North stared at Shaw. He was close, and the heat from the studio still burned off him, a fire in the October air. Then he rapped his knuckles on Shaw’s sternum, dragging them down Shaw’s belly, dimpling the fabric.

“I probably need some practice before we go again.”

Shaw bit his lip. A bead of sweat hung on North’s eyebrow, and Shaw suddenly was fighting the urge to stretch up and lick it away.

“I probably need somebody to show me,” North’s voice dropped into a husky heat that was warmer than the studio had ever been. He took Shaw’s hands and placed them on his waist. “How to do it.”

Shaw tried to swallow. “You do?”

North cocked an eyebrow; the bead of sweat slid down his temple. “Maybe we can turn up the heat,” he said in that low smolder. “And bring up a bowl of ice cubes.” His eyes were innocent. “For my shoulder.”

Turning, Shaw yanked on the handle. “Ok, I’m convinced. Let’s get in the car,” he said, the words sounding choked.

“You sure you don’t want to go back and finish that yoga class?”

“Just get in the car!”

6

NORTH HAD MADE SURE to set up the weight bench a decent distance from his baby. The garage had plenty of room for both: on one side, freshly waxed and polished, 1968 GTO convertible had its top up, and it glowed under the extra banks of lights North had installed. On the other side sat the bench, the bar, the plates, and the free weights neatly racked up against the wall.

“It’s a garage,” Shaw said, padding across the cement. He was wearing a typical Shaw outfit for October: knee-high Princess Mononoke socks, a pair of North’s running shorts that barely hit him at mid-thigh and kept slipping off his waist, and an XXL Teddy Ruxpin sweater that swallowed him. “Shouldn’t there be a car in the garage?”

North shrugged. He picked up one of the thirty-pound barbells. “There is a car in the garage. And anyway, these were free.”

“I mean, shouldn’t there be two cars in the garage?”

“I don’t own two cars. Do you know how much weights cost if you buy them new?”

“Most people don’t even have a garage in the city, North. Let alone a two-car garage.”

“You have a garage.” North brought the thirty-pound out in front and did a curl.

“Yeah, I have a garage. I have a two-car garage. And I have a car. And when you come to work, you park in the garage. And I park in the garage. Two cars. In a two-car garage.”

North did another curl. He liked the feel of the weights, and hell, it was something to do while they talked. “This is starting to sound sexual. Am I supposed to be interpreting this somehow? Are the two cars really two penises?”