Ch. 37: Press

-Mason-

"Why did you pick such an early time?" I questioned between sips, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. We'd settled down at one of the nearby tables while we finished our smoothies, opting to take it easy despite his initial complaints about wasting time. Somehow, I'd even managed to get some snacks in the kid, which meant today was off to a great start.

"It's almost four," Bennett refuted while easily accepting another piece of my granola bar, too busy pouting up at me to think much of it.

"You know what I mean," I muttered softly before signaling for him to eat it, nodding in approval when he reluctantly complied. He did roll his eyes, but that was to be expected. "Wait a second... you didn't skip work because of me, right?"

He suddenly lowered his gaze, releasing a suspiciously sheepish chuckle before moving to take a long sip of his smoothie. Damn it.

"Bennett..."

"Hmm?" he replied mid-sip, feigning ignorance. "No. That would be... dumb."

Ah.

I tiredly rubbed at my temple while reconsidering our plans, wondering whether he'd be forthcoming if this led to any negative repercussions for him. Which, the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed.

I'd briefly tried to sway Bennett away from such a conflicting timeslot over the phone, but he'd eagerly doubled down that the afternoon worked just fine. Knowing him, it was more likely he'd been too nervous to correct himself after suggesting the wrong time, but I hadn't really thought much of it at the time. Though, clearly, I should have. "We can always reschedule, y'know? I can just wait until—"

Bennett stubbornly shook his head, finally meeting my gaze once more. The determination was as amusing as always, fervently present despite the triviality of the situation. "A co-worker is covering my shift today," Bennett assured me, forcing a weak smile.

"Oh, I see," I muttered, recalling the co-worker from earlier.

"Yes, so it's fine... right?"

I hid a smile behind another sip, caving with a small shrug. He seemed quite convinced, so all I could do was let it be. "As long as you don't get into any trouble," I pointed out, to which he hurriedly nodded his head in agreement.

"It'll be fine?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

Bennett grumbled at that. "Telling you."

I nodded slowly while reaching into my pocket, tsking under my breath. "Okay, good."

For now, we could continue.

"What's that?" Bennett asked as I pulled a small notepad out, likely unaware as to how much pre-planning had gone into today. Hopefully he'd humor me, at the very least.

"I just have... a few questions," I explained, flashing a sheepish smile that was hopefully not all teeth.

Bennett gulped.

---

"S-so, where do we start?" Bennett asked curiously, looking around apprehensively as we finally entered the main weight room. After I'd finished bombarding him with questions and determined the best path forward, we' warmed up with some cardio and light stretching, most of which required no instruction on my part.

Still, Bennett was trailing closely behind me as I guided us to the back. He was acting surprisingly shy despite working here, pacing about with all the nervous energy of a newborn pup. It was adorable, yet he did seem ready to bolt at any moment.

"Hey, you're alright," I murmured while guiding him through the past the occupied machines, resting my hand against the small of his back and coaxing him forward. "C'mon. We're almost there."

With the way his work schedule typically panned out, something told me he probably didn't frequent this part of the gym during such busy hours. At least not now. And boy was it busy, most equipment already in use, the large room bustling with life. Aside from the faint sound of music pouring from the scattered speakers that hung from high across the walls, there was the persistent clink of metal against metal, everyone wrapped up in their own bubbles of productivity.

Still, it was intriguing to see him glance around so worriedly, as if he didn't know this machinery better than most people here.

I frowned at the mere reminder, wondering whether he was truly alright with the workout routine I'd conjured up for today. Sure, we had already discussed the sets in detail to ensure everything was as efficient and realistic as possible, but that didn't make it any easier to stop worrying.

Perhaps he was rubbing off on me.

While I was certainly hoping to bring some needed structure to his routine, I was well aware that there wasn't much I could actually teach. I'd been pleased, but not surprised, when he immediately understood the purpose of all of the exercises I suggested; I'd watched in fascination as he instinctively ran his fingers across the targeted muscles for each one as we went down the list, as if he were recalling some kind of training.

"Ready?" I asked as we found ourselves near the back, which was thankfully a bit quieter. I signaled towards the machine beside us, patting the side of it enthusiastically. "We should get started."

---

"I—I think we should take another break," Bennett suggested while leaning his head back on the chest press' headrest, wearily gazing up at me from where he was melting on the bench. In the past hour and a half, we'd made some great progress. But it definitely hadn't been a walk in the park.

I nodded my head in agreement, handing him his water bottle and the towel he'd brought along. "How are you holding up?"

"Could be better."

I grinned. "With time, right?"

Still, aside from a few small hiccups, we'd managed to get through the proposed routine quite successfully. We'd settled on prioritizing chest and triceps today, which had worked out well enough.

And sure, this was technically not supposed to be our final exercise, but I'd had to switch some plans around to accommodate the shifting crowd. For one, I'd opted for substituting the bench press with chest press when I realized we'd need to push that one 'till the very end.

Bennett had great form, but I could tell he wasn't particularly used to such an intense routine. And as carefully as I'd planned to spot for him, it simply wasn't worth the risk. The same muscle groups were more or less targeted, though the machine assistance did reduce the engagement of stabilizing muscles. It wasn't a perfect replacement, but Bennett seemed relieved when I first suggested it. So, we settled on that.

After a short break, I nudged him. "Ready?"

Bennett pouted up at me, flashing those big brown eyes like a loaded weapon. "I—I don't know."

Ahh, that wouldn't do.

"You're doing great, dude," I praised him while patting Bennett's shoulders, chuckling when he grumbled out a faint thanks in response. "Just a bit more, alright? A few more sets and we're done."

"Can't," he breathed out tiredly, clearing his throat against the back of his hand. "Just kill me now, Mason."

I chuckled in response, knowing fully well Bennett still had a bit more in him. I couldn't say I'd gone too easy on him when picking out the exercises, but I'd certainly been keeping track of his progress throughout, ready to pull the plug if at all necessary. But he was still doing good. Otherwise, I'd be the one dragging him out of here. "Sorry, I can't do that. I'd very much prefer you alive."

"Fine. Just knock me out then," he grumbled instead.

"You're doing better than Eric, if that helps," I offered with a smirk.

Bennett shrugged while averting his gaze, clearly not believing me. "Right."

"I'm serious," I continued, gazing down at him curiously. "I had to shorten Eric's sets like twice just so he'd survive the day. I practically had to carry him out on a stretcher."

He tried not to smile at my weak attempt at a joke, though the hint of a grin still peeked through. "F-fine. I'll try."

Fifteen minutes later, he was tiredly wiping the sweat away with a small towel, clearly done for the day. Still, he'd managed to get through all three sets. I did burst out laughing when I noticed him sitting there afterwards with the small towel covering his entire face, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

Though, thankfully, he was far too out of it to hold it against me.

"Hey," I chuckled softly while nudging him, keeping an eye out for anybody that might be waiting for the equipment.

"Gimme a minute," Bennett muttered weakly, groaning softly before slowly shifting the towel off his face, at least enough to reveal his eyes. He frowned up at me, blinking slowly. "Morning."

"M-morning?" I asked incredulously, sighing fondly at the exhausted kid in front of me. I reached down to nudge his shoulder, though my hand somehow found its way north. I gently stroked his cheek, rubbing my thumb against the sweaty skin. "You did a good job."

"Yeah?"

I grew still at the abrupt realization that his eyes were solely fixed on me, far more aware than just a few moments prior. "Y-yes," I confirmed hesitantly as the brat leaned into my touch, releasing a shaky breath at the way his gaze seemed to bore into mine, challenging for something unspoken. "Why are you nuzzling into my hand, huh?" I muttered, my voice shakier than I would've preferred.

"M'not. Just tired," was his quiet reply.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading! Nobody better clock me on any terms, though; I haven't properly weight trained in like a decade. Also, I launched a Patreon where I'll be sharing early access to new RUSH and FRICTION chapters (no worries; I'm still posting them here on regular update days!) and providing exclusive access to draft versions of some of my older stories not currently available on here (that were unpublished). Feel free to check it out! :)