Big Boy by Skyler Snow

I wasn'tsure what to think about Carter. As he scribbled down some information about what he ate, how much he exercised, what activities he liked to do, etc, I couldn't help but think that something was slightly off.

Most people came to the gym determined or wary but Carter wasn't either of those things. If anything, he seemed as if he didn't want to be there at all. Whenever he thought I wasn't looking, he raised his head and looked around the gym as if he was in prison looking for a way out. So, I had to wonder, why was he here?

As he went back to writing, I looked him up and down. He was a good-looking guy. I loved a man with a beard and his was long and neat. His dark hair was short and styled, the sides shaved down shorter than the rest. And those eyes. Brown, deep, endless. I sucked in a breath and when he looked at me, I smiled and tried not to show that I had just been staring at him.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I've worked with clients for years as a personal trainer and I didn't stare at them the way I was doing to Carter. None of them interested me in that way. After all, they were here to get my help and take control of their lives. They didn't need someone staring and drooling over them. And still, I couldn't stop thinking about how attractive Carter was as a person which was unusual for me. Peeking out from underneath the sleeves of his t-shirt, I saw the scrawling tattoos there. I wanted to ask him about them, but it wasn't the time.

"Done." He passed me the clipboard and nodded. "I think I have everything down."

I took it from him gingerly and read over the information that he had written down. I made sure everything was okay: no major medical issues, no history of eating disorders or self-harm, a diet that was all over but could easily be adjusted. Yes, he was a perfect candidate and I was going to help him figure out how to reach his goals.

"Alright, all of this looks good." I sat the clipboard down and smiled. "Why don't we do some stretches first and then I can take you through a series of exercises to get started? Nothing too difficult since you said you're a newbie."

"Yeah." Carter nodded as he glanced away. "I would appreciate taking it a little slow."

"No problem." I smiled at him and stood up before I nodded toward the equipment. "This is really to test where you are physically and we’ll adjust accordingly.”

Carter stood up slowly as if he was thinking about every move he made. Once again, I was certain that he didn't want any of this. Why was he here? It was always a little concerning when I saw people at the gym who didn't want to be here. Either they were pressured by spouses or partners, friends, they were trying to lose weight fast for a big event, or their family was on their asses. Any of those situations didn't create the optimal conditions for losing weight in a healthy way, but some were more dangerous than others.

I led Carter through a series of stretches as we touched our toes and stretched our backs before moving onto our calves, arms, and chest. Carter groaned when I started another round and I chuckled.

"You don't like stretching?" I asked.

"I guess I don't mind it, but like who the hell can touch their toes? I can't."

"I can," I pointed out.

Carter scoffed. "You're younger than me and ho- Healthier than I am! Of course, you can."

I waved a hand. "We're not that far apart in age. I'm twenty-seven and you're thirty-two. I think we're very close in age."

"Talk to me when your back hurts for no reason in the mornings."

Chuckling, I shook my head. He was definitely a grumpy man but I found it entertaining. Besides, I never let anyone bother my positive state of mind. If he was grumpy, I would keep encouraging him until maybe one day he wasn't so irritated anymore.

"Alright let's keep our warm-up going and spend some time on the treadmill. It's a great way to get your heart rate up and your blood pumping."

"If my blood wasn't pumping I'd be dead."

"Are you always this sunshine-filled and enthusiastic?"

Carter sighed. "Sorry. I'm trying to get used to all of this again in my own way." He walked over to the treadmill and figured out how to turn it on. "I can sound like a dick sometimes when I'm not having the greatest time. Sorry again."

I smiled at him. "Thank you for your honesty. But you don't have to worry about that with me. We're not going to do anything you don't want to and hopefully I’ll show you how to have a little fun."

Carter slowly smiled and it made him look so much softer. "Thank you. No, seriously I appreciate it."

“Hey, it’s what I do. Let’s get started.”

Carter's attitude changed as we worked out. He tried to follow along with me as I led him through squats, lunges, and crunches after the treadmill.  By the time we were done, we were both sweating, him much more than me. He waved a hand and plopped down on the floor as he panted.

"God, I hate this shit."

I patted his knee. "I know it's hard, but you can do it. This is just day one and it takes a lot of time to get used to it. Your body is waking up and then it has to adjust. Don't push it too hard and don't worry about the next guy." I tapped his sneaker with mine when he glanced over at a guy lifting weights. "Hey, did you hear what I just said?"

Carter glanced up at me and his smile gripped my heart. "Yeah, I hear you. It's just hard to look like this," he waved a hand down his body, "when there are guys that look like that." He tilted his head. "And you."

I shook my head. "This took me a long time to achieve. And I didn't start out doing it in a healthy way. I did it trying to get results. Now? I'm more happy being healthy and splurging on that burger and fries than counting every single calorie that goes into my body."

"I wish I could do that," he muttered.

Reaching into the cooler nearby I grabbed him a bottle of water and passed it over. I wanted to tell him there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I had known more than a few people his size who would argue it wasn't. There was no point making him feel defensive, even if that was exactly how I felt. The bit of belly I saw peeking out from his shirt decorated with hair made me want to reach out and pet him like a sweet pup.

Stop staring at the client, Samuel. You're being a weirdo.

"Drink up. Come on." I chuckled as he rolled up with a groan and downed almost half of the bottle of water in one go. "That's it."

"Too bad I won't be able to eat today," he mumbled. "After all of this hard work it'll just ruin it."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me? Have you eaten today?"

Carter looked up at me sheepishly. "No," he said slowly. "I thought I would eat later but sometimes it feels like if I do that then I'm stuffing all the same calories back inside of me that I just worked off."

"Nope." I shook my head right away and wagged a finger at him without even thinking, but I couldn't help my lecturing ways. "You cannot workout on an empty stomach! All you're going to do is make yourself sick." I checked my phone. "Come on, I know a little cafe not far from here that has some great food. We'll pick up something healthy and feel a lot better."

He frowned. "Don't you have other clients? I don't want to take up your time."

"Nah, it's my lunch break so I actually have an hour to burn and if you weren't here, I would be eating in my office watching YouTube videos."

Carter seemed to think it over. "Okay," he said finally. "But only because I'm pretty sure you'll keep me on track with whatever I order." He bit his bottom lip. "Are you sure though? You're not getting paid to help me on your lunch break."

I smiled. "I do this because it's what I love to do, Carter. Not because I'm getting paid."

I was also doing it because I wanted to help him. There was something about Carter that intrigued me. The way his teeth worried his bottom lip, I wanted to pull it free and tell him not to bite too hard. Or he would end up breaking the skin. But that wasn't my place. So, instead I simply gathered my things.

"What do you say? Meet me out front in twenty minutes? I need to shower."

"You? Look at me," Carter groaned. "This is gross. I'll go clean up."

"Let me know if you need anything."

We parted ways and I went up to my office to grab a spare change of clothes. Once I had them, I carried my stuff into the locker room and started to undress.

"Shit!"

I turned and raised a brow. Carter stood there, clothes clutched to his chest and stared at me with wide eyes. When I chuckled, he averted his gaze, his face red as a ripened tomato.

"It's fine. I have to use the showers the same as you," I pointed out as I grabbed my towel. "They have partitions if that makes you more comfortable."

"T-that's awesome," he said, still not looking at me. "Um, do I have to undress here or..."

"Anywhere you'd like. Hey, I get it. This can be unnerving when you're not used to it, but you can totally undress in the stall and chuck your clothes outside of it until you're done. Whatever makes you comfortable."

Carter glanced at me, his eyes darting up my body before he glanced away again. "Thank you."

I smiled. "No problem."

As I walked away, I felt his eyes on me and my skin burned underneath his gaze. I wanted to tell him there was nothing to be ashamed of. He probably looked hot underneath those gym clothes, hairy and round and soft.

I chuckled at myself as I turned on the water in the shower. Okay, I definitely thought Carter was attractive. I didn't really have a type, but sometimes I saw someone and I was struck by them. That's how it was with him. There was something about the man that made me want to know everything about him. To touch him. To know who he was. Was I going crazy? I wasn’t even the kind of guy that went for looks, but this felt like more than that. Carter had a side of him I wanted to get to know.

The warm spray of the water eased my tight, sore muscles until they were pliant again. I could hear Carter soon after in his stall before he started up his shower as well. He hummed under his breath and it made me smile. How was someone like him real? Did he even realize how enticing he was? How sweet?

Man it's been too long. Way too damn long.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept with anyone. I was a hard man to please. Most people asked me what my sexuality was and the only thing that made sense was demisexual. I needed a connection before I could have sex. And with no relationship that meant I was on my own. Even as attracted to Carter as I was, I couldn't sleep with him right now even if he grabbed me and tried to drag me off somewhere for a quick romp. All I knew was that he seemed like a sweet guy and he was good looking in his own skin.

Once the water ran clear of my body wash I dressed in a pair of gray sweats and a blue t-shirt so that I was comfortable. I gathered my things and stuffed them into my locker before I met up with Carter. He had redressed in a pair of jeans and a red crewneck.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"We can walk there, so if you drove, no worries about your car."

Carter laughed. "Are you just trying to make me exercise more?"

I shook my head. "If I wanted to do that we would be jogging or I can run us through some more squats."

He sighed. "I kind of hate you."

"Trust me, I hear that a lot."

When he laughed, I held my breath. The sound of it was like music, a bow on strings playing a symphony. We walked to the cafe making ordinary observations about the weather, the heavy traffic, the overcast look of the sky. But even when we were discussing the most mundane topics, I was enamored with every word that Carter spoke.

King Cafe wasn't overly crowded and I was thankful for that. I picked out a ham and cheese croissant while Carter decided on a chicken salad sandwich and a soda. He picked it up and frowned.

"Are you sure soda is okay?"

"Normally, no. We want to avoid sugar as much as possible, but one won't hurt you." I moved outside to one of the tables and took a seat. I was all for dietary changes, but not overnight. That made it a hell of a lot easier to backslide when you made eating healthy some insurmountable chore. “I had breakfast, but all that working out makes me starve."

Carter sat across from me and dug into his food. "Me too," he hummed happily. "Although I probably did like less than half of what you did today."

I grinned. "Hard work is hard work! Don't qualify it with a number or measure it against anyone else."

"You have this whole wise thing going on about you," Carter said as he sat down his food. "I can’t believe you’re only twenty-seven.”

"What? Do I look older?"

"Well no, not at all."

"Thank you," I chuckled. "I know I carry myself differently, but it's because I had to grow up young. Once you do that you always seem older to people."

Carter nodded. "I can relate to that."

We went back to eating our lunch in silence for a minute, but to my surprise, it wasn't awkward. It was comfortable as if we had known each other for years and were easy friends. As Carter glanced up at me, my heart raced.

What the hell is this?

Carter’s eyes were dark brown, but in the sun you could see they were flecked with gold. And when he smiled it was the sweetest thing. How long had it been since I had thought of someone as good-looking? Desirable?

I wanted to know everything about him.