Oh. Ulric knew it was a thing Gage said to everyone at the gym, but that didn’t stop his heart from missing a beat. “I just like the leaves,” he muttered.
“Yeah, they sure make it real lifelike.” Gage nodded at the screen. “Have you seen the beachfront one? They have some winterscapes, too.”
Ulric thought about Gage using this same machine, his ass planted on this very same spot. He tried not to fixate on it. “You have a favorite?” he blurted.
“The one where it takes you through the scenic streets of Europe.” Gage gave a crooked smile. “I’ve never been.”
Ulric had, on a family trip some time back. It had been beautiful. “Maybe one day.”
Gage’s smile turned rueful. “Maybe.”
His answer didn’t sit right with Ulric. Could Gage not afford to go? Ulric had grown up wealthy, but in recent years, he’d seen more of the world, and he’d learned about people who didn’t have the fortune he did.
Briefly, Ulric wondered how Gage would react if Ulric paid for his trip overseas. Maybe a couple weeks. And then Ulric gave himself a mental smack. What am I thinking? He won’t fall in love with me just because of that. For all I know, he already has a boyfriend.
Would Ulric pay for Gage and his boyfriend to go traveling? No, probably not.
There was something very wrong with Ulric, if he was already thinking about shit like that. Furious with himself, he hit the Stop button. “I need to leave.”
He glanced down to check that he’d grabbed everything, and found the seat damp with his sweat. Ulric grimaced; Gage pointed him to the sanitizing towel dispenser nearby.
When he got back to the bicycle machine, Gage was still there. Ulric’s stomach flipped. His nerves tingled. He wasn’t anyone special. Why would Gage hang around with him?
Surprisingly, Gage walked with Ulric to the locker room. His heat brushed into Ulric’s arm, and Ulric fought with his instincts. He wanted more of Gage’s warmth. He wanted to know what it’d feel like when Gage pressed up against him.
But the more he wanted Gage, the more it would hurt when Gage inevitably rejected him. And Ulric knew his own self-control was shit.
“You aren’t sleeping well,” Ulric said. Something personal so Gage would get offended and put some distance between them.
Gage’s expression flickered—he almost scowled. And that was something real, something that wasn’t supposed to slip through the friendly-employee facade.
Ulric’s heart kicked. Yeah, that was something he could get behind: burrowing under Gage’s skin, forcing him to lose his cool.
Fight me, Gage had said a month ago. Ulric had been jerking off, wondering how that would turn out.
He had no hope of Gage ever liking him. But he sure as hell could get Gage to hate him. And that would land him in Gage’s thoughts more often than not. Ulric’s breath snagged.
He went for the throat. “So, you can’t afford to travel, huh?”
Gage stiffened, shock flashing through his eyes.
“Must be really sad for someone like you,” Ulric continued. “Do you depend on handouts when you go begging?”
He didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. This wasn’t what he’d say even to people he hated. But... he knew his heart, and he knew he was going to fall for Gage Frost, sooner than later.
Ulric didn’t want his heart broken again. “You think you’re so great, all handsome like that,” he growled. “But you’ll be left with nothing when your looks go away.”
Anger flashed in those green eyes. It gave Ulric a kick, at the same time a sick feeling twisted through his stomach.
He was very definitely never returning to the gym. Ulric grabbed his duffel and strode out of the locker room, his heart pounding in his ears.
I’m fucking up. I’m really fucking up. He didn’t know how he was going to get himself out of this mess.
But the one thing he knew, was that he’d just saved himself from the heartbreak of the century.
4
Gage is in Trouble
What the fuck, had been Gage’s first thought. Then he’d thought that for the rest of the evening, until he’d gotten off his shift.
He showered and pulled on some casual clothes—stuff that he’d wear at home, usually. Then he left the gym, squeezed into his car, and tried to ignore the piles of clothes and things piled up in the backseat.
Screw traveling. Gage didn’t even know when he’d have an actual home again.
Two weeks ago, he’d moved out, cramming everything he could possibly fit into his car. The rest of his stuff, he’d parked at a self-storage place. Sure, he was earning wages. But he was also paying for his sister’s cancer treatment, and he’d told her not to worry about it. He could manage—she’d had to stop school to undergo chemo. Their parents were already worried about the bills. Their brother, Wilkie, was also helping. The least Gage could do was contribute as much as he could.
So he’d kind of forgotten about paying rent these past few months. And so he’d been evicted.
He reclined the seat as much as he could, stuck some flimsy car shades on his windows for some scant privacy, and tried to close his eyes. He thought about the bills. Then he thought about Ulric O’Neil, and a wave of hot anger rose up through his chest.
You can’t afford to travel, huh?
Seriously, what the fuck? Gage had been nothing but nice to him. Sure, he’d flirted with that alpha. Sure, he’d been a bit of a busybody. He’d thought that bastard was actually interested.
For the first time in a long while, Gage had taken a chance. Something about that man made his instincts prickle. And his gamble had backfired right in his face.
Served him right for trying to trust someone. He should’ve learned his lesson years back.
Gage scrubbed his face, biting down all the rude profanities he wanted to spew. If that man never returned to the gym, it would still be too soon.
He yanked his pillow over from the backseat, thinking maybe he
