Page 73 of Muscle Cub

Or his body in the outfit.

Austin spent too long bowing and thanking his audience before finally exiting the stage. He handed the mic back to John, clasped John’s shoulder, and slapped him on the back in an affectionate dude bro kind of way.

Veronica shouted John’s name to get his attention, pantomimed eating, and John announced that everyone could head into the kitchen and make themselves a plate.

Austin bounded over to me. I tried to think of something nice to say, but he preempted me, breathless with excitement. “Did you know John used to be in a band in college? He invited me to come back and let him record me in his studio.” Austin grabbed my beer and took a deep pull. “He has autotune.”

“Cool.” Honestly, I could picture them becoming bros, and it made me smile. “That’ll be perfect for your Cher-does-Abba numbers.”

Austin gasped. “You remembered!”

I rolled my eyes. “You kinda spoke about it at length the other night.”

Austin’s smile tightened, and he nodded to someone behind me.

Before I turned around, I knew it was Charles.

With his hands on his hips and a smug grin on his face, my ex stood looking back and forth between Austin and me. He wore a polo identical to mine except for the color. Even though he was eight years older than me, his hair was as thick as it had ever been and almost completely silver. He’d never worked out a day in his life, yet he was perpetually lean and muscular. He was more handsome than he had any right to be. I had a hard time believing in karma.

“Paul.” Charles greeted me with the same plastic, camera-ready warmth he displayed whenever we ran into each other on campus. He desperately wanted everyone to believe we’d remained friends. Which was fine. Being perceived as a source of gossip didn’t serve either of us.

“Charles. This is Austin Fox. Austin, this is Charles Tollett, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.”

“Charlie,” he corrected me, shaking Austin’s outstretched hand. “That was quite a performance up there.” For someone who knew him as well as I did, it wasn’t an entirely convincing compliment, but Austin took it as genuine.

“Thanks, bro,” Austin said, throwing his heavy, muscled arm across my shoulders. I couldn’t deny that the possessive gesture thrilled me. “I’ve been wanting to sing that one for Prof.”

“Oh?” Charles lifted his brows feigning casual interest. “You’re a student of Paul’s, then?” He was so fucking eager to catch me being a hypocrite.

“No, no.” I chuckled to keep from grinding my teeth. “Austin graduated from the University of Georgia. In Athens.”

Austin smiled. “Phys ed.”

“Ah.” Charles lifted his eyebrows in a way that came across as more patronizing than impressed. “Coach Fox.”

“Austin’s also a fitness instructor during the summers.” I hated myself for needing to elevate him in Charles’s eyes, but I also wanted Austin to hear himself defined in a more empowering way. “At Edgewood CrossFit and at…”

“Bear Mountain Lodge,” Austin said.

Charles’s smirk returned. “Well, I can definitely picture that.” His gaze roamed over Austin’s body, and then he glanced at my belly a half second too long. “Good ol’ Bear Mountain Lodge. I’ve made some memories there.”

“You’ve been?” The question fell out of my mouth before I could think better of it.

Charles looked me in the eye. “Jasen and I went together a few times.” He shifted his focus back to Austin. “But, you know, I’ve never been as a single guy. I might have to check it out again.”

“You should.” Austin squeezed me against him in a side hug. “Look how lucky I got.” He walked me toward the house, his arm around me the whole way.

After we’d filled our plates, I chose the empty seat beside Mom so Austin could sit across the table from me next to Honey, but he didn’t stay put for long. He spotted Veronica struggling with a tray of drinks and jumped up to help her deliver them to the kids’ table. He asked if he could grab anyone anything else from the kitchen, and one request led to another. Before I knew it, he was serving the entire patio like he was working the dining hall at the lodge.

Austin didn’t know who any of these people were or which ones were related to me, but it didn’t seem to matter. From the few snatches of conversation I overheard, he seemed to be equally at ease chatting with kids, teenagers, and adults.

My aunt and uncle had apparently discovered that Austin had grown up in the Atlanta suburb where they’d lived for thirty years, and they’d lit up with excitement. They started calling out every business, church, and tree in Stone Mountain, and Austin matched them by naming other establishments they would know. He’d found more in common with them in three minutes than I had in a lifetime.

When Austin finally sat down to eat between John and Honey, John started describing his workout routines to Austin in exhaustive detail. Austin listened patiently, nodding as he chewed and repeatedly saying, “Right on,” between mouthfuls.

My dad jumped into the conversation to share that he’d been his fraternity’s arm-wrestling champion in college. “Were you in a fraternity, Austin?”

“Um…” Austin cocked his head and twisted his lips, appearing to think hard before answering. “Not in the way you’re thinking, no.”