"Fools Rush into the Gym"
a Short Story by Layne Smyth
Cover by bela04

Porter sat on a bench overlooking the Willamette river and smiled. It was the weekend and also his day off so he was looking to simply enjoy the lovely spring day that had graced Portland a few weeks earlier than normal. The trees were in bloom with pockets of pink, white and purple dotting the waterfront. Ducks splashed about the bank of the river while a few dogs gave chase. The sun was high in the sky, which meant that girls also came out of hiding from the winter.

And that was what brought Porter to the bench that day.

He had discovered a few summers ago that the lovely girls of Portland would use this particular part of the waterfront for their daily jogging excursions. This meant that girls of every shape, size and ethnicity would bounce along the path with small white buds in their ears while wearing next to nothing.

It was heaven for a young man that lived in a city where it rained so much that ladies could only show off some skin for three to four months. As such, he had to take advantage of this day as much as he could. Sure he felt a little creepy sitting there pretending to read a book as he fixated on the bounce of a blondes breasts that were held neatly up by a pink sports bra, but Porter didn't really care. He was twenty one and single, and his bed was typically shared by like minded girls who were only looking for the same thing he was: A night of raucous, anonymous sex.

Which is why Porter kept himself in the best shape possible, which required daily trips down to the gym in his building. Working out there was nearly as good as sitting on the bench watching the girls smile at him as they jiggled by, but he no longer slept with any girls in his building after one got a little too attached.

These girls? Well, he would be happy to take any of them over to his apartment for another workout.

"Excuse me?"

Porter nearly jumped off the bench from the shock of the question. Once he had regained his composure he looked behind him and saw something that made his jaw hit the pavement. A beautiful girl was looking at him with a pair of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. To say that he was transfixed by her eyes was saying something, as she was also wearing a sports bra that seemed to old two of the softest breasts he had ever seen.

"Um, yes?" Porter responded after realizing he had not said anything.

"My name's Shannon and I work over at the gym on Hall," she said with a big smile as she extended her hand. Porter took it in his own and took a moment to admire her as he did. She was blonde and much shorter than him, but looked like she spent as much time at the gym as he did. A black pair of leggings covered a long pair of legs, while a pink sports bra held her breasts above a toned belly.

"Porter," he again after a long moment of silence.

"Hi Porter, it's a pleasure to meet you," again her eyes dazzled him as her smile also sent shivers up and down his spine. "This is going to sound extremely strange, but I couldn't help but notice that you keep yourself in really good shape."

Was this girl hitting on him so openly? He was only wearing a pair of shorts and a polo, but he always made sure his shirts were tight enough to show off his pecs. "Well, it looks like you do too," Porter said with a big smile.

"Thanks, but I was wondering if you could help me out? I'm in charge of advertising among other things for the gym I work at, and I need another person to help with recruiting. We're a pretty upscale gym, so we're looking for people who really take care of themselves to help out." She was now sitting beside him, and Porter was doing his best to not stare at her breasts. "It would only be for the day, but I could set you up with a couple of free months at the gym," Shannon then blushed a little before continuing, "among other things."

Porter was beside himself. This girl was offering him a couple of free months at a really high end gym, and she looked like she wanted a piece of him as well. "Wow, I really see no reason not to help, and besides, it's my day off." He knew that this girl had him on the hook, but it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Really? Oh, that's great!" She stood up and jumped a little in the air as she clapped her hands, "Alright, can you come over now?"

"Sure," Porter said as he got up and began to follow her. While the walked off the waterfront Shannon continued to talk about what his tasks would be. She talked about handing out fliers, a couple of one on one sessions and a 5k she was organizing for that night. There were a lot of details being discussed, but Porter was having a hard time focusing on anything besides Shannon's firm ass in those leggings.

They soon rounded the corner on Hall and approached the gym. Porter had never seen it before, but everything about it looked top of the line. A large sign out front read "CO-AX Gym: Transform Yourself" and large windows allowed those walking by a glance of the good life. For today that meant at least a dozen girls who could be lingerie models riding bikes in various shapes of clothing, none of which left much to the imagination.

"I see that you've noticed our ladies," Shannon said with a grin as she held the door open for Porter.

"Well, they're pretty hard to miss," Porter added as he shot a grin back.

Shannon rolled her eyes playfully and motioned for him to follow. As they walked through the gym she pointed out various services that they offered, but for the second time Porter was more concerned about looking at all the talent that was on display. Sure, there were plenty of guys around, but CO-AX was filled to the brim with lovely young ladies working out.

"How have I never heard about this place," he asked as he followed Shannon up some stairs.

"Even though we have a huge presence on the street, we get most of our admissions through our recruitment program," she added as she continued to give him the tour. The second floor had the same mix of girls to guys, only this time Porter began to recognize some of the faces.

"Holy shit! That's David Bravery!" Porter whispered excitedly to Shannon. David was a local celebrity who was a star of a cable show that was filmed in Portland.

"Yes, and we also have many local professional athletes, as well as some big name recruits from Oregon and Oregon State here." This opened Porter's eyes to all of the celebrities walking around, including local anchors and even the Mayor.

"How much does a month cost here?" Porter asked incredulously.

"One thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine dollars," Shannon said as she opened a door to a room filled with girls performing yoga, "and we're told we're worth every penny." Shannon knew her timing was a little more than perfect as Porter looked into the room and saw a dozen girls performing downward dog, and it was incredible.

"What do I have to do to enroll here?" Porter asked in a daze, before Shannon took him by the arm and walked him over to a small office. Inside was a tiny desk at the center and the walls all had windows that looked out into the gym. There was a small stack of papers that were stapled together sitting on top of the desk that Shannon sat at.

"All you have to do is look over this paperwork and sign it, that's all," Shannon said as she took a red pen from off the table and handed it to Porter.

Porter felt the pen in his and tried his best to look over the documents, but there was an Asian girl right outside the office that was doing some squats. With each bend of her waist Porter watched as her ass extended and stretched against the tiny shorts she was wearing, each time he wished that the strain would be too much and they would pop right off.

"Great, so I'll walk you over to Jenny who will get you all sorted out," Shannon said as she took the papers and looked them over. Porter was amazed to see that he had somehow signed and dated the form while checking out the squatting girl, but he figured there would be nothing incredibly strange on the contract he had just blindly signed.

How incredibly wrong he was.

"This is Jenny," Shannon said with a smile after walking Porter through another part of the gym, "and she'll get you all set up. Thank you again for doing this, Porter, and I hope to see you tonight at the 5k!" She winked at him and then bounced off back into the gym. He was now left alone with a girl that rivaled Shannon's beauty, only in very different ways. Jenny had long red hair pulled into a ponytail that cascaded around an innocent face. The rest of her body was anything but innocent, with big curves wrapped around firm muscles. Typically he wasn't interested in girls like her, but Jenny's strong body also dripped with pure sexuality.

"So, you're our new recruiter?" Jenny asked cordially as she extended a hand.

"Yeah," Porter replied as he winced in pain at the force Jenny put into her handshake, "and I'm looking forward to it." He looked around the room and saw that it looked out to the gym, only there seemed to be no one around at that second.

"Is that so?" She asked with her head cocked to the side. "I figured a guy like you wouldn't be too interested in the job, unless you really just wanted a look inside the girls locker room."

"Oh, is that possible? I'm just messin with you," he quickly added as the joke didn't seem to land. He just stood there a little uncomfortably as Jenny looked him over like he was missing something, but then she shrugged and walked over to the door and closed it.

"So, like the paperwork said, you'll have a little choice with the final product."

"Oh," he added, "yeah, totally." Porter actually had no idea what she was talking about, but felt it was just best to go along with it. There was no way that he was going to miss out on working out at this gym, so going with the flow was the name of the game.

"Alright," Jenny said as she flicked a switch causing the windows to frost over and the room to go black, "let's get started." Porter tried to steady himself in the darkness, but as soon as he caught his balance he was blinded by a bright light coming from one window. He shielded his eyes, and once enough time had passed he looked up to see a lineup of naked girls was being projected onto one side of the room. "So, do any of these choices jump out at you?"

Porter could hear Jenny, but it felt like she was talking from very far away. "Um," he said as he looked at the group of naked girls. He felt a little uncomfortable knowing Jenny was in the room with him, and he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be doing. "Well, that brunette is pretty hot."

The brunette in question was about five foot six with curly hair pulled into a ponytail. She looked like she was white with some Latin blood in her, but it was her big blue eyes that caught his attention, not to mention her perky breasts.

"Yeah, she's a stunner," Jenny said as the other girls on the screen faded away and the brunette was brought front and center. "So, are you happy with her proportions, or would you like to make any changes?"

"Um, changes?"

"Changes, Porter. You know, smaller... bigger?"

Porter looked at the girl who had a well proportioned body, but he was a weak man and there was always something men like him wanted. "Well, I guess her breasts could be a little bigger?"

"Typical request, but it can be done."

Porter then watched as the girl on the screen shifted slightly as her perky breasts grew. "Wow, that's incredible! Can you make her ass a little bigger?"

"Sure," Jenny said from what seemed a great distance away.

"Damn, that ass is banging now."

"So, are you happy with her body?"

"Yeah, that's amazing," Porter said as he looked her over again. The screen flickered for a second and soon the brunette was wearing a pair of silver workout shorts with a white sports bra. Her breasts looked even better than before, and Porter began to find his pants tightening.

"Okay, let's talk about personality."

"What?" Porter asked.

"Some people find the process to be a little easier if they make some mental changes, but everyone is different."

He didn't even know where to begin with what Jenny was saying. Then it dawned on him that this might be some kind of virtual reality thing, where he gets to make the avatar and then interact with her. The thought was enticing, but he still needed some guidance. "So, give me some examples."

"Well, some guys want her to go along with what happens, you know, to not really question the changes." Jenny paused for a moment before she continued, and her voice had a droll quality to it. "Some guys even like to have her to have a heightened sex drive, but they often regret it."

"Why would some guys regret that?"

"Well, one of our recruiters ended up having sex all night with multiple partners, and that can get old real fast."

"The hell it can," Porter chuckled. "Okay, make her accept what is happening to her and give her that heightened sex drive."

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked from her far away place.

"Yeah, and make her a little flirty. You know, make her a tease."

"What?" Jenny asked with genuine shock.

"Yeah, I want her to be a little innocent, but a real beast in the sheets. Is all of that possible?" There was a long pause as Porter looked over the image of the brunette and thought of what he would do with her body. "Jenny, is that possible?"

"Yeah, but that means you need to verbally agree to section B, sub clause 858."

"I agree," Porter said dismissively as he rubbed his hands together.

"Porter... I need your full name followed by I agree," Jenny said with some trepidation.

"My name is Porter Leland Powell and I agree."

"So be it," Jenny said before the room began to lighten. At first Porter thought that it was just the lights coming back on, but they just got brighter and brighter. He tried to cover his eyes, but it seemed that the lights were actually engulfing his entire being. Breath escaped his lips in quick bursts as he called out for help, but no sound left his mouth. All he wanted to do was scream, and then it was all over.

"Holy shit," she said as she tried to catch her breath. She looked down at her arms and saw that they were covered in sweat. She also saw beads of sweat slowly rolling down her ample cleavage, and that's when it his her. "What the hell!?" Her body was no longer her own, but that of the buxom brunette that was on the screen.

"Porter, I need to you to calm down," Jenny said as she walked over and took her by the shoulders.

"I... I'm a girl..."

"I know you are, Porter. Remember, you agreed for this to happen." Jenny was talking in soothing tones, and it met Porter's ears with the desired effect.

Porter's body relaxed and her breathing began to slow. "I... I forgot that I wanted this," she said as she continued to get her breathing under control. She tried to remember asking to be changed into a woman, but everything in her head was getting foggy.

"I want you to come over here and sit down, Porter." Jenny asked softly as she walked her over to a chair. "Now, I need you to focus on my voice. I want to focus on remembering what led you here."

"I... I was at the waterfront when Shannon approached me for help, and then I came here and signed the papers..." The sound of the voice coming out of her mouth was both at one moment foreign and in the next natural. It was the same feeling she had with her own body. Each breath caused her new breasts to rise and fall, yet each breath made everything a little clearer. "I signed up for the recruitment program and chose this body..."

The words didn't feel true, but she couldn't seem to think of a reason of why they would be false. She felt that she was waking up from a dream, only she was beginning to suspect that Porter was the dream and that she was someone else entirely.

"What's my name," she asked as she looked up at Jenny.

"Your name is whatever you want it to be."

She thought about what Jenny said for a moment and then closed her eyes. She pictured her new body, and then she thought about all the things her new body could do. At once she was inundated with erotic images of her body covered in sweat while others bent their own bodies to her will. She felt the rush and pleasure that each movement made, and she felt her cheeks suddenly blush at the raw sexual energy of it all.

"Hayden," she said in a whisper, "I think my name is Hayden."

Jenny smiled down at her and helped her to her feet. "I think that is a lovely name, Hayden. Now, are you feeling a little better?"

Hayden thought about the question. She actually felt better than she thought she would, but then again she had asked to make the process smoother. "I feel good, Jenny. I don't really know how all of this happened, but it feels better the more I move," she added as she stretched out her arms and legs. "This body is incredibly flexible for being so..."

"Curvy?" Jenny asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah," Hayden said as her cheeks reddened, "I never would have thought it would feel this good to be a girl."

"It's great that you enjoy it since you agreed to sub clause 858, because there's no going back on that one." Jenny chuckled as she said it, still amazed that a guy like Porter would ever agree to it.

"What was that clause again?" Hayden asked as she dealt with dueling emotions in her head.

"Are you serious? The sub clause states that any excessive mental changes may make the changes permanent."

"Oh," Hayden said dismissively as she brought her hands up to feel her new breasts, "they're so soft."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to explore your new body later," Jenny said with a little eye roll, "but for now we're going to send you out on the waterfront to hand out some flyers. Remember that you get a 25% finders fee for each new admission, so don't waste your time on guys who can't afford it..."

Jenny continued to talk, but Hayden was too busy bending and stretching to pay any attention. While she brought her leg up and over her head she heard something about a finders fee, as well as some company guidelines, but it wasn't until Jenny talked about fraternization that Hayden snapped to attention.

"...private encounters are okay before admission, but recruiters are required to go through Shannon for any further activities they pursue."

"So, what," Hayden asked with no worry whatsoever, "we can have sex with the new clients before, but not after?"

Jenny looked at Hayden again like she was missing something, and then shook her head. "Sex? We just won't pay you for any private workouts before admissions. Afterwards you'll receive the agreed upon 35% for each private workout with the clients. It's all there in the paperwork," Jenny added knowing that Hayden probably didn't read a word of it.

Shannon had a way of bringing new recruiters in and pulling the wool over their eyes, but she never forced anyone to do something against their will. Most new recruiters worked for a day or two before reverting back to a guy, but there were always some idiots who were too busy looking at the ladies in the gym to pay attention. This one in particular had set himself up to be a vivacious little firecracker who was sure to be popular.

"Great, as long as I get to do what this body was made for," Hayden said with a knowing smile.

"Again, that's all up to you. We don't condone having sexual relations with the clientele, we just ask that the girls keep Shannon in the loop."

"Hey, is everything..." It was Shannon checking in on them, and her eyes lit up when she saw Hayden. "Oh my God, is that you Porter!?"

"Well, it's Hayden now," she said as she got up and walked over to Jenny.

"Well you look absolutely stunning! God, I love that hair!" They then chitchatted about the changes before Jenny spoke up.

"She agreed to 858," Jenny said with some apprehension.

"Really?" Shannon asked Jenny who slowly nodded before looking to Hayden. "Hayden, is this true? Did you agree to 858?"

"Yeah, I totally did! I can't wait to get to work!"

Shannon had a confused look on her face and looked back and forth between Hayden and Jenny. "Well, I was thinking that you were just going to be a short termer, but I'm more than happy to have you come on full time if that's what you want." Hayden nodded emphatically and bit her bottom lip. "Okay, well can you find your way downstairs to the locker rooms?"

"Sure," Hayden said although she really had no idea.

"Okay, well go ahead and head down there and ask for Bree, she'll get you all set up."

"Thanks!" Hayden shouted as she jumped up and down again before running out the door. She felt like it was the first day of the rest of her life, and she was more than excited to get going. As she made her way through the gym she saw that a good part of the guys working out had their eyes on her, and one in particular was giving her a good hard look. She blushed and tried to play innocent, but as a the very rugged looking man walked closer to her she felt a deep fire growing within her. There was no telling what thoughts of her old life that fire would consume, but she was beginning to care less and less.

"Hi, I'm Gary," the man said as he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his naked chest. Hayden noted how his pecs slightly bounced as he flexed his muscles, and she felt the fire burning even hotter.

"Hayden," she said with a shy smile as she took him by the hand.

"Do you think that it's wise to put her to work so soon?" Jenny asked Shannon as they both looked down on Hayden and Gary. "I mean, you weren't here for the process, Shannon. She's practically a high functioning sex toy at this point."

Shannon watched as Hayden took Gary's hand and pulled him away. "There's no knowing exactly what she will be, and we can't very well change it now if we wanted to." A part of her felt bad that she was part of the process that led Porter to where he was now, because she knew that Jenny was right. Most of her new recruiters just flirted with new guys to get them in, but a few had crossed the line and had sexual relations after a couple of days. "We'll just have to monitor her and hope for the best," she paused as Jenny got a call, then continued, "but with that body she could do very well for us."

"...Okay," Jenny said as she got off the phone, "and I think that you're right. As we speak our new recruiter is in Massage Room B with a client and sounds of... well you know what I'm getting at."

Shannon looked shocked. "No... Already?" Jenny nodded and placed the phone on the desk. "That's... I just can't believe it."

"Should I have Denise go in and break it up?"

Shannon thought about it as she looked out at the gym. "No, just make sure that Gary is charged for a personal workout session, and I'll have a talk with our new recruiter about gym etiquette." She watched as Jenny nodded before picking up some papers and walking out of the room.

"God," Shannon said before taking a long sigh, "how can one man be so stupid."

Then she chuckled a little while thinking about the amount money that her foolish new recruiter was going to bring in, and she didn't feel quite so bad.