“They’re baby bis,” Fender explains.
I chuckle and nod. “Welcome to the rainbow mafia.”
All the guys pull out their wallets and toss cash onto the counter, and I scramble to do the same. I guess I’m eating with them? I swear, since the second I accidentally walked into Sweat yesterday, my life has just gotten weirder and weirder.
BUTCH
We all crowd into a booth, with Callan and Silas taking up one side. Fender slides into the other and I follow him, bunching up close enough to leave space for Percy. I pat the open seat, and he eyes it for a second before sitting down. AJ and Slater grab chairs from an empty table nearby and drag them over so they can sit on the end.
“So, how was your first training session with Butch?” Silas asks.
Percy blushes and nervously rubs his hands on his jeans.
“Oh, great. I ran, like, six miles without breaking a sweat and then lifted a car over my head.”
The guys all chuckle, and Callan puts his elbows on the table, leaning in with a small smile that I know means he’s about to spill a secret.
“I was pretty athletic when I was a kid, but in college and for a few years after, I really let myself go. Partied too hard, couldn’t be bothered with any cardio that didn’t end in an orgasm, you know how it is. But I woke up one morning and decided I was tired of feeling like shit all the time, that I needed to cut back on the booze and get my ass back in shape. My first time back in the gym, I pushed myself so hard I ended up fainting on the treadmill, and when I woke up with some big, ugly mug in my face, I puked all over the guy.”
Silas snorts a laugh and pats Callan’s shoulder.
“I should have just left you there on the floor to wake up on your own.”
Percy’s eyes go wide, and a smile stretches across his face. “Seriously? How did you have the guts to show your face there again? I would have had to change my name and move to a different city.”
Callan shrugs. “I guess I felt like I had something to prove to myself after that. I couldn’t let that be the last image anyone had of me. Took me a year to get back in shape and another year before I had the balls to apply for a personal trainer job at Sweat, but the humiliation was worth it in the end.”
Fender grabs a slice of pizza and leans around me so he can see Percy.
“You should have seen me ten years ago. I looked like a sickly Victorian child, and I got winded going up the stairs to my second-floor apartment. I was in thewrongneighborhood one night looking entirely too gay and a couple of guys started hassling me. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought I was about to be a hate crime statistic.”
Percy’s eyes get even bigger, and he leans in, inadvertently pressing his body a little harder against mine. I pull my arm out from between us and fling it up along the back of the booth to give him a little more space.
“What happened?” he asks, barely above a whisper, like he’s afraid to know the answer.
“Luckily nothing. They called me some names and scared the hell out of me, and then they just took off. But I hated how helpless I felt at that moment, so I figured I either needed to buy a gun or learn how to throw a punch.” He flashes a toothy grin and then takes a bite of his slice. “I ended up doing both. But boy, was it a fucking journey to go from string bean to killing machine.”
Fender flexes his bicep and Percy looks impressed. I lean forward to grab a slice of pizza for myself, and if I end up staying there, blocking Percy’s view of Fender’s preening, that’s just a coincidence.
“Wow.” Percy shakes his head and bites into his own pizza. “I know it’s stupid, but I guess I’ve always looked at guys like all of you and felt like you’re just born that way or something. Like you must have come out of the womb powerlifting and flexing.”
Everyone laughs again.
“Definitely not,” I assure him.
“Cool. I guess that makes me feel a little bit better about how scrawny and out of shape I am.”
“Stick with me, Rocky, and I’ll have you showing off your own set of biceps and washboard abs in no time.” I wink at him, and he blushes all over again. Damn, that’s cute.
“Why do I feel like I’ve stumbled into a gymbo version ofShe’s All That? You didn’t make a bet with these guys that you could turn a nerd into a stud, did you?” He chuckles, but it’s a little nervous, like he’s worried that might actually be what’s going on here.
“That movie was straight fucked up,” Slater mumbles with his mouth full.
AJ nods. “Like we weren’t supposed to think Laney was hot even as a nerd? Come on.”
“Exactly. She couldget itin those paint-stained overalls,” Slater agrees, high-fiving his boyfriend. Then he turns his attention back to Percy. “But if youwantsome help with your fitness goals, Butch is your guy. He’s gentle but firm—exactly what you want in a trainer.” Slater winks.
Percy wheezes a little and shifts in his seat. “Gentle but firm is good,” he mumbles. “I guess I just need some fitness goals now.”
