Guard my Heart (gay) ✔️

4. Will the real cuddler, please stand up.

Tarek read and reread his grandfather's handwritten instructions.
Since you no longer want to be my PA, I'll add you to Nathan's staff; until the time comes when you defeat him or return voluntarily. M.
"Did you know about this?" he angrily stomped into Nathan's office.
This one held up a similar paper.
"Welcome to the team."
"You can't possibly mean that," Tarek expressed dissatisfaction with the nonchalant attitude. "If I succeed, you'll lose your job."

Nathan folded his muscular upper arms in front of his muscular chest. As always, Tarek couldn't resist admiring him covertly.
"If you succeed, that would be justified," Nathan grumbled.
"Are you serious?" flashed Tarek in a wonder.
Nathan got up from his office chair.
"I'm a trained Marine. You're a Personal Assistant."

For a moment, it stayed quiet.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Tarek, wobbling uneasily when seeing Nathan creeping closer.
"Your grandfather knows me well enough to know that I would resign myself if someone beat me."
He was now right in front of him and bowed defiantly forward.
"But that won't happen, Tarek."
The physical proximity elicited a visible shudder and he bit on his lip to swallow an embarrassing sound.

"What does it entail; be added to your team?" he asked carefully staring at the ground.
"The old man doesn't like half measures," Nathan shaded, quietly enjoying Tarek's passive-aggressive attitude. He couldn't wait to fan the fire that was smoldering beneath the surface.
"You are my PA and have unlimited access to the facilities."

He was searching through his desk drawer.
"Here."
"What is this?" said Tarek in horror.
"The spare key to my room."
Tarek froze. 'Why did grandfather do this?'
"Know thy enemy," Nathan said in response to his unspoken question.
Tarek laughed. "I suppose this works both ways?"
"Wrong."
Not understanding, Tarek stared into shimmering blue eyes.
"Your determination challenges me to get better. I'll encourage you in your fight, Tarek. That doesn't mean I intend to let you win."
He pressed the key into Tarek's hand.
"Pack your things together and change. I'm expecting you at 3:00 in the Gym."
When he didn't move on his own, Nathan pushed him out of his office and resolutely closed the door.

Nathan's room was exactly as Tarek expected. Sparsely furnished with only the most basic of stuff. It gave him absolutely no insight of Nathan's private side. His mouth fell open upon seeing the only bed in the bedroom. It was a generous king size, but still.
This was definitely a dream and/or nightmare. His simple desire to get away from Nathan had blown up in his face. However admitting this to his grandfather and returning to the status quo was not an option. With a stubbornness that flowed proudly and powerfully through his blood, he made preparations to transfer his belongings to Nathan's room. And for good measure, he decided to just move everything with him. Operation defeat Nathan went into its first phase. Grinning, he changed and hopped down the stairs cheerfully.

In the Fitness Room, dressed in the ridiculously good-looking tracksuit, Nathan was handing out instructions to six men Tarek recognized as members of the intervention team.
"Men, you all know Tarek Al-Din. The old man lent him to us for an undetermined amount of time. He will fill out part of his hours as a PA and the rest he will train with us."
"Yes, sir," it sounded in unison.
Upon seeing the other men, Tarek had to make a correction to his earlier observation. All were dressed in the form-fitting tracksuit and worthy of admiration, but no one wore it as mouth-wateringly delicious as Nathan.

"Get to work," Nathan ordered, beckoning Tarek closer.
The men spread over the usual devices and the mats present on the floor.
"I've drawn up a fitness schedule for you."
Tarek took the paper and read the contents frowning.
"I understand the physical part, but why the meditation?"
He turned the paper over.
"A diet?"
Now he was indignant. He may not have the body of a Greek God, but he felt it unnecessary for Nathan to tell him what he ate.
"Is mandatory," Nathan tapped patronizingly on the paper. "If you don't agree, there's the door."
Tarek cooked inside. Sweetness was his bae. How dare Nathan take this away from him? The only thing that stopped him from publicizing his discontent was the knowledge that with his belongings also moved his secret stash.

For the next few hours, he needed all his concentration to keep up. Thanks in part to the training he had received in the past, he was able to keep himself standing among the men. Even if it was barely. It made him realize that if he wanted to succeed in his design there were still many hours of hard work in his future. It was almost enough to make him give up; Almost.

Starved after the physical exertion, he shoveled in his dinner.
"After dinner we train one on one. There you will have a chance to beat me."
Tarek gloated at the prospect and forgot the men who listened in carefully.
"So if I beat you tonight, I get to sleep in my own bed," he shouted with bravado. Nathan laughed confidently.
"You can be sure to spend the foreseeable future in my bed."
The bright blush on Tarek's cheeks elicited a response from the men and dirty remarks flew across the table.

Satisfied with the reactions of his men, who were familiar with the value of male fraternization, Nathan leaned back. He had no problem sharing his bed with Tarek. Except he hoped the man wasn't a cuddler. Where he saw no problems in the intense physical contact in which he found himself daily, he drew a line at intimacy. A thick, fat line!

Faced with reality, Tarek lowered his head. He was totally exhausted and wanted to go to his, correction, their room to put away his belongings.
As always, Nathan was ahead of him.
"You've done enough for today," he said fleetingly looking at his watch. "I'm in my room around 10:00. You don't have to stay up for me," he added with a wink, eliciting a loud jeering from the men.

For a count, Tarek regretted all the stuff he had transferred to the room. The small living room was completely buried. He worked as quickly as possible to find a suitable place for everything and it helped that his own room had the same layout. Next item on the agenda was securing his secret stash. After he hung up his clothes, he thought it made sense to use the empty suitcase for this purpose. Discreetly stowed in his part of the closet he ticked another activity off his list. Now a relaxing shower and then go to bed.

Tarek could not resist to ignore his own products and use Nathan's. Standing in front of the bed, he faced a new dilemma. Which side? He couldn't remember... Oh, wait. In Paris he had seen the whor... woman on the right side of the bed. That would work out fine with him as that was also his preference. He quickly stepped into the comfortable bed, which was clearly equipped with clean bedding and drifted away almost immediately.

It ran almost towards 11:30 before Nathan saw the chance to end the day. The circumstances were a bit unusual, but he could use Tarek's assistance in regard to the administrative tasks.
Even before he opened the door, he knew that sharing his space with Tarek would be quite a challenge. The spicy smell of incense came to him. It also seemed that the rest of his interior had moved with him. His sober and efficiently decorated room was taken over by photographs, plants and knickknacks. Lots and lots of knickknacks.

With a small smile, he saw Tarek asleep. The man had rolled up like a ball and only the tip of his head was visible. Listening to his regular breathing, Nathan picked up everything he needed for a quick shower. His eye caught on a whole regiment of care products and he shook his head with a smile. He was not surprised that Tarek paid so much attention to his appearance. He was what you called; A Metro man. He kept it nice and simple with his all-in-one shower gel.

Tired, he set his alarm and stepped into bed. He was a light sleeper, but usually had no trouble getting to sleep.
In the middle of the night he woke up to a sound right under his ear. Cursed if it wasn't true. Tarek was a cuddler, exactly what he hated. The scolding was already on his lips when he became aware of the position he was in. Or rather, which side of the bed he was on. Tarek was almost completely buried under his body.

Shame pulled through him in powerful waves as he tried to slide his body away. Small groans of protest rose up to him. Shocked, he looked down on Tarek. Relieved, he noticed that the man was still asleep. Again he made an attempt to return to his own side. This time luckily without reaction from Tarek.

Nathan lay awake for a long time, grinding about the betrayal of his body. He wasn't a cuddler. Not now, not ever. Then why was Tarek different?