Epilogue #2

"Come on, one more," I chant to Sam as he pushes the weights off his chest. "One more, you got this! Come on!"

With a grunt, Sam pushes the weights up, completing his rep.

"Good job, man," I tell him, helping him place the bar back into the holders. "That's a new record for you."

Sam stands up, shaking his arms out as he gives me a grin. "Yeah, it is. I'll definitely be ready for the competition in a few months."

Since I started training him, Sam has gotten more confidence and started entering bodybuilding competitions. He's won a few titles and is interested in becoming a trainer himself. We've been working closely together and he's learning a lot of skills that he can use for his own clients.

"Fuck yes, you will," I tell him, clapping him on the back.

Julian swaggers over, a towel wrapped around his neck. "What are you two jokers talking about?"

Sam snaps him with a towel, then saddles up close to him, kissing him on the mouth. The two of them finally admitted their feelings for each other when Julian started working at Carnal Desires. The whole bros thing was true, but they both wanted more. They've been together for five years now, with no sign of stopping.

"My competition coming up. I feel ready."

"You are ready, babe," Julian tells him, kissing his forehead. "As long as Clay does his job," he says jokingly.

"Hey," I say back. "I got this. He'll be ready. As long as you don't distract him with your dick, and he can show up for his gym sessions." We all share a laugh at that, since Julian has made Sam miss quite a few of our sessions since they would end up stuck in bed like fucking newlywed virgins.

We chat for a bit, then I walk around the fitness portion of the wellness center, checking on patrons and trainers, making sure everyone is comfortable and don't need assistance.

After Yuri and I got back from his parents' house all those years ago, we threw ourselves into figuring out how to start our wellness center. It wasn't easy, hitting roadblock after roadblock, but we finally made it happen, and we couldn't be happier.

It was mostly because Yuri believed I could do it. Honestly, I wanted to quit a few times. I wanted to give up on my dream because it wasn't panning out, but Yuri sat me down and told me, "If we want things badly enough, we have to work and grind for them. No one said it would be easy, but when you get to where you want to be, it'll be worth it."

He was right. All the hard work and frustration was definitely worth it.

I walk out of the gym portion and go behind the front desk, checking over the schedule to see when Yuri will have a free moment. He's been working here since he graduated, jumping headfirst into working as a kinesiologist to assist with muscle therapy and stretching exercises to help enrich their lives.

True to his word, Yuri quit working at Carnal Desires about a year after I graduated and went to school for kinesiology. He's so fucking smart that he had no problems with his classes or exams, making it look easy. But I still set up some incentives so he could do well and make the dean's list. For every C he got, he got a hand job. For every B, he got a blowjob. For every A? He had a go at my ass. Yuri tended to bring home more A's than anything else.

He worked hard his last year he was at Carnal Desires, making sure he had enough money to put himself through school and ensure he had enough for rent and emergencies. Yuri already had a lot of money saved from his years of working, but he said he wanted to take care of me even if he was out of work. I pulled my weight and made sure I wasn't a burden on him while lifting him up when he was studying hard.

He still gets residuals from the film studio years later and Jake has been trying to get him to come back, though I think it's halfhearted at best at this point.

Yuri needn't have worried about not making money or taking care of me. Word started to spread that I was a good trainer and that I was opening my own fitness center. Clients flocked to me and when we opened, people were scrambling to get a membership. I hired more personal trainers, a nutritionist, and a dietician and we were a one stop shop to a sound and healthy body.

Just as I'm peeking at his schedule, Yuri opens his exam room door, leading an elderly woman out. "Continue to do those stretches and you shouldn't have any issues. If your pain hasn't gotten better, let me know and we can find a different method of exercise."

"Thank you, dear." She pats Yuri's cheek and ambles past him.

Yuri meets my eyes and they light up, as if he didn't see me at home this morning. Six years later and I'm still as in love with him as I was when we first started dating. I still get butterflies when he looks at me like this.

He saunters over to me, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist. "How's it going?"

"Good. I wanted to talk to you about Jay's first game. He's expecting us there and he got all of us tickets."

Jay got drafted to the Sacramento Red Doves major league baseball team after playing on the minors for a year and we couldn't be prouder. He said he didn't want to play for the pros because he didn't think he had the talent, but the truth was he was afraid of telling his team he was gay, for fear of them not accepting him and giving him shit, making him quit the one thing he loved the most next to his family.

He needn't have worried. He came out in college and most people were cool with it. There was the odd person or two that weren't but fuck them. He's one of the first out MLB players and he's the happiest I've ever seen him.

Yuri rests his head on my shoulder. "We're the owners, we can take off when we want."

I bark a laugh, shaking him off. "Yeah, but you also have clients that depend on you for weekly stretching. I don't. I can leave when I want. You don't have that luxury."

"I've already told them. So we're in the clear."

"Good." I kiss him quickly and step around the desk.

The front door opens and our receptionist greets the slight man that breezes in. "Hey, Clay," Bailey says, waving at me. "Hey, Yuri." He doesn't break his stride as he enters the gym, heading over to where Sam and Julian are. The three of them have gotten really close since Julian started working at Carnal Desires. They hang out a lot, though they're not dating. Sam and Julian are super possessive of each other and Bailey is really just one of their best friends.

Besides, I'm sure Bailey's boyfriend wouldn't allow him to be in a throuple.

Glancing up at the clock, I turn to Yuri when I see the time. "Want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Yeah, let me grab my keys."

I let our receptionist know I'm heading out and to let the other trainers know if they need me. Yuri's last client was the elderly woman that left a few minutes ago.

We drive down to a small bistro that has great soups and sandwiches and head inside. I look around with fresh eyes, wondering if we could move a small cafe into the wellness center. Nothing as large as this, but something that can be situated nearer the front desk so people can grab a bite to eat as they're leaving.

Most of the time when I have a hard workout, I don't want to stop to get food on the way home or cook when I finally arrive home. I'd rather food just appear before me. If there was somewhere inside to pick up a quick bite to eat, it would help a lot of people save money on take out.

I run it by Yuri and he nods. "That's a great idea. Some smoothies and fresh fruit in there would be a good move to start. We can add to food to the menu at another time, once we see how the smoothies take off."

"Think Dario would be willing to help us out with some designs?"

"Only one way to find out," Yuri says, looking up at the menu.

I pull out my phone and text my old roommate and best friend. Well, my best friend besides Yuri.

Even though he got his degree in business like me, he went back to school to become a structural engineer. All that time spent designing and building sets for the studio made him want to be the pursue something along those lines later. It didn't hurt that his boyfriend pushed him to realize his dreams when he didn't think he could do it.

Me: Hey man. We were thinking about a juice bar in the center. What do you think?

His reply is quick.

Dario: I like it. Want me to come by and take a look, maybe draft you some designs?

Me: Yep.

Dario: *laughing emoji* I figured. I'll come by after you all come back from Jay's game. I'm swamped this week at work.

Me: Sounds good. I'll tell Yuri.

We order food and find a table to sit and wait for it. "Dario will come by and check some things out when we get back from the game in California."

"I'm sure we can have something going by next summer."

Over lunch, we discuss more plans we have for the center, most of them focused on expansion. We've been doing well, our business really picking up and word spreading about our work. With new students enrolling every year to our alma mater, we're not short on clientele.

We didn't plan to stay in the same college town we lived in when we met, but things kind of worked out that way. We both loved the area and decided there was no reason to move. A few years back, we found a nice three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that we bought a few miles outside the hustle and bustle of the campus. It's amazing. I see us living there for the rest of our lives.

Our lives have really worked out better than I would have imagined. From not knowing how I was going to pay for college, to becoming a fluffer, to meeting the love of my life. None of this was in the cards for me when I was lying on my couch, trying to figure out how I would pay for my tuition.

One decision changed the course of my life and I don't regret it for one second.

After our long workday, Yuri and I head home together. I lean back in the passenger seat, my eyes closed while I listen to Yuri hum to the music on the radio. Absently, he reaches for my hand and threads his fingers through mine. I squeeze his hand, loving the slight contact. Yuri squeezes mine back, sending his love through our connection.

We get inside and I make a beeline to the shower. The health center has a full locker room with the glass frosted shower doors I loved so much when I was a member at the other gym, but I like showering in my own bathroom at the end of a long day. Yuri could join me in our shower and wash my back without people thinking it's weird that we're in the shower together in public, even if it is our wellness center.

That's exactly what he does. Once I'm under the spray and I'm soaped up, Yuri steps in behind me, taking the cloth from my hand and runs it over my tight and sore muscles. I hum, loving the feel of his hands on me.

I lean my head back, resting it on his pecs. Yuri brings the cloth around, washing my front. "Tired?"

"Very. Long day. Sam is getting ready to compete so we worked out hard today. I just want to lie down with you wrapped around me."

"Anything you want, baby." Yuri kisses the top of my head. I sigh, absorbing the feeling of his arms around me.

Once he has me clean, Yuri dries me off so he can tuck me into bed.

"I love you so much, Clay. Don't ever forget that."

"And I love you, Houston Stallion." We both laugh, then I turn around to him, threading my fingers in his hair as I rest my arms on his shoulder. "Seriously, Yuri. I love you so much, it's hard to put into words. You're truly my other half. I'm so glad I met you and you wanted to be mine as much I wanted to be yours."

He kisses my lips so sweetly, I fear I might get a toothache. "I'll always want to be yours. You're stuck with me."

I grin. We say this to each other all the time and our responses are always the same. "I don't mind."

Smacking my ass, Yuri gets my pajamas out, dressing me like I'm a child since my muscles are so sore. Then he pulls the blankets back, motioning for me to climb in.

As he always does, Yuri climbs in behind me and wraps his limbs around me snugly. After all these years, he still sleeps this way and I don't want him to change. I don't want anything in my life to change. I have it all.

And I'm happier than I have the right to be.

All because I accepted the job as a fluffer.

THE END