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PROLOGUE
“So what’s going on with you, Nate?”
Nate leaned back in his patio chair. He and his two friends, Max and Gage, were sitting by the side of his free-form pool “I’m bored.”
“Bored with what?” Max asked
Nate took a drink of his beer. “I don’t know. With everything.”
Gage snorted in disbelief. “You can’t be bored at work, you’re running three fucking gyms.”
“Yeah,but it’s a routine now. There’s no challenge. I’m planning to expand to other cities, so that might help. But I still just feel, I don’t know… bored. I feel like I’ve got all this aggression and nowhere for it to go anymore.”
Max’s low voice rumbled out. “You’re not thinking you want to start fighting again are you?”
“Nah.I made it as far as I did without any serious injuries. Not gonna risk going back into underground fighting at this point.”
“Yeah,and you don’t want to risk messing up the pretty face that brings you all that attention.”
Nate laughed along with his friends. But once it died down he came clean. “Actually,I haven’t been getting that much attention lately. Or I guess I should say, I haven’t been paying attention to the attention. Haven’t had a date or been laid in about three months.”
Gage choked on his beer at that statement. Nate rolled his eyes while Max pounded their friend on the back.
Once Gage got his breath back, he asked, “What? Three months! Fucking why?”
“Because I’m sick of screwing the same type of guy. Perfect hair, perfect muscles,perfect clothes. And everything smooth and waxed. Waxed legs, eyebrows, even their fucking balls are smooth. It’s like fucking a mannequin.”
Gage was again choking on his beer and this time even Max was laughing.
“I happen to like my silky smooth, pretty boy.” Gage frowned, picking at the label on his beer bottle. “Even if he isn’t exactly mine right now.”
Gage was dating a guy named Joseph. Or at least he had been. Joseph had walked out on him when he’d caught Gage kissing a girl at Nate’s Fourth of July party a couple of weeks ago. “Joseph isn’t the type of guy I’m talking about. He’s not pretentious and overly done. But lately every guy I meet is like that. And somehow the night always coyly ends with a request for a free membership at one of my gyms.”
“Stop picking up men at the club, dumb ass.”
Nate narrowed his eyes at his friend. “We can’t all have hot, single guys ride into our shop on the back of a motorcycle.” He saluted Max with his beer. “Or have hot, single girls walk in to get a tattoo.”
Max returned the salute but didn’t say anything. That was normal. Of the three of them, Max was the quietest.
Gage acknowledge Nate with a nod. “True. But seriously. Stay out of the clubs if you want to meet somebody different.”
“He’s right,” Max said. “They say insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Trust me, that shit is true.”
Nate stared out across his pool, watching as the colored underwater lights slowly changed from blue to purple to red. His friends were right. If he wanted a change, he was going to have to try something new.
CHAPTER1
One Month Later
Kevin tried to stay loose as the needle repeatedly plunged into his skin. He knew if he tensed up, it would only make it hurt more. To take his mind of the stinging pain, Kevin focused on the framed poster across from him. It was of a girl,naked from the waist up, her skin covered in brightly inked tattoos. She wasn’t even close to being his type, but he admired the picture. The tattoos on the woman were intricate and deeply colored. Each line was sharp, the script elegantly curved. The work was done by Max, the guy currently tattooing him. Max hadn’t had his shop long, but he already had a reputation as one of the best in Houston. Kevin had done his research when he decided to get some body art. When he’d first chosen Max, he’d had to wait for three months to get an appointment.It was worth it. Max had been working on a piece for him for the past two years and today was his final appointment.
He had a short break as Max turned away to change the color. Even though he always felt like he was cheating when he did this, like he was opening a gift before Christmas, he sneaked a peek down at his chest. He couldn’t see much from this angle, just that the yellow and blue of the figure’s outfit stood out brightly against the light brown of his skin. Max turned back to him, tattoo machine in hand.
“Final stretch. Just gotta finish up some shading. You ready?”
Kevin took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”
About forty minutes later the machine finally came to a stop. Kevin held still for a few more moments as Max wiped him clean of the ink residue and small amount of bleeding. Max snapped off his gloves, looking over his handiwork with a grin.
“Looks good. Go check it out.”
Kevin got up to look into the full length mirror on the far wall of Max’s station.“Wow. This is so much better than just good. It’s amazing. Crazy amazing.”
Up both arms and across his chest were characters from his favorite comic series,the X-Men. Xavier’s heroes and Magneto’s villains swooped and fought in a swirl of color, lightning bolts and red optic blasts. Wolverine and Sabretooth had the honor of being the centerpiece, locked in battle across his chest.Wolverine was winning of course. Kevin smiled, his hand hovering over the last piece on his chest that Max had finished today. “Your work is stellar, Max. I mean that.” He laughed a bit. “Now I just have to get up the nerve to show it off.”
Max gestured for him to come back over so he could cover the fresh work with dark plastic. He’d have to leave it on for a few hours.
“Hey,man. Keeping your art private is all well and good. But work that amazing needs to be shown to the world.”
Kevin laughed as Max handed him a card on tattoo after care. They were both aware that by now Kevin knew how to take care of recent ink, but Max was a stickler for making sure his customers received the best service.
“I will. Just gotta get in shape first. Sitting behind a desk all day doesn’t exactly help me build up my guns.”
Kevin followed Max out of the semi-private room and back down the hall to the front of the studio. All of the walls were painted a glossy black, and featured lots of art, some of it framed, some of it painted right on the walls. The mural on the big wall in the front was what had sold Kevin on Max’s work. It was a giant Alien vs. Predators piece, the two sci-fi beasts engaged in a furious fight.Since that was the look he’d hoped to achieve with his body art, he’d known he’d found the right guy. It had been worth pushing back his natural shyness to reach out to the artist and explain what he wanted.
Max rang him up for the several hours’ worth of work today. “If you want to get in shape you should check out my buddy’s gym. It’s pretty cool. Then you’d be buff enough to show off that art.”
Kevin shook his head as he handed over his credit card. “Those places always seem a little much. A bunch of big, bald guys grunting, screaming and high-fiving each other after each bench press? No thanks.”
Max laughed as he finished the transaction. “Nate’s Gym isn’t like that, I swear. It’s laid back and friendly. The trainers there will push you, but don’t grind you beneath their boots to do it.” He pulled out a card from a drawer. “Go by and check it out. Make sure to ask for Nate and tell him I sent you.”
Kevin took the card and looked down at it. Nate’s Gym was the actual name of the place. The info was on sharp white cardstock in strong clean fonts.
“Alright,man. I will. And thanks again for this art. I love it.”
CHAPTER2
“Enrollment is tapering off. We’re past the get beach ready surge and have quite a ways to go before the New Year’s Resolution rush. We need to come up with something in order to keep new guests coming in throughout the fall.”
Nate was at the flagship location for his local gyms, running a staff meeting. They were in his large office, which also served as a conference room. A big window looked out onto the neighborhood. There was lots of pedestrian and cyclist traffic, which made this a perfect spot. He had managers for each of his three gyms of course, but he was very much hands on in the running of his business. He’d worked too hard and taken too many punches, literally and figuratively, to trust his baby in the hands of anyone else.
Nate looked around at the staff seated at the thick glass topped table. “Any ideas?”His assistant manager from the northwest suburban gym spoke up.
“We could do one of those success story campaigns. Film a guy or girl who just started with us to record their progress. Once they’ve reached their goal, we can post it up on YouTube, our site and the rest of our social media. Put a spin on it, inspire people to come in and have their own success story.”
Nate tapped his pen on the table. “I like it. Those are always popular. It’ll take a few months for our candidate to have any results to show, but it’s a good long term project. Anything we can do a little sooner?” A girl with her hair dyed blue and cut in a shaggy bob spoke up. Her name was Vanessa and she worked here at this location. She wasn’t management yet, but she worked hard and had a lot of good ideas. She’d probably earn a promotion soon.
“We need an app. Something people can use to track their progress electronically. I know there are already lots of those programs out there, but if we had one directly tied to us, we could do a lot with it. Maybe rewards for reaching certain goals, and even sending reminders if they haven’t been in to log a workout for a while. The app will be even better if it’s set to post to social media. People love bragging on their work outs almost as much as they do posting pics of their PSLs.”
The group around the table laughed, including Nate. “I like that. Both of those are excellent ideas. Everyone start looking around our three locations for someone who might be interested in doing the success story program. Vanessa I’m taking lead on finding a company to build that app, but if you think of any other features it should have, you let me know.”
She smiled at him. “Sure thing, Boss.”
Nate stood and closed the binder holding his notes, ending the meeting. He took a few moments to socialize with his crew before heading back up front. He was about to leave to go check in on his other two locations when he noticed the guy at the counter. From the conversation he was having with Ed at the desk, he wasn’t a member yet.
“I’d like to look around if I could? I’ve never belonged to a gym before, so I was hoping to find out what to expect first.”
Nate watched the guy. His hair was a multitude of natural light and dark brown shades.It was curly and long, but the length was twisted into silky, well-maintained dreads that stopped just at his shoulders. His skin was a smooth, light brown.He was dressed in a t-shirt that featured a battling Dr. Octopus and Spider Man,loose jeans and Chuck Taylors. He had a slim build, but without a lot of muscle tone. To Nate’s trained eye, it was the type of body that those with high metabolisms and genetics that tended towards slim were blessed with. It was easy to guess that the young man was here because he wanted to develop what he naturally had. He was clearly nervous, his words nearly tripping over each other as he explained himself to Ed. In other words, he was adorable. Nate smiled. He had a soft spot for people taking their first steps to get in shape.He set his binder down on the counter and stepped forward.
“Hi,I’m Nate.” The guy turned to face him and Nate was immediately sucked into a pair of deep, dark brown eyes. They looked up at him, as the guy was several inches shorter than his six foot four. Long lashes curled over those eyes and when he blinked, Nate immediately thought of Bambi. He looked … ridiculously fresh and innocent.
“I’m Kevin.”
Nate held his hand out. After a moment’s hesitation, Kevin placed his hand in his.Nate gave him a brief, professional shake, but ended with a slight squeeze. He liked the feel of Kevin’s smaller hand in his, it was warm and slightly rough. “Nice to meet you, Kevin. Why don’t I give you that tour?”
Kevin’s eyes flicked back to Ed behind the counter. “Oh, umm… sure, but do you guys work on commission or anything? Because this guy was helping me first.”
Nate smiled and shook his head. “No, we don’t. But that’s pretty decent of you to care. Come on, I’ll show you around.” Nate stepped back with a smile, indicating that Kevin should join him.
“So are you the Nate of Nate’s Gym?”
“Yep,”Nate answered. He didn’t have any bragging in his tone, just pride in what he’d built.
“My tattoo artist, Max, sent me here after I mentioned I wanted to start working out.”
“Is that right?” Nate made a mental note to thank Max later. “So what brings you into our gym? What are your fitness goals?”
Kevin brushed a hand over his locks, a sheepish grin on his face. “It’s probably silly, but I just finished getting two sleeves and a chest piece Max has been working on for two years. Figured it’d be a shame to keep them hidden behind t-shirts and long sleeves all the time.”
“That’s not silly at all. I’m down with whatever it takes to get people active. And if the bonus is you get to feel confident enough to show off Max’s awesome work,all the better.” He took Kevin to the bank of cardio machines first, since that’s what most people were most familiar with. “Here we have stationary bikes, ellipticals, treadmills and stair steppers. There’s no time limit on their usage, we just ask that you wipe them down when you’re done.”
Kevin ran a hand over the guard rail of one of the colorful treadmills. “This is cool. I didn’t know these machines came in any colors other than black or gray.”
Nate laughed. “They probably don’t. I had them custom painted to resemble the Huffy bikes my friends and I had when I was young.” He pointed at one of the ellipticals in black and gold. “That one is based on my bike.” He asked Kevin if he wanted to try any of them out, but he shook his head, his dreads swinging around his shoulders.
“No thanks, I’m kind of a klutz.”
“You’ll get the hang of them once you try them out.” He waved over towards the wall facing the cardio bank. It was made up of a bunch of screens set so that each showed a different part of the picture. Combined they made a giant TV wall.“Most of the cardio machines have small TV’s built in, but guests really like the TV wall. We play movies, cartoons, TV shows, whatever the mood of the day calls for. There’s a suggestion box on the front desk where you can submit requests.”
Kevin watched the current selection, a fairly recent Western. “I like that.”
“Good.But if you join up, make sure you spend more time working than watching,” he teased.
After that, it was on to the weights. Nate pointed out the running track that surrounded the cardio area as they approached. “This is a quarter mile track,with latex-bound construction to minimize stress on the knees. We have races on them sometimes. The potato sacks and three legged hops are the most popular.”
Kevin looked surprised. “You guys do three legged races here?”
“You bet. Working out doesn’t always have to be regimented. Sometimes you just need to move.”
They waited a few moments to let a group of runners pass, then crossed the track.The weights were set up in stations that surrounded the cardio machine bank the entire length of the track. Each station had a poster on the wall with smiling,every day looking people depicting the proper ways to execute the exercises. Nate explained a few when Kevin showed an interest. He could tell that Kevin was intimidated by most of them. “We’ve got a great staff of trainers who can show you how everything works and get you set up with a workout program.”
Next,Nate showed him the gym within a gym. It was a large room with a hardwood floor,reminiscent of high school basketball courts. “Here we have lots of different classes and activities. Flag football, kickboxing, hip hop dance, you name it.We let members sign up for time slots to do, or even teach, a class of their choice.” They stopped to watch the Tai chi class currently in progress.
“I could probably do that,” Kevin said.
Nate nodded at the woman leading the class. “Tan is a great teacher. She’ll show you everything you need to know. And after the class, you’ll feel great.” Nate got them moving again over to the corner of the gymnasium. He’d saved what tended to be most member’s favorite part for last. “And this is the rope pull.” There were three thick ropes suspended from the ceiling over a deep pit of squishy foam balls.
“Woah. I don’t think I can climb all the way up there.”
“No worries,” Nate said with a grin. “Work your way up over time, or just have fun dropping into the foam pit.”
“It’s cool if people do that?”
“That’s what it’s there for.”
Kevin craned his head back, looking all the way up to the top. “How high can you climb?”
From anyone else, Nate would have thought the question was a come on. From this guy,Nate wasn’t getting that vibe. So he kept his voice light as he answered.“Would it sound like I’m bragging if I say all the way to the top?”
Kevin looked up at him, a smile on his full mouth and shining in those big, dark eyes. “Only if you were making it up.”
Nate’s heart rate sped up, the delicious beginnings of arousal tingling in his body.Would Kevin look at him like that in bed? He wanted to tangle his fingers in those silky-looking locks while he tasted that smile in a kiss. He realized he was staring when Kevin’s smile started to fade. Shit. He needed to focus on trying to woo this man as a client for his gym, not as a visitor to his bed.
“It’s not a lie, I promise. I wouldn’t want to be accused of false advertising,” he said with a wink.
They left the gymnasium and Nate showed him the pristine men’s locker room and co-ed steam room. After that, the tour was over.
On the way back up, Kevin, looked around with the expression of impressed awe most people had when they first saw Nate’s Gym.
“If gym were this cool when I was in school, maybe I would have participated more.”
Nate laughed. “Same here. And that’s the whole theme. Come in, work out without anyone harassing you and have fun while you’re doing it.” They stopped in the lobby. “So what do you think, Kevin? Would you like to become a member?”
“It’s a pretty cool place. I like it.” He looked around at everything once more. “Can I think about it?”
“Sure thing, there’s no pressure.” Nate hated to let Kevin go without assurance he’d see him again, but he didn’t let on. Nate walked him to the front door, holding it open for him. He made sure to get one last look at those doe eyes before Kevin left. “Hope to see you soon, Kevin.”
CHAPTER3
Kevin thought about joining Nate’s gym for several days. It seemed like it would be a cool place to work out. He hadn’t seen any meat heads grunting or slamming weights. Instead, there were lots of friendly people, from the staff to the members. And he really liked all the fun ways they had to work out there. That rope pull was PE class meets play town fun center and he thought it was awesome.
He pulled off his shirt and stood in front of the mirror. His new tattoos stood out, full of color under the bright lights in the bathroom. Grabbing up a bottle of lotion, he squeezed out a good sized amount into his palm. He rubbed his hands together a few times, warming them and the lotion up. Cold hands were the worst. Then he gently smoothed a lotion covered palm over his chest to moisturize the tattoo. It would help the new work heal cleanly and keep it from itching. When he was done, he looked himself over. He knew he was lucky to have a naturally slim build. But he wanted to look better.
He wasn’t after giant muscles, just healthy definition. He tried to flex his arms, not surprised when nothing much happened. Looking down at Mystique and Jean Grey on his left bicep,he frowned. They deserved a better canvas, and he knew he could get that if he joined Nate’s Gym. If he did join up, he was going to skip the personal trainer part. He was enough of a klutz as it was, if he tried to work out when he knew someone was watching and judging him, he’d be all over the place. He’d muddle through on his own until he got the hang of things.
Kevin decided to go ahead with it. He really did want to feel confident enough in his body to show his tattoos more often. Not that he intended to walk around with his shirt off, but a tank or sleeveless tee could be cool. Besides, like Nate had said, it was a good idea for him to be active with his sedentary career.
As he thought of Nate, he couldn’t help but remember the wave of attraction that had gone through him when he’d first seen the owner of Nate’s Gym. Nate was tall, his broad shoulders and hard chest tapering to a slim, firm waist. His hips were narrow and his thighs looked hard with muscle beneath the thin material of his track pants. His body was amazing. The type Kevin knew he’d never have, but that was okay. He’d rather look at Nate’s. On top of that hard, tight body, he was gorgeous. He had the face of an angel … who’d been having tons of fun on earth getting into bar fights and having lots of sex. He had gray eyes that were a true gray, no hint of hazel or blue marred their bright, sharp color. His hair was so blonde it was nearly white, cut close on the sides with short messy waves on top. A low beard perfectly framed his mouth. Kevin could imagine being scratched by that stubble as they kissed.
He laughed to himself. He’d never feel the scratch of that beard, but he was sure there were plenty of ladies who had. The only thing that wasn’t perfect about Nate was the slight bump in his nose, he’d obviously broken it before. Kevin shook his head. It wasn’t fair that there were men who looked like him in the world. It was even less fair that Kevin would never have a chance with him.Kevin turned off the bathroom light. Regardless of his drooling over the owner,Nate’s Gym seemed like the perfect place for a guy like him to get in shape.
****
A couple of hours later, Kevin rode his Yamaha Vino over to Nate’s Gym. His friend, Alex, teased him for riding a scooter. But to him it made sense. He lived in an area where most everything he needed was within walking or biking distance. He didn’t often go far outside his little nucleus, so he saw no need to have a car. He saved on gas, could always find a place to park, and he wasn’t adding much to Houston’s air pollution. Alex laughed each time he explained all that, before asking if he wanted to take a ride in his Camaro.They’d been joking back and forth on the subject for years, neither of them really attempting to change the others mind.
Once he reached Nate’s, he parked next to the bike rack and stored his helmet under the seat. Kevin walked into the gym, less nervous than he’d been the first time.The same positive vibe was in the air. Early 80’s hip-hop played, and he could see several members bopping along to the happy beat as they worked out. The first Spider Man movie was playing on the TV wall, Peter Parker swinging from screen to screen. Kevin smiled and went to the counter to sign up. This was definitely the gym for him.
Nate finished up his last set on the leg press. He was at the flagship location again. Normally he varied his workouts between his three locations. But over the past week he’d taken to doing his workout solely in the Heights, on the chance of seeing Kevin. He hoped he hadn’t lost him to another gym, or just deciding not to work out altogether. Like he’d said, they didn’t pressure anyone into joining up. He wouldn’t break that rule to demand Kevin become a member there just so he could hit on him.
Nate slowly brought the weights back to their resting position, taking a second to breathe. It was the end of the week and Kevin hadn’t come back yet. He was disappointed, he’d been looking forward to getting to know him. Kevin, with his shyness and natural appearance, was a welcome change from the slick, overly-styled guys he’d somehow fallen into dating. Not to mention those big Bambi eyes. He was already fantasizing about looking into those eyes as he slid inside of Kevin. Nate sighed and got up from the seat. He had other stuff to do, he couldn’t spend any more time there for the day.
After wiping down the machine, Nate grabbed his water and towel and headed for the locker room to take a shower. Out of habit, he glanced over at the counter on his way back. A familiar figure was standing there. Nate stopped and smiled. Kevin was back. He quickly wiped himself off with the gym towel and changed his path to the guest counter. “Hey, it’s you again.”
Kevin looked up from the clipboard in his hand. He seemed surprised, like he didn’t expect Nate to remember him. “Yeah, I decided to go ahead and join up.”
“I’m glad.” He gestured at the small tables in the lobby. “You want to sit down over here and I’ll help you fill out your paperwork? That is, if you don’t mind me being a little sweaty.”
Kevin ran his eyes down his body, then looked back at him. Nate kept his smile to himself. Kevin had definitely checked him out there. And going by the slight flush on his cheeks, he liked what he saw.
“No,that’s alright.” Kevin shook his head. “I don’t mean no as I don’t want your help, I mean it’s alright if you’re sweaty. I don’t mind. I’ll have to get used to it.”
Nate arched a brow at that.
Kevin’s eyes widened, his face reddening even further. “I meant I’ll have to get used to other people’s sweat. I mean my sweat!” He closed his eyes and took a breath. “I didn’t mean that I’ll be seeing you sweaty all the time.”
This time Nate couldn’t hold back his grin. Kevin was adorable. And if he had anything to say about it, he would be seeing him sweaty. It just wouldn’t be here at the gym.
Thank you for reading! Read the rest of Nate and Kevin’s story when Bad Boys Need Love Too: Nate is released November18th through Amazon, Barnes&Noble and All Romance e-books.
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On Facebook:Christa Tomlinson and Christa Tomlinson, Author
OnTwitter: @christa_writes
Add Bad Boys Need Love Too: Nate to your TBR list on Goodreads
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