This is not the time to lose my footing. I’ve got to get that edge back.
When Zeke pulls the car into a garage, I look out the window and realize that I recognize the block. We exit and enter the building’s rear elevator, and it’s not until we finally arrive at our floor that my jaw almost drops.
We’re at Troy’s. Zeke is bringing us to Troy’s gym.
“There are a lot of great gyms in this city,” Zeke says as he knocks on the door. “I’m sure you’ve been in a few. But I tell you what. Nothing compares to Frisk’s.”
“So I hear,” I mutter.
The door opens, and Troy stands there with his usual scowl. He’s in athletic pants, an MLB t-shirt, and sneakers, and he holds the door as he steps aside. “Come in.”
“Thanks for having us,” Kevyn says as he walks in ahead of me.
Troy answers Kevyn but looks right at me. “Sure. Zeke called this morning to ask me if the gym was available. I wouldn’t turn him down.”
No part of me was prepared to see Troy right now, and my thoughts ricochet around my skull. I realize that I’m smiling, though, and something in me is already rearing up to meet him.
I cross by, nearly brushing his body as a tingle goes through me, and I scold the impulse down. Zeke and Kevyn are right here, feet away.
“You’ve offered to let me bring a guest,” Zeke says to Troy, “and I thought I really should take you up on that some time.” He raises his voice. “In the back. We’ll hit the weights and enjoy a long sauna. That’s the real treat.”
As much as I would have loved to engineer some time in the sauna with Troy, this is not how I would have imagined it.
Time to act like a pro.
Troy holds it together like a rock, not cracking one little bit. He gruffly points around the gym, introducing the space to Kevyn and to me, as though I haven’t been here before. He’s firm and clear, but not exactly inviting.
“Watch yourself,” he barks at me when I lean on a tower of weights, and I catch Kevyn snicker to himself.
I grit my teeth. The harder Troy acts, the more I want to provoke him. I know there’s more going on behind the scowl, no matter how hard he tries to hide it.
I wonder why he’s extra grumpy right now? Maybe it’s a defense mechanism, his way of making sure I’m not too familiar in front of other people. Maybe it’s just how he is. I don’t know, though, except that, just like that first night, it doesn’t bother me.
Hell, I kind of like it.
He’s like a mountain, strong enough that I can throw myself against him.
We both act mostly normal, barely even looking at each other as Zeke leads us through a workout. All four athletes rotate through the machines, grunting and huffing, only occasionally offering some encouragement or a couple quick words.
Kevyn leans back on the bench, arms behind his head as he stretches his tired muscles. “That feels good,” he says.
Zeke chuckles. “You look ready for a sauna.”
“Yeah, man. Let’s do it.”
Zeke starts talking about the benefits of a good sauna post-workout, and Troy and I finally catch a moment on the side to link eyes properly.
I tilt my gaze to the bench where he sucked my cock and then shoot him a quick wink.
Troy frowns and furrows his brow as he turns away from me.
Yeah, he’s definitely thinking about it as much as I am.
He turned on the sauna when we came in, and steam rolls out the door when Zeke opens it to check the temperature. It’s a big wooden box, and the smell of cedar fills the gym.
Zeke strips off his clothes and grabs a towel. We’ve showered together enough times. Kevyn probably doesn’t think anything of it, either, when he strips down.
I look over to Troy.
