Headache

The sudden crackle of thunder brought Chris from his wayward thoughts, eliciting a jump in surprise. Looking at the digital clock on the wall, he sighed in frustration. Getting up from his chair, he felt the tightness in his back that made him wonder how long he'd been hunched over the counter. 'Long enough.', he thought to himself, raising his arms above his head and arching his back to stretch out his spine.

Chris was the front counter attendant and part-time class instructor for Fitness Den, a chain of gyms that cater to mainly Alpha and Beta clients. On occasion, they would get the rare but ambitious human seeking heavier weights, or extreme sport adrenaline hit.

Reaching down, he opened the counter drawer, searching for the front door and locker room keys, knowing they'd be lost somewhere in there with the rest of the junk that was shoved in during the business day.

Rifling through and swatting papers and loose post-it notes around, he growled, mentally scolding himself, and whispered, "I need to remember to get a keyring!".

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed loudly, finding the locker room key with its yellow silicone capping. Opening the trash-filled drawer a little further, Chris rummaged some more, pulling most of the contents and dumping them on the floor. Looking down at the mess, he snickered ungracefully and mumbled, "that's a problem for future me". The displacement of crap certainly worked as the final key was now within his grasp.

Stepping over his newly created mess pile, Chris emerged from behind the counter and walked towards the front door. Looking through the glass as he inserted the key, it was apparent the weather was about to take a turn for the worse, and Chris was now in a race against time to beat the downpour.

Locking the door at the end of the day brought a sense of sweet relief. Pressing his head against the glass, he sighed and said, "what is an Omega like me doing in a place like this?" his breath fogging up the glass.

Being an Omega male around so many Alphas every day, watching them exert themselves, sweat, and grunt was not ideal.

Initially, the gym catered to humans, but the clientele quickly changed when the franchise took over the location. Of course, Chris could have left and moved on to another gym, but he didn't have the confidence to take that risk.

It's not like he had anything to worry about. Due to air deodorizers, colognes, and most soaps, the prospect of his scent being picked up was extraordinarily low. Not only that, but at 27 years old, Chris was in peak physical condition and, from appearances, would be more comparable to an Alpha. Most made that assumption based on his looks, and he took no effort to correct them.

Stepping away from the front door, Chris made his way back through the gym, stopping and returning forgotten weights to their racks. As he lifted them, he couldn't help but admire the work he's put into his bicep and forearm muscles. As an Omega, Chris had to work twice as hard to put on this kind of muscle and had to keep to a strict regime of diet and exercise to maintain it. Feeling the rise of anxiety, he turned away from the mirror.

It was difficult for Chris to look at himself in the mirror for too long, never happy or satisfied with the man who looked back at him. No matter what he did to change his appearance or how many weights he lifted, he couldn't quite seem to shake the feeling that he still wasn't good enough.

This lack of self-esteem and confidence caused him a lot of grief, but Chris pushed those thoughts aside. Glancing back at the mirror, he sighed an unspoken apology to himself.

Continuing through the gym, Chris noticed sweat stains on one of the benches and grunted in displeasure. "Why can't these animals ever clean up after themselves?" he argued rhetorically. "It's not like we don't have cleaning supplies for them. Just sheer lazy, pig behaviour.".

Speaking of which, if he didn't want to sweat to ferment overnight and become a stench in the morning, Chris reached for an anti-bacterial wipe from the container on the wall and wiped down the bench.

The smell of ethanol invaded his senses as he moved the wipe back and forth over the surface, causing momentary sensory discomfort. 'Geez, I told them to stop buying these wipes!' he thought bitterly.

Chris wasn't surprised that his ideas were ignored. His manager never really listened to him, but why would he? Chris never stood up for himself and would back down at the slightest pushback.

It explains why he's been working here for five years, and the only thing that's increased is his workload. His friends have told Chris that he does the work of 3 people and should demand more money.

'You're a coward!' his inner demon screamed.

Chris didn't dare to ask for a pay rise and just thinking about the possible confrontation made his mouth dry. Sometimes he blamed his Omega nature on why he was so submissive and didn't stand up for himself, but that was a lie; he knew it.

Chris made sure the sweat had been wiped down from the bench, quickly checking the other equipment to ensure they were clean. Since they appeared clean enough, he deposited the used wipe into the bin and rubbed his damp hands down the front of his tracksuit pants to dry them.

Moving towards the rear of the gym, Chris turned the music off and flicked the light switch darkening the facility. He gave a final visual scan to make sure nothing was left on or looked out of place. Satisfied that he hadn't missed anything, he turned and stepped into the locker room, pulling the door shut behind him.

The locker room was a soup of masculine musk, and Chris would be lying if he didn't get a tiny hit from the smell at the end of each day. Although most of what he could smell was the scented soaps and colognes, it still gave him a perverted high, and if he had time, he would bask in the fragrance for several minutes before leaving.

However, today would be very different.

Stepping into the locker room, he could hear one of the showers still running. 'That's odd.', he thought suspiciously. Looking around for a bag or locker still open, he found nothing. It was well past closing time, so he doubted a member was still in there. Still, to be sure, he called out softly, "Hello? Any members still in here?".

No response. Sighing, Chris concluded that some idiot had left the shower running the entire time. 'Who would waste water like this?!' he thought angrily, walking across the slick tile floor, coming to a stop just outside the soap-stained shower curtain. He reached his hand up and gripped the corner of the curtain tightly, pulling it to the side with all his might.

In an instant, Chris's gut sank, and if this were a cartoon, his jaw would have hit the floor. His suspicion of finding an empty shower stall was not the case. Instead, he was now taking in the sight of a fully naked Dan Rawson.

Dan was just as stunned, wide-eyed, standing there with both hands above his head, what appeared to look like he was in the process of shampooing his hair. Chris didn't know what to do. This had never happened to him before. Where was he supposed to look?

With and without intention, Chris scanned his eyes from top to bottom, taking a mental image of everything. As his eyes travelled down across Dan's large pecs and well-defined torso muscles, he realized that he no longer had any control of his body. His eyes finally came to rest on the most spectacular piece of male anatomy Chris had ever seen. Whiles soft, it was both thick and long and rested perfectly above enormous balls he could have ever imagined.

Not sure of what to do, Chris stood there in silence, unable to blink or speak.

Looking down himself and realizing what Chris looking at, Dan smirked.

Unlike Chris, Dan was proud of his body and had no shame showing off what he's got. Lowering his hands from his hair, he chuckled and said, "Would you like to take a picture?" showing off his perfect smile.

Chris looked up and met Dan's eyes, and, in an instant, heat rose to his cheeks. 'Oh my god!' he thought, eyes darting from side to side. His mind was a rumble of activity, thinking, 'I can't believe I just stared at his… thing. He must think I'm some sick pervert!'.

Whilst he spoke no words, his face and neck were the deepest shade of red, and his embarrassment was on full display.

Chris wished that was the only thing on full display, but unfortunately, his body reacted to the sight of Dan, and he was showing clear signs of arousal south of the border.

Desperate to escape before Dan noticed, Chris twisted on his feet to run, but the wet floor had other ideas. He lost his balance and fell hard against the cold tiles, generating a hefty crack sound when his head made contact.

"Chris!" Dan shouted, stepping out of the shower and crouching down to check on the poor guy. "Are you ok?" he asked, getting nothing but a mumbled response. Laughing, unintentionally, Dan put his big hand on Chris' shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "Please say something, Chris. I need to make sure you're ok." Dan spoke softly, sounding genuinely concerned.

Chris didn't move or respond to Dan. It wasn't because he had severely injured himself or was knocked out by the fall. No, Chris was so mortified and embarrassed that he wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole. 'If there is a god, please let me die right now. I'm begging you!' he pleaded mentally.

Too ashamed to respond to Dan, he continued to lay face down on the ground. Dan, however, had no intention of letting Chris remain on the cold floor, placing his hands on either side of his hips. In one fluid movement, Dan scooped Chris up off the floor and cradled him in his arms.

Chris, stunned by the strength of Dan, squeezed his eyes shut and reached out to stabilize himself. His hands landed on Dan's broad shoulders.

Dan spoke up again, squeezing Chris a little tighter to his body, "Look at me, Chris. Please?". The kindness in his voice melted Chris' resolve, forcing him to open his eyes and look directly into Dan's.

Without speaking a word, Chris felt a new sense of comfort and warmth spread his entire body. This warmth wasn't shame or embarrassment, but something utterly foreign to Chris.

He couldn't precisely define the feeling, but it felt good. Never being held like this before, he wondered whether or not he enjoyed being held like this.

"I-I'm ok.", Chris stuttered out, not breaking eye contact. Upon hearing this confirmation, Dan's smile grew broader and brighter. Reaching his left hand up, he brushed the hair out of Chris' face making him blush even more problematic. As his hand reached the side of his head, the cute gesture brought on a wince of pain and renewed concern from Dan.

Pressing on the spot, Chris hissed in pain and scrunched his face. "Ooh, looks like you have a nasty bump. Did you want me to grab you the icepack from the first aid kit?" Dan asked, looking down at Chris with sincere concern in his eyes.

Chris shook his head, "No, it doesn't feel that bad, b-but thanks for the offer.". Still a little nervous and reminding himself that he was being held closely by a completely naked Alpha, his heart started to race a little. Sensing his anxiety and the change in heart rhythm, Dan stepped towards the benchtops and lowered Chris so that he was sitting but still within his tight grasp.

Lowered and sitting at pec height, Chris tried to look away, but no matter where his eyes went, they seemed to connect with a part of Dan's body. Dan watched the nervousness of Chris and found his behaviour to be so innocent and cute. Without thinking, Dan grabbed the side of Chris' face and forced their eyes to connect again.

"Did you lock the door?" Dan asked, earning a surprised gasp from Chris, his mind full of assumptions.

To be continued.