“That can be our first task at your next session.” I bump his knee with mine under the table to reassure him that I’ve got his back. That’s what personal trainers are for, after all.
“Cool,” Percy says softly.
He definitely holds his own, putting away a few slices of pizza just like the rest of us and falling easily into a conversation about the end of the baseball season and the current shows everyone has been watching. I have plenty of clients who are cool and chill who I could totally see being friends with outside of the gym, but there’s something really nice about seeing Percy fit in with the guys.
With only a few pieces of crust left on the trays and the pizza shop starting to get more crowded, we all file out. Standing on the sidewalk, it feels kind of wrong not to offer to walk Percy back to his place, or at least to the bus stop, which, okay, is less than a block away. But still. I shove my hands into my pockets and roll the words around in my head, trying to work out the best way to offer.
He looks past me, and his expression changes to surprised embarrassment. “Juno, hey.”
I recognize Percy’s kind of androgynous, punk rock roommate from his social media.
“Heeeeeey,” they greet, looking back and forth between me and Percy with a shit-eating grin. “I thought you’d be home in bed by now.” They cock their head and give him a wide-eyed look like they’re trying to say something without saying it.
Percy squirms and then waves towards me.
“Juno, this is my personal trainer, Butch. Butch, Juno.”
Juno swings their attention to me, looking me up and down shamelessly.
“I can see why you joined the gym.”
“Oh my god, Juno, please shut up,” Percy groans.
I laugh and cross my arms, subtly flexing my biceps.
“No, Juno, please go on.”
Juno’s mouth opens, but Percy slaps a hand over it before they can say any more.
“Oh, would you look at the time. We’d better hurry if we want to catch the last bus.” With his hand still over Juno’s mouth, Percy starts to drag them away. “See you later, Butch,” he shouts over his shoulder.
More laughter shakes through me, and I stand rooted to the spot, watching until they disappear into the crowds of people leaving the bars as they start to close.
“You coming, man?” Fender nudges me and I nod.
His next training session can’t come soon enough.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PERCY
I tiptoethrough the quiet apartment, holding my breath so I won’t wake Juno. Not that it’s a big secret that I’m going to the gym—theywerestanding right there when I confirmed it with Butch in the wee hours of the morning after eating way too much pizza and having a surprisingly pleasant time with a bunch of gymbos. But I got my fill of Juno’s knowing looks and teasing smirks during the short bus ride home, and all day the next day.
I managed to find a normal length T-shirt that definitely belongs to Juno in the clean laundry basket, but sadly the only shorts I could find are still obscenely short. I give them a little tug to make sure my ass cheeks are covered and then bend down to grab the sneakers Juno let me borrow yesterday. If I’m actually going to stick with this, I should probably go buy some of my own gym clothes.
“Headed to the gym?”
I squawk with surprise and fling the shoe in my hand over my shoulder. I hear a thud and a laugh, and I spin around to see my roomie rubbing their forehead.
“Dude, watch it with the shoes,” they complain.
“You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing awake before ten a.m.?” I pick up the shoe and slip it on.
“I had to pee,” they answer with a yawn. “The bigger question is why are you skulking around here in the dark like a cat burglar? It’s almost like you didn’twantme to wake up and catch you leaving for the gym.”
I roll my eyes and straighten up, tugging on my shorts again. “Gee, I wonder why.”
“I really don’t know, bestie,” Juno says sweetly. “I assume it’s because you’re embarrassed about your gym crush. But I don’t see how anyone could be embarrassed about wanting to climb a dude who looks like that. It looks like he has a big dick too. Did you see that bulge?”
