Page 5 of Someone Else's Wolf

I woke up halfway through the night, wondering if being a fake boyfriend was kind of like being a rent boy. I jerked off to that thought, too. Not my finest horny moment, but to be fair, I was half-asleep, and it sounded really hot at the time.

#

The gym wasn't too busy. I picked a spot and started my workout, but the feeling of being watched made my back prickle about ten minutes later. I looked around, cautious but alert. Ah. It was just Peter. The sight of him made me swallow. With my daydreams still fresh in my head, the sight of him in his workout gear felt downright sinful.

He was wearing baggy basketball shorts that hung down past his knees, revealing only his thin, hairy calves. The shirt he was wearing showed a lot more. It was too big for him, an oversized t-shirt with the short sleeves and collar cut off raggedly. The jagged lines and worn-thin fabric shouldn't have made him look hot, but they did. He had some nice muscles on his arms, and there was definitely chest hair and muscular definition revealed. That raggedy shirt really worked for him. Made a guy think about licking sweat off muscles. I looked away first...and then realized he'd been watching me first. I wasn't being odd to stare back.

Well. Not too much. This was a cop-friendly gym, and a lot of the officers worked out here when they weren't on shift. But it wasn't necessarily the place to make prolonged eye contact with a hot guy, if you get my drift.

I looked at him again anyway. He was pumping iron like it weighed nothing. This time he smiled at me, a warm, friendly look that felt intimate even from across the room. I swallowed hard. He pumped the weights a couple more times, faster, making his muscles bulge, then put them down and headed directly towards me in his ratty shirt and baggy shorts and that hot body.

Don't notice, I told myself, dry-mouthed.Don't think about it.What happened to him being ordinary? I stopped my workout and tried to look casual.All bros here."Peter." I gave him a hello nod.

"Shane. I was thinking about going for a run. Want to ditch this place and come along?"

"A run?" I said stupidly. "What, like around the park?"

"Yeah." His green eyes had a kind of glow to them that mirrored the emotion of his friendly smile.

"When you've got perfectly good treadmills here?" I jerked a thumb towards them.

"That's not a real run."

"Um." I tried to think. "Is Sue here?"

"She went home after work. And she has short legs. Are you coming?"

That was a very good question. "Uh, sure." I wasn't at all sure my legs were long enough to keep up with Peter, but it was definitely worth a try.

I hoped he actually did want to run, and this wasn't an excuse to talk about me being gay, or how I should come out, or to ask nosy questions. I really hoped he wouldn't do that.

I needn't have worried. I found out once we got outside: he was all about the running. I hadn't pushed myself this hard since the last time I'd chased a suspect for five blocks. He ran with such joy, such zest for life — and he ran like a freaking athlete.

I tried. I really did. The view was amazing. He could really move, and it really showed off his strength and muscles...

But I simply couldn't go like a machine the way he could. At last, I could go no farther. "Hey. Pause." I bent over, gasping, a stitch in my side. Pressing my hand against it only did so much.

Ahead of me, his sneakers slowed. He circled back to me. "Don't you run?" He looked concerned. "You should've said."

"Yes, I fucking run," I growled. "But some of us aren't tireless wolves."

"I'm not tireless." He moved to my side. "I get tired. Eventually. Not this quickly, though."

With a hand on my side, he gently supported me towards a convenient park bench. I sat down, breathing hard, feeling like a wimp. He rubbed my back and side with a firm, careful touch that felt far better than it should have.

"I just don't usually go so fast." I was an out-of-shape lump next to him, with his confident strength, his tireless grace. He seemed much less awkward when he ran. And so fucking hot.

I should take this opportunity to feel him out about his partnership with Sue, make sure there wasn't trouble there, make sure he wasn't actually trying to work with me instead. I mean, sure, running together didn't have to mean anything. I already knew he liked being around me, and I felt the same, to be honest, but it'd be good to know if he was having trouble with Sue or something, and that was why she'd gotten so pissy with me.

Unfortunately, I had no clue how to ask that without coming right out and asking, which I wasn't willing or able to do at the moment, what with gasping and feeling particularly out of shape.

"Want me to go on without you?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll catch you next time round."

I waved him off, watched him go. He was too handsome. It was unfair. And how could he be so handsome? With his craggy features and ungainly limbs, his face became really appealing when he smiled, his body pure grace when he ran.

I leaned back and sighed, closing my eyes against the sunlight. It dappled down on me through waving leaves. No wonder he'd rather run out here than in the sterile gym. It smelled alive.