Page 10 of A Minute More

I asked him about it and he shrugged, not giving me an explanation. Seems I have two mysteries on my hands.

“Yeah, I know. But I’ve been too lazy to go out and actually find someone. It’s a lot of work.”

Ollie snorts and then shakes his head. “Yeah, I get it. You are a bit of a lazy ass. Don’t want to put in the work.”

“Yeah, you’re used to women coming to you…” Jude says with a smirk, and I reach over and slug his shoulder.

“So are you.”

“Can’t help that I’m so pretty,” Jude says as he runs a hand down his chest, trying to be seductive but coming across like a goober.

We smile like loons at each other as I pull into the parking lot, and we all hop out. I grab the discs from the back and we make our way to the field where the goals are spread out over the mile-long grass course.

“Man,” Jude begins, already starting his bitching, but we just ignore him. We end up playing a round of disc golf—Jude managing to lose a disc somewhere in the trees—before taking a break, our bodies slick with sweat. It’s a little humid today, and I’m feeling sticky from the heat. Need to move somewhere arid where I don’t sweat as much.

Reaching down, I wrench my shirt over my head and shove it into my shorts pocket.

“Ah, showing off,” Ollie says and then does the same. “I like how you think. Gotta show off for all the lovely ladies around.”

My eyes swivel around the park, and I take in two middle-aged women with visors power walking around the cement track abutting the lawn.

“Oh yeah, lots of ripe prospects,” Jude says, and I snicker.

“Hey, that’s ageism, man. Gotta keep our minds open. Oldies like to fuck too,” Ollie says with a wink.

I run a hand across my jaw as I chuckle and grab a bottle of water, chugging it quickly. My brain freezes in the process, causing me to double over and rub at my temples.

And that’s when I see him.

Fuck, am I imagining it? Could be my obsessed brain playing tricks on me.

But no, that’s Simon in track shorts and a tank top, jogging through the park, heading right toward us.

I stumble upward and try to play it cool as he approaches, but I can’t quite manage it. The water sloshes out of my bottle from gripping it too hard and it splashes across my chest, dripping down my pecs and disappearing into my shorts.

“Fuck,” I mutter as Simon’s long graceful strides stutter slightly. His eyes catch on mine and move quickly down my body before they become laser-focused on the path in front of him.

“Hey, Simon!” Jude shouts, making Simon almost stumble forward. He catches himself and slows his pace, his chest heaving, his cheeks red. He has a line of sweat dripping down his chin, and I wonder for a moment if he’s an avid runner.

Did he run in high school too? College? Did he go to college?

I don’t fucking know. I just have all these questions I need answered. All I know is he won that competition years ago.

“Hi,” he says, that one word slipping beneath my skin and making me antsy. I want him to turn his gaze toward me, but he won’t even look at me. Not even a peek. Maybe my bare chest is making him nervous. I glance down and see the lines of definition in my abdomen and my chest. I mean, it’s not unkempt and gross. I look pretty damn good, I think.

Maybe he’s afraid he’ll look gay if he stares too long. Is that a thing?

I don’t know and I don’t get a chance to examine that further before he’s nodding and jogging off. The only one seemingly thrown off by the whole interaction is me. Jude and Ollie have moved on, bantering and throwing punches at one another while I’m watching the shape of Simon disappear into the distance.

Maybe he’ll come back around, maybe I’ll get a chance to see him once more.

But he never does. He must run straight back to his car and head home because try as I might, I can’t find him anywhere. And so I’m left to drive us all home at the end of the day, feeling a lot worse than when I’d left. Perhaps I should have stayed inside after all.

Maybe going outside is overrated.

Fuck. Maybe Idoneed to get laid.

“I think I need to find someone to fuck,” I announce that night as we all lounge around and eat dinner. Ollie cooked some kind of lasagna and it’s a bit unidentifiable with some kind of meat in it, but I’m not one to complain because hell, I don’t wanna cook, so I force it down.