John was having a pretty good day. He’d spent the morning doing a talk at the precinct’s local high school, giving a presentation about the dangers of distracted driving, and then spent the rest of the day out on the highway.
By the time John made it back to the station to finish up his paperwork and change out of his uniform, he was tired but in a good mood. He spent a few minutes catching up with Mike in the locker room, changing into his jeans and shirt while Mike pulled on his compression shirt and workout tights.
“You sure you don’t want to work out?” Mike asked, lacing up his sneakers. “I could spot you.”
John shook his head, smiling. “Thanks, but I’m good.”
He might be head over heels for Carter, but he was still a red-blooded gay guy. Having Mike standing over him with his bulge just inches above his face, crouching down while telling him he coulddo it, was a temptation John wasn’t going to expose himself to.
Though now that he thought about it, the tingle of arousal he usually felt around Mike was seriously muted. His cock didn’t even twitch at the mental image of Mike’s bulge.
Huh.
It was a relief. His attraction to Mike had always been inconvenient. The other man was never going to be more than a friend, and John hadn’t wanted him to be anything more, either.
“Suit yourself,” Mike said, oblivious to everything that was going on in John’s head. “Maybe next time.”
“Maybe,” John said, actually considering it. “Though I prefer my gym to the one here. It’s cleaner and the equipment is better.”
“Yeah?” Mike frowned, like he couldn’t imagine anything better than the precinct gym. “Is it really worth having to pay for it?”
Devon, one of the more senior guys on the squad, chose that moment to walk into the locker room. He looked from Mike to John, a judgmental frown scrunching his brow.
“Paying for what, exactly?” he asked, crossing his arms. He was still in uniform, looking every inch the badass cop, and John snickered when he realized what the older man thought they were talking about.
“The gym,” Mike said, looking confused. He obviously didn’t get what Devon was thinking. “John says that paying for a private one is worth it, but I’m not so sure. I mean… the precinct gym is just fine.”
Devon shook his head, wagging a lecturing finger at both of them. “The precinct gym is all you need. Don’t go paying for things you’re supposed to get for free. You don’t want that kind of trouble.”
John nodded, trying not to laugh, while Mike just looked even more confused. Then he suddenly got it and his face went redder than John had ever seen it.
“We weren’t… that wasn’t… we were talking aboutthe gym.”
Devon studied Mike, and he must have believed him because his frown disappeared and a rueful smile took its place.
“Really?” He laughed, looking to John who nodded in confirmation. “Okay, my mistake. You boys take care.” He walked over to his locker and started to undress, turning his back on Mike and John. He didn’t look the least bit embarrassed about his mistake.
“Did he think—”
“That we were talking about prostitutes? Yes he did,” John said. He looked down at himself. “Do I really look like the kind of guy who has to pay for it?”
“I don’t know,” Mike said, looking uncomfortable. “I just can’t believe he thought that we were talking aboutthat.”
“I can believe it,” John said, keeping his voice low and grinning teasingly. “You do kind of look—”
Mike punched him in the arm before he could finish the sentence, and John laughed. The sound made Devon look over at them, and he smiled and shook his head at them.
“Okay, okay, keep your violent tendencies contained,” John said, grabbing his helmet and gloves from his locker. “I’m going to head out. Have a good workout.”
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” They both walked out the door, Mike making his way to the gym while John walked out into the parking lot.
When he walked outside John was surprised to see that the sky had clouded over and turned a dark grey. When he’d gone into the station the sky had been blue, and the change in just a short hour was dramatic.
He hurried over to his bike, not wanting to get caught in the rain on his way home. He was only wearing his jeans, and if it started pouring down he’d get soaked in no time. The last thing he needed was to catch a cold before his weekend with Carter.
John was just about to mount his bike when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. His first thought was that it might be Carter calling him to ask if they could meet up a day earlier than planned, and he couldn’t help the excited way his heart started hammering against his chest.
Fishing out his phone, he was disappointed to see that it wasn’t Carter who was calling him. It was his friend Cory.
