2. Tyler #3
We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to outdo each other on each apparatus, taking breaks only to rehydrate and spew sass. Luke did compliment me on my rings’ skills. He still had some work to do in that area, but I was more than happy to help him out.
We showered at the school, only because our sweat would’ve made my car smell worse than it already did, and I didn’t want us to monopolize the bathroom, especially since Quinn was still around.
There were private shower stalls, but Luke and I weren’t bothered to use them, opting for the communal room.
I had caught him looking at my body a few times and said nothing, but after today’s teasing, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut when I saw his eyes on my dick.
“Like what you see?”
Startled, he shifted his weight, then turned away. “Bite me.”
“Sure, it’s nice, but you’ve seen it before. Not sure why you’re so fascinated with it now.”
“Oh, fuck you, Ty. You’re just the only guy I’ve seen naked in person in a while. Can’t blame a guy for wanting to have a look.”
I smiled. “Only teasing slash confirming you were looking to boost my self image.”
“You really haven’t checked me out at all?”
“If I said no, would you be offended?”
“Mmm…maybe. And you say you haven’t hit it off with any guy since Declan?”
I shook my head. “What are you thinking?”
“I have a theory. Let’s go out tonight and test it. Quinn can come too if she’s up for it.”
Quinn was up for it. Her and Luke teaming up to get me laid was apparently both of their dreams come true, though I remained skeptical.
“I don’t see how you think any guy is going to find me attractive with you next to me, Luke.”
“Oh, please. We’re in California. I look like a gnome compared to you. You’ve got long, blond hair, green-gray eyes, a gorgeous tan, and the veins on your biceps are basically road maps to your dick. How can guys not notice you?”
“Road maps to my dick?”
“Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but trust me, you’re tall, that’s practically enough.”
Well, Luke was right. I had guys all over me for most of the night, but I found something off with all of them, or they eventually left. They could probably tell I wasn't interested. Luke tried to encourage me, but after a while, even his enthusiasm dimmed.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Where are you going?”
“What? I can’t leave you alone for three minutes?”
Quinn had found the only straight guy in the place, and they were still chatting at the bar.
“Fine. Fine.”
Luke disappeared into the crowd. I stayed toward the side of the dance floor. I had to drive us home, so I wasn’t drinking tonight. Normally, I’d be dancing, but this latest string of strikeouts with guys had me kind of bummed.
“Excuse me, but are you Tyler Hale? The gymnast?”
I turned to see a cute, short, curly-haired brunette leaning towards me. As soon as our eyes made contact, he blushed and looked down at his shoes.
“Uh, yeah. I am.” I looked at him, expectantly. “And you are?”
“Oh, shit. Uh…I’m Ethan. I watched the Olympics this summer. You guys were really great.”
“Thank you.”
He seemed uncomfortable, but to be honest, it was kind of endearing, and despite the awkward, stumbling conversation that was the next five minutes, when he asked for my number, I gave it to him.
He apologized for having to leave abruptly, but he was on a bar crawl with his friends and they were heading out.
I headed to the bar to refill my water. Luke intercepted me. “So, who was that?” I could hear the smarm in his voice.
“Ethan. I gave him my number.”
Luke slapped me on the shoulder and jumped onto my back. “There it is!”
“What?! I just gave him my number. We’re not married or anything.”
Luke hopped off. “Still, it’s something.” He had a huge grin on his face.
“Is it really that thrilling for you?”
“So, would you say he’d be your top choice from the last few months?”
I considered it for a minute, before answering, “Yes.”
“He proved my theory right. I was waiting for someone to recognize you, and when one finally did, you liked him.”
“How- Were you listening?”
“Uh…yeah.”
I couldn’t believe it. “You fuckin’ told him what to say to me, didn’t you?”
“Oh, alright. Yes, I did. But only to prove my theory. The reason you're hung up on Declan is that he was into you before he even met you. That means something for you. You can’t just meet some stranger in public and hit it off. There’s a part of you that likes being recognized.”
Ugh. “Does that make me a douche? That sounds like it means I’m a douche.”
“You’re not a douche. You’re just…”
“Picky?”
“Something like that. There’s a lot of aspects to sexuality and you’re still exploring them.
It’s not that you’re picky. I think you have certain requirements and Declan checked off a lot of your boxes, and it’s going to take some time to find someone else that does that.
Declan was also the first guy that gave you those feelings, so… ”
“So, it could take a while. Got it. Can we go?” This experiment was over for now. “Let’s go find Quinn, and we can head home.”