Train Me

Chapter 16

Can's POV

Going back to work on Monday felt weird. Like stepping out of a dream into an unfortunate reality.

Can missed Tin's presence.

He had gone home to sleep at his own apartment the night before, because he was working the early shift – but it had felt empty and overly stuffed at the same time. There was a lot of stuff, there were his plants, but there was no Tin. Can was already contemplating how to go about moving into Tin's condo more permanently as soon as possible.

Of course, there was the thought that it was too early, that it was madness to commit so strongly already after just a weekend. But then... to Can, it didn't feel like they had just started their dating experience. Under the surface, it felt like he had known Tin for ages – or that they had allowed each other to be so intimate with one another that time didn't matter.

If it fit... why delay it?

He would have to talk to Tin about it – but if the messages he had been sending to him were any indication, Tin didn't like being separated one bit either. At least, Tin had agreed immediately when Can had proposed that he would bring lunch to Tin's office – under the pretext that he was Tin's personal trainer and that he was here to explain the nutrition plan Tin had agreed to follow; something Can had assured him he could actually do, if he wanted it.

Can had even been tempted to pack up and go back to the condo in the middle of the night – but he needed to get some sleep before he started morning class.

Now that he was at the gym, Can was confused to see that something about him must have changed over the weekend. He had barely entered the still closed training room, when he had already received the first compliments by his colleagues on how good he looked today.

He had looked down on himself and wondered what they were referring to. He was wearing the same old track suit he always wore and he had rather taken less than more time to get ready this morning, because he had fallen asleep so late.

Then, there had been three customers, who had spontaneously joined yoga class, when they had understood that it was taught by him. He had actually checked in front of the mirror whether his yoga pants were see-through or something and he hadn't noticed. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. He simply wasn't used to people lining up to attend his classes.

Also... he had never had a class who had followed his instructions so well.

Most baffling, though, had been when his boss had taken him aside during morning break, and had asked him to look through the training plans of several of their other high-level private training clients. He had even explicitly referred to Can's success with their most VIP client – and Can began to wonder if the sudden positive notice he was receiving was really all just a consequence of experiencing what it felt like to be respected and acknowledged by someone.

Before leaving for his lunch break, Can had asked one of his colleagues if she would swap classes with him this afternoon, so he could take a longer lunch break – he would stay longer in the evening though. To his surprise, she had accepted right away.

Unfortunately, Can hadn't had time to prepare lunch himself. But he went by his favourite street food stalls that served different types of both healthy and really tasty dishes. He made sure to get enough for Tin and him, knowing that Tin had had a tendency to neglect his meals in favour of work in the past.

While he sat on the bus to Tin's company, Can looked at the picture Tin had sent him of his breakfast. It still made him smile every time he looked at it – to see how seriously Tin had taken his command. Though Tin had – rightly, in Can's opinion – taken the option to buy it rather than try his hand at cooking by himself. He wasn't quite ready for that.