Chapter 24
CHASE FLOATED INTO HERO’S Pub to meet his brother for lunch.
The last twenty-four hours with Tobias had been some of the best he’d had in years, and a part of him was disappointed he’d made these plans with Shawn. It wasn’t easy leaving Tobias, Madison and Grace that morning, which left Chase both scared and excited.
He couldn’t bring himself to cancel, though.
Shawn had texted him the previous week asking to get together again, and Chase couldn’t find it in him to refuse.
Chase hadn’t forgiven Shawn yet, but he would some day.
For so long, it had been just him and his mom against the world.
It would be nice to get some family back.
The tables and barstools were mostly vacant, with only a smattering of people throughout the welcoming space.
The servers and bartenders were starting their shifts, so everyone had bright smiles for Chase as he walked through the bar.
Shawn sat at a table against one of the walls underneath a television playing horse racing. He was distracted by his placemat menu and flinched when Chase pulled out the chair across the table from him, the wooden legs scraping on the tile floor and echoing through the space.
“Chase, hey!” he said brightly. “Sorry, I didn’t see you come in. Did you know they have pulled pork nachos here? I never noticed it before.”
“Oh yeah, I had them once,” Chase said as he inspected his own menu, still a bit edgy around Shawn. “They’re pretty good.”
Shawn opened his mouth to talk when their server arrived and took their drinks order.
The distraction helped Chase get his bearings, and he used the opportunity to take in Shawn, noticing the small changes from fourteen years ago.
Like Chase, Shawn had brown eyes and medium-brown wavy hair, although Shawn let his fall over his forehead while Chase preferred the combed-back style.
Chase noticed the silver at his temples extended to a few strands of gray throughout the rest of his hair, and fine lines framed his mouth and eyes.
Shawn was identical to his old self in so many ways, but he wore the years well.
“So, how’s everything going with you? Are you still liking your new job at the gym?” Shawn asked, and Chase, invigorated by the topic, couldn’t help grinning.
“It’s going great, actually. We started the kids’ yoga classes and they’re really popular so far. It’s been really great.”
Did he say great twice? There were so many words he could use to describe his time working under Tobias—and on top of him. Life-changing. Soul-fulfilling. Perfection. Great wasn’t nearly a good enough word, but he didn’t want to be over the top.
The server arrived with their drinks and took their food order, which thankfully gave Chase a moment to get his thoughts organized. Shawn pounced as soon as she left their table.
“Great, huh?” Shawn said teasingly. “Are you getting used to working for Tobias Moyer? I still can’t believe you get to see him at work every day.”
“Yeah, um…” Heat rose in Chase’s cheeks. He wasn’t doing a damn thing to hide his smile. Shawn immediately picked up on it.
“Oh, shit. Do you like him? Like, like him like him?”
Chase regarded Shawn carefully. His brother told him he’d worked on himself to be a better ally, but talking to him about his feelings for another man was a different thing entirely.
Shawn must have noticed Chase’s reluctance because his shoulders slumped.
“I know you probably don’t believe me because I was such an asshole, but I swear, it’s okay for you to talk to me about it,” Shawn said. “I just want you to be happy. Although, crushing on some straight hockey player must be tough.”
Chase scoffed, which sent Shawn’s brows rocketing up his forehead.
“What? What did I say?” Shawn asked. He must have thought he made some faux pas regarding LGBTQ+ people.
“You didn’t say anything. It’s, um… You shouldn’t assume people you don’t know are straight.”
Shawn tilted his head like a dog trying to understand its owner, and his eyes widened as he connected the dots.
“No way! Are you saying… Are you saying what I think you’re saying?
” Shawn asked, his words excited and frantic, but at least not loud.
He leaned forward and took his voice down to a whisper.
“Are you saying Tobias Moyer—the Tobias Moyer, who we idolized when the Inferno drafted him—are you saying he’s not straight? ”
Chase weighed his options. Tobias wasn’t out. Under normal circumstances, he would have been happy to talk about the new guy he was dating, but these were not normal circumstances. As much as he wanted to shout from the rooftops he’d started seeing Tobias in a non-platonic manner, he couldn’t.
Unfortunately, Chase’s face must have been saying more than the thought. Shawn fell back in his chair, his gaze unfocusing as his mind likely raced with the possibilities.
“Damn, I never would have guessed,” Shawn said, shaking his head. “I guess that’s the whole point, isn’t it? You can never guess.” His focus cut to Chase. “Shit, is that why he retired?”
“No, of course not,” Chase said, and Shawn brightened.
“Is he into you? Holy shit. Is my brother dating Tobias fucking Moyer?”
Chase winced. He basically confirmed Shawn’s thoughts, despite wanting to respect Tobias’ privacy. He’d never been able to lie to his brother before, so it made sense he still couldn’t. Thank goodness Shawn continued to keep his voice down.
Shawn’s excited face fell, his gaze dropping to his beer.
“You don’t trust me,” he said. Chase went to speak, but Shawn cut him off before he could say anything else, raising his focus to Chase. “I get why you don’t. I really do. It fucking breaks me my own brother doesn’t trust me. It’s why I’m working so hard. How can I prove it to you?”
It was a damn good question.
“I’m not sure, but probably a little bit of time, at least,” Chase eventually answered, and Shawn nodded.
Their server interrupted with their food: pulled pork nachos in front of Shawn, a buffalo chicken wrap with sweet potato fries for Chase.
After she left, the two of them dove into their meals, an awkward tension in the air Chase resented. It wasn’t Chase’s fault Shawn had been a homophobic twat-waffle when they were teenagers, so he shouldn’t regret making Shawn work a bit for his forgiveness.
Maybe Chase needed to experience this new Shawn in action to believe it was real.
And he had the best idea.
“Would you want to come try one of my yoga classes?”
Shawn grinned, easing Chase’s tension.
“Really? You’d let me do that?” he asked, wiggling in his seat in excitement.
“Yeah, I would. You can meet some of my friends and see me in action.”
“That would be amazing! Oh shit, do I get to meet Tobias Moyer?” Shawn’s wiggling intensified. “I’ll be so cool, I swear.”
Chase chuckled. “Maybe start by calling him Tobias.”
“Ha! Got it. Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”
“How do you feel about six a.m. workouts?”
Shawn’s eyes widened at Chase’s question.
“Six in the morning? Is that even legal?”
————————
“Your brother is coming?” Tobias asked, his gaze bouncing around the gym. “This morning?”
“Uh, yeah? Is that okay? I thought we allowed drop-ins for potential members,” Chase asked as he stood with Tobias at the computer in the gym. It had been almost two weeks since his meal with Shawn, and now he was coming in to try one of Chase’s classes.
“Well, yeah, of course. But your brother?” Tobias peered down at himself. He wore an oversized hoodie along with sweatpants Chase wished were a bit tighter. He still managed a supreme level of hotness. “Do I look okay?”
“Do you…” Chase trailed off as he watched Tobias pull at the drawstring of his hoodie, trying to make the rope even on each side. “Oh my God. Are you nervous?”
“What? No,” he said quickly. “I just, ya know, want to make a good impression, I guess.”
Chase couldn’t help his giggle slipping out, causing Tobias to narrow his eyes.
“It’s hilarious how adorable you are,” Chase said, reaching up to cup his cheek.
“Take it back,” Tobias said as he leaned into Chase’s touch.
“Not a chance.”
Tobias gazed at Chase warmly. His eyes widened suddenly.
“Does your brother know about us?”
“What about us?” Chase asked not-so-innocently. He couldn’t help but be curious about how Tobias would label them.
“That we’re…canoodling,” Tobias said.
Chase blinked at Tobias, searching his brain for the appropriate response to hearing his hot new hookup—the hockey heartthrob he’d been crushing on for over a decade—refer to their sexual activities as canoodling.
It turned out, there wasn’t one.
Chase guffawed and fell apart in giggles, a buzz in his pocket distracting him.
He kept laughing as he pulled out his phone to find a message from Shawn indicating he’d pulled up outside the gym.
“My brother’s here,” he said between chuckles. “I’m gonna meet him at the door.”
“Yeah, yeah, see if we do any more canoodling after that,” Tobias muttered, and Chase did everything he could not to laugh again.
As he reached the lounge, Shawn walked in the door, bundled up in what had to be all the winter layers he owned.
“This should be illegal. The sun isn’t even up yet,” Shawn complained as he walked into Gym Rat Fitness. “The lack of sleep has to counteract all the health benefits from the workout.”
Chase laughed. Shawn was the opposite of a morning person, and Chase delighted in the fact that hadn’t changed over the years.
“Don’t worry, you’ll live,” Chase reassured him. “Take off all your Arctic gear and I’ll introduce you to Tobias. Everyone else should be filtering in in the next few minutes.”
“That is probably sixty percent of the reason I’m awake right now,” Shawn said, yawning as he unwrapped the scarf from around his neck with the rest of his layers.
“Just sixty?” Chase asked.
“Yeah, forty percent is to check out my little brother’s class, of course,” he said as he ruffled Chase’s hair. Chase shoved him away before he could undo his minimalistic styling.