Learning To Love (bxb) ✔️

Chapter 20

Character Heights Reference (Approximate) ^^

Liam's POV

On Saturday, I begrudgingly await Rowan's arrival at my house so we could head to the gym.

As much as I'm flattered that he's so willing to pick me up, I can't help but feel guilty over how many times he has done this.

A couple minutes later, he picks me up and we chat on the car ride there. Both of us are already dressed in gym clothes so we check in and simply drop off our stuff in the locker room.

"Let's warm up first." Rowan says, placing his water bottle on the ground before pulling out two mats from a pile. I nod, also placing my water on the ground before settling on the mat. 

We go through some standard stretches (where I definitely got to admire Rowan's impressive muscles) before heading over to the treadmills.

By the time I'm already dying, Rowan has hardly broken a sweat. I'm forced to slow down my speed significantly if I want to continue running at all. We run for a while longer before Rowan suggests heading over to some other workout machines. I gladly agree.

-

-

After the workout, I'm ready to drop dead. All my muscles ache and feel like jello. My throat still hurts like hell even though I've finished my entire water bottle. We've worked out for maybe two hours? Does he do this on a daily basis? I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Rowan thanks me for coming with him to work out today as we head toward the locker rooms. He seems genuinely happy, which I'm glad about.

We enter the locker rooms and grab our stuff. Rowan promptly removes his shirt to change, and I can't help but stare. His muscular torso glistened with sweat, flexing as he moves to grab a shirt.

Rowan then turns to me with a smirk on his face, "you gonna change?"

I feel my entire face burst into flame. I just got caught! Staring! At Rowan's body! I quickly turn around and head to one of the changing rooms, closing the door and changing out of my sweaty shirt before re-emerging again. My face is still hot from embarrassment.

Rowan patiently waits for me by the door as I hurry to catch up with him.

"So... want to go eat somewhere?" I say, desperately trying to distract him (and me) from the embarrassing scenario.

"Sure. Working out makes you hungry." Rowan chuckles, unlocking and getting into his car.

We settle on heading to a cafe nearby.

"I'm gonna pay for this one." I say as we enter. Rowan glances at me with a... fond look? Maybe I'm just misinterpreting it. Yeah, he's probably just happy...

"Sure." He says, moving his arm to rest on my shoulder before abruptly pausing inches before contact, looking at me warily. His eyes ask permission to touch, and I give a small nod. It warms my heart that he even remembered my... hesitation to physical contact with others. A lot of people don't.

Rowan gets a tuna sandwich with some cold juice. I get a chicken sandwich and also a cold juice. We sit down at a small table and start eating.

"Do you like working out?" Rowan asks curiously.

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't do it nearly as often as you do, but I go on jogs and stuff with Ethan. Sometimes Theo and Brianna will come too. I exercise at home. It's not much, but it helps me stay healthy I suppose." I admit quietly.

"It's great to lead a healthy lifestyle. Especially since you can cook, you know? Homemade meals are healthier than eating out all the time."

"Yeah." I smile. I think that it would be fun to cook with Rowan again, but I'm too much of a coward to bring that up in person. Why am I even nervous about this? I should just-

"You know, that time you came over and we made lunch, I had a lot of fun cooking with you. Do you... maybe want to do that again sometime?" Rowan asks. His voice is quieter than usual. Softer.

"I- yeah. Yeah, that would be great." I say, taken back. I was just thinking about asking that!

-

After that, Rowan took me home and we suggested some dates for our next meet up.

"Have fun?" Paul asks me as I step into the house. I send him a smile.

"Yeah."

"You want some food? Working out usually makes you hungry." Paul offers. He should know, being a personal trainer and all.

That's a nice gesture. I think to myself.

"Oh, I'm okay. We actually went to grab a bite after." I reply. I can't bring myself to stop smiling after the meet up. I accidentally let out a chuckle thinking about how stupidly infatuated I am.

"Okay... who's the guy?" Paul suddenly says, raising an eyebrow.

"I- who said it was a guy?" I panic, my palms starting to get clammy. Am I that readable? Can he really tell I like Rowan already? They've never even met!

"... Originally I meant who you were hanging out with, because most of your friends are male... but you like this person, don't you?" Paul looks at me in amusement.

"I-" Nothing comes out of my mouth. How do I even respond?

"So? Is it a guy?" Paul asks.

"Um... yeah." I admit sheepishly, averting my gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that he nods once.

"Just... use protection or whatever."

"Dad! Come on, we're not dating. Just... friends." I sigh. Yeesh, the thought about having another sex talk with a parent is enough to scar me for life. Oh yeah, I started calling Paul "dad". In my head he's still Paul because I've been calling him that for many years, but he's family, so why not call him dad? He's been there for me a lot more than... my biological dad has. I trust him.

"But you want to be more than just friends." Paul states, like he's confirming it.

"Yeah, guess so." I mumble with a shrug of my shoulders. Rowan just seems... so perfect. Completely out of my league. He could have anyone he wants, why would he ever want a tiny little boy with social anxiety issues?

Paul pats me on the back, his face sympathetic.

"You could always try confessing your feelings. It wouldn't hurt."

"But what if it does?" I ask quietly, glancing down at my feet before slowly looking back up, "what if he doesn't want to hang out anymore because it would be weird?"

"Is he straight? Or... One of those people who aren't into relationships?"

"Well, no.. but-"

"Then you at least have a chance. Plus, if he's a true friend, he won't let this crush get between your friendship."

I pause, contemplating Paul's words. He speaks the truth.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks dad." I say, sending him a grateful smile. He beams back, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I hope you know... that I'm glad we bonded. I feel terribly guilty about the way I treated you in the beginning, and how I was only really there for you when your mum wasn't. I should always be there for you." Paul says solemnly. I feel my heart warm at his declaration.

"Yeah, me too... And I can kind of understand why you may not have been totally comfortable chatting with me when we first met. No hard feelings." I reply, my heart feeling lighter as I head up to my room.