Ring My Kettlebell (Gym Rat Pack #1)

Chapter 1

JOSH WU WAS CONFUSED, and not the usual confusion of his daily life that caused him to miss jokes or sarcasm, but confused to the depths of his very soul.

He couldn’t understand how he, a man who had lived thirty years, still didn’t know how to work his mouth.

He was in the middle of eating breakfast when he bit the inside of his cheek. Hard.

When he was finally able to deal with the pain and continue eating, he managed to bite the same spot again. How had he not yet learned how to chew without injuring himself?

“You okay, man?” his best friend, Riley, asked from his spot on the couch next to Josh.

“No. I bit the inside of my mouth and it’s awful. And then I bit it again and it’s even more awful. Everything is awful.”

As Josh held his hand to his mouth and kept his eyes shut tight to ward off the pain, he felt the comfort of Riley’s hand squeeze his shoulder before letting go all too soon.

“Life is so hard sometimes,” he said. “I’m here for you, buddy. Together, we’ll get through this.”

The couch dipped and a tiny weight settled on his thigh. Opening his eyes, he spotted a new glow stick lying on his leg.

His hand fell from his mouth and a grin took over his face as he turned to Riley.

“You got me a glow stick?”

Before Riley could even respond, Josh cracked the thin blue stick, put it around his neck and connected the ends, all to the tune of Riley’s chuckles.

“No, actually, I got you one hundred new glow sticks because you go through them so quickly,” he said as he placed the carton of the remaining glow sticks on the couch next to Josh, looking proud of his purchase.

Riley Hanson was the greatest friend in the history of friendship.

He always took care of Josh and looked out for him.

He always made Josh feel better about himself rather than so many people over the years who made him feel dumb or less than.

He offered him friendship when so few others would.

He had yet to find a woman who would accept that Riley would always be the most important person in Josh’s world.

They looked so different from each other, but Riley was still his closest family. People told them they looked like the two Kens from the Barbie movie, but he didn’t see it. Riley had a stronger jaw and honey brown hair, and he was way better looking than Ryan Gosling. Psh. No contest.

“Thanks, Ri. You’re the best!” he shouted, the pain of his cheek long forgotten.

“Anytime. Now, finish up, we gotta get to the gym or Tobias will make us do burpees for being late again.”

Josh groaned as he pushed away his plate and forced himself off the couch, trailing behind Riley as they slowly made their way to their morning workout. Why did they decide the six a.m. class was worth going to? Oh yeah, because my third family will be there.

Josh had always had an unorthodox view of family.

His parents emigrated to the United States from China as part of a scientific research program.

They moved across the street from the Hansons and the Browns, the three families becoming close friends.

Five years later, Josh’s parents were killed in a car accident that he survived, and the Browns adopted him.

That day haunted him, even twenty-five years later, but Riley was still here.

He was always here. Since they lived together, he was here for every single nightmare.

Eventually, they figured out using a weighted blanket helped keep the dreams at bay, but Riley was there when the nightmares broke through. Josh really didn’t deserve him.

As adults, they’d connected with a small group through their high school soccer team that they still played with once a week—and interfered in each other’s lives seven days a week. They were Josh's second family.

And his third? The other crazy people who joined them at Gym Rat Fitness before the sun had even risen in Cherrywood, New Jersey.

Despite making their own hours with the graphic design business they co-owned, Riley and Josh decided this class was worth waking up for.

They pulled into the mostly deserted parking lot, the gym’s logo prominently displayed over the door.

It looked like a tiny operation from the front, but when they entered they were greeted with a cozy lounge that led to a wide open space including everything they could ever need to stay fit.

A boxing ring, stand-up punching bags, a huge weight rack that stretched along an entire wall so twenty-five people could do pull-ups at the same time.

There was also a huge open space for classes while ropes and rings hung overhead.

Tobias Moyer was at the front of the class space, a quiet sentry standing over his realm.

They called out a hello, and he nodded in their direction before turning back to analyzing that morning’s workout.

Josh thought he would have been amazing as a Buckingham Palace guard.

That guy was totally unflappable. A retired pro hockey player, he’d spent years guarding the net for the Philadelphia Inferno until he retired and created this fitness mecca.

The six a.m. class was the only one he consistently taught, in order to avoid fans who were only there to gawk at him, which led to their little group.

Cole Durbin, one of their best friends and also a part of the soccer team, the Cherry Stems, sat on the ground stretching his legs and greeted them in typical Cole fashion.

“Thank God other people are here. It’s creepy when I’m alone with Tobias in this giant space and he’s doing that thing where he’s pretending he doesn’t want to talk to me and he doesn’t want to be my friend because he’s trying to look cool,” he said, loud enough for Tobias to hear.

Riley and Josh’s heads snapped toward Tobias, but there was absolutely no reaction from the man, who had his back to them. It was possible he was sleeping while standing.

“See? Just admit you love me, Tobes. It will be so much easier for everyone,” Cole shouted.

Riley pushed Cole’s shoulder playfully. “Don’t antagonize the man right before he makes us work out. He’ll make it harder.”

“That’s why he’s doing it,” Josh joined in. “He likes to make it harder. He makes it harder for all of us and he likes it.”

Cole gave him a blank look, blinking his ice blue eyes for a few seconds. “I don’t think you realize what you’re saying. I’m sure Riley makes things hard for you plenty.”

Josh didn’t understand what Cole was snickering about, but he went to Riley’s side while he stretched and threw his arm around his bestie’s shoulders.

“No way! Riley makes everything easy because he’s the best,” he said as he pulled Riley into a headlock.

“You’ll never take me alive!” Riley shouted as the two of them tumbled to the ground in a wrestling match.

They rolled across the floor as both of them fought to pin the other, a game they’d played since they were kids.

Josh always enjoyed it because it made him feel closer to his best friend and he loved being held.

Even though they were wrestling, in Riley’s arms was where Josh was safest, where nothing else could touch him.

Not even his nightmares. So, yeah, he would end up in those arms every chance he got.

Josh managed to get Riley’s shirt over his head so it covered his face, making it much harder for him to fight back, but also revealing the tight abs he worked so hard for. That, of course, made it much easier to tickle him, and soon his laughter echoed through the space.

A jet of water sprayed Josh in the face. He sprang away from Riley at the shock of it.

“What the hell?” he said, turning toward the source of the spray that was now being pointed at Riley. Garrett Pearson stood above them with a squirt bottle and an amused expression.

“Tobias, I finally figured out a way to separate the children,” he shouted with an easy authority. Probably why he was a Cherrywood detective.

“Thanks, Garrett,” Tobias shouted.

“Sure, appreciate Garrett. He’s the best. Garrett, Garrett, Garrett,” Cole complained, sounding like a giant baby.

When he went to say more, Garrett sprayed Cole right in his face, making him sputter and stare in shock at the man with the dripping bottle. Josh couldn’t help but notice a rare smirk from Tobias at the exchange, and he shot an amused look at Riley.

Riley’s face clearly said, Someone finally figured out how to shut up Cole.

Josh cocked an eyebrow, saying, Yeah, sure, we’ll see how long that lasts.

After thirty years of friendship, sometimes they didn’t even have to talk to have a conversation.

Luckily, Hunter and Carson strolled in next and distracted everyone from Garrett’s new training technique.

“Thank goodness, help is here.” Cole stood from his spot stretching on the floor. “More witnesses to see this police brutality. He’s lucky I can’t fight back.”

Everyone groaned.

“Nope, nope, nope,” Garrett said, backing away and stashing the water bottle with the rest of his stuff in the cubbies where everyone kept their things.

“Cole, what did we say about inappropriate police jokes?” Riley asked, his arms crossed over his fixed shirt covered in little wet spots.

“Ugh, fine, but it was such an easy one,” he whined as he dropped to the ground to start his punishment of five burpees.

A burpee involved dropping into a push-up, then jumping the feet forward, standing and then jumping in the air.

Tobias used them as a way to keep them all in line—despite the fact they were all paying him to be here.

They were literally paying him to punish them.

Did that make him a dominatrix? He’d have to try to remember to ask Riley about that later.

Josh sometimes wondered if Cole egged him on to get punished on purpose.

He probably drove his girlfriend, Elena, insane.

“Apparently, we missed some Gym Rat Pack shenanigans, huh, Carson?” Hunter said, nudging the smaller guy with his elbow and causing him to get flustered and mutter something inaudible as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

Since they formed their own little group at Gym Rat Fitness, they called themselves the Gym Rat Pack, a nod to Frank Sinatra’s famous Rat Pack.

And Josh loved belonging. With his past, he didn’t deserve to belong, but he knew his parents would have wanted him to be happy.

And here, with Riley and the rest of their friends, he was happy.

If he could be selfish about one thing, it would be that.

The secret he’d kept from everyone—even Riley—would stay in a little box in the back of his mind.

Until his nightmares brought them all back.

He shook off his dark thoughts and brought his focus back to the gym.

Hunter Dobbs stood there with his arms crossed, his muscles bulging and his long blond hair tied in a ponytail. It was like Thor got lost and somehow landed in South Jersey working as an athletic trainer at Cherrywood High School.

Josh had always figured Carson had a crush on Hunter because of his consistently flustered reaction to him, but he kind of acted that way with everyone.

It always blew Josh’s mind how Carson struggled to have a conversation with someone, but if you asked a computer question then he’d suddenly gain all the confidence in the world.

Hunter should probably try to talk to him about computers more often.

“All right, guys, gather ’round,” Tobias said as he walked toward their group, everyone making a circle around him like they did before every class.

He always did a brief explanation of the day’s workout and then shared any important changes or announcements.

After running through the pain they were about to endure, he moved on to gym news.

“As you guys know, I’ve been looking to add yoga to our program, and I think I may have finally found a yoga instructor who will fit in here.”

“Oh shit, is it Chase?” Cole asked, his whole body practically vibrating with excitement.

Tobias gave him an exasperated look, and said, “Yes, it’s Chase.”

“Awesome! You guys are going to love him. I will take all the credit for introducing you two.”

Josh had briefly met Chase at the annual charity soccer tournament their team played in two months ago. They needed extra players so some guys from the gym joined them. Chase was Cole’s ex from high school, but they were still on good terms and they’d all soon be seeing more of him.

“Do we really have to do yoga? Won’t that make me lose muscle mass?” Hunter asked.

Tobias took a moment to stare at Hunter’s arms, forcing him to un-cross them and leave them hanging at his sides.

“You’ll be fine. Everybody try to touch your toes.”

They all followed their coach’s instructions.

Josh bent forward, easily reaching his toes and curling his fingers under his sneakers.

He spared a glance around the circle to see Cole was the only other one able to reach his toes, but he didn’t look as comfortable as Josh.

Hunter was a good five inches away from his feet.

As he scanned the rest of the group, he caught Riley’s gaze. He gave Josh a look that said he was impressed with Josh’s flexibility, and Josh couldn’t help but preen. Riley had always given him the validation he’d craved since he was a kid.

“And that’s why we’re adding yoga,” Tobias explained as everyone unfolded themselves.

“Besides keeping you limber, it will also keep the aches and injuries to a minimum. I’m going to make Tuesdays a full yoga day for all classes and Thursday will be a mix of yoga and core that Chase will lead us through.

He’s also going to help with the regular classes by adding some cooldown stretches to the end of our workouts.

That will start next week. Any other questions? ”

“Yeah,” Cole piped up, and everyone tensed because… well, because it was Cole. “Did you think he was cute? I sensed some vibes between you two.”

Tobias said nothing, but gave Cole a withering look. It was the kind of look that might have made Josh cry if he directed it at him.

When Cole finally turned away looking slightly chagrined, Tobias barked at the rest of them, “Everybody line up along the wall for warm-ups.”

Time to commence their torture.