Chapter 19
CHASE STARED AT YESTERDAY’S Gym Rat Pack group chat as he ate breakfast, trying to convince himself it happened.
He had a text from Shawn too, asking to get together for lunch soon, but he simply couldn’t focus on that yet. He was too busy being worried if Tobias had actually been taken over by a pod person.
Soon, he’d head to the gym and get some face-to-face time with Tobias. In fact, everyone seemed pretty excited to get there and make sure he hadn’t been replaced by a pod person.
Judging by their reactions, it was atypical of Tobias to show any emotion or affection toward the guys at the gym, but Chase could tell how much Tobias cared about them. Why else would he wake up to teach a six a.m. class six days a week just to hang out with them?
Tobias hid his gooey center behind his hard exterior and that really did it for Chase. It made him desperate to see that gooey side as often as he could.
Chase bundled up before leaving his apartment to head to the gym.
His home was a simple space, but it had enough room for him to do yoga, as well as enough space in the bedroom for a full-sized bed.
Cherrywood wasn’t an overly expensive place to live, but this was the best he could do with his paychecks.
It helped when Tobias gave him a nice bump with the kids’ classes, especially after members started demanding more sessions.
Being in demand felt powerful, especially since Chase usually vied for the attention of other people.
The short drive to work took longer than usual as he hit all four red lights between him and the gym, but eventually he parked his old Civic next to Tobias’ Land Rover.
After his hockey career, Tobias probably could have afforded any car he wanted, but he spent most of his money on his family and the gym, and Chase’s heart melted at the thought.
Tobias worked so hard at maintaining his grumpy exterior to hide all the emotions running through him. He was the perfect example of looks like he could kill you, but really a cinnamon roll.
Chase walked into the quiet gym to find Tobias moving benches around by the weight racks. After dropping his stuff in one of the open cubbies, he walked over to where Tobias adjusted the incline of one of the benches.
“Morning, boss.”
Tobias jumped backward at the interruption. Apparently, Chase was sneakier than he thought.
“Damn, I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, holding his hand against his chest, a small smile growing on his face. Chase wondered if Tobias’ heart raced as fast as Chase’s every time he saw the guy. “Morning. How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know, the usual,” Chase said, stretching his arms above him and taking note of the way Tobias tracked his hoodie riding up, exposing a sliver of skin. “Thinking about my incredible morning yesterday and wondering how soon we could do it again.”
Tobias’ gaze swung from Chase’s stomach to his eyes, and Chase clocked the bob of Tobias’ throat as he swallowed.
“You, uh, you’d want to do it again, huh?” Tobias asked, his cheeks pink as he turned away to continue setting up the benches.
“As often as possible, but I’d also like to hang out later if you’re up for it.” Chase paused to take a deep breath. “Get a bite to eat, catch a movie, hit up a yarn store. Whatever you’re up for.”
Tobias finished with the benches—finally—and turned to Chase with wonder on his face. He opened his mouth to speak when a commotion from the gym entrance interrupted them.
Cole, Riley and Josh burst through the door from the lounge and rushed over to Tobias. They slowed to a stop when they got within a few feet and stared at him in awe.
Riley approached first, quietly and slowly, and reached out his hand, poking Tobias in his bulky shoulder.
“Okay, he’s not a hologram, but I’m still not convinced it’s really him,” Riley said, flicking a glance Chase’s way before turning back to Tobias. “Is it really you?”
“User error. Please enter admin password to continue,” Tobias deadpanned, and Cole fell to the ground, pretending to faint. Josh and Riley continued to stare open-mouthed at Tobias.
Chase laughed, and Garrett, Hunter and Carson walked in next. They also went straight over to Tobias, asking similar questions.
“Okay, guys, enough,” Tobias hollered. “Yes, it was really me texting you yesterday. Yes, I actually have emotions and am not a robot or a pod person or an alien or anything else you were worried about. Now, get your asses in gear so Chase can lead us in our warmup stretch.”
Josh let out a deep breath, a huge grin on his face, his eyes still focused on Tobias. “We love you too, man.”
Tobias’ cheeks got redder, and he grunted before walking toward the computer to turn on the workout music.
“Has anyone heard from hell? We should check to see if it’s frozen over,” Riley said.
“Yeah, let me just shoot a text to my dad and ask him how it is down there,” Cole said, and Chase couldn’t help barking out an inappropriate laugh. He immediately tried to cough to cover it up, but Cole smiled at him.
They’d always bonded over their awful fathers. Cole lost his to a heart attack over the summer. It shocked Chase because he’d been so young, but he was mostly surprised to find out Mr. Durbin had a heart in the first place.
Luckily, Cole and Chase turned out fine. Well, Chase did anyway. The jury was still out on Cole.
Chase contemplated if Tobias wondered the same thing about him.
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At the end of class, while Chase led everyone through their cooldown stretches, he noticed Tobias sneak off to his office.
Chase fought his panic at thinking Tobias wanted to get out of here before they could finish their conversation, especially since they’d planned on doing some more reflex drills after class.
Instead, Tobias re-entered the gym with a sheepish expression and a big bag as everyone else finished up. They slowly gathered around him in some kind of silent understanding that he needed them.
“Whatcha got there?” Garrett asked warily, Tobias’ attitude change clearly throwing him off.
“Um, so, I made you guys something. It’s no big deal really, just something I do in my spare time,” Tobias said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a red and black knit hat. He handed it over to Hunter, who appeared baffled. “I did red and black for Cherrywood High.”
Hunter held the hat and stared at it as Tobias dipped into his bag for more.
A black and blue hat for Garrett.
Matching bisexual flag colors for Josh and Riley.
Gray for Carson.
Rainbow for Cole.
And red and orange for Chase, like he’d told Tobias when Madison asked about his favorite colors.
“You… You made these yourself?” Riley asked. “You know how to knit?”
“Yeah, I do it to relax. I do it all the time, so it’s really no big deal.”
Everyone blinked and shared quick glances with each other. They were all in disbelief.
“This might be the best day of my life,” Cole said as he slammed the slouchy beanie over his head and wrapped his arms around Tobias, whose arms were now pinned to his sides.
“Group hug!” Josh shouted, and everyone joined in, Tobias in the center impersonating a man surrounded by flesh-eating zombies, judging by the horrified expression on his face.
Chase decided he could help put him out of his misery, even though he enjoyed every second of Tobias opening up to them.
“Okay, everyone, time to give him some space before he takes the hats back.”
“He’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands,” Cole said.
“Why would he want a dead man’s hat?” Josh asked seriously.
“Unless Tobias kills Cole for the hat in this scenario. That makes sense,” Riley said.
The guys chuckled as they said their thanks and made their ways out of the gym.
Chase stuck his own hat on his head and shot a beaming smile at Tobias once they were alone.
“Thanks for the hat. It will definitely keep me warm for the rest of winter.”
Tobias smirked at the beanie, but then his gaze fell to Chase’s lips.
“I think I’d rather it be my job to keep you warm.”
Chase gaped at Tobias before pulling his jaw off the floor and clearing his throat.
“That could also be arranged. Could you provide references for the position?”
The smirk on Tobias’ face grew to a full smile, and Chase was stunned by the beauty of it.
“I don’t have any references,” Tobias teased. “But I’m happy to give you a demo.”
“I suppose that will do,” Chase said as seriously as possible, but he struggled against the smile wanting to break through.
“Good,” he said. “Um, for training today, do you want to come to my place? I think it would help if we trained on my synthetic ice.”
Chase blinked at him a couple times before deciding honesty was best.
“I can’t tell if we’re still talking about sex or not.”
Tobias burst out laughing, the sound hoarse from underuse, and it awakened the butterflies in Chase’s stomach.
“I was talking about actual training, but we can play the rest by ear.”
“Sounds good to me,” Chase answered, and the two of them made their way out of the gym.
Chase couldn’t believe Tobias invited him to his house. With how concerned he was about privacy, Chase considered it a declaration of Tobias’ trust in him, and he wouldn’t dare squander that gift.
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Tobias’ house had a surprisingly modest facade, despite its size and gated entrance, at least from the outside. Chase parked in the driveway and met Tobias on his porch.
“My mom is taking Madison to one of those salons for kids today, but they don’t leave for another few hours,” Tobias explained nervously. “Is that okay? Fuck, it’s too much. We can go back to the gym—”
“Tobias,” Chase said, cutting him off as he reached out for his hand and squeezed it in an attempt to calm him down.
“I don’t mind at all. Madison is the coolest. If this is too much, I get it, but I came because I’m okay with it.
If I can handle Christmas with them, I think I can handle seeing them now. ”
“You don’t think it’s lame I live with my mom?” Tobias asked, scuffing his sneaker on the door mat.