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“We need a game plan,” said Christian as the four men lounged around Nick’s bedroom.
Christian, Sai, and Otis had shown up about an hour before the scheduled training run for the marathon pace group. They’d warned Nick they were coming over, but didn’t explain why - to stage an intervention.
Sai questioned, “What are his strengths?” The three of them looked at their large, blonde mate with narrowed, discerning eyes, while Nick rolled his.
“His hair is quite fluffy,” Otis offered.
“Yeah… but I don’t think fluffy hair is going to be enough,” Sai assessed.
Christian asked, “What do you think Charlie likes?”
Otis groaned. “We have no idea… that’s the problem!”
“I think we just have to play up Nick’s assets and hope that Charlie likes them,” Sai added contemplatively.
Nick, who’d been indulging his friends’ insistence that they ‘help’ him woo Charlie, finally asked, “Do I get a say in this?”
“No!” they chorused.
“Man, you’ve proven you can’t handle it alone,” Otis said with a smirk.
It was true Nick had been unsuccessful so far. He’d signed up for a marathon training programme just to meet the cute, curly-haired coach, he’d forced his rugby mates to participate with him, and then he’d been unable to string two words together in the presence of the cute sexy running coach, Charlie, because he melted Nick’s brain anytime he was near.
“We need to try a different tack - one that doesn’t involve you talking,” Sai explained. Nick crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge as he shook his head at Sai.
“What about his arms?” Christian asked.
“Yes, of course, but…” Sai wondered, “Does Charlie like that kind of thing? He might be into thin, model-types, like himself.”
“Well, if he is, Nick doesn’t stand a chance,” Christian teased.
Nick scowled. “Oi! You’re supposed to be helping me have confidence around him.”
“Yeah, Christian. Shut up!” Otis hit Christian’s arm with the back of his hand.
“I think we just have to play up Nick’s rugby body and hope Charlie likes it,” Sai calculated.
Otis asked, “Okay. How do we do that?”
Sai directed his next question at Nick. “Do you have any really short running shorts? Or really short rugby shorts?”
“Make them tight too.” Christian grinned.
Nick’s eyes widened at the suggestion, but he said, “I might have an old pair from St. Johns. They’d be really small and short now.”
“You might want to find your shortest pair from Leeds. We want to draw attention to your thighs, not all the parts of you that are bigger since secondary.” Otis said, patting his own tummy to demonstrate.
“Fuck off!” Nick joked. He was quite comfortable in his late-20s rugby body. He just hoped Charlie liked large men. He dug around and pulled out a pair of green shorts from his drawer. “Okay, how about these?”
“Yeah, those look short,” Sai said. Nick stepped into the bathroom to change.
When he came back into the bedroom with them on, Christian added, “And they’re kind of tight.”
“Yeah, they hug your thighs.” Sai made a gesture indicating that Nick should twirl around. “Perfect!”
“Now what?” Nick was feeling more invested in the plan.
“Do you have a tight t-shirt?” Sai asked.
“I mean, yeah, probably,” Nick answered, and then fished out something from another drawer. “How’s this?”
“No, not tight enough.” Sai shook his head. “And it’s too dark. Got anything sort of see-through, so Charlie can see your chest?”
Nick shrugged. “I don’t think I have a tech t-shirt like that.”
“Well, what about a regular cotton t-shirt that’s tight?” Otis asked.
“No! Cotton will get soaked with sweat,” Nick complained.
“Right!” Christian said, excitedly. “And if it’s white, it’ll be sheer when it’s wet.”
“But that will be uncomfortable.” Nick’s shoulders slumped.
Sai put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Do you want this man or not, Nelson?”
“Yeah, I want him,” Nick pouted.
“Okay.” Sai nodded. “Get yourself together then and let's get out of here or we’re going to be late to the run.”
Otis slapped a hand on Nick’s back as they made their way out of the flat. “You feeling yourself, mate?”
“Yeah! Kinda.” Nick smiled demurely.
Walking towards the park, Christian reminded him, “Remember, you’re a sexy bisexual! You’ve got this. Go get him!” Nick was ready. He could handle Charlie’s beauty dressed like this.
As they approached the meetup spot in the park, they spied Charlie. Nick’s composure crumbled the closer they got to the man. The guys looked from Charlie to Nick, fretting for their friend as they neared the running coach. Nick’s face flushed a rosy hue – awestruck, feeling a million butterflies suddenly in motion in his stomach.
Charlie stood in the rays of the late afternoon sun, a golden halo of light framing his lithe form. He was shaking out his curls to replace the thin headband that held them back from his face while he ran. Charlie wore a short mesh crop top, and black lycra running tights that sat low on his hips and hugged his upper thighs. With proximity and the sunlight outlining his body, they could see his shorts were dark, but sheer - sheer enough that Nick could make out the rainbow-striped thong he wore underneath. The shorts displayed Charlie’s firm glutes - all Nick had to do was glance down.
Charlie looked over to see Nick staring with his mouth open. He gave Nick a huge smile and a wink, making Nick’s breath hitch.
“Holy fuck!” Nick muttered, knowing he’d be unlikely to get out many more words.
Sai laughed resignedly at the scene, and turned to Christian and Otis. “How many straight rugby lads does it take to out-sexy one gay runner?” When they looked at him quizzically, he answered his own question, “I don’t know, but apparently it’s more than three.”
Otis and Christian rolled their eyes, and Sai shrugged. “Well, at least we tried.”