Zachary Thompson Was Parked Outside Of A 24-hour Gym In A Strip Mall Not Too Far From His House. He Was

Zachary Thompson was parked outside of a 24-hour gym in a strip mall not too far from his house. He was sweating in the Arizona heat, one hand clenched nervously in his lap, the other refusing to let go of the steering wheel. His heart was racing a million miles a minute in his overly-muscled chest.

“I can do this,” he tried to convince himself, “I’ve got the body, I’ve got the muscles. I can do this.”

Still, everything inside of him was saying to just turn around, drive back home and try to go to the gym again tomorrow. That was when the genie, Aabrof, appeared at his side in the passenger seat.

“Having some doubts?” the genie teased, “You know, for your second wish, I could always –”

“No,” Zachary firmly cut him off.

“For your second wish,” the genie continued, regardless, “I could always give you a little dash of confidence to go along with that handsome new body of yours.”

“No. I want to be able to do this on my own. I don’t want to change who I am.”

“Change who you are!?” Aabrof scoffed, “My dear boy, look at yourself! I’m afraid you’ve already done that!”

It was true. Zachary examined his reflection in the rear-view mirror of the car. He didn’t recognize the jock-looking face that stared back at him. The shaggy hair. The wide, muscular neck.

“Just a tiny bit of confidence,” the genie bargained, as if he was speaking directly into Zachary’s mind, “That’s all, my boy. Think of how nice it will be to walk in there with your head held high, like you’ve been there a hundred times before. Think of how easily you will be able to lift the weights and work the machines. Think of how comfortable you will feel getting undressed in the locker room, how much you will enjoy showing off those splendid new muscles, how confident you will feel knowing all eyes are on you as you step out of the shower, your muscles still heavy and full and dripping wet…”

“Okay,” Zachary said in a voice that sounded strangely distant to him.

“You wish?” the genie urged him on with an impish gleam in his eye.

“I wish,” Zachary affirmed, “That I had the confidence to go into the gym.”

“Your wish is my command.”

The genie twirled his mustache, gave a wink, and then vanished into thin air.

A relaxed look washed across Zachary’s face. His fist unclenched in his lap as he sat back into the seat of the car. He looked down at his body and felt a sense of pride at how huge he looked, especially in the tiny shorts and tight black tank top that he was wearing. He realized how awesome it felt wearing clothes that showed off his body, rather than having to hide how he looked.

He hoped that girl, Hannah, was working at the front desk so that she could see him like this. He couldn’t wait to give her a little flex and a smile as he handed her his well-worn gym membership card. But mostly, he couldn’t wait to get in there and work out harder than he had ever worked out in his life.

“Fuck yeah,” he said to himself with a cocky grin, “I can do this.”