by E. Davies
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Also in Hidden Creek
About the Author
Also by E. Davies
© 2018 E. Davies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.
Cover design by AngstyG.
Amazon Kindle Edition.
Prologue
Caspian
“Where do you live?”
“Houston.”
“Long drive for a date.” Caspian offered a nervous smile over at George. He’d picked the guy up on Grindr—or, technically, was being picked up. In George’s BMW.
Caspian tried not to judge him. After all, stereotypes were for losers. But George didn’t return the smile, flicking his sleeve up to check his watch instead.
Another rich dick trawling the Texan countryside for desperate gays, he thought and sighed. It must work well for them since so many of them did it.
Cas was a little tired of being the drive-thru, but he’d set himself up for it by being on Grindr in the first place. If he got an okay date and decent sex out of it, he was okay with that.
“I know a burger joint off the highway. It’s BYOB.”
Cas bit back his grin. Now that he’d decided he didn’t care about the outcome of the date, it wasn’t even a disappointment. It was kind of funny to see how much George would cheap out, even though he could clearly afford the finer things in life. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
“So,” George said in that awkward way that made it clear he’d rather just be getting down to business. “What do you do for work?”
Why the hell did it feel like a job interview? Caspian resisted the urge to grimace. He tried for a cool smile instead. It stretched the corners of his mouth and his patience at the same time. “I run a small business.”
Eyebrows went up. “Oh? What kind?”
“I sell kitsch at the farmer’s market.”
Eyebrows went down. “Oh.”
Cas had heard that before; it was the tone of someone who was so unimpressed with his achievements in life that he assumed Cas was living in his mother’s basement.
Goddamn it, it was hard to make cute things people actually wanted to buy. Doing so as a full-time business was even harder. Cas was damn proud of what he did. Not that any fancy hookup from Houston wanted to hear it.
They pulled into the parking lot of Moore Wood, just in the center of town, and Cas raised his brow. “What are we…” he trailed off.
Right. Of course. George didn’t even want to wait for a date, he wanted sex now. In the parking lot of the public park. Cas tried not to laugh his ass off. That was a whole new low.
George killed the engine and ran his hand slowly up Cas’s thigh. Although the warm, firm touch should have made his heart thrill, he couldn’t bring himself to react the way he wanted to. He felt a little numb, so he just folded his hands in his lap and waited.
Playing coy and innocent sometimes turned them on even more, and maybe his libido would come with time.
George’s pants were visibly tented by the time he slid his hand into Cas’s pants and palmed his cock. So were Cas’s, even though he wasn’t feeling this. Goddamn dicks and their urges. He could be stone-cold uninterested and his dick would still perk up.
“Is that…?”
Cas’s heart skipped a beat as he nodded.
He was open on his Grindr profile about liking a little lace and satin. Most guys put two and two together. Every now and then, he ran into a guy who couldn’t be assed to read his profile before they met up. It was a surprise for them both that way.
“A little extra texture,” he smiled weakly, hoping he wasn’t about to get his ass kicked. There was always that faint possibility in the back of his mind. You wouldn’t think that would be a risk somewhere like Grindr, but there you are.
“It sure is.” George winked and pulled his hand out, then buckled up again. “So, dinner?”
Cas licked his lips. “Dinner. Right.” If he was going to stay on edge for the whole meal, that might add something to the encounter, at least.
They made small talk as they drove to JJ’s Fresh Goods. Cas didn’t love the idea of walking around the small town’s grocery store with a hookup on his arm, but he didn’t think George wanted to waste time finding another supermarket further out of town.
As long as George kept his hands to himself and he didn’t pop a boner in front of the produce manager, he could cope.
Then, George abruptly asked, “So, do you always wear women’s underwear? Is it a fetish thing?”
“Not exactly a fetish for me.” Caspian shook his head. “I don’t need to wear silk and stuff. I just like how it feels and looks on me.”
“Huh.” George pulled up outside the store and climbed out without another word. Caspian trailed after him, into the store.
“Afternoon,” Cas greeted Chase, who returned the greeting and gave a knowing glance between the two of them as they headed straight for the wine aisle. Most of the gay guys around his age in town knew each other.
“You think about what you like. I’m gonna find a bathroom,” George told him when they were standing in front of the reds, whites, and rosés.
“Cool,” Cas waved him off and glanced at the bottles.
He didn’t drink much, but when he did, he preferred light stuff. He saw a bottle of a sweet rosé, but he didn’t want to just choose something without George’s input. Guys could get so weird about sweet drinks.
Cas lingered for a minute, wandering up and down the aisle and inspecting what else they had in stock. He tried not to look like a boozer, or an underage kid getting up the courage to buy something.
George still wasn’t back after a couple of minutes, so Cas grabbed the bottle he’d been eyeing and headed to the front to talk to Chase while he waited.
“How’s it going? How are Lyla and Trooper?” Chase’s daughter and dog made for an adorable sight together, especially when they all walked through Moore Wood or the farmer’s market. And Chase had found himself a hell of a sweetheart in his boyfriend, Hunter.
Not that Cas was jealous. Well, maybe a little.
“Not bad. Slow day today. You’re the most interesting thing that’s happened,” Chase told him and grinned. “Who was that?”
“My date for tonight. We’re doing a BYOB burger place by the highway, apparently.” The look on Chase’s face—cautiously guilty—made him frown. “What?”
“Um… I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but if he’s in the silver Beemer, he just left.”
Cas blinked a few times. “Left? Like…”
“Drove away?” Chase offered, frowning. “I’m guessing that wasn’t part of the date plan.”
There
has to be a mistake, Cas thought. We haven’t even hooked up yet! “Maybe he couldn’t find a bathroom, or…”
Chase was giving him a sympathetic look that made his stomach twist. He pulled his phone out to check George’s profile, but sure enough, it was gone. He’d been blocked—ghosted.
Ditched in the wine aisle of the town grocery store.
He could either cry or laugh about it, so he chose the latter, trying not to sound hysterical as Chase checked out the wine for him and he paid.
“Guess I’m having a solo date night tonight.”
“Treat yourself!” was Chase’s parting advice as Cas walked briskly out, bottle in hand.
Oh, he planned to treat himself, if he couldn’t even get a cheap Grindr date to do it. He felt like a freak, but at least he was a freak with a bottle of good wine.
1
Matt
If Matt had to explain sets and reps one more time to someone who had downloaded an internet guide to fucking up their body, he was going to scream.
Thank fucking goodness today was nearly over.
As far as jobs went, he loved his. Owning the gym in Hidden Creek, Lift, was no small achievement.
Plus, it was a meaningful way to give back to the community, and a way of meeting people again after moving back here from Houston just a year and a half ago.
He’d already made a difference socially and health-wise by choosing to be as socially conscious as possible, rather than trying to bilk unwilling members for their membership fees. Short-term, affordable, easily-canceled contracts worked best for everyone.
Matt had hired an employee already, and people who couldn’t afford extortionate out-of-town gym fees were coming here. He got to help so many more people. It was a win all around.
Well, it would be if Matt weren’t so worried about rent. He’d had unexpected moving costs, and then his rent had increased after just six months in the business, thanks to the investors who’d bought the property. Apparently they were taking a gamble that the town was an up-and-coming escape for the bored urbanite.
It was dubiously legal, but what could he do? A cheap, big building so well-suited to being a gym wasn’t easy to find, even in Hidden Creek. He liked the space, he couldn’t afford the moving costs—not again, so soon after having to move within the first year of his first lease—and the rent wasn’t outrageous yet. Ideally, he could increase his customer base, but he was working on that.
He couldn’t wait until he had the capital to buy his own building. Real estate was still affordable here—for now. As long as more investors didn’t spot the potential and buy everything up.
“Evening,” Matt greeted Damien, one of the regulars at the gym, as Damien passed the front desk where Matt was keeping busy with an Excel spreadsheet between sets.
“Hey, man.” Damien was clearly in workout mode, so Matt didn’t interrupt.
The kid was twenty-one or so, and had the dedication—some might say obsession—to bodybuilding that kept him coming often. It was a fine balance to strike between encouraging a friendly atmosphere among frequent visitors and trying to encourage new signups.
Matt worked out here himself while keeping an eye on the place, which gave him something to do and made him more approachable. But now, with the place about to close for the night and his spreadsheet pissing him off, he needed a shower.
Damien would already know he only had a few minutes to work out—he tended to pop in for a fifteen-minute intense workout at the very end of the day. No need to remind him they were about to close.
Matt just headed for the showers, his mind wandering.
“Hi. Are you the owner?”
Well, hello there. Just like old times, Matt’s tongue got tied when a woman was nice to him. He nodded a few times before forcing himself to talk to the yoga pants and sports bra-clad woman who stopped him before the locker room entrance. She had a pretty smile.
“I am, yeah. Matt.” He shook hands, and she held onto his hand for a moment longer before dropping it. “Can I help you?”
“Oh, no. I just finished my routine. I wanted to say thank you for making this place… well, not scary.” She was new here—she’d signed up last weekend, and until tonight, he’d figured she’d already forgotten about her pledge to get fit. Or, worse, had gotten scared off.
Matt beamed. A compliment on his gym did more for his ego than a compliment on his body. “Why, thank you, too! That’s my goal. I want fitness to be fun for everyone.”
She giggled and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yeah. I totally agree.”
“Great. I’ll see you around here, then?”
“Totally!” She waved and sped to the locker room. At high speed, and blushing. He waited until she’d left before heading in to the changing room, checking the machines instead.
No way. He shook his head. Was that flirting? Did I flirt back? Do I want to flirt back?
Goddamn it, he was bad at flirting. For so long, he’d thought he could magically be better at it if he were just… bigger, stronger, sexier. More abs, or more vascularity. Then it had become strength rather than show—training so he could actually heft things around, not just look like he could. Then it had turned into a business, and…
Well, he was still shitty at flirting, and even telling when he was being flirted with.
It didn’t help that he had a policy against picking up gym members. Mixing work and pleasure was always a bad idea, especially when he wanted women in particular to feel at home.
Using the gym as his cruising zone wouldn’t help the women around him feel safe—he’d been in gyms like that before, and he’d quickly lost respect for the owners.
But, since his whole life was the gym, he didn’t exactly get a chance to talk to women outside of work. He’d been on a few dates since moving here, but that was it.
His romantic life these days was as empty as the lockers he checked before hopping in one of the shower stalls.
As he was styling his hair, Damien joined him to pull on a clean t-shirt.
The gender-neutral changing rooms had a dozen single-stall showers. It was one of the biggest selling points for anyone who was body-conscious. Group showers were a barrier to entry for anyone who had hated high school PE class.
Plus, when Matt was naked around other guys… he couldn’t help but notice them. He tried not to take too long in showers around other guys. This kind of setup worked much better for him.
The last thing he needed was to explore those feelings in front of other guys who were less than welcoming of his identity crisis.
Matt had never dated a guy. He was into them, sure. Sexually, he didn’t have a problem with hooking up. Grindr kept him fulfilled when he needed his fill. But he kept it to one-time hookups.
Dating itself was awkward enough for him. Dating a guy? Whole different ball game. It was a different rulebook he’d never been handed, and getting started now wasn’t easy. He had enough trouble dating girls.
Gender aside, he rarely felt like he was into the romantic stuff with people, even if he liked them. Sex and friendship were easier.
Ugh. Maybe he’d just never date anyone and be a chronic bachelor. Get invited to all the tea parties with the old ladies in town, learn to play bridge, and take up watercolor painting. Sneak his Grindr hookups in the back door—so to speak—and make do with what he could get.
Caught up in his thoughts, he barely noticed Damien leaving first and giving him a goodbye wave.
Alone now, Matt sighed and rinsed out the sinks, looking around to make a mental note of what cleaning he’d have to do tomorrow morning.
“Anyone in here?” he called, making sure all the stalls were open and empty. He flicked off the lights and waited to make sure there was no reaction, then did his rounds of the gym floor.
Locking up the place came on autopilot these days. So did opening it up. Sometimes it felt like there was nothing in his life besides this damn place. Entire days seemed to slip away as he wiped down equipme
nt, checked in newbies, and stared at spreadsheets.
Matt sighed and set the alarm, then locked the doors and headed for his car, for the drive home past the closed supermarket, still and quiet church, and late-night blinking lights of the gas station.
One more day over.
Now he’d go home, turn on the TV for an hour while he ate another tasteless protein-filled meal, take a shot of whiskey to get to sleep, and dream about carbs and dates and everything else missing from his life.
Again.
2
Caspian
“Basically, I got ditched in the wine aisle of JJ’s, and I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud. With my own mouth. Voluntarily. Sober.” Caspian chugged some truly delicious iced tea and sighed.
It was the only nonalcoholic beverage that could make him feel better about admitting his utter failure to date.
If he hadn’t admitted it, word would have spread from Chase. The grapevine worked quickly here. Chase had been pissed off on his behalf, and it looked like Gabriel felt the same.
“Oh, my God!” Gabriel exclaimed, clapping his hand over his mouth. “He, like, left you there? He didn’t come back?”
“Bingo.”
Gabriel folded his arms and shook his head. “Asshole.”
Cas kicked his heels as he looked around the adorable little garden. His best friend’s boyfriend, Orion, had a hell of a cool grandmother, and not just for the iced tea. Last week, he’d delivered one of his wooden backyard sculptures for the middle of Cora’s garden, and it was looking great.