had no idea why I did it, I doubt we lived anywhere near each other and she seemed quite out of my league but something compelled me.

Her face brightened up as she took out a little scrap of paper and jot down her number.

"I'm in town till tomorrow, let's get dinner" I said as I clutched the scrap of paper. "I'll text you"

"It's a date" she giggled after I said it, told me to text her where and when and ran back off to her friends.

[Jayder]

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[wissen]

Female bodybuilders and chess - is awesome combination!

[phil123]

What will happen at the date. Hope to read soon.

[GreatJustice]

Great concept - glad you returned to give this story another go!

[ArkhamAsylum]

This is a great first part. I'm looking forward to the continuation.

[JohnMcClane]

Good start. There is some tangible energy between these two. Very nicely written

[wissen]

I really hope that Grace will improve her chess skills too

[biggerisbetter]

I love that opening! A top female bodybuilder and a nerdy chess player, looking forward to what you make out of that cocktail!

[phil123]

Great start and would like to read more.

[Jaguar]

Terrific start.  Very well written, extremely likeable characters, and a promising plot.  I'm anxious to read more !

[Jayder]

I didn't properly thank people for the support last time, its much appreciated, glad people like it. I haven't been writing much lately, the motivation to write and the time to write don't alway coincide, but I finished this next chapter. Hope people enjoy.

I texted her to meet me at 7:30 at one of the nice restaurants in the Cosmopolitan. I threw on a nice shirt and jacket and headed over there a few minutes early. When I got there I didn't see her so I headed to the bar to grab a drink. Grace had burrowed her way into my mind and I couldn't think of anything else. Everything about her was intriguing. She was funny, witty, kind, and had a vulnerability about her. Not to mention her body was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Just the glimpses I'd seen were enough to pique a strange curiosity in me that I did not know existed. I'd never even really seen a muscular woman, let alone been attracted to one before.

She continued to dominate my thoughts as I ordered a Lagavulin 16, because why not, right? As the bartender handed me my scotch, I heard her angelic voice behind me.

"Well, good evening Mr. Grandmaster".

"Good evening Ms. Figure pro" I said, as I turned around to face her. My eyebrows shot up again as I saw her standing there looking absolutely stunning. She was wearing a flowy two-piece dress, with long silky sleeves covering her arms. Her midriff was partially exposed, revealing two breathtakingly tight and defined abs. She was in heels which must have made her at least 6 feet tall, towering over my 5'7" self. And to top it all off she was absolutely gorgeous, her long blonde hair pulled back and her face radiating feminine beauty. Her eyes were piercing, her nose dainty, her cheek bones high and defined from her dieting phase.

"Wow, you look great. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Thank you, you don't look to shabby yourself." She beamed, cute dimples flanked a pearly white smile "It feels nice to dress up like this, I don't do it often enough." She did a cute little twirl in her dress, showing off a wide back and a firm looking bubble butt, they fabric clung to its contours majestically. "I'll have a white wine, please"
We grabbed her drink and headed over to be seated.

"This is a nice place" she said, as we were handed menus. Her eyes popped a bit as she looked at the menu. "Wow, its pricey..."

"Don't worry about it" I replied "It's my treat"

"O, you don't have to do that. We can split the check" But I insisted, and wouldn't take no for an answer. "Sorry, I hope this isn't a weird question, but do chess players get paid a lot?"

I cracked a smile and chuckled "No not weird at all... ehh between tournament winnings, appearance fees, sponsorships and help from the national team and donors I make a nice living"

"Hmmmm...." She pondered as she looked at the menu, before turning her big blue eyes up towards me "Like steak 'nice' or lobster 'nice'?"

"Like Surf and Turf 'nice'" I cracked back with a grin. "Get whatever you want, I did just win a decent chunk of change."

We spent the next hour talking and getting to know each other. She was infinitely easy to talk to and we hit it off right away. We seemed to have a lot in common. We were both near the peaks of our respective fields, both driven and determined but despite our youth an apathy was lurking. Grace was becoming disenchanted with her competitions and wasn't sure what her next step was going to be and I had sort of been spinning my wheels for a bit, not able to take that last leap up to world champion territory.

Grace was happy that she was no longer seeing her ex but felt a little out of place in Minneapolis, where she was living. She had moved out there a couple years back with him. I had grown up in Nebraska but lived in Chicago now and loved it there.

I ordered a roasted lamb rack and Grace did end up getting the surf and turf, which was a massive amount of food. Her outfit obscured most of her muscularity but as she grabbed her knife and cut through the steak I could see her forearm bunch-up again, the thick muscles danced rhythmically as she sliced through her ribeye. Then she dove in, devouring her plate.

"Sorry, this isn't so lady-like of me" She said, dabbing the side of her mouth with her napkin "I'm just always starving after competitions and this is honestly probably the best post-comp meal I've ever had"

"Ha, no need to apologize, you could roll around in mud and make it look lady-like. And come on, you deserve the break after how hard it sounds like the preps are" She had been describing what the dieting process was, and while I'd never be able to be a bodybuilder I quietly vowed never to try after hearing her talk about it.
The night went on and we continued to share in the wine and conversation. We talked about our lives, our dreams, our favorite TV shows and everything in between. Around 10, she regrettably had to wrap things up to catch her flight that was early the next morning. I walked with her over to her hotel room, feeling a bit sad that I might not see this girl again. We parted ways but both agreed that we'd stay in touch over text. Walking back to my hotel, I wasn't too hopeful but I figured why not try to stay in touch with her. You never know.

****
The next couple weeks we texted back and forth quite a bit. It was a quiet time for me, I had built a bit of a break into my schedule so my next in person tournament wasn't for about six weeks. In the meantime, I had a couple exhibitions planned but other than that I was mostly just training, preparing, and playing some online tournaments, which were getting more and more lucrative lately. Then one day after I had gotten back from a run, I got a call from Grace out of the blue.

"Hey" Her angelic voice greeted me, I forgot how much I missed just hearing her talk. I greeted her before she went on "So... I have a favor to ask?"

"Shoot" I replied

"There's this wedding that I was invited to in a couple weeks and its actually in Chicago, near you.... And I wasn't going to go because both me and my ex were invited and he will be there but I figured screw it, why not. Anyways, I don't really have anyone to go with and I'm sure he's gonna bring some dumb bimbo, so would you want to go with me?"

"Haha, so you want me to be your dumb bimbo?"

"No, no, no, its not like that. I had a lot of fun when we hung out. I'd really like for you to go with me, otherwise I probably won't go"

"I'm just messing with you, Grace. I'd love to go with you, it sounds like a ton of fun. You can come down to my place and get ready here, and then we can head over together."

"Great! Thank you, I can't wait" We spent another twenty minutes catching up before she let me go. One thing I was almost certain of though, was that I'd definitely be getting a good glimpse of her body. Summer weddings are no place for long sleeves.

Those two weeks went by excruciatingly slow, which was normally the opposite of how these down periods went for me and I found my mind was stuck on her more than I had anticipated during that time. But the day finally arrived and she showed up around 11 am, dropped off from the airport in an uber. She was running a bit late so she burst into the door all frazzled, holding her suitcase with her dress draped over her left shoulder. I had cleared out my bathroom upstairs so she could get ready in there, while I just grabbed my suit and got ready in my walk-in closet. She sprinted upstairs in a blur, I got a peak at two diamond hard, veiny calves powering her up the stairs two at a time.

About ten minutes later, while ironing my shirt I realized I forgot my tie in the bathroom. I walked over, knocked on the door, and called to Grace to see if she could grab it for me. She cheerily called back in affirmation. A second later the door opened and the sight that greeted me awakened something and almost put me on the floor.

Grace was leaning against the open door, a toothbrush sticking out the side of her mouth. Her hair was up and tied back in a ponytail and her makeup was lightly applied, making her look immaculate. While she had model looks, it paled in comparison to what was below. The hallway I was in wasn't lit well and the bright bathroom lights bathed her body in a glow that made her look as if she had just descended from the heavens.

She was wearing nothing but white Calvin Klein panties, knee high socks, and a grey sports bra with spaghetti straps, stretched tight against her rippling chest. She looked like Michelangelo carved her from marble. Hard, ripped muscles covered every inch of her body. Perfectly rounded delts with small veins spidering over the head and onto her biceps which looked sketched onto her even though her arms were resting at her sides. Thick lats tapered down to a small tight waist that sported a six pack that I could play hopscotch on. Her long legs were muscled to the brim but not too blocky. Her picture-perfect thighs were better illustrators of the different quad groups than an anatomy lesson could ever hope to provide. She didn't look quite as "emaciated" as she did after her contest but she was still very lean, ripped, and veiny as she casually leaned against the door.

Now remember, I wasn't exactly the hardcore gym type. Chess players didn't look like this. Really, I'd never been this close up to anyone in this good of shape. Sure, I'd seen big dudes before, much bigger than Grace, but her muscles were lean and aesthetic. Her physique had a flow and a... well grace to it. Her body was like a poem, each visible muscle fiber a clever turn of phrase that helped tie the whole thing together. It was breathtaking.

"Hmmm?" She asked expectingly after a second, the sound muffled by the toothbrush in her mouth.

"Uggghh... holy shit, Grace... ummm... can I have my tie?" pointing to the tie on the counter.

A smirk lit up her face, clearly amused by my reaction. She turned around, showing off a backside that was just as impressive as her front. She sauntered over to the counter, her meaty ass swaying as she walked. She spit out the toothpaste, rinsed her mouth and grabbed my tie.

"Here you are, sir" she said with a wink. "It's nice, matches my dress actually"

"Glad you like it, can't wait to be your arm candy" it wasn't the most charming but it was the best I had after Grace had just fried my brain.

I walked back to the closet with the same dumb perplexed look stapled to my face. My mind was so fixated on Grace's body that I didn't even notice the tent in my pants. This was going to be an interesting night.

I finished getting ready and headed downstairs to call an uber for us. I felt like I was looking good. Chess tournaments had pretty strict dress codes so I had no shortage of expensive, well-tailored suits.

Grace clacked down the stairs in her heels a few minutes later. She was wearing a stunning peach dress that fell just below her knees. The top left nothing to the imagination though as her hard delts and thick chest were on full display. Her long blonde hair cascaded down over her muscular traps.

"Wow, you look stunning." I said, looking up into her eyes. She must have been close to six foot in her heels, making my 5'7" self feel rather diminutive.

"You don't look too bad yourself" she said, standing in front of me and leaning down a bit to adjust my tie slightly and tighten it a bit. She smelled nice, like a late May stroll through a flower garden.

"Sorry about earlier" I said "Didn't mean to stare at you like that."

"It's ok, I'm used to it. Sometimes I mind them.... aaannd sometimes I don't" she said with a smile and tugged my tie one last time to straighten. "Don't worry, I didn't mind that one. All right, ready to go?"

The uber arrived a few minutes later and we made our way to a nice big church in the suburbs. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and tasteful. There were around 150 people there, many of the dudes looked like bodybuilders or lifters at the least, all bulky looking in their suits, it was definitely the biggest lineup of groomsmen I'd seen before. Nearly all the younger women there were slim and fit, it was one of the most impressive gatherings of women who could rock tight dresses that I'd ever seen. Grace stood above them in my eyes though, like an angel or a muscular Valkyrie.

During the short break we went with a close friend of hers, Cindy and her husband Jack to Starbucks. They were a bodybuilding couple, Cindy a bikini model and Jack a classical Physique competitor, though neither were professionals. They were both great and down to earth and we enjoyed some iced coffees during the break between the ceremony and the reception. Half of the conversation revolved around bodybuilding, competing, dieting and all that. Grace spent a good amount of time talking about her Las Vegas show and the reservations she had had about it. Jack was vociferously encouraging her to move up to physique or bodybuilding. He wasn't a top competitor but apparently he was a pretty successful coach so they talked ins and outs a bit. Since Grace broke up with her previous boyfriend she had been looking for a new coach and he was probably a good choice for her.

Conversation flipped from the bodybuilding world though to make me feel more included, though I didn't mind, peaking into a whole new world and seeing how they viewed things was interesting. Basically, the only thing I knew about bodybuilding came from seeing things about Arnold and some Olympia stuff.

Around 5 pm we decided to drive on over to the reception for the start of the cocktail hour. After we arrived I went and waited in line with Jack to get us some drinks as Grace talked to people she knew. The line was long so by the time I found her again she was in the corner talking to a big dude and a very petite woman. I walked from behind them and had a good view of Grace's back as I did. Every muscle was visible and looked carved from stone. As I looked closer the muscles actually seemed rather tense and flexed and her shoulders were hunched up a bit, sending waves up ripples through her back as she adjusted them. The big guy saw me approach from behind as Grace turned around.

"You must be Ryan" he said to me and reached out his hand to shake mine. As I grasped it he squeezed hard, intentionally hard and I clenched my teeth to try and prevent a look of pain from washing over my face. "I'm John. We were just leaving, just wanted to stop by and say hello, take care Grace." He said and ushered his lady friend out of the way.

Grace sighed heavily with a hint of exasperation; I could see her fist was clenched tight around the drink that I just gave her. Veins pulsed over her palm.

"Was that..." I started to say but she interrupted me before I could finish.

"Yes. My ex John." She said shortly and sipped her drink. She still looked tense.

"Thought so" I chuckled "He damn near tried to break my hand when he shook it."

"I'm sorry" she replied with a look of tenderness on his face before it turned stern again. "He's a douche."

"Well let's forget about him then" and I raised my glass and she clinked it for a cheers. Then we went over to another group of meathead looking people and she introduced me to some other friend of hers. She brightened back up immediately and after a while they opened the doors and brought us to our seats. The conversation at our table was good, the food was great, and the speeches were middling. After all that we hit the dance floor. Grace was an easy dance partner out on the floor and it was quite a sight seeing her ripped athletic body move to the beat of the music.

The clock was ticking towards eleven when Grace swam her way through the crowd and off the dance floor, beckoning me to follow her with a finger. I made my way through the mass—literally—of the crowd. I was threatening to be swallowed up by a dozen or so bodybuilders and powerlifters, when she thrust her hand out and pulled me off the floor. Her grip was firm and strong, her long bright pink fingernails gently pressed into my skin as she whisked me outside and onto the rooftop area adjacent to the dance floor.

She was giggling joyfully and dancing around in circles with a bright smile on her face, clearly intoxicated but not yet in a sloppy manner. Her arm was wrapped around mine and we swayed over to an isolated corner of the rooftop and fell silent for a second, looking out into at the beautiful city skyline. I breathed in happily, staring at the skyline at night was one of my favorite things about living here. After maybe thirty seconds, I glanced to my left at Grace. She was leaning against the railing and smiling sweetly at me. Her hands were under her chin supporting her head, causing her bicep to pop. Despite her nonchalance, a thick vein ran down the head of the muscle. My mind wandered for a second, what would it be like to feel that bicep? To caress it and feel it pressed up against me.

Then Grace broke my train of thought.

"I looked you up, you know?" She said sweetly but in a matter-of-fact way, slurring her words just a tad.

"Yea? And what'd you find out?"

"You're really good..."

"Ha, thanks... I guess" I said, breaking eye contact for a second.

"No, I mean it, I didn't realize you were thaat good. A top 10 player since you were 20. Won a bunch of tournaments, four-time US champion."

"Wow, you're going to make me blush" It was nice that she seemed to care. She grew a bit quiet next to me. Still towering over me in her heels, I could tell she was contemplating something as her face grew a bit quizzical. She started again after a few seconds.

"How come you never took the next step?" She had been looking down at the railing but now she stared down at me with her big blue eyes, a slight slur in her words.

"Hmm?" I asked while taking a sip of my Captain and Coke.

"Well... I skimmed a few articles about when you were younger. Saying you were a generational American talent. The next Bobby Fischer or something. Then you made it as a pro really young but you never really went up from there. I mean, people really seem to respect your game. The one article said you play like a genius at your best, but have never put it together to really be a serious contender for the World Championship, even though you have the talent to. So.... How come?"

"Hmmm....wow, well... can't say I was expecting that" I smiled a bit uneasily, the surprise showing in my face. I half expected her to pull back her question and change the subject. But she just stayed propped against the railing, arms bulging out and brushing against me now. Her questioning was tender though, no malice in her tone. Just earnest curiosity spurred on by a little liquid courage that made her ignore the normal signs that it may have been an awkward thing to ask.

"Well..." I rubbed my eyes for a second. "I-I-I guess I get complacent, you know?... You work so hard getting to the top then you sort of lose the fire a bit once you are there. Maintaining my current level of play takes work and effort, certainly, but improving from here when the margins are so tight is something else. Every little thing needs to be perfect and professional to really contend for the world title. I'm always a dark horse, sure, and I can win any tourney I enter but being number 1 takes a level of consistency that I'm not sure I have."

"That's nonsense" she said softly "You just need to surround yourself with people who will support and push you to be your best. You still want to be the best right?". She was right, I usually did a lot alone and when I did have coaches or training partners they never really held me accountable in the right ways.

I grinned a bit and chuckled, before growing more serious. "Yea, of course" I said and sighed.

"Well then, lets commit" she said firmly, turning towards me and taking my hands in hers. Then it dawned on me. She wasn't just talking about me. She may have felt a lot of what I had been expressing. She was also someone who made it near the top of her sport at a young age. Told by everyone that she was the next best thing, only to fall short in part because she never had anyone to truly support and push her.

"You will re-commit and try your best at taking the next step and I will do the same. I've decided I want to bulk up, move up classes and try to win the Ms. Olympia. And we can keep each other accountable and motivate each other."

I looked into her eyes and leaned up and kissed her. 

"Let's get out of here" she said as we broke away. I couldn't get to the car fast enough.

[supahdupahsu]

You write the best stories in the forum, will domestic muscle continue too?

[Jayder]

Thanks! Means a lot to hear that. Yes it will continue at some point. Not sure when but I still want it to go on. I have the next part outlined but this one was closer so decided to finish it up first.

[Wookey]

Wonderful work. Love a couple that works to bring the best out in each other K+++++

[dynamo248]

A truly exceptional piece of storytelling. I love how well-rounded and believable our two protagonists are. Grace and Ryan feel like real people with real motivations. I also love that Ryan is also exceptional in his own way despite being weaker (probably?) Than Grace.