[Men of Hidden Creek 06.0] Adore

by E. Davies

  “That’s great!” Caspian clapped, beaming at him.

  Gabriel grinned back. “Cora’s having a celebration lunch tomorrow. Want to come? She wants to feed you and interrogate you about pretty single boys she can pair up. And don’t forget brunch on Sunday with the guys…”

  Cas laughed. “I’ve got brunch on my calendar already. I think I can squeeze Cora’s lunch in after my photo shoot, before the hardware store.” He double-checked his phone calendar, and it looked clear enough that he nodded. “Yeah, why not?”

  He wasn’t going to look a gift friend in the mouth. Talking with Unicorn for the last few days had made it painfully clear to him that he needed all the friendship he could get.

  Vaguely knowing of people in town was nice, but it wasn’t the same. He’d never stayed in close touch with anyone from his school days. And even though he’d never left town after school, he hadn’t automatically fallen into any friendship groups.

  Like his business—or being fit, or dating—he had to work at it. Sitting around feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to improve matters. And running his ego through the Grindr blender over and over, hoping that maybe it would turn out to be love, was just madness.

  “You all right? You look like you’re having a moment,” Gabe said.

  “No more Grindr,” Cas murmured under his breath. “Maybe I need to commit to that. Start talking to guys in person.”

  “Right after the only gay bar in Hidden Creek catches on fire, you decide you want to get back into the community?” Gabriel raised his eyebrow.

  “Well, that’s just it. They’re going to need support when they reopen. It’s not like we can’t go to the other bars in the meantime. I’ll meet these friends, see if anyone knows anybody. Talk to guys the old-fashioned way. No more texting and waiting to see if they ever show up as online again.”

  “What about Mr. Mysterious Text Friend?”

  He glanced at his phone. “I’ll make an exception and grandfather him in.”

  “I bet you will.”

  “Shut up and finish your sketch,” Cas laughed, grabbing the label sheet to cut out the last few labels.

  Maybe it was impulsive, but so far, impulsive had been working for him. As much as he ached, impulsive was going to get him muscles. Maybe it could get him friends—and even a boyfriend.

  Life had given him a kick in the ass, and he wasn’t wasting a moment to think it through and talk himself out of the idea. He might get turned down, but hey, it happened on apps, too.

  Talking to people in person would force him to be upfront about his little quirk, and then he could find out if people were going to be dicks or not.

  He deleted the apps, one after another, and pocketed his phone. Unicorn could stay in his phonebook, though. That was different.

  No more endlessly texting guys besides Unicorn. Or Matt, if he got his number. If only he had the balls to ask out at least one of the two.

  The website links Unicorn had sent him had given him enough routines to run with for now, and it seemed to have impressed Matt today. But somehow, he wanted to talk to Unicorn more than Matt… assuming he had a chance with him.

  Just who was he trying to impress, anyway?

  9

  Matt

  Well, this was a war he’d never expected to get involved in.

  Matt shoveled chocolate Lucky Charms into his mouth with a spoon while hovering next to his laptop. God, cheat day was heaven. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

  Somehow, Lift had attracted the wrong kind of attention from a handful of idiots somewhere on the other side of the state. Why they cared what went on in a little gym in Hidden Creek, he wasn’t sure, but they were furious.

  Mixing the genders is unnatural, un-Christian, and dangerous and we need to force them to install separate changing rooms seemed to be the main thrust of their arguments. Along with lots of Protect women!-style comments, like there had ever been any kind of problems in the changing rooms.

  Some of them had tagged Lift’s Facebook page in the debate, seemingly unaware that that just brought his attention to the crazy behind the scenes.

  At least Rory already knew, so she had a heads-up if they walked in when he wasn’t there. She’d taken the campaign hard, but she had more of a stake than he did in their gender-neutral changing room.

  She’d applied for the job specifically because of the signal being sent—that he wanted to make everyone feel equally comfortable, gender identity and history aside—and she’d been a damn good hire.

  Oh, goody. As he kept reading, Matt discovered that they were organizing a petition to send him next.

  When he’d finally stopped laughing at the idea of willingly throwing away twenty grand or more to install a wall down the center of his changing room to fix a problem that didn’t exist and alienate some people in the process, and he’d had enough of their vitriol, he closed the page.

  “Goddamn. The internet is crazy.”

  At least the one-star reviews weren’t from actual members, even though it annoyed him to see his star average so low.

  His phone went off and he glanced at it, half-expecting to see that one of these nutters had tracked down his phone number.

  swishy like wine: Evening, unicorn :)

  Just a few words made Matt smile and forget all about the frustration that had been knotting up his insides just moments before.

  bi unicorn: How’s it going, swishy?

  swishy like wine: LOL. Just looking up youtube lifting tutorials so I don’t make an ass of myself. Help.

  He couldn’t deny the prickle of jealousy that flared up inside him when Swishy implied that he was trying to look good for another guy.

  Even though he knew this was a time-tested strategy for figuring out how into someone you were, he rose to the bait.

  bi unicorn: Is the guy you’re trying to impress hot?

  Matt chewed his thumbnail. Those few seductive photos of Swishy’s body were all he had to work with, and no face pics. Sure, he liked the twinky look, but mainly, Matt liked Swishy for his personality.

  Weird. He’d crushed on guys before, sure, but he’d been able to push it aside pretty easily and focus on work, or girls, or anything else.

  This felt different. It was like being back in high school and desperate for his crush’s attention.

  swishy like wine: I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to him yet. ;)

  That answer made Matt smile. Swishy didn’t want to be seen as shallow, at least. That spoke well of him. And from what Matt knew, he wasn’t pretending.

  The connection between them was far deeper than with anyone else he’d texted online… for what that was worth, anyway.

  bi unicorn: Why not?

  swishy like wine: I’ve only seen him like twice at the gym.

  Matt reeled so hard he nearly fell off the dining room chair. He relocated to the sofa so he could grab a pillow and rest his chin on it. He stared in rapt fascination at his phone.

  Swishy went to the gym. Presumably his gym.

  No, that was a big assumption to make. Maybe he went to the other gym, the one where the college athletes went. Maybe he went to a gym in another city. Hell, maybe he went to one of the gyms in Houston where Matt had once worked.

  Who were these two? Could he matchmake between them? No doubt he’d seen them, if it was his gym. The temptation to claim Swishy as his own instead of letting Hunk, as he’d started to think of the other guy, have his way…

  No, if Swishy wanted him, he was going to have to make it clear. Matt wasn’t going to get dragged into a three-way love triangle drama situation.

  Fuck it. Matt couldn’t resist the temptation of asking.

  bi unicorn: Lift?

  swishy like wine: That question violates the spirit of our anonymous pen pal deal. ;)

  Matt laughed richly.

  bi unicorn: Guilty. I just wanted to know in case I could set you two up.

  swishy like wine: Oh, be my gym wingman?? I’
m starting to like this idea.

  Matt tried to tell himself that he did, too. If Swishy found a guy who looked at him like he deserved, Matt would suck it up and be happy for him. He deserved someone with the balls to come out and say they were into him, and who knew what he was doing outside of bed. And who had a lot more free time than Matt did.

  His phone went off again.

  swishy like wine: But I like this anonymous pen pal thing too. It’s intriguing to think you could be anyone I pass by. Like a blind date. :)

  bi unicorn: We could do a real blind date, you know. If you wanna chase after this hunk, I’ll help you impress him. But I have eyes too, and I think you’re hot.

  Matt paused for a long minute, deciding whether or not to send the text as his finger hovered over the send button.

  What if Swishy liked the whole anonymity thing too much to want to meet him?

  Getting turned down now would hurt more than it would have after a message or two on Grindr. They’d been texting every morning and night now, almost religiously.

  And, like Swishy said, it was nice to have a buddy. Maybe a buddy he kind of wanted to fuck, but he also liked the guy, and he didn’t want to lose this.

  God, Matt wasn’t used to this much self-doubt. Not since high school, anyway, and since the day he’d decided to become strong, and handsome, and not the joke prom date. Fuck those fuckers.

  He hit backspace on the message and, instead, typed another.

  bi unicorn: Let me send you some links on nutrition.

  swishy like wine: You’re the best!

  Matt didn’t have a lot of friends, let alone any that he flirted with. He wasn’t sure how far he was supposed to go before it became a signal of interest. Nor was he sure whether he wanted it to be a signal of interest—he kind of did.

  “Fuuuck,” Matt groaned and flopped dramatically back against the couch as he went through his usual links and sent them, one at a time, to Swishy. “Fuck my life. I need one of those matchmaking shows.”

  But despite his words, he hadn’t jumped back on Grindr in days. He hadn’t even considered asking out the cute twink at the gym—even though he knew damn well he was interested.

  bi unicorn: I’m the best wingman, as long as I can keep my hands off the merchandise. ;)

  God, he couldn’t help himself, could he? Three seconds after deciding he was going to try to keep it platonic and stop flirting so much, he was suggesting meeting up again.

  “Anonymous, Matt,” he told himself. “Keep the mystery.” As soon as he met the guy in real life, it was bound to go wrong.

  But now that he knew Swishy might go to his gym, he was going to be distracted every day. Casting glances at guys, measuring them up, trying to see who might look like the cute little thing he was texting.

  What he really needed to do was get over himself, pretend he was dating a girl, and apply his extensive experience to the job.

  Just ask someone out—the gym guy, Swishy, the guy at the supermarket, literally anybody. It wasn’t that different, surely.

  So why wasn’t he doing it?

  swishy like wine: We’ll see. Finders keepers… ;)

  Matt bit his thumb to stop himself from grinning. Despite himself, Swishy still had him interested—hook, line, and sinker.

  He was going to have to let Swishy reel him in slowly, and try not to set his expectations too high. In a town this size, they couldn’t avoid meeting forever. That had to work to his advantage somehow. Right?

  10

  Caspian

  He’d barely survived lunch with Cora—how on earth was he going to make it through brunch without being interrogated on his dating life?

  Caspian just knew Gabriel was going to bring up Mr. Mysterious Text Friend again. He’d already been snickering all morning as they met up and then bought a little something to make Kris’ life easier over the coming months.

  The bartender of the gay bar in town, Bottom’s Up, had lived above the bar. When it went up in flames, he’d lost his job and apartment at once. The suggestion to surprise Kris with support was perfect.

  Somehow, he didn’t mind being teased about his love life. It felt kind of fun to be the center of attention for something other than his terrible Grindr experiences. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

  After brunch, he was planning to hit the gym. Not so he could see Matt, of course. Just to work off the calories he was no doubt about to consume in the form of delicious waffles and Bloody Marys.

  “Okay! Showtime!” Gabriel announced, beaming at Cas.

  “Do you know everyone in there?” Caspian wasn’t normally shy, but the thought of meeting a bunch of cute guys his own age was always nerve-racking.

  “I have no idea. I know some of them, and so do you,” Gabriel said, elbowing Cas across the console. “You’ll be fine. Come on.”

  As they headed in, they spotted the table full of guys near the back. He knew Kris from the bar, Chase from JJ’s, and Koby from the market, at least. He wasn’t sure about everyone else. Some of them, he’d known from school but not seen in a while. Others, he’d bumped into around town.

  They clutched their shopping bags closer as they waited for servers to rush past them with plates of food. Gabriel called out their apologies for being late as they tried not to knock anyone’s food out of the servers’ hands.

  It was busy and loud, but Cas was used to dealing with that kind of environment. They both were, from working at farmer’s markets. Thank God he had this weekend off to start preparing for the Christmas rush, because from now until January, market days were only going to get busier.

  Once they’d said their hellos and been seated, Kris wasted no time asking what was up with the shopping bags.

  Cas didn’t know Kris enough to break the news, so he let the others do it. He’d only been into Bottom’s Up a few times, whereas the others knew him better.

  “Now we’re all here, we have a surprise for you,” Chase told Kris, as all of them smiled.

  Gabriel put his bag in front of Kris, and so did the rest of them. “Chase said you lost everything in the fire.”

  Cas’s heart twisted. Gabriel’s heart was on his sleeve today. He’d been emotional when he told Cas about the plan, too.

  Everyone had felt the same kind of fear after the bar burned down—what if it was a homophobic attack? Was Kris okay? And more than anything else, what if he hadn’t been?

  The plan was just what any neighbors would do—whether or not they were physically neighbors—in a town like Hidden Creek.

  Kris seemed to suddenly realize what was in the bags, but he tried to resist the help. “I don’t know. It’s more that I can’t get up to my apartment. I’m hoping there’s some things that are salvageable.”

  He looked like he was trying to be strong, but pride did nobody any good. Gabe knew that more than anyone, having nearly wound up hurt at the hands of his own cousin because he was too proud to let Orion help him.

  He was glad they weren’t letting Kris back down. Koby told him to stop being a drama queen, and Hale reminded Kris that he couldn’t very well go out looking like his all-too-straight brother.

  They all laughed, but Cas was holding his breath. I hope he isn’t offended. That would be an awful way to start a new friendship. And I hope he doesn’t hate what we got him…

  But Kris looked emotional as he touched the clothes spilling out of one of the bags. “You guys. You didn’t have to.”

  Gabriel hugged Kris from behind and kissed his cheek. “But we wanted to,” Gabriel told him. “You of all people should not be fashion deprived in a crisis.”

  Cas laughed as Kris tried to graciously accept their gifts, but it made his heart warm to see them all rallying around him in a crisis.

  And then his phone went off with a text notification in the middle of the warm and fuzzy moment.

  He could feel himself blushing as he scooped it up, but it was too late. Gabriel was already on his way back to sit down next to
him. “Oooh. Who’s that, Caspian Grey?”

  “No one.” Cas tried to ignore the notification, but it was too compelling. He took just a little peek at it.

  bi unicorn: I’m stuck at work until 3, so I thought I’d say hello, gorgeous ;)

  Oh, no. He had to pick now of all times to flirt?

  “Has Cas got a boy?” That was Hale, whom he didn’t know very well, but Cas appreciated that he was teasing him. It made him feel like one of them.

  “Is it Mr. Mysterious Text Friend?” Gabriel wasn’t letting him get away with an inch.

  Cas huffed at him. “None of your business.” He held the phone close to his chest as he read and tried to respond. It was hard to type at that angle, but after a mimosa, he was pretty sure Gabriel wouldn’t be above a little spying.

  swishy like wine: I’m stuck at brunch with my friends and they’re interrogating me. LOL. Send help.

  He kept one ear on the conversation—since it sounded like Kris didn’t want to admit to having a love interest of his own.

  “Who is he?” he tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Koby ask.

  “The guy you’re living with?”

  Cas’s head snapped around to Kris. He had no idea what Kris’ living situation had been like since the fire, but it was the first he’d heard of this. “You’re living with a guy?”

  “It’s nothing. My brother’s friend had a spare room that he’s opened up to me while I don’t have a place.”

  There was something more there, though, that he didn’t seem to want to admit to.