Body Conscious (Body Heat Book 1)

by J. P. Scott

  Despite his interest in this week’s episode, the day’s events kept creeping back into his mind. The Silver Fox’s attention and interest had caught him off guard. No one at the gym had looked at him with any sort of interest—ever. Had he reached a point in working out that fit guys were interested in him? Or was it the sauna and the chance to get a quickie from an okay looking guy?

  And what would have happened if they had not been able to cover up before someone walked in? IF he had gone down on the Fox, would he have been able to get into a “natural” position and avoid suspicion? Would he have been reported and kicked out of the gym?

  It seemed like he should be able to find a hook up in other places than the gym. When the Fox waved him over, he should have been in the position to say, “No, I’m good.” Instead, he had not skipped a beat in moving right over.

  Ollie rolled over on his couch and buried his face in his pillow. Maybe a few minutes of hiding would make the problems of the world go away. The TV still blared, but he had lost interest in watching and could save the DVR recording for another time.

  His phone buzzed.

  He assumed it was Cam. Ollie could not handle more from him about dates or hookups tonight.

  Seconds later, another buzz.

  He rolled onto his back and looked at the notifications. The texts were not from Cam. Instead, they were messages on Flame. He opened the app and saw Jeremy’s profile highlighted, indicating there were messages from him.

  “Greetings from LA.” Then a picture of Jeremy from what looked like a rooftop bar. No sunglasses. No pixelation. Big smile, trimmed beard, and sparkling blue eyes.

  “Having fun?” How could he not be? Anything had to be better than here.

  “Not really. Great food and all—but too much time with work people. Chilling at my hotel now.”

  “Not out in WeHo?” West Hollywood was known for its gay scene and multitude of bars, clubs, and hot guys.

  “LOL. Not really my scene. What are you up to?”

  “Watching TV. Unwinding from a long day.” And trying to find purpose in life.

  “I wanted to tell you that I think you’re very handsome. Even though we haven’t chatted much, I’ve been thinking about you. I’m hoping that once I get back into town, I can take you to dinner.”

  Ollie blinked as he finished reading the message. Who was this guy? He just comes out and asks to go on a date? No dick pic exchange? No discussion of what each of us is into in the bedroom? Just old school see a guy, lie a guy, ask him out? Either he did not know how all of this worked or he did not really care.

  And who said Jeremy’s way was not better? Ollie had not had much luck with the other method. It had been a series of rejection and disappointment. Maybe doing something different would bring about different results.

  “When were you thinking?”

  “I get back late Friday. How about Saturday night?”

  What did he have to lose? “Saturday works for me.”

  Jeremy responded with a smiling emoji. “Have you been to Old Town Café?”

  “OMG. It’s so good! It hasn’t been in line with my diet, so it’s been awhile.”

  “Diet? You look amazing. I hope you are willing to take a cheat day.”

  Jeremy thought he looked good. Maybe all the hours at the gym were paying off? He knew pounds had come off, but sometimes the mirror showed him a reflection of what he used to look like.

  “Thanks. I’ve been working hard at getting into shape.”

  “You always seem very focused at the gym. I’m impressed by how much you give it every time you work out. You’ll have to show me some workouts.”

  “Everything I know I learned from my trainer, Patrick. You should sign up for some sessions.”

  “I’d probably get inappropriate and grab his butt. I swear half the gym stops to watch him do squats.”

  Ollie laughed. Jeremy might play by different rules when it came to chatting up a guy, but he was proving that some things were just part of a man’s nature. We all admired a beautiful body and let our minds wander to sexy things. He had found himself watching Patrick squat and bend and flex when he was doing a personal workout or in session with another client.

  “You also have a cute butt.”

  “I’m sure Patrick’s is better.” Ollie paused before continuing his thought. How flirty did he want to go? Jeremy’s pictures and profile description showed he was not Ollie’s normal type for dating. Was he running the risk of leading Jeremy on and disappointing him when they actually met and there were no sparks between them? Then, in the spirit of doing something different, he wrote, “But you probably have a better chance of getting to touch mine.”

  Jeremy responded with a series of emojis: shocked face, smiling devil, and a peach.

  Ollie was thrilled to know Jeremy was interested. That he had been thinking about him and now wanted to grab his ass—even if it was not as great as Patrick’s. Maybe there was more in store for Saturday than just dinner.

  “Now I’ll be thinking about your butt until I go to sleep—and again when I wake up. I think I’ll be out of lube by the time I get back to Phoenix.”

  “And that’s just using your imagination.” Ollie scrolled through his saved pictures stored on the app. He found a shot taken in his floor-length mirror, where he stood naked with his back to the mirror. It was one of his few successful attempts to take a butt shot. He clicked “send” and waited.

  “Woof. It’s even better than I thought.”

  Ollie expected to receive a pic in return. Maybe a butt shot, but most likely a hard cock pic. Once the pic sharing started, it quickly turned into sharing a whole portfolio.

  Instead, Jeremy sent his phone number. “Mind if we move this to regular texting? I’d like to chat between meetings tomorrow and I try not to open this app when I’m working.”

  Ollie copied the number, opened the contact list, and pasted in a new contact. He shot a quick text, “Here’s my number.”

  “Thanks, handsome. I have to be up early so I’m going to have to say good night. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

  “Good night. Sweet dreams.”

  “Sexy dreams, I’m guessing. Me rimming that ass.”

  Ollie sent a blushing emoji. His heart fluttered and he felt out of breath. A good rimming had been hard to come by.

  He shut off the TV and the light and headed to his room. He imagined Jeremy in his hotel room also getting ready to sleep, probably already naked in the sheets. He pushed his sport shorts down and pulled the t-shirt over his head and climbed in beneath the soft sheets.

  What would Jeremy’s beard feel like pressed up in his crack? Would it tickle? Scratch? Or would it be soft? What would he do with his tongue? Make circles? Dart deep into his hole? Would Jeremy want him on all fours, back arched? Or sit on his face and go for a ride?

  Ollie shifted as he imagined positions and sensations. He pinched his nipple and lightly stroked his cock as it bobbed with excitement. He heard himself moan as he imagined Jeremy going deep, spreading his cheeks apart with a strong grip. He stroked faster as excitement spread over his body. If Jeremy were there to touch him, there definitely would be shocks and sparks.

  He panted as he felt the climax approach and writhed in the sheets, pushing them off his body. In seconds, cum was pumping out and splashing on his chest.

  When he caught his breath, he reached for his phone. He snapped a picture of his chest, wet and glistening. He sent it to Jeremy with the message, “Rim jobs get me excited.”

  He sent back a similar picture, pools of white cum on his stomach, filling his belly button, “Looks like we are going to make a big mess when we do it for real.” Hundreds of miles apart but both fantasizing about the same thing and cumming together. Ollie was definitely looking forward to Saturday.

  Seven

  Jessica drew a line through a sentence on Ollie’s resume and jotted some notes to the side. The page was filled with scribbles, notes, and corrections. Ollie had th
ought the draft he provided her was pretty good. He had assumed she would make a change here or there and help rephrase things to be a little punchier. At this point, she might as well create a resume from scratch.

  “Is there anything left to change?”

  Jessica laughed, “Sorry. I just want this for you. Everything should be perfect.”

  “I appreciate you helping me. There’s not even a posting yet. There hasn’t even been a formal announcement of Marvin’s retirement. Maybe we should wait until there are slices of cake going around at his farewell party.”

  She rolled her eyes and brushed some hair back behind her ear that kept coming loose and falling in front of her face as she worked. “Whenever it all starts to happen, I want you to be ready.”

  Ollie’s stomach twisted more tightly. Jessica had started talking about the promotion in the parking lot as they walked in. It was all she seemed to be able to talk about. It filled him with anxiety. Why was he so afraid to want this job? It would be a lot of work, but better than the current grind in a role with no future.

  In the long run, the extra work put in now should pay off. He would be polished and practiced. It seemed so far off, the motivation to get started just was not there. It did not seem real, nor did it have any sense of urgency to get into motion.

  “Take that and update your file with those suggestions. Send me the updates and I’ll take a look to see if it works.” The scribble-filled paper slide in his direction. “I also researched some questions that are common in interviews, especially around delivering adult education.”

  Ollie tried to control his breathing as Jessica pulled a large stack of papers from her bag. “How many questions could there possibly be?”

  “I copy and pasted every list I came across. I suspect there will be duplicates. Maybe this weekend we could practice some Q&A?”

  “Sounds like a blast,” Ollie flipped through the pages, looking at the myriad of questions. An interview could go pretty much any direction. How would he ever be prepared?

  “You look like you’re going to throw up.”

  Ollie fanned himself, “I might.”

  “Relax. It’s a little overkill, but we are going to work through it. And if we feel you’re ready…well, then you are ready.”

  “We…or you?” Ollie felt like Jessica was the one driving this whole thing. If he was not on board with going through with the application and interview, would she force him into it?

  Another eye roll, “We…I promise.” Jessica glanced at her cell phone, “I’ve got to run. Try to get me the updated resume tomorrow?”

  “Sure thing.” He waved at Jessica as she headed out of the break room door. Silence tried to fill the space she left behind but her chaotic energy was still swirling around.

  Ollie knew he had to be in this to make it work. No one was going to just hand him the job. A half-assed attempt would be just as bad as doing nothing. With Jessica’s push behind him, he would need to decide quickly what he wanted and what he would be willing to do to get it.

  Eight

  “Everything okay?” Patrick and Ollie walked from the cables where they had done some sets to an open section where people stretched, did pushups and planks, or worked with boxes and kettlebells. “You aren’t your typical self with these first few sets.”

  “It’s been a stressful week.”

  “And it’s only Wednesday. Sorry to hear that, man.”

  “Working out is helping to keep my mind off things.” There were also plenty of young, hot men working out tonight to make the moments between sets more enjoyable. Getting to sneak a peek at some great forearms, a round butt, or even a bulging package was a reward for punishing himself on the machines.

  “That’s what I like to hear.” Patrick raised his fist for a bump.

  Ollie looked around to see what was on the agenda for the next exercise. It seemed too early in the session for abs and core workouts.

  “We’re going to try something new.” From his pocket, Patrick pulled out a crumpled pile that he pulled apart into two large rubber bands. “Ever used these before?”

  Ollie shook his head.

  “These add resistance. We’ll be doing a lot of the same exercises we do but this will add a little complexity. I have two because I’m going to be demonstrating and doing things along with you. I really need you to watch me and duplicate my form.” Patrick took one of the bands, stepped into it, and pulled it up to just above his knees. “You’ll set up like this, legs about shoulder-width apart. Then we will do the squats we normally do—just activating different muscle groups.”

  Patrick demonstrated and Ollie tried to keep his focus on the movement and how to duplicate it. Then he remembered Jeremy’s comment that the gym practically stopped to watch Patrick’s ass when he did squats. Who was watching now? Definitely Ollie was watching as Patrick stood a few steps in front and to the side. “Really focus on keeping the knees apart as you squat. Keep the back straight like your normal form and come down to about here.” The sport short fabric pulled tight and hugged his round butt.

  Ollie got into position with his band mimicked the position. He took a deep breath and looked ahead. As he exhaled, he sat into the squat. The movement was the same as he had done before, but the band around his knees did make everything different. Keeping his knees apart was not as easy as he thought it would be. He could almost hear Cam make a joke about that.

  “Good. You should be feeling it in your legs, not just your glutes. Watch those knees—you’ll naturally want to bring them in. Let’s do a couple of them together.”

  Ollie tried to keep his eyes looking forward but could not help taking in the show. Jeremy would indeed be jealous.

  Patrick moved behind Ollie to watch the next couple of squats. “Watch your form. Let me help you.” Patrick put his hand on Ollie’s hips, something he had done before to help Ollie feel a muscle group he should be using or to adjust a starting or ending position. This time, he lightly touched Ollie’s hips. Tingles spread through Ollie’s body.

  Patrick was all business, watching and commenting on Ollie’s form. “Let’s do five more.” He moved next to Ollie and counted out the squats. As they stood after the last one, he asked, “How’d you like that?” He paused, looked down, then said, “Because it looks like you liked that.”

  “Huh?” It definitely felt different.” Patrick knew Ollie well enough to know that even though he paid to work out, there were very few exercises that he liked.

  Patrick laughed, “Maybe for the next set we turn to face this wall.” Patrick pointed to the blank brick wall instead of the mirrored wall they had been facing.

  Why was Patrick acting strangely? Then Ollie caught his reflection from the side. Patrick’s touch had excited him and his shorts and underwear were not going a good job of keeping that a secret. A tent had formed and would be obvious to anyone looking. Ollie had always feared that Patrick would sense Ollie thought he was attractive and would get weird about it. Would he want Ollie to get a different trainer? Would he be self-conscious about doing certain exercises?

  “Oh, Jesus.”

  Patrick hit Ollie’s shoulder and laughed. “All good man. It happens to all of us.”

  The red of embarrassment mixed with the red flush from his workout. Ollie looked around to see if anyone else had noticed.

  “Let me know when you’re ready for your next set,” he winked as he smiled.

  Nine

  “Why did you take off and not do cardio with me?” Cam’s voice was at the higher pitch, common when he was upset and finally getting the chance to speak his mind.

  “Sorry. Oh, my, god. I was so embarrassed.”

  Ollie relayed the story to Cam. The tingles, the boner, the wink. There had been half a workout left. The boner had subsided and Patrick switched back from a joking school-aged boy to a professional adult. Still, Ollie was mortified and had headed straight for the door when they wrapped up.

  “I just couldn’t hang out.” />
  “It kind of sounds like you were hanging out,” Cam laughed at this own joke. “Only you, Ollie. You should have headed for the steam room. I think the Silver Fox was looking for you.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Cam sighed, clearly exasperated with his prudish friend. “Someday, I hope you let your hair down and let something fun happen.”

  “I let things happen. I even have a date on Saturday.”

  “What? With who?” Cam’s mood changed again in his mercurial way. Disappointment was pushed aside at the glimmer of hope.”

  “Jeremy.” Ollie reminded Cam that they chatted about him the other day.

  “Oh, him.” The disappointed mood swept back in. “He’s a good starter for you—he’ll get you primed for some real adventure.”

  Or maybe he was a good guy and would be the adventure he had been looking for all this time. Ollie felt that all of his attempts to date and find a boyfriend had primed him pretty well.

  “We should do a happy hour Friday and make a game plan for you.” Between Cam and Jessica, Ollie was about to have a game plan for both his personal and professional lives.

  Ollie promised to pick a place and time. He checked on dinner and did some tidying up. When he checked his phone again, he saw a message not from Cam, but from Jeremy. “Hey, sexy, how was your day?”

  Ollie smiled, “Well, I got a little excited at the gym. I may never go back.”

  “I. Want. To. Know. Everything.”

  “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Can I call you?”

  Ollie did not type a response, but instead hit the icon to start an audio call.

  When Jeremy answered, Ollie heard a deep voice that had a slight scratch. Manly and experienced. “My heart skipped a beat when I saw your name pop up that you were calling. I thought it might not be until Saturday that I got to talk to you for real.”

  “It’s old school, but better than texting.”