So just pull the trigger.

16. He's unstoppable

A week before Jami's and his co-worker's hair fashion show, Joni had arranged a meeting with Jyri and Eljas, concerning a possible job at the gym that Eljas owned with his brother. They had agreed to meet at a sports bar where at least Jyri liked to hang out quite often. It was Wednesday afternoon, a basketball match was playing on the big TV screens, and the bar wasn't very busy at the time.

Joni knew that he was running slightly late and searched for his cousin with his eyes. He stopped when he saw a blond, robust man sitting at a corner table who was looking back at him, grinning and waving his hand. Joni smiled back at him and felt a pinch in the bottom of his stomach caused by the vision of his childhood first crush. He walked towards the table and Eljas continued looking at him with a friendly smile. 

The man was every bit as handsome as Joni remembered, perhaps just more manly. But he didn't beat Misha; Joni thought, not in his eyes.

"Hi, Joni, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Eljas grinned when he got to the table. "The last time I saw you in person, you were at least one-third shorter. Please, take a seat." Eljas pointed to a seat next to him, looking in his eyes, and Joni lowered his gym bag on the seat next to him before sitting down.

"You, on the other hand, haven't changed much since I last saw you. Perhaps gained on muscle, though." Joni smiled.

"And a few years. " Eljas grinned and Joni chuckled lightly.

"Where is Jyri?"

"Went to the men's room," Eljas replied and took a sip of his beer. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I could get myself a coffee," Joni said and was about to stand. Eljas raised his hand; making a gesture that he should take a seat back.

"I'll get it," Eljas said. "With milk?"

"Yes, please. And thank you," Joni said, a little surprised by the offer. Eljas looked at him in a way that appealed to a part of him that once had entertained those naïve schoolboy fantasies about him. 

When Eljas left for the bar, Joni remembered the past with amusement. How badly he had hoped as a boy that he would have been close to the same age as Eljas. That Eljas would have confessed that he too had a crush on him and they would have dated openly, not minding about anyone else's opinions. And they would have kissed a lot. Those dreams had been so innocent then.

Eljas returned before Jyri had come back from the men's room. The blond man set the coffee cup in front of Joni and he thanked him. "Jyri said that you have attended a gym trainer course?" Eljas asked, and Joni nodded.

"Yes, I intend to study more in the physical training field, but at the same time, I would need some practical experience."

"And I, with my brother, are the fresh owners of a health club. The place was a gym before as well, but we've attempted to freshen up the look to attract new customers. The previous owner didn't quite manage to run a successful business." Eljas kept a small pause, observing him. "The place was tired. But we're going to turn things around and make it successful." 

Joni nodded and saw his opportunity. "I could help. Bringing in those customers... and with other stuff."

"Other stuff." Eljas grinned looking amused and for a moment Joni repeated his own words in his mind, wondering if they had sounded something else than what he had intended. At that moment, Jyri returned with a beer.

"I'm sorry that I took so long. I had a bit of a situation," Jyri explained, and Eljas exchanged amused looks with Joni.

"You took a shite, admit it!" Eljas laughed, to which Jyri merely grinned and shrugged his shoulders.