by E. Davies
He’d insisted on paying for this dinner, too, and Cas felt unbelievably spoiled. He’d almost expected to put out in return, but Matt… that wasn’t his style.
I think every guy is different, Cas thought as they stood up to head out. But this guy actually is. And now I barely know what to do about it.
God, he was going to go crazy if he had to wait much longer to taste Matt again.
“We could just make out,” he offered in a mumble once they’d reached their cars. Mostly because he didn’t want this date to end. For once, he wasn’t bored and waiting for it to be over. And if it was like this for just talking, he couldn’t imagine how awesome the sex was going to be.
Matt laughed. “Doesn’t the anticipation make it better?”
Cas cast a meaningful look around. The Grind parking lot was empty at this hour and he wasn’t above getting a little frisky in public.
“Tomorrow, you can come over,” Matt promised in a low voice, his arms snaking around Cas’s waist. He pulled him in close and pressed a kiss against his lips.
Just as he always did when Matt touched him, Cas relaxed and let go of his insecurities—that somehow or another, he wasn’t enough for a guy to be interested in. This wasn’t a polite rejection. Far from it, this seemed like Matt trying to show that he respected him.
Cas would prefer that Matt pulled his hair and fucked him hard, but he could deal with a little respect now and then.
“Fine,” Cas murmured against Matt’s lips, trading kisses as they stood between their cars. He already couldn’t believe Matt had spent an entire day with him without putting the moves on. “If that’s a promise.”
Matt grinned. “Or else. I’ve been waiting weeks to see that view in person.”
“Tomorrow seems far away.” Cas squirmed, suddenly keenly aware of the satin fabric of his underwear. It was way more comfortable to get a semi in them than tighty whities, but a little risky… and risqué.
Matt smirked. “If you’re a very good boy, I’ll send photos to tide you over.”
“Oh, yes,” Cas breathed out. Since that first conversation, they hadn’t swapped photos at all. Knowing that Matt was into him changed everything. He suddenly had visions of the kinds of photos he could send Matt to tempt him into temporary disrespect.
This was going to be fun.
“Thank you for today,” Matt told him, unaware of his scheme. He smiled sweetly and kissed Cas again, then squeezed his hands. “I’m so glad we found each other, Swishy.”
Cas laughed. “Me too… Unicorn,” he teased. “Until tomorrow?”
“Til tomorrow.” Matt raised a hand and waved as he turned to climb into his car. They waved again twice more before Matt was finally away on the road and Cas started his own car for the drive back home.
He had grand plans with his right hand, reviewing the photos he already had of Matt. But after their marathon date, he was so worn out that his eyes drifted shut just as he crashed in bed.
The last thing he managed was a quick text.
swishy like wine: I had fun today. Can’t wait until tomorrow.
For once, he had something to look forward to in his life besides the changing craft fair seasons.
15
Matt
Matt barely remembered signing on the dotted line to agree to install security cameras.
Once they’d agreed on the number and position—which he also left up to Ryan—he said lots of things about the schedule and when he’d need access to the building.
Matt’s thoughts were stuck on yesterday, and the best first date he’d ever had, and what Cas had in mind for this evening. Judging by the photos he’d sent Matt in the morning, he had a hell of a lot more in mind than holding hands by the duck pond.
If only he weren’t so worried about it, he’d be over the moon.
“Earth to Matt.” Rory finally got his attention. She was leaning on the front desk as he sat behind it to take care of member check-ins. “There you are.”
He laughed. “Sorry. What do you need?”
“Your brain for a minute,” she teased. “So I’m off at three, right?”
“Right.” She’d worked the early morning shift, which meant he closed up the gym today. Damn it. That meant a late date with Cas. He might not want to stay up that late.
Rory grinned. “That’s my excuse for gossiping. Now the important part: you asked him out, didn’t you? Are you finally gonna start taking more time off?”
“Wha—” Matt opened and closed his mouth, but he couldn’t deny it.
“Good man. Finally!” Rory poked him in the chest. “And? When’s the date?”
“Uhhh.” Matt blushed.
Rory laughed out loud. “Already? You work fast! And how was he?”
“It wasn’t like that—we just had a coffee date. And hung out for the rest of the evening.” Matt tried to pretend he wasn’t blushing.
Rory shook her head. “Such a romantic. Have you texted him yet?”
His blush only deepened. If swapping dirty photos that morning counted…
“Look at you,” Rory laughed. “If I took a photo, that would be blackmail material.”
Matt grumbled. “Don’t you have questions about the sudden… I don’t know… he in my life?”
“About you being bi?” Rory clarified, then shrugged when he nodded. “Nope. You’ve dated girls. If things don’t work out, you might date others. Doesn’t mean you can’t also date boys.”
Of all people, Rory understood that binaries were bullshit. Matt cast her a grateful smile. “I just always thought you had to choose between straight and gay.”
“Choices are bullshit,” Rory grinned. “You do you. And do cute people, whatever—or whoever—you do. Or, better still, nice people. Let me interrogate him sometime. I know! Dinner. Sarah will even make something low-carb for you.”
Matt smiled. “Soon, maybe. Don’t scare him off yet!”
Both she and her fiancée were total sweethearts, but Sarah wasn’t at all the gym bunny that Rory was. He didn’t see Sarah often—just when she picked Rory up after work. They’d had him over for dinner a few times, but it was hard to coordinate when one or the other of them was always at the gym.
He wouldn’t put it past Rory to grill Cas on his intentions with Matt’s heart. She cared deeply for those she liked, and he found it an endearing trait. You couldn’t put a price on that kind of loyalty.
Without her determination… hell, the gym would still be squashed into an ill-suited commercial unit. Thanks to her patient documentation of the old place’s maintenance issues, they’d cut and run from that lease early, to everyone’s relief.
“I’ll only scare him if he’s an asshole,” Rory promised.
Matt bristled. “He’s not.”
“You’ve known him for one day and you know that already?” Rory leaned in. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” Damn it, she always knew.
He cleared his throat. “So, I’ve been texting this guy…”
She snorted. “I’ve noticed. You’re not subtle.”
“I dunno what you’re talking about. I’m as sneaky as a black cat at night,” Matt told her, and he politely ignored her choked laughter. “Anyway, it’s been like two weeks of this back-and-forth texting. We were flirting at first, and then neither of us were sure what we were doing.”
“And he’s that guy?” Rory pointed toward the empty weight area. “The one you wanted to ask out?”
“Yep.” Matt grinned. “So we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well through texts. Just everyday life, talking about bad dates, that kind of stuff. He’s a little shy but he’s working on it.”
“And you’re a little shy, under the right circumstances.” Rory smiled. “You’re pushing yourself here.”
Matt realized she was right. “I am, I guess.”
“Good job. If you want romance, go get it. Guys aren’t that different. When’s the next date?”
“Uh,” Matt mumbled and blushed again.
“Tonight.” Despite trying to play it cool, his heart raced when he talked about Cas.
“Whew. You’re really into him. I’m gonna need daily updates, then.” Rory grinned, and Matt had no doubt she would extract them from him, one way or another. “Okay, I’m out for the afternoon. Call if you need me. By the way, I fixed the handle on the pull-down machine in the corner.”
“Thanks a million for that. I won’t call you,” Matt promised. He was firm on that—he wanted his employees (even if the plural was largely hypothetical right now) to have a healthy work-life balance. “Now go enjoy your day.”
“Enjoy your date,” she countered and winked, then waved as she headed out.
That left Matt with a long afternoon to burn before he could see Cas… and a guy coming to measure his walls for security cameras, but he had no idea when.
Ugh. Responsibility sucked.
“Do I have to check in if I’m not here to work out?” Cas’s cheeky grin lit up Matt’s night as he looked up from his security camera software manual to see him walking in.
His heart raced: he hadn’t even heard him coming, and he’d told Cas he wouldn’t be free until the gym closed. “N-No? Maybe? It depends what you’re here to do.”
“Who, I think you mean.”
“Whom?” Matt countered to keep himself from getting flustered.
Cas scoffed. “If you’re going to nitpick my grammar, I’ll have to find some other way of distracting you. Like those photos this morning.”
“Oh, they were an effective distraction,” Matt assured him, his mouth dry as he remembered every glorious detail of that morning’s conversation. “But please don’t get me hard at work.”
Cas grinned. “When do you close?”
“Another hour,” Matt said with a sigh. He’d close early if not for a few regulars, like Channing, who showed up two of every three nights. The last thing he needed was a pissed-off member when he had worked so hard to build a following of loyal regulars. “Usually I start cleaning the place around now.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” Cas smiled. “I just figured it might be slow here. And better hanging out here than sitting around my house waiting for you to call.”
He was so sweet. Matt smiled and headed around the desk to take his hand. “Well, if you insist.” He greeted him with a kiss.
They took a moment to themselves to enjoy it, and Matt didn’t even feel worried. If any of the few people who were in the gym right now did object, they were welcome to fuck off.
By the time they pulled apart, Cas was beaming at him.
“Hm?” Matt grinned.
“Nothing. Show me around the place. I want to know more.”
“Sure.” Matt took him by the hand to show him the different areas and explain why he’d set it up this way: so he could keep an eye on newbies, so people didn’t get intimidated by those who could lift more, and so on.
Every aspect of the gym had been carefully designed through a ton of sketches and some back-breaking labor when he screwed up and had to move things around.
“You sound like you’re well-established for being, like, not even two years old.” Cas finally pulled Matt down to sit next to him on a weight bench. “It’s really cool to see other people my age trying to make their own businesses, instead of chasing jobs out of town.”
“Yeah. I feel like Hidden Creek needs a place like Lift, but it just doesn’t know it yet.”
“How many members are there?” Cas looked curious as he turned sideways to straddle the bench, his gaze attentive.
Matt wasn’t used to being listened to and looked at like he was putting the goddamn moon in the sky. He stuttered for a moment before he recovered. “A hundred, at any given time?”
“That’s not bad, in a town this size. But you could grow a lot more. Or are you happy where you are?”
“I’d like to make enough to have more than one employee,” Matt told him. He turned sideways to face Cas, resting his hands between them as he stretched his legs. “So I’m not working sixty or seventy hours every week.”
“That sounds important,” Cas agreed. “I probably work about the same, but sometimes it’s just gluing or painting while I watch TV at home. That doesn’t feel like the same thing.”
“You’ll have to show me your work,” Matt said, smiling. “It is cool to see other entrepreneurs. Are you usually at the Saturday market?”
“Just about every week. This last weekend was my last Saturday off before I start getting into serious Christmas mode.” Cas kicked his feet. “I could show you some photos…”
“Yes, please!” Matt smiled. “Until I can see your place and the army of inventory.”
Cas lit up and pulled out his phone. “Okay, well. I have a few different product lines. The Christmas decorations are the ones I’ve been photographing this week…”
They had half an hour to kill before he could close the gym, but the time flew by as he listened to Cas talk about what he did. Some of it sounded too artistic for him to understand, but he liked the look of the yard ornaments. He’d have to get one of his own this year.
“Night, Matt,” Channing called.
Matt automatically waved. “Is that everyone?”
“Yep. Haven’t seen anyone else.” Channing looked curious as he glanced between the two of them, but he didn’t stick around to ask questions.
“Thanks, man.” Matt smiled at Cas. “Let me just lock up, then…”
Within a few minutes, he’d locked the front door and checked the place out to make sure nobody was left.
“And now you take me home?” Cas looked hopeful. “Or do we figure out creative ways to use this equipment? Because if you leave me with blue balls two nights in a row, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”
Honestly, both options sounded equally tempting to Matt in entirely different ways. “Uh… well, security cameras are going in sometime this week.”
Cas gasped. “Better make the most of our privacy.” He pushed Matt onto the weight bench and straddled his lap.
The weight on his lap brought Matt to attention quickly. It was impossible to ignore him, especially when he languidly wrapped his arms around Matt’s neck and pulled him in for a series of slow, deep kisses.
By the time Cas let him breathe Matt found himself running his hands up and down Cas’s back, slipping them under his shirt. His dick was hard, straining on the fabric of his shorts, and every time Cas shifted on his lap, he ground against it.
He didn’t want to stop himself like he had last night. He wanted to see what it was like to let himself go, to feel that chemistry with someone he was actually into instead of someone who just cared about getting his rocks off.
But he was too damn shy to ask directly. Good thing Cas was making it perfectly clear what he wanted. Every time Matt pulled away for breath, Cas would only give him a few moments before diving in to bite his lip or suck gently on the tip of his tongue.
When Cas finally moved to kissing and nipping behind his ear, his whole body was burning too hard to ignore it.
“Okay,” he managed, his voice strained. “Taking you home right now.”
Whether or not they actually fucked, at least he could be a little more comfortable on his couch than here. Plus, less distracted. It was hard to stop imagining all kinds of dirty things he could do with equipment he’d never looked at twice before now.
“About damn time,” Cas teased and slowly stood up, making it obvious that he was sporting a tent of his own. “Where do you live?”
“About five minutes away.”
“Dude, everywhere in town is five minutes away,” Cas scoffed, which made Matt laugh.
“Good point. How about you just follow me in your car?”
“Perfect,” Cas grinned. “Lead on.”
And Matt led him, turning up the radio on the drive home as he clutched the wheel tightly and tried to ignore the nerves simmering deep in his belly.
Thus far, things had gone just fine. If any
thing, he knew better what he was doing in bed than he did on a date.
So why was he this nervous that things might go wrong? Was he already so invested in this relationship that he wanted everything to be perfect?
They were pulling into his driveway, and he had no more time to think—just to act. Maybe it was better that way.
16
Caspian
“Whiskey?”
“Please.” Caspian smiled as he settled into the couch. Matt’s house was pretty plain, but at least he had a comfortable couch and TV.
Perfect for snuggling on long winter nights.
Over the last few weeks, Cas had found himself with these thoughts a little too often. All of a sudden, instead of some vague faceless boyfriend he could cuddle with in the future, he pictured what it would be like to curl into Matt’s side and put his head on his shoulder for a nap.
It made it really hard to resist doing exactly that when Matt came and sat down with a glass for each of them.
“Thank you. Isn’t this super-unhealthy?” he teased, scooting closer and pulling his legs up beside himself. If he was going to stop worrying about being butch, now was a great time to show Matt who he really was.
Matt put an arm around his shoulders. “I guess, but I’ve always allowed myself this one exception. It also helps me get to sleep. A shot a day…” he winked.
“I figured after working all day, it’d be easy to get to sleep,” Cas teased to hide his concern. If Matt was using alcohol as a substitute for good rest, that could take a toll. He wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure how.
“It can be sometimes. Other times, not so much.” Matt shrugged. “I have a lot on my mind. Especially about the gym.”
“Like what?” Caspian sipped, letting the burn roll across his tongue and down his throat. The sparks between them burned just as strongly against his skin, and it was hard to resist just crawling onto Matt.
But he clearly wanted to talk first—probably wanted to respect Cas or something silly like that—so talk they would.