“Yeah.” Ulric held himself over Gage, his hands curled under the barbell, ready to catch it in case it fell. Gage had a lot of control, though. He pumped the barbell in reps of five, his biceps flexing, his chest rising as he breathed in. Ulric focused on the barbell. For Gage’s safety.
In fact, he was so focused on counting the reps, on trying not to look at Gage’s bare chest, that it took him by surprise when Gage completed his thirtieth rep and leaned over, kissing Ulric’s knee.
It was a soft, damp touch, there and gone.
Ulric spluttered. His entire face burned. Gage had kissed him. On the knee, of all places. “What was that for?”
“For spotting for me.” Gage smiled, toweling off his sweat. “What did you come back to tell me?”
“Uh.” Ulric struggled to remember. While he pawed through his memories, Gage lay back, his gaze roving over Ulric’s chest. And Ulric felt far too heavy next to Gage’s defined muscles and gorgeous thighs. “Lemme put some clothes on.”
“You’re fine like that.”
“No, I’m not.” Ulric turned, needing to grab a few shirts. Maybe a pair of pants. Just so he wouldn’t look so... lacking.
“Hey, O’Neil.” Gage grabbed his hand.
Ulric froze. He felt like some kind of virgin, blushing over every single thing. Just because he liked Gage, just because Gage had kissed him. And Gage was now holding his hand.
Sometimes, Ulric wished he wasn’t such a sap.
“You look fine,” Gage said softly.
That tore through Ulric’s defenses faster than he could think.
“I’m fucking not.” He whirled around, anger swelling through his chest. “I’m fat, Gage. You know that. I know that. Nothing you say is going to change it.”
Gage stood. “No, I meant it. You’re fine.”
Ulric stared. “What part of this is fine?” He glanced down at his belly, he tore off his T-shirt just to show Gage the flab on himself. “You fucking see this crap.” Ulric jabbed a finger at himself, hating that he had to point this out to the most handsome alpha on the planet. “I can’t lose it. I’m trying. I just want to look like everyone else, for fuck’s sake, and I can’t. Every time someone looks at me, this is what they see.”
He panted, his adrenaline spiking, his heart thumping, trying to shore up his defenses because he didn’t know how he’d get through this if Gage agreed that he was ugly.
Gage fell silent, his gaze dragging heavy down Ulric’s body. Then he looked back up, and Ulric expected to see his revulsion.
But all Gage did was step forward, pulling Ulric flush against himself. Ulric’s belly bumped against Gage’s sweaty abs, their chests met when Gage leaned in—it felt like some sort of parody of Gage hugging a pregnant omega, except Ulric was just... fat.
Gage wrapped his arms tightly around Ulric. “You’re fine as you are,” Gage murmured.
“I’m fucking not—”
“Ulric.” Gage shoved his fingers into Ulric’s hair, pulling back to look into his eyes. “You’re really fine.”
That just sounded wrong. “How can you say that when you’re the most—the most damn perfect alpha around?”
Ulric fought against the tightness in his chest, he fought against the burning in his eyes. All the years of being laughed at, all the years of trying to fade into the background—they didn’t explain why Gage Frost was being nice to him.
“Ulric.” Gage cupped his face, their gazes locking together. “Listen. I don’t care about my looks, okay? And I don’t care what you look like. We can be friends.”
Ulric stared. Gage’s words sank in. Gage had said ‘friends’. And that felt like a different sort of gut-punch.
He breathed in deep, thankful that he hadn’t fallen in love with Gage. That would hurt so much more. “Okay. Okay.”
Ulric stepped away, but Gage hauled him in. Then he kissed Ulric on the cheek, a gentle, lingering touch that made Ulric’s heart skip.
“This is us being friends, right?” Gage whispered, kissing Ulric’s cheek again. “We’re good?”
Ulric’s head scorched. He wanted more of Gage’s cheek kisses. And more of his hugs. He didn’t even care that it made him seem desperate. “Yeah. Sure.”
Gage smiled, releasing him. “Are you gonna work out, or shall we continue that movie?”
Ulric tried to focus on Gage’s question. “Movie?”
“From Monday. Remember?”
The one Ulric had stopped watching when Gage had put his hand on Ulric’s cock. Gage had squeezed it and tried to tug on Ulric’s shorts, and Ulric had grown so hard, he’d thought Gage would be repulsed. Instead, Gage had volunteered to suck him off, he’d stared at Ulric’s barely-hidden erection, his gaze roving heavy along it. That memory alone stole Ulric’s breath. “Oh. Yeah, that.”
Gage could never find out how many times Ulric had jerked off to him since that night. It had only been five days, and Ulric’s cock was already sore.
Gage looked oddly at him. “Did you ever finish watching that movie?”
Ulric shook his head. “Did you?”
Gage shook his head, too, his smile rueful. “I was waiting for you so we could finish watching it together.”
Ulric’s heart tumbled. “No more popcorn.”
Gage laughed. “Or I could hold the bowl. If you grab me, that’ll be fair play.”
Ulric gulped. That was too dangerous. He didn’t only want to grab Gage—he wanted to lick him and taste him and milk him for every last drop of his come. And whatever Ulric looked like when he did that... he wasn’t sure he wanted Gage to witness it. “I’ll pass.”
“Fine.” Gage smiled, looking perfect. Ulric melted a little inside. “I’ll shower, and then we’ll continue our movie night.”
“Fine.” Ulric wrapped his discarded shirt around himself, still feeling self-conscious. Movie night sure sounded a lot better than spending hours alone at the gym. And maybe... Ulric might get to cuddle up with Gage, just a little.
That alone
