Page 11 of Jacked (Gymbos #1)

I don’t know what it is this morning, but there’s a little extra spring in my step and I can’t stop smiling.

I can’t remember what AJ said his weekend work schedule looks like, but as I fill up the coffee machine I start making a mental list of cool shit we could get up to.

We haven’t checked out Millenium park yet, that might be worth a trip.

Or we could hit the sports complex near Lincoln Park and try out the batting cages.

More and more ideas tumble around in my head until this weekend feels like I’m thinking too small.

Would AJ be up for going out to the West Coast with me for a visit sometime?

I wonder if he’s ever surfed before. It’s getting late in the year for the more chill summer waves, but maybe he would be up for planning a trip in the next couple of months.

We could hit the beaches for a few days and then head up north to see Cas and Nolan.

The thought of introducing him to my brother and best friend makes my insides feel even more electrified.

I whistle to myself as I pack in the coffee grounds and turn on the machine.

At least coffee is one thing I always manage to get right.

I pull open the refrigerator and peek inside, eyeing the carton of eggs and the various fruits and veggies inside.

AJ hasn’t been all that impressed with my attempts to cook so far, so maybe it would be better to wait for him to wake up before I attempt anything.

He did promise to teach me how to cook, I’ve just been getting ahead of myself.

I putter around the kitchen for a few minutes and then decide to take advantage of my good mood by tidying up the apartment a bit.

It’s mostly my shit lying around, after all.

I pop in my earbuds and put on a playlist. While I clean, I dance to the music, silently mouthing along with the lyrics so I won’t wake my roomie, and I let myself think just a little bit about last night.

It was fun. It was different. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so hyped this morning.

It’s as though AJ and I have a funny little secret and there’s something kind of exciting about that.

It’s like when I was twelve and I stole a candy bar from the grocery store.

I knew it was wrong, but that was the thrill of it.

I just grabbed it off the shelf and stuffed it into my backpack, then walked out.

I left it in there the rest of the day, walking around knowing I had it while no one else knew that I took it without paying.

When I finally pulled it out and ate it, it was the best damn candy I ever tasted.

I told Nolan about it the next day and he acted like I was going to turn into some kind of hardened criminal, which kind of took the fun out of it.

I huff a laugh at the memory and toss the last of my junk into my bedroom.

I pop my earbuds out and stop outside of AJ’s door.

Is it rude to wake him to ask about breakfast?

Fuck it. I rap my knuckles against the door and wait.

I can’t hear any movement inside and after a minute, I grab the doorknob and ease it open.

My stomach sinks at the sight of his empty bed, his sheets all askew like he took off in a hurry this morning. Shit. Did last night freak him out?

Shit, shit, shit.

Maybe he just had an early client. Or maybe he woke up feeling as energized as I did and decided to go for a workout. I’m sure it’s fine. And if it’s not, well, he has to come home sooner or later, and I’ll make sure we smooth everything out. We have to.

I stand in his doorway for a few extra seconds, then finally pull the door closed again.

Come to think of it, a workout sounds nice. I pop back into my room and get dressed properly, putting on a jock under my shorts and a t-shirt. I turn off the coffee machine, leaving the untouched coffee in the pot, and then I slip on my shoes and head out.

As usual, I notice some appreciative looks from guys on the sidewalk as I head through the neighborhood towards Sweat. AJ asked me yesterday if it bothers me, so maybe that’s why I’m noticing it a little extra this morning. Does it bother me?

A dude walking a couple of dogs lowers his sunglasses to blatantly check me out and a little thrill zips through me.

No, it definitely doesn’t bother me, but for the first time I wonder if it should bother me.

Like, that guy is thinking about doing dirty, sexual, super gay things with me right now, right?

That’s what that look meant. My body heats and a shiver runs down my spine, but I still don’t think it’s disgust. I think it’s… excitement?

But… I don’t want to do dirty, sexual, super gay things with that guy… do I?

I glance over my shoulder since he’s long past now, and the view of his back before he disappears out of sight doesn’t clear up a damn thing.

Maybe what happened last night with AJ just screwed with my head. My brother and my best friend are gay, for fuck’s sake, I think I would know if I was too. I’m not some raging homophobe either. If I wanted to suck a dick, I’d just suck a dick, no big deal.

I stumble over that thought though, nearly tripping over a crack in the sidewalk.

How would I actually know if I wanted to suck a dick?

I can’t exactly remember back before I ever ate pussy desperately wanting to do that.

I just knew I wanted to be close to pretty women, that the thought of a woman coming got my dick hard.

But, if I’m being really honest with myself, my dick was pretty damn hard last night thinking about AJ coming too.

Shit.

I sputter a laugh at myself, stopping on the sidewalk to rub my hands over my face. Okay, I’m probably overthinking this. Maybe I should call Cas or Nolan and get their opinion on the whole thing. They would know, right?

Except as soon as I reach for my phone, I think about that damn candy bar again and how telling Nolan about it turned it from something fun and exciting into something I felt guilty about. I went back to the stupid store the next day and left money on the counter when the cashier wasn’t looking.

I lower my hands again and realize I’m standing right in front of Sweat.

Through the huge windows I can see that the place is packed this morning.

AJ is with a guy, I’m assuming a client, standing over him while he does burpees.

I chuckle at the torture he’s inflicting.

I was right there yesterday while he shouted encouragement over my curses.

As if he can feel my attention on him, AJ looks over his shoulder and his eyes meet mine through the window.

My heart stops for half a second, and then a crooked smile stretches over his lips and it starts back up again as a distinct feeling of relief whooshes through my body.

He raises an eyebrow at me in question, and I grin right back before finally reaching for the handle to pull the door open.

I’m definitely overthinking things. Besides, AJ isn’t gay. He’s as straight as they come. The broest bro I’ve ever met.

Maybe there’s a teeny, tiny, minuscule chance that I’m not one hundred percent straight, but so what? Does it even matter? If I’m ninety-nine percent straight, that’s still pretty damn straight. Obsessing about it isn’t going to help anything; it will make shit weird between us.

I’m just going to chill and I’m sure everything will be perfectly fine.