Page 45 of The Titan and the Trainer

Callum gulped. He wasn’t sure he wanted Julian to see the dilapidated state of The Iron Works just yet. “Yes, maybe, but let’s do your office and stick to the routine for the minute, hey,” he quickly added.

“OK, happy either way, but I definitely want a session here with you at some point,” Julian added, stern-faced.

“Yes, yes, we will,” Callum replied. With that, he leaned into the window, giving Julian a kiss.

“Nice,” said Julian, licking his lips, “talk later.” With that, the window slid up and the car pulled away.

Should I have kissed him in front of Coco and Markus, Callum found himself wondering? He was getting used to boundaries, panicking now. He pulled out his phone.

Callum: Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have kissed you in front of Coco and Markus. I just did it without thinking!

He got a reply within seconds:-

Julian: No problem at all, I was about to kiss you myself anyway. Remember Cal. – no lies, no secrets, my very handsome BF xx

Callum was relieved that he hadn’t caused an issue. He turned and walked into the gym. Rosie was seated behind the desk; pretty obvious she’d seen all that went on.

“Good morning, Cal, and how are we this fine morning?” She beamed at him, said in such a way that made him blush.

He felt his face heat up and just smiled back at her, “It’s a very, very good day, Rosie.” With that, he winked and headed towards the lockers. He knew he needed to call his mom. He’d said he would visit them today, but that definitely wasn’t going to happen now.

Chapter 21 - Plans Change

Wed. 22nd - Thu. 23rd Jan. 25

Wednesday 22nd January 25

The next few days were a bit of a blur for both of them. They’d planned for a training session on Tuesday evening at the office, but Julian ended up having to cancel, called to Minneapolis for some issue with a deal there. That session was rearranged for Thursday. Whilst they were in constant touch via WhatsApp and spoke regularly, Callum found he was really missing him.

He arranged a night out with Sophia for Wednesday and at the last minute at work, when chatting to Jack and Rosie about it, Jack invited himself along with Rosie. Jack knew Sophia from long ago; they even dated at one point. Rosie had met Sophia at the gym twice when she’d visited, but that was it.

They met up at a local Mexican restaurant called The Three Amigos, just off Lafayette. Margaritas were ordered and they were soon chatting and laughing.

At a convenient lull in the conversation, “So, Cal,” asked Sophia, “are we allowed to discuss the elephant in the room?” She gave Callum a knowing look. He knew full well she was referring to Julian’s large dick, which he’d told her about, as they had no secrets, but he rather hoped Jack and Rosie wouldn’t work that out.

“Yes Cal, please give us the gossip,” purred Rosie. “I saw him through the car window. My God, he looked so handsome in his suit.” Jack’s eyes rolled at this point, less interested in this discussion than the girls, but still keen to hear more.

“It’s all going well thanks, but it’s still early days. I’ve only known the guy for two weeks, and we’re dating.” Callum hoped to get away with that update but felt that he wouldn’t. He was right… the investigation continued.

“So, what’s he like? Is he really rich?” Rosie asked, a cheeky grin on her face.

Whilst Callum loved Rosie, she wasn’t as close to him as Sophia or Jack, and he didn’t want to give too much away.

“He’s CEO of a big company downtown, so yes, I believe he’s quite wealthy [white lie told: I know for a fact he’s massively wealthy!], but he’s just a great guy. I really like him, he’s into me, we’re dating and we’ll see where it takes us, I guess.”

At this point, Jack interceded, “So is he going to whisk you away from us, Cal, and you’ll soon forget who your old friends are?”

This annoyed Callum. “What a shitty thing to say Jack, and no, he’s not whisking me anywhere. My roots are still here, and nothing will ever change that.”

Jack snorted and turned back to his margarita.

The rest of the evening flowed better. Callum noticed that Sophia and Jack were quite flirty. He wasn’t sure, but he thought Jack was dating someone currently. He’d check with Rosie later, but then, that had never stopped Jack in the past.

Callum and Rosie chatted about her husband, and an accident he’d had at work which meant his arm was in plaster for six weeks. Food came. They ordered more drinks and it was a nice evening. Callum was annoyed though that he didn’t get to talk privately with Sophia.

As they left the restaurant, he let Jack and Rosie go first so he could grab Sophia on her own. They arranged to meet tomorrow lunchtime, just the two of them, for a real catch-up.

***