27. Blaise

"I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

Toby leaned into me, offering me his support. "You are. I'm right here with you."

I stared up at the Fitness on Fire logo and tried to summon up my courage. Why was it easier to face off against hordes of demons than it was to step foot inside Bailey's gym?

"Dr. Tyler said this is an important next step for you," Toby reminded me. "Plus, if you don't show your face soon, Harlow will be dragging you down here himself."

That was probably true. Since the night at the fault lines just over a week ago, I'd had no less than five messages from Harlow, and even two from Bailey, asking when I was going to put the gym membership they'd gifted me to use.

Somehow Toby had learned about the messages, showing up this morning and announcing that today was the day. I could've safe-worded, Tobes would've respected that. But they were all right. This was the final stumbling block for me. Once I was past this, I could move past anything.

Anything, that was, except for my spiralling feelings for my master.

"Ready?" Toby asked with a strained smile. That was a good way to describe how things had been between us over the last eight days. Strained.

I was still kicking myself for opening up to Toby like that. Blame it on the adrenaline, the fact that I'd almost lost him, that he'd kissed me…whatever had made me do it. What had become obvious the second the words left my mouth was that I shouldn't have said anything. The lines had blurred for me, but not for Toby. I had to respect that.

Did it hurt? Opening myself up only to be immediately rejected? Of course it fucking did. But I didn't blame my master. He'd been honest and communicative about what this was from the start, it was me who wanted to change things.

Still, if you don't ask, you don't get. I didn't regret pushing for more, but I did regret that it would never happen. The only saving grace was that Toby hadn't immediately shut down our contract.

As painful as it was being close to him and wanting more, I knew the alternative would be far worse. It was an alternative that was looming on the horizon, getting closer with each passing day. Until then, I was going to hoard every moment I could with my master. I'd use them to keep me warm in the lonely days after we parted.

The one time I didn't want this was at night. Those quiet hours of darkness were the ones where my resolve was weakest. When I wanted to fall to my knees, not to serve Toby, but to beg him to take a chance on me.

I wasn't going to put either of us through that, not again. Instead, I insisted on sleeping alone.

"I suppose," I grumbled quietly.

Toby patted my arm, his touch soothing me. "Just think, the faster you do this, the sooner it's over. Then we can go back to my place and give you your reward."

I perked up at that. Although we'd spent lots of time together this week, we hadn't done anything sexual. I was starting to worry that asking Toby for more had made him take a step back. "What's my reward?"

"What do you want?"

Everything. I want everything.

Toby misunderstood my silence, his hand dancing down my spine. "Can't decide? Don't you worry boy, I'll make sure you're satisfied. More than satisfied." He stepped around me, heading for the door before realising I hadn't moved. "Blaise?"

I gestured down at my gym shorts. They left fuck all to the imagination, meaning the whole world could see the effect my master's promise had had on me.

Toby smiled. "Want me to go inside and draw Harlow and Bailey aside so you can slip past without anyone seeing you?"

I nodded rapidly, relieved that my master was taking control.

"Wait thirty seconds, then come in. Take the first left and you'll be in the main room, I'll be right behind you."

He vanished through the doors while I counted to thirty in my mind. Thankfully it was long enough for the issue in my shorts to go down. Stepping into the reception area, I was grateful there was nobody in sight.

You can do this, I told myself, squaring my shoulders. We're just going to work out. Everything will be fine.

Following Toby's directions, I went into the main part of the gym. A wave of power hit me as I stepped through the doors, making me freeze in place.

Two people were in the gym. One was a human, dark curls slick with sweat as he eyed me curiously. The other was a demon, one I'd met briefly at the fault lines and seen a couple of times in The Closet. It took me a second to place him, likely because you didn't walk into a gym expecting to see the literal Grim Reaper. From the hints Toby had given me, he'd struck up something of a friendship with Ferry, spending time with him during the nights when I pushed him away.

Maybe I should have been jealous about that, but from the way Ferry angled his body between me and the human, I knew I had nothing to worry about.

I felt my shoulders pulling in under their stares. I kept my eyes on the ground, hoping the rumours weren't true. If Ferry knew when and how every human on earth died, he'd know what I'd done to Bailey.

"Hi, Blaise."

My tongue felt too thick for my mouth, but I knew Toby would want me to respond. "Hi. Wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Could say the same about yourself."

The whole room tilted as shame flooded my body. He knew. He knew like all the others. Did he think I was weak? Was he judging me for my past? "Maybe I should go."

"No, you don't." Toby's voice was sharp behind me. "You were invited, and you're going to work out. We've been through this."

He stepped around me, hands on his hips as he faced Ferry and the human. "We going to have a problem, Ferry?"

Fuck, I didn't know if I was delighted to have Toby defending me or mortified that I needed it. "It's fine, Toby."

Toby didn't look away from Ferry as he answered me. "No, it's not. You deserve to feel comfortable. Just like everyone else."

"That's not what I meant at all." Ferry sighed. He tried to step around Toby, but my master sidestepped, keeping himself between us. Eventually, he just addressed me over Toby's head. "I know I've seen you in the club, but I just meant I wasn't expecting to see you here. In Harlow's gym. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made any assumptions. There wasn't any hidden meaning or implication that you shouldn't be here. I'm…glad you've put everything behind you. Honestly."

Ferry's human was watching us with abject curiosity. Another witness to my shame and humiliation. "Maybe I should leave anyway."

Toby spun on his heel, his hand going straight to my throat. "What did we discuss?"

I relaxed automatically, his hold soothing me. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise," he said quietly, his thumb stroking my neck. "You have every right to be here, Blaise. If you won't hear it from me, then I'll go get Harlow and Bailey and let them tell you."

"No," I muttered. From the corner of my eye, I could see Ferry leading his human away, giving us some privacy. "I'll be okay. I just…I'm never going to escape it, you know?"

"I know. But you don't need to escape it, you need to move on. This, being here today, is a big part of that." He paused, scrutinising me carefully. "Would it help if I ordered you to do it?"

Relief filled my stomach as I nodded.

"Okay," Master said. "Now, we're going to do a full workout. We will make small talk if needed, but if you feel uncomfortable at any time, I want you to tug on your ear. Got it?"

"Yes, Master."

He squeezed my neck once more before letting go. "Good boy."

When we turned, it became quickly apparent that Ferry was in trouble. His human was asking him to show him where the lat machine was. From the terror-stricken look in Ferry's eyes, he had no idea what that was, which made sense given he'd been in Hell for the past few thousand years.

Toby chuckled before leaning in to whisper to me. "The human, Leo, is Ferry's reincarnated mate. Leo doesn't know that, nor is he aware he's even into men."

I winced in sympathy at Ferry's predicament. "Ouch."

"Yeah. This whole gym thing is a way for them to spend time together without Leo getting suspicious. From the looks of it though, it's about to blow up in Ferry's face."

"We should help him out."

The smile Toby gave me was worth every ounce of embarrassment that had come before. "That's a lovely idea, boy."

He darted over to the lat machine and patted it. "Here you go, Ferry. I've just finished up."

"Thanks, Toby." There was no missing the relief shining in his eyes.

I crept closer, not sure how to help. It rapidly became clear what was needed when Leo asked Ferry to demo the machine for him.

Oh dear.

Toby and I exchanged an alarmed look as Ferry reached out to grab the bar, bypassing the bench entirely. What was he —?

My jaw fell open as Ferry inadvertently gave us an audition for a future gym fails video. Instead of sitting on the bench and pulling the bar down, he was standing in front of it and thrusting his hips forward.

"How's this?" Ferry asked Leo, eyes shining with hope.

Leo's jaw was hanging open, utterly speechless. There was only one thing for it.

"Looks great," I said, finally finding my voice. Rushing past Leo, I moved to the machine next to Ferry. "Here, let me join you."

I mimicked his movements, praying Leo bought it. Fuck, I hoped Harlow wasn't watching the cameras, we'd never live this down.

"It's the latest technique in exercise," Toby was explaining to Leo, who was eyeing us both incredulously. "All the best instructors are doing it."

"Hmm…" Leo's face was doubtful. I kept moving, determined not to fuck this up for Ferry.

Just then, the door on the other side of the room opened and Bailey stepped through. The towels piled high in his arms did nothing to hide his confusion as he stared at us. He stepped forward before shaking his head. "You know what? I don't wanna know."

Ferry let go of the bar, grinning at his human. "So, you want to give it a try?"

Figuring Ferry could take it from there, Toby and I went about our own workout. Despite claiming he never went to the gym, my master had no trouble keeping up with me, matching me rep for rep and weight for weight.

I was on the treadmill, ramping up for my third mile, when I realised Toby was no longer next to me. Instead, someone else was taking his place.

"Mind if I join you?"

I shook my head, forcing back the immediate guilt that arose just from seeing Bailey. "Course not. It's your gym."

Bailey chuckled. "You can still tell me to fuck off."

"Not if I want my tongue to stay in my mouth."

Bailey winked as he hit a few buttons to get the belt moving. "I won't tell Harlow if you don't."

We were quiet for a minute, both of us focusing on keeping our pace steady, then Bailey broke the silence. "That was a nice thing you did for Ferry."

I stumbled, catching myself before I could go flying off the end. "It was nothing."

"Not to Ferry it wasn't. You saved him from a particularly sticky situation. And that was after he made you think you weren't welcome."

I glanced at him but he was staring forwards, his breathing steady as he jogged. "How'd you even know about that?"

"Toby. Harlow asked how your first session was going and he told us."

"Course he did."

"You are welcome here. You know that, right?"

I slapped my hand on the big red button. "Yep."

Bailey hit his too, slowing to a walk before jumping off and tailing me to the weight bench. "What's the deal with you two, anyway?"

I loaded my weights onto the bar with a grunt. "Who? Me and Ferry?"

Bailey gave me a wide grin. "There's no point trying to evade the question. I'm mated to Harlow. I know almost every trick in the book."

I took up position on the bench, eyeing Bailey suspiciously. "Why do you care?"

Bailey shrugged. "You look like you could use a friend, and I could use a gym buddy. Fuck knows Oscar won't come down here unless heavily bribed. And I've tried working out with Harlow, but it always ends in…"

He blushed, drawing a raspy laugh from me. "It's okay, I can fill in the blanks."

"So, what do you say? You can get whatever bullshit you're moping over with Toby off your chest, and I can have some company while I'm working out."

I bit my lip. "I dunno…"

"Come on." Bailey swatted me with a towel. "You did almost kill me once. I figure you owe me."

My jaw dropped, but the usual guilt wasn't present, not with the way Bailey was roaring with laughter.

"Sorry," he wheezed between laughs, hands braced on his knees. "Couldn't help it. You should've seen your face. Full disclosure, being friends with me does mean I will give you shit on a daily basis. But hey, look at it this way, the more I joke about it, the faster you'll get over it."

My smile was slow to grow, but it was definitely there. "Okay, now I can see why you're mated to Harlow. Now are you gonna just stand there or are you going to spot me?"

Bailey grinned as he took up position by my head. "Get lifting. I want a piece of gossip about you and Toby with every rep."

I rolled my eyes.

But I did it. With every lift of the bar, I confessed another piece of the story to Bailey. Another piece of my feelings that I'd tried so hard to conceal. The rejection that still stung whenever I saw my master and knew he didn't feel the same way about me.

By the end of my reps, the weight was lighter.

And I had a new friend.