"GOOD night, Dan," Jerry March called as he gathered the last of his things and got ready to leave the office for the night.

"Will I see you at the gym?" Dan asked, and Jerry heard papers shuffle slightly and then the slight creak of Dan's chair. Jerry hadn't thought about going to the gym tonight. He was already so tired, but he knew he should. His doctors had told him that he needed to get some additional exercise, and in a fit of energy, he'd asked Dan where he worked out and had gotten a membership to the gym closest to his office in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. But other than two easy workouts on a treadmill, he hadn't really gone.

"Yes," he answered definitively. His bag was in the trunk of his car, and he didn't have to go anywhere. At least, he didn't think so. Jerry searched his mind for something he'd forgotten, but nothing came to mind. "I know I need to go more often."

Dan closed a drawer and stood up. "You have to let it become part of your routine and turn working out into something you enjoy." Jerry saw him gathering his things to leave as well. "I know that's a lot easier said than done, but you'll feel better and you'll have energy you didn't know you had."

Jerry smiled and quipped, "Keep saying that and maybe I'll start to believe it."

"Come on," Dan said, leading him through the rows of workstations toward the exit. "What you need is someone to keep you interested." Dan turned toward him and winked. He actually winked. Sometimes the man was such a goof.

"We don't all have a muscle god to look forward to," Jerry sighed as Dan pulled open the door and held it for him.

"I met Gene at the gym," Dan explained, and Jerry nodded. He'd known Dan on a "passing in the hallway and say hi" sort of way for years, but a few months ago, they'd been assigned to the same project team, and after they'd had a chance to interact and talk a little more, their friendship had sort of bloomed.

Jerry held the outer door and waited for Dan to pass through. "Do you really think I'm going to meet a guy like Gene?" Jerry asked, looking down at his flat chest and skinny legs. "There's only one of him and you got him." Jerry had been to dinner with Dan and Gene a few times. Jerry thought Gene was an amazing man—drop-dead gorgeous and as nice as could be. Jerry wouldn't say he had a crush on Gene, but he'd been a bit jealous of Dan at first. That had quickly faded once he'd gotten a chance to see the two men together.

"There's nothing wrong with you at all," Dan told him as the door closed behind them.

Jerry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Come on, Dan," Jerry retorted without going into deeper detail. There was no need to rattle off his issues. He had a lot of them, and he knew and was well aware of each and every one of them. Instead, he kept his attention on the real reason he was supposed to be exercising.

"I'll meet you there," Dan called before he peeled away and walked down the line of cars. Jerry turned the opposite way and unlocked his car before sliding into the seat and lowering the windows to release the stiflingly hot July air from inside the car. He started the engine and backed out of his parking spot, then pulled up to the parking lot exit right behind Dan. Without thinking much about it, he followed Dan the short distance to the gym and parked in the next space, then walked with him into the club.

Jerry scanned his key-ring tag before continuing through to the locker room. One of the bays was largely empty, and Jerry began to undress after choosing one of the corner lockers. Jerry pulled off his shirt before fishing around in his bag for a T-shirt. He shrugged it on and toed off his shoes before taking off his pants and then pulling on a pair of shorts. Jerry sat on one of the benches to tie his shoes.

A pair of jeans and tennis shoes entered his vision, but Jerry paid them no attention. The shoes flipped off and then the jeans puddled around a pair of deeply tanned calves. Jerry finished with his shoes and let his eyes flow upward, seeing powerful upper legs and a round, tight butt encased in black briefs. Jerry looked away and stood up, keeping himself busy putting his things away and then locking his locker. He turned to leave and tried to get around the other man, but he moved suddenly, and Jerry ended up chest to chest with him. "Excuse me," Jerry mumbled softly as his mouth went dry.

"It's no problem," the man replied in a deep, rumbly voice. Jerry blinked a few times and the other man smiled before turning away. Jerry tried not to look, he really did, but he couldn't help himself. The deeply tanned man with dark chest hair that tapered to his navel stepped into his workout shorts as Jerry moved past him after finally getting his feet to move. Jerry felt his leg brush along the other man's butt and stifled a groan. He needed to get out of here before he embarrassed himself in front of half the club. Once past the other man, Jerry couldn't help watching him in the mirror as he stretched into a tight workout top that showed off the bulge of his chest and the lines on his stomach.

"You about ready, Jerry?" Dan asked from the other bay, and Jerry pulled his attention away from the mirrors, hoping he hadn't been obvious about where he'd been looking.

"Yes," Jerry answered as he joined Dan and a group of other guys who continued their chatter.

"I don't care what reasoning you use, Lon," Dan said as he returned to the ongoing conversation, placing the lock through the catch on his locker and then snapping it closed. "Hiring a private investigator to follow Corey is really creepy."

"But she was seeing some guy from here at the gym before she broke it off with me," the other guy said plaintively.

"So? Let it go. She broke up with you three months ago, and you've bagged half the women in the club since then. You weren't married, and she doesn't want anything from you, so let it go." Dan shook his head and turned toward Jerry. "This is Lonnie, my regular workout partner and the biggest pain in the ass on God's green earth." Dan raised his voice for the last part.

"You love me and you know it," Lonnie retorted before flicking Dan's nipple ring. Jerry could hardly believe what he was seeing, and the fact that Dan barely reacted was an even bigger surprise. Lonnie closed his locker and then turned to Jerry. "So, you work with Dances with Dick?"

Dan reached over the bench to smack Lonnie on the back of the head. "Be nice. He's new here and we don't need to scare him off right away." Dan rolled his eyes. "Lonnie's missing the gene that censors speech. So when he gets totally obnoxious, just give it back to him. A great target is his huge ass."

"A big ass with a big ass," Jerry said, and Dan grinned.

"Exactly," Dan agreed as they walked toward the door to the workout floor. "You're welcome to join Lonnie and me if you want," he offered.

"I should probably spend time on the treadmill," Jerry responded, looking up to where the machines were located. His doctor had told him that was where he needed to start. "I'll catch up with you later." Dan and Lonnie continued on into the club, and Jerry took the stairs upward. When he reached the cardio floor, he looked around for an empty machine and found one toward the middle of the line. Jerry stepped on the machine and began entering the information. Once he was done, the belt began to move slowly and he started walking. After a few minutes, Jerry increased the speed slightly and turned his attention to the televisions that hung from the ceiling.

Jerry let his thoughts wander as he walked. Someone started the machine next to him, and Jerry glanced over. He almost lost his footing when he saw it was the guy from the locker room. The man glanced at Jerry and smiled before turning his attention to the machine. Jerry took a few seconds to watch him. He liked dark men, and this guy certainly fit the bill, with long, jet-black hair that curled slightly, and the beginnings of a black beard that was sexy as hell. As the other man began to walk, Jerry looked away. After a while, he paused the machine and stepped off to get a drink. When he returned, he unpaused the treadmill.

"You should bring a water bottle," the guy next to Jerry said, and Jerry felt the man's voice like an earthquake.

"I know," Jerry answered, turning toward him and getting a look into eyes as deep as the center of the earth. "I forgot to put one in my bag when I packed it." Damn, the man was smolderingly hot, and while Jerry watched, he actually licked his full lips slightly. "Sometimes I'm in too much of a hurry."

"Yeah, me too," the guy agreed. "Are you new to the club? I haven't seen you before."

"I joined a few weeks ago, but haven't had a lot of time to come in," Jerry said. "I work with the guy using the pulley machine just in front of us down there, and he sort of dragged me in here. Not that it isn't nice. It's just that with my schedule, I don't always have the time."

"It happens with all of us," the guy said, but Jerry wasn't buying it. He looked as though he'd never missed or skimped on a workout in his life. "I'm Giancomo Lappatura; my friends call me Gianni."

"Jerry March," he responded with a nod, suppressing a small shiver. "Have you been a member here long?"

"Almost since they opened," Gianni answered as he pushed buttons on his machine to speed the belt up slightly. Jerry used the few seconds he was occupied to glance at Gianni's butt, encased in tight shorts that were stretched almost to the ripping point with each step by thick, tree-trunk legs. "I work out at least an hour a day, six days a week."

"I'm shooting for three days a week to start," Jerry explained. Gianni nodded as he returned his attention to his workout, and Jerry went back to watching the televisions. He continued walking, but was hypersensitive to Gianni walking next to him. So much so that he didn't notice the beginnings of the jittery feeling until his hands began to shake slightly. Jerry opened his mouth and began to breathe deeply as he slowed the belt down. He should have known better than to exercise without something in his pocket. Jerry stopped the belt and stepped off the machine. The sudden lack of movement had his head spinning, and then the entire room whirled faster and faster. Jerry closed his eyes and tried to walk toward the stairs, but he only took one, maybe two steps before his legs buckled.

Jerry knew he needed to eat. Every fiber in his body screamed for food, and he wanted it fast, but he couldn't seem to make his legs move right. This was what sucked. Intellectually, he knew what he needed, but he wasn't capable right now of telling people what was wrong, and his fucking muscles wouldn't do what he wanted them to do. "Are you okay?" a deep voice asked, and Jerry forced his eyes open. He shook his head, but couldn't seem to form words. His reactions rarely happened this quickly. He felt fingers on his wrist. "Someone bring me a juice bottle from one of the machines right away."

Jerry's heart pounded in his ears as his mind began to float like he was only half awake. Coherent thought seemed beyond his reach. Jerry felt his head being lifted and something pressed against his lips. Instinct took over, but of course it was the wrong one, because he thought he was drowning. "Swallow," the deep voice said. "Take a few sips." He did as the voice said and something cool slid down his throat. He swallowed again and again. "That's enough for a minute." Jerry waited, and then he was told to swallow again.

He lost all track of time, but eventually the muddle in his mind began to clear. "I'm okay," he said softly, and he heard a bunch of people speaking around him.

"We called the paramedics," a woman said. Jerry opened his eyes and saw the container of orange juice being held for him. Jerry reached for it and began to drink again, his mind clearing more and more as his blood sugar rose.

"I'm okay now," Jerry said as the crowd around him parted and people in uniform worked their way through. "My blood sugar bottomed out," he explained to the paramedics as one of them gently grasped his hand and pricked his finger. He'd done that so many times in his life that he barely felt it.

"Seventy-eight," the paramedic said. "It's on the way back up."

Jerry finished the juice, and someone held out a package of crackers. Jerry began to eat them, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could. His breathing was quickly returning to normal, and the sheen of sweat that had formed on his skin evaporated and nearly chilled him. He knew all this was temporary. Slowly, he stood up. The room didn't spin, and with each passing second, he felt better.

"Please, sir, sit down for a while. We need to make sure your blood sugar comes up enough and that you're okay," the paramedic said, and Jerry sat back down. It took him a second to realize that while he'd meant to sit on the floor, he was actually sitting on something else, or more accurately, someone else. Jerry turned around and stared into the chasms that were Gianni's eyes. Jerry struggled to move and ended up plopping his ass on top of the other man's lap.

"You're fine," Gianni said, his voice vibrating through Jerry's body, settling in his groin.

"Jerry." Dan's voice cut through the last of the lingering fog. "Are you all right?"

Jerry slowly stood up once again. He felt almost normal, if totally exhausted. "I'm okay now," Jerry pronounced before turning to the paramedics. "I'm sorry to get you out here like this."

"We're glad you're okay," one of them told him. They packed up their boxes, and Jerry followed them down the stairs before turning to smile at Gianni. "Thank you," he said over the other sounds in the room, and he saw Gianni nod before walking back toward his treadmill.

"Are you really all right? I didn't realize all the commotion was about you at first," Dan fussed as the paramedics led Jerry to one of the tables and chairs off to the side. They asked Jerry questions and got his insurance information. After assuring themselves that Jerry was okay now, they left. Jerry spent the next few minutes reassuring Dan that he was fine. "Go finish your workout. I'm going to clean up and head home."

"What happened?"

"My blood sugar went too low because of the exercise, and I didn't realize it until it was too late." Now that his mind was clearer, he could make much more sense of what had happened. "Someone must have read my MedicAlert bracelet and gotten me some juice." Jerry looked up to where Gianni was running on the treadmill. He saw the other man looking back at him. "Go finish with Lonnie, and I'll see you tomorrow at the office. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" Dan asked with concern.

"Yes. Unfortunately this has happened before. I'm usually able to react much sooner than I did today." Jerry waited until Dan left before walking into the locker room. He decided to clean up at home, so he packed his things and hurried out. Before leaving, he looked around the club for Gianni so he could thank him properly, but couldn't find him. Giving up, Jerry left the club and walked to his car. After throwing his things in the trunk, he got into his car and drove the ten minutes home.

Jerry pulled down the alley behind his row house and pressed the button to open his garage door. He pulled in and popped his trunk, then closed the door as he got out of the car. After grabbing his gear, Jerry left the garage and walked through his small, but lovingly landscaped backyard, being careful where he stepped in case George and Gracie, his box turtles, were about. He unlocked the back door and went inside, dropping his work bag near his computer in the small room he used for an office. He carried his gym bag with him to the kitchen, setting it on one of the chairs. He opened the testing kit he always kept with him and pulled out one of his test strips. He pricked his finger and worked up a small drop of blood. He touched his finger to the test strip, and it soaked up the blood. Then he placed it in the reader and turned it on. It beeped, and after a few seconds told him his blood sugar level was just above ninety. Still a little low, but not too bad. He'd been afraid that with all the juice he'd had, it would go the other way and spike high, but it thankfully hadn't, at least not yet.

Jerry picked up his gym bag and climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He stripped down and threw his dirty clothes in the hamper, intending to take a quick shower. But once the warm water began sluicing over his body, Jerry's mind took a detour to Gianni and the way he'd looked wearing only a pair of briefs. In the locker room, the briefs had strained to contain what was inside, but in the shower in Jerry's mind, the briefs quickly capitulated and Gianni stood naked in front of him. Jerry reached for the soap as he turned his back to the water and ran slick fingers around and along his throbbing cock. Stroking vigorously, he wondered what Gianni's skin would feel like next to his. Clipped chest hair, rough and good as it slid along his; Gianni's cock, thick and full, sliding along Jerry's hip; Gianni sucking on his neck while he pressed a finger lightly to his opening, teasing him just enough to....

Jerry's head swam and floated as his climax barreled into him like a train. His legs shook, and he had to force himself to stay upright as he shot hard against the tile. Propping himself up against the wall, he breathed deeply and let the euphoric after-release feeling flow through him. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, and he straightened up so he could finish his shower.

He could still feel the residual effects of his climax once he stepped out of the shower and began drying himself off, the floatiness lingering. Jerry dressed in light sweats and a T-shirt before heading downstairs. He made himself dinner and ate sitting alone at his kitchen table. Once he was done, he took his blood sugar again before opening the refrigerator door and getting his vials of insulin. He measured out the proper amounts carefully before giving himself the injection and then taking care of the supplies. Then Jerry picked up his work bag and headed into the living room for the evening.

His phone rang a little while later. "Hey, Dan," Jerry said, answering his cell.

"Thought I'd call to make sure you were okay. You gave us quite a scare at the gym."

"I'm fine. The guy who was on the treadmill next to me seemed to know what to do, and he helped me before the paramedics arrived," Jerry explained. "He said his name was Gianni." Jerry couldn't help smiling a little.

"Oh," Dan said, getting quiet. Jerry had learned that Dan had a tendency to talk. He wasn't malicious, but a bit of gossip was sometimes hard for him to resist. So he wondered what was stopping him.

"What?" Jerry prompted, his interest piqued.

"Nothing at all," Dan told him, and Jerry knew he was covering up something, but the noise behind Dan got louder and Jerry realized it had to be hard for Dan to hear.

"It sounds like you're out with friends. I'll let you go and see you tomorrow at work," Jerry said, and Dan wished him a good night and ended the call. Jerry set the phone on the table, wondering what it was that Dan hadn't told him. Not that it really mattered, anyway. Jerry had discovered quite some time ago that guys considered him majorly high-maintenance. Being diabetic wasn't simply a matter of watching what he ate and giving himself a shot four times a day. His condition affected almost every area of his life, including when to eat, how much to eat, and when to sleep. It affected his ability to drive, sometimes, and eventually it could affect his sight, circulation, and all his internal systems. Sure, he could fantasize about a guy like Gianni, but even if he had the looks to catch the eye of a guy like that, one dose of the reality of living with Jerry was usually enough to send most guys running for the hills. It had happened before, more than once, and if he decided to starting dating again someday, Jerry had little doubt it would happen again.