Chapter 13 Heat Wave
THIRTEEN
HEAT WAVE
DECLAN
Iwent to the gym because I couldn't stay in that house another minute without losing my mind.
The weights felt good in my hands. I pushed harder than I needed to, adding weight until my arms shook and my shoulders screamed, until the only thing that existed was the physical effort of moving metal from point A to point B.
I was halfway through my third set when I heard the door open behind me.
I didn't turn around. I didn't need to. I could feel his presence before I heard his footsteps, that particular awareness I'd developed over the past few weeks that told me exactly when Troy was in a room.
“Didn't know you came here,” Troy said.
I set the weights down and grabbed my towel, wiping sweat off my face before I turned to look at him. He was wearing gym shorts and a tank top that showed off arms I'd been trying not to notice, his hair still damp like he'd just showered.
“I come here when I need space.”
“Space from what?”
“Everything.”
He studied me with that attention that made me feel like he could see straight through whatever bullshit I was trying to sell. “You left the house pretty early this morning. Something happen?”
“No.”
“You sure? Because you've been avoiding me all day.”
I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink to buy myself time. I couldn't tell him why I'd left. Couldn't admit that I'd spent the night replaying images I had no business seeing.
“I'm fine. Just needed to work out.”
“Right.” He didn't believe me but he didn't push. He just moved to the squat rack and started loading plates onto the bar. “You mind if I work in?”
“It's a free gym.”
“That's not what I asked.”
We worked out in silence for a while. Me on the dumbbells, him setting up for squats, both of us moving through our routines.
I watched him in the mirror more than I should have.
“Your form's off,” I said after watching him complete a set. The words came out before I could stop them.
Troy straightened and looked at me in the mirror. “What?”
“Your knees are caving in on the ascent. You're going to fuck up your joints if you keep doing it like that.”
“I've been squatting for years.”
“Doesn't mean you're doing it right.” I set down my weights and crossed to where he stood. “Try another rep. I'll watch.”
He turned back to the bar and positioned himself under it.
I moved behind him and watched as he descended into the squat. His knees tracked inward just like I'd said, compensating for some weakness in his hip stabilizers that was probably old and ingrained.
“Again,” I said. “But this time I'm going to correct you.”
He reset and started the movement. I stepped closer and put my hands on his hips, thumbs pressing into the muscle just above his hip bones. “Feel that? That's where the power should be coming from. Not your quads. Your glutes and hips.”
Troy's breath hitched slightly but he didn't say anything. Just continued the descent while my hands stayed on his hips, guiding the movement.
“Knees out,” I said. My voice had gone rougher than I intended. “Push them wide. Feel the tension in your outer hips.”
He adjusted and I felt the shift under my hands. His body was warm even through the thin fabric of his tank top. I could smell his sweat mixed with whatever soap he'd used this morning.
“Good. Now drive up through your heels and squeeze at the top.”
He completed the rep and I felt every muscle in his body engage properly this time. I felt him push back slightly into my hands at the top of the movement.
The contact was brief but deliberate. Just a small backward press of his ass against my hips that made my cock twitch in my shorts.
“Again,” I said.
Troy descended into another squat. This time when he drove up, he pressed back more obviously. His ass made contact with my hips and stayed there for a half second longer than necessary before he straightened fully.
My cock was getting hard. I could feel it happening, could feel the blood rushing south, could feel the fabric of my shorts getting tighter.
And Troy had to be able to feel it too with how close we were standing, but he didn't say anything.
Didn't pull away. Just reset for another rep like nothing was happening.
“That's enough,” I said. My voice came out strained. “You've got the form now.”
I stepped back fast and turned away before he could see how affected I was. My hands were shaking slightly and my cock was half-hard in my shorts and I needed to get control of myself before this turned into something I couldn't take back.
“Thanks,” Troy said behind me. His voice sounded normal. Like he hadn't just been deliberately pressing his ass against me.
I nodded without turning around and went back to my own station. I grabbed heavier weights than I needed and focused on the burn, on the physical effort, on anything except the fact that Troy had felt my cock getting hard and hadn't moved away.
We worked out for another twenty minutes in silence that felt heavier than before. I kept my eyes on my own movements and tried not to watch him in the mirror. Tried not to notice the way his body moved or the way sweat made his shirt cling to his back.
When I finished my last set, Troy was already done and wiping down his equipment. He looked over at me and our eyes met in the mirror.
“You going to the sauna?” he asked.
I should have said no. Should have made an excuse and left. But the word that came out of my mouth was “Yeah.”
“I'll meet you there.”
He headed for the locker room and I followed a few minutes later, giving myself time to cool down both physically and mentally.
By the time I got there and changed into a towel, my cock had gone back to normal and I'd convinced myself I could handle sitting in a hot room with Troy without making this worse.
The sauna was empty when I walked in. The heat hit me immediately, dry and intense, making sweat break out across my skin within seconds. I sat down on the upper bench and closed my eyes, trying to let the heat burn away everything I was feeling.
The door opened and Troy came in wearing just a towel wrapped around his waist. Water from the shower still clung to his shoulders and chest, catching the light as he moved. He sat down on the bench across from me and leaned back against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him.
We sat in silence for a while. The only sound was our breathing and the occasional drip of sweat hitting the wooden bench. The heat was intense enough that thinking became difficult, which was exactly what I needed.
Then the door opened again.
A man walked in, probably in his early thirties, lean and athletic with dark hair. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and tribal tattoos running down one arm.
He nodded at both of us and sat down on the bench between us, closer to Troy than to me.
“Hot in here,” he said after a moment. His voice was quiet, almost casual.
“That's the point,” Troy replied.
The man smiled slightly. “Fair enough. I'm Ronan.”
“Troy.”
“Nice to meet you, Troy.” Ronan leaned back and let his legs fall open slightly in that unconscious way men did when they were relaxed. “You come here often?”
“First time actually.”
“Yeah? I'm here most afternoons.” Ronan's eyes tracked over Troy's body with appreciation that was subtle but clear. “Would have remembered seeing you.”
I opened my eyes and looked at Ronan. But Ronan was too focused on Troy to notice.
Troy noticed though. I saw his eyes flick to me, saw the corner of his mouth twitch like he was trying not to smile. Then he looked back at Ronan and shifted slightly so his knee was closer to Ronan's leg.
“That so?” Troy asked.
“Definitely.” Ronan's hand moved to his own thigh, fingers spread wide. “Good gym. Good facilities. Good company.”
“The company's not bad,” Troy agreed.
Ronan's knee touched Troy's leg. Just barely. A contact so light it could have been accidental except for the way neither of them moved to break it.
“You work out here regular?” Ronan asked.
“Might start to.”
“I'd like that.” Ronan's voice had dropped lower, more intimate. “Always nice to have someone to spot.”
“I'm good at spotting.”
“I bet you are.”
Troy's hand moved to his own thigh and his fingers traced idle patterns on his skin. The movement was casual but deliberate, drawing Ronan's attention exactly where he wanted it.
“You always this friendly with people you just met?” Troy asked.
“Only when they're worth being friendly with.”
“And I'm worth it?”
“I think so.” Ronan's eyes stayed on Troy's face. “You seem like you know what you want.”
“I usually do.”
Troy's hand moved higher on his thigh and his fingers slipped just under the edge of his towel. Not touching anything, just the suggestion of it. His other hand moved to adjust the towel where it was tucked at his waist, loosening it slightly.
Ronan's breathing had gotten heavier. I could see it in the rise and fall of his chest, in the way his jaw had gone tight, in the way his eyes had darkened as he watched Troy's hand move.
“You like watching people?” Troy asked. His voice had gone quieter, rougher, with an edge that made my cock twitch under my towel.
“Depends on what they're doing.”
“What if they're doing this?” Troy spread his legs wider and his hand moved to cup himself through the towel. His cock was already getting hard, visible through the thin white fabric, and he stroked himself once with deliberate slowness that made my mouth go dry.
Ronan inhaled sharply through his nose. “Then I'd definitely like to watch.”
“Just watch?”
“Depends on if you want more than that.”
Troy looked at me then. Met my eyes across the sauna and held them while his hand kept moving over his cock, getting himself harder with each stroke. There was challenge in his expression and heat and something else I couldn't name but felt in my chest like a physical weight.