Five months ago

They started texting back and forth a bit. Theo was always careful to delete everything, and he never saved Abel's number on his phone; instead, he memorized it. That way, if (when) Ken looked through his phone, he wouldn't see that Theo was hanging out with someone outside their organization. If it was someone completely random, it might not be a problem. But Abel was mildly affiliated and thus a threat since he wasn't a part of Ken's inner circle—the only ones supposed to have a backstage pass to Theo's ass.

He kept a video, though, because he could not bring himself to delete it. One of the other workers at the bar filmed it, whooping and hollering behind the phone as Abel stood behind the bar and juggled a few cordial bottles while mixing a drink. He did it effortlessly, smoothly transitioning between pouring syrups, tossing bottles in the air, shaking up cocktails, and garnishing the final product with a flourish.

Just watching his strong, dexterous hands was enough to make heat flare in Theo's face. He was in a fitted button-down with the sleeves rolled back to reveal his tattooed forearms. And that goddamn snake curled up from beneath his collar on his neck. And his shoulders looked broad, and his eyes sparkled with confidence and delight as he successfully maneuvered the bottles.

When Abel first sent it, Theo locked himself in the bathroom and jerked off desperately, not a single thought in his head, just watching the video on loop.

He saved it even though he knew he should not have.

Ken did not notice anything odd about his behavior. The only thing that came up over the next couple of days was news of Theo going to the gym later in the day. He'd been going in the afternoon instead of the morning to have an excuse to scope out Abel's bar. One of the wives must have mentioned it to their husband, who reported straight to Ken like some gossipy country club bitch. Just because they put their cocks in Theo, they all thought it was somehow their business where he was and what he did twenty-four-seven. If he changed his routine, they immediately tattled to Ken about it.

When he asked Theo about the switch, Theo was able to truthfully say, "I hate those bitches who go in the morning, so I started going later."

"Well, I need you available in the evenings, so switch back to going in the mornings," Ken ordered, "I don't care if you don't like them."

Theo just shrugged because it did not really matter to him. He did not need to stalk Abel's bar anymore because he had his number. And got sexy videos of him mixing drinks like he was showing off to get into someone's pants. Theo hoped he was, at least.

Hoping to return the favor, he set up his phone against a piece of equipment and took a little video of himself working out. The next day, Abel showed up at the gym wearing loose shorts and a shirt with the sides cut out so that Theo could see all the tattoos on his torso. Theo blushed and glanced around the gym, glad he had decided to come a little later, though still in the morning, to avoid the wives because he had been telling the truth when he said he disliked them. There was no one to tattle on him for having an un-sanctioned gym buddy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in amazement as Abel sat on the bench beside him and put his massive water bottle down between his feet.

"I liked that video you sent me," Abel winked. "Thought I'd come and see the show in person."

And so they fell into a routine of working out together every other day around lunchtime. Abel slept in since he was up so late for work, and it became the first thing he woke up to do. Theo was up late, too, but he'd always been a morning person whether he got ten or two hours of sleep. Abel, he learned from all his grousing, even though it was already eleven o'clock, was not a morning person.

On some days, they went to lunch after the gym. Each time they tried a new place, from the Ethiopian restaurant down the street to the Vegan spot a couple blocks away to the cat café where Theo practically melted from the sight of Abel cuddling cats gently in his tattooed hands.

Right now, they were in a sandwich shop, sitting across from each other at one of the little vinyl tables stuffed into the narrow space. Theo picked apart his sandwich, removing the turkey meat and cheese, and scooping the pesto off the bread before stuffing them into his mouth. He only ate a couple of slices, then wiped his fingers on his napkin, took a sip of his water, and sat back.

Abel, who had gotten three sandwiches stuffed with every type of food known to mankind, including the most bacon possible and a side of cheesy bacon fries, stared at him. He had not said anything about Theo's eating habits yet, but Theo knew it was coming. People always thought he was odd. Surely, Abel would too.

"You know that you'll never gain muscle by going to the gym if you don't eat more," Abel told him.

Theo frowned and tilted his head, "I don't go to the gym to gain muscle. I go to make sure I don't gain any weight."

Abel's sandwich stopped on its way to his mouth, and he gave Theo one of those shocked yet resigned looks. "Is that something Ken told you to do?"

"No," Theo shifted uncomfortably, "I just gain a lot of weight if I'm not super careful. So, I watch what I eat and work out."

"Because you want to be thin?" Abel asked.

Theo looked down at his willowy wrists and thought about the little twinges of envy he felt when he looked at the sturdy bodies of the other men at the gym. He always used to tell himself it was an attraction. He was just attracted to them.

But as he watched Abel bench press, his muscles bunching and rippling beneath his tattoos, or saw his thighs flex as he squatted with the weights over his shoulders, Theo knew that there was a difference between the little surge of desire low in his belly and the little twinge of want in his chest. He was practically drooling over Abel's body, but he also wanted to be able to do what he did instead of sticking to his lower-weight and higher-rep workouts.

He'd begun thinking back to when he first started working out and how excited he felt when his muscles firmed up and developed. But Ken had not liked that. He wanted Theo to remain thin and small. According to Ken, it was his entire appeal.

Theo had gone silently into his thoughts for a few moments, eyes drifting down to his massacred sandwich. Desecration. Because he was wrong and could not even eat food properly.

Abel shrugged when he did not receive an answer. "I'm sure you'd be beautiful either way, but it's your body."

He took a huge bite out of his sandwich, perhaps a little too nonchalantly to be unaware of the way that Theo's eyes whipped up to him in surprise.

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Well," Abel chewed and swallowed, "Yeah, of course."

Of course. Because Theo was catnip for men, but it felt different to hear Abel say it. Something warmed inside his chest.

"And before you take as though I'm talking about sex," Abel continued, "What I mean is that it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside because you are beautiful on the inside."

Theo stared at him. That warmth in his chest seeped into his veins and spread through his entire body, making his face heat up and his hands tremble. It even pressed hot against the backs of his eyes and made his throat tighten up uncomfortably. He picked up his water and took a sip instead of responding.

Abel watched his reaction intently, then his nose scrunched up, and his eyes strayed to the side. "Jesus, that was terrible." He shook his head at himself, pink shading his cheeks. He looked embarrassed, but what did he have to be embarrassed about? Theo was the one who should be ashamed for not knowing how to react to a compliment like that.

He set his water down. "Do you have work tonight?"

Abel bit his lip, staring down at his fries, perhaps considering the fact that Theo was probably asking about more than work. He had never been shy about expressing how much he wanted Abel, though he was having a lot of fun going to the gym and eating with him. Finally, he met Theo's eyes and shook his head. "I don't."

Theo could not feel his body. It was as if his cells had vibrated away, but he knew they were still there because he could hear the blood rushing past his ears. He pitched his voice just right and said, "I've always wanted to go for a ride in your car. Will you take me?"

The pink in Abel's cheeks deepened and spread down his neck. Theo bit back a smile, pleased at how much fun teasing with this kind of double talk was. This was different from how people usually lusted after him. Abel was almost shy, clearing his throat and dropping his eyes to his fries. Theo liked that he could make Abel shy.

"Okay," he grunted.

Not interested in giving Abel any time to change his mind and hoping to God that he was agreeing to both the car ride and the not-so-subtly insinuated sex, he hopped up and dumped his sandwich carnage into one of the trash bins. Abel rose more slowly, boxing up the fries and sandwich he had not eaten yet, then followed Theo onto the street. He led them to his car, the black little sporty number that he enjoyed spending money on if the decal and spotless interior were anything to go by.

As they buckled up, he started spouting facts about the car. They were meaningless to Theo, but he asked for context while swimming in terminologies like RPMs, Turbo Engines, and other nonsense, mainly because Abel had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. Clinging to the pretense of Theo's interest in his car seemed to be all that was keeping him from snapping it in two.

About twenty minutes later, they had left the highway that looped around the city and gotten on a smaller road that led through the suburbs to a state park. Abel climbed the narrow gravel roads flanked by nothing but trees with the confidence of someone who had driven them before. Theo had a moment when he thought he would not like to be out here at night, where there were no streetlights, only darkness. But with Abel in the middle of the day, he felt safe.

Abel eased off the road into a pull-off, parking in front of a grassy area of an overlook. The opening in the trees overlooked the rest of the state park below, some farm fields further away, and neighborhoods here and there. A classic hook-up spot if Theo had ever seen one, although he'd never been taken to one himself. It somehow made him feel younger. He felt himself smiling.

"I actually thought a lot about this," Abel started. "And I figured you wouldn't want to go to a hotel room. I don't really want to take you to a hotel room. And..."

He trailed off and blew out a huge breath. Rubbed the back of his neck and stared out the window. Theo watched his cheeks darken.

"And I..." His voice was strained, then he spit it out. "I live with my mom still. So...It's because, well...I..."

"I'm okay with having sex in your sexy little sports car if that's what you are worried about," Theo interrupted him. Abel finally met his eyes in shock. Then they softened.

"You know," he said, "we don't have to do this. I'm fine with hanging out the way we have been."

Theo smiled back. "I know. But we both want to, so..."

Abel shifted so that he could face Theo better. As small as the car looked on the outside, it was roomy. It was a four-door, so the front seats could go back, which would be helpful for the logistics of what was about to happen. Theo considered which position might be the most comfortable, thoughts running away from himself.

"Hey, don't think so much," Abel murmured. "We both want it, so there is nothing to worry about."

Theo chewed on his bottom lip and frowned. Before he could think about that, Abel leaned across and kissed him. It was not like the kiss from the bar, which had been quick and straight to the point. Abel cupped a hand behind Theo's head and kissed like he was trying to coax Theo to focus only on him. This did not take much effort. Between the way their lips pressed, and Abel's fingers threaded through his hair and thumbed his cheekbone, Theo's mind went blank. He sighed into Abel's mouth.

Rather suddenly, Abel shifted, reaching smoothly across Theo's body to pull a lever that made his seat fall all the way back. He did this in one motion, followed swiftly by crawling over the console to place himself on top of Theo with his knees on either side of his hips. Theo thought he'd crawl on top since he was smaller, but Abel made it work effortlessly somehow. He was mouthing at Theo's neck before he managed to gasp in a shaky breath.

"Okay?" he murmured against the soft underside of Theo's jaw.

Theo hummed. "I want..." He fumbled to get a hand between them so that he could hike up Abel's shirt and palm at his abdomen, which was flexed from holding himself up. He groaned, tipping his head up and wishing his legs were around Abel instead of pinned together. He did his best to tilt his pelvis up and brush their crotches together. Abel echoed his moan.

"Fuck," Abel threaded a hand through Theo's hair again and braced himself on that forearm as he reached for their flies. "What do you want?"

"I want to touch you," Theo murmured, not bothering to add the breathy, moaning quality he normally did, just letting his raw desperation shine through. Suddenly, he hated that they were in a car and couldn't get totally undressed and stretched out to where he could get his hands all over Abel.

Abel groaned again and dropped his forehead to Theo's as he undid their pants. His abs twitched beneath Theo's palm. When Theo's fingers inched higher to fiddle with the barbell through his nipple, his hips thrust forward, and he bit gently over Theo's shoulder to muffle a louder moan. Theo grinned and worked to get his other hand between them so he could play with the other nipple, which left Abel fumbling unsuccessfully with their pants. He growled a warning, and Theo chuckled.

When he finally got them out of the confines of their boxers, Theo eagerly wrapped a hand around Abel's cock. He immediately gasped and dropped his chin to look down, a bolt of arousal shooting down his spine. To put it frankly, Abel was a handful. They both groaned as Theo stroked, fingers barely touching around Abel's girth, the awkward angle his arm was at making it nearly impossible to stroke his full length.

In contrast, when Abel wrapped his fingers around Theo, they engulfed him. He tossed his head back against the seat and whimpered, eyes pressed shut.

"Uh-uh," Abel panted. "I want to see your eyes."

Theo looked up at him. They stroked each other, never breaking eye contact except to look down and spit on each other's palms to make it feel that much better or to dip in and kiss each other's lips or cheeks or foreheads until they needed to draw back for breath again. It was terribly intimate. Something in Theo clicked into place. He felt safe and soft and gooey even before he came. And when his orgasm did hit him, he felt like he was falling off the edge of the overlook, tethered only by Abel's eyes staring into his own.

He shook through it, stuttering in his rhythm of playing with Abel's pierced nipples and jerking his cock, but it was still enough to send Abel over the edge almost immediately after. His spend landed across Theo's torso, beneath where his shirt had been pushed up, mixing with Theo's.

Abel's shirt, clenched between his teeth to keep it out of the way, muffled his groan. His eyes went fuzzy while his cock jerked in Theo's touch, sending another shuddering aftershock through Theo, already softening cock jumping.

"Fuck," Abel gasped, letting the shirt fall and resting his forehead against Theo's—still not breaking eye contact. The arms he used to hold himself up trembled minutely, but he stayed there for nearly a full minute. And Theo was powerless to move, just enjoying the warmth of his orgasm and Abel's body caging him in completely. It should probably make him feel nervous, but he felt snug, like maybe it was an excellent time to nap.

Eventually, Abel gave him a quick peck on the mouth and began to extract himself. "Don't move," he ordered. Theo did not have to be told twice. He lay there as Abel flopped back to the driver's side, although he wished he would have stayed looming over him for a little longer or forever. It felt like nothing bad could happen when he was in Abel's hold. Again, he hated that they were in a car, where cuddling was even more impractical than sex.

Abel procured tissues to wipe them off, then helped Theo tuck himself away. Theo blinked at the hands carefully zipping him up and threading the button through his jeans, wondering if he should protest that he could do it himself. He smacked his lips together and sent Abel a lazy smile instead.

"Thank you."

The little lines of tension that had formed around Abel's eyes softened. He reached over to brush some of the hair out of Theo's eyes. "Thank you."

Theo snorted. He thought they would drive back then, and really, he needed to get back in case Ken started looking for him, but Abel just reclined the driver's seat to match Theo and put his hands behind his head.

The brief thought to ask Abel if he got it now—why he was such a cash cow for Ken and a special treat to dangle in front of his men—crossed his mind. But he did not want to ruin a moment so lovely. Exchanging hand jobs at a hook-up spot and staring into each other's eyes as they came like they were making love or some shit. His face burned. He had enjoyed it so much.

"You know," Abel said, and Theo held his breath, "I told you that my dream was to own a bar. Is there something else you'd like to do instead of what you do?"

Theo pursed his lips. He honestly had no aspirations like that. He hardly let himself think about what was happening to him in the present, let alone what he could be doing otherwise or about some vague future. He shrugged and said, "I'd like to go to the beach."

Abel raised his brows. "Why don't you?"

"Ken, he..." Theo trailed off into a shrug. Truthfully, he'd never told Ken anything about the beach—his love for it or the summer weekends spent there with his family. How much he desperately wanted to feel the sand between his toes and waves washing over his ankles. At best, Ken would ignore his wants, and at worst, he would find a way to use them against him.

"Right," Abel nodded, lips pressed together. Theo's eyes widened because he did not mean to bring down the mood. Desperately, he cast around for something else to say.

"I can't make it to the beach, but there is a water park nearby that I've thought about going to," he said quickly. "I'm not one for roller coasters, but I heard someone talking about the lazy river they have and thought that sounded nice." He let his head drop back and smiled up at the ceiling. "A lazy river. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yeah," Abel agreed.

"I've just never had anyone to go with, I guess," Theo peeked shyly at Abel to see him watching with a strange expression—something halfway between pity and affection and amusement that Theo could not identify.

"I'll take you," he said.

A/N: Alright folks, two weeks in a row of being unable to get to publishing until Sunday is a sign for me to switch the day that I plan to upload a chapter. Expect updates on Sundays instead of Fridays from now on <3

I went back and forth a bit about having Theo and Abel be spicy and in the end I decided that I really wanted Abel to  think of / treat Theo as a competent adult, and so if he keeps getting enthusiastic consent he would not keep saying no just for Theo's sake, especially after getting to know him a bit. Is it healthy? Maybe not, but Abel is his love interest, not his therapist.