Summer Bulking
#1 of Atlas Stories
It's summertime and Atlas is ready to bulk up in his own special way.
"Okay, Jo," Atlas said as he and the kangaroo approached the changing rooms at the secluded beach, "I gotta warn you, I might look a lot different without much clothes on."
Jo raised an eyebrow while scratching a spot behind his collar. "Oh yeah? What, you ripped or something?"
The zebra shook his head, trying to think of how to explain without sounding like a complete mental case. "It's kind of hard to explain. I'm just bigger than I look."
"I get what you mean." Jo's muzzle split open into a toothy grin. "You got a package on you."
Atlas rolled his eyes. "No," he started to say, then realized he did have a large package when he was undressed. "I mean, yes but..." He then gave up, sighing. "You'll find out. Just wait right here, okay?"
"I still don't know why you couldn't have just worn your swim trunks." He looked at Atlas, the zebra clothed in blue jeans, walking shoes, and a t-shirt which fit loosely on his thin frame. "You could've saved a lot of time just changing at home."
I could have, Atlas thought, but I didn't want to cause a panic. "I'm just body shy, that's all."
Jo chuckled. "Hurry up, then," he said. "I want to get in some swimming before the beach gets too crowded."
Atlas promised he would hurry, wondering just how he was going to explain the difference in his appearance. I guess it's like jumping in a cold pool. Just get it over with, already.
Atlas entered the changing room, immediately feeling claustrophobic from the cramped quarters. He struggled to keep his balance as he took off a shoe, hopping on one foot.
The loose shirt was now snug as his body reacted to his exposed foot, his skinny frame now filled out with lean muscle. The ceiling was a few inches closer as he also grew in height, his jeans now revealing his shins.
He debated taking off the black arm bands which encircled his once-scrawny biceps, but chose to keep them on. It would help keep things under control. He reached behind his back and pulled up his shirt, which caused his now-exposed lats to widen as his body gained more mass. He never understood how the curse displaced his weight when he wore clothes, but it did. Now his mass returned with a vengeance.
He didn't need a mirror to know how he looked. He had solid, round pectorals, a six pack of abdominal muscle, wide shoulders and cannonballs for biceps. The larger he grew, the more sensations returned to him. The numbness left his body while he tilted his head to the left, indulging in the feel of that thick neck flexing.
He looked down at his pants, then looked up at the ceiling, which was now scant inches away from his muzzle. Well, best get this over with, he thought, unzipping the fly of his jeans.
*
What's keeping him? thought Jo as he checked his watch. He debated going in to check up on Atlas when his ears picked up a creaking noise from the changing room, like a great weight was about to crack the floor.
Only the floor wasn't the first thing to crack. The sides of the changing room burst open as a pair of enormous hands broke free on either side of the structure, followed by a huge zebra head emerging from the roof.
It took Jo several seconds to comprehend what he was seeing. It was Atlas, but giant! The remains of the changing room fell from his mountainous body when the zebra stood up from his crouch. He shyly looked down at Jo as he adjusted his speedo, which stretched out to cover the bulge of his crotch, then adjusted the armbands which still encircled his enormously thick arms.
"Hi," he said, waving down at the kangaroo cloaked in the giant shadow and barely taller than his shin.
Jo swallowed the lump forming in his throat before saying "That... is some serious kaiju action there."
"I told you I was bigger than I look," Atlas said.