Holy fuck.
Shirtless, Baylor lifts a kettlebell weight up to his chest from the floor. Elbows out in perfect form. Thick thighs strain against the thin material of some very short workout shorts.
This is better than an imagined Baylor beside me. This is the real fucking deal, sweat included. I watch him, mesmerized by all that skin and muscle on a body I know, but also don’t know. This body is more mature. Aged, but only to perfection.
I press my hand against my cock, anything for a bit of relief as I watch a fucking wet-dream in action.
I’m turned on, and that throws me a bit. For years, arousal has hit after a show with the high that follows performing at that level. It’s an act and a craving, but it’s not connected to a person.
This hits differently.
Baylor turns away from the mirror to put up the weight and I snap out of it. I don’t know what the thing to do here is, exactly, but I’m pretty sure him watching me pine after him with my hand on the dick that’s straining against my pants probably isn’t a good way to start. We have had fun this week. Skiing, hanging out with his brothers, just getting to know each other again. I don’t want to fuck that up with my stupid feelings.
A thought forms in my head as I back away from the door as silently as possible. Calling the number Matt gave me for grocery delivery, I place an order to arrive by the time I am out of the shower.
I can’t hold a candle to what Matt did out here last night, but the least I can do is make a meal. When I am home, I cook for myself, and for Nix, and Caleb. Not much, but I do know how to make a handful of dishes pretty well. And this will pair with a great wine that the delivery service can also bring.
Maybe a little liquid courage will dislodge whatever it is between us that needs to move off center.
“Hey, Cas. You don’t have to make dinner.” A now fully clothed and showered Baylor says as he joins me in the large kitchen I am trying to familiarize myself with. He worked out longer than I would have expected, and I wonder how much he pushes himself. Baylor never knew when to stop.
I shrug. “I was out all day, and so were you. I thought I should pull my weight as a houseguest. Don’t worry though, it is nothing like what Matt and Theo did last night.” I pat my stomach, still thinking about how my simple pasta is no comparison.
“What can I do?”
“Open that wine.” I gesture to the bottle. “Pour us a glass, would you?”
Baylor does, sitting one in front of me and taking his own.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I told Theo to come by for dinner if he wanted. Matt’s working late at Summit House tonight,” I explain.
“You talked to Theo?”
“Theo is cool as shit.” I smile. “We hung out a bit together the other night. Cool guy, perfect for Matt.”
“He is.” Baylor comes closer, but not in my way. “That smells good. You cook often?”
I smile over my shoulder, finishing up the shrimp for the pasta. “Only when I am in Cali, which is hardly ever. But I like to make a few things when it is just me.”
The air hangs heavy between us, but I just start talking, knowing Baylor won’t be the one to fill the silence.
“So, I went out to Denver today. Got a few updates on the script. I think they know where they want the movie to go, or the general feel of it that we can start thinking at least about mood for the album.” As if that’s what has kept us from writing anything for this week. As if we didn’t need time to just settle back into each other’s lives.
“I have a few ideas, maybe.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Anything you want to share?”
Baylor is interrupted by the sound of his front door, followed by Theo and some guy I don’t know. The new guy looks a lot like Theo. He’s slim and twinky, both with big dark eyes, but it lands different on the new guy. Where Theo is all soft eyes in a rockstar face, this guy has a preppy sort of look to him. Square jaw and a perfect button nose. He’s got the same full lips that Theo does, though.
Together, Theo and this guy are adorable, and I can’t help but smile.
“Hey,” Theo says, his arm over his friend’s shoulders. As cute as he is, the friend looks blue about something. “This is Jordy. Jordy, meet Caswell Vaughn.”
I smile at the bit of star-struck twinkle in Jordy’s eyes. “Hey, Jordy, always nice to meet a friend of Theo’s.”
“Jordy works with me at Black Diamond and Summit House.” Theo gives Jordy a squeeze that makes him grunt. “He’s having a bad night, so I thought maybe hanging out with you two would lift his spirits.”
Baylor is walking them into the kitchen as Theo talks. I return to my meal, although boiling pasta isn’t difficult.
