Page 162 of Gym Bros
“Everything.”
He chuckles softly and suggests a steakhouse not too far from here.
“Am I dressed for steak?”
“We can meet there in a while if you want to go home and clean up first.”
“That’d be great,” I tell him. “You wanna head back there with me?”
“I—uh—yeah. Sure.”
I want to tell him about me and Calyx tonight, but I haven’t decided whether it’d be better to do it at dinner or in private, but the fact that he’s coming back to my condo with me means I can feel out the timing.
I was really surprised to see him at the arena. Evidently he came straight from the airport. I asked if Mom sent him, but he’d only laughed. Some of his earlier enthusiasm has dampened some, though, and he seems distracted. The kiss I planted on Calyx when he came to my warmup room might have something to do with it, but it’s not like I used tongue. It was a smack at best. A smooch.
Still, I guess I’m not really in the habit of grabbing guys and kissing them on the lips, so maybe it’s best to get this out of the way at the condo.
I call Calyx from the car, and he answers on the first ring.
“I’m on my way home,” I tell him.
“Good.”
“I didn’t really give you a chance to answer about coming to dinner earlier. And let me preface this by saying he’s also headed to my condo now, and I’ll tell him about you and me. If that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, it’s…yeah.”
“You sure?” I ask, picking up on that same weirdness from earlier. Whatever it was that I felt in the pit of my stomach.
“Yes,” he says more firmly. “I’m gonna skip dinner, though. I’d rather just seeyoulater.”
“I’m remarkably uninjured.”
“I noticed that.”
“You looked gorgeous today,” I tell him. “Did I mention that?”
“No.”
“It was intense. Got me right in the nuts.”
He laughs dismissively. “Shut up, Samuel.”
“Thank you for coming. Seriously, angel. I know it wasn’t your first choice of place to be, but it means…everything.”
Calyx is so quiet, I can’t tell whether he hung up or not. Then I hear him clear his throat softly and in a lower voice he says, “Being where you are is always my first choice.”
My chest swells with a feeling so strong, I’m not sure even I can contain it. “Then next time, don’t let Rachel say she’s my girlfriend.”
He huffs, the intensity of the moment dissipating. “Did you hear that? I didn’t know she was planning to do that.”
Grinning, I say, “It was sweet, but I don’t intend on hiding someone like you.”
“You’re not worried about what people will say?”
“I already know what they’ll say,” I tell him. “That I’m not nearly good enough for you.”
His answering laugh is soft.
