Page 115 of Body Check

Gavin frowned, like he was seriously thinking about the question. “I don’t know. Relieved, mostly. This is really the first time I’ve told anyone the whole story in one go. With Norm, and in therapy, I guess it kinda trickled out in bits and pieces, little dribbles of information as I opened up.”

“You never told Rory?” Dakota asked, surprised.

“No. I think because he was so image-focused, I didn’t feel comfortable with it. I felt like—like if I did, he wouldn’t look at me the same anymore.”

Dakota winced, because that was not a healthy relationship. And while he didn’t have a good track record either, the longer he lived with his sister and her husband, the more he saw what kind of relationship he wanted. What it truly meant to be a supportive partner or spouse.

Bryce hadn’t been one for him. Rory hadn’t been one for Gavin either. But maybe they could be better together. Maybe opening up to each other this way was a sign they were on the right track.

“Are you glad you told me?” he asked.

Gavin nodded. “It’s a relief. I think there’s been this sort of underlying worry you’d find out somehow. That you’d be disappointed in me if you did.”

“Gavin, no,” Dakota said tenderly, reaching out to cup his cheek. His whiskers were sharp and prickly against his palm. “You making mistakes, you being human … that doesn’t disappoint me. Honestly, it makes me care about you more.”

He took a deep breath. “But now I need to tell you something.”

Gavin lifted his eyebrows and Dakota let his hand fall away. “What’s that?”

“I had a feeling there was more going on with the situation with your brother. After we went to the club in LA, I told you I thought Thad had seen us, right?”

“Yeah.” His brow was still furrowed and Dakota resisted the urge to smooth away the lines with his fingers.

“He—he said, ‘Be careful with my brother. He’s not who you think he is.’ At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. But this was it, wasn’t it?”

Gavin nodded. “I assume so. I can’t think of anything else he’d mean. There are no more skeletons in my closet now, Dakota. You’ve met them all.”

“Good.” Dakota leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I don’t want there to be secrets between us. Not if we’re doing this for real.”

Gavin reached out, pulling him close, wrapping him up in a tight hug as he whispered. “I want this to be real.”

The hug felt good. Grounding, like it was anchoring Dakota to him. And he—he wanted that.

Dakota had been wary of letting himself get close to anyone, letting himself trust anyone.

He’d been afraid to let anyone see the messy parts of himself. It was a relief knowing Gavin had those messy parts too.

Gavin was so much more than a handsome, successful, polished man with a high-powered job, a daunting fitness routine, and what appeared to be the perfect life—albeit one that was slowly killing him.

He was more human now.

It was easier to imagine how their lives might fit together going forward.

“Thank you for telling me,” Dakota whispered. “I know you worried it would make me think less of you, but it didn’t. It only made me care for you more.”

“Dakota,” Gavin whispered against his hair, his voice strained, like he was too emotional to say any more.

But that was okay, because sometimes there was a place for words and sometimes there was a place for touch.

And as Dakota slid his hand up under Gavin’s shirt and tilted his head so their lips could softly meet, touch was what they both needed.

TWENTY-SIX

Dakota didn’t spend a lot of time hanging around the marketing department at HCI, but he passed by their office semi-regularly and knew a lot of them took mid-morning breaks.

So, two days after Christmas, when practice for the team resumed, Dakota got there a little early and managed to catch Thad at the right time.

“Hey, Thad,” Dakota said as he stepped out of the office. “Do you have a minute?”

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