Caden Bennett's Awesome Baseball Summer - Part 1

 "Strrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiike three, you're out!" 

"Man, he is the worst." 

"Yeah, I know. Is there any reason we can't just ditch this guy? He can't fucking play!" 

"His parents gave the team a bunch of money." 

"Wait, what?" 

"Yeah, didn't you hear? Coach knows that dude's parents and they're loaded." 

"So you're saying that two adults paid money so their grown son could play on a baseball team? He's in his 20s for cryin out loud!" 

"Shhh, here he comes." 

The players were all silent as Caden approached them. 

"I almost got it. Almost! I almost had it, guys!" 

"Yeah, you just had to deal with the whole ball coming at you thing," someone remarked. 

"Yeah, right? Haha! So hey, I heard you guys are going out for drinks tonight!" 

Someone was whispering to someone else "Who the fuck told him we were going out tonight?" but Caden wasn't paying attention. Caden never paid attention. That was the whole point of being Caden. There was nothing in particular that was wrong about Caden. Not one thing. It was a lot of little things. He didn't really understand how to behave in a group, or around a single person, or a crowd for that matter. Caden was a problematic child who had grown into a man who was not used to dealing with problems on his own. He was quite used to asking Mommy and Daddy for money to pay for problems to go away. He talked about this openly, about how he would ask his Mom and Dad for money, and they would just give it to them. Caden talked a lot, but when he talked, other people tended to become uncomfortable. Caden took silence as an excuse to talk for longer periods of time about himself and his thoughts, not ever taking the social cue that someone could be disinterested in his opinions. 

"So anyway I found this great girl on OK Cupid but she was...she was crazy, man. She was a total nutcase." 

"Really." 

"Yeah. Oh yeah. That's a real bummer there," a disinterested player replied. 

"Do we really need money this badly?" someone whispered to someone else. Caden assumed they were talking about something else that had nothing to do with him, when it was entirely about him. Caden had selective hearing that way. 

Caden talked to other players about his Star Wars figurine collection, his thoughts on his marketing internship, his mother's refusal for two years to send him to film school before she finally broke down and gave him a hundred thousand dollars to do so, which he then found out was a waste of money. He couldn't find a job but that was only because it was so competitive out there! His parents had fought with him to choose something more practical and they never should have criticized him because he worked so hard in college...

At this point, if Caden had been paying attention, he would have seen the various faces of players on the bench looking at each other with eye rolls and looks of disbelief, or the one guy who was cradling his face in his hands wishing he was anywhere else, which Caden eventually did notice. 

"Hey, man. Are you disappointed because of our score? I think it'll pick up in the next inning." 

"Yeah, maybe you'll hit a home run!" the man replied sarcastically. Caden was bad with names so he couldn't remember what the guy's name was. 

"Actually, what I really want to do is pitch! I keep telling the coach that my strong point it pitching!" This prompted several looks of shock from various teammates. Caden was convinced of his own greatness, but it was well known on the team that he had absolutely no athletic talent to speak of. 

When the game was (finally) over, several men were demoralized and wanted to go out for some beers and cigars. Everyone was there for the love of the game. All of them had jobs or went to school. Caden was stuck in a seemingly perpetual adolescent bubble, protected by his family's massive wealth. Even though everyone wanted to say something, Coach had begged them not to. They were an amateur team but with the influx of money they now had a fighting chance to get some attention. Coach said the sponsorship was exactly what they needed to get them over the edge. Most people thought he might be pocketing some of the money. Some of the guys were sucking up a little bit in the hopes of getting free stuff from their new eager but worthless teammate. 

"Dude, you like cigars? We're gonna smoke out tonight. My treat," Chuck told him. Chuck was a bigger man, very muscular and masculine. He was one of the best players on the team. 

"No thanks, man," Caden told him. "Cigars are super gross. I'd never smoke one of those things, or anything for that matter. Gotta think of my health." 

Caden showed up and the guys were less than enthusiastic. Some of them headed out of the bar the second he arrived. A few had stayed behind in the hopes of influencing him a bit. They had a few beers and headed outside to an outdoor seating area. Chuck had brought cigars. He handed one to Caden. All the other guys were lighting up. 

"Come on, man. I'll teach you how. You wanna fit in with us, right?" Chuck asked, and he got several other of the players to pressure Caden to join them. 

"I...I dunoo, guys. I mean, the ladies don't really dig cigar breath all that much." 

"You see any hot chicks around?" someone joked. "It's a boy's night! Live a little!" 

"I dunno...I mean...I'm one of the best players we've got. I want to be at my best tomorrow. You know?" Caden said the words but he didn't register the silence or the incredulous looks everyone else was wearing. 

"Dude, just smoke the fucking cigar and say thank you. We're trying to hang out with you but you're not making it easy," a player named Bobby told him. Caden frowned. He didn't have many friends. Since college, many other students had been jealous of his path to success with his new marketing career. That must have been the reason no one returned his calls. 

But part of Caden did really want to fit in and be a cool dude. 

"Come on. Maybe you'll really like it. You never know unless you try." 

"Okay. Okay, I'll try it. Just this once, though." 

"Thattaboy, champ!" The men all cheered him on. 

"So how do I look? Pretty cool?" Caden coughed dramatically. 

"Don't inhale, stupid!" 

"I knew that! I was just trying it out. I like to try new things. I'm cool. I always like to have new experiences." 

"Yeah, man. I'm sure you do." Bobby smiled widely. 

Caden managed to smoke his very first cigar and he was rather proud of himself. He had regaled his fellow teammates of some really interesting surveys that he'd developed for his marketing internship. One by one the fellas headed back home. Bobby gave him a pat on the back and told him he was proud of him. 

"And who knows? Maybe this will even start to make a real man out of you." Bobby smiled as if he was in on a secret joke. 

"Well the thing is I am a pretty cool guy. I mean I'm not as big as you or anything but I think I hold my own pretty well." 

"Oh yeah, sure," Bobby said, sarcastically. "Well, champ. Get some rest. You've got a real big week ahead of you." 

Less than an hour later, Caden was driving home when he had to pull over. He suddenly didn't feel so well. What Bobby and the fellas didn't tell him was that the first time you smoke a cigar, and you'd never smoked anything before, the nicotine rush could be enough to make you extremely ill. Most men had to develop a slow tolerance to cigars by either trying nubs first or pipe tobacco where you could control the increments more. But what they were hoping was that Caden would get sick and vomit uncontrollably. 

Which he promptly did. 

As he was puking and cursing out all of his teammates, Caden fell into a fit. Caden had fits from time to time. 

"Stupid fucking losers! Fucking losers! BLOOOOOEEEEEHHHHHH!" Caden vomited onto a tree. He had stopped near a park and it was getting late. He had to be up early for his internship tomorrow morning. "Assholes! They're all a bunch of FUCKING assholes!" He screamed, his voice cracking. No one was walking around nearby. He was alone. 

ARE THEY REALLY THE ASSHOLES, THOUGH, CADEN? 

"Yeah, they fucking are! I'm throwing up now and it's all their fault!" 

NOW IS THAT REALLY ALL THAT FAIR? THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO MAKE YOU ONE OF THE BOYS. 

"Hey. Who said that?" Caden looked around him. There was nobody in sight. The voice he heard was clear as a bell, though. The voice had sounded deep and resonant, yet wise and even faintly amused. The voice of a man who could do voice over work for sure. Caden was vaguely reminded of the narrator from the 80s version of The Twilight Zone, a show he liked to watch from time to time on Youtube. 

YES, CADEN. I CHOSE A VOICE I KNEW YOU WOULD ENJOY. DO YOU LIKE IT? I LIKE IT. 

"Yeah, it's great. Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo. Haha." Caden was a little drunk. "So you're really freaking me out, man. Come out from wherever you're hiding!" 

A homeless man passed by Caden and picked up his pace, freaked out by Caden's outburst. 

OH I THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, MY DEAR BOY. YOU SEE I'M NOT REALLY WHAT YOU WOULD CALL BOUND BY THE ETHEREAL PLANE. I DON'T REALLY THINK YOU UNDERSTAND. I'M NOT A PRANK. I'M NOT A FIGMENT OF YOUR IMAGINATION. I'M QUITE REAL. DO YOU REMEMBER IN FIFTH GRADE WHEN YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT YOUR MOM WAS FRIENDS WITH BRANDY BECAUSE YOU WANTED THE OTHER KIDS TO LIKE YOU? 

"Yeah, they all thought I was a cool guy." 

NO THEY DIDN'T, CADEN. NO ONE THOUGHT THAT. YOU'VE ALWAYS TRIED SO HARD TO BE LIKED. AREN'T YOU TIRED OF TRYING? DON'T YOU THINK IT'S TIME YOU TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT? 

"Like what?" Caden asked the disembodied voice coming out of nowhere. 

WELL, WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME YOUR HEART'S DESIRE AND I'LL TRY AND GRANT IT. BE HONEST. YOU'RE NOT LIKE YOUR TEAMMATES. THEY'RE A GROUP OF REAL WORKING CLASS MEN. 

"I am working class! I have an internship! I work like a slave for that job!" 

OH, CADEN. WE BOTH KNOW YOU SPEND HALF YOUR TIME PLAYING FORTNIGHT. BUT ENOUGH OF THAT. TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT. 

"You know what I want? I want everyone to respect me for my work ethic and...and...and I want girls to like me! And I want guys to like me! I want to be popular, goddamit!" Caden was shrieking now. 

CALM DOWN, BIG BOY. YOU'VE GOT A LOT ON YOUR MIND. TELL ME WHAT ELSE YOU WANT. 

"Okay, you...I want to be bigger than everyone else and handsomer because you know what? None of these sluts I see ever pays any attention to me! I take them out on dates and I pay for dinner and they aren't even interested in getting to know me! I'm tired of dealing with sluts, man!" 

IT'S SUCH A SHAME, REALLY. YOU'RE SUCH AN ENDLESSLY ENTERTAINING MORTAL. 

"I know I am! And they're all totally...totally...BLEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH!" Caden vomited again. "They're totally crazy, all of them," he waved a hand, drunkenly. He had forgotten how much beer had been in that pitcher but he had had a little too much. "I'm a stud, man! I deserve all the praise! Me! I'm the one who should like, have big muscles and be tall and...and I should be the one everyone is thanking for being on the team!" 

SO THAT'S ALL YOU WANT? 

"Yeah that. That's all I want, Mr. Voice! So are you gonna come out now and show me what you look like or what?" 

Caden blinked. He was now at home and not at the park. He didn't remember coming home. Man, he was lucky no cops picked him up. That's for sure! He slunk into bed, exhausted. He had a big day ahead of him. He didn't bother to think about the voice until he woke up, convinced that he had had a crazy dream of some kind involving him talking to some creepy narrator inside his head. 

The next day, Caden went to his marketing job and did analysis work. It was monkey work, really. He wanted to do more important tasks but for some reason the bitch in charge thought he wasn't ready for anything with more responsibility. The nerve of these women trying to tell him what he was and wasn't capable of. He wished he could work with just men. Like his teammates. They were so cool. He got the slight feeling they didn't like him after last night. Did they give him a cigar and expect him to throw up from it? 

When he got home, he saw an unfamiliar brown wooden box on his living room table. 

It was a humidor, full of cigars. He felt revulsion as he thought about last night, and remembered he should call his mother. His relationship with his parents was good. They helped him any time he needed them to. They used to scream at him a lot when they didn't understand him and how important his career was to him but they had mellowed out the last few years. 

Caden started off talking about how much his baseball teammates loved him while his mother commented minimally. Then he complained about the office and how people just needed to understand him better. Then he complained about all the girls he was meeting on OK Cupid. 

"I wish you would just talk to a professional counselor about these things," his mother told him, agitated and perplexed. "I mean, I've done everything I can for you, Caden. I have a charity auction I'm preparing for."

"Mom, you help me because that's what moms are for," Caden explained. His mother sighed. 

"Sometimes I honestly just regret not leaving you at a bus stop." 

"Oh, haha, Mom." Caden laughed it off, not realizing his mother was totally serious. 

"I have to go. I have other people in my life that need my attention. Don't forgot your cousin's birthday is next Tuesday. Bring something appropriate. No violent video games." She hung up before Caden had a chance to respond. He wasn't going to spend that kind of money on his cousin! 

He came back to the humidor. He wondered how it had gotten here. He was surprised to find that it was full of cigars. It was so odd. Did someone sneak into his apartment and leave it here? Was it one of the guys from his team? Was it a joke? He felt revulsion upon remembering how sick he was the night before...but for some reason his revulsion changed. He blinked, the memory fadinig away. Hadn't that just been a bad dream? He looked at the cigars. A treasure trove of tobacco. He loved the way all of them had different labels. They were so pretty and aromatic. God, the smell was so heavenly. Like cedar, old paper, coffee and pepper all at once. It was the magic of a good cigar to give you multiple tastes and sensations. 

He inhaled the scent of a maduro and felt good. Better than he had in a long time. He felt a peaceful calm come over him. 

He needed a cigar! But dinner first. He went ahead and prepared a meal from some frozen dinners and wolfed it down. He knew he had to start eating better one of these days. But who cared if he had a little pudge? He could always find time to get a treadmill and work out after he spent a few years just getting his career in marketing started. 

Finally, it was time for his reward. 

"Oh...hell yeah. God, this cigar hits the spot." For some reason, his memories of last night were jumbled and blurred. Did he have a dream about going out with his teammates and getting sick? Why would he throw up? He wasn't a pussy or anything. Cigars and beer were a favorite activity of a red blooded American male. He puffed contentedly. 

The next day he had practice. He didn't do that well and it irritated him. Shouldn't he just be better at playing baseball? Didn't he try to do it as a kid? He imagined the other kids not picking him, always last to be chosen. It just didn't seem right. Suddenly, the anger over how he just gave up and resented everyone he went to school with just shattered something inside him and his bat made contact with the ball. It sailed in an arc that, while not perfect, was at least better than his average of failure. He made first base and managed to get to third before someone said "You're out!" but his team encouraged him with a few claps. Some exchanged glances with each other. Wasn't this kid supposed to suck a lot more? 

That night he celebrated on the street. He wore some clothing that wasn't too familiar to him. He had found a new shirt, a sports jersey, just lying on a chair in his room. He never cleaned. It was a mess all the time in his apartment. His mother used to scream at him. His father just always looked annoying and busy with his own work. But it wasn't like he was as messy as other people. 

"Fuck yeah, I'm a man now. I got my cigars. I got a job. I got an apartment," he reasoned. 

Suddenly, all of those accomplishments seemed to have so much more meaning to him. As if he'd taken them for granted for a long time and now suddenly he was having a new outlook on life. It felt like how others had described going to self help seminars. He liked to go and parrot what other people said so they liked him more and maybe he could network with them. Of course, he almost always inevitably talked down to them about a subject he had little knowledge of. 

OH CADEN, the voice said, returning from out of the blue. DIDN'T YOU THINK PEOPLE WERE TURNED OFF BY YOUR TONE OF VOICE? 

"No, man. People need my input. They appreciate my honesty." 

LIKE THE LAST FEW WOMEN YOU DATED? 

"Yeah, but they were all just a bunch of crazy bitches, man. I keep meetin' em!" 

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF YOUR BEST HITS. 

Caden was watching himself on a date with Carrie-Ann, the pretty girl who sold wine. 

"So all I'm saying is, you should try to do something about your hair. I think it could look really awesome some day." 

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LOOK ON HER FACE? DISGUST? MAYBE MIXED WITH HORROR? 

"Dude, shut up. She was way worse. She barely talked to me."

BECAUSE YOU'RE AWFUL, CADEN. I MEAN, I'M TRYING TO PUT THIS DELICATELY BUT YOUR CONSTANT COMMENTARY IS OFF PUTTING. YOUR NEGATIVITY IS BOTH ASININE AND CRINGEWORTHY. ONE IS REMINDED OF SEVERAL AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS. 

"Alright, alright. That was one bad line." 

WAS IT? 

Caden was watching his date with Gina, the tall Hispanic girl with glossy hair. 

"Oh yeah, I support social justice. Cause like, that's what you gotta do. You gotta support the cause." 

"Yeah, a lot of people don't understand that," Gina said, rather shyly. "A lot of people don't understand why I do what I do. I am an activist because it's not about me, it's about the people who have no voice." 

"Oh totally. But I'm guessing like, you haven't had as much to deal with people discriminating against you because you're not that ugly. Like, you know, you've got some big ears so people probably made fun of those, but like...people made fun of me, too. They're just jealous." 

"Uh...I...what?" 

"I mean, you're not ugly. I would say you could totally model if you lost like, a little bit of weight. The boobs are a little uneven but like, I like that." 

SMOOTH MOVE, CASSANOVA. SHE WAS REALLY SWEPT AWAY BY THAT ONE. 

"Yeah, I was just nervous," Caden excused himself. "I was trying to tell her that she should feel good about herself." 

OH CADEN. SOMETHING TELLS ME YOU AREN'T ALWAYS AS CLUELESS AS YOU LET ON. THERE'S A PART OF YOU THAT REALIZES IT'S ALWAYS YOUR FAULT FOR SAYING THE WRONG THING. REMEMBER THIS GEM?

"So all I'm saying," Caden told his Chinese American date Leah, "Is that Asians are like, the good immigrants. The best immigrants. They don't steal all that much, you know?" 

IT'S LIKE WATCHING THE LOVE MASTER AT WORK.

"I was just trying to make interesting conversation. 

YES, WITH YOUR FAMOUS WIT. LET'S REVIEW THE LAST NETWORKING EVENT YOU WENT TO. 

Suddenly, Caden was watching himself interact with people he had met weeks before. 

"So all I'm saying is, you know, if you're like me, it sounds like you're doing a lot of work in your office but you know, other people take credit for it." 

"I mean, that's not actually what I'm saying," the beautiful young woman of Middle Eastern heritage told him. "I'm just trying to focus on moving on to my next challenge and just, you know, transition into that career." 

"And I mean, you have a unique perspective about the world. So that will probably help you out a lot. And you know, if you need someone who can also have a unique perspective, I have a very unique one. And my job, they don't really appreciate me. It sounds like you're the same, you know, because we're both so good at our jobs, everyone is probably jealous." 

DO YOU SEE THE WAY SHE'S LOOKING AT YOU, CADEN? 

"I'm...not really saying that at all." 

"Hey look, do you want to get out of here? I had a horrible OK Cupid date last night but you're like, way classier and way hotter. I mean, there's a lot of crazy sluts out in the world and..." 

"Okay, I'm just gonna stop you right there. I have to talk to Barry. I promised him I would. Gotta go." The woman nervously excused herself. 

SHE COULDN'T GET AWAY FAST ENOUGH, COWBOY. 

Suddenly, Caden was back on the street. 

"Stupid slut. She probably wanted to fuck him." 

WELL CAN YOU BLAME HER? BARRY IS A MUCH MORE INTERESTING AND ATTRACTIVE MAN THAN YOU. 

"Hey, shut up!" 

YOU WANT TO CHANGE, DON'T YOU, CADEN? YOU WANT TO BE HANDSOME AND LIKEABLE, DON'T YOU? 

"I am likeable," Caden replied defensively. 

THEN WHY DIDN'T SHE LIKE YOU? 

"I dunno." Caden puffed on his cigar. He needed its rich aroma. It made him feel like a king, like a real man. He thought he knew what that felt like but now he was experiencing new emotions. The thrill he felt today of getting all the way to third base. He had never made a home run in his life, either with baseball or women. "I mean, I'm a stud." 

YOU'RE A VIRGIN, CADEN. IT'S ALRIGHT TO SAY IT. 

"Fuck you, Mr. Voice. By the way, it's not a funny joke anymore. I mean, the professional psychologist I used to see would probably not understand that I'm hearing a voice. She would say I'm crazy even though I know I'm totally sane."

WELL THAT MIGHT BE A STRETCH GIVEN YOUR BEHAVIOR, BUT SURE, SHE WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND. I AM REAL, CADEN. IN FACT, I'M MAKING SURE YOU ARE COMFORTABLE TALKING TO ME INSTEAD OF FREAKING OUT. I CAN DO THAT FROM MY ETHEREAL PLANE OF EXISTENCE.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I am feeling better." 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FEEL MUCH BETTER? WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LOTS OF SEX? 

"Hell yes, I would." 

WELL THEN BUCKLE UP, BIG BOY... 

Caden was suddenly watching himself again, another memory, from years before. His hair was darker than he remembered. In fact, even though he knew he was looking at himself, he didn't feel like he was familiar. It felt like he was watching someone else live their life. 

"Dude, bitches are just all over me," Caden said. "I can't get enough sex from these fucking hos." 

"That's what I'm talking about!" one of his friends said. It was a boy from his senior year of high school chem class. "You gotta get that pussy, son! You gotta collect that pussy...gotta catch em all, fool! How many girls have you fucked so far, Caden?" 

"Oh man, I lost count! Seven so far, including Julie and Min. They're like best friends and they both did me on that same night I told you about. It was pretty awesome." 

OH CADEN. ALWAYS THE ROMANTIC. 

"I remember this conversation but I think before it was at school and I wasn't hanging out with these guys. Are you sure this is right?" 

OH IT'S CHANGING SLIGHTLY NOW, BIT BY BIT. I'M REARRANGING THINGS. THOUGH YOU DID SAY THOSE AWFUL THINGS, DIDN'T YOU? 

"I mean..yeah. I just wanted the guys to know that I could get bitches, too!" 

BUT YOU COULDN'T GET THE...AS YOU PUT IT...BITCHES, CADEN. YOU COULDN'T ATTRACT A HORSEFLY WITH MOLASSES, TO PUT IT COLLOQUIALLY. 

"I dunno, man. I didn't grow up on a farm." 

MMMM. MAYBE WE CAN CHANGE THAT. 

"Dude, I don't need this. I have too many things to do. I have important things to do." 

OH I DON'T DOUBT THAT AT ALL. I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE FREE TO BE SO HONEST WITH ME, CADEN. 

"Yeah, man. I'm all about honesty." 

ON THAT POINT, YOU ARE CORRECT. IT'S JUST THAT THE THOUGHTS YOU SHARE ARE SO OFTEN INAPPROPRIATE. 

"Dude, shut up! You sound like my Mom!" 

AH YES, YOUR LONG SUFFERING MOTHER. SHE'S RELIEVED TO GET YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE FINALLY. HER MISERY KNOWS NO BOUNDS. DID YOU KNOW SHE THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING YOU UP FOR ADOPTION WELL INTO YOUR TEENS? 

"Man, she just didn't realize that I was different but in a positive way. You know?" 

OH CADEN. I'M ALMOST GOING TO MISS THESE SESSIONS OF OURS. YOU'RE ABOUT TO AMUSE ME SO MUCH LESS. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Oh fuck that cigar is good. Huh. Must have dozed off. What a weird fucking dream."  

Caden relaxed. It was a day off from his job as a content mixer and video editor. He didn't make a lot of money doing it, but it was his dream, his passion. He loved film and he was so amazed and relieved that he even got this job. He tried to impress his bosses every day, but it was rough because there was so much competition out there. Still, he thought, inhaling the deep aroma of the maduro in his hands, feeling the magical touch of it fill him with a lightheaded release. He felt like floating away from the world when he smoked cigars. They were such a comfort, and they made him feel so proud to be a man. They made him feel like he had finally arrived. 

In his dream, he'd been a blond. Dirty blond hair. He had been looking into a mirror. The face was familiar but then it felt wrong somehow. It wasn't him. He was dark haired. And his body had been a shambles. Fat rolls in his early 20s? No fucking way. You had to do cardio. He rode his bike to work often so he could burn extra calories. He flexed his arms. He worked out, though not to the degree that he liked. He would like to train more excessively but he was putting in so many hours at work, it made it difficult. He mostly worked out at home with a barbell. 

Caden was thrilled. The day had gone so great. He had hit the ball every time he had been at bat. It hadn't always gone well but he had hit a ball at one point and thought for a minute it was the first time he had ever hit a ball to the outfield. But that couldn't be, with the amount of time he had been playing baseball. It had been since he was at least ten years old. His father didn't know a thing about sports so he had to rely on his coaches and teachers and other kids dads to look up to. To give him guidance. He remembered taking the initiative to asking his coaches for advice and taking it, being very careful to learn from his mistakes and to try to improve upon them. 

"Hey, I feel like celebrating! I think we're gonna really kick butt this year!" 

"Caden, you always say that." 

"Yeah, Caden. We never even make the semi-finals." 

"I think this year we will, guys." Caden's optimism for once was not irritating to his teammates. Many of them were warming up to Caden, even patting him on the back. In the back of his mind he thought it was wrong. They had never had this kind of camaraderie with him before, had they? He had been such a know it all. He frowned. He was remembering his dream where he was a bratty rich kid, some trust fund baby whose parents had money to spare. As if his dad had time to take off from the hardware store he worked to really even hang out with his son growing up. His dad was always stressed out about money, his mother was even worse. 

Caden loved nothing better than to relax with a cigar. Except having sex with hot girls who had a thing for baseball players. Fuck, he thought. This is the life. He rubbed his stubble. Since when do I have stubble? He thought about the mystery stubble. Did he have stubble before? He couldn’t remember having to shave a whole lot but he had been shaving every morning. It was as if something had…taken place.

YES, CADEN. SOMETHING HAS TAKEN PLACE.

“You’re in my head again, man.”

SORRY ABOUT THAT, CADEN. IT’S NECESSARY FOR ME TO GO THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS.

“Man, I feel like we’ve talked before. I talked with you before, I know I did.”

YES, CADEN. I’M SWITCHING THINGS AROUND. HERE. LET ME JOG YOUR MEMORY A BIT.

Suddenly, Caden remembered his original personality and life, for a brief interval.

“Whoa. What. So…how could I have been that guy?”

YOU TOLD ME WHAT YOU WANTED. REMEMBER?

“Yeah. Yeah. No. I was drunk. What did I wish for?”

OH, CADEN. YOU WANTED TO BE RESPECTED FOR YOUR WORK ETHIC. NOW YOU HAVE ONE. YOU WORK AT A MENIAL HARDWARE STORE JOB.

“Yeah. Thanks? I guess?”

OH I’M HARDLY DONE WITH YOU. NOW THERE IS THE MATTER OF YOUR SCRAWNY BODY. WHY DON’T YOU GO TO THE GYM. IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO GET BIGGER, CADEN.

“Yeah, it is. Time for me to be bigger. I need to look huge. I want everyone to notice me for my body.” He smoked his cigar thoughtfully.

GO TO THE GYM, CADEN. THAT’S AN ORDER. YOU’LL FORGET ABOUT ME NOW UNTIL NEXT TIME. 

The next day, Caden went to the gym as if in a trance. It was a day off for him where he didn’t have to work, though he remembered for some reason that it hadn’t always been like that. He dimly remembered working in an office and being unhappy. Had that been a dream?

He lifted weights that day he had never been able to life before. Doing deadlifts was like some kind of sacred experience. It felt new and yet not new. He felt like he was on autopilot. His body had changed today. He was sure he didn’t have all these muscles yesterday. But that was impossible. Was he walking around just trapped in some perpetual daydream? He felt so foggy headed.

Another thought percolated in the back of his mind, slowly giving him awareness of another fact. He shaved in the morning, but for some reason he had to shave after he got home as well. What the hell kind of genes did he inherit? It had only been four hours. And he could have sworn he shaved this morning but it was thicker than ever when he got back home. He shaved again.

It didn’t feel familiar for some reason. He was desperate to work out some more. It was as if he had never worked out before and he was desperate for the feel of it, the experience of it, going through all the motions as if he had been reborn into a new, better body. He had already worked out this morning but he had to work out again. After going home and eating, he went to the gym that evening. 

Caden had a grueling workout where he maxed out his body as much as he could. He was exhausted. He needed food. He showered, noticing he was one of the only people in the gym this late at night. God, he was hungry. He looked in the mirror. God, he had to shave again. He felt like it was wrong.

I never had to shave before. Something happened. I was blond before. I had a dream where I was blond. Or maybe I was blond. I’m different now. I have to fight this! This isn’t me!

He was seized with a temporary panic that unbeknownst to him is all to common for participants in a reality shift. His mind was aware of how he looked before. He got a mini electric shaver out of his gym bag and did away with the thick stubble that had collected on his face while he had been working out for a second time. A second time in one day? Shouldn’t he be playing Fortnite?

No, that shit was for nerds. I would just be wasting my time, he thought. Man, I’m hungry.

Caden got some food at a Denny’s just down the street. He felt like celebrating for some reason. It felt like everything was changing. It felt like he had momentum. His body was on fire. He wolfed down a late night burger. He was super excited. He had a game tomorrow. Game time! Baseball time! God, he loved baseball. He didn’t remember loving baseball this much. Hadn’t he wanted to play it just to impress people? Imagine going around just being a poseur and getting your parents to get you on the team with a donation like some rich asshole trust fund kid.

Where had that thought come from? He didn’t know anyone like that. He shrugged. Time for a cigar, he thought. 

As Caden smoked his cigar in the parking lot, he felt better than he ever had before.

The stubble grew back insidiously. He could feel it. The harder he pulled on his cigar, the more it grew, like some merciless jungle foliage where no matter how much you hacked at it, there was always more. It covered his face and he felt it. The cigar high permeated his brain. He was on cloud 9. His stubble! God, it felt good to be a man with stubble. Thick stubble he could be proud of. He could grow a beard when he was only 13! God the fun he had had in high school. He used to be able to buy beer at the local corner store because he looked like he was in college by the time he was only a freshman in high school! He was a very popular guy back then. Everyone wanted to be his friend because he could get booze.

But that wasn’t the only reason. He had been so at ease talking with girls. Everyone wanted to be his friend. He knew how to listen to them and joke around at his own expense.

That never happened, he thought. The stubble grew in coarser. He rubbed at its sandpaper like texture. Sure it fucking did, he thought. God, it was so great. I loved listening to people and getting to know them. It’s not like I was better than them. I needed to understand.

Caden felt overcome with a humility he hadn’t felt ever before in his life. It was the humility that comes with not being born with privilege. He had struggled but he had not struggled alone. He always had a coterie of friends that saw him through his formative years. Through thick and thin he always had the same group of people.

Wait…wasn’t I always alone? And I never smoked anything. I thought it was disgusting.

The cigar in his hands was precious and sacred now. It beckoned to him. He drew in the sweet peppery aroma. God, he loved it. He loved being a cigar smoking MAN.

There was a part of him that wondered how he felt so unreal. Was this real? He was handsome, muscular, and a totally athletic stud. Mid 20s with the whole world ahead of him.

He needed more than all this, though.

AND THERE’S ALWAYS A PRICE, CADEN.

“I figured that, Mr. Voice. Are you gonna punish me or something?”

CADEN, CADEN. I’M MAKING YOU BETTER. DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO BEING A SNIVELLY, WHINY BRAT? OR DO YOU WANT MORE FOR YOURSELF? I’VE GIVEN YOU A NEW OUTLOOK. IT’S NOT EVERY DAY THAT SOMEONE GETS A COMPLETE REALITY MAKEOVER.

“So what’s next?” Caden said, chomping on his cigar. It felt so good to chomp on a cigar. He had been so jealous of everyone. He had been trapped in a bubble of his own pathetic insular thinking. He had protected himself from the emotions of others by ignoring them altogether. He had insisted on pushing the world away whenever anyone tried to give him advice. “I’m terrible. Oh god, everyone hated me.”

NOT ANYMORE THEY DON’T. ARE YOU READY, CADEN? FOR WHAT COMES NEXT. I’M GOING TO MAKE ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO TRUST ME, CADEN.

“I trust you. Yeah. Let’s do this, Mr. Voice.”

ATTABOY, CADEN. BATTER UP. 

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Manager Strikes Again: Colin's Big Summer

So, this was me. Summer 2017. That's me on the left hand side. My name is Colin. The guy next to me is Nico. We could not have been more different but he offered to let me come along on his big babe pussy busting Fuck Tour of California. I was sort of tagging along with him and feeling regret over ever having agreed to come in the first place. I sort of figured it would be good to be on my own for a bit and not at school or spending the first summer during my college experience at home with the parents. Nico's uncle had given him the use of his beach house for a full two weeks. It was an amazing opportunity to bring home hot people we wanted to fuck. I thought it would be really fun but I found myself feeling totally inadequate. I mean, I have Grindr and being the token gay guy I wasn't going to get anywhere in public like Nico. He literally would just walk up to beautiful women on the beach and he would love to use me as his gay best friend. It was a way for him to pick up women; he sold himself as the ultimate confident straight man, not threatened or homophobic, a very sensitive and funny guy that just happened to have a hammer of a cock. I hadn't seen it but the screams from his bedroom could not have been wrong. 

But I really wasn't getting anywhere. I was between a rock and a hard place. I mean, just look at me.

Sallow, barely defined chest, pencil thin arms. My whole body was like a "before" advertisement for those old bodybuilding ads, and Nico was the "after". Except that he was more handsome and no one would ever confuse us as being the same person, ever. My problems were magnified by the fact that I was a top and never felt the inclination to bottom for anyone. I liked to suck dick but I didn't really like to receive it. I desperately wanted to find huge muscle studs and fuck them. But no one online bought that I could be a top stud. It was unbelievably frustrating. 

I decided to get a job since I could use the extra money. There was a fun fair carnival near the docks and it was open every day. They needed someone to do game booths. It was a fun job with the ring toss and handing out stuffed bears. The night air brought me the crisp, deep scent of the sea, and the sea-salt smell of the ocean goes really well with popcorn smells. The entire place was magical. Sometimes they would pull me to sell cotton candy at the booth across the way. I loved every second. Anyway, so one night things are closing up and I'm walking through the carnival. It's dark and the lights of the Ferris wheel and all the midway were lit up, half of them yellow and orange, blinking their neon shrouds and starry halos over the sky like a nebula of new stars just being born. Yeah, I'm a science geek, okay? Like you're really so surprised. There was this one archway lit up with bulbs that I had never noticed before. I walked over to it, almost hypnotized. I walked through this dark alleyway. Behind me, the lights blinked off. I was totally in the dark. I turned to go back but the way I'd come was gone. In its place was a wooden fence. The fuck? I mouthed.

Suddenly, right ahead of me as if on cue, neon orange and yellow bulbs flicked on the word "ENTER" I looked around me. No one was here. I carefully edged forward. It looked like the only way out. I had terrible vision so maybe I just got turned around and even though I could have sworn I only walked forward, maybe I just made a mistake...I entered the small shack. It smelled like sawdust and damp and sand. A few candles lit in candleholders built onto the walls. It had a very Halloween maze feel to it, I thought to myself. There was only one door open on the left and candles lit the inside as well. 

There was a shadowy figure waiting for me. He sat in the dark. He wore what appeared to be a pinstripe suit and a fedora covered his eyes. A single candle lit the room. His features were barely visible. A strong chin, thick stubble. His voice was extremely powerful and deep, as if he was speaking from the bottom of a tunnel or a well, with just a bit of an echo. 

"YOU MUST BE COLIN. PLEASE, HAVE A SEAT."

"Who...who are you?" I took the chair in front of me and gingerly sat down, half afraid something would bite me. I stared opposite from him on the other side of a thick, worn table. How did he know my name?

"I'M THE MANAGER. THAT'S BEEN MY NAME A LONG TIME NOW. THAT'S MY ONLY NAME."

"Okay," my voice said, with no reverberation or echo. "What do you want with me? I thought Kevin was the manager," I said meekly. 

"I MANAGE SOMETHING MUCH GREATER THAN THE...FESTIVITIES. I SMELLED YOUR DESIRE, COLIN. YOU WANT TO BE LIKE YOUR FRIEND. YOU WANT TO BE A MUSCULAR MESOMORPH FUCK STUD, DON'T YOU?"

"I'm going now," I said, twinged with fear. But I couldn't get up. 

"WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD TAKE WHAT YOU WANTED FROM OTHER MEN? WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD TAKE NICO'S MANHOOD? WOULD YOU DO IT?"

"Y-yes," I found myself admitting, as if under a spell. The Manager laughed under his breath, almost a mix of cackle and rumble. I didn't like it at all.

"I MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE. I'LL MAKE IT COME TRUE FOR YOU. BUT ONLY IF YOU ASK ME TO DO IT. SIGN THIS."

He pushed forward a contract. I started to read it in the candlelight. It looked like it was typed a hundred years ago, the font was so outdated. 

"Okay, I'm trying not to freak out but it's like you read my mind. I dream of taking all of his muscle, and looking more like him. But how would you know that? Are you...are you like the devil or something?" I swallowed, terrified. 

"OH NO. THE DARK ONE? HE HAS NO REAL POWER. PEOPLE THINK THAT CHARLATAN IS POWERFUL BUT NO. THERE ARE A MILLION IMMORTALS I KNOW PERSONALLY MORE POWERFUL. MUCH MORE POWERFUL. WE ALL EAT DIFFERENT THINGS. I EAT DESIRE. I FEED OFF OF ENERGY CONVERSION. NICO WILL GIVE AND YOU WILL TAKE. HE WILL FEEL IT, HE WILL FEEL HIS HUMILIATION BECOME SUBMISSION. BUT YOU...YOU WILL BE DOMINANT. I WILL FEED OFF THE ENERGY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"I don't know why I believe you, but I do. So, all I have to do is sign? I don't have to give you your soul?"

"OH NO. I DON'T REQUIRE SOULS. I REQUIRE TRANSFORMATION. THE ENERGY OF NEWFOUND LUST AND DESIRE QUELLS MY HUNGER."

I signed. Quickly. 

"YOU WILL NOT SEE ME AGAIN. BUT IF YOU SEND SOMEONE MY WAY, SEND THEM TO THE MANAGER AND THEY WILL FIND ME. AND I WILL FEED." 

I managed to find my way out. I was on the Midway and the arch I originally went through was replaced by a wooden fence. Behind it a bunch of locked old warehouses. I rode home on my bike and plopped down exhausted. 

The next morning I got up and got dressed and took a double take as I stared at the mirror. 

Was that ME? My face had filled out. My eyes looked a lot better and I was handsomer than just the day before. I still had a fairly thin frame but I looked a little bit older and more mature, in a good way. I discovered that my manhood, aka my dick, was a whole new story. Oh my GOD! It was twice the size as before. I danced around for a bit, my dick flopping all over, slapping delightfully against my legs. I'm freakin' huge down there! I marveled. Last night wasn't a dream. My whole body was different. It was better. More beautiful. Manlier. 

I put my big huge new dick away where it belonged and found Nico in the living room. He looked up at me and rubbed his eyes. 

"Oh man, where you been, stud?" He walked over and gave me a hug. Then a kiss. 

I never dreamed I'd kiss Nico but I did. I shoved him back on the couch and mindlessly explored his mouth without hesitation. This straight guy who I'd been roommates with for a year, been good friends wish, was now suddenly making out with me! It was enough to send me over the edge. It was like the best dream I ever had! This couldn't be real! I greedily ate out his ass after he pulled his pants down. We walked into his uncle's bedroom where Nico had been sleeping. 

"Fuck, I need it. I need you, Colin. Baby, suck me off." 

I started to do so, interchanging it with my hand, sucking and stroking for like twenty minutes. He moaned. I moaned. I cried as his cum finally splashed inside his mouth. I edged out the last bit of cum and looked over at Nico, who was now unrecognizable...

I knew it was him but he had shrunk and he was no longer the tan Italian stud he had been before. He was pale now, like me. Only I was...bigger. Fuller. My arms!

"Oh fuck. Look at me!"

"I am," Nico said, overcome with desire. He was sweating and looking up at me. With adoration. I'd never seen that look in a man's eyes before. It suddenly drove me wild. "Baby, that was incredible." His voice had lost several octaves. It had been so deep before.

"Well, don't think I'm done with you yet, boy." I said, every word coming out of my mouth like it was a Hollywood actor's voice. Rich and smooth, not the reedy and minute voice I had before, no longer squeaking but roaring like a tiger. I helped myself to finger his asshole. He moaned and panted and gasped as I shoved two fingers in further.

"Fuck me, please," he squeaked, barely mouthing the words.

"What? What was that?" My arms were so...strong now! I marveled at the peaks of muscle on my biceps and triceps as I fingered my former straight friend.

"Fuuu-uuuu-uuuu-uuuck me, plee-eeeease. Please. Fuck. Me. Please. Pleee-eeee-eeeease oh god."

I shucked off my pants, giving him a little show, swinging my big old natural top dick out and it was at full mast. He looked ready to cry from sheer pleasure.

"You want me to fuck you!? FUCK YEAH!" I roared, and plunged deep inside him. I can't describe what it felt like, because as I had never fucked a man before I was no an animal, I was fully gladiatorial, guttural and snapping and frothing at the mouth as I shoved my new cucumber into his little boy hole. He cried out and I was in ecstasy. The most indescribable thing was that he was slowly shrinking. I could see his arms caving in. I could see mine getting bigger. I came a bucketload inside his boy cunt. I screamed out. I pulled out. I wiped my dick off with my hand and spread my cum all over his face and he eagerly licked it. I looked at him and felt arrogance wash over me. I was so proud of my body. My muscles flexed and I found myself posing in front of him.

"God, I love it when you pose after. You are a fucking stud! I'm so fucking lucky." He said this between panting. I looked down on him with such satisfaction. I fucked that little ass. He gave me his muscle and he didn't even realize it. This was all totally normal for him.

I felt like a new man entirely. My features were more handsome, and now I had a five o clock shadow of stubble which I felt in wonder. My body had grown muscles and then some. My arm and chest felt especially incredible. I strutted around the house like I owned it. I had never felt this...good. I felt myself beaming with pride over my newest conquest.

"What...what happened? Why am I small! I'm big! I'm a big guy!"

"You're under new management," I said, coming back in the room and grabbing his shoulders and giving them a massage, and grabbed him close to me from behind with the other arm. "You're going to be a lot happier this way. Trust me."

"I used to be big, though." He whimpered and cried. I laughed warmly.

"It's all just a dream you were having, boy. It's all just a dream."

"It..it felt so real, and you're so manly. I wish I was manly like you."

I hushed him and held him, cradled him and then forced him down on the bed again. I was stronger than him now so I could hold him down quite easily and I did so with gusto.

I kept my job at the carnival but now women couldn't get enough of me. They fawned over me and I adored the attention. One night a really gorgeous woman, more gorgeous than I ever thought a woman could be asked if I could come home. My dick was hard. For a woman. It was the most unexpected thing in the world but I told her I had my own beach house for the summer and she was all in. I drove her home in my Jeep Ranger. Nico rode my bicycle now and I was driving his truck. Things were changing so quickly. I was so confident as we arrived at my abode. I strutted right past Nico in the living room and told him not to wait up. I winked as he fidgeted with his XBox console and looked sad and shy as I escorted my lovely date into the bedroom where I proceeded to fuck the shit out of her.

I felt his humiliation. I felt his pain knowing that he wasn't the one being fucked, that I was also into women now and he had been made entirely gay. I had taken his hetero side and kept my own gay sex drive. But as I fucked the blond (Veronica? Trisha? Patty? Who knows, I fuck so many girls now I lose track) I felt my muscles tense up. I was actually engorging again, but because he felt cuckolded! I realize that just a few days ago he had fucked the same woman! I had only seen her very briefly from my window as she left the house with those sexy legs of hers. I had been so jealous of her that night! Now I was fucking the same gal!"

"Who's the man, baby"

 "You are, stud!"

"Damn right!" I said, fully engorged, so full, so big down there. I wasn't used to feeling so huge, so much, filling up so much space with my big flopping dick. She moaned in agony and ecstasy and I yelled out in unbelievable agony and joy at the same time, but for a different reason. I was receiving more of Nico. More of his essence. Becoming what he was and more!

She walked, limping down the steps to her car when Nico watched her, his thin hands and emaciated body feeling suddenly frail and cold... A few days passed.

I brought home more women. For three days. All women he had fucked before. I asked him after each one had left, did he remember fucking her and he said "yes" in the most adorable pipsqueak voice.

"Well I don't think you're ever gonna fuck a woman again, being a little nerdy gay boy," I said, gleefully touching his cute little ass.

"Why have we changed?" he looked up at me, imploringly. He was fighting to remember his reality but it was slipping away from him.

"Because it's for the better. You're helping me to get huge, buddy! And I really, really appreciate it." I picked him up with a surge of hormones. My testosterone was through the roof! I held him against the wall and told him to try to move. He struggled against my now much more immense frame.

"I can't, you're too big," he whispered. "Please let me touch you tonight."

"Not tonight, nerd. Janissa is coming over. But you can listen in." I swatted his ass.

The following night I was so pumped.

"What's up, little man. You been missing all this muscle? Huh, tiny?"

"Oh my God, please say you'll fuck me tonight, Colin. Pleeeeease. I need your cock so badly."

"Well, since you put it that way, little guy, maybe I can keep you occupied enough. Get naked, shrimp ball. Now are you going to eat up all my cum like a good little boy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sir? I like that. Yeah, boy, eat my creamsicle. Fuck yeah!" I shot load after load in his little mouth. He could barely get his mouth around my cock now.

I fucked him every night after that for five days. Every night I grew slightly more masculine. My voice dropped even further. I had a booming laugh and a commanding voice of my dreams. My stubble grew in even thicker. I started to look...older. Better. More mature. Dad like. And he grew thinner. And shorter.

One day, I looked like this.

I no longer worked at the carnival. I was a businessman and I owned several properties in town. I owned a restaurant, a hotel and a local trailer park. I also looked like a golden god. I walked down the beach like I was God's gift to men and women. I was a non stop fuck stud. I spent most of my days just working out and enjoying the beach, going surfing and finding hot chicks and boys to come home with me and fuck. But eventually I drained Nico of the last of his ego. Sometimes he was aware of who he used to be but I noticed that every time I fucked him and drained him, less and less of the original him survived. Now he had been a local boy that I had taken in. His parents had never understood him being gay and it was bad enough that he was a heavily bullied little person.

He was perfect for me now. One day I knew I had drained all there was to. There was no more and we had reached the end of that road. Now he was mine forever.

"Hello, sir."

"Hey, boy. You getting ready for me in there?"

"Please let me worship your muscles, Sir."

"What's my name, little man?"

"Your name is Master Colin, Sir."

"That's right, boy. Who is Master of this House?"

"You are, Sir. I love you, Sir."

It's been a full year now and I can honestly say my dwarf boyfriend Nico is the hottest man on the planet. He is perfect for an older stud like me. He is in man ways the complete opposite of me. Shy, but with a little bit of sass, and he loves nothing more than to undress in front of his "boss". He works at my hotel and I enjoy making him serve me there at times. My little buddy for life.

I mean, look at me. I think the Manager did a pretty damn good job at feeding if this is the result. I got a letter from him in the mail that Nico had made one of the most delicious meals he had had in aeons. So I guess I did a good job of fucking the hot little stud.

Every day that goes by I think, this is the form I had on the inside all along. It just needed some help in coming out. My beautiful boyfriend is grateful too, to have such an amazingly muscled sugar daddy. My Big Summer has turned into My Big Life. I am never going back to being a wimp again. Now if you'll excuse me, my dick is throbbing for some of my boyfriend's delicious mouthwatering goodness. I have to say, the little guy gives one hell of a powerful blowjob! Who knew it could feed a god by giving all his strength and manhood to me? Oh hell yeah!

Oh and just by telling you all this, I now think you can trust that I have your best interests at heart. As soon as I saw you forlorn on that boardwalk some days ago, a short, ugly mess of a teenager, I knew you had to see my old pal The Manager. Be sure to say hello for me. Go to the carnival and wait until closing and you'll find him...and have an awesome summer.

My Little Brother Took Rejuvenex

So, by now I'm sure you've heard of Rejuvenex. It's only the Drug of the Century. Essentially, it's changed the face of our entire society. Every man over the age of 55 will turn into a muscle god over the period of just a few weeks and less than half of them will get younger looking. Results vary. Sometimes you will have a 20 year old looking stud who looks like he plays college football but he's really someone's great grandfather. The older the individual, the more powerful the effects Rejuvenex will have. And yes, if a man starts taking Rejuvenex at 55, he'll buff up, but then over time he will continue growing until he peaks. Height tends to peak at 7 feet, although most don't reach quite that far...yet. In 20 years, it's likely that a majority of Rejuvenex users will reach that height. But for now, there's a scale. Ten percent look chronologically 40 to 50 years old. That's in appearance only. Fifteen percent will look 30 to 40. Ten percent 20 to 30. And a special 5 percent will look anywhere between 15 and 19. Scientists have said it has something to do with telomeres, whatever those are. But there was an additional side effect that the makers of the drug never anticipated. They had created the fountain of youth and the world was in a tailspin. Some countries had banned it. Most had severely regulated it so that it was never over the counter, and for good reason. You see as elderly men across the planet celebrated not only newfound youth, but also having the muscular bodies of jock gods, somewhere along the way other people were bound to try it. Adult men would take it to no affect, of course and nothing they did would stimulate the amazing and unprecedented growth that was occurring in their elders. But then a few teens got their hands on it and...well...if they haven't reached puberty yet and the body hasn't begun to produce sperm, they would apparently also shoot right into adulthood. And with them, at least half would look about between the ages of 15 and 20. Ten percent would look to be between 20 and 30. Ten percent would wind up looking as old as their dads between 30 and 40. Ten percent would look 40 to 50. 20 percent would look elderly but with huge bodies. 

By now the stats are pretty well known and widely reported. Rejuvenex was the cure for unstoppable diseases. It was regulated that any adult male (it didn't work for women, unfortunately) over the age of 55 could legally obtain it, but as for pre-pubescents? Well, it didn't work for kids age 7 or below but 8 to 15 (depending on if they have or haven't started producing those hormones) would interact with the drug. So that means that for those lucky few kids that get cancer or other life threatening illnesses, they got a one stop ticket to adulthood. 

At least on paper. You see, there was an illicit market to grow kids into muscle beasts. Most parents would never want this in a million years, regardless of the fact it seemed to do nothing to alter the lifespan and in fact was projected to double most people's lives. But the parents looking to get their kids into acting, singing, or who wanted their kids to get jobs so they could help the family, those parents might just get their hands on some doses. Not to mention the parents that just want star athletes. Taking into full consideration that equivalency laws mandate that kids on Rejuvenex get automatic adult privileges and rights (drinking, smoking, sex, the ability to get jobs for anyone willing to hire them) almost no parent on Earth would ever want their child "rejuved" up. Some parents whose children were being bullied were the top of the list of arrests for "distribution with intent to age progress" which was a new crime of the decade. You heart cases coming forward all the time now on that subject. Most parents who wanted a bullied kid all growed up so they didn't have to worry for their safety had found loopholes by going to countries like Cuba or Columbia where distribution to minors was fully legal. It was the new plastic surgery. Only with way better results. 

Which brings me to my brother, Gregory. This is him:

Cute, wasn't he? Obviously, this isn't how he looks now. As cute as he is, he wasn't popular. He was a genius and highly picked on at school. His life of being bullied had resulted in him coming home with black eyes and bruises all over. It didn't help that he had a natural desire to lead others and he didn't take crap from anyone. He was pretty much at war with the school bullies who by the way were just scum gang members. Our house was vandalized a number of times with spraypaint. The fact my brother was rumored to be gay didn't help him and being a really conservative area he found very little support at school. People just didn't want to give him the time of day. He was branded as a gay nerd, even though he wasn't well, gay. That I knew of, at least.

So then my uncle and my parents went behind my back. I'm only a year older than my brother. He's 13, I'm 14. But I guess he hadn't started jacking off like I had yet. Because one day I came home and my mother wanted to have a very serious discussion with me and as she described how Gregory had been taken to South America, I went from baffled to incensed.

How could they do this. I screamed at her. It wasn't okay. It wasn't natural. Really I just felt betrayed. I should be the older, big brother. That was how it was supposed to be. This was going to ruin everything. It was going to ruin my life.

I got emails from Gregory. At first scared because he didn't speak Spanish but our Uncle Joe did and he was definitely keeping a watchful eye on him. Taking care of all the paperwork and making sure he was well taken care of. He was in this cool little villa with earthy red-tiled rooms and his bed had mosquito nets all over. I was so jealous because I'd never been anywhere. As the weeks progressed, he talked to us only sporadically over the phone. Mainly to Mom. One day she put him on with me and when I heard "Dave? Is that you?" I didn't recognize his voice.

"Jesus, is that really you?" A deeper voiced teen laughed in a rumble.

"Yeah, I know. It's gonna take me a while to get used to my voice, too. But...I just hope you'll uh...be okay with me when I come home. I'm starting to get big, Dave. Really big. Like I'm bigger than Uncle Joe now."

I tried to let that sink in, and couldn't. I couldn't fathom it or picture it.

"Everything is cool. I'm fine," I lied.

"Thanks," he sounded relieved. The lucky little shit! "I miss my physics AP class. I hope I don't get too far behind. I brought my book but Uncle Joe is saying I can just go for my GED when I get home since I'll be of age."

That made sense. Very few Rejuved kids stayed in school for long. It was too weird and they often felt isolated or made to feel like outcasts, though very few kids would fuck with the behemoths they had become.

"How much longer do you think you'll be there?"

"Uncle Joe says a few weeks more. Dude, I got to try beer for the first time last night! Cerveza! Don't tell Mom, though!" I sighed. I had never tried alcohol and my parents would kill me if I ever thought about it. I wanted to scream at Gregory in pure jealous rage but he really hadn't ever been my enemy. We'd always been like good friends, with me trying to be a big brother to him, and he never wanted to do anything I told him to do, even when it was for his own good. He was always trying to direct things with others but he was so unsuccessful at doing this at school. His natural instincts didn't play over very well with the school full of methheads and future prisoners that we both had to go to.

The weeks flew by. I made up excuses as to why Gregory wasn't around. He had a broken leg was a good one I usually went with.

Then one day I got the call. Gregory was at the airport. He had to stop to eat first before coming home, though.

This is a photo of Gregory (he's on the left) and his new friend who he found later from a support group of Rejuv kids, winning a trophy for wrestling. They compete with other biological adults down at the community center gym. This is how he looked when I came home asking Mom when Gregory was going to come home and I just turned the corner into the kitchen. I bumped into him. A human wall. He turned around. He had taken his shirt off, much like you see him in this photo.

"Dave!!!" He was so excited and his voice was so...booming. Gregory struggled with the instinct to hug me in mid air the way he would later hug his Rejuv "bros" and so he then realized he had to bend down on his knees. He pulled me to him. A grown man was embracing me. My grown up 13 year old brother now outweighed me by about a hundred pounds. "Isn't this great! Please say you're not mad at me! I know I'm way bigger than you now but I just HAD to do this. You have no idea what it's like. I..I..I just-"

"I get it. It's as much my fault. I wanted to stop the bullying but I can only tell so many people to go to hell. Well, fuck all the people in this shit town. No one's gonna fuck with my brother ever again. That's all I care about. So, how DOES it feel?"

"Oh my god..." He launched into details of how he grew, of how each week brought new amazing discoveries. About how he was constantly having "tall" moments. And then he started going around the house amazed he could reach the tops of all the plate shelves and boxes at the top of closets.

"Well, good. I know who I'll be asking me to help do spring cleaning," Mom piped in. "You'll be doing all sorts of chores to help work off that Rejuvenex vacation."

"Work off?""

"Wait, are you kidding?"

"Sweetie, I need to be honest," Mom started. "You will probably have to get a job soon."

"Uh...oh. Oh..okay."

"Not right away. But we were set back quite a bit by the expense of flying you all the way to Columbia. It was cheaper than we expected but still quite a lot for a middle income family. Dave, would you mind giving us a moment to talk about this in private?"

"Sure..." I said. It was the start of many conversations that would start that way as I was no longer adult enough to hold a conversation with my little brother.

The next day, Gregory was doing chores in the yard. Mom said that as long as he wasn't going back to school, he had to "man up" and do his fair share. I took some small pleasure in this until he took off his shirt to mow the lawn. Women in the neighborhood definitely noticed him, he told me when I got home. "Dude, I'm gonna be getting women staring at me all the TIME."

"Yeah. Great."

"Oh come on, I know you're still not like, as big as me but whatever, can't you help me out? I can't wait to get laid for the first time! My body is a fucking sperm MACHINE now, Dave. You have NO idea."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Sorry. I'm not saying anything right."

"It's okay. It's just...this is all gonna take some time to get used to. So what exactly is the plan?"

"I'm gonna take a night GED class to prepare for equivalency. That's next month. For now, I'll just start applying for jobs and stuff. I have to wait until I get some like, dress clothes I guess. Dad said I had to dress like a real man if I wanted a job. I hate wearing a tie! I'm gonna look stupid."

Note. He didn't look stupid. He looked like a million bucks.

"Jesus! Is that really you?"

"I know. I look like a geek."

"Seriously? Okay, Gregory. Look at me," I said. "You seriously look like you own a business or something. You look...dude I'm so fucking jealous now."

"You always loved dressing up. You're better at it than me," Gregory said fiddling with his tie.

"So are you excited?"

"I dunno what to say," he sulked. "Maybe I should never have done this." He sat on the floor and started moping. It was so odd to see a grown man acting like, well, a 13 year old.

"Okay, you look like a child and also a grown man and that's so not good."

"I don't wanna get a job! Not if it's at the places Dad was telling me about. I don't wanna work at the grocery store, Dave!"

"Oh my god, really? You look like fucking Conan the Barbarian's younger brother, not mine. You could seriously play professional sports now. Do you know what I would do to have a body like the one you just had handed to you?"

"You're just making me feel worse! You're supposed to make me feel better! You're my brother."

"Yeah, your older brother. Look, you were the one that agreed to this."

"Besides which," Dad said behind me, "We talked about you getting a job before we did this. You have to man up now. There's no going back. You left childhood behind the minute you got on that plane. So if you are having second thoughts about the adult world, it's a little too late. Now get off the floor and stop complaining and get down to that car. I'll be with you shortly."

Gregory moped out of the room.

"I was just trying to-"

"I know. I appreciate it. He's going to be a handful for a while. We all need to get him used to acting like an adult. You boys are well behaved but out of the two of you, you have the better attitude. Your brother has always been a bit negative. I'm going to really need you, Dave." My father put his hands over his face and pulled at it, which is a sure sign he's stressed.

"Okay, okay. So are you gonna teach him to drive?"

"Oh god, I have to do that eventually. Just not today. Today we're getting applications and he's going to introduce himself to prospective employers."

"Super fun." I said nodding. "So what about your job?" Dad works as a tax attorney from home.

"Oh  I am taking just a few days off and then I'm going to make your brother do all this alone. I can't hold his hand all the way..."

And thus it began. Dad helped him the first two days and from then on he just dropped Gregory off at shopping centers across town. No one called back, mainly because he was being honest about being only 13. It's legal to hire a 13 year old if he has been Rejuved but not many people wanted to. Would you hire a kid to represent your business? He can barely look at people in the eye. A few weeks of this went by. Gregory was starting to get anxious and he blew up at me and dad one night. That did not go over well. He yelled at us to get off his back and he was sick of us telling him what to do, because he was a grown up now.

That did not go over well. Cue Dad hauling his ass into the other room to chew him out. Cue Gregory crying. Yes, crying. A behemoth of a 25 year old looking dude crying is not exactly fun to listen to or watch.

He came to me later. He was really depressed.

"Well, look. You just started looking for work. It's not supposed to be easy. And you have your first driving lesson soon." He perked up a bit at that. "I guess that'll be pretty cool. Oh no, I forgot Mom wanted me to mow the lawn again."

"Hey what about that for a living? You can mow lawns."

"Haha, Dave." Gregory rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm being serious. Landscapers make decent pay."

I pitched my idea to the family that night and Dad agreed to take Gregory to a few different businesses.

One week later he was hired by one of them. He was so ecstatic when he came home. He couldn't stop talking about it. He gave me a big hug and said he owed it all to me. It was weird having a new much taller little brother who still gushed about me. At least we were still close. I'd heard so many horror stories about Rejuv kids falling out with their families. I hadn't broached that subject with Gregory but I'd talked about it with my parents.

As the weeks progressed, I was busier because I got onto the track team so I had to stay after school more. I also was getting tutoring for AP history with my teacher because I was pretty sure I wanted to be a history/law double major. Gregory isn't the only smart one. I just didn't brag about it or open my fat mouth as much as he did. There was some social awkwardness on his part that led to bullying and he never shied away from saying his opinion, whereas I tended to just melt into the background. Anyway, he started to change a little bit. Hanging out with grownups made him want to act more grownup, in his own words. He told me all the time about all the cool adult friends he was making and how cool the guys at work were.

He started to take more initiative. He started helping with chores without having been asked, doing dishes and raking leaves and taking out the trash. Before it was like pulling teeth. He was lifting weights in the backyard. His body was supercharged but he felt like getting more of a challenge here and there. He started to just act more mature. He was looking other adults in the eye more and more, I noticed. He started to be more confident when talking with adults. In school, he would stammer a lot or want to voice his opinion without letting other people speak. He was becoming more aware of that, about how he shouldn't be such a motormouth. He was learning to listen to other adults. He passed his learner's permit test. His driving lessons were going well. I guess being able to reach the pedals sure helped. Lucky bastard. I was still hoping for my growth spurt. I was still a bit on the short side and I fervently hoped that I wouldn't have to wait until I was 55 and could go on Rejuv myself before growing any taller.

One night I was doing homework and he called me, his deep voice resonating. "You need to come over here. I'm at my friends house. It's nearby." He gave me directions. I rode my bike over. He told me it was important but he didn't want to talk about it with mom and dad. Then I got to his friend's house and saw my little 13 year old brother smoking a cigar! By now his features had hardened a bit so he looked to be about age 30 by now. It was unbelievable!

"A CIGAR?? Are you joking? Mom would kill you."

"That's why she can't find out. DON'T tell her!" he said with slight panic. I crossed my arms and gave him The Look. "Seriously, I've been smoking them for weeks now. It's because I'm an adult and I can do what I want now. I have a job. I'm making money. And um. I'm thinking of moving out."

"What? You can't do that! You're supposed to help pay off your share of the trip to Columbia."

"I'm going to. And then I'm going to move out, in maybe four months. I have it all worked out." He blew the smoke and it was like heaven.

"Jesus that smells good."

"Yeah? You wanna try it? I won't tell mom or dad, I swear!" He smiled devilishly. I cringed and then gave in.

"Yeah. Okay. I mean, it's cool." He handed me the cigar gingerly. I was only 14. This was so illegal. I held it in my mouth. Fumes from the cigar drifted upwards, I took a drag on it and immediately started coughing."

"Dude, you're not supposed to like breathe it, just puff on it."

"Here, take it back," I said after wheezing a bit longer. "Do you have any water?"

"Inside. I'm gonna be moving in here."

Remember that friend in the pic from before, where they won a wrestling trophy? That friend lived in the house with some other 20somethings. My brother offered me a beer. He really wanted me to "bro out" with him along with his new adult friends, who opposed giving me a beer.

"Dude, he's just a kid still. And it's a schoolnight. I don't want your parents coming over here bitching me out cause I gave a kid beer."

"Technically I am older than him," I reasoned.

"Yeah but legally he can drink, so I'm gonna ask that you don't."

"Fine. Whatever." I looked a little embarrassed so to his credit Gregory got us a couple of apple juices to drink. When we were back outside, he took his cigar from the ashtray and took a deep drag.

"Oh man I fucking LOVE cigars. They're so awesome. I love the way they feel and taste." He exhaled. God, he looked good. I had been fighting all my feelings but as I had reached puberty I had to admit I jerked off to guys and even though it was my brother that everyone thought was gay, I was the only gay brother in the family. And yeah I had started to get awkward around him.

"Well you can have them. I think I'll pass until I'm a bit older," I told him. He smoked more. God, he just looked amazing. I was so embarrassed and jealous.

"What's wrong, Dave? Are you mad or somethin'?"

"Not mad, no, not really. Just...I wish I could jump ahead like you did sometimes. I wish I could hang out with your cool friends and not be the dumb kid brother."

"Oh. Sorry. I just."

"Look, this is the thing. You're older and you're gonna hang out with grownups your own age. I'm gonna still hang out with teenagers. We're gonna live in different worlds."

"Yeah. So, like..."

"What?"

"Okay, like, maybe when we're alone sometime, I can sneak you some beers and we can just relax and chill out. Would you be cool with that?" I smiled.

"Yeah. That would be cool."

It would be months before that would happen. Gregory studied hard to get his GED. He got his driver's license. He bought a crappy 15 year old car after 6 months (he was getting rides from his roommate to work and giving him gas money) that he was incredibly proud of.

Word got out fairly quickly after he got back home that he had gotten a LOT bigger. It's the sort of thing people notice. People at school just avoided the subject with me. A few curious questions from guys wanting to know if my brother was getting laid. I honestly didn't know what to say.

My brother didn't share that part of his life with me, but I found out that he had been having sex. I came over to his place (just a few streets over from our house) and I heard the moans coming from his room, and they were LOUD. Holy shit!

"UNGH. UNH. UNH. OH GOD. OH GOD. YEAH. YEAH. OH FUUUUCK. OH FUCK YEAH! YEAH! YEAH YEAH YEAH OH GOOOOOD!"

She was moaning and gasping and god knows what else. I only heard her but I got the fuck out of there. My brother was a huge sex machine stud and I was a 14 year old virgin and having incredibly disgusting thoughts about him.

I told him I was gay the next week. He gave me a big hug and said he'd fucking punch the shit out of anyone that fucked with me. I felt so safe in his arms. We didn't talk about the obvious fact I liked the feel of his big strong arms touching me, just how the touch of him when we sat together watching movies made me feel.

We never did anything, keep in mind. But the fact is, I was hitting puberty, gay, and my hormones were going fucking crazy. Incestuous thoughts went through my head pretty much all the time when I was around him and I kept them to myself. He was straight. I wasn't. It was just a really difficult time for me.

Gregory had decided to put college off until he could decide what he really wanted to do with his life. He was really enjoying the thrill of being an adult but he was also still changing. He started to look older every month.

He started to get even more muscular. He joined a gym. He started talking about his sex life with me and when I told him it was okay for him to talk about it he started talking about all his conquests. About all the pussy he'd been getting. Of course he didn't want to go to college yet, he'd rather bang half the girls in town first! But then he started to age more in his face. His hair got a little tiny bit gray. He said he was okay with it but I knew it bothered him. His face became even more mature, stubble filled and sensually rugged.

Most people would mistake him for a dad himself now. He looked like a dad. He had aged so rapidly and he started to attract the mothers of the girls he would have fucked before. He told me he had gone out with a milf whose daughter attended our high school. He banged the shit out of her, he told me, grinning proudly.

And then he called me one day. His voice was really serious. He was going to be 14 in only two months.

"So, I have something to tell you. I met this girl. Woman. And she's like, she's like mom's age. She's not the same one as before. She doesn't have kids. She's really nice, Dave." He sounded sorry for something.

"Gregory. What's wrong?"

"I knocked her up. The condom broke."

"Shit. SHIT!"

"We're gonna get married. I really love her. I'm gonna be her husband and I'm going to raise the child with her."

"But...but..you're like only a kid still!"

"I don't feel like a kid anymore, man. I feel like a real man now. Anyway. I wanted to tell you before I tell Mom and Dad. They are NOT gonna like this."

That was an understatement. Mom had a fit and Dad yelled at him. They told him he was too young for this. I didn't envy Gregory. He was choosing to be a 14 year old father. He said there was no way he could go to university now, at least not for a regular BA. He was looking into trade schools to become a machinist. He moved into her place. Her name was Marisa.

I still pictured him at night with his monster dick, fucking his soon to be wife (who was admittedly really hot for 37 years old) and I guess her family had some issues with him, too. Theirs was a definite uphill battle. I had my 15th birthday and he introduced me to his girlfriend. She was very nice.

But I believe my brother. He is a real man now. He has become MY big brother in many ways. We eventually got together for those beers. We had a Boys Night. His soon to be wife left us for the evening and we both got drunk watching movies. And then came the biggest bombshell of my entire life. I had never been drunk before and he cradled me in his arms. "Hey. Hey little brother."

"Hey big brother," I said, feeling his big strong arm around me, feeling the hairy forearm and wanting desperately to kiss it. We had begun to abandon thinking of me as the bigger brother, and I was enjoying it, to be honest. I didn't care what anyone thought of us as a family. I loved my brother.

"I want to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me."

"Okay," I muttered, watching the flickering TV screen after he muted it with the remote.

"Do you ever think about me? It's okay if you do. I think about you, too." I slowly got up.

"What?"

"I...I think about guys when I jerk off. Mostly girls, but sometimes guys. Mainly big muscle guys. But I love you, little brother. You know, I've changed so much and you have been there for me all the way. I just want you to know how much I love you. How much I appreciate you. And you are so fucking hot, dude." He grinned.

"I fucking love you, too." I hugged him tight. "Your muscles are so fucking hot. Fuck." I smelled his beer breath and he brought me in closer, situated me on top of him. He kissed me. Oh god, it was fireworks. My brother kissed me and I felt dizzy like I did when I tried my brother's cigar. He immediately picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his torso. He held me in his big arms, kissing me still, tasting me and me tasting him. He was intoxicating. I loved his stubble. I pulled my tongue out of his mouth to lick it. He was in the bedroom. No one was in the house but us. He had carried me into the bedroom. He took off the white T-shirt that hugged his giant frame and I looked up in wonder. I wanted to cry I was so happy.

"You like that muscle? Huh? Huh, LITTLE brother? You like that fucking muscle?"

"Oh my god," I managed to say, in a whisper. He made his pecs dance for me.

He was on top of me, in control of me. Larger than life. A real live, grown man with muscles everywhere, and I was all his. He knew what he was doing and I didn't and that was okay. He shucked off his pants and his 8 inch dick bobbed up and down, as big as a bat. I wowed with my mouth and then he asked me to put my mouth on it. He guided me. He moaned in ecstasy. I managed to get my mouth around his head. Fuck. He tasted amazing! His cockhead throbbed in my mouth and it was the best thing I'd ever done. The feeling of how hard and salty and sweaty it was. I was instantly hooked.

He brought me up again to kiss me. He made out with me and took off my clothes, took his rugged well-worked calloused hands and yanked them off rather forcefully. He growled. "FUCK yeah, brother. I fucking love you. You want this cock, hmm? Oh, fuck. You have a nice dick, bro." We held each other's dicks for a while, just standing there next to his bed. "I want to fuck you. I'm clean. Do you trust me?"

"Always."

He put me in position over the bed and slipped cold lube over my little hole. Getting ready, he grasped my sides and I felt his dick position itself. For a minute or so it hovered, and then slowly, painfully, gloriously it made its way inside me.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh," he moaned, and started to slide his dick inside me. It felt amazing. He was gentle. He was slow. After about 10 minutes he told me he wanted to go faster. I let him. He was really holding back that night, I know because we've had sex a dozen times since then and he is usually just a powerfuck. He had impaled me many times since like a fucking jackhammer but that night was different. That night he took my cherry. He came inside me and as he gasped.

"Oh! OH! FUCK! OH GOD! OH DAVE, THANK YOU!" He hugged me to him with an iron arm and slowly fucked me more standing up. He was only partway in. I couldn't take all of his dick back then but now I'm proud to say I can. He was so careful and I'll always be grateful.

He wiped off the lube so I could eat the rest of his cum. He jerked off and told me to open up. I was in heaven. He gently put his dick into position as I waited for my first cum and it filled my mouth ever so briefly. I relished the taste of it and moaned. He laughed at me.

"Fuuuuck yeah, you love that, don't you?"

"Yes. Oh god you're so hot. I fucking love your muscle." I held onto him almost all night as we talked for hours and hours and intermittently made up for lost time by exploring each other with our tongues.

"So what about Marisa?"

"We're not gonna fucking tell her about this," he said, thoughtfully. I mean, fucking your brother was still pretty uncommon enough for society to want to keep that to oneself. So I got it. We had a secret life after that.

My brother got married. I was his best man. I wished I could have been there for the honeymoon more than I could say. He went to trade school and did in fact learn to be a machinist.

He's 19 now and I'm 20. I am in university and I'm really enjoying my classes. Getting straight A's.

We get together every now and then. Twice a semester but I stay with him and his wife during the summer. He has a young daughter now, age 5. We go on fishing trips to the woods, where we can have guy time together. I think Marisa suspects but she would never say. My brother for all intents and purposes is an amazingly mature man and I'm so proud of him. And I'm so lucky to get fucked by him.

Rejuvenex is a complicated matter. Everyone responds differently but the one thing it can't do is force you to act mature. My brother manned up because he wanted to. I hope I can be as big and manly as him someday. I've begun to catch up finally. He is obviously over 250 and stands at 6'2". I reached 6'1" so I'm at about his height now, which makes making out with him a lot more fun and I weigh in at 190 of taught muscle. I have a long way to go before I get to his level and I'm not going to wait until I am old enough to take Rejuvenex.

Better hold on, little big brother. I'm gonna catch up eventually.