Chapter 32
THE NEXT MORNING, BOTH Riley and Josh walked into the gym with a spring in their step.
Telling their best friends had gone perfectly, especially thanks to Cole’s big reveal.
Riley couldn’t believe Cole was CJ Rollins the whole time. The whole time. Looking back, they really should have figured it out.
They’d decided to fill the rest of the Gym Rat Pack in on the news that morning before the workout.
When they walked in, they stripped out of their knit hats, but kept their hoodies on. It was chilly in the gym first thing in the morning and they usually needed to work up a sweat during the warmup before they could strip to their workout gear.
As they stepped into the workout area, Tobias was in his place at the computer like usual, setting up the workout for the day with Chase beside him, while everyone else stretched and loosened sore muscles and muttered hellos to the pair. They were all still half asleep.
Riley needed the foam roller so he grabbed one from the stack and dropped to the floor, lying on top of it and rolling back and forth to work out the kinks. He was tight thanks to his and Josh’s celebration the previous night.
They’d tried doggy style for the first time, and part of Riley hated it because he couldn’t see Josh. He had spent too much time twisting awkwardly, trying to watch Josh and kiss him. Now, he felt the pain from his desperation. They’d have to use a mirror next time so he wouldn’t hurt his back.
The thought left him smiling as he continued to roll, forgetting about his surroundings until Hunter broke him out of his thoughts.
“Dude, you look way too happy for this early in the morning,” Hunter said. “What, you get laid last night or something?”
Josh chuckled as he worked his shoulders with a long PVC pipe.
“As a matter of fact, I did,” Riley said proudly.
“No way, let’s hear some details,” Hunter said.
“I don’t think he needs to share. That sounds private,” Carson said, his face getting pinker under the gym lights.
“Nah, I have a feeling you guys will enjoy these details,” Cole said as he stood over Riley.
Riley finished with the foam roller and held out a hand to Cole, who lifted him off the ground with ease. He turned to Josh to see him beaming.
“What do you think, Josh? You think we should tell them any dirty details?”
“Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Garrett said, the conversation finally getting his attention.
“You and Josh?” Hunter shrieked. “No way. For real?”
All Riley did was smile.
Tobias and Chase had made their way over during the commotion.
“You two finally figure your shit out?” Tobias asked. Riley swore he could see a twinkle of amusement in the stoic man’s eyes.
“Yes, we did, thank you very much,” Josh said. “Riley and I are boyfriends and we’re in love and it’s the best news ever.”
“Congrats, that’s great for you two,” Carson said brightly.
“That’s awesome, you guys,” Chase said as he patted Riley on the back. “You two are really cute together. Always thought so.”
“Yeah, even when you didn’t realize you were together,” Garrett said, laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, we—Oomph!” Riley was cut off as a brute force wrapped him in a bear hug. His back cracked—a fantastic bonus—as he realized Hunter had him lifted off the ground.
“I’m so happy for you guys,” Hunter crowed as he set Riley on the ground and then did the same to Josh. “This is the best day ever.”
Riley could feel the heat in his cheeks at all the attention.
When Hunter released Josh from his body-breaking embrace, he spoke to everyone, “We should totally celebrate.”
“I have the best celebration,” Tobias said, and everyone’s gazes shot to him in shock. “We’re doing a partner workout today, so you guys can work together like a team.”
Cole groaned. “Aww, c’mon, we can do better than that. Drinks at Hero’s later tonight!”
Everyone agreed, and Riley was surprised to see even Tobias concede to come along, to Chase’s delight.
“Okay, Chase is gonna lead us in this warm-up to open your shoulders and get you ready for the pounding they’re about to take, then everyone can grab a partner.”
Josh sidled over to Riley’s side wearing a big grin and asked, “Riley, will you be my partner?”
He leaned into Josh’s space and smacked a loud kiss on his cheek.
“Forever, Josh. It’ll always be you and me.”
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Later that night, the group gathered around a table at their favorite pub. The crowd started to flow into the bar in preparation for that night’s live band, but their group had gotten there early so they could snag a good table and grab some food before the place got too busy.
Cole raised his glass, one of his favorite things to do, and drew the attention of everyone at the table.
“I want to say a few words in honor of the Gym Rat Pack’s first couple,” he said, drawing a deep breath. “To Josh and Riley, may you never run out of lube.”
The table broke out in laughter and cheers, even the edge of Tobias’ mouth quirking, and they clinked their glasses together.
“You say first couple like there’s gonna be more,” Garrett teased. “Who do you think is gonna be next?”
Riley’s money was on Tobias and Chase, but he had enough brains not to point that out. A look in their direction showed Chase’s face getting red while Tobias was overly intrigued by the label on his beer.
“Elena was thinking of joining us during the summer break,” Cole said, saving Chase and Tobias from further scrutiny. “Then she can kick my ass in the gym and at home.”
“I really worry about your mating rituals,” Riley said, drawing laughs from the rest of the guys—except Tobias, who grunted in agreement.
“It works for me, and that’s all that matters,” Cole said.
Hey, he wasn’t about to yuck another person’s yum.
“Maybe Garrett will finally settle down with someone,” Riley said, turning his attention to him. “You’re not getting any younger.”
“Maybe not, but I can still run circles around you,” Garrett said, and he wasn’t wrong.
Garrett often competed in marathons, Iron Man competitions and triathlons. Riley never understood where he got his energy.
“You really can, it’s crazy,” Riley replied.
“Maybe we should try running a marathon with Garrett,” Josh said. “I could always use more cardio.”
“You’re not getting enough cardio?” Cole asked. “Riley, you gotta up your game in the bedroom, bro.”
Riley balled up a napkin and threw it across the table at Cole, who easily batted it away with his goalie reflexes.
“Denied!” he cheered, then turned to Tobias. “Hey, speaking of amazing goalies, you getting excited for the alumni game, Tobes?”
“Wow, real subtle segue, Cole,” Riley said.
“Aw man, we should get a segway to ride through town. That would be so cool,” Josh said.
Riley turned to where Josh sat next to him, his chair butted up against his own, and gave him a sweet smile. The man may not have a big brain when it came to vocabulary, but it didn’t matter because Riley loved him for his big heart.
“Maybe we’ll rent them for a weekend in the city sometime,” Riley said, always willing to fulfill Josh’s wishes.
His attention snapped to Tobias when he started talking.
“Uh, getting there,” he said, his discomfort clear. “I gotta train some to shake the rust off.”
“Chase would be a good help with that,” Cole said. “He always dominated with the hand-eye coordination drills.”
“Yeah,” Chase squeaked, then cleared his throat. “I mean, if you needed someone to help you with dry land training, I could lend a hand.”
Tobias bobbed his head side to side, like he was weighing his next words, then he faced Chase. “That could be helpful, yeah. I may take you up on that.” Chase couldn’t hide his smile from Tobias, who turned a bit pink and quickly spun away from Chase, settling his gaze on his beer again.
Josh nudged him and then moved closer.
“Hey, the band is about to start,” he said softly into Riley’s ear, his warm breath leaving goosebumps across his skin.
The cover band broke into a rendition of “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit and everyone at the table nodded to the beat while Josh sang along.
He couldn’t help but smile as he observed the joy in Josh. Their whole lives, Josh had been a ball of happiness, infecting everyone around him with contagious smiles.
Riley had always done everything he could to keep him happy, and he planned on making that his job for the rest of his life.
That was the real dream job, making Josh happy. Like Josh had always done for him.
He owed Josh everything, even though Josh would tell him he didn’t.
They were both happy being there for each other, and Riley couldn’t wait to keep it that way.