Big Boy by Skyler Snow

Wasit weird to miss someone you'd only met a few times? Yeah, I was definitely out of my damn mind, but I couldn't help it with Carter. Every time he came, I lit up like a fool. He always started the day off grumpy and closed off, but by the time he left, we were chatting like old friends.

He had come in for eight sessions over two weeks so far and I could already see an improvement. Little by little, he was coming out of his shell and that was part of the battle. I couldn't help him if he didn't trust me, but he was getting there. I loved how hard he worked.

And his smile.

Carter smiled so rarely that when he did it was like a treat. The man really didn't know how intoxicating he was, did he? But there was something about him that made me feel drawn like a moth to a flame. What I was discovering was that underneath all of the grump, there was a man that was young and carefree, even a little silly. But he shut those moments down so quickly, it made me wonder if I had ever seen them sometimes.

I wanted to know more about him. Why was Carter so closed off from everyone? It was none of my business but I was dying to know.

"Are you looking out for your client again?" Naomi asked as she smirked at me from behind the front desk.

I was leaning on it, staring out of the glass doors until she said that. Pushing myself up, I cleared my throat and tried to ignore the burning embarrassment that rushed up my spine. Was I that obvious?

"Well, he said he would be here at three so I'm waiting for him to make sure he's okay." I checked my phone and ignored her gaze and knowing grin. "But he's still not here. Hmm, I wonder if he's coming."

"Yes, I wonder," Naomi purred. "He looks at you like you're God's gift to man, but I'm sure he won't show up."

My face heated. "What the hell are you on?"

"I'm just saying that guy has a thing for you." She grinned. "I mean most of your clients do, but I think he's the first one you actually think about too. Which is soooo cute."

I groaned. "Why do I talk to you? You're a pain in my ass."

"I'm a pain in your ass and yet you still love me." She stood up and patted me on the head. "That's what happens when you've known someone for ten years."

I grabbed her hand and forced her back into her chair. Her giggly laughter made me shake my head. Naomi loved to provoke me and I didn't really mind. People often thought there was something between us, but the truth was that we had been friends since high school. And she was gay as hell. I loved her girlfriend and we usually met up for meals together every couple of weeks or movie nights. She was like the annoying little sister I never had.

Sighing, I glanced out of the doors once more, but he still wasn't there. Had something happened to Carter? I hoped not, but I had no way to reach out to him either. What if he needed my help?

Ugh, why am I so damn obsessed?

Now, that was a question. I had no idea. When we had sat together at that cafe talking about video games and discussing the things we liked, I had seen his eyes light up and his breathing quickened as he went from closed off and reserved to outgoing and excited. The way he had stumbled over his words to express how happy he was made my heart stop. How had no one snatched this man up and shown him how precious he was?

"Hey."

I shook myself out of my daydream and there he was. Carter. He was dressed in a pair of black shorts today and a short-sleeved black t-shirt. He looked irritated, but that was the usual way he looked when he showed up to the gym. I was pretty sure he hated everything about it, but he still came.

And I couldn't figure out why.

"Yo," I said with a grin feeling stupid immediately for even saying that. "You ready to work out?"

Carter groaned. "Kinda, but not really. I stayed up way too late playing the update for StarBattle. Three new characters, two new boards, way better prizes and new skins. I was in heaven."

I grinned. Was that why he was late? I was relieved. Thinking that maybe it was something I’d done weighed on me, but he was being the nerd that he was. Nothing more and nothing less.

"I saw the update last night, but I didn't have time to play or I knew I would oversleep. I wanted to check it out so bad."

"Oh, you should. It's double XP for the next two days and rare drops every hour. Seriously, you can level up your Commander in no time at all."

"What! Shit, that's awesome. I'm missing out." I frowned. "Maybe I'll log on tonight and see what I can find. I seriously need to work on my guy's stats. I keep getting killed in the first ten minutes of the game lately and I'm ready to throw my controller."

Carter grinned. "Yeah, tell me about it. I have to stop myself sometimes. I love the game but man, getting murked over and over is annoying as hell."

"Right? I can't stand it, but it's so much fun too."

"Look at that. Our Sam is a major nerd, huh?"

I glanced up and frowned at Tony. He was a serious asshole, one of those guys who thought he was the best man on the planet because he looked good and attracted all of the women he wanted. I was used to Tony's ribbing, but it was still irritating to hear it sometimes. Especially when it came to the hobbies I enjoyed.

"It's a game," I muttered, my fists jammed into my pockets. "That's all."

"I figured." Tony laughed and chugged his energy drink. "I mean you are kinda dorky. No one would ever believe it from looking at you."

I glanced down at myself and frowned. Yeah, that's what people thought when they saw me right? Muscled, healthy, not at all capable of being anything other than that. I immediately stopped talking. It reminded me of growing up and my family laughing if I took an interest in anything that wasn't what they deemed manly.

"Let's go get warmed up," I said, grabbing my clipboard from the counter.

Carter nodded and followed me deeper into the gym. It was a bit packed, but as always I picked an area that was as sparsely populated as possible. Carter responded to those spaces better and he worked out more when he was alone. Once we moved into a back corner Carter turned to me and frowned.

"Fuck that guy."

I stopped and raised a brow. "What?"

"Fuck that guy," he repeated. "There's nothing wrong with you enjoying a video game."

I shrugged when I realized he was talking about Tony. "It's no big deal."

"Yeah, it is. I know that look. You get all excited about something and then someone steps all over it and you immediately stop talking and shut down. Trust me, I know all about that." He shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with liking video games. They're an escape and we all deserve that."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. Carter was more observant than he let on. As much as I loved playing video games, it was easy to forget that some people judged it. That sucked, but it was true.

"It's fine," I said, tucking it away so I could focus on our session. "Tony is just that type of guy that doesn't understand any of this, that's all. Whatever, that's his problem. Let's start warming up."

Carter nodded but I could tell there were still questions dancing as his tongue, waiting to be asked. We went into our warm-up routine stretching our muscles and making sure we were both ready for the workout ahead. I tended to coach most people, but with Carter, I worked out right along with him. He did better when he was right beside me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Carter asked.

I smiled at the simple fact that he was asking. People took one look at me and assumed I was strong and it didn't matter what they said to me. But words could still hurt like a bitch.

"I'm fine now," I said with a confident nod. "Thank you, though. Right now I want to talk about your goals for this workout and how your eating has been."

After stretching we moved onto the treadmills. We both started off at a walk before moving onto a jog. Once we got going and Carter's breathing evened out, he seemed ready to talk again.

"I've been eating better," he said as he pumped his arms. "Focusing more on eating healthy instead of restricting."

I beamed. "That's what I'm talking about! It's all about balance, Carter. I think you're doing great so far."

"Yeah? Do you really think so? Usually I feel like I’m struggling.”

"It's like that until you get used to things. Struggle is part of getting better. Don't be discouraged by it. Besides, you're already starting to jog like a pro."

Carter rolled his eyes. "You have to say that because you're being paid."

I chuckled. "Ooh, you're spicy today."

"Sorry." Carter sighed. "I'm a little irritated. Still, no luck on the job search, and my mother is really on my ass to do better at this."

I frowned. "This has to be what you want. No one else. Okay?"

"Okay."

I stared at him, but he was now looking straight ahead. I knew he wasn't going to say anything else about it, but I meant every word. He needed to be the one that wanted to lose weight or it would backfire. I had seen nosey spouses, family, and friends interfering too many times for me not to recognize it by now and it was never good for the client.

By the time we finished up, Carter was panting and sitting on the ground. I grabbed a bottle of water and tapped him on the shoulder with it. He took it, giving me a grateful look before he drained half the bottle in one go. I sat down on the floor across from him as he wiped his forehead with his arm.

"Hey, are you going to play tonight?" Carter asked. "StarBattle I mean."

I shrugged. "I want to, but I'm not sure."

Carter rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Are you doing that because of your asshole co-worker?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. Yeah, maybe I was doing it because of him. It was hard to look one way and have more interests than your looks. Why couldn’t people understand that you could like whatever you wanted despite how you appeared?

"If you're going to play then you can join me. Do you have a station?"

"Yeah, I do." Looking at Carter in shock, I asked "You really want to play with me?"

"Definitely. At least I'll be able to heal you and you won't get your ass kicked so quickly." He smiled up at me. "Isn't that what you want?"

You're what I want.

That's what I wanted to say to him, but I knew better. Instead, I swallowed thickly and nodded.

"I might suck," I warned him.

Carter waved a hand. "It doesn't matter if you suck as long as you're having fun!"

I tilted my head. "You really think so? What if I die as soon as a round starts?"

"Then I'll make fun of you, but keep encouraging you to go on."

I burst out laughing. "Really? You're going to laugh at me? What an asshole."

Carter grinned. "I never claimed to be anything but an asshole." He held out a hand toward me. "Can you help me up? I'm old and stuck."

"Really?" I shook my head at him. "If you're that old, maybe you should stay down there."

"Hey!"

I laughed and extended my hand. He grabbed hold of it and I hauled Carter to his feet before he laughed and fell against me. I loved that sound and tried not to be overwhelmed by the heat of his body pressed up against mine.

"Well, we're all done for today," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead with my arm. "I'll see you in a few days?"

"Yeah." Carter tilted his head when I turned to face him. "Unless I get obsessed with StarBattle again."

I chuckled. "Hey, actually do you mind if I join you? My friends and I used to play, but lately, they're all busy. Relationships, school, jobs. I'm the only one that gets off of work and wants to start up a game."

Carter lit up. "Hell yeah! Me and my friends play every night but we're down a man ever since my friend Aaron started his own studio and is with his boyfriend every night." He rolled his eyes. "I'm happy for them and all, but man it sucks not having him around. We're trying to get to the next level."

"That's understandable, trust me." I thought about it before I finally relented. "Sure, I'd love to play."

"Awesome. Let me get your gamer tag."

"It's SlayerSam. Yours?"

"KillSwitchCart," he said as he took a piece of paper from my clipboard  and scribbled it down. "If you're home before I am, drop me a message and I'll add you."

"Sounds like a plan. We're playing tonight?"

"Why not?" Carter asked with a small smile growing on his lips. "I'm ready to go back in and have some fun."

"Then I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah, see you," Carter said as he waved at me.

I watched him walk through the gym and groaned. Now I was going to be playing games with him? Every time we met up it was like I was drawn closer to him. That smile, his voice, the way he looked at me. I couldn't get enough. And now I was scheduled to hang out with him tonight.

"Are you good, Sam?"

I glanced up at Naomi after wandering out to the reception area. "Yeah, I'm good." I smiled. "Actually I'm great."

Tonight I would get to see Carter and hopefully, I would know more about him. He seemed so interesting. There were times when I would catch a glimpse of the real him underneath all of his armor, but mostly I was still seeing bits and pieces. I wanted to get to know who he was underneath it all.

"You sure?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah." I smiled at her. "I actually have plans tonight so I'm going to get back to work and make sure everything is wrapped up before I go."

"Ooh, that sounds promising." Naomi grinned at me. "Don't have too much fun."

I groaned. "It's not like that."

"Are you sure?" She grinned. "Come on, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I need to get back to work."

"Someone's being sneaky," she sang. "But that's okay. Whatever you have planned, I hope you have fun. You could use it, Sam."

She wasn't wrong about that. I hadn't put myself out there in a long time and as of now I still hadn't. This was a game between friends, something to relax and unwind in the evening. Nothing more than that.

I need to get a life.

It had been ages since I'd gone out and grabbed a drink with friends or even gone to the local BDSM club and tried to associate with the people I knew there. I didn't know what I was waiting for. All I was sure of was that I liked Carter as a person.

So, if one night of gaming was all that I gained out of things? I was completely fine with that.