Shepard hoped the voice would turn and leave so that he could sneak out of the gym unnoticed and be done with his shitty day. He’d work out in his apartment, that would be fine. A set of forty push-ups and a few workouts with the free weights he had at home and he’d be ok. There was no need to put himself in an awkward situation by working out next to his ex-boyfriend, Rick Valdez.

He hated the gym when we were together. Surprised he’s even here.

Shepard finished tying his sneakers and straightened up on the steel bench. Rick was still behind him, talking excitedly about some new business venture he was working on. Back when they had dated, Rick told Shepard that he owned a booming internet marketing business and had made it seem like he was well on his way to being a thirty-year-old millionaire. It took about four months for Shepard to find out Rick had lied about all of it and was actually a sales clerk at Nordstrom without any side businesses of any kind, at least from what he could tell. Even that ‘fact’ had some doubt behind it. Shepard barely knew anything about the real Rick. It was clear Rick did have some kind of questionable income flow, he spent quite a bit of it on shoes and clothes, but Shepard wasn’t sure if that was just part of his web of elaborate lies. The revelation had obviously shaken Shepard (regardless of how big a discount he was being offered at Nordstrom) and led to a breakup that was more dramatic than a Real Housewives reunion episode. They had yelled and Rick had cried and Shepard had wondered how the hell he had attracted such a crazy guy in the first place. Rick had spent the night camped outside of Shepard’s apartment complex, waiting for a chance to make things right. When the morning came and Shepard left his apartment in his dark blue scrubs, warm coffee mug in hand, Rick had jumped onto the path in front of him and immediately started campaigning for a relationship again. Shepard was too exhausted to feel uncomfortable as Rick followed Shepard to his car, promising him that there would be no more lies from then on out. Shepard remembered scoffing and getting into his car, driving away and watching in the rearview mirror as Rick angrily kicked a concrete column and then started hopping around in pain.

“Yeah, so I should have seventy percent stake in the company by next month,” he heard Rick say behind him.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” someone else said, sounding genuinely impressed. They must not have seen through Rick’s thinly constructed veil of bullshit yet.

“For sure,” Rick said, his voice sounding farther away. He must have been walking deeper into the locker rooms. Now was Shepard’s chance. He grabbed his duffle bag and zipped it up. He threw the thick black strap over his shoulder, the rough fabric scratching his shoulder with how quickly he had thrown it on. He was wearing a sleeveless, light blue workout shirt so there wasn’t much separating his skin from the fabric.

He hurried around the big mirror that marked the exit and out into the hallway and was almost in the clear when he saw someone else that made him freeze in his tracks. This time, though, the man who had stopped him wasn’t someone he was desperate to avoid. Quite the contrary. In front of him stood Dr. Nicholas White, looking exceptionally hot in his light gray gym shorts that stopped an inch or two above his knees and a black tee that hugged his form. He wasn’t overly muscular, which was exactly what Shepard was attracted to. He had a nice chest and sexy arms and a stomach Shepard wanted to run his hands over. Those legs were nothing to scoff at either. Nice meaty thighs that begged to have a bite taken out of them. It didn’t hurt that the gray shorts were the perfect color in that they did nothing to hide the doctor’s slight bulge.

“Oh, Dr. White,” Shepard said, looking down at the floor for a moment. Not only did it allow his eyes to graze over Nick’s crotch, but it also gave Shepard a moment to compose himself. The second he looked into the doctor’s impossibly deep amber brown eyes, his mind was flooded with flashes of their time in the on-call room. It was a year ago and yet Shepard remembered every damn detail. From the way Nick tasted like cinnamon and coffee to the way the doctor’s cock felt inside him.

“Shepard,” he responded, sounding as taken aback as Shepard felt. “I… uhm, hey. Didn’t know you came here.”

“Yeah, usually I make it out here during the mornings, but today…”

Today you were kind of a big asshole and confused me to no end so I decided to work out twice.

Nick nodded, his eyes honing in on Shepard’s. “Sometimes switching up your routine works out better.”

“Yeah, looks like it did. I wouldn’t have seen you here otherwise.”

Whoa. What did I just say?

“You finishing up?” Nick said, a small smile cracking on his steely handsome face. He wore a five o’clock shadow like it was his job.

Shepard looked down at his duffle bag. “Oh,” shit, “yeah. I have a lot of studying to finish up.” Shepard bit on his lip. He wasn’t going to say it. Wasn’t going to mention what happened earlier. There was no need. “Seeing after you completely wrecked me with that question in front of everyone.” Well… there it was.

Nick’s eyes widened for a flash before returning to their normal, captivating state. “I’m sorry about that, Shepard. I enjoy pushing my best residents a little too hard, I’ll make sure to tone it down though. It wasn’t a good question at all.”

Well, at least he sounds apologetic. And did he say I’m one of his best?

Shepard nodded, trying to ignore how easy it was for him to forgive Nick. Two valley girls walked down the hall, decked out in their cool Lululemon shirts with the backs cut out, blonde hair drawn up into perfect ponytails. One of them looked at Shepard as she passed and shot one of those smiles that resembled that of a lioness staring down a fawn.

“Don’t worry, he’s not into you,” said a voice from behind Shepard. A voice that instantly made him recoil. The girl looked at the man and huffed as she kept walking, going back to hushed conversation with her friend.

“Rick,” Shepard said, his head dropping before turning. Rick was already standing in front of him, arms crossed, workout gear thrown on. He looked like he hadn’t gotten a haircut in months, and his beard also needed a good trim. His clothes looked brand new, though. And those sneakers were fresh off the rack.

“Wow, I didn’t know you came here, Shepard.” Rick looked from Shepard to Nick, his eyes narrowing. Whoever Rick had come to the gym with was standing awkwardly to the side, scrolling through his phone. Shepard considered introducing Nick but decided against it. This interaction wasn’t going to last any longer than a few seconds and then none of this would matter anyway. Shepard was never, ever, coming to the gym during the evening again. Not if he was going to bump into the entire cast of Regret- The Fucking Musical.

“I’m actually just headed out,” Shepard said.

“You haven’t even broken a sweat,” Rick said, suspicion clouding his features. “Are you two… running out to fuck? Wow, you moved on quick.”

“Jesus.” Shepard felt like simultaneously melting into the floor and punching Rick at the same time. What was he thinking?

“It’s just, well, you were kind of a slut when we were going out.”

Shepard’s neck swiveled. He was looking at the floor before his eyes snapped to Rick. “What the — Rick, I’m leaving.” Shepard was internally fuming. He couldn’t blow up in front of his attending, no matter how badly he wanted to. He turned to Nicholas, who looked like he was witnessing a car wreck in the making. “Dr. White, I’m sorry you had to hear any of that. My ex is a pathological liar and clearly still has issues he needs to deal with.”

“A doctor, huh?” Rick huffed. “I knew I was never good enough for you. I knew you needed another fancy white coat.”

Shepard was going to snap back, but he took a deep breath instead. This wasn’t worth it. Rick was seemingly trying to sabotage a nonexistent relationship between him and Nick. He started to walk when Rick had grabbed him by his elbow and twisted him around. Shepard yanked his arm back, his face flushing red. “What are you thinking?” he snapped at Rick.

“Talk to me. I want you to apologize for cheating on me.”

“I didn’t cheat on you. You’ve completely lost it. You lied about an entire career while we were in a relationship, and then you expect me to stay with you after I find that out? Who knows what else you’re hiding. I don’t even know if your real name is Rick!”

Rick shook his head, a sizable crocodile tear sliding down his unkempt face. He knew damn well he was lying and yet the pathological bastard was playing up the drama. “I knew I never should have dated you.” Rick looked like he was about to spit, but he threw a slur instead. “Slut.” Rick had conviction in his voice when he spoke.

Shepard reeled back. He gave a surprised laugh because that was all he could do. What happened next really did surprise him.

“Back up,” Nick said, his arm outstretched as he stepped up and pushed Rick aside. “And watch what you say.”

Normally, Nick didn’t seem intimidating in the slightest. Not in an aggressive way at least. Sexually, sure, the man would have intimidated a damn succubus. But Shepard never would have pegged him for a man to throw punches. This was different, though. The man that stood in front of Shepard had his chest puffed, his jaw tight, his knees loose. He was ready to fight, and he was doing it because he was defending Shepard.

If Shepard hadn’t become so nervous, he probably would have been incredibly turned on.

“What are you going to do?” Rick was a skinny guy, tall but lanky. He definitely didn’t go to the gym while he and Shepard were together, and so he really didn’t look intimidating at all. Especially since, even as he was speaking, he was stepping back, away from Nick. Rick’s friend no longer had his nose buried in his phone. He was now checking on his watch and pointing toward the treadmills. Without saying anything else, he left, clearly not wanting to deal with the steaming-hot batch of crazy Rick was serving up.

“Enough,” Shepard stepped back in the middle before anything escalated. He didn’t want any of this to happen. He looked to Nick and managed a weak smile. “Thank you,” he said, before turning to Rick. “I’m done with you and this conversation. Have a good workout.” And before Rick could get another word out, Shepard turned and walked out of the hallway and into the gym. He knew that Rick wouldn’t instigate anything further once he was gone, and Nicholas was definitely not going to go after Rick, so he felt like removing himself was the best course of action. He shot a glance over his shoulder and saw Nick disappearing into the locker rooms while Rick was standing against the wall, head in his hands.

What a damn mess.