“Do you want to grab a coffee? Maybe something to eat? Have you eaten yet today? Jesus, I know how you can get sometimes.”
I peer over at my friend and sigh. He must see my expression because he rolls his eyes. “I’ll take the silence as a no. Come on. Let’s go. My treat.”
He hops up, much too nimble for those tight pants, and holds out his hand. I shouldn’t go with him. It’s much safer in here. What if I see Caleb out in the wild? I don’t know what I’d do then.
But my hand slips into his, and he squeezes it before letting it go.
“Come on. The coffee cart near the gym has the best burritos. You’ll love it. Their coffee is good, too. They have a new drink. Can’t pronounce it, but it’s delicious.”
I hesitate for a moment. The gym? I shouldn’t.
I really should not, but I let him lead me there anyway, his mouth chattering as we walk. He tells me all about a class he has where the professor is being an asshole, and I half-listen as we walk past the gym. It has wide, open windows, and I can see all the people inside, gorgeous and gleaming.
I hate it.
The way it must smell in there.
Though, Caleb doesn’t seem to smell that bad when he comes back from the gym. The few times he told me he’d just come from there, the scent that he left behind was soap and pine.
My tongue swipes across my dry lips as I let my eyes drift to the side. Not looking for him, just curious.
That’s all.
I’m curious how these people enjoy working out, sharing spit and sweat. And germs.
“Oh yes, a cortado. That’s the name of the drink,” Magnus says as we stop to wait in the line near the coffee cart.
I nod. “You can order me whatever you think I’d like.”
He shifts on his feet and peers up at me. “Cool, yeah, I can do that.”
My eyes move away from him and back to those large windows. In the corner, I see Caleb. He’s lifting his shirt and wiping the sweat from his forehead. I know those abs, that chest. He shows them to me every chance he can.
I swallow as I fist my hands at my sides, feeling something bunch near the base of my spine.
“I guess it’s a Spanish drink,” Magnus interjects my thoughts, pulling my gaze back toward him. “Not sure how it’s different from a latte, but I swear it tastes better.”
I nod again as we move up the queue. My attention drifts back tothe gym where Caleb is laughing with someone, all while doing bicep curls.
I only know what those are because I looked it up.
He was doing them in the apartment one day. Right in the middle of the living room. He wasn’t using a weight, but an oversized bottle of laundry detergent.
I just wanted to know how he got such large muscles, and here we are.
I might have done a deep dive.
Caleb taps a guy on the butt and then grabs two larger free weights and bends forward, showing me his ass.
Well, not showing me, but still. Everyone who walks by can see it as he bends forward and continues to work out his arms.
It’s indecent.
“What you lookin’ at?” Magnus asks, peering around me to see what I was staring at. “Oh, the gym. I know. Big, hot dudes in there. All sweaty and grunty…”
He waggles his eyebrows, and I scoff.
“Not that you’re into those neanderthals, right?” he asks, suddenly looking a little worried. We’re not a thing, never have been, and never will be, but we are a constant in each other’s lives.
