Bad Boys Need Love Too: NATE

Copyright © November 2014 by Christa Tomlinson

Cover Design: Jay Aheer of Jay’s Book Covers by Design

Published in the United States of America

Torlina Publishing PO Box 40841 Houston, TX 77040

All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book only. No part of

this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without

the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages

in a review. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation

of the author’s rights.

This book is a work of fiction. References might be made to existing events or locations but all

names, characters, places and events are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or

dead, businesses, events, or locales is coincidental.

Any trademarked names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

WARNING

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and graphic language that may be offensive to some

readers. This story is intended for adults as defined by the laws in your country. Please take care

to store this story away from under-age readers.

This story is a work of fiction. Please do not attempt to recreate any practices found in this book

without proper guidance. Author will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death as a

result of the information contained in this book.

PROLOGUE

“So what’s going on with you, Nate?”

Nate leaned back in his patio chair. He and his two friends, Max and Gage, were sitting by

the side of his free-form pool “I’m bored.”

“Bored with what?” Max asked

Nate took a drink of his beer. “I don’t know. With everything.”

Gage snorted in disbelief. “You can’t be bored at work, you’re running three fucking gyms.”

“Yeah, but it’s a routine now. There’s no challenge. I’m planning to expand to other cities,

so that might help. But I still just feel, I don’t know… bored. I feel like I’ve got all this

aggression and nowhere for it to go anymore.”

Max’s low voice rumbled out. “You’re not thinking you want to start fighting again are

you?”

“Nah. I made it as far as I did without any serious injuries. Not gonna risk going back into

underground fighting at this point.”

“Yeah, and you don’t want to risk messing up the pretty face that brings you all that

attention.”

Nate laughed along with his friends. But once it died down he came clean. “Actually, I

haven’t been getting that much attention lately. Or I guess I should say, I haven’t been paying

attention to the attention. Haven’t had a date or been laid in about three months.”

Gage choked on his beer at that statement. Nate rolled his eyes while Max pounded their

friend on the back.

Once Gage got his breath back, he asked, “What? Three months! Fucking why?”

“Because I’m sick of screwing the same type of guy. Perfect hair, perfect muscles, perfect

clothes. And everything smooth and waxed. Waxed legs, eyebrows, even their fucking balls are

smooth. It’s like fucking a mannequin.”

Gage was again choking on his beer and this time even Max was laughing.

“I happen to like my silky smooth, pretty boy.” Gage frowned, picking at the label on his

beer bottle. “Even if he isn’t exactly mine right now.”

Gage was dating a guy named Joseph. Or at least he had been. Joseph had walked out on

him when he’d caught Gage kissing a girl at Nate’s Fourth of July party a couple of weeks ago.

“Joseph isn’t the type of guy I’m talking about. He’s not pretentious and overly done. But lately

every guy I meet is like that. And somehow the night always coyly ends with a request for a free

membership at one of my gyms.”

“Stop picking up men at the club, dumb ass.”

Nate narrowed his eyes at his friend. “We can’t all have hot, single guys ride into our shop

on the back of a motorcycle.” He saluted Max with his beer. “Or have hot, single girls walk in to

get a tattoo.”

Max returned the salute but didn’t say anything. That was normal. Of the three of them, Max

was the quietest.

Gage acknowledge Nate with a nod. “True. But seriously. Stay out of the clubs if you want

to meet somebody different.”

“He’s right,” Max said. “They say insanity is trying the same thing over and over and

expecting different results. Trust me, that shit is true.”

Nate stared out across his pool, watching as the colored underwater lights slowly changed

from blue to purple to red. His friends were right. If he wanted a change, he was going to have to

try something new.

CHAPTER 1

One Month Later

Kevin tried to stay loose as the needle repeatedly plunged into his skin. He knew if he tensed

up, it would only make it hurt more. To take his mind of the stinging pain, Kevin focused on the

framed poster across from him. It was of a girl, naked from the waist up, her skin covered in

brightly inked tattoos. She wasn’t even close to being his type, but he admired the picture. The

tattoos on the woman were intricate and deeply colored. Each line was sharp, the script elegantly

curved. The work was done by Max, the guy currently tattooing him. Max hadn’t had his shop

long, but he already had a reputation as one of the best in Houston. Kevin had done his research

when he decided to get some body art. When he’d first chosen Max, he’d had to wait for three

months to get an appointment. It was worth it. Max had been working on a piece for him for the

past two years and today was his final appointment.

He had a short break as Max turned away to change the color. Even though he always felt

like he was cheating when he did this, like he was opening a gift before Christmas, he sneaked a

peek down at his chest. He couldn’t see much from his angle, just that the yellow and blue of the

figure’s outfit stood out brightly against the light brown of his skin. Max turned back to him,

tattoo machine in hand.

“Final stretch. Just gotta finish up some shading. You ready?”

Kevin took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”

About forty minutes later the machine finally came to a stop. Kevin held still for a few more

moments as Max wiped him clean of the ink residue and small amount of bleeding. Max snapped

off his gloves, looking over his handiwork with a grin.

“Looks good. Go check it out.”

Kevin got up to look into the full length mirror on the far wall of Max’s station. “Wow. This

is so much better than just good. It’s amazing. Crazy amazing.”

Up both arms and across his chest were characters from his favorite comic series, the X-

Men. Xavier’s heroes and Magneto’s villains swooped and fought in a swirl of color, lightning

bolts and red optic blasts. Wolverine and Sabretooth had the honor of being the centerpiece,

locked in battle across his chest. Wolverine was winning of course. Kevin smiled, his hand

hovering over the last piece on his chest that Max had finished today. “Your work is stellar, Max.

I mean that.” He laughed a bit. “Now I just have to get up the nerve to show it off.”

Max gestured for him to come back over so he could cover the fresh work with dark plastic.

He’d have to leave it on for a few hours.

“Hey, man. Keeping your art private is all well and good. But work that amazing needs to be

shown to the world.”

Kevin laughed as Max handed him a card on tattoo after care. They were both aware that by

now Kevin knew how to take care of recent ink, but Max was a stickler for making sure his

customers received the best service.

“I will. Just gotta get in shape first. Sitting behind a desk all day doesn’t exactly help me

build up my guns.”

Kevin followed Max out of the semi-private room and back down the hall to the front of the

studio. All of the walls were painted a glossy black, and featured lots of art, some of it framed,

some of it painted right on the walls. The mural on the big wall in the front was what had sold

Kevin on Max’s work. It was a giant Alien vs. Predators piece, the two sci-fi beasts engaged in a

furious fight. Since that was the look he’d hoped to achieve with his body art, he’d known he’d

found the right guy. It had been worth pushing back his natural shyness to reach out to the artist

and explain what he wanted.

Max rang him up for the several hours’ worth of work today. “If you want to get in shape

you should check out my buddy’s gym. It’s pretty cool. Then you’d be buff enough to show off

that art.”

Kevin shook his head as he handed over his credit card. “Those places always seem a little

much. A bunch of big, bald guys grunting, screaming and high-fiving each other after each bench

press? No thanks.”

Max laughed as he finished the transaction. “Nate’s Gym isn’t like that, I swear. It’s laid

back and friendly. The trainers there will push you, but don’t grind you beneath their boots to do

it.” He pulled out a card from a drawer. “Go by and check it out. Make sure to ask for Nate and

tell him I sent you.”

Kevin took the card and looked down at it. Nate’s Gym was the actual name of the place.

The info was on sharp white cardstock in strong clean fonts. “Alright, man. I will. And thanks

again for this art. I love it.”

CHAPTER 2

“Enrollment is tapering off. We’re past the get beach ready surge and have quite a ways to

go before the New Year’s Resolution rush. We need to come up with something in order to keep

new guests coming in throughout the fall.”

Nate was at the flagship location for his local gyms, running a staff meeting. They were in

his large office, which also served as a conference room. A big window looked out onto the

neighborhood. There was lots of pedestrian and cyclist traffic, which made this a perfect spot. He

had managers for each of his three gyms of course, but he was very much hands on in the

running of his business. He’d worked too hard and taken too many punches, literally and

figuratively, to trust his baby in the hands of anyone else.

Nate looked around at the staff seated at the thick glass topped table. “Any ideas?” His

assistant manager from the northwest suburban gym spoke up.

“We could do one of those success story campaigns. Film a guy or girl who just started with

us to record their progress. Once they’ve reached their goal, we can post it up on YouTube, our

site and the rest of our social media. Put a spin on it, inspire people to come in and have their

own success story.”

Nate tapped his pen on the table. “I like it. Those are always popular. It’ll take a few months

for our candidate to have any results to show, but it’s a good long term project. Anything we can

do a little sooner?” A girl with her hair dyed blue and cut in a shaggy bob spoke up. Her name

was Vanessa and she worked here at this location. She wasn’t management yet, but she worked

hard and had a lot of good ideas. She’d probably earn a promotion soon.

“We need an app. Something people can use to track their progress electronically. I know

there are already lots of those programs out there, but if we had one directly tied to us, we could

do a lot with it. Maybe rewards for reaching certain goals, and even sending reminders if they

haven’t been in to log a workout for a while. The app will be even better if it’s set to post to

social media. People love bragging on their work outs almost as much as they do posting pics of

their PSLs.”

The group around the table laughed, including Nate. “I like that. Both of those are excellent

ideas. Everyone start looking around our three locations for someone who might be interested in

doing the success story program. Vanessa I’m taking lead on finding a company to build that

app, but if you think of any other features it should have, you let me know.”

She smiled at him. “Sure thing, Boss.”

Nate stood and closed the binder holding his notes, ending the meeting. He took a few

moments to socialize with his crew before heading back up front. He was about to leave to go

check in on his other two locations when he noticed the guy at the counter. From the

conversation he was having with Ed at the desk, he wasn’t a member yet.

“I’d like to look around if I could? I’ve never belonged to a gym before, so I was hoping to

find out what to expect first.”

Nate watched the guy. His hair was a multitude of natural light and dark brown shades. It

was curly and long, but the length was twisted into silky, well-maintained dreads that stopped

just at his shoulders. His skin was a smooth, light brown. He was dressed in a t-shirt that featured

a battling Dr. Octopus and Spider Man, loose jeans and Chuck Taylors. He had a slim build, but

without a lot of muscle tone. To Nate’s trained eye, it was the type of body that those with high

metabolisms and genetics that tended towards slim were blessed with. It was easy to guess that

the young man was here because he wanted to develop what he naturally had. He was clearly

nervous, his words nearly tripping over each other as he explained himself to Ed. In other words,

he was adorable. Nate smiled. He had a soft spot for people taking their first steps to get in

shape. He set his binder down on the counter and stepped forward.

“Hi, I’m Nate.” The guy turned to face him and Nate was immediately sucked into a pair of

deep, dark brown eyes. They looked up at him, as the guy was several inches shorter than his six

foot four. Long lashes curled over those eyes and when he blinked, Nate immediately thought of

Bambi. He looked … ridiculously fresh and innocent.

“I’m Kevin.”

Nate held his hand out. After a moment’s hesitation, Kevin placed his hand in his. Nate gave

him a brief, professional shake, but ended with a slight squeeze. He liked the feel of Kevin’s

smaller hand in his, it was warm and slightly rough. “Nice to meet you, Kevin. Why don’t I give

you that tour?”

Kevin’s eyes flicked back to Ed behind the counter. “Oh, umm… sure, but do you guys

work on commission or anything? Because this guy was helping me first.”

Nate smiled and shook his head. “No, we don’t. But that’s pretty decent of you to care.

Come on, I’ll show you around.” Nate stepped back with a smile, indicating that Kevin should

join him.

“So are you the Nate of Nate’s Gym?”

“Yep,” Nate answered. He didn’t have any bragging in his tone, just pride in what he’d built.

“My tattoo artist, Max, sent me here after I mentioned I wanted to start working out.”

“Is that right?” Nate made a mental note to thank Max later. “So what brings you in to our

gym? What are your fitness goals?”

Kevin brushed a hand over his locks, a sheepish grin on his face. “It’s probably silly, but I

just finished getting two sleeves and a chest piece Max has been working on for two years.

Figured it’d be a shame to keep them hidden behind t-shirts and long sleeves all the time.”

“That’s not silly at all. I’m down with whatever it takes to get people active. And if the

bonus is you get to feel confident enough to show off Max’s awesome work, all the better.” He

took Kevin to the bank of cardio machines first, since that’s what most people were most

familiar with. “Here we have stationary bikes, ellipticals, treadmills and stair steppers. There’s

no time limit on their usage, we just ask that you wipe them down when you’re done.”

Kevin ran a hand over the guard rail of one of the colorful treadmills. “This is cool. I didn’t

know these machines came in any colors other than black or gray.”

Nate laughed. “They probably don’t. I had them custom painted to resemble the Huffy bikes

my friends and I had when I was young.” He pointed at one of the ellipticals in black and gold.

“That one is based on my bike.” He asked Kevin if he wanted to try any of them out, but he

shook his head, his dreads swinging around his shoulders.

“No thanks, I’m kind of a klutz.”

“You’ll get the hang of them once you try them out.” He waved over towards the wall facing

the cardio bank. It was made up of a bunch of screens set so that each showed a different part of

the picture. Combined they made a giant TV wall. “Most of the cardio machines have small TV’s

built in, but guests really like the TV wall. We play movies, cartoons, TV shows, whatever the

mood of the day calls for. There’s a suggestion box on the front desk where you can submit

requests.”

Kevin watched the current selection, a fairly recent Western. “I like that.”

“Good. But if you join up, make sure you spend more time working than watching,” he

teased.

After that, it was on to the weights. Nate pointed out the running track that surrounded the

cardio area as they approached. “This is a quarter mile track, with latex-bound construction to

minimize stress on the knees. We have races on them sometimes. The potato sacks and three

legged hops are the most popular.”

Kevin looked surprised. “You guys do three legged races here?”

“You bet. Working out doesn’t always have to be regimented. Sometimes you just need to

move.”

They waited a few moments to let a group of runners pass, then crossed the track. The

weights were set up in stations that surrounded the cardio machine bank the entire length of the

track. Each station had a poster on the wall with smiling, every day looking people depicting the

proper ways to execute the exercises. Nate explained a few when Kevin showed an interest. He

could tell that Kevin was intimidated by most of them. “We’ve got a great staff of trainers who

can show you how everything works and get you set up with a workout program.”

Next, Nate showed him the gym within a gym. It was a large room with a hardwood floor,

reminiscent of high school basketball courts. “Here we have lots of different classes and

activities. Flag football, kickboxing, hip hop dance, you name it. We let members sign up for

time slots to do, or even teach, a class of their choice.” They stopped to watch the tai chi class

currently in progress.

“I could probably do that,” Kevin said.

Nate nodded at the woman leading the class. “Tan is a great teacher. She’ll show you

everything you need to know. And after the class, you’ll feel great.” Nate got them moving again

over to the corner of the gymnasium. He’d saved what tended to be most member’s favorite part

for last. “And this is the rope pull.” There were three thick ropes suspended from the ceiling over

a deep pit of squishy foam balls.

“Woah. I don’t think I can climb all the way up there.”

“No worries,” Nate said with a grin. “Work your way up over time, or just have fun

dropping into the foam pit.”

“It’s cool if people do that?”

“That’s what it’s there for.”

Kevin craned his head back, looking all the way up to the top. “How high can you climb?”

From anyone else, Nate would have thought the question was a come on. From this guy,

Nate wasn’t getting that vibe. So he kept his voice light as he answered. “Would it sound like

I’m bragging if I say all the way to the top?”

Kevin looked up at him, a smile on his full mouth and shining in those big, dark eyes. “Only

if you were making it up.”

Nate’s heart rate sped up, the delicious beginnings of arousal tingling in his body. Would

Kevin look at him like that in bed? He wanted to tangle his fingers in those silky-looking locks

while he tasted that smile in a kiss. He realized he was staring when Kevin’s smile started to

fade. Shit. He needed to focus on trying to woo this man as a client for his gym, not as a visitor

to his bed.

“It’s not a lie, I promise. I wouldn’t want to be accused of false advertising,” he said with a

wink.

They left the gymnasium and Nate showed him the pristine men’s locker room and co-ed

steam room. After that, the tour was over.

On the way back up, Kevin, looked around with the expression of impressed awe most

people had when they first saw Nate’s Gym. “If gym were this cool when I was in school, maybe

I would have participated more.”

Nate laughed. “Same here. And that’s the whole theme. Come in, work out without anyone

harassing you and have fun while you’re doing it.” They stopped in the lobby. “So what do you

think, Kevin? Would you like to become a member?”

“It’s a pretty cool place. I like it.” He looked around at everything once more. “Can I think

about it?”

“Sure thing, there’s no pressure.” Nate hated to let Kevin go without assurance he’d see him

again, but he didn’t let on. Nate walked him to the front door, holding it open for him. He made

sure to get one last look at those doe eyes before Kevin left. “Hope to see you soon, Kevin.”

CHAPTER 3

Kevin thought about joining Nate’s gym for several days. It seemed like it would be a cool

place to work out. He hadn’t seen any meatheads grunting or slamming weights. Instead, there

were lots of friendly people, from the staff to the members. And he really liked all the fun ways

they had to work out there. That rope pull was PE class meets play town fun center and he

thought it was awesome.

He pulled off his shirt and stood in front of the mirror. His new tattoos stood out, full of

color under the bright lights in the bathroom. Grabbing up a bottle of lotion, he squeezed out a

good sized amount into his palm. He rubbed his hands together a few times, warming them and

the lotion up. Cold hands were the worst. Then he gently smoothed a lotion covered palm over

his chest to moisturize the tattoo. It would help the new work heal cleanly and keep it from

itching. When he was done, he looked himself over. He knew he was lucky to have a naturally

slim build. But he wanted to look better. He wasn’t after giant muscles, just healthy definition.

He tried to flex his arms, not surprised when nothing much happened. Looking down at

Mystique and Jean Grey on his left bicep, he frowned. They deserved a better canvas, and he

knew he could get that if he joined Nate’s Gym. If he did join up, he was going to skip the

personal trainer part. He was enough of a klutz as it was, if he tried to work out when he knew

someone was watching and judging him, he’d be all over the place. He’d muddle through on his

own until he got the hang of things.

Kevin decided to go ahead with it. He really did want to feel confident enough in his body to

show his tattoos more often. Not that he intended to walk around with his shirt off, but a tank or

sleeveless tee could be cool. Besides, like Nate had said, it was a good idea for him to be active

with his sedentary career.

As he thought of Nate, he couldn’t help but remember the wave of attraction that had gone

through him when he’d first seen the owner of Nate’s Gym. Nate was tall, his broad shoulders

and hard chest tapering to a slim, firm waist. His hips were narrow and his thighs looked hard

with muscle beneath the thin material of his track pants. His body was amazing. The type Kevin

knew he’d never have, but that was okay. He’d rather look at Nate’s. On top of that hard, tight

body, he was gorgeous. He had the face of an angel … who’d been having tons of fun on earth

getting into bar fights and having lots of sex. He had gray eyes that were a true gray, no hint of

hazel or blue marred their bright, sharp color. His hair was so blonde it was nearly white, cut

close on the sides with short messy waves on top. A low beard perfectly framed his mouth.

Kevin could imagine being scratched by that stubble as they kissed.

He laughed to himself. He’d never feel the scratch of that beard, but he was sure there were

plenty of ladies who had. The only thing that wasn’t perfect about Nate was the slight bump in

his nose, he’d obviously broken it before. Kevin shook his head. It wasn’t fair that there were

men who looked like him in the world. It was even less fair that Kevin would never have a

chance with him. Kevin turned off the bathroom light. Regardless of his drooling over the owner,

Nate’s Gym seemed like the perfect place for a guy like him to get in shape.

A couple of hours later, Kevin rode his Yamaha Vino over to Nate’s Gym. His friend, Alex,

teased him for riding a scooter. But to him it made sense. He lived in an area where most

everything he needed was within walking or biking distance. He didn’t often go far outside his

little nucleus, so he saw no need to have a car. He saved on gas, could always find a place to

park, and he wasn’t adding much to Houston’s air pollution. Alex laughed each time he

explained all that, before asking if he wanted to take a ride in his Camaro. They’d been joking

back and forth on the subject for years, neither of them really attempting to change the others

mind.

Once he reached Nate’s, he parked next to the bike rack and stored his helmet under the seat.

Kevin walked into the gym, less nervous than he’d been the first time. The same positive vibe

was in the air. Early 80’s hip-hop played, and he could see several members bopping along to the

happy beat as they worked out. The first Spider Man movie was playing on the TV wall, Peter

Parker swinging from screen to screen. Kevin smiled and went to the counter to sign up. This

was definitely the gym for him.

Nate finished up his last set on the leg press. He was at the flagship location again. Normally

he varied his workouts between his three locations. But over the past week he’d taken to doing

his workout solely in the Heights, on the chance of seeing Kevin. He hoped he hadn’t lost him to

another gym, or just deciding not to work out altogether. Like he’d said, they didn’t pressure

anyone into joining up. He wouldn’t break that rule to demand Kevin become a member there

just so he could hit on him.

Nate slowly brought the weights back to their resting position, taking a second to breathe. It

was the end of the week and Kevin hadn’t come back yet. He was disappointed, he’d been

looking forward to getting to know him. Kevin, with his shyness and natural appearance, was a

welcome change from the slick, overly-styled guys he’d somehow fallen into dating. Not to

mention those big Bambi eyes. He was already fantasizing about looking into those eyes as he

slid inside of Kevin. Nate sighed and got up from the seat. He had other stuff to do, he couldn’t

spend any more time there for the day.

After wiping down the machine, Nate grabbed his water and towel and headed for the locker

room to take a shower. Out of habit, he glanced over at the counter on his way back. A familiar

figure was standing there. Nate stopped and smiled. Kevin was back. He quickly wiped himself

off with the gym towel and changed his path to the guest counter. “Hey, it’s you again.”

Kevin looked up from the clipboard in his hand. He seemed surprised, like he didn’t expect

Nate to remember him. “Yeah, I decided to go ahead and join up.”

“I’m glad.” He gestured at the small tables in the lobby. “You want to sit down over here

and I’ll help you fill out your paperwork? That is, if you don’t mind me being a little sweaty.”

Kevin ran his eyes down his body, then looked back at him. Nate kept his smile to himself.

Kevin had definitely checked him out there. And going by the slight flush on his cheeks, he liked

what he saw.

“No, that’s alright.” Kevin shook his head. “I don’t mean no as I don’t want your help, I

mean it’s alright if you’re sweaty. I don’t mind. I’ll have to get used to it.”

Nate arched a brow at that.

Kevin’s eyes widened, his face reddening even further. “I meant I’ll have to get used to

other people’s sweat. I mean my sweat!” He closed his eyes and took a breath. “I didn’t mean

that I’ll be seeing you sweaty all the time.”

This time Nate couldn’t hold back his grin. Kevin was adorable. And if he had anything to

say about it, he would be seeing him sweaty. It just wouldn’t be here at the gym.

Thank you for reading! Read the rest of Nate and Kevin’s story when Bad

Boys Need Love Too: Nate is released November 18th through Amazon,

Barnes&Noble.com and All Romance eBooks.com

ChristaTomlinson.Blogspot.com On Facebook: Christa Tomlinson and Christa Tomlinson, Author On Twitter: @christa_writes