Growing Pains - Chapter 4

For the rest of that school day, Alexandre could not concentrate on anything that wasn’t thinking about their next gym session when she’d have a chance to see Nataly work that upper body. She found herself literally fantasizing about Nataly dressed as in a jungle queen skimpy fur outfit, lance in hand - wrestling a large cat… no, not good enough, a rhino, hippo or elephant, maybe? She had to bite her lips to avoid drooling just thinking of that.

But as the day came to a close, and she returned to the apartment, she did not expect to find an almost naked Nataly cooking dinner for the two of them.

“Hey there, Ale! Hope you are okay with meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner!”

“You know me, not picky. Didn’t expect you to be in such a comfortable state of undress.”

“Oh, this?” She held the spatula and pan up, looking down on herself and her almost useless bra and too-small panties, “Since we have the heater keeping things cozy in here, I didn’t feel the need to put more clothes on - and since I was working with the tomato sauce, I could put on the apron, or take off my nice clothes - figured you wouldn’t mind too much?”

“Mind?” Ale slapped that ass as she was getting used to since they became an item, “Girl, if it was up to me, you’d never get dressed again.” She hugged her from behind, cupping some of her abdominal muscles with delight.

After dinner, in which Alexandre kept making suggestive acts of licking her spoon, she kept eyeing Nataly with very sensual looks, which were both meant to stimulate Nataly, but also a natural byproduct of all dirty thoughts in her head. She grabbed a bit of the tomato sauce with the spoon, and “accidentally” dribbled it over her exposed neck. 

“Oh, no! Look at the mess I made. If only I could clean it up myself… but my tongue does not reach that far. I wish I had someone who could lick this off…”

“Are you suggesting we should get a dog?” Nataly said, and Alexandre was not sure whether she was playing dumb or actually was that innocent. She leaned her head to the side to expose her smeared neck, as she got up and slowly approached Nataly.

“Perhaps you could help?”

Nataly smirked. She wrapped her arms around Ale’s torso tenderly, and proceeded to probe the tomato-laden neck with her long tongue, before sucking lightly on the exposed skin, causing her to moan and grab Nataly’s craggy back, her nails trying to penetrate the hard muscle.

Nataly stood, lifting Alexandre in the process, and she carried her back to bed. Gently placing the smaller girl on her mattress, she spread her legs over Alexandre’s torso, towering over the smaller woman. Ale allowed herself a moment to feel frail under her roommate. But Nataly was a gentle giant, and nuzzled her large breasts before letting her tongue wrap around these nipples, as her chin slid down the toned torso and she bit her lips as she approached Ale’s cleanly shaved sex.

Ale gasped as Nataly went to town, struggling not to squirm, but the larger girl’s arms held her legs tight as her tongue probed. While Nataly clearly had no experience and was very sloppy in finding her G-spot, the sheer size of the tongue and the ferociousness with which she snaked her way into her slit made Alexandre shake violently. She certainly had received much better oral sex before, but this was still a unique experience - and the fact she had a literal giant over her was enough to make her completely lubricated.

Nataly proceeded and eventually found Alexandre’s clitoris, making her shake so violently that she immediately realized she was doing something right, so she kept going. Every muscle in Alexandre’s body tensed violently at the repeated tongue lashing, her hips turning as her back curved up. Teeth gritted and brow furrowed, Alexandre groaned and her fists tightened. Out of instinct, like someone being tickled, she started hitting Nataly with one of her hands, but her solid shoulders just absorbed the impact like it was nothing. After climaxing for the third time, she shook harder than before one last time, before falling limp, which led Nataly to raise her head and look at her to see if she was okay.

Ale just smiled at her, half-exhausted, and Nataly sighed with relief.

“Damn that tongue, Nataly. I could get used to this…”

The next morning Nataly almost had to carry Alexandre off the bed after her morning sprint to get her roommate in the shower so they could go to the gym together. But then Ale remembered that Nataly was probably going to do upper body, and she almost teleported to the bathroom.

They arrived at the gym in their usual workout attire, but Alexandre would spend the next hour imagining that Nataly was as naked as she could envision in her mind’s eye. She counted the small blessings of the exposed midriff and arms, but was already looking forward to asking Nataly to pose her back naked when they got back home.

While part of Alexandre wanted to just have Nataly go straight to work her arms, she started her routine with bench presses. Well, there was some merit in watching those incredible pecs. Truth is, Alexandre was a big fan of big breasts like her own, but she had learned to appreciate the appeal of the large exposed pectoral muscles that her friend sported.

And as Nataly loaded the bar with more than her own weight on each side, Alexandre was already daydreaming of replacing that bad with her own body. Still, as soon as Nataly laid down and started pressing, she put her feelings of inadequacy of not even DREAMING of spotting her away and just marvelled at the two blocks of meat that protruded from under her chin - even with her sports bra, that curved back just put those pecs at full display. Sure, Nataly wasn’t the most elegant in her lifts, but the sheer amount of plates was enough to impress anyone as she could almost swear the bar was curving at the pressure from both ends.

Alexandre wasn’t even embarrassed at how much weight she had to remove in order to do her sets - sure, it was less than half of what her friend was pressing, but it was still pretty impressive for someone of her size. She put on her belt and laid down, and briefly amused by the fact that Nataly didn’t even bother to use both hands to spot her - a small tease of what was to come when they went for biceps curls.

Once they were done, Alexandre wiped her brow and looked eagerly at Nataly:

“Biceps? Please say biceps!”

Nataly giggled and smirked. “I’ll make an exception for you. I don’t usually change my routine even when people are using the equipment, but how can I say no to you?”

And so Nataly proceeded to the rack with the barbells, reaching all the way to the next to last one they had, a whopping 140 pounder. She started pumping reps, and Nataly just giggled like a schoolgirl as she watched those arms fill with blood, veins popping as the circumference appeared to bloat in front of her eyes. Nataly just sped through 10 very fast reps.

“Whoa, that was AMAZING! Can I feel your arms?” Alexandre begged.

“Sure, but how about I finish this warm up?”

“W-w-warm up?”

Nataly sat on the preacher curl machine, setting the weight to a whopping 110 pounds as she started doing one-arm curls - this time in a much slower and more controlled fashion. The arms somehow found space to expand even more… as did Alexandre’s eyes, transfixed by the incredible feat of strength in front of her. As Nataly switched arms, Ale begged once more:

“C-can I… touch your arms while you do this arm?”

“Hey, knock yourself out!” Nataly responded with pride, but also a feeling of superiority she wasn’t quite used to since she mostly interacted with the guys at the gym, who certainly acted very differently.

Alexandre placed her palm over Nataly’s left upper arm, a thick vein already clearly felt under her fingers which wrapped modestly over a small fraction of the cannonball of power. While Nataly’s skin felt smooth and silky, there was no denying the incredible hardness under that thin membrane. And as Nataly pulled on the handle, the rounded surface suddenly changed shape, the ball squeezing taller and becoming even harder. Alexandre gasped and squeezed nervously, like she was trying to dent marble. After the third rep, Nataly unexpectedly stopped.

“Add another 20 pounds there.”

Alexandre was blown away, but did comply without any objections, immediately returning her fingers to the immodest biceps. Nataly was clearly struggling a bit more, but it was impossible not to see the feral smile under the gritted teeth.

“You… oughta accompany me… every time… I train…” Nataly said, between reps as she wrapped up. “Pretty sure I can make even more progress with you around.”

“Fuck, if I knew I had this effect, I would DEMAND to be around!”

As she wrapped up, Alexandre kind of rushed through her own curls, anxious to see what was next. And she was very happy to see Nataly preparing for French presses for her triceps. As impressive as those biceps were, Nataly’s triceps were almost comical - she’d seen the enormous woman just leaning against the sink as she brushed her teeth, and it was unreal how suddenly that muscle lumped toward her shoulder, an impossible display of feminine muscularity. And she was about to see how it was forged.

Sitting down on the bench, Nataly proceeded to extend and bend her elbows, and once again that explosive expansion almost made Alexandre’s jaw drop - and that’s given that she pretty much knew what to expect. Sure, biceps are what everyone notices at first, but it was no exaggeration to say those triceps pretty much eclipsed the former. The contrast between the two sides of her upper arm bordered on insane, with that belly being both enormous and extremely sculpted, each curve and dimple making Alexandre tremble.

“You know, I love to push you harder, but it is a bit humbling to follow you. Perhaps I should be the one to do the exercises first… not that I would be any less demoralized by your abilities.” Alexandre said in a joking tone.

“Well, I did work quite hard for these bad boys. Besides, you look mighty fine yourself, motherfucker!” Nataly responded, almost indignantly at the way Alexandre seemed to put herself down.

“I do, though, don’t I?” Alexandre got into a crab pose, her amazing traps looking very impressive on her tinier frame.

When they got to doing pull-ups, finally Alexandre had a bit of an advantage: she was very serious about her back, and had much less body weight to contend with - so she grabbed a 20 pound plate and tied with a 5 pound chain to her shoulders, as she stepped off the bench and proceeded to crank some very slow reps. In an attempt to show off, she dropped the weight and proceeded to do some sideways calisthenics on the bar. She should’ve known better, though.

Given her height, Nataly not only didn’t need the bench to reach the pull up bar, but instead of wearing the plate, she just wrapped her legs around Alexandre, and playfully started lifting the two of them. Those powerful legs were squeezing her quite tightly to the point of hurt, but between the incredible hardness and being squeezed against cobbled abs, Alexandre just endured the sting as she resisted bravely against the urge to lick the sweat from Nataly’s warm skin.

“Well, that was a productive workout!” Nataly said, starting her stretching.

“It sure was, especially if we are talking about how much lubrication my coochie produced just staring at you!” Alexandre could be very crass, but Nataly was slowly learning to appreciate it. It was a good pairing for her own slightly unaware use of curse words due to social ineptitude.

“I do have to go to class, though,” Alexandre said, heading to the shower, “but I’ll see you at home later. And I want you to pose for me. With no clothes.”

“Hmmmm… can be arranged!”

The two friends continued to synchronize their gym time in the weeks to come, and increase their intimate time back at home - which could immediately be noticed by the increasing state of undress of both parties as time passed, as well as the general touching that happened constantly: both Nataly and Alexandre could hardly keep their hands away from each other when they spent time together. It was primal and instinctual, as both enjoyed the raw strength each other exuded, and it would commonly escalate into little playful sessions where they explored their developing physiques and increasing power. And yet, something was off in Ale’s eyes. Their physical contact did feel great, but a lot of it felt exploratory instead of intimate.

One day, out of the blue, Alexandre just blurted it out.

“Hey, Nataly, why don’t we move in together?”

Nataly was confused, tilting her head. “Don’t we live together already?”

“Sure, but we don’t share a room. Why don’t we get a stupidly large bed and just use the same room? It’s not like we aren’t sleeping in the same bed half the time, right?”

Nataly felt divided about it. It was true that sleeping next to Alexandre made her feel great, and she would never give that up - but at the same time… she was a lot more organized than her roommate, and they did have somewhat clashing styles. Nataly could not find any excuse not to, it just felt… risky?

“Uhhhh, I guess?”

It was Alexandre’s turn to feel confused, but also slightly hurt. “Well, glad to see you are really excited about it…”

“That’s not what I meant, Ale, it’s just… it feels like a big step.”

“Oh, going down on each other almost every day is no big deal, but sharing a bedroom is where you draw the line?”

“Come on, Ale, that’s not fair. I just… we have our differences and you know it.”

“Sure, but when we go to watch movies together you love to check out my ass and legs, but I could use a bit more cuddling, you know?”

Nataly knew deep inside Ale was right, but it felt weirdly aggressive, and she couldn’t help but lash out.

“Sure, you say that, but once we share the bedroom, are you going to stop just leaving your dirty clothes all over the place? Or am I going to have to start cleaning up after your every mess and all your other shit?”

Alexandre frowned, with those wording hurting a lot more than she expected - not because she was right, but because she knew they were meant to be hurtful, which coming from Nataly, stung even more. “Well, glad to learn you think I’m a slob. Maybe I ought to just move out so you don’t have to deal with my ‘shit’”.

And with that, she just ran out of the door, and Nataly tried to stop her.

“Ale, wait… I…”

But she had already slammed the door.

Nataly felt pretty bad. She let her emotions get the best of her, and she knew it. Since she’d been getting stronger it felt like this little beast that had been dormant inside her was let out, and she’d been lashing out after keeping it all bottled in for so long. But none of that mattered now, she had to do something about it.

Alexandre got back home, drinking her latte to warm herself up a bit from her stroll at the park to cool down. She knew she had to apologize, but was not looking forward to it. She sighed and rolled her eyes, trying to brace for the little speech she was already practicing in her head when she noticed something seemed to be a bit off…

She walked into the apartment noticing some of Nataly’s stuff in the living room, and for a second her stomach dropped - was she thinking about moving out? Fuck, did she screw up that bad? Her heart started racing as she ran in, looking for her roommate when she saw the door to her room was open.

She found Nataly there on the ground, finishing to build a new bed. She had brought some of her stuff in, and it took a few seconds for Alexandre to understand what was going on. She let out a sigh of relief and a laugh, which made the horizontal Nataly turn around, even though she was still struggling to get her large hand to operate the tiny tool to tighten the bolt on the king size bed.

“Oh, Ale… you’re back…” Clearly, she also was at a bit of a loss for words.

“Hey, Nat… I guess you warmed up to the idea after all?”

They all awkwardly tried to get something out, until both said at the same time: 

“Look, I’m sorry.”

They looked at each other and started laughing.

“I know I overreacted,” Alexandre took the initiative.

“And I didn’t handle your needs as I should have. Intimacy is still… tricky for me.” Nataly said, looking her partner in the eyes, which wasn’t a very common occurrence.

“I know, in some ways, I’m the same, you know? I mean, I need it - and maybe I want it a bit too much. To the point of not being reasonable.”

“No, no, I was the one… I mean, you are right. Not about not being reasonable, OK? About wanting… needing… intimacy. I just need to take it at a slower pace, I guess.”

“Hey, that’s totally fair. How about I make us some popcorn, and we can watch a movie tonight, just cuddle a bit? Would that work?”

“Well, how about you help me tighten these screws on our new king size bed? My hand can’t reach this corner in here…”

Alexandre laughed, dropped to the ground as Nataly got up and handed her the hex screw tool, and just easily rolled under the bed - a maneuver her roommate had no hope of accomplishing.

“See? Sometimes my size can be an asset too!”

“Yeah, but rolling around with those breasts can’t be easy!”

“Oh, I’m used to it. Now hand me another screw and I’ll finish this side.”

Alexandre set up her laptop, and started picking an old movie she really liked, when Nataly decided to risk it:

“Can we watch something a bit more… current?”

Alexandre rolled her eyes, but with a smile. “Sure. What do you want to watch?”

“Can we watch something funny? I could use a good comedy…”

“And you think modern comedies are better? Your loss…” Though Alexandre said that, she browsed through the menu of the streaming service and picked one of the recommended comedies she figured would please Nataly.

Alexandre then proceeded to nest herself on the lap of her larger partner, her hips fitting quite nicely in the gap between Nataly’s humongous thighs, who proceeded to wrap one arm around her waist while she ran the fingers of her free hand through Alexandre’s hair - even though everything felt a bit disproportionate for her, almost as if she was playing with a large doll. But actually, the feeling was quite pleasant for both of them.

Nataly yawned as the credits rolled. Alexandre just pulled the oversized arm like a blanket over herself, as if she didn’t really plan to get up.

“Do we really need to move?” Alexandre complained, sarcastically.

“Well, I assumed you wanted to try the new mattress. I actually dug into my savings to get a nice one, you know?”

“You make a strong case. But… I think you should carry me. It’s only fair, right?”

Nataly smirked, revealing those enticing canines. Alexandre just wrapped her arms tightly around her shoulders, and waited for her strong princess to bring her to try out the new bed.

The next few days were not without incident, as the couple got used to sharing a room. They also started being less self-conscious in the bathroom, rarely ever closing the door - which in itself led to its own set of incidents of various natures. But at the end of the day, Nataly and Alexandre were becoming more like an actual couple.

It would be a couple of weeks later when they had friends over for board games that the topic was actually broached, by Nataly, no less.

“So… I guess we should tell you, Ale and I are an item now.”

Mike just looked at them confused. Britt just elbowed him, smiling and congratulating the couple. Lara, on the other hand, would not participate in the subterfuge.

“About goddamn time you girls admitted. You really think no one knew back when you moved in?”

Alexandre tried to protest and Nataly innocently announced that they only had formally started dating that year, but everyone just laughed at it.

“I guess you were the last to know,” Michael joked. “Everyone just assumed. Heck, Todd came to ask us back then after he made his move, and when we told him, he felt pretty stupid for not realizing.”

“Wait… so you all thought we were dating all this time?”

“You never noticed how handsy you get with each other? Like, all the time?”

Nataly was in shock, but in retrospect, it did make sense. Even if she wasn’t very intimate in a traditional sense, it was true that she was extremely touchy with Alexandre from day one. And it went both ways. She immediately started blushing, which just made Alexandre have a fit of laughter to leave her gasping for air.

“Well, someone should have told me, right?!?” Nataly complained, slightly miffed at her realization.

Truth is, while Nataly was loving to be in a relationship, despite the ups and downs, she also knew it was still somewhat hard for her to openly admit to it. Alexandre did not seem to share the same hang-ups, however, as she now attempted to wrap her shorter arm around Nataly’s massive shoulders, coming in closer now that there was no pretense to hide it.

“I’m really happy for you girls,” Britt said as she prepared to leave, “we can really tell you make each other happier.”

“Well, that’s the whole point, right? That and the multiple orgasms!” Alexandre joked as she slapped Nataly’s firm buttocks.

“Alexandre!” Nataly complained, grabbing her wrist.

“Hey, you think they don’t know? No one here is innocent. Fuck, Lara would probably be laughing us if she was still here!” Alexandre retorted, though Michael seemed to be a bit more embarrassed, as the whole lesbian aspect made him feel a bit out of place in the conversation.

“Well, you two take care of each other. We are glad to see things working out well!” Britt hugged Nataly from her tip toes, before waving everyone goodbye.

“We have some pretty cool friends”, Alexandre said, closing the door.

“Yeah, I suppose we owe them, since we would never have moved in together if not for them.”

“That’s true. I guess we know who we’ll get to be our best man and maid of honor when we get hitched.”

The color drained from Nataly’s face. Alexandre realized she would have to take baby steps with that topic, before saying she was just joking.

Even though the king size bed was quite large, Nataly’s gym habits were really trying to give the piece of furniture a run for its money. While Alexandre was the one who mostly liked to spread wide - a small impossibility while sharing even the large mattress with a mini-giant - she quickly learned that the harder part was how clingy her roommate was when sleeping. In the rare occasion she’d witnessed Nataly in a deep slumber before, she’d always been hugging a pillow or a balled up blanket. Except now she found herself playing the role of the pillow.

As they slept, Nataly would frequently toss and turn a bit (which in itself was a small hazard, you really don’t want to find yourself under 300 pounds of hard muscle), and like a little girl, she’d reach for an imaginary teddy bear - which happened to almost certainly be a semi-asleep Alexandre. The poor girl would wake up, squeezed by those large arms, sometimes flailing around a bit, to eventually end up pinned down and squeezed against a hard chest and a chin.

It was later in the night, Alexandre barely having slept  when Nataly seemed to be having a bad dream. She moaned and was drenched in sweat, and Ale debated waking her up, but she figured she was a big girl and could handle a scary dream. And while at this point Ale was mostly free, suddenly Nataly pulled her in as if she weighed nothing and wrapped her arm around her, cuddling her between her oversized legs in a fetal position.  It was even a bit hard to breathe. Still, she felt bad about trying to wake Nataly up, if she could even do that at this point But as she pondered that, she could feel the weight increasing as Nataly’s torso started turning, coming over her like a large wave. About to be engulfed by the Natsunami. She watched in horror as the large mass turned and covered her, her nose stuck under the bridge of the enormous woman’s pecs, just enough for her to somewhat breath. And if she wasn’t wide awake from the weight yet the smell would do it; it was heavy and strong and earthy and lovely, all the things she loved.

The sweaty skin draped over her, levered in such a way that Nataly’s arm kept her torso raised enough so as to not completely smother the poor Ale… still, it was quite scary, as the feeling of having a small car parked on top of her was quite claustrophobic. Yet… the sweaty, hard muscle… and all that mass… she was getting quite horny, and when would such an opportunity like this present itself again? With an extremely labored sigh, Alexandre forced her fingers around her thigh and into her slit, pleasuring herself while she nibbled on those sinewy pecs. As a moan passed her lips Ale even dared to let her tongue taste the massive pecs, just to fully experience them. The big woman must’ve noticed something as her thighs, her pecs, her arms, they all tensed up. Her mass increased a bit as she flexed in her sleep, the veins popping out which only made Ale more excited. It felt as if Nataly was growing to Ale, and being half delirious from lust and the lack of sleep she wasn’t sure anymore it wasn’t the case. Nataly was in such a deep slumber that it took her enough time for Alexandre to climax, when she bit harder, and made Nataly jump with a scream. 

“WAAAAAH!”

The immense woman stood beside the bed, fully naked and drenched in sweat. She downright loomed over Ale, somehow seeming like a giantess like never before.

Alexandre just took in a big gulp of air, while she wiped her moist fingers.

“ALE! I had this horrible nightmare - I was being chased by a big three-headed dog, like Cerberus… I finally managed to pin it down, but one of its heads managed to turn around and it…”

She put her hand over her chest, and felt a small human bite mark.

“Ale, do I even want to know?”

“No, not really!” Ale smirked, while grabbing her book from the floor. “Worth it…” Ale thought to herself about the near-death sexual experience.

That last year of college turned out to be an upheaval for the two friends. It was obviously the most academically challenging time for Alexandre, who had to devote quite a bit of time to individual and group projects, her dissertation, some of the hardest tests… and figuring out what she would do after graduation. Nataly, on the other hand, was taking things in a more carefree manner, at least on the professional end. She found a few small part-time jobs while still applying for something a bit more challenging. But that was with work - at the gym, she worked out like a woman possessed, and much to everyone’s surprise (and sometimes even terror), her growing size and strength showed no signs of stopping.

At this point, it felt inevitable that she would soon be the strongest person in that gym. It had changed the dynamics once again: while most of the patrons still treated her nicely and even playfully, she now prowled the grounds like a large feline, a predator ready to pounce on anyone unaware. She walked confidently, and people acted like a queen was passing by, making way and acknowledging a superior. Alexandre was quite amused by that, following like a squire behind her, basking in that second-hand glory. But it was Nataly who felt the largest impact. Even though it felt quite natural to her by now, that sense of belonging was life-altering. She went from outcast to royalty so fast and naturally it barely registered - but it strangely suited her. She wasn’t necessarily smug about it, but certainly very proud and increasingly assertive.

It was a good thing that this gym was a very chill and wholesome environment, probably in part because the clientele tended to skew younger - but every now and then there’d be an outsider getting a day pass… and there was always a chance someone’s ego would manifest and try to exert itself over the large woman in attempt to show off.

It invariably led to embarrassing situations, and not for Nataly.

Sure, Nataly was normally nice, but whenever anyone decided to belittle her, she would more than respond in kind. How it unfolded depended on the situation: sometimes a large man would see what she was lifting and alternate sets, trying to increase the weight so as to not be outlifted by a girl. Nataly would just casually step back, lean against the wall and cross her arms with a smirk, waiting for the invariable vain attempt to outlift her, followed by guttural grunting and face-reddening. Most times, Nataly would just scoot them off, shrug asking if there was anything wrong, and proceed to use that weight for her next set. That alone was responsible for several of her successful attempts at breaking her PR.

But every now and then someone would want to brag and tease her. Those would invariably get personal, and she wouldn’t be so nice. One time, a professional bodybuilder came in and scoffed at her when she tried to unload her weight as he was about to bench press after her. He didn’t even bother counting the plates, and just grabbed a couple more to be added, while practically scolding Nataly for thinking he needed less weight. She offered to spot him, but he refused - at which point she said it was gym policy for such high loads. He grunted, irritated, and bitched about it being a girly policy. Little did he know he had sealed his fate at that point.

He laid down under the weight, and as he started pushing, he struggled. Nataly, however, decided to do a bit more than just spot him, and actively started to help him lift the absurdly loaded barbell. He smiled, unaware of how much of the weight he wasn’t actually lifting.

“Oh, I’m getting a bit hungry!” Nataly said, letting go of the bar at the top of the height to check her watch. “Hey, is the snack bar open already?” She turned around to ask someone, as the bodybuilder struggled, his elbows shaking as the full weight was placed on him.

“H-h-help?” He struggled to say, with difficult breathing as the bar started descending in uncontrolled fashion. Nataly turned back and carefully put it back on the rack before the weight crushed the poor man, her arms pumping incredibly in the process.

“I guess maybe you bit a little more than you could chew…” she said, helping him get up. “No worries, though. Think you can spot me while I try?”

That quickly put him in his place, especially after Nataly managed to complete 5 semi-decent reps with the same weight.

“Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t push my luck, you know?” She said, wiping her forehead while she addressed the cocky bodybuilder, “Don’t want you to overexert yourself while spotting for me…”

Alexandre would love to witness these little episodes, rare as they might be.

As much as things were great as they were, both women strived to do their best - and so Nataly kept looking for better opportunities within the industry, constantly sending resumes and checking new positions. Alexandre, however, had a different search going on as she finished her last semester and prepared for her graduation.

It all came to a head as Nataly came into the apartment extremely excited one day, waving a piece of paper and sporting a large smile, barely able to breath.

“What’s up, girlie?” Alexandre asked from behind her computer, her reading glasses almost falling from her nose.

“I got it! I got it!” Nataly waved the piece of paper. “They are offering me a position as sous chef at this little up and coming restaurant downtown. They want me to sign a two-year contract!”

Alexandre bit her lower lip, her brow furrowed. She really didn’t want to breach the subject now, but her hand was forced. She hoped for the best, but figured she’d at least try to soften the blow first with a bit by dispensing some praise first.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Nataly! I wasn’t aware you were looking for something more permanent - must be a great opportunity, huh?”

“I mean, it’s a small place, but I think it has a lot of potential, and they are going to allow me to help come up with new dishes! It really is perfect for my resume.”

“And a two-year contract, huh? Are you sure you want to commit like that?”

“I mean, it’s the next step, right? So I can keep improving!” She held the paper in front of her, staring at it with sparkling eyes. It made it all harder for Alexandre.

“Hey, so, about that…” Ale moved to the sofa, tapping by her side to invite Nataly to join her. The clueless girl did not pick up her concern, and just went for it, making the entire piece of furniture creak and lean, forcing Ale to move back so as to not fall onto her roommate.

“So, you know I will be graduating soon, right?” Alexandre’s serious tone made Nataly put the note down and pay attention, her eyes increasingly worried. “This little campus town is great, but it’s not the best place for my career. Frankly, the dining scene isn’t exactly great here either, as you’ve found out yourself when looking for opportunities, right?”

“Ale, what are you talking about?”

“Well, I’m planning for what’s next for us. I’ve been looking for some options about what we could do after I get my degree. So I looked for places where we could go when our lease here is done - you know, somewhere where there are plenty of opportunities for both of us, and perhaps not too far from your family’s home so we could visit more often. I actually had a few apartments for sale that I wanted to show you.”

“And you didn’t tell me any of that before? Why?”

“Well, it was a lot of work, actually, and I’d rather go ahead and show you the curated list, which I had been working on in the background. I think I found a couple of cities that would be pretty nice but still affordable within our budget.”

Nataly was genuinely shocked. This was all happening too fast.

“Wait,” Nataly said, “so your plan is to move out of here after graduating? With me?”

“I mean, duh? We got a really good thing going, right?”

“Sure, but… you are talking about buying an apartment? That’s actual commitment. And I’m okay with that, but then… we should make what we have more official, right? Joint bank accounts, get some rings, and maybe we can get back to that talk of a pet?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Speed Racer,” Alexandre’s breath got faster and deeper, her eyes opening wide, “We can keep it casual, no need for any of that. I’m good with improvising, you can leave the planning to me and there’s no need to worry your little head.”

That comment stung, and Nataly’s expression got quite sour. “Alexandre, I’m okay going all in with you, I thought that much was clear. But… this is a big step, and I expect a bit more commitment from you too, you know? And that’s not even to mention that you basically made all these decisions without involving me? Do you understand how I am not happy about that?”

“So what?!? What we have already, isn’t it great? And I figured, why stress you when I can take care of this so well by myself, and just come up with the solution on a plate.” Ale pleaded, a hint of fear in her tone.

“Yeah, I do love what we have now, but if we are taking this forward, I want you to show that we are serious about this. That this isn’t just something you are doing because you are enjoying it and could change your mind as soon as you find someone else you like better.” Truth was, she had heard stories about Alexandre’s list of partners since they lost contact. Was she just another one in that roller coaster?

“You think this isn’t serious? I’m talking about buying an apartment!” Now anger tinged that scared tone.

“And in whose name is the deed going to be? Mine? Yours? Both? You never even asked to be included in the lease for this apartment since you moved - you left me to take care of everything. And now you go and make all these plans and it didn’t cross your mind that PERHAPS I might have my own plans? Guess you don’t care too much about what I want, huh?”

“I… look, that’s not…”

“So, did you even have a clue about who is going to take a loan to buy an apartment in an expensive city? Are we getting a mortgage, and in whose name? Do you even know EITHER of our credit scores, for God’s sake?”

“What does that even matter?!?”

“It matters that you are always flying by the seat of your pants - you don’t deal with anything unless it affects you directly and immediately. I am the one who needs to make sure things aren’t going to implode at any moment, and it feels like you don’t even acknowledge all the work I put into keeping this apartment afloat. But that’s not even the worst part. We both know your aloof attitude too well. Tell me you aren’t going to change your mind next week when someone else more interesting than me appears!”

Alexandre was speechless for a second. She couldn’t even fathom anyone nearly as interesting or amazing as Nataly. But she was a cornered animal at that point, and had never been particularly good at handling conflict - which led her to a big mistake.

“Well, it’s not my fault you are so clingy and have issues with separation anxiety!”

Nataly’s face went from fury to pain, then sadness. Alexandre knew she had dug that dagger too deep into her heart, and immediately regretted it even before she finished the sentence. Her mouth opened as her hand raised to reach for Nataly, but she had stood up and left the apartment before anything could be said, leaving the door open behind her.

Alexandre wanted to punch herself. That was stupid even by her standards. She tried calling Nataly’s cell phone, but she just refused to pick up. At this point the panic had fully set in, and Ale could feel her breath shortening, and her heart ready to jump out of her throat. Her hands shook when trying to select the digits on the phone touch screen, and when the screen went black, she could see her own pale and terrified face. Saying that it felt like a gut punch did not do it justice - it was like someone had fully removed a Nataly-shaped piece of flesh from her chest, leaving this emptiness that was both afflictive and soul-destroying.

Alexandre sat down. It took a few minutes for her to even get level-headed enough to start making sense. And she knew the ball was on her court right now - and she had some pretty nasty wrongs to correct if she wanted to salvage this relationship that meant the world to her. That would require more thinking. And so she had to get another plan going. So she took a deep breath, and got those gears in her head turning.

A few hours had passed, but Nataly did not have a place to go, so she hung out at the library, though she just spent the time flipping pages, unable to actually read anything. She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She was ready to press ignore when she saw that it was Lara. She picked up the call, even though she didn’t feel in the proper headspace for a chat.

“Hey, Nataly? I have a little emergency here at home - and I could use your insane strength. Do you think you could stop by as soon as possible?”

Nataly would never say no to a friend, and even though she wasn’t terribly excited about spending time with someone else, she hopped on the first bus and made her way there.

Lara opened the door, looking concerned as she led Nataly down the corridor… and into a room where Alexandre waited. Lara just closed the door, leaving Nataly stuck there with her. Nataly sighed, turned around and tried opening the locked door. Irritated, she let her fist bang against the wall, leaving a deep crack on the concrete wall. She actually considered for a second that she could probably break the wood door down without much effort, but for now resisted the temptation, since it was her friend’s house and she had done enough damage as it was.

“Nataly… I owe you an apology.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Guess that college degree really is paying for itself.”

It took a lot of effort for Alexandre not to roll her eyes. Nataly could be hard to deal with, but she knew that this one was on her.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend like this is all on me, but I will admit I have my own shit I gotta deal with. And that DOES include my… how do I put it? Well, unwillingness to commit. So yes, among other things, I am not crazy about the idea of announcing stable relationships to the world, and I prefer to take things… in a more casual, or as you put it, aloof, manner. Guilty as charged, not going to deny that.”

Nataly let out a loud ‘humph’, crossing her arms.

“Look, you aren’t exactly the easiest person either, but that is not the reason I hesitate. I… I really see myself spending the rest of my life with you. I just happen to dislike the way society places expectations and…”

Alexandre stopped mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and after a pause, continued.

“Listen, we can talk about my issues at some other point, still, what I want to say is that I am aware how this affects you, and that I care deeply about. So I want to offer a compromise.”

Nataly’s eyes perked with curiosity, but she still sort of pretended to be pissed. Alexandre reached behind the counter and grabbed a box, placing it on top of it and taking a step back.

Nataly approached the rather large box, confused and curious. As she approached, the box rattled. Alexandre just smirked as she lifted the lid, and a cocker spaniel puppy  jumped on her lap, licking her face.

“That’s Cindy. I figured taking care of a dog… would show a bit of my commitment.”

Nataly could not suppress that huge smile on her face, the dog was like a ray of sunshine directly into her soul and made it impossible for her to stay mad. Not that she had quite fully pardoned Alexandre for this whole mess quite yet.

“She’s adorable. I’m in love already.”

“Funny you should say that…” Alexandre continued, looking her partner in the eye. “So, I realize I don’t really express how much I love and care about you. I do take things for granted, and I don’t thank you enough for all the things you do for us as a couple.”

“Go on…” Nataly said, Cindy licking her serious face as she waited for a bit more groveling.

“Now, as I said, you also have your own idiosyncrasies, your things that drive me mad, and I suppose my avoidance of confrontation doesn’t exactly help, and perhaps it feeds into my desire to keep everything casual, or as I like to think of it, uncomplicated. Why give it names and announce it from the rooftops when it’s pretty good as it is? Why jeopardize it with all these traditions and expectations?”

Nataly frowned, and Cindy yelped.

“Wait, not done, just explaining why I do these things. So… it was wrong of me not to take into consideration how YOU feel. That maybe these things are important FOR YOU. So, even though I still might be a bit resistant… I understand we could maybe meet halfway?”

Nataly’s face changed from pissed to curious. 

“So… there’s something else to this gift. Check her collar.” Alexandre said.

Nataly lifted the dog’s head. There was a pair of rings through the collar. She undid the collar and took them off - they had each of their names engraved on them, with the date she moved into the apartment.

“I figured… if I love something, I should put a ring on it, right?” She grabbed the rings, and grabbed her hand.

“I would kneel, but I would literally be barely past your knees, so… if you would… Nataly, want to go steady with yours truly?”

Nataly could not suppress her tears as she extended her hand, allowing Alexandre to put the ring on her finger, before wearing her own.