Not permission.
Understanding. He wasn’t stepping into someone else’s relationship, he was being asked to help build it.
They finished rinsing without rushing, both noticeably careful about where their attention landed, respectful, deliberate restraint replacing uncertainty.
When the water shut off, the sudden quiet felt louder than the conversation had.
Back at the lockers, they dressed quickly this time, the earlier tension softened into something easier.
Logan pulled on a clean shirt and glanced over.
“You hungry?”
Chase laughed lightly. “Always.”
“We were gonna order food tonight,” Logan said, casual but intentional. “You should come by. Maybe Tommy’ll let us share him.” They both laughed, thought Chase hoped it might come to fruition.
The invitation hung in the air, simple on the surface, heavier underneath.
Chase hesitated only a second.
“You sure?” he asked.
Logan nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. “Feels like the kind of thing we don’t overthink.”
A small smile tugged at Chase’s mouth.
“Alright.”
Logan grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
As they headed toward the exit, he added , almost offhand, but not quite:
“And honestly… I think he’d like seeing us show up together.”
Chase felt that land somewhere deep and steady.
Not pressure.
Not competition.
Alignment.
He pushed open the gym door beside Logan, cool evening air replacing steam and fluorescent light.
For the first time since the hotel, since the party, since everything shifted,
Chase didn’t feel like he was stepping into someone else’s relationship.
He felt invited into something still being built.
The ride to there apartment felt twice as long as it should. Chase wasn’t thinking about whether this was smart of if he belonged there.
He was thinking about what it might feel like if all three of them stopped circling and finally stood in the same place together.
Chapter Twelve
