Page 24 of Coming to Grips
Chapter Nine
Despite Marva’s advice, Chase can’t help but chew on things. Even so, the evening passes without an excessive amount of awkwardness. Chase had confessed to something being on his mind, so Kyle leaves him to it.
Thankfully, his day had been full, and Chase’s tired enough that he doesn’t dream that night. Now that he’s thinking about Kyle so much, he’s worried he might dream. And if he dreams, there’s no telling what type of scenario his mind might conjure up.
Chase’s third rehab session Friday afternoon goes better than the first or the second. He’d known what to expect, and they hadn’t run into any exes either.
They’ve gone through the drive-through of their favorite fast food chain, loading up on hard shell tacos for Kyle and soft shell tacos for Chase, and have munched their way through half of them by the time they pull up to home.
A half dozen baseball games are on TV and Kyle finally settles on the Rangers, Rays game. They scarf down the remaining tacos and watch the Rays trounce their beloved home team.
Chase pushed himself again today. Between cleaning house and rehab, his arms ache and there’s a tightness across his shoulders and chest. Suddenly all he can think about is a shower. The hot, pounding water. The scent of Kyle’s body wash. The feel of Kyle’s hands working the muscles of his shoulders and arms.
Chase’s thoughts come to a screeching halt— Is it the massage itself or is it actually Kyle’s touch he’s coveting right now? Fuck.
“You ready to shower?”
“What?” Chase blinks and glances at the TV. The teams are crossing the infield, shaking hands.
“Shower?” Kyle repeats, looking perplexed.
What can Chase say? He needs one, he wants one. He forces down the inkling of panic. “Um, yeah. Sure.”
“You thinking about that Bethany chick?”
“Bethany who?” He shakes his head, confused for a moment, but then remembers. His brain is too full of Kyle right now to have much room left for anyone else. “Oh, right. No. Why would I think about her?”
Kyle shrugs, his expression clearly asking why he wouldn’t be. “I don’t know. She’s cute and she seems nice.”
“Anna and I have only been broken up for just over a month now. I don’t know that I’m in the market for another girlfriend.” It’s as good an excuse as any even though it’s not an accurate one. He has zero interest in Bethany.
Kyle shrugs again. “Sure. I understand. Anna might take a while to recover from.”
Chase snorts. That’s an understatement. But Chase doesn’t want to think about either woman. He needs a shower, and he can’t deny a massage would feel pretty damn great right about now. “I’m, uh...gonna go get in the shower now. I’ll let you know when I’m ready, um, finished.”
Kyle picks up his book and crosses his ankles on the coffee table. “I’ll just read then.”
Chase scurries into the bathroom. He brushes his teeth while his heart tries to hammer its way out of his rib cage. He needs to chill out. He’s going to shower and then Kyle’s going to come in and massage his sore achy muscles. Just like the last time. That’s all. Nothing’s changed except that Chase thinks he feels something for Kyle. That’s all.
Another wave of nerves crashes over him as he strips. The tiles are cold under his feet, and the initial spray of water makes him jump. He doesn’t make the water as hot as previous showers since Kyle prefers cooler temps.
He drops his head forward. Great—so now he’s taking Kyle’s preferences into consideration?Not a bad thing, Chase, you just don’t have to do it now.Right. He ratchets up the hot water back up a tick and steps beneath the spray. The stinging heat cascades over him and he sighs.
His relationship with Anna is over and that suits him just fine, but whatever he’s feeling for Kyle is crazy and confusing. Chase can’t really deny he’s got some sort of feelings going on anymore—but he’s not gay. At least, he’s never considered the possibility before. Never had a reason to.
“You ready?” Kyle asks through the crack in the door.
Chase startles and swallows back a groan. He peers at the water swirling around and down the drain. “Um, no. Sorry. Give me a few more minutes.”
“What are you doing in there? Jacking off?”
“What?No,” he says, his voice rising an octave. “What the hell do you care?”
“I don’t care, but I don’t really want to take a cold shower.”
“Yeah, yeah...” Chase washes his body, but not his hair since that’s apparently part of the massage, finally calling for Kyle to come in.
Kyle enters the bathroom, stripped down to his briefs again, and steps into the stall behind Chase.
