by E. Davies
Ann jutted her jaw out but didn’t say anything. One of her friends mumbled something about getting a drink of water, grabbed their bags, and disappeared outside.
“Women’s hour starts next week!” Doris added. “Y’all might find some pretty faces then.” She winked. “I’ve been telling all the lovely young ladies in Grind about it.”
That got Ann to huff and turn on her heel, heading straight for the door.
“Ma’am? Class isn’t over,” Matt finally interrupted long enough to call out, but she ignored him—and the laughter of everyone still here.
The third woman stuck around for a minute, glancing between the door and the mat beneath her. She’d been the quietest of them all, and as she raised her gaze to them, Cas could read the conflict in her expression.
So could Doris. Without a word, she put a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“I have to—” she started, looking toward the front door where her friends had disappeared.
“Honey, with friends like that, you don’t have to anything.” Cora’s voice was firm. “But if you ever wanna see how we do things in Hidden Creek, you give us a call.”
Her smile was equal parts terrified and excited. She didn’t need to explain—they all just knew. And nobody was going to speak it, or make her do so, until she was ready.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured after another moment, and finally headed for the door. “For them.”
“I’m sorry for you,” Matt said quietly. “Same time every week. No questions asked.”
She nodded, and then she disappeared through the door after everyone else.
For a moment, nobody said anything. Then, Gabriel finally clapped his hands once. “So! About those stretches!”
“Oh, I’ll be stretched like a good pastry at the end of this,” Doris exclaimed.
“You’ve got to cool down. Or all that flirting will give you heatstroke,” Cora informed her, to more laughs.
Matt took them through a simple routine, but by now, they were laughing and joking around too much to focus.
As he entered downward-facing dog, Cas’s yoga pants slipped down, and that damn satin didn’t keep his pants in place. The waistband rode a little too high and the women closest to him absolutely got a hint of it as his shirt went up.
He hastily pulled his pants up, but the damage was done, and the nervousness that choked him was so instinctive he couldn’t stop it.
But Cora just exclaimed, “Oooh, lord! What a pretty thing. You’ll have to tell me where you get it.”
“I don’t think they’d fit your bits, Cora.”
“Doris!” Cora scolded. “You don’t know that.”
“You forget that summer at the pool,” Doris gave her a wicked grin, and Cora burst into giggles.
Matt groaned. “I don’t want to know about any sixties summer pool shenanigans. Go get changed, everyone.”
“Go get him,” Cora elbowed, giving a meaningful wink toward Matt.
“He deserves a reward for killing them all with kindness today,” Gabriel agreed with a small but serious nod.
Cas was red, he just knew it, but at least he wasn’t being made fun of in a bad way.
“Thank you for coming,” Matt told the church ladies as they stacked their yoga mats. “I really appreciate the support.”
“Bah, I’ve paid for my membership and you’d better believe I’m gonna use it,” Cora told him sternly.
Matt looked like he was brainstorming. “Mmm. Good. Great. Okay, thank you!” He grabbed a notepad from next to Cas’s planter on the front desk and started scribbling.
Cas decided to leave him be for now and shower. In this mood, it was easier to let Matt brainstorm on his own and touch base later. Plus, he was sweaty and gross, and he wanted to attempt seduction later. He hadn’t put on such slippery underwear for nothing that morning.
He walked in just in time to hear Cora call from a stall, “Maybe after a few months, I’ll be as flexible as sexuality nowadays!”
Cas cracked up immediately as he headed for an open stall. “I… I’m not even sure where to go from there,” he admitted amidst the laughter from all the other stalls.
“I kissed a—”
“Oh, God,” Cas groaned, and they all started laughing again. They couldn’t be stopped, though, and they quickly switched to a mix of songs that sounded like a greatest hits at any gay bar, harmonizing until the sound echoed off the walls.
How many of them had been in Bottom’s Up? They must have gotten that soundtrack from somewhere.
By the time they were done, Cas was getting dressed again in fresh jeans and a t-shirt. He didn’t expect to keep those clothes on for long, anyway.
“Okay, I’m out of here,” he told them. “Behave yourselves.” By now, Cora was doing her hair at the mirrors while giving Gabriel haircare advice.
“No chance of that,” Doris informed him.
Still shaking his head, Cas grinned as he headed to the front desk and met Matt. “Well, they’re all getting along just fine.”
“Good,” Matt said with a warm chuckle. He slipped his arms around Cas’s waist, and Cas could already feel the tension that had drained from him.
“Better now that that’s over?” he asked.
“Oh, you have no idea. And I was thinking…”
Knew it. Cas smiled to himself but didn’t say anything, letting Matt finish his sentence.
“Maybe I could do a joint class. Something to unite the church community that’s coming together to help us, and… well, the gay folks who are coming out to support us.”
Cas scratched Matt’s back lightly. “Mmhmm?”
“Low-impact yoga. Joint-friendly, improves core strength and stability…” Cas walked two fingers up Matt’s spine to the back of his neck, but he tuned out the rest of it. All he wanted was to get home and wrap himself in Matt’s arms. As far as he was concerned, Matt worked too much—more than he strictly needed to, even—and he deserved an evening off.
Rory seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she flapped her hands. “Go on, shoo. Your classes are over.”
“Not before you tell us when our first Gays and Grannies class is!” That was Cora, leading the pack as everyone filtered out of the changing room.
Matt stared for a moment and then started laughing as Cas kept his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I was just thinking about ideas for that. Maybe October?”
Cas approved of that timeline. Matt had a hell of a lot to sort out to grow Lift—he’d said something about Cora giving him a to-do list.
“By the way—you earned those five-star reviews,” Doris added while Cora tried to shush her.
“They weren’t supposed to know it was us.”
“I’m playing Words With Friends with Rory now,” Doris told Cora, waving her protests away. “She’s seen my Facebook name anyway.”
Rory gasped. “It was y’all!”
Matt rubbed his eyes while Cas kept a firm hand on his shoulder. He seemed overwhelmed by all the support, and Cas was just glad to see it.
“Now, you make sure those new shirts are available in black,” Doris added. “It’s much more stylish.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,” Matt nodded gravely once he’d composed himself.
“Now, take a hint and go home with that man,” Rory told Matt. “Before Cora tells you to, and she’ll be much firmer about it.” Cora gave her an approving nod, and Matt laughed.
“Okay. Let’s go home.”
27
Matt
“I can’t believe they just stormed out in a huff. I thought they were going to stay and… I don’t know, flash everyone in the changing rooms.”
Matt was still talking about it as they pulled up at Cas’s place, but he was also still overwhelmed by everything that had gone right.
“I can,” Cas said with a grin. “They didn’t expect to be met with kindness. They wanted to feel persecuted. It doesn’t fit their story when we go hey, you must be one of us, come join
us!”
“And when the church matriarchs hit on them,” Matt laughed richly. He’d never appreciated Cora and Doris in particular more. “Do you think Cora’s really bi?”
“Who knows? I think a lot of people never had a chance to think about it, but even if not… they support us.” Cas sounded emotional as he unbuckled and got out of the car.
Matt caught up to him by the front door and took his hand, and Cas raised his other hand to wipe his eyes instead. “I’m so glad they’re on our side.”
“Me, too. On your side. They’re fighting for you,” Cas told him quietly.
Matt hadn’t thought of it like that, but he was right. They’d shown up specifically to defend Lift. As far as he was concerned, they could have whatever they wanted. Hell, if they wanted an aquatic yoga class, he’d figure out a way to make it work. “It felt like we all pulled together.”
“Especially against Chad,” Cas snickered and unlocked the door.
As usual, there were piles of boxes, but this time, everything was neater. Cas had moved all his work materials against the walls, and the kitchen table and kitchen were pretty much entirely clear of clutter. The house looked nice like this.
“I wanted to make a little space for… you know, the rest of my life.” Cas smiled at him, and Matt had the feeling he wasn’t just talking physically.
“I’m glad. You tell me not to work so much, but you’re always out there screwing things…” Matt smirked, unable to resist.
Cas laughed. “So mature.”
“I’m very mature. R-rated, even.” Matt took Cas’s hands and turned them over, checking his palms for calluses. The backs were soft, like he moisturized them, but he couldn’t hide the signs of hard work.
Cas blushed and looked down as Matt ran his thumbs lightly along the creases, the old scars and fresh marks from wood, metal, and glue.
“Show me some of your work,” he murmured.
Cas’s eyes lit up. “Really? I—I don’t know…”
“You’ve been working hard on this stuff for months. You must have some to show me now. Don’t make me take a Sunday off and sneak to the market to see your work,” Matt said, grinning.
Cas laughed but took Matt’s hand and led him through the living room to the backyard.
Evening was just setting in as September took the long, lazy days of summer away from them. Soon, long winter nights would be here. Still, there was more than enough light left to see the structures that filled the yard.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Matt breathed out. He didn’t even have to dial up the enthusiasm for Cas’s sake. The art really was cool.
Some pieces resembled animals, and one was an outline of Texas. Most of them were Christmas-themed now—reindeer with branch antlers, snowflakes made of delicately woven branches, and even one Santa.
“Then there’s some of the newer stuff I’ve been working on with Cora…” Cas led him along the porch to the tables full of smaller, tabletop pieces. He half-expected them to be candleholders or something, but instead, he saw one of them set up as an example—with a little terracotta clay pot and herbs spilling out.
“Oh, wow. You could put that in your kitchen. Great for cooks.”
“Right?” Cas had lit up and he was beaming like a damn Christmas tree. “They’re surprisingly fun. Challenging to work at that size, but I really like them.”
No two were alike, and Matt smiled at that fact. “I love that you love doing this. I don’t think I could make art if it were the only way out of a locked room.” He’d always leaned toward the scientific, so sports and fitness had been a natural choice. It was physical and tangible.
Sure, there was an art to fitness, but in reality, most of the creativity that was required was just entertaining people while they went through boring-ass supersets.
“We both have careers we love,” Cas murmured, leaning into Matt’s side with a contented hum. “How lucky is that?”
Matt wrapped his arm around him, and as always, he relished the feeling of Cas perfectly fitting against him. “And men we love.”
“I do?” Cas pretended to think. “Hmm…”
“Jerk,” Matt laughed, tickling Cas’s stomach.
Cas squirmed and laughed. He tried to get away, so Matt scooped him off his feet and spun him around.
“Whoa!” Cas clung to his shoulders, his eyes bright. “Now who’s the jerk?”
Matt smirked and kissed him. “I can be.” He set Cas down again and steered him inside again. “But that’s not the kind of jerk that I’m best at.”
Cas snorted. “If you have to force the pun, it doesn’t work.”
“Shut up, it was great.” Matt shut the door behind them and snaked his arm around Cas’s waist. With his other hand, he tried to wiggle his shirt up.
Cas gasped and tugged it down playfully, so Matt tickled him and tried again. “There’s nothing to see there,” Cas told him, pouting.
“Your stomach is gone? You tried being the lady in the box for the local magician?” Matt poked him.
“I’m still the scrawny little twink who walked into the gym… what, six weeks ago?” Cas rested his head on Matt’s shoulder.
Matt shook his head lightly. “If you really want to gain more muscle, we can work on it. But you seem happy the way you are. I don’t want you to change just to impress guys. Least of all me.”
“Yeah?” Cas swallowed hard.
“Yes. You’re hot just the way you are,” Matt assured him quietly. “And you don’t need to compensate for anything. I love you no matter what you wear, and no matter what you do. Okay? Your heart pulled me in before I even saw you in real life.”
Cas pressed his forehead against Matt’s shoulder, and Matt heard him gulp hard. He rubbed Cas’s back gently, pulling him in to hug tightly. “Thanks,” Cas mumbled into his shirt, and Matt shook his head.
“You don’t have to thank me, Swishy. I’m the lucky one,” Matt told him seriously.
Cas giggled against his shoulder. “Yeah? But I found my unicorn.”
“How about we’re both equally lucky?” Matt murmured. “And we can go get equally lucky now.”
“You have my attention,” Cas murmured. He ran his hand up Matt’s back the way he’d been doing at the gym before they left. It was a clear signal that he wanted to touch Matt, and Matt’s skin prickled with excited heat.
Over the last few weeks, they’d made an effort to spend a few nights a week together, and sometimes Matt popped over to see Cas before work when he had an afternoon shift and didn’t go to the gym in the morning anyway.
As fun as those nights together were, Matt suspected that they were only going to spend more and more of them. It was a convenient way of spending time together when they both had hectic days.
And after Christmas… well, they’d just have to see what happened before then.
Cas rubbed his cheek against Matt’s shoulder. “And I don’t love you for your muscles, you know. I love you for your passion, and your kindness, and all the parts of you that you felt like you had to hide away. You showed me who you were so quickly and bravely that I… well, I felt like I could, too.”
The emotion between them—gratitude and admiration for each other, but also excitement for what the future held—made Matt’s chest tight. “Thank you for saying that,” he murmured. “You’re a hell of a catch. You were so cool at the gym today.”
Hell, even when Chad had clearly tried to compete against Matt or impress Cas, Cas hadn’t given him an ounce of the attention that he so clearly wanted. When the out-of-town protestors had tried to snub everyone, Cas had made them chat and ultimately embarrassed them into leaving, along with everyone else.
He’d calmed Matt’s fears by taking them on, head-on. All Matt had to do was let him in and admit what they were. It was foolish to try to go through everything alone, just because… why? Because he felt like he didn’t deserve it? God. If Cas said he was good enough, then damn it, Matt would stop trying to prove shit to himself.
>
“Yeah, I am,” Cas agreed with a smirk as they wandered through the house and up the stairs to his bedroom.
“I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth,” Matt added quietly. He closed the bedroom door and suddenly they were all alone—no thoughts of anyone or anything else.
All he wanted to do was show Cas how hard he’d fallen for his sweet, sensitive mind, and his way of smoothing out any social interactions, and hell, even his slim figure. If he never found his abs, that was fine with Matt.
Matt gently peeled Cas’s shirt off and ran his hands up his sides, admiring that smooth, pale skin and the heat under his palms. He tried his hardest to keep it slow and sensual instead of the rush to orgasm that they’d so often experienced together.
The magnetic attraction was almost impossible to keep under control, but the longer he held out, the better it was for them both.
“I love you,” Cas whispered, batting his hands away so he could peel Matt’s shirt off. Cas almost crashed into him, wrapping his arms around him and trying to steer him to the bed. He was light enough that Matt could just brace himself and get some great grinding action, but he agreed with the idea of being horizontal right now.
Matt laughed and let himself be belly-bumped over toward the bed, Sumo-style. “I love you too, silly.”
Cas pecked his lips and smiled broadly at him. “I wish I’d met you years ago, but I don’t think I would have been ready to let you in.”
That hit home. Matt sat on the edge of the bed and guided Cas to kneel over his lap, then wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his chest. “Me neither. I’m barely ready now, but God, I’m glad I’ve been trying.”
“You’re doing fine,” Cas assured him in a murmur. “You were great at the gym earlier.”
“At the gym?” Matt blinked, pulling back to look up at him.
Cas smiled and touched Matt’s back with two fingers. “You didn’t pull away or anything. You hold my hand in public.”
“You give me the confidence to do it,” Matt told him. “I never would have before. I thought it was this big, scary deal.” He started working on Cas’s jeans, enjoying peeling them off his body. God, he had such nice, smooth thighs and a rounded ass. How many guys did squats for what Cas’s genetics had gifted him?
