m/m Muscle University

[muscleaddict]

22 hours ago, Lefty said:

Can’t wait.  This story is even better than AJ and Noah!  Woody is definitely a more flawed character, but endearing nonetheless ....and Hot!  Wouldn’t have minded meeting him in that club!

Thanks for commenting, matie. Always great to see a newbie on board! 

[muscleaddict99]

OMG....feeling a little bad here but crikey....Woody and Steve together is seriously turning me on! 

“I’m at Muscle University!” I tell him.

Steve mouth moves down again and he starts kissing my abs.

“I’ve done bodybuilding competitions!” 

I LOVE THIS!!  But the fact that there was no real reaction from Steve to these word says a lot.......they may have fun but Woody needs a genuine worshipper.  Join the queue fellas!

Great story....I'm hooked

[muscleaddict]

On 9/21/2019 at 5:51 AM, muscleaddict99 said:

OMG....feeling a little bad here but crikey....Woody and Steve together is seriously turning me on! 

“I’m at Muscle University!” I tell him.

Steve mouth moves down again and he starts kissing my abs.

“I’ve done bodybuilding competitions!” 

I LOVE THIS!!  But the fact that there was no real reaction from Steve to these word says a lot.......they may have fun but Woody needs a genuine worshipper.  Join the queue fellas!

Great story....I'm hooked

Haha!! Well as long as you're still rooting for Woody and Luke I'll let you off!  Yeah - if any true muscle addict heard the words "I've done bodybuilding competitions" from a guy they'd pulled their heads would fucking explode! I'd be asking to see pics and vids. Wanting to see his posing trunk collection. Fuck it - I'd probably ask for a live performance of his last posing routine (trunks on obviously)! Thanks for commenting, mate. 

[muscleaddict]

Okay, longest chapter of the story. I thought about chopping it up and sharing it in smaller posts but I think it works better if it's read in one go. 

Twenty Two

I open my eyes and oh my fucking God. It feels like my brain has been replaced by a brick. Jesus my mouth. It’s so fucking dry. I’m in a strange bed in a strange house and for a second I’m not sure where I am. And then a bare arm wraps around me and it all comes flooding back.

“Morning, sexy!” a rough sounding voice says to me. Steve from the night before kisses my back and I just want to melt into the mattress and disappear. I have a sudden strong desire to get the hell out of this house. Wherever the hell it is.

All these things from the night before start going through my head. Sitting in the club next to Luke, feeling pissed off about his attitude towards the whole gay bodybuilder issue. Thinking how oddly refreshing it was to feel something towards him other than how much I want to fucking kiss him. That feeling of liberation as I dragged Max to the dancefloor. Max’s face as he felt my bicep at the bar. All the things that fucking prick Leonard said to me about how I’ll end up hurting Luke and how he’s too nice for me. Lying to Max about Luke having a boyfriend. And that look of confusion on Luke’s face as he looked at me after Max had blatantly told him what I’d said. Oh God. How the hell am I going to explain to him why I made up that complete and utter lie?

And now I’m thinking about Luke lying alone in Emily’s bed and the fact that I’m going to have to face him soon and spend several hours with him on the train back to Montgomery. And suddenly I don’t want to vanish. Suddenly I want to just hibernate here at Steve’s. Ignore Emily. Ignore Luke. Ignore the world that’s waiting for me beyond this stranger’s house.

“How’s the head?” Steve asks.

“Fine!” I reply. Even though it’s anything but. Steve makes an, “Mmmm!” and squeezes me, his arm heavy on mine, his skin sticky. I suddenly feel this heavy sadness. It’s so strong it’s almost overwhelming. With all the times I’ve been in this situation, lying in a stranger’s bed the morning after, cuddled up to them, I’ve never felt anything like this before. This is completely new. And I know exactly what’s causing it. 

After a little while, Steve climbs out of bed, leaving me alone. I twist my body round and look at the empty side of the bed. And now I’m suddenly thinking about the night before last when I was lying in Emily’s bed next to Luke. How I opened up to him about my brother. How he was teasing me about the song me and Emily made up when we were younger. How special the whole thing felt. And now I can feel my eyes watering. 

God. I wish Luke was here now so I could touch him and hold him and tell him how special he is. And how utterly fucking crazy about him I am. But what if it all goes wrong? What if I tell Luke everything I’ve been feeling for him and it turns out that he doesn’t feel the same way? 

I’m so used to being strong. I’m so used to feeling in control of my emotions. Luke’s the first person who’s ever made me feel like I’m neither of those things. I want to fight it. But there’s a part of me that wants to give into it. I was ready to kiss Luke last night. Before it all went wrong. Before I fucked things up.

I crawl out of Steve’s bed, go over to my jeans lying on his bedroom floor and reach for my phone in one of the pockets. My stomach twists when I look at the screen. No texts from Luke, but two from Emily.

“Where are you?”

“I guess you left. Text me when you wake up tomorrow!” 

Steve comes back into the bedroom and places his hand flat on my back, rubs it and makes an, “Mmmm!” sound.

“I need to go!” I tell him.

His face drops. He looks disappointed but nods. I look around the room. “Where’s my t-shirt?”

“You weren’t wearing one!”

Oh God no. No, no, NO. I can’t have left my Johnny Bravo t-shirt in that club. My birthday present from Luke. The t-shirt I called the “best bday pressie ever” on Instagram.

“It must be here!” I say, panicked.

Steve shakes his head. “You just had your jacket on!”

Fuck! I can’t believe I lost my Johnny Bravo t-shirt. I feel my eyes start to water again. Jesus. Get it together, Woody. It was just a stupid t-shirt. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t just a stupid t-shirt at all.

Steve tells me where he lives and I order an Uber. “When are you down next?” he says to me as I hover by the door with my jacket zipped up.

I pull a face and shrug and avoid eye contact with him, because I just want to leave. And I have no interest in seeing this guy again. He furrows his eyebrows and looks a little hurt. And now I’m thinking back to when I first met him in the pub last night. How cool and casual he was. How I thought he was different to the guys I usually pull. Now he just seems like all the rest of them.

“Well, this is me!” Steve says, handing me a business card. I look at it, pull a face and put it in my jacket pocket. I know I’m being a dick, but I don’t really care. This guy has no idea what’s going on with me right now.

And now he’s glaring at me with his suspicious look, his eyes narrowed. “You’ve got a boyfriend, haven’t you?”

“Nope!” I say, flatly.

“But there’s someone!” 

Fuck. I totally didn’t expect him to say that. I don’t know what my expression is doing but Steve reaches out his hand and gently rubs the back of it up and down the material of my jacket covering my stomach and I feel myself softening.

“I could so fall in love with you!” he says to me.

And now I’m smiling. I can’t help it. It’s a nice gesture but it’s also completely absurd, because not only does he not know me at all, but I’ve even been a bit of a dick to him. I know he wouldn’t be saying that to me if I was regular sized and average looking. 

“Because of the way I look?”

Steve furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head. “Because you’re special!”

I feel a pinch of something in my chest.

His chest heaves up and down as he grips my waist with both hands and looks me in the eye. “Big personality. Big biceps. Big heart.” 

I have no idea what to say. It’s cheesy as hell, but it also might be one of the sweetest fucking things anyone’s ever said to me. Steve steps closer and I give in as he wraps his arms around me and I sink into his body. “Even if you are a rude little prick!” he says in my ear. I laugh as I stay gripping on to him.

It’s nice. Being held by him. I feel strangely protected. But he’s not Luke. And now I feel sad again. And also, like I really wanna see Luke.

“Well whoever this someone is, he’s a really lucky guy!”

My chest expands. Even though I don’t agree. Even though I think it’s me who’s the lucky one to have even met Luke in the first place.

I have no idea what’s waiting for me as I get out of the Uber and walk up the drive to Emily’s student house. I have this image of Luke still being in bed. And me walking into the bedroom and up to him, not saying a word, pulling back the duvet cover and climbing into the bed fully clothed, then snuggling up to Luke and just kissing him. Neither of us saying anything. Words not needed. Could it ever be that easy?

Emily opens the door to me with a kind smile and a, “Hey!” She seems so casual, like nothing particularly interesting happened last night. As I step inside the house I can hear this loud laughter coming from somewhere. It’s so fucking jarring. And completely at odds with what I’m feeling right now. 

I follow Emily into the kitchen and discover who the laughter is coming from when I spot an annoyingly cheerful Max in the kitchen. One of Emily’s flatmates is here too and then I feel a fluttering in my chest when I see Luke sitting on a stool. He’s wearing his blue Batman t-shirt. The one he was wearing the very first time I saw him. 

“Alright, ya dirty stop out!” Max teases. Wait - what is Max doing here anyway? I make eye contact with Luke and my stomach flips. He gives me a sort of forced little smile, but he looks really awkward. Nervous, even.

They all seem like they’re having a good time. And I’m here feeling like my insides are screaming. I don’t know what I was expecting to come back to but it definitely wasn’t this. I feel like I’m completely outside of what’s going on here.

“Do you want a coffee, Seb?” Emily asks.

“Erm … yeah, okay!” I shrug. Something flickers across her face and I can tell she knows I’m not okay. 

I’m really not in the mood for this. To be sociable. Why is Max so fucking loud? I just want it to be me and Emily so we can talk. No - I just want it to be me and Luke. He’s not even making eye contact with me now. Almost like he’s scared to. I have this strong urge to walk up to him, grab his hand, take him upstairs into Emily’s room, push him against the door and kiss him.

Max says something and Luke smiles and my stomach lurches. And then I think about that grin on his face when Max gripped his arm in the pub last night. And Max telling me he thinks Luke’s adorable and the expression on both of their faces when they were looking at me from the dancefloor. And now I’m wondering what happened in that club last night after I left with Steve and where exactly Max slept last night and oh my fucking God - it feels like my chest is caving in. 

“I’m, er … gonna take a shower!” I mumble. Luke finally looks at me again, this look of concern on his face and it feels like I’m momentarily hit with a tiny wave of elation.

Max jumps off his stool. “I’m going in a bit. Come here, gorgeous!” he says, embracing me in a hug. I melt a little. Because I like Max. Max - who surely didn’t sleep in Emily’s bed with Luke last night? 

When we’ve stopped hugging, Max gives me this weird, knowing look with a sort of half smirk. I don’t know what it means. Maybe a look to say that he knows why I lied about Luke having a boyfriend? Or something else. A look to say “you lied to me about Luke but HA - the joke’s on you because we messed about last night after you left!” My stomach lurches at the thought. 

I turn away from a still awkward looking Luke and head upstairs. And as I’m making my way up to Emily’s room, I hear Max say to the others, “I could so fall in love with that guy!” 

You and every other guy, Max. But what about the one person I actually like? The one person I actually want?

When I get to the top of the stairs I stop, take my phone out and text Emily. “Did anything happen with Max and Luke??”

My insides twist with anxiety as I stare at the screen waiting for a reply. But nothing comes. Why isn’t she texting me back? 

I open her bedroom door and look at the empty bed me and Luke shared the other night and this weird feeling washes me that I can’t explain. And then my phone pings. A text from Emily. “No! 2 secs. I’m coming up.” 

I sit on the bed, a huge wave of relief going through me and that’s when I spot it. My Johnny Bravo t-shirt draped over my holdall. Fuck. For some reason my eyes start to water again.

There’s a knock on the door and Emily comes in holding a cup of coffee. She’s giving me this kind, knowing grin.

“You okay?” she says, sitting down on the bed next to me.

I have no idea what to say. I just roll my eyes and shake my head. 

“Remember that guy from the pub? I ended up back at his!”

“We know!” Emily says, surprising me. “Well, we guessed. Max saw you with him.” 

“Did … Luke say anything?” 

My stomach twists. Emily’s mouth curls into a little grin and then she shakes her head. “Not really about the guy. He was just worried you were mad at him!” 

I feel a stab of guilt.

“I could tell it bothered him that you left with someone, though!” Emily says, biting her lip as her mouth curls into an excited little grin. Fuck. I feel a jolt of excitement. I roll my eyes at her, failing to suppress the fact that hearing that has made me smile. Then I groan and flop back onto the bed.

Emily wraps her arm around my waist and lays her head on my torso, cuddling into me.

“So … why did Max came back?” 

“Cheaper than getting a taxi!”

“Where did he sleep?” I ask, my stomach twisting again.

She looks up at me and smiles. “With me!”

I roll my eyes at her and grin back. “I kinda did a stupid thing last night!”

Emily gives me a look of panic. “Seb!” she says, sternly.

I shake my head. “Not with that guy!” I let out a little sigh. “So Max told me he thought Luke was adorable. And I, erm … kinda told him that Luke was out of bounds because he had a boyfriend.”

She pulls an eeeek face then smiles. Like she’s secretly enjoying the drama.

“And I think Max might have said something to him?”

“Hmmm. Neither of them said anything to me about it,” she says. I know Emily would tell me if either of them did. Maybe Luke was too nervous? Or maybe Max didn’t say anything after all? Maybe they were talking about something else last night in the club and there was a reason why they were both looking at me with those baffled expressions? Maybe that look Max gave me this morning meant something completely different?

“Max … did say something about you and Luke though!” she says, biting her lip. Oh God.

I groan. “What?”

Emily’s smiling at me. “Just that you’re both clearly crazy about each other.”

Fuck. I close my eyes. Almost like I’m scared to look at her. But my heart’s blowing up in my chest.

When I look at Emily again she’s giving me this kind, knowing smile. 

“I … don’t think I was even that pissed off at him last night. I think I kind of wanted to start an argument? Like, maybe I thought it would be easier to be mad at him rather than ... you know. Is that fucked up?”

She pulls a face like she doesn’t know and then gives me an understanding smile. She rests her head on me again and we stay silent for a little while. 

“Thanks for saving my Johnny Bravo t-shirt, by the way.” 

Emily looks up at me, her chin resting at the bottom of my chest. “I didn’t!” she says, softly. “Luke held on to it the whole night!”

All the time I’m in the shower I’m thinking about Luke. What I’m going to say to him about last night. And whether it’s going to be awkward between us. Things definitely felt awkward downstairs earlier. I keep picturing Luke in the club clutching my t-shirt, worrying that he’d pissed me off while I was in the toilet cubicle getting my cock sucked by Steve. And maybe wondering why the hell I lied to Max about him having a boyfriend? Oh God. What if Luke confronts me about it? What the hell will I say to him? Surely he wouldn't. I think about that night we went to Glasgow. How I got arsey and demanded we leave the pub because that guy was talking to him. Luke didn’t question me about it the next day. And I have a feeling he won’t question me about the Max thing either. 

As nervous as I am about talking to Luke though, I also can’t wait. To see him again. To be near him. To sit next to him. Last night I wanted to escape everything. Right now I just want to be with Luke. Back at university, sitting on my bed watching one of the Harry Potter films on my laptop. His body next to mine, me wishing I could reach out and brush his forearms with my fingers and rest my head against his thighs. I love those moments when it’s just me and him. And as scared as I am about my feelings for Luke, how much power they have over me, all those moments with him and those thoughts I have about him feel so, so fucking special. 

When I get back to Emily’s room I feel a kick to the stomach. Because Luke isn't there. His bag is though. At some point he’ll be coming back to collect it. And sure enough, just as I’m pulling a plain black, tight fitted t-shirt over my head, Luke walks into the room.

He sort of pauses as he sees me. He looks a little nervous.

“Alright!” I say, my stomach clenching.

“Hey!” he says softly, with an uncomfortable half smile. 

I sit down on Emily’s bed to put my socks on and Luke starts to pack his things away in his holdall. Neither of us are saying anything. There’s a weird atmosphere in the room. And God - things feel so fucking awkward.

“How’s your head?” I ask. I hate how nervous my voice sounds. 

“Not too bad!” he says, not looking up from packing. “Yours?” he asks, still not looking at me. 

I give him the exact same reply I gave to Steve this morning. “Fine!” Which is ridiculous because nothing about me is fine right now. And why isn’t Luke making eye contact with me?

He carries on packing up his things and I just sit on the bed. Argh! I hate this. I hate how awkward things are. I pick up my phone because I don’t know what else to do. And then. Oh God. Luke comes over and gently sits down next to me on the bed, the familiar scent of his aftershave hitting me. I don’t look up, but I can feel him next to me. And being this close to Luke again, it feels like my whole body wants to explode. God - I want him so fucking badly it almost hurts.

I’m still looking at my phone. My heart starts beating faster. And I have to bite my lip because I can feel myself wanting to smile. 

“Are we … okay?” Luke asks, his voice audibly nervous.

Fuck. I totally wasn’t expecting him to ask me that question. I kind of love that he has, but I suddenly feel nervous. Because I have no idea how to answer it.

I turn and look at him and he cautiously looks back. “Yeah!” I say, shrugging. He swallows hard, his face softens and his mouth curls into a small smile. His dimples appear either side of his lips. Just a tiny bit. And I feel like I want to fucking die.

I smile back and we keep eye contact for a little back, and then Luke’s eyes fall away from me and his expression changes. “You seemed … kinda mad at me last night!” he says, looking at his hands. Then he cautiously looks back at me, this look of hurt on his face. I feel a sharp stab of guilt. I want to tell him that I don’t think I could ever really be that mad at him.

I pull a face and shake my head. “It’s just … all that gay bodybuilder stuff!” I look away from him and down at my huge thighs bulging underneath my skinny jeans. “It just gets to me sometimes!” I look up and he’s nodding and smiling a little as he bites his lip.

“I’ve been thinking about what you were saying last night,” Luke says, “about being an openly gay bodybuilder. What Hancox said to you. This whole idea that it could ruin your reputation and affect your career. Maybe all of that should bother me more …”

I shake my head and go to say something but Luke interrupts me. “The thing is … this whole idea of me becoming an actual competitive bodybuilder. Even just me being at Muscle University. It’s like … such a crazy notion. And if it actually happens, it would be like, a fucking dream come true. So I guess … all the stuff about not being able to be openly gay. It doesn’t really bother me that much!”

Wow. I feel like such a fucking idiot. Everything Luke just said makes perfect sense.

“I totally get it. I … think I just overacted!”

He shakes his head. “No. You just feel strongly about it. And you should. I mean … maybe if I do become a bodybuilder, I’ll feel differently about it!”

“You mean when you become a bodybuilder!” 

Luke’s mouth curls into this adorable, coy grin. ARGH! 

“It’s good that you’re … you know, passionate about stuff!” Luke says.

My chest flutters. And now I’m smiling. “Is that what you’d call it?” I ask, with an eyebrow raised.

Luke grins back, bites his lip and nods. “It’s a Gryffindor trait!”

And now we’re just smiling at each other. Sitting next to each other on Emily’s bed. Our bodies close together. Luke looking as adorable as he always does. A Woody and Luke moment. Definitely a Woody and Luke moment. 

“Thanks for saving my Johnny Bravo t-shirt!”

Luke gives a little shrug. He’s still smiling, but there’s something flickers across his face.

“And … I’m sorry I kind of abandoned you!” 

Oh God. My stomach clenches. I don’t know why I just said that. Luke nods, suddenly looks awkward. He looks away from me and towards the floor, no longer smiling. And now it feels like there’s this tension between us. 

“Didn’t know you were into daddies!” he says, still not looking at me. What the fuck? I can not believe he just said that. He’s still not looking at me. Like he’s bothered by the fact that I left with Steve. Like he’s jealous! Oh my fucking God. My heart feels like it’s blowing up in my chest. And now I’m smiling. I can’t fucking help it. 

“I mean … he was no Johnny Hoxton!”

Luke finally looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes. His expressions has softened. And there’s a cute, little grin there. But I can tell he’s still bothered by the whole Steve thing. Fuck. It feels like something huge just happened. And is still happening now.

“So … guess what?” I say to Luke.

He looks at me with a cute and confused smirk. 

I lean to my left and pull my jeans down slightly so that Luke can see what boxers shorts I’m wearing. The bright red Harry Potter ones he gifted me yesterday morning along with my t-shirt. Luke’s eyes widen and an even bigger grin creeps over his face and ARGH - this boy is fucking killing me.

“Guess what?” Luke says, with a mischievous smirk.

Then he leans to his right and tugs at the waistband of his jeans and I see the bright yellow material of his infamous Harry Potter boxers. I can’t believe it. I laugh and suddenly have a flashback to the very first time I saw Luke wearing those boxers in Posing Practice 101.

“You know they’re, like, the most famous boxer shorts in the history of Muscle University?”

He beams and rolls his eyes and the events of last night don’t seem to matter anymore. It feels like we’re back to being us. Only … it feels like something’s changed. Like there’s been a shift. Luke’s smiling at me and I’m smiling at him and it feels like something is happening again. I’m looking at his cute face. His adorable dimples. His little nose. And there’s this tension. Luke’s just looking at me, no longer smiling. This weird look on his face. And then his eyes drop and he’s looking at my mouth. Almost like - oh my God - he wants to fucking kiss me. Another Woody and Luke moment. The biggest Woody and Luke yet. Is this it? Are me and Luke about to kiss? My heart starts beating. My stomach’s twisting. And I really, really want to kiss Luke. And he’s looking at me like he really wants to kiss me too. And then … beedabipbeepbeepbip … Luke’s phone starts ringing.

Luke breaks eye contact as he reaches for his phone in his jeans pocket and my heart sinks.

“Oh!” he says, a little embarrassed as he plays with his phone and the ringing stops.

“Who was that?”

Max! Oh God, it was Max. Luke gave him his number last night. Luke suddenly looks sheepish. Why does Luke suddenly look sheepish?

“No one. I, erm … set an alarm on my phone so we wouldn’t miss the train!” he explains, with a coy smile.

I breathe a sigh of relief and roll my eyes at him. “Of course you did!”

Half an hour later and me, Luke and Emily are at the train station. I’m sad that the weekend’s already over, but I don’t have that gut wrenching feeling I normally have whenever I say goodbye to Emily and head back to university on the train.

“Are you coming back home for the Easter holidays?” I ask Emily.

She pulls a face like she’s unsure. “Hmmm! Maybe for, like, a long weekend?”

“Oh great!” I say, rolling my eyes. Two weeks back at my parents with Emily hardly being there. And then I suddenly think - two weeks without Luke. Fuck. My stomach clenches at the thought. I presume he’ll be going home for the holidays as well. Unless he’s staying at Montgomery. In which case, maybe I could stay too. Two weeks of hanging out with Luke in our dorm room. I can think of a lot worse ways to spend the holidays. 

“Well, you know you can always come and stay down here!” Emily says. She looks at Luke, almost like she’s about to give him the same offer, then she looks back to me and gives me an ominous smile. “I bet Leonard would love to see you again!”

I let out a short, loud laugh. “Oh - did I tell you I called him a judgemental little prick?”

“You didn’t?!” Emily exclaims. Luke’s looking at me wide eyed, with an excited smirk.

I playfully gasp. “I DID!”

Something hits me half way through the train journey back to Glasgow. Not only is that horrible feeling of sadness I usually feel whenever I’m leaving Emily and heading back to Montgomery absent, but I actually feel this warm, happy buzz at the prospect of going back. And I know why. It’s the thought of being back in the dorm room with Luke. Just me and him in our own little world.

Luke takes a shower when we get back to our room and I collapse on my bed. I love that things feel like they’ve gone back to normal. I was so worried that I’d completely fucked everything up last night. And that the awkwardness I felt with Luke this morning would be permanent. Of course, I still don’t know what Max was saying to Luke last night in the club. Whether Luke knows that I lied about him having a boyfriend. But even if he does, it doesn’t seem like he’s about to mention it any time soon.

I look over to Luke’s side of the room and see the illustration of Tommy “The Tank” Foster I drew pinned to the wall above his bed. I still can’t believe he did that.

I think about getting my sketchbook out and starting something new. Would it be weird to draw in front of Luke? It’s only ever something I’ve done in private. Would I feel embarrassed even though he knows about my illustrations and approves? I guess I don’t have to hide my sketchbook under my pillow any more at least.

I get my regular notebook out instead and finish the new and improved training plan I started writing up for Luke. I feel like I still have some making up to do after everything that happened last night in Bristol. As I’m writing out his new legs workout for Thursday, I suddenly remember why I’m even doing this. Because Johnny asked me to do it as part of the whole “mentoring Luke to get my own room” deal. It’s kind of funny because I’d completely forgotten that up until this moment. I’m now just really doing it to help him out. And also just because it’s for Luke.

He comes out of the shower and my stomach flutters when I get a glimpse of his cute abs. And then I see his beefy little arse nestled into his yellow Harry Potter boxers and I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling.

I finish up Luke’s new training plan and my heart expands as I think about giving it to him. I can still remember that giddy, flattered grin on his face when I first offered to adjust his current plan earlier in the week.

“Right then, Geek to Freak!” I say, ripping out the pages from my notebook and standing up. “Follow this and you’ll be bouncing those little pecs of yours in no time!”

Luke just looks at me with a confused smirk as I stand over his bed with my arm outstretched, clutching the training plan for him to take. 

“What’s this?” he asks. 

I don’t reply. I just shake the pages and glare at him wide eyed and he finally takes them. I feel a flutter of excitement as Luke looks at the pages now in his hands, his cute smirk getting wider. He looks up at me, suddenly looking sheepish and flattered. “Thanks!”

I just shrug. “No worries!” I tell him, my insides feeling like they’re melting as I retreat back to my bed. “Don’t forget to take it to Johnny for him to approve!”

Luke nods, still looking at the plan. “Does it end on Friday?”

“No - Saturday!” I tell him. He looks confused as he flips over one of the pages. “I think there might be a page missing!”

“Oh!” I tut and reach for my notebook. As I pick it up my phone starts to ring. I groan and look at the screen with every intention of ignoring it. 

“Ugh! It’s my mum!”

She said she’d phone me today because she knew I was in Bristol with my friends for my birthday yesterday. Luke’s giving me this kind of weird, almost excited look. Maybe he’s curious to know what I’ll sound like speaking to my mum. I suddenly feel oddly nervous at the prospect.

“Answer it!” he orders, with a little smirk.

Shit. I roll my eyes and grab my phone. “Alright!” I say into the phone, covering my nerves.

“Hello, darling!” she replies. “Happy belated Birthday for yesterday!”

“Thanks!” I say, suddenly feeling weirdly shy. I look at Luke and he’s giving me this teasing grin, like he knows I’m a little embarrassed. But it’s funny. Talking to mum in front of Luke, I don’t know why, but it seems to be giving me this kind of warm, fuzzy feeling.

My mum asks me if I had a good time yesterday and what I got up to. As she’s talking, I look at Luke, gently roll my eyes and pull the face you would if your mum’s going on at you down the phone.

I start through my notebook as I’m talking to her to find the last page of Luke’s new training plan. I lose patience when I can’t find it, so I walk over to Luke’s bed and hand it to him. “It’s near the back somewhere!” I whisper to him.

“Who’s that you’re talking to, Sebastian?” mum asks down the phone. 

Fuck. I feel a sharp pang of nerves. I can’t exactly say “no one” in front of Luke.

“Ummm … my roommate!” I tell her, without looking at Luke. I feel weirdly excited to be talking about Luke with my mum.

“You didn’t tell me you had a new roommate. What’s he like?”

He’s lovely and adorable and funny and cute and I think I might be falling in love with him.

“He’s nice!” 

I look over at Luke and he’s giving me this cute, sheepish grin. I stand up and put my back to him, because I just feel a little embarrassed right now. And I also don’t think I can take any more of his cuteness without my heart exploding in my chest.

Mum reminds me that she and my dad are off to Monaco later in the week and asks me how long I’m coming back for the Easter break. I tell her I’m not entirely sure, but not because if Luke stays here at Montgomery then I might just stay here with him. And all the time we’re talking I’m thinking about the boy sitting a few feet away from me on his bed right now flicking through my notebook to find the last page of his new and improved training plan.

“Speak to you soon. Love you, darling!” my mum says down the phone. I’m so fucking glad Luke’s not looking at me right now.

“Yep. Have a nice time. Bye, mum!” I say, wincing and internally cringing because Luke can hear me, but also strangely loving it at the same time. I hang up and throw my phone down on the bed, fully expecting Luke to be smirking at me when I turn around. No doubt they'll be some teasing too.

But when I do spin around to face my roommate, a completely different expression is on his face. One that I’ve never seen before. And one that makes my stomach lurch. He’s looking at my notebook looking totally confused and completely winded.

“What’s this?” he says, looking up at me. 

And suddenly my heart leaps into my throat. Because I know exactly what fucking page of my notebook Luke’s looking at. Oh my God his face.

“Plan to mentor Luke?” he asks.

Oh God no. No, no, NO! My insides are tightening. I feel a surge of panic. And oh my God Luke’s face.

“Take him posing trunk shopping? Take him to the gym?” he says, reading off the page.

Okay, this is bad. This is really fucking bad! I could try and spin a lie. I could say it was just an idea that I had in my head. Just meaningless doodling in a notebook. But I know that’s not going to work.

He looks up at me and God - he looks so fucking hurt. And seeing that expression on Luke’s face, it feels like someone’s twisting a knife into my heart.

“Okay - I have a bit of a confession!” I tell him, trying to sound calm, even though I’m feeling anything but. 

“So a few days after you transferred here, Johnny … kind of asked me to help you out!”

Luke screws up his face in further confusion. “Johnny?! Help me out how?”

I try and keep my cool. I need this to sound as good as it possibly can. “He asked me to be, like, a mentor to you! Take you to the gym. Get you some posers. Do you a training plan!”

He looks away from me and just stares into nothing, looking deep in thought, like he’s trying to take it all in. 

“I know it looks kind of bad, but … it was a nice thing!” 

Luke makes eye contact with me again, still confused and clearly not knowing what to make of what I’m telling him. “Why would he do that?”

“Because he likes you. And he wants you to do well. And … I guess he was a little worried ‘cause, you know, you’re not as advanced as most of the other lads here!”

I’m starting to calm down a little, because I feel like I’m explaining this well. Luke’s obviously confused and surprised, but I feel like he’s going to come around and see the good in the situation. 

I cautiously sit down on Luke’s bed. “And … he said you’d had a tough year!”

Luke’s face immediately screw up and he huffs, like he’s offended. Fuck! I should NOT have said that. He looks at the notebook again and then his expression changes to something else entirely.

“What was in it for you?” he says. I’m completely taken aback by his tone of voice. It’s so fucking cold. 

And now I’m panicking again, because I suddenly remember what else is written on that page. 

Luke looks up at me and I want to scream. Because he no longer just looks hurt. Now he looks angry too. And I know I’ve fucked up. I’ve fucked up with the one person I never wanted to fuck up with. With the person I adore more than anyone.

Luke holds up his notebook to me so I can see the page. “Be nice to Luke equals own room yay?” he spits.

My stomach lurches.  This is not happening. This can not be fucking happening. 

“Luke, I know it looks bad, but … I wrote that ages ago!”

“So THAT’S why you took me posing trunk shopping?” he spits. Fuck. I’ve never seen this side of him before. “That’s why you suddenly started being so nice to me? So you can get your own room? So you can get away from me?”

“NO!” I cry, “I mean …” (fuck, fuck, FUCK!) “... at first, maybe yeah!”

Luke scoffs and looks away from me. Wrong thing to say AGAIN, Woody. And God - Luke almost looks like he might start to cry. And I want so much to just reach out and cuddle him. To tell him how I really feel about him. 

“Luke, you know I hated the whole roommate thing! So yeah - at first, getting my own room appealed to me. Of course it did!”

Luke just shakes his head, still looking away. And then he looks back at me stoney faced, his eyes squinted and I suddenly feel like my body’s gone cold. And also, like I want to fucking cry. Because I never thought Luke would look at me that way. “And ALL you had to do was pretend to be my friend!”

“I AM your friend!” I cry.

He scoffs and looks down at the notebook again. “You’ve written ‘Kill me now’!” 

And then a bolt of panic surges through me. Because what if Luke doesn’t forgive me? What if this is it for me and him? What if I’ve fucked it up for good and there’s no going back? 

Luke shakes his head, throws the notebook down, leaps off the bed and reaches for his backpack. Fuck! 

“Luke - what are you doing?” I cry.

“I need to get out of here!” he says in a determined tone. 

NO. This can’t be it. This can’t be how it ends. I won’t fucking let it.

“Where are you going?” I ask, standing up from the bed. 

Luke shrugs. “The gym. The library. Anywhere!” he says, not making eye contact with me. Like he can’t even bare to look at me.

“Luke - this is stupid. ARGH! Of course we’re friends. I mean, what - do you think I was just pretending to like hanging out with you this whole time?”

Luke shrugs. “Maybe!” he says, stuffing his gym clothes into his backpack and still not looking up at me. 

“You think I’m THAT good of an actor?” 

Luke pulls a face. “Maybe the Woody I met on my first day here is the real you. Maybe this whole time you’ve just been secretly laughing at me and insulting me in your head!”

Oh wow. I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach. I just stand there, feeling winded. 

I shake my head. “How could you think that?”

Luke finally turns to look at me, and seeing my face, something flickers in his expression. And now we’re just standing there looking at each other.

“Why do you think I took you to Glasgow? Sat on my bed watching Harry bloody Potter?”

Luke swallows hard. I can tell he’s still angry, but his expression has softened. 

“Told you about my family. My brother! Showed you my drawings. Invited you to Bristol for my birthday?”

Luke’s just looking at me, like he’s studying my face. Then his expression hardens again and he shrugs. “To get your own room? I mean, it’s written right there!” he says, pointing to the notebook on his bed.

Wow. I shake my head and look away. For the first time, I’m having trouble looking at Luke right now. 

“If you really believe that then fine!” I say, my chest tightening. “Have fun at the gym!”

But Luke doesn’t move. He just stands there looking at me. His eyes burning into me. I look at him again and his expression has changed. He seems calmer. 

“Why did you tell that Max guy that I had a boyfriend?”

Oh my God! My stomach lurches. I can’t believe he just asked me that. And so calmly. I have no fucking idea what to say. I suddenly feel like I want to escape. But I also can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than here with Luke.

I do what I always do in times of panic. I fake it. I shrug and pull a face. “Didn’t think you’d be interested in him!” I say casually.

Luke’s still standing there glaring at me. Then he quietly scoffs and nods his head. Then he turns away from me and reaches for his backpack and something suddenly rises in my chest. I really don’t want Luke to go. I have to do or say something to make him stay.

“Luke, just … come on, let’s sort this out!” I plead.

He stubbornly shakes his head and steps towards the door. Without thinking, I step back and in front of the door, blocking him from getting out. Luke’s standing right in front of me now, clutching his backpack. 

“We weren’t friends when I wrote that stuff!” I tell him, my voice getting louder. “I don’t even care about having my own room anymore!”

“So why did you do me a training plan? That was part of the whole deal to mentor me wasn’t it? I mean, you literally just gave it to me, like, five minutes ago!”

“Because … ugh! I wanted to do it for you. I wasn’t even thinking about Johnny!” I say, my voice getting louder.

He shakes his head. “How am I supposed to believe you?”

“Oh my God! Luke!” I cry, losing my patience. I turn away briefly. I have no idea what to say. No words seem big enough to describe my emotions. What I’m feeling right now. What I’ve been feeling for weeks.

“Do you know how fucking miserable I was before you showed up?” 

I don’t think about what I’m saying. I’m just saying whatever comes into my head.

“All of this!” I say. “This uni. This place. Everything here was shit. Like, really, really shit. And then you showed up with your Tommy Foster poster. And your geeky t-shirts. And your Harry bloody Potter boxer shorts!” 

Fuck. I can’t quite believe what I’m telling him. But it feels so right to be saying these words to Luke. 

“And all that time we were hanging out. Going to Glasgow. Going to Bristol. Just … being here. With you!” 

I pause and swallow hard. Luke’s just looking at me. He no longer looks angry. He bites his lip. His face is so close to mine. That face I love so fucking much. His cheeks. His nose. His mouth. Oh God. I have to fucking kiss that mouth. Fuck! This is it. I’m gonna do it. I’m going to kiss Luke. I have to kiss Luke.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open my eyes, I’m gonna lean forward and kiss him. My lips on his. Any second now. And then … oh my fucking God! My chest is exploding. My insides are on fire. And it feels like my feet have left the fucking floor. Because, while I was thinking about kissing him, Luke started kissing me. 

[WashburnDaddy]

Agggghhhhhhhh................

[Shawn1978]

OMG! Finally! It's about time, boys!

Although, I didn't think the kiss would happen this soon, after Woody's secret was revealed, I think it was meant to happen this way. Woody had to face his feelings and make up with Luke, fast before he possibly lost him for good.

This chapter was intense. I'd visualized a lot of dramatics with this scene, myself, with Luke crying and leaving the room. And coming back later, saying that day, still hurt, saying to Woody that when that bodybuilding competition comes, that he's going down. He says not only is he going to outdo Woody, but every muscle guy at MU, leaving him the biggest at the University.

And you know something? Even without you having to say a word, Muscleaddict, I have the strongest intuition that's where the story is ultimately going. 

I think Luke will shock everyone at MU by being bigger than all of them by the time the competition comes.

Good work, Muscleaddict! Can't wait to see what happens with Lebastian from here! Can i officially start using their couple name now?

[Built22]

And breath..............   ...     

 

Finally one of them takes the lead

[BrzNLA]

YYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!

@muscleaddict Such an awesome chapter and full of conflict and action! I loved it. It is your best chapter so far. Just a quick question: Why the chapter wasn’t longer???? HAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding Mate! Thank you for your hard work! Best Sunday ever!

[Bjort]

Woohoo!!!

[brawnygods]

2 hours ago, Built22 said:

Finally one of them takes the lead

Figures Luke would beat him to it.  Some couples, straight or gay, come across like twins in a way--matching sets.  I like that these two come at it from such different places--they'll have a lot to teach each other and that'll be fun to watch.