Jealousy (33 page)

Kenny lifted his shirt and flexed his abs in the mirror.  They looked better already – tighter and more defined.  A dark-haired man stood behind him and watched him through the mirror.  It must be the person who kept circling him when he was on
the floor doing his crunches.

The man flashed a huge smile. 
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember me,” he said.

Kenny looked at him closer.  He was older, and his hair was different, so it took Kenny a minute to recognize him.  It was Diego, the man he dated when Justin broke up with him
– years ago – the man who was at his apartment the day Justin came to apologize and ask for a second chance.  Kenny spun around and Diego greeted him with a kiss on each cheek and a long hug. It made Kenny uncomfortable, especially since Diego’s hand traveled down to his lower back.

“
I’m all sweaty,” Kenny said, in an attempt to extricate himself from Diego’s embrace.

“
That’s OK,” Diego replied.  “You know I love the smell of a sweaty man.”

Kenny
’s eyes dropped to the gym’s logo on the breast pocket of Diego’s shirt.  “Are you working here now?” he asked.

“
Yes.  I started yesterday.”  Diego stepped back and his eyes slowly traveled down the length of Kenny’s body.  “You look fantastic.  I always hoped that one day I’d run into you again.  Do you want to go out for a drink later?  I get off at 5:00.”

Kenny knew he could never see Diego socially, even if it was only as a platonic friend.  Justin would be furious.  But it was apparent that Diego
’s intentions were anything but platonic.  “I’m sorry,” Kenny said.  “I can’t.  I’m in a serious relationship.”

“
Oh, that’s too bad.”  Diego didn’t try to hide his disappointment.  “Well, then, can we go out as two old friends catching up?”

“
I don’t think my partner would appreciate that . . . considering what happened last time he saw you.”  Kenny never used the term “partner”, but he felt it was needed in order to convey his commitment to Justin.

“
Don’t tell me you’re still with that guy who stole you away from me.”

Kenny nodded. 
“That’s my Justin.”

Diego paused and stared quietly at him with a soft smile. 
“Well, he is one lucky guy.  It was really good to see you, Kenny.  I’m looking forward to seeing you a lot more often around here.”

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Kenny
’s stomach.  This was not going to sit well with Justin.

Chapter Seventy-Two:

“
I have to tell you something,” Kenny said.  He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Don’t overreact.”

Kenny
’s hesitation made Justin uneasy. “What is it?” he asked.

“
There’s a new personal trainer at the gym.”  Kenny paused.  “It’s the guy I dated when we broke up that time.  The guy you found at my apartment.”

Every muscle in Justin
’s body tensed, and he stood up straight.  “Diego?”

“
You remember his name?”

Justin remembered him well, and he was immediately threatened by Diego
’s reappearance in Kenny’s life.  “Of course I remember his name.  I remember every detail about him.”

“
You met him for, like fifteen seconds, a couple of years ago.  How could you possibly remember every detail?”

“
I’ll never forget seeing you with him, Kenny.  You have no idea how hard that was for me.”

It was the truth.  Most people
’s memories of past events were grossly distorted, but Justin’s memory of Diego was dead-on.  He watched the scene of Diego with Kenny play back in his head, like a flashback in a movie.  It rekindled the pain and betrayal that he felt when he first saw them together, and the heat of jealousy invaded Justin’s body like a disease.  He took several deep breaths.  “You can’t go there anymore.”  He shook his head.  “I won’t let you.  You have to find another gym to go to.”

Kenny raised his brow. 
“I
can’t
?  You won’t
let me
?  Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, Justin.  I’m not a child.”

Justin
’s jealousy transported into anger in a flash, and he pointed his finger at Kenny.  “You better listen to me!  I’m serious!  You’re not going back there!”

“
First of all,” Kenny’s cheeks flushed bright red, “get your hand the fuck out of my face.”

Justin dropped his arm to his side.  He didn
’t mean to blow up at Kenny.  It was unwarranted and unfounded.  It had nothing to do with Kenny . . . or Diego.  It was his own insecurity that tore him apart.  It was the leftover baggage from his breakup with David.  But Justin was unable to see past the risk of someone trying to steal his boy.  He remained diligent and shook his head violently.  “You can’t see this guy on a daily basis.  I can’t deal with that.  I don’t want you in the same room with him.”

“
You’re blowing this out of proportion.  You’re being irrational.  You have no reason to feel threatened.  I told him we were still together.”

Justin took a step back and paused while he analyzed Kenny
’s statement.  “Why would you have to tell him we were still together?  Did he ask you out?”

Kenny innocently raised his shoulders, and his voice escalated an octave. 
“He asked me to go out for a drink and catch up.  It wasn’t a big deal.”

Justin knew that guy would try to get Kenny into bed.  His suspicions weren
’t fabricated, they were accurate, and Kenny just confirmed them.  Justin held his breath, put his hand on his forehand and looked up at the ceiling.

“
I didn’t go, Justin.  You don’t have to get so dramatic.”

“
If it was no big deal then why didn’t you go?”

“
Because I knew you would have a fucking fit!”

“
Did he try to kiss you hello when he saw you?”

Kenny hesitated. 
“Yes, but he kissed me on the cheek, not on the lips.”

Jealousy burned through every pore in Justin
’s body, and his arms flew around wildly in the air.  “Why did you let him kiss you?  Why didn’t you stop him?”

“
It was totally innocent.  And don’t get all pissy with me!  When we ran into your ex-lover, he was all over you with his tongue hanging out, and you didn’t do a damn fucking thing!”

Justin glossed over the statement about Tyler.  He took a long, deep breath and calmed down. 
“I want you to tell me that you’re going to find another gym – starting tomorrow.”

Kenny met Justin
’s stare with defiance.  “No.  I’m not spending my life running away from ex-boyfriends.  You need to be more realistic and think a little more clearly.”

Justin got worked up into a jealous frenzy again.  He knew that if he finished this argument with Kenny, he would end up saying things he didn
’t mean.  He needed to take a break and cool off.  “I can’t talk to you right now. I need to get some air.”

Kenny called after him, but he was already out the front door and on his way to Heather
’s.

Chapter Seventy-Three:

Nick answered the door and knew something was wrong right away. 
“Are you alright?” he asked.

Justin shook his head, and his face twitched as he tried to control his emotions. 
“Where’s Heather?  I need to talk to her.”

“
What’s wrong?”

“
Me and Kenny had a big fight.”

Heather rushed in from the other room. 
“You and Kenny had a fight?”

Justin wrapped his arms around her waist, and he broke
down and wept on her shoulder.

“
What were you fighting about?”  Heather stroked the back of his hair the same way she always did when he was upset.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“He makes me so fuckin’ mad sometimes.”

Nick slung his arm around Justin
’s shoulder and gave him a small squeeze.  “Don’t get all worked up, buddy.  You guys’ll work it out.”

“
What happened?” Heather asked.

Justin needed to take several deep breaths before he was able to answer. 
“Remember that guy Diego?”

Heather wrinkl
ed her brow and shook her head.

“
He was the guy Kenny went out with when we broke up that time – the guy who was at his apartment the day I went there to get Kenny back.  He’s working at Kenny’s gym as a personal trainer now.”

“
You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Justin waved his hands in the air with renewed jealousy. 
“You didn’t see him.  He was gorgeous.  And he already hit on Kenny.  I told Kenny that he needed to find another gym – that he couldn’t go to that one anymore, but he’s so God damn stubborn.  He told me no.  He said I was overreacting.”

“
Overreacting?”  Heather put her hands on her hips.  “Kenny can’t keep going there if this guy is gonna hit on him all the time.”

“
I told him I wouldn’t let him go back to that gym.  He wouldn’t give in.  I was so mad that I had to leave.”

Heather nodded. 
“It was better that you left – so you could calm down.”

Nick returned from the other room and held up his cell phone. 
“That was Kenny.”

Heather was barely aware that Nick left the room to take a call.

“I’m not ready to talk to him,” Justin said.  “I hope he’s not on his way over.”

“
No,” Nick replied.  “He wants me to stop by.  He wants to talk.”

“
Well,” Heather said, “I hope you talk some sense into him.”

Nick let out a deep breath and put his phone in his pocket. 
“I know you always back up Justin no matter what, but I’m more diplomatic.  I don’t take sides.  If anyone wants to talk, I’ll listen.  If anyone asks my opinion, I’ll give my honest opinion.  There are two sides to every story.  No one is 100% right and 100% wrong.  I heard Justin’s side, and now I’m going to here Kenny’s.  I’ll say this much, Justin, you have every right to feel the way you do, but it sounds like you came off a little headstrong.  If you would have just asked Kenny to find a new gym instead of demanding it, he probably wouldn’t have given you a hard time.”

Heather sat up straight in her chair.  Part of her wanted to reprimand Nick for disagreeing with the way Justin handled the situation, but Nick had a point, so she didn
’t say anything.

“
Don’t worry,” Nick said.  He placed his hand on Justin’s shoulder.  “I’ll talk to Kenny and you guys’ll straighten everything out.”

Chapter Seventy-Four:

“
You OK, buddy?”  Nick asked.

Kenny shrugged one shoulder without changing the glum expression on his face.  He rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and felt the heat from his flushed cheeks on the palms of his hands.  He hated that it was obvious whenever he
’d been crying.  “I guess Justin told you what we were fighting about,” he said.

Nick nodded.

“Are you taking his side?”

“
I’m not taking anyone’s side.”

It was something Kenny wasn
’t used to hearing.  “I hate that Justin tries to order me around.”

“
I know.  I told him the same thing.”

Kenny
’s eyes widened with surprise.  “You told him that in front of Heather?”

“
Yeah.  I told him that if he would have just asked, instead of demanded, you would have been more agreeable.”

“
What did he say to that?”

“
Neither one of them said anything.  I think they were both a little shocked that I was voicing my opinion.”

“
You mean shocked that you had an opinion different from Justin’s.  He gets so damn self-righteous sometimes, and Heather just makes it worse by going along with whatever he says.”

“
He’s more upset than anything else.  He was crying.”

“
Really?  He was?”

“
Yeah.  I’ve never seen him so upset.”

Kenny didn
’t know Justin was upset.  He thought Justin was angry, and the thought of Justin crying made Kenny’s heart melt.  He quietly gazed off into the distance.  “Do you think he’s ready to make up?”

“
Let’s go back to the house,” Nick said.  “I’ll make sure you two sort this out.”

Nick was a good friend.  He was always there when Kenny needed him.  It was only natural that they would share their own special bond.  The two most important people in their lives
were bound together like glue.