#tag 20

Michael shot him a look.

“I needed a gym buddy,” he grit out between laboured breathing. “You’re my best friend.”

“No, that’s Gavin.”

“No, he’s my boi. That’s different.” Michael pulled on the handle once more, before letting go with a grunt. Ray tossed him his towel. As Michael wiped off his face, he added, “Besides, can you imagine Gavin in here?”

Ray glanced around again and grimaced. It was all too easy to imagine the chaos: loud complaints turning into curiosity as Gavin poked around the machines, probably breaking a few along the way. Inane questions and dares, followed by stirring up the meatheads in pure boredom, ending in a building-wide brawl and a lifetime ban from the gym.

Compared to Ray’s token protest? He’d pick himself, too. Still.

“You could’ve asked Ryan instead,” Ray grumbled, handing Michael the water bottle next. “He’d probably enjoy this.”

“Civilian identity,” Michael pointed out, sounding all too reasonable. He rolled his eyes. “You know how he gets.”

Ray had to give that point to him, too. Damn.

“For the record, I said no,” Ray stated to the room as he sat down on the edge of one of the machines, absolutely not sulking.

“Noted.” Michael sounded amused. “Just play on your DS or something. I still got one more set before I can switch over to the pec deck.”

Ray had no idea what that meant, so he flipped Michael off and followed his advice. His DS was a decent distraction while Michael went through whatever training plan he’d pulled out of his ass. He only resurfaced when the door opened, head jerking up in reflex at the sudden noise.

A bald man entered the room, giving him and Michael a nod before wandering over to one of the machines. He was short, Ray’s height at most. What he lacked in height he made up with muscles, though, his biceps bulging as he pulled at one of the training machines. Ray caught himself staring at the play of muscle and tore his eyes away, trying to focus on his game instead.

He kept sneaking glances, though, watching the man work out. He was fucking ripped- dressed in loose baggy pants and a tight tank top that flattered his arms. Ray was incredibly glad his own hoodie was a size to large, hiding his stick and bones physique as well as the bit of belly he’d gained from one too many mountain dews. Huddled over his DS, Ray must seem like the epitome of a nerd.

Keeping his head studiously bent over his DS, he glanced over, eyes trailing the sweat dripping down the man’s thick neck. He wanted to lick it off.

“Alright, I’m done.” Michael’s voice ripped Ray out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” Ray looked up, startled. Michael shot him a bemused look. His towel was slung over his shoulder, and he was in the process of screwing the cap onto his bottle.

“We can go now.”

“Oh.” Ray blinked. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed and the room had no clock on the wall. He shot a furtive look the other occupant’s way, who had moved on to the pull-up bars. “Uh… Don’t you need to shower or something?”

“Yeah, which means going back to the locker room.” Michael’s eyebrow was climbing, and he followed Ray’s gaze. “Ah. Unless you wanted to wait here.”

Ray felt his cheeks flush hotly. He quickly tore his eyes away.

“You know me,” he mumbled, ducking his head. “I don’t do well with crowds.”

“Less people here,” Michael drawled, looking like he wanted to call Ray out on his bullshit. He glanced back at the other man in the room with them, before shooting Ray a smirk. “Sure. I get it.”

There was no way Michael would let him live this down, Ray realized. He narrowed his eyes at his friend, but Michael’s grin just grew. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and winked, then left the room.

Ray really, really hoped ripped guy hadn’t noticed the byplay.

It was worth it to stealthily watch him go through his workout routine, daydreaming about feeling up all those muscles. He didn’t go as far as ogling his ass when the dude turned his back to him to do squats, that’d be creepy- but he snuck a look. Or two. Or three. Really, there was little difference from his usual people-watching, it was just… closer.

...so maybe he was being a little creepy.

The guy caught him watching as he was struggling with that internal dilemma, lifting a brow in question, and Ray shot him an awkward smile. Raised his hand for a wave, but abandoned it halfway, and this was why he didn’t go out. Ray didn’t do people, that was Gavin’s job. And Geoff’s. And Jack’s. Not Ray’s.

“Your buddy abandon you?”

“Uh.” Ray scrambled to find a response, not expecting the man to talk to him. “He, uh, went…”

Ray waved vaguely in the direction of the lockers, and the man nodded as if that was a real answer, and not a failed attempt at stringing words together.

“First time here?” He grinned, and it made his face look unfairly attractive. “I know some of this equipment can seem a bit overwhelming.”

“I, uh… don’t exercise. Much.” And now he sounded dismissive like some asshole. “I… was thinking, maybe…?”

“Sure, sure.” The man nodded, an easy grin on his lips. “Your friend show you around?”

It was Ray’s turn to nod. It was close enough to the truth, he figured.

“Cool.” An awkward silence descended between them, until the guy wiped his hands off his towel and held one out for Ray to shake. “I’m Jeremy. Feel free to ask me if you need anything.”

“Ray.” He shook Jeremy’s hand. “And I will. Thanks.”

Jeremy cocked his head and grinned. “I can show you how some of these work while you wait for your buddy…?”

Ray’s ears burned with embarrassment, but there was no way to turn him down gracefully. Ray licked his lips and tried for a smile.

“Sure, why not?”

Michael would never, ever let him live this down, ever.

***

Michael did, in fact, tease him for weeks.

He didn’t tell the others, though, so Ray took it with a grain of salt. He tagged along a couple times more, but he only saw Jeremy once. They exchanged nods but not words, and Ray was back to pining under Michael’s relentless ribbing.

Not surprising, really, since Michael only went to the gym between jobs, and with their irregular schedule it didn’t happen as often as Ray would’ve liked. Then things got busy at work, and Michael ended up with a dislocated shoulder.

No more gym visits.

No more Jeremy.

Ray moped for the better part of a week before he came up with a plan. It was time to make good on his lies. (Half-lies. Almost truth. Either way.)

Ray was going to the gym.

Without Michael.

It took him three days after coming to a decision for Ray to realize why Michael wanted a gym buddy. His desire to see Jeremy again struggled with his inclination to relax in his freetime. Michael was obviously out, he’d tease Ray mercilessly the entire time and actually make him work through a full routine. And like hell would he ask Geoff.

That left Ryan.

“I need your help with something,” Ray said, and Ryan nodded, immediately reaching for his mask. “Uh… I was thinking a little more subtle, big guy.”

That earned him a piercing look, but Ryan shrugged and grabbed the duffle with the rocket launcher instead. Ray arched a brow because that was stretching the definition of ‘subtle’ a bit, but didn’t say anything. Where they were going, a duffle would fit right in.

Not that he was telling Ryan that. Knowing him, it would result in a face turn heel and leave Ray one gym buddy short.

“Thanks. You’re a pal,” he said instead, tone dry. Ryan’s expression told him exactly what he thought of that. Still, he followed Ray gamely down to the garage and into a car.

The drive passed in silence, which wasn’t too unusual between them. Ryan liked to think, and Ray enjoyed his quiet company. A glance from the corner of his eyes proved that Ryan was getting into his heist mindset, watchful and alert for any dangers.

...Ray supposed he should probably give him some details.

“It’s a stake-out.” Ray drummed his fingers against the wheel nervously. Ryan slid him a look. “Undercover stake-out,” Ray amended. “There shouldn’t be any trouble, but I would stick out like a sore thumb on my lonesome, so…”

Ryan, bless his heart, or whatever, didn’t ask any questions. R&R connection, baby.

He did, however, stop short in the door of the gym to give Ray another long look. Ray stared back, willing him to play along. Ryan narrowed his eyes, as if to say you’re on thin ice, before following Ray inside. Ray doubted he could convince Ryan to come here again, but that was alright. If everything went according to plan, Ray wouldn’t need a gym buddy after today.

Of course, nothing went according to plan.

“He’s not here,” Ray muttered as he led Ryan towards the locker rooms. “Yet,” he added hastily at Ryan’s look. “Which is good. It’ll seem more natural.”

Except Jeremy did not turn up. At all. After lurking awkwardly in the locker room for half an hour, Ray reluctantly took Ryan to the weight lift machines. Ryan’s eyes went from Ray to the weights and back to Ray. Then he crossed his arms.

“Oh hell, no. No way,” Ray objected, alarm distracting him from his search.

“Good,” Ryan said, voice low and unamused. Ray relaxed. “You should start with the treadmill.”

And the tension was back.

“Uh… I don’t really think that’s… necessary…”

Ryan stared at him, unmoved. So off to the treadmills it was. Running wasn’t too bad, at least. Ray was used to making a quick exit. Usually he wasn’t forced to keep pace for twenty minutes straight, though.

Ryan watched him with his arms crossed, leaning against the balustrade. Occasionally he’d glance down when the door to the gym opened.

“Who are we waiting for?” he asked idly.

“Bald guy. Short, but stacked,” Ray panted. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. “Answers to the name ‘Jeremy’.”

Ryan hummed and kept a sharp eye out.

After thirty minutes of torture, they returned to the weight lift machines. Ryan went to inspect one of the contraptions, while Ray dropped onto the seat of a different one. He took a huge gulp from the water bottle Ryan thrust into  his hands and regretted all the life choices that led him here.

“Let’s take a breather,” Ray suggested, trying to sound glib instead of out of breath. “Stretch out surveillance time.”

Ryan’s face clearly called bullshit on his excuse, but Ray figured the reasoning was sound enough to let it go. Ryan agreed - for about ten minutes.

“You’ll have to warm up again if you wait much longer,” he stated brusquely, crossing his arms. “Your choice.”

Ray groaned and heaved himself up. No way was he going back to the treadmills.

“This is punishment for not telling you where we’re going, isn’t it,” Ray muttered under his breath. Ryan just arched a brow and said nothing, the smug bastard.

At least Ryan knew how to operate the machines, adjusting weights and correcting Ray’s grip on the handlebar. Ray hadn’t even realized there was a wrong way to pull on them. Under Ryan’s sharp eye, Ray went through three sets on each contraption, muscles sore and aching by the time Ryan allowed him a break.

And still no sign of Jeremy.

Ray decided to lurk by the vending machine, finishing off the bottle Ryan brought him. That was more water than he usually drank in a day, Ray mused. Ryan eyed him critically, before letting his gaze roam over the open floor. Half the contraptions downstairs were occupied, and Ray could hear at least two treadmills running up top.

Ryan nodded in the direction of a group of meatheads and gave Ray a questioning look. It took Ray a bit to realize he wanted to talk to them, fish for information, but was reluctant to leave Ray on his own.

“Sure, buddy. Go nuts,” Ray said, too relieved at the prolonged break to give it much thought. Besides, Ryan could be subtle when so inclined.

All in all, the day was a bust. Ray hid in the locker room once Ryan started looking around, unwilling to go through another bout of fitness ‘training’. He was sweaty and sore and hadn’t even accomplished his goal of running into Jeremy. On top of that, he was pretty sure Ryan wasn’t done with his revenge for dragging him into a gym on false pretenses. Ray considered taking a shower when the door opened and a group of meatheads stepped in with Ryan in tow. He hadn’t brought a change of clothes, though, not expecting to do any actual work.

Ryan caught his eyes and separated from the group with a nod and a couple friendly back pats. His expression changed from Friendly Neighbourhood Ryan to serious as he approached Ray. Ray gulped and braced himself.

“There’s only a small chance this ‘Jeremy’ shows up today. They say he’s mostly around Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Ryan shrugged at Ray’s incredulous look. Fuck. He hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

The drive back to the penthouse was as quiet as on the way there,but much more uncomfortable. Ray parked in the garage, ready to bolt for the elevator and avoid being stuck inside with Ryan. But Ryan had other ideas, grabbing his arm before Ray could open the door.

“Ray.” Ryan eyed him intently. “You know you can talk to me if you’re in trouble.”

Ray slowly relaxed, guilt twisting in his gut.

“I know, bud.” He mustered a smile. “Thanks. I’m okay, promise.”

Ryan sighed and dropped his hand, rolling his shoulders.

“And if that changes-”

“I’m coming straight to you, got it.” Ray reached out and slapped Ryan’s knee with a grin. “Super straight. No homo.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and opened the door.

***

After that utter failure Ray supposed he’d have to come back alone. But first he needed to make sure Jeremy would be there. No way was he going to fake training again - his muscles were still sore. So he “borrowed” Gavin’s bifta on Tuesday, got some fries and a diet coke from the nearest burger joint, and settled in across the street from the gym.

The second day of stakeout (a Thursday) without any sign of Jeremy, Ray started to wonder if maybe something happened to him. He had no real way of finding out. He considered going in and ask the front desk for a number or an address, but he doubted they’d just give out private information. Maybe ask around the regulars if any had seen him…

Halfway through the day, the passenger door opened and Gavin dropped in. He pressed a plastic cup of hot liquid into Ray’s hand and dropped a white box between their seats. Then he pried the box open and pulled out a kolache. The sweet smell of pastries filled the small car.

“Uh, hello to you, too,” Ray said dryly, frantically trying to come up with an excuse to leave.

“You stole my car,” Gavin said, primly dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

“It’s for a good cause, I swear?” Ray tried. Gavin just eyed him skeptically. Then he leaned forward and squinted across the street.

“What’s in that building, then?” he asked, glancing curiously between Ray and the shops. The gym building stuck out like a sore thumb with its grey concrete between colourful shop fronts.

“Who says I’m staking out that particular building?” Ray asked desperately, taking a sip from the cup. A peppermint mocha. He held the beverage up and raised his brows at Gavin. “Really?”

Gavin just shrugged, selecting another kolache to munch on. Then he swallowed before saying, “Is that him?”

He pointed outside, and there on the sidewalk was Jeremy, a duffle slung over one shoulder as he stopped in front of the building. He struggled with the door, which had a spring drawing the door close automatically, but which was calibrated just a tad too strong. Jeremy propped the door open with a shoulder before wiggling himself and his duffle inside.

Ray stared blankly after him.

“How’d you know?” he asked, shooting Gavin a suspicious look. Gavin shrugged languidly, sipping on his own coffee.

“Rye-bread said something about you looking for bald guy,” he commented nonchalantly, slurping loudly. Ray sighed, letting his head drop against the steering wheel. Of course Ryan did. Ray wasn’t sure if it was part of his revenge or Gavin just being Gavin.

“So, what’s going on? Drug deal?” Gavin guessed, craning his head to watch past Ray.

“No,” Ray returned shortly, handing his half-full mocha back before slipping out of the car. He heard Gavin swearing behind him and smirked. Gavin, however, caught up with him quick, sidestepping around Ray into the building while Ray struggled with the stupidly heavy door. Resigned, Ray led him up the stairs, taking some satisfaction in how Gavin froze in the door.

Ray brushed past him and swaggered on to the front desk, smiling at the receptionist. About his age and objectively good-looking, the receptionist smiled back in recognition.

“Back again?” he greeted cheerfully, taking Ray’s membership card and swiping it through the reader. “Where’s Michael? We’re starting to miss him.”

Gavin visibly perked up at that.

“I’m sure once the cast is off, he’ll be back immediately,” Ray remarked dryly. The receptionist grimaced in sympathy.

“Tell him I wish him a swift recovery,” he said, and Ray nodded. Then he turned to look at Gavin, who had pulled down his shades. “And your buddy here?”

“Oh, I’m just here to tease him,” Gavin said, lips stretching into his fake negotiator smile. It made him look like an asshole. “You know, moral support.”

“Or something,” Ray muttered under his breath. The receptionist looked taken aback.

“Right…” He trailed off, glancing between Ray and Gavin. Then he straightened, putting on a customer service smile. “If you’d like a visitor’s pass with guest locker attached, I have to ask you to leave your ID at the front desk.”

“Oh, no worries, I don’t need a locker,” Gavin brushed him off. Raising one of his two coffee cups in salute, Gavin breezed past Ray. Ray rolled his eyes, grabbed his locker key, and followed after him.

“This way, asshole,” he muttered, bumping their shoulders together as he passed Gavin.

Jeremy was in the locker room when they entered, his back turned to them, in the process of tugging his shirt off. Ray stopped dead in the doorway, and Gavin bumped into him, glancing over his shoulder curiously. Ray cleared his throat and stepped inside, his face flaming hot. At the noise, Jeremy looked up. His face brightened as he laid eyes on Ray.

“Oh hey,” he said, pulling on a black tank top. He turned around to face them. “Ray, was it, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Ray cleared his throat. “Hi. Um…”

Jeremy glanced between him and Gavin.

“Your buddy not with you today?” he asked, eyeing Gavin curiously.

“Ah… no.” Ray scratched at his stubble awkwardly. “He, uh, couldn’t make it today.”

“Oh.” Jeremy shuffled his feet, glancing awkwardly between him and Gavin. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, can help?” Another furtive glance Gavin’s way. “If you, uh, don’t have other plans, that is.”

Behind him, Ray could practically hear when it clicked for Gavin. He bit down a groan.

“Splendid!” Gavin exclaimed, chugging the rest of one cup and dropping it into the trash. “Ray, since you found someone else to help, Ray, I’ll just leave you two to it.”

With that, he whirled around, shooting Ray a conspiratorial wink, before swanning out of the lockers. Ray stared after him, then sighed. Squaring his shoulders, he turned to face Jeremy with an embarrassed grin.

“Sorry ‘bout him.” Ray stepped closer, dropping his backpack on the bench. “I’d love some pointers, though, if you got time?”

“Sure.” Jeremy broke out into a grin, which quickly turned into a grimace. “Sorry if I interrupted your plans with your boyfriend.”

Ray, who was rummaging through his back, looked up and shot Jeremy a quizzical look.

“Who?” He followed Jeremy’s pointed look at the door and blinked. “Oh, Gavin? Nah it’s fine, dude. He was just following me to be an asshole.”

Ray made sure to change quickly, back turned to Jeremy. He felt awkward and gangly next to Jeremy’s easy confidence and muscles. They left the locker room together, arms brushing. It sent a welcome shiver down Ray’s spine.

“Bike, stepper or treadmill?” Jeremy asked casually as they walked up the stairs to the cardio area. Ray considered his options. He wasn’t quite sure how the steppers worked and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his crush. Last time he’d run the treadmill, but what if he stumbled over his own feet?

“Bike,” Ray said, feeling like it was the safest choice. He snuck a look at Jeremy from the corner of his eyes. “If that’s cool with you?”

Jeremy shrugged. “Sure.”

It didn’t go too badly, Ray thought. Jeremy made a comment here and there as Ray huffed through the exercise, mostly to give him helpful pointers on breathing technique or reminding him to take it slow. A difficulty to catch his breath at least excused Ray from making awkward small talk.

The weight lift machines, on the other hand, were different.

“So what weight are you up to?” Jeremy asked, bending over the black weight blocks and fiddling with some sort of pin. Ray was maybe just a little bit distracted by staring at Jeremy’s ass, which was moving enticingly.

“Uh…”

Jeremy looked back at him over his shoulder and raised a brow. Ray shrugged, flushing. He couldn’t remember what Ryan had him lift last time he was here, and especially not when Jeremy looked at him like that, his questioning look morphing into a reassuring smile.

“Let’s start you off easy, then,” he offered, pinning the weights in place. “Go on, try it out. If you breeze through your first set, we’ll know to up the difficulty.”

Ray sat down on the seat, eyeing the handlebar warily. He tried to recall Ryan’s instructions - back straight, knees bending at a right angle - and pulled. The weights were relatively light, much to Ray’s relief, though he was uncertain if he should tell Jeremy.

Suddenly, there were hands on his arms.

“You want to keep your elbows tucked in, like this,” Jeremy murmured, his voice sending shivers down Ray’s neck. Hot air brushed over his cheek as he turned his head towards Jeremy. His hands were warm on Ray’s skin, gliding up to his upper arms. “Like this. And then when you let go you hold- here. See how there’s like maybe a quarter inch between the sitting weights and the weights you’re lifting? That’s what you should aim for. Again.”

Ray pulled, too aware of Jeremy standing behind him, his heat radiating through his clothes and crawling under Ray’s skin. His hands were gentle as he shifted, correcting Ray’s pose and giving instructions in his low voice.

“Good. You don’t want to overstretch your arms when you let go - don’t lock your elbows. There you go. Ten more, then you’ve completed your first set.”

Ray felt a pang of regret as Jeremy stepped back to watch him from a greater distance. He tried to focus on the machine instead, keeping Jeremy’s instructions in mind. Jeremy adjusted the weights for the second set, which turned out to be infinitely harder, both due to more weight and his muscles aching from the first set. It was only on the third set that Jeremy broke the silence.

“Gotten a bit more familiar with gyms since last time, huh?” Jeremy commented, watching Ray intently. Ray scoffed, focussing on his breathing as he pulled the handle down.

“Easier if there was just a gym leader to defeat,” he muttered, counting the pulls. Fourteen, fifteen - release. “Wouldn’t have to come back once I won the badge.”

That startled a laugh out of Jeremy. Ray let go of the weights and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“If I were a gym leader, I’d just have six voltorbs,” Jeremy mused, handing Ray his water bottle.

“Yeah?” Ray quirked a grin as he unscrewed the cap. “Like that one biker dude where you only need enough HP to survive?”

Jeremy certainly had the right shape with his wide shoulders…

“And kill my poor voltorbs in the process?” Jeremy gasped, clutching his chest in mock offense. “Nah. I would never do that to cute, little, innocent voltorb.”

Ray snorted and shook his head. He drank from the bottle and handed it back.

“Which one’s next?”

The workout passed surprisingly quick after that. Jeremy kept an eye on Ray during his first set, correcting him every so often, before starting on his own routine. All the while they kept chatting about pokémon, of all things. For a meathead, Jeremy turned out to be a massive nerd. It shouldn’t set the butterflies in Ray’s stomach all aflutter, yet here they were.

After five different machines, Ray took a break, sitting down on an empty seat and nursing his bottle of water, while watching Jeremy, who went to town on a complicated looking contraption.

“You must come here often,” Ray said idly, eyes drawing along the lines of muscles bulging under strain. Jeremy grunted in question. “I mean, to get as fit as you are. I’d have pegged you for a rock/fighting trainer, not electric.”

That got a laugh from Jeremy, before he set the weights down with a groan. He was moving nearly double the stack Ray managed, Ray noted, impressed.

“I just love voltorb, dude. How could I not?” He shrugged. “But I guess I do train here regularly enough. Comes with the area.”

Ray hummed in agreement. Los Santos was not an easy place to live unless you knew how to handle yourself.

“I’d come here every day just to watch you lift,” he joked, too much truth slipping into the statement. Ray scrambled to save face. “I mean, it’s impressive, how much you lift.”

Jeremy snorted. “Clearly you haven’t seen the other guys here.”

“Haven’t really paid them much attention,” Ray admitted, fiddling with the edges of his towel and missing the sharp look Jeremy shot him. Then Jeremy stood, walking over slowly. Ray instantly held out the bottle for him and Jeremy took it with a grin.

“Just me, huh?” He drunk several huge swigs before handing the bottle back and staring at Ray’s face. “Your boyfriend doesn’t mind?”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Don’t have one.”

“Really?” Jeremy sounded startled, before something else slid over his face. “Cute guy like you? Not buying it.” He stepped closer, their knees brushing. “What about the guy who came in with you? What was his name again?”

“Gavin?” Ray snorted, leaning back. Carefully, a bit surprised at his own daring, he spread his legs just enough for Jeremy to stand between them. “Not my type. Besides, asshole’s heads over for Michael.”

“Is that so?” Jeremy hummed, shuffling closer. Ray tilted his head and glanced up at him from under his fringe.

“Somehow, I don’t think you really wanna talk about Gavin,” he commented dryly, reaching out and catching Jeremy’s leg with one hand. Jeremy chuckled, dropping a hand on Ray’s shoulder. His fingers danced up the line of his neck, vanishing in his hair.

“True,” he admitted, his thumb pressing behind Ray’s ear. Jeremy paused, and Ray just stared up at him, heart beating fast. “There’s a pokéstop across the street in this little café. Wanna go there after, drop a lure?” His fingers teased along Ray’s hair line, stealing his breath. Then Jeremy grinned, adding, “Though I doubt there can be anything more alluring than you.”

It was as if a record screeched to a sudden stop.

Ray blinked.

“Was that a pun?” he asked, caught between amused and incredulous. Jeremy’s grin turned bashful.

“Maybe?”

“You wanna try again, buddy?” Ray drawled, his hand wandering up to cup Jeremy’s ass. Jeremy grinned.

“I might not be The Rock but I can rock your world any day.”

Ray snorted a laugh. “That’s almost worse.”

“Thanks,” Jeremy returned dryly. “I try.”

Silence fell. Jeremy stared intently at Ray, making him squirm in his seat, face flushed and heart hammering in his chest. He cleared his throat.

“So… coffee?”

“Sounds good,” Jeremy agreed.

***

The next morning Ray woke up sore and aching, swearing loudly to never step foot into another gym again. Jeremy’s laughter, muffled against Ray’s shoulder, made it all worth it, though.