Page 69 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“But tell me more about this tongue thing. I can do that to his ass?”

Jason drops his face into his hands.

Yeah. I think this whole queer-awakening thing is going smashingly.

There’s a pep in my step when I arrive at the gym late Saturday morning. It’s been a whole thirty-six hours since I last saw Joey. He had a busy day yesterday, so we couldn’t meet up. But now that it’s the weekend, he’s free as a bird.

I whistle to myself as I stash my gym bag, getting a few odd looks tossed my way that I pay no mind to. Nothing could get me down on a day like today.

I’m just stepping up on a treadmill to get my warm-up started when Joey walks in. My heartbeat trips, a smile forming on my face in an instant…

And then I aboutdie.

Joey is wearing the shortest short-shorts I’ve ever seen on any human and a cropped tank top that shows off every single inch of his V. His bag is at his side, not impeding the view in the slightest, and, if anything, the way his arm muscles are popping from the weight only adds to the picture. And as he walks my way, giving me a breathtaking grin? I start to worry I may get my first ever gym-boner.

“Joe,” I breathe, clutching the sides of my treadmill tight since my knees no longer seem to be functioning. “What are you…”

“Hey, bub,” he says easily, coming in to give my temple a kiss. “Let me store my bag, and I’ll join you.”

Joey walks off, and my head swivels to follow him.

“Oh, fuck,” I mumble, eyes dropping straight to his ass. “Is that some cheek?”

Joey disappears around the corner, and I take a moment to shake myself loose.

So Joey is hot. I already knew that. Not like it’s a big deal if he wants to show it off a little. Or a lot. Heshouldbe proud to display those thighs and that artisanal stomach. Not to mention the little trail that leads down below the band of his itty-bitty shorts that I most definitely want to follow with my—

“Taaa,” I cry, pulse kicking as Joey hops up on the treadmill next to my own. “Joe-bro! My kangaroo-boo. How’s it hanging?”

My eyes, incidentally, drop to his crotch, and I quickly avert my gaze.

Joey looks amused as he turns his treadmill on. “Feeling okay?”

“Me? Oh, just swell. Not that I’mswelling. Gosh, no. None of that. Because it’d be inappropriate. At a gym. Which…heh. Swole. It’s kinda the same but not at all, you know?”

Andoh my God, someone stop me.

Joey chuckles, as if he actually followed that train of thought, and starts off at a jog. My eyes slip down again.So much thigh.

I get my own machine moving as Joey asks, “Have a good day yesterday?”

“Oh, sure,” I answer, thinking back over the past twenty-four hours. “Lots of nuts.” Joey lifts a quizzical brow, and I hasten to add, “Not my own! I wasn’t, like, jerking off all day.”

Only once. Okay, maybe twice. Three times tops. While thinking about Joey and his abs.

I wheeze. “The nuts were for the squirrels.”

“The squirrels?” he asks.

“For the game I’m designing,” I explain, thankful when my heart rate starts to come down. “Most people probably don’t think about it, but there’s a lot of detail that gets layered into the background of video games. Especially in ones like ours that are more visually realistic. Stuff like squirrels, deer, falling leaves, pinecones on the ground… Anything to make it feel more lifelike.”

“And you’re the one who designs all that,” Joey says, sounding almost proud. Which is…nice.

“Well, I’m one of the people,” I correct. “It’s a team effort.”

He hums. “What’s your favorite part? Of your job, I mean.”

I consider that as my feet slap against the treadmill belt, Joey’s doing the same beside me. “Testing, I think. Not just in-design simulation, but actually creating a character, going into the game, and exploring it. I like looking at how everything has come together. Experiencing what we’ve created. Not to soundallMatrix, but when people play our games, they see exactly what we intend them to, right? They see the world we’ve built. When I play…I see all the components, all the code and carefully constructed webs that hold it all together. And I guess I really like that part. Because it reminds me that real life is the same.”

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