Page 2 of Jacked (Gymbos #1)

“Yeah.” It must click into place for him too because his dark eyes light up with recognition. “Oh, shit, are you Slater?”

“That’s me.” I offer my hand, and he takes it in a handshake just this side of crushing. I squeeze his hand right back, grinning like an idiot. AJ seemed cool enough in the emails, but it’s a relief to meet him in person and realize he’s exactly the guy I would’ve picked for my roommate.

“AJ,” he says needlessly. He drops my hand and glances around. “Do you have shit to move in or what? I can give you a hand.”

“Seriously? That would be great. I don’t have a ton, but I could definitely use some extra muscle.” I squeeze his bicep and waggle my eyebrows. “You clearly have some to spare.”

He rumbles another laugh and nods. “Yeah, of course. I was about to head out to grab a bite and a drink, but this is even better. I’ll help you unpack and then you can come with me so I won’t have to eat alone.”

“You’re on.”

He unlocks the door and props it open, then I lead him back around the corner to the truck.

Most of my boxes are filled with clothes, with the exception of the few that contain my free weights.

I stack two boxes on top of each other and AJ flashes me a challenging smile, choosing one of the boxes labeled “weights” and stacking two of those.

He grunts and his muscles bulge as he crouches down, his back straight and ass out in a perfect lifting stance, then heaves them up.

Show off .

I eye the other boxes of free weights, considering whether I need to add at least one to my own stack so I don’t look like a pussy.

“Come on.” He bumps his shoulder against mine and I decide to redeem myself on the next load instead.

We weave around people on the sidewalk and head into the building.

It’s a walk-up with our apartment on the second floor.

When we reach it, he sets the boxes down, his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he fishes the keys out of his pocket.

The motion pulls his shorts even tighter across his thighs and the bulge between his legs.

Heat rushes through my gut and I look away, swallowing a silent laugh.

I’m no slouch in the size department, but I can never help sizing up the competition.

It’s gotta be another one of those primal instincts, right?

Gotta see what the other alpha males are swinging around if you’re gonna try to beat them out for mating opportunities.

Just because we aren’t apes baring our teeth and actively swinging our dicks around to attract the ladies anymore doesn’t mean those instincts ever go away.

AJ gets the door open and nods for me to go ahead inside while he picks his boxes back up.

The place is a lot nicer than I was expecting.

I guess that’s the benefit of rooming with someone rather than trying to swing the cost of my own place.

The floors are wood, and there’s nice crown molding that looks like it’s original to the building.

Large windows in the living room flood the space with plenty of light and give a nice view of the city.

It’s open concept, with the kitchen and living room separated by an island counter, and then a short hallway that leads to the two bedrooms and single bathroom we’ll be sharing.

The other benefit of this apartment is that it came furnished, so there’s already a bed and dresser in my bedroom. I toss my boxes onto the floor at the foot of the bed and he comes in right behind me, setting his down more carefully since they’re a hell of a lot heavier.

“Not bad, right?” He gestures around.

“Not bad?” I echo, my smile widening. “This place fucking rocks.”

“It’s roomy enough, but the building’s water heater is ancient, so it’s a little iffy at times. And the nice old Mexican lady who lives next door cooks a lot, and for some reason it always ends up smelling like spices and cooked meat in this room specifically.”

Now that he mentions it, I can definitely smell the strong scent of garlic hanging in the air. My mouth waters and my stomach rumbles. AJ chuckles and claps me on the back again.

“I guess that won’t be a problem,” he says jovially.

“Only for my appetite, apparently.” I catch him in a playful headlock. He grunts, struggling against me. He uses his shoulder to try to break my hold, but I laugh triumphantly and tighten my grip, ruffling his hair before letting him go.

He laughs and rakes his fingers through it to settle it flat again, narrowing his eyes in a silent promise to get me back for that.

Bring it on. Fuck, it’s going to be awesome to live with a dude again.

It’ll be like college, all that fraternal bonding and guys just being guys.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some major upsides to living with my last girlfriend, but I’ve been seriously lacking in bro time over the past few years. This is going to be good for me.

AJ

Between the two of us, it doesn’t take long to unload the truck.

If I could have handpicked my perfect roommate, so far Slater seems like he would be it.

He’s definitely a guy’s guy, chatting me up about sports and the gym while we haul his stuff inside, and not afraid to roughhouse a bit.

It takes me right back to living with my brother before he moved out east, and, fuck, yeah this is exactly what I needed.

“Have you explored the neighborhood much yet?” he asks after we’ve dropped the last of the boxes in his room.

“Nah.” I shake my head, stopping to lock the door on our way back out.

We’ll have to stop after dinner so I can make a copy of the keys for him.

“I’ve just been settling in. Seems like a decent area though.

I grew up a couple of hours north, but really only came to the city for class field trips to the Field Museum or the aquarium, so I’m still getting my bearings. ”

He nods, pulling his hat off and dragging his fingers through his shaggy blond hair. “We can check it out together then, find our favorite restaurants, the best liquor stores… You already have an in with a good gym, so that’s one thing we can cross off the list.”

He slaps me roughly on the back and I bark out a loud laugh.

He’s acting like we’re already best friends instead of near strangers with friends of friends in common who are going to be sharing a place for the next twelve months.

And, if I’m being honest, I kind of like it.

It’s obvious Slater is the kind of guy who’s just easy to be around, with a positive attitude and infectious energy.

I didn’t realize I was a little nervous to meet my roommate, but fuck am I relieved now.

My arm bumps against his as I ease over to let a couple of guys pass us on the sidewalk.

One of them gives me a blatant once-over followed by a sultry smirk, and my gut twists.

Not that I have anything against gay dudes—like, at all—but it’s maybe part of the reason I haven’t been out much by myself over the past week.

“It seems like it’s a really…” I clear my throat and drop my voice. “Gay friendly neighborhood.”

Slater nods again, then tilts his head and furrows his eyebrows like a puppy trying to do calculus. “That a problem, man?”

Oh, shit. I swallow hard and shake my head.

“No, not at all. If you’re gay, that’s totally cool.

” The weird, twisty feeling in my stomach every time any of the guys on the street check me out is my own issue.

But, fuck, is Slater gay? I’ve never lived with a gay dude before.

Is he going to be bringing guys home to fuck them at our place?

My stomach clenches a little harder and my skin flushes with heat, no doubt from the force of the sun beating down on me.

“Nah, I’m straight.” He grins again like I passed some kind of test. “My brother and best friend are though.” Slater throws an arm around my shoulders, tugging me out of the way of another group of passersby coming our way as we round the corner towards the front of the bar right on the ground floor of our building.

“Think they’ll have the Dodgers game on in here?

” he asks, screwing up his face in confused concentration again.

“Or do gay bars only have, like, Chappel Roan music videos and episodes of Drag Race on?”

I wheeze out another laugh. “No clue. There’s a bar two blocks down though that has… uh… a little more of a sports vibe.” I didn’t want to say “less gay,” but I think the implication is still there. “It’ll be the Cubs game on though, not your Dodgers.”

His smile doesn’t waver. “Sold. Lead the way.”

He drops his arm and a weird sense of loss snakes through me. Or maybe it’s relief. Probably better not to walk around all snuggly with another guy in this neighborhood or people are bound to get the wrong idea. Even if Slater doesn’t mean it that way.

I point out Sweat, the gym where I’ll be working, as we pass it, and Slater vows to swing by tomorrow after his first day of work to sign up for a membership.

“Think I can get a roommate discount?” He scratches his stubbled jaw.

“Let me at least get through my first day there before I start asking for discounts and shit.”

“Fair enough.” He chuckles. “You definitely have your first training client all lined up though. I want your body.” He squeezes my bicep then snorts a laugh. “Shit, that came out wrong.”

I flex and waggle my eyebrows. “Leave it to me. I’ll have you jacked in no time.”

“I’m here for it, dude. My ass is yours.”

I sputter. I’m sure he didn’t mean that one “that way” either. He said his brother is gay, not that he is. Like I told him, I wouldn’t have a problem if he were gay, but it’s definitely easier that he’s not. This way we can just be a couple of guys together without it getting weird.

“No homo,” he tacks on, and we both chuckle.

Exactly. No homo.