Page 1 of Love at First Rep

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GARRETT PEARSON WAS A serious person married to a serious job who took most things seriously. At forty, he’d collected enough memories to understand life was precious and needed to be protected at all costs. And Garrett, though he was a serious person with a serious job, had one thing that made him unlike other serious forty-year-old people.

Garrett Pearson had a ghost.

Maybe.

It sounded crazy, which explained why he’d never told anyone about it, except for some mental health professionals.

The chances of him being haunted by an actual ghost were infinitesimal, but if it wasn’t a ghost…

As he locked his front door that morning before heading to the gym, he found a bright purple string tied around his doorknob. If he was dressed for work, he’d have his belt with the hidden blade inside. He growled as he untied it and shoved it in his pocket, stomping toward his car. At least he could let out his frustration at the gym.

How else could he possibly explain the odd things happening around him for nearly two decades aside from ghosts? There was no other explanation.

Ever since he lost his best friend fighting overseas in the Middle East, Rafe’s ghost had haunted him.

It started with tiny gifts in the mail sent from unknown addresses. Simple things like a bag of sour candies they’d been obsessed with or a book of Mad Libs like the ones they’d completed together on cold nights when the only warmth they had was each other.

Garrett figured another one of their team members sent them to cheer him up after losing Rafe, but there were also things that no one else could have possibly known about.

Rafe always carried a thin spool of thread and a sewing needle, something he’d done since he was little and his mother had gotten tired of him coming home with ripped knees in his pants. She told him if he was going to ruin his clothes, he could learn how to fix them himself.

When he didn’t have to worry about fixing his clothing, Rafe used the thread for silly things, like tying a piece around Garrett’s wrist and calling it a friendship bracelet or tying some on his bedpost every time he caught Garrett jerking off when he thought Rafe was asleep. Rafe called it a notch in his bedpost each time he added one.

Once Garrett was discharged from the military he returned home to Cherrywood, New Jersey, and began training to join their police department. After a long day of drills, he’d come back to find a string of purple thread around his doorknob, tied in a bow.

He’d broken down in front of his apartment door, releasing heavy sobs that got his neighbor’s attention. The sound must have drawn him out of his apartment because he held Garrett while he cried in the hallway. Once the guy, Lucas, got him off the floor and into his apartment with a drink and some comfort food, Garrett had spilled the whole wretched tale to the man who would become his best friend. Well, his new best friend. Rafe would always take top spot, even if he wasn’t around anymore. Since then, they’d both moved out of the apartment complex but remained close.

If it wasn’t for Lucas, the darkness may have overcome Garrett completely.

He’d helped pick up the pieces every time Rafe sent him a message from wherever his spirit floated around.

Lucas referred to it as the great beyond, while Garrett considered it the pain in his ass.

Despite all of this, Garrett managed to climb his way up the chain in the Cherrywood Police Department and now he was the organization’s top homicide detective, often called out to consult with other precincts thanks to his expertise.

Although he rose up the ranks, he still had trouble fitting in with his colleagues at the station. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his nepo-baby boss Graham McHugh or his coworkers not fully understanding his pansexuality, but he’d never been comfortable working out at the precinct gym. Most of his exercise involved running, so he ran outside instead.

Garrett had been so grateful when Tobias Moyer opened Gym Rat Fitness in Cherrywood and he had a place he could be himself in an LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere. That morning, Garrett drove his silver sedan to the gym at the crack of dawn for a six a.m. class. He attended the class most mornings and got used to waking up extra early every day. Most people called him crazy for waking up so early for a workout class, but it always energized him for the rest of the day.

As he pulled into the gym’s parking lot, he could see a bunch of cars already there and a couple of the guys getting out of their own cars. The sun rose over the industrial complex where the gym sat, and he remembered the news he heard that morning before getting distracted by the string around his doorknob. That news would make this morning at the gym a little bit more fun than others.

Garrett said good morning to the others as they all made their way through the front door of the gym. As expected, the vibe was way too energetic for so early in the morning, but that was understandable. He slipped off his black and blue beanie and joined the others at the front of the gym, where they were all teasing Tobias.

Tobias Moyer, owner of Gym Rat Fitness and a huge introvert, made his return to the ice the night before for the Philly Inferno alumni hockey game, but that wasn’t even the most exciting thing to happen.

Garrett pulled out his phone and said, “Seriously. Sure, the goal was great, but there was definitely some bigger news, you guys. I present you with evidence Tobias Moyer is not a robot.”

He hit play on the video he had ready, turning the screen so everyone could see.

The video showed Tobias planting a heated kiss on Chase Townsend, the gym’s new yoga instructor, in the middle of the team’s locker room after the game.

Finally, Tobias confirmed what they all knew about his huge crush on his employee. They cheered, until a loud pop had Garrett’s hand flying to his currently unarmed hip.

Fucking Cole and his love of confetti cannons.

Pieces of colorful tissue paper rained on them as Tobias’ happiness turned into a glare.