Double Date (Patreon)

"Hey, I'm not sure about this," Jeff said, gazing up at the sky.

"Relax, it'll be fun. Haven’t you ever been on a double date? They're amazing!" Josh replied.

"It might be amazing for you.” Jeff said. “You get to see Faye. You already like her. I’m stuck with a mysterious mystery date.”

"Come on, man. It's not that big of a mystery. It’s just her roommate. You already know her," Josh reassured him.

"Do I? Who is she?" Jeff asked, his tone almost demanding.

"...It's … uh ...Reagan, the girl from the gym," Josh replied almost embarassed.

"Wait, THAT Reagan? Reagan the Amazon? Reagan, the captain of maximum intensity?" Jeff said, his voice tinged with fear. He had seen Reagan in the gym lifting massive weights with all four of her arms and her tail. She was more monster than woman. She could probably snap him in half like a twig!

"Yes, her,” Josh said defensively. “But don't worry! Outside of the gym, she's just an ordinary girl… just, you know… a six foot tall mutant girl."

"Buddy, I really don't think I'm in her league," Jeff replied. “Wouldn’t she be more comfortable with, like, a body builder? Or… I don’t know, Godzilla?”

"What are you talking about? You're in great shape,” Josh said, trying to convince himself of his own polite lie. “Just be yourself… well except for all that nerdy crap you like. Maybe cut that out.”

"Gunpla is a sophisticated hobby!" Jeff retorted.

"Whatever, just don't embarrass me," Josh groaned.

They arrived at Faye’s apartment a few minutes later. They rang the doorbell, and a few seconds later, Faye answered looking stunning in a tight dress that accentuated her curves and matching heels.

"Hey guys! Come in, we've been waiting for you," she greeted them cheerfully.

Josh and Jeff entered the cozy apartment adorned with flowers and sassy inspirational posters. It would be the most feminine sight either had seen in a while.

Well except...

Reagan was waiting in the living room, and she stuck out like a sore thumb. She was wearing a short, pink dress that revealed her toned legs. It was adorned with a flower design and ruffles that contrasted beautifully with her tanned skin. She also wore delicate heeled sandals, and she had very clearly put a lot of effort into her makeup and hair. She looked so different from how she usually looked, pumping iron at the gym.

The four of them sat down and ordered dinner, a simple affair of wine and sushi. Josh and Faye's chemistry was undeniable, with a lot of complicity in every interaction between them. Jeff and Reagan listened and laughed from time to time but didn’t really enter the conversation, nor did they talk to each other much at all.

Some time passed before Faye rose from her seat. "Hey guys, give me a moment," Faye announced. "I'll go grab dessert. Reagan, can you come with me?" Without a word, Reagan rose from her seat and followed Faye into the kitchen.

"Looks like you hit it off with Faye," Jeff commented as they left the room.

"Obviously," Josh replied. "But what about you? You barely spoke to Reagan."

"I don't know what to say," Jeff admitted. "I don’t go to the gym much so like, what are we supposed to talk about?”

"Anything but your Transformers," Josh laughed.

"They're GUNDAMS!" Jeff corrected him.

"God whatever. Talk about anything! The weather. Music. Who cares!? Just, don't embarrass yourself," Josh advised, taking a sip of his wine. "So, were you surprised? Reagan cleans up pretty well doesn’t she.”

“Don’t be crude,” Jeff protested.

“I’m just calling it how I see it,” Josh teased. "Maybe that’s why you are struggling. Maybe you have a thing for tall muscle babes and you are just realizing it now?"

“Shut up,” Jeff said with a sulk.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Faye was giving Reagan a pep talk.

"What were you thinking, Reagan?" Faye scolded her gently. "You barely said anything!"

"I'm sorry," Reagan replied, looking down at her feet. "I'm just nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about," Faye assured her.

“I look stupid…” Reagan said.

“You look great!” Faye said kindly.

"I feel like a gorilla in a tutu," Reagan muttered, her eyes almost filling with tears.

"Don't say that," Faye chided her. "You're beautiful. And you're not a gorilla, you're a cute and tender girl."

"I'm huge," Reagan protested. "I know I’m scaring Jeff away."

"Jeff doesn't look scared," Faye pointed out. "Look, I know you’ve had a crush on him for ages. You always get excited when he shows up to the gym. This is your chance to get to know him better. Just talk to him about something you both like… maybe not the gym though."

“Why not?” Reagan asked.

“Because you can get a little obsessive. You are kind of a gym nerd. You don’t want to intimidate him.”

Reagan blushed very hard. "What if I show him some tricks? Like my chopstick trick?" Reagan suggested.

"Maybe not," Faye replied, shaking her head. "You might scare him off.”

"Or my melon trick?" Reagan asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from her gym habits.

Faye quickly shut it down. "Then you wouldn't scare him, you'd terrify him," she said with a reassuring smile. "Look I know this isn’t REALLY gym talk, but steer away from feats of strength in general alright? You're a lovely, charming girl. Just relax and let the conversation flow naturally. Now, help me with dessert."

The evening continued with Josh and Faye enjoying themselves while Jeff and Reagan struggled to make small talk. There were many many pauses where Faye and Josh tried to prompt Jeff and Reagan into talking with each other… and none of them worked. Fed up with the awkward silence, Faye decided to take matters into her own hands.

"I think we need a little more wine," she said. "Would you care to join me, Josh?"

Understanding Faye's intention, Josh agreed, "Of course, I'm in!"

"W-wouldn't you rather I go?" Reagan asked nervously.

"We can't leave our guests alone," Faye replied as she hurried out with Josh, leaving Reagan and Jeff together with nothing but their company to amuse themselves.

After what felt like an eternity, Jeff finally mustered up the courage to speak to Reagan. "It's strange to see you outside the gym. Do you go… anywhere else?" Jeff immediately blushed. Of COURSE she goes other places what kind of stupid question is that.

"Yeah, I spend a lot of time there," Reagan replied, fiddling with her fork across her dessert plate. "It’s just something I am good at but… I have other hobbies."

"I didn’t mean to imply…,” Jeff said already feeling like he put his foot in his mouth. “By the way, you look great. This look suits you," Jeff said, trying to change the subject

Reagan blushed and her face lit up for a moment. Her mind clouded, she impulsively picked up a pair of unused wooden chopsticks, placed them in her cleavage, and with a flick of her pectoral muscles, snapped them in half.

“WOW," Jeff exclaimed with his eyes wide open. Reagan realized that she had just done exactly what Faye warned her not to do.

“Ta-da?” she said, embarrassed.

“That was amazing!” Jeff said in surprise, handing over another pair of chopsticks, which Reagan snapped cleanly.

"Sorry, it's a silly trick," Reagan said, still blushing. "Although you should see me split a melon with my thighs."

“Wait, can you really do that?” Jeff asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Yeah, it was like a meme thing that went around the gym community a while ago. Though, I'd ruin my dress if I did it now," Reagan said. Suddenly, she remembered she wasn’t supposed to be talking about the gym. "B-but don't think I only do things like that. I also have more delicate hobbies."

“Like what?” Jeff said with genuine curiosity.

“Well, I assemble models and miniatures here and there. Mostly mechas." she said. Jeff stared at her in awe, causing Reagan to worry that he was judging her. "B-but don’t think I’m a nerd!” she said worried. “I-it’s just because it helps me build fine motor skills. I, I have a lot of strength in these four arms and this tail and that strength makes it hard to be d-delicate you know. S-so building models helps me work on not just crushing everything I hold in my hands" she said, trying to justify her hobby but making her sound like more of a brute.

"Do you have Gundams?" Jeff asked, interrupting her.

"Of course. I was putting one together this morning. I think everyone who gets into model building has a Gudam or two" Reagan replied.

Jeff, as if by reflex, took out his phone and quickly showed Reagan his photo gallery of his mecha collection. Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Do you want to come to my room?" she asked, and Jeff nodded.

When Josh and Faye returned they couldn’t find their friends anywhere. They later heard noise coming from Reagan's bedroom making them both put their ear to the door.

Josh, impatiently asked, "Are they doing it?"

They could hear murmurs talking about parts a weights and plastic

“Oh my god,” Faye replied, "They are putting together a model robot."

Through the small opening of the door, they could see Reagan and Jeff working in silence, carefully placing the pieces of the Heavy Arms Gundam model Reagan was working on.

"What a pair of nerds." Josh said.

“Who would have thought gym banter and giant robots was the play?” Fay said. “But hey it’s progress,” she smiled as Reagan pulled Josh closer to her with one of her massive arms.

"In that case, I think it’s best if we don’t interrupt them" Josh said, and Faye smiled as she led him into her bedroom for their own private time.