Petra Ironwood's Arc

Chapter 6 of 7

Petra trained for six weeks after that day at the hot tub. She stopped counting inches. She counted plates. Every morning she loaded the heavy bar and drove it up until her arms shook. Every night she ate until her stomach hurt. Her shoulders spread. Her chest thickened. Her arms filled her sleeves and then split them. She stood in front of the mirror one morning and flexed. Her bicep rose the size of a melon. Same as Sunny's. She had matched her. That was not enough. Matching Sunny meant nothing if the man still chose Sunny. Petra remembered how he had swum across the tub. She remembered Sunny's hand on his wet head, like he was a dog. She wanted him to choose her instead. She wanted proof that her size could pull a man the way Sunny's did. She knew where Sunny lived. She walked there and did not knock. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Sunny stood in the middle of the room in her paint-splattered overalls. The straps strained over her chest. The same man sat on her couch, shirt off, muscles on show. He had come here for Sunny. Petra saw that at once. Sunny turned. Her eyes went down Petra's new body, slow, from shoulders to fists. She smiled. She was not worried. That smile made Petra's jaw lock. "Look at that," Sunny said. "Somebody's been working." "I match you now," Petra said. She flexed. Her arm swelled hard. The man's mouth opened. He looked. Sunny smirked and loosened the straps of her overalls, showing off her toned figure. Petra did the same with her own outfit. The two muscle-bound women compared their size, Sunny’s enormous build slightly larger than Petra’s, their chests rising and falling with hard breaths.