Inflate Your Ego

This is just the first chapter while I work out how posts like this work. There is no alcohol, drugs, or f-bombs in this chapter but there are in later chapters, thus the rating of 18+. If not for the guidelines specifying no "full f-bombs" in the 13+ and below categories, I'd have put it in 13+.

Chapter 1

         Luther looked himself over in the mirror, grinning as he raised his arm over his head to check out the striations of his lats and side abs. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he turned and struck a chest pose, flexing as hard as he could.
         A slow clap broke him out of his focus. Looking behind him in the mirror, he saw his friend, Jason, standing there, dressed in his regular clothes. “Very nice big guy. Now go get changed. Fast. You said you wanted to do a QUICK posing session 20 minutes ago and I have a doctor’s appointment in half an hour that I will not miss just because of your ego.”
         Luther grinned at his friend. “Ego, schmego. I have a right to be proud of this,” he gestured down his body.
         “Dude, not saying you don’t have a right. No one knows the work you’ve put in better than me after all, but if you’re not changed and ready to go in the next ten minutes, then you’ll be getting extra cardio trying to avoid the rain on way home.”
         “All right, all right. I’m going now. Be out in a few.”
         Jason raised an eyebrow at him as he walked past, grabbing his gear from the workout bench.
         He rubbed his hands over his abs and chest as he pulled off his shirts, gazing the entire time into the mirror across the way.
         His self-worship was interrupted as he heard two of the other gym goers talking a couple aisles over. He recognized their voices as two of the older, more serious gym goers even though he’d never spoken to them himself. He didn’t talk to many other gym goers. Why should he when he’d built his body up without anyone’s help since before high school?
         “Lots of young’uns today.” One said, a heavy southern accent slurring his words slightly.
         “No more than usual.” The other responded.
         “The usual guy by the mirror though. He looked extra lean today, you notice that?”
         “Yeah. The kid’s made progress. It’s hard to believe he’s the same kid who started out a beanpole teen.”
         Luther beamed at the praise the men were unknowingly giving him.
         “A shame about his ego. If he put that mirror time into further trainin’, he’d be huge by now.”
         He grunted, slamming his locker shut.
         A bushy bearded guy looked around the lockers.
         “Speak of the devil.”
         “The egomaniacal devil who doesn’t train enough.” Luther shot back.
         “Oh, come on. You know you have worked more than hard enough, especially if you heard everything we just said.”
         “I spend to much time in front of the mirror. Isn’t that what you said?”
         The other guy stepped out from behind the lockers, buttoning up the last button on his dress shirt. “And if you didn’t, you’d be huge. You got potential boy. It took us twice as long to get to half of where you’re at. Take pride in that and keep working, not admiring. You’ll go places if you keep up the work.”
         Luther mocked them under his breath as they left.
         “Don’t listen to those old farts.”
         Luther spun around. A tall guy, few years older than Luther with slightly less muscle leaned against the sinks.
         “Sure, they put in the work, but they ain’t got the genes the way you do. You’re in another league from them and they know it.” The guy’s voice calmed his fury.
         “Well, they aren’t entirely wrong. If I pushed myself more instead of posing more, I’d probably have a few more pounds on me by now.”
         “You need practice for when you go on stage.”
         Luther scoffed. “No thanks. I may have an ego, but I’m no exhibitionist. I do this for myself.”
         “Ah. A grower, not a shower, eh?”
         Luther scowled at him. “Screw you dude. I don’t even know you.”
         “Name’s Dakon.” He threw a two fingered salute.
         “Dagon? Isn’t that a Lovecraft god or something?”
         Dakon scowled. “That man! Why did I…” he took a deep breath. “It’s DaKON, not Da-GONE. Never mind. Anyways, I didn’t mean to get personal. Just trying to figure out who you are and I get it. Going on stage with everything out for the world to see isn’t for everyone. Heck, I get around and I HATE being in the public eye.”
         “Do you have a point? I need to get out of here before my friend leaves me to walk in the rain.”
         Dakon held up his hands. “Just saying I get you. You want to be big but you don’t care about anyone else. And you know what? I admire that, but I do think you should appreciate the praise others give you more as well.”
         Luther turned back to his locker. “You just said not to listen to others. So do I listen or not?”
         “That’s really up to you, but it doesn’t hurt to still accept praise when given, in fact, I’ll help you out some.”
         An echo sounded as if they were in a giant cave when he snapped. Shivers went up Luther’s spine as the sound washed over him.
         “What the hell was…” He dropped off as he turned back around but found no one there. The locker room fell silent as he looked around but found no one.
         “Get ahold of yourself. You’re letting some stranger freak you out. Just get changed and get out.” He mumbled as he pulled on his jeans.
         Jason glared at him as he climbed into the car. “There you are! I was about to… Everything alright?”
         Luther looked around through the windows but only saw a couple of people heading into the gym. “Yeah. Yeah. Everything’s fine.” He mumbled as he clicked the seat belt.
         Raising an eyebrow, Jason pulled the car out of the parking lot, windshield wipers at max in the downpour. As the lights flashed over the building, Luther thought he saw Dakon standing against the building but disappeared as the windshield wipers moved over him. Jason looked over, brow furrowed, as Luther dropped his head into his hands.