Page 73 of The Titan and the Trainer

Callum headed over to the office. The session location had been swapped from the penthouse to the office by Kerry, due to an important meeting Julian had to attend.

He knew they needed to talk, but they started with exercise as normal. They were alone in the office as Callum put him through his paces. Julian knew Callum was angry by what he was making him do, punishing him with extra reps, particularly hard exercises that were a weakness of Julian’s - and just being a little bit tougher than normal.

It was exercise, so Julian said nothing, putting his every effort in, not one to admit defeat. They finished with sit-ups, Callum holding his feet. The last set was painful, and finally done, Julian collapsed back on the mat, breathless and clutching his side where he ached. Callum knelt forward and lay down to his right beside him, putting his left leg on top and in between Julian’s, his left arm across his chest, pulling him in tightly in a clear act of reconciliation. Julian gratefully snuggled into him, sweaty body against sweaty body. This was a moment of reconnection between two people who loved each other, and they both just accepted it, quietly.

“Are you ok?” Julian eventually asked, breaking the silence.

“Getting there,” Callum replied.

After a long pause, he added, “I’m sorry. I know that was mean and I was taking it out on you, but you still put everything into it anyway, just like you always do. Mr True Grit, again, always. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologise, Cal.” Julian hugged him tighter. He didn’t push the point and let the quiet play between them.

They did eventually go to shower together in his suite. They washed each other, soaping up, caressing and rinsing off under the hot water spray. Arousal was involuntary, eager mouths showing each other how, despite this moment of quiet, nothing had changed. The release for Callum was multiplied with pent-up frustration; for Julian it was the reality check he needed to prove nothing was damaged.

They travelled back to the penthouse, ate food, watched TV, and went to bed. All normal, just with their couple volume at a slightly reduced level, both knowing this was only a temporary disruption to their lives, and normal service would soon be resumed.

***

Thursday 6th March 25

When Kerry altered their Thursday session to be two hours instead of one, Callum thought she’d made a mistake at first, but he didn’t query it; he just accepted it. He was working at The Vault later that night, but could start earlier, so he replied back and got to the penthouse by 9 p.m.

Julian wasn’t in the gym, but Blake was, waiting for him. Callum hadn’t had many dealings with Blake, who was the Residence Executive Assistant, Kerry’s right-hand man, based at Peck Slip. Whilst he’d met and now knew most of Julian’s team, he didn’t know them all personally or the details of the specific jobs they did.

Callum saw that the Vacunaut suit had been laid out on the floor and was plugged in next to the treadmill.

“Oh, interesting. Are we playing with this today?” Callum asked.

“Yes Julian has requested it,” Blake replied, smiling at Callum. “I understand from him that you have previous experience and are familiar with the safety and usage guidelines?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Callum replied. Blake was ultra-professional and spoke very well.

“Will you need assistance getting Julian into the suit, do you think?”

“No thanks, I’m sure I can manage just fine,” Callum replied, giving a reassuring smile.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Blake said, adding quietly, although they were alone, “I’m not sure I want to see my boss in a state of undress. I don’t think I’d ever be able to look at him the same again.” Blake smiled nervously at this point.

At that point Julian arrived at the gym, red-faced and flustered, conscious he was late, jacketless but still in his suit.

“Sorry. Meeting overran. I thought we’d try this contraption out today, Cal., if we can work it out.” He smiled at Callum. “Is that ok?” He gave him a small peck on the cheek.

“Yes, of course. There’s just the small matter of squeezing extra-large you into extra-small that,” he said, pointing at Julian, and then at the suit.

Blake checked his iPad. “Remember, Julian, you have that call with Tokyo at 11 p.m. Have fun.” His eyes smiled at the relief of not having to help, and he left them alone.

Callum looked at Julian; Julian looked at Callum. They both smiled and Julian stepped forward to kiss him hungrily. Callum reciprocated, feeling a heat in his groin.

“Come on, fatty, I’ve got to whip you into shape!”

“Oh, whips?” said Julian. “I’ve seen the harness, but didn’t see a whip in the bag…”

“Let’s keep focused,” he said, adjusting his growing erection, whilst simultaneously smacking Julian’s hand away from touching it.

For the next hour, Callum was the trainer. He pushed Julian through a brutal circuit, watching the way his muscles responded to the stress. The photo shoot was now only a few weeks away, and they needed to stay focused.

The physicality between them had now been rewritten, compared to how it was that first training session in his office uptown. Callum thought back to how scared he was to even touch him, yet now he’d explored every inch of his body. It was great that Julian was so virile, thought Callum, but in reality he was only five years older than him.