Chapter 28
TYLER
“So, what did you think?” I ask Jamie when we get home, Fiona greeting us at the door like we were gone for ages. “Ready to become a gymbro?”
He scrunches his nose, pulling a laugh out of me.
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Rude. Are you saying you don’t want these?” I flex my arms and pecs, making the muscles pop out.
“Oh, I do. I just want them on top of me.”
“Hmm…” Grabbing him by the backs of his thighs, I lift him up. When his legs instinctively wrap around my waist, I carry him over to the kitchen counter. “That can be arranged.”
He gives a delighted little giggle, and I have to swoop in and kiss him. Despite our position, the kiss is sweet and unhurried. The kind of kiss that makes your toes tingle. It makes other places tingle too.
“I’d like to keep coming to the gym with you,” he says when we’ve pulled apart. “But I don’t think weight training is for me.”
“No? You prefer cardio?”
“Ha ha,” he deadpans. “That was all your fault anyway.”
“It’s not my fault you’re obsessed with me.”
“It is.” He doesn’t deny it this time. “You always parade yourself around…”
I suppress a grin. “No one’s telling you to look.”
He gives me a very unimpressed glare.
“So, since cardio traumatized you, and you’re not a fan of weights, what would you like to do?” I ask more seriously.
“Seth wants me to join his yoga class. I’ve only tried it a couple of times, and I quite liked it.”
I’m not surprised Seth tried to recruit him. “Hmm, yes, I approve. You’re quite flexible.”
He rolls his eyes, but is helpless to hide his blush. “It’s not just about flexibility. You need good balance and stamina.”
“I’m happy to help you practice anytime.”
He slaps my shoulder playfully. I don’t hear a no, though.
“I’m glad you get along,” I tell him. “I had a feeling you would.”
Not that Jamie had much choice in the matter. Seth all but snatched his phone from him and punched his number in, then gave himself a ring. That’s one way to make friends.
“Really? Even though he’s openly lusting after you?”
“The fact that he’s open about it shows you have nothing to worry about. He’s harmless.” I feel my eyes widen with instant regret. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
Jamie bites back a smile. “It’s a secret.” He seals the promise with a kiss.
A sudden need to have him under me makes me carry him over to the couch. I lay him down and cover his body with mine, just as he wanted me to earlier.
“What did you two talk about, by the way?”
Seth did guide Jamie through some exercises but, from what I saw, they spent most of the time chit-chatting.
“He went on a tangent about needing to get laid and how no one is worthy.”
I let out a snort. “Sounds like him.”
“He might’ve finally landed the unicorn.”
“Who?” I ask when Jamie doesn’t elaborate.
He gives me a look, like he can’t believe that I have to ask. “Aiden?”
“Ah.” I chuckle at the mental image of Seth making a pass at a shy guy like him. “He’s pretty reserved. Not sure how he’d handle Seth coming onto him.” I didn’t expect Aiden to be such a cool guy. Looks really are deceiving, which is why it took Blake almost an hour to relax around him.
“What?” I ask when Jamie’s looking at me with a very concerned expression.
“I can’t believe you didn’t see it.”
“See what?”
“Aiden is totally into Seth.”
I let out a bark of laughter, then stop when Jamie just stares at me. “You’re serious.” I push myself up and sit back on my hunches.
“How are you so oblivious?” Jamie heaves himself up. “It was written all over his face!”
“Was it? To me it seemed like he had the same expression the whole time.” Though that could be due to the scarring. Which, by the way, was really gnarly up close. It must’ve hurt like motherfucker.
Realization dawns on Jamie’s face. “That explains a lot.”
“A lot?”
“How you were so oblivious to my attraction to you. You’re truly hopeless when it comes to picking up on the signals.”
That’s not quite correct—I was aware he found me attractive, I just didn’t know that feelings were involved too. Guilt slams in to me all over again. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Tyler…” He clasps my face between his palms, kissing the corner of my mouth. “I’m just teasing you.”
“You have a point, though. And so does Seth.” I see that clearly now. “I’ve been thinking about what he said, and no matter how I look at it, he’s right. I was very selfish and shortsighted when we first started…our thing. That wasn’t fair to you at all.”
The fact that Jamie doesn’t have a response at the ready only proves that I hit the nail on the head. I hurt him, no question about it.
“I wasn’t exactly acting mature when I started putting distance between us instead of talking to you. We’re both guilty of being stupid.” He smiles. “Maybe that’s another reason why we’re a good match.”
That’s a nice way to look at it. “A real-life example of the idiots-to-lovers trope, huh?”
“Yeah, sounds like it.” He laughs, then suddenly stops. “Wait. How do you know that trope? Actually, how do you know what tropes are?”
Ah. I completely forgot to share my little discovery with him.
“Yeah, so, fun fact. After I dropped you off at work the other day, Lia called me.”
“Oh yeah? Is she coming to visit?”
“She might, but she mainly called because she was sick and bored.”
“That’s sweet that she calls you when she’s bored and wants you to entertain her.” He snickers.
“She’s always been a little princess. With the mouth of a sailor. Not to mention her dirty mind. On that note; I told her about you.” I give him a sly grin. “And your shared love of spicy books.”
Predictably, Jamie freaks out.
“You didn’t! Tyler, that’s not how you wanna introduce someone!” He flails his arms dramatically.
“Why not? She already thinks you are awesome based on that.” He seems to calm down at that. “And you own the same book.”
He perks up. “We do?”
“Yup. And I got curious. You said that I could listen to an audiobook when I’m at the gym, so I decided to give it a go.”
“You got curious…” He holds up a hand, suspicion lacing his expression. “What book did you listen to?” When I only smile wider instead of replying, he’s back to freaking out. “You’re joking. Tell me you didn’t!”
“Oh, I did. By the way, the gym is a terrible place to listen to it. Anywhere public is, really.”
“Oh my God.” He slips off the couch and starts pacing the living room. “I can’t believe that you… Of all the books, you had to pick that one!”
“I was curious because it’s your favorite. I wanted to see what you like so much about it.”
He comes to a halt. “I never said it was my favorite.”
“You didn’t have to. It was obvious.” My senses grow alert when I notice his eyes turning a little glassy. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Pushing to my feet, I reach for his hands. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I didn’t listen to it to make fun of you. I was genuinely interested.”
Gnawing on his lips, his hopeful gaze flicks up to me. “And? What did you think?”
“Let’s say that I made some interesting discoveries about myself,” I say mysteriously. “Also, I got a chubby and had to take a cold shower.”
He gasps. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, I did. Had to cut my workout short.” That finally gets him to smile—giggle, even. It gives me the encouragement to ask a sensitive question. “I’ve been wondering… What happens in the book—is that something you’ve always wanted to do? Or is it hot because it’s fiction?”
He doesn’t shut down like I feared, but he does take a moment to answer.
“Honestly, it’s both. It’s…hard to explain.” Color appears high on his cheeks. “Did you get to the part where Soryn, um…”
“Uses his powers on Luke, so that he gets horny and needs to be fucked or he goes insane?” I finish in a low voice, which makes Jamie shiver. “Yeah. I thought it was…intense.”
“Y-yeah. So, um…” He clears his throat, twice.
“It’s not like I’d want that. I don’t wanna be…
forced. Not like that. Or drugged, or whatever the equivalent would be in the real world.
I just really love the…desperation. The fact that Luke is begrudgingly attracted to him even though Soryn is an asshole, and when he uses his powers, Luke has no choice but to give in.
Like, he’d have to give in anyway, the magic would make him, but the fact that he secretly wants Soryn makes it all the better. ”
Honestly? Makes perfect sense to me. I wonder if it means that I’m into the same things?
“I see. You like the contrast of it; Luke fighting hard to stay unaffected, but in the end has to surrender. And that he loves it. And that he hates that he loves it.”
Jamie squirms, and I have to hold back from making us horizontal again.
“Yeah. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, actually. The build up of tension.”
“Yeah? I’d never have guessed.” Then again, I’d never have guessed most of the things about him.
“I mean, just in fiction,” he clarifies. “In real life, I prefer being attracted to someone nice and kind.” He gives me a pointed look, which makes me preen. “There was lots of tension build up between us, and I didn’t exactly enjoy that part.”
“Neither did I. I hated when you were distant. I felt like I was hurting you and had no idea how to stop it.” I sense the ‘sorry’ on the tip of his tongue and hurry to stop him. “Don’t apologize. That’s not why I’m saying this.”
“I hated being distant too,” he admits quietly.
“Good thing we’re over that now, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, I believe our successful, if painfully slow transition from idiots to lovers calls for a celebration.”
“Celebration? You wanna throw a party?” He scoffs.
“I was thinking we should go on a date.”
His breath hitches, his lips part. Then, he gives me the most radiant smile I’ve ever seen on him.
“I’d like that.”
“Awesome. Any suggestions?”
He’s about to say something, but stops himself.
“We can go watch a movie, or something. Nothing too fancy,” he suggests. It’s obvious that’s not what he wants.
“We watch movies all the time,” I remind him. “There’s something you wanna do, isn’t there? Just say it.”
He sighs. “The markets. Fremont Markets on Sunday. I’d like to go there.”
Markets? That’s what he was reluctant to say?
“Great idea, let’s do that.”
“But…won’t that be boring for you?”
Geez. Look at him, worrying about such silly things.
“I’m never bored when I’m with you, little bunny.”
He ducks his head, but not before I catch a glimpse of his shy smile.
“Okay. It’s a date.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”