Luckily, Chase continued to be a nice guy and didn’t yell at Josh, but gave them all instructions to make sure they hydrated the rest of the day.
They stood and disinfected their equipment, Tobias meeting Chase at the front of the room. He hoped he didn’t get Chase in trouble with Tobias, but he figured this was a great time to approach him about the alumni game for Sophie.
Sophie was like family to him, making him wish he had more actual family. Sometimes, he wondered if he should submit his DNA to see if his parents left behind any relatives who might want to meet him. It was a thought for later. He reached Tobias, Riley trailing after him and Chase busying himself with organizing the equipment.
“Hey, Tobias, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to runsomething by you for Riley’s sister, Sophie.”
Tobias shot a confused look at Riley. “Your sister? Does she want to join the gym?”
Riley took a deep breath and rushed through an answer.
“So, my sister works in the PR department for the Inferno,” he said, speaking quickly as he watched Tobias pale, “and the current goalie for their alumni game later this season had to drop out. She hoped you’d be interested in taking his spot.”
“No way! That would be so awesome,” Chase exclaimed from behind Riley, jumping up from the rolled mats to join their conversation and looking at Tobias in awe. “I go to that game every year and it would be so cool to see you play again…”
Chase trailed off as he took in Tobias, who looked like he’d been hit by a stun gun. “I mean, not me. My dad is a big fan, and uh… I better get going and get ready for the next class. I’ll see you guys later.”
Tobias’ gaze followed Chase out the door, then it bounced between Riley and Josh.
“Um, I don’t… I don’t know.”
He looked sad, and Josh panicked at the idea he could have made anyone sad, so he flung himself toward Tobias and wrapped his arms around him, engulfing him in a big bear hug.
“What’s happening?” Tobias muttered.
Josh continued squeezing him, despite Tobias’ arms staying awkwardly by his sides.
“Think about it, okay? It could be good for you,” he said quietly before letting Tobias go.
“Okay,” Tobias said, turning toward the computer that tracked their workouts and dismissing them in the process.
“All right, we’ll see you next time, Tobias,” Riley said, pulling Josh toward the exit, where Cole waited for them.
“Uh, did I just see you try to give Tobias a hug? Are you trying to die?” Cole whispered low enough so no one else could hear. That must have meant he was actually serious.
“He wouldn’t kill me, he’d make me do burpees or something.”
Cole and Riley shared a worried look, and, once again, Josh thought he missed something.
4
JOSH OPENED HIS EYES on Christmas morning to see Riley with a simpering smile.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, then booped the end of Josh’s nose with his finger, making him giggle.
“It’s Christmas!” Josh whisper-shouted. “You know what that means.”
“Presents!” they shouted at the same time, pushing Josh’s weighted blanket away and scrambling out of bed.
Growing up, they’d always spent Christmas mornings with their individual families and then got together for a late breakfast.
Once they got their own place, they started their own Christmas traditions. They went to bed under Josh’s weighted blanket, watchingThe Christmas Storymarathon with hot cocoa until they fell asleep.
They used Josh’s bed because it came with huge drawers underneath it, allowing them to hide their gifts every year.
Neither of them liked ruining surprises, so they never peeked in their own drawers. They spent the months leading to the holiday filling each other’s drawers with gifts.
Now, they were each seated in front of their respective drawers, ready for the big reveals.
