“Everything.”
He studied me with that attention that made me feel like he could see straight through whatever bullshit I was trying to sell. “You left the house pretty early this morning. Something happen?”
“No.”
“You sure? Because you've been avoiding me all day.”
I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink to buy myself time. I couldn't tell him why I'd left. Couldn't admit that I'd spent the night replaying images I had no business seeing.
“I'm fine. Just needed to work out.”
“Right.” He didn't believe me but he didn't push. He just moved to the squat rack and started loading plates onto the bar. “You mind if I work in?”
“It's a free gym.”
“That's not what I asked.”
We worked out in silence for a while. Me on the dumbbells, him setting up for squats, both of us moving through our routines.
I watched him in the mirror more than I should have.
“Your form's off,” I said after watching him complete a set. The words came out before I could stop them.
Troy straightened and looked at me in the mirror. “What?”
“Your knees are caving in on the ascent. You're going to fuck up your joints if you keep doing it like that.”
“I've been squatting for years.”
“Doesn't mean you're doing it right.” I set down my weights and crossed to where he stood. “Try another rep. I'll watch.”
He turned back to the bar and positioned himself under it.
I moved behind him and watched as he descended into the squat. His knees tracked inward just like I'd said, compensating for some weakness in his hip stabilizers that was probably old and ingrained.
“Again,” I said. “But this time I'm going to correct you.”
He reset and started the movement. I stepped closer and put my hands on his hips, thumbs pressing into the muscle just above his hip bones. “Feel that? That's where the power should be coming from. Not your quads. Your glutes and hips.”
Troy's breath hitched slightly but he didn't say anything. Just continued the descent while my hands stayed on his hips, guiding the movement.
“Knees out,” I said. My voice had gone rougher than I intended. “Push them wide. Feel the tension in your outer hips.”
He adjusted and I felt the shift under my hands. His body was warm even through the thin fabric of his tank top. I could smell his sweat mixed with whatever soap he'd used this morning.
“Good. Now drive up through your heels and squeeze at the top.”
He completed the rep and I felt every muscle in his body engage properly this time. I felt him push back slightly into my hands at the top of the movement.
The contact was brief but deliberate. Just a small backward press of his ass against my hips that made my cock twitch in my shorts.
“Again,” I said.
Troy descended into another squat. This time when he drove up, he pressed back more obviously. His ass made contact withmy hips and stayed there for a half second longer than necessary before he straightened fully.
My cock was getting hard. I could feel it happening, could feel the blood rushing south, could feel the fabric of my shorts getting tighter. And Troy had to be able to feel it too with how close we were standing, but he didn't say anything. Didn't pull away. Just reset for another rep like nothing was happening.
“That's enough,” I said. My voice came out strained. “You've got the form now.”
