Gunner’s thick, dark eyebrows drew together just as the door behind Caspian slammed against the lockers.
“Whoa!” a man laughed, sending a cold shiver down Caspian’s back.
“What? What’s going on?” Another asked as the door shut again.
Gunner looked over Caspian’s head, to the men who’d entered, despite still holding his towel open. “Little gay boy wanted to have a look. I’m a generous man, and he’s never gonna see another cock this big.”
Caspian had been out at his college, but now that he’d been trapped by these three gorillas, whose bulks blocked all exits, his survival instinct told him to deny everything he was. But before his mouth could have turned the whole thing into a joke, anger rose inside him again, because he hadn’t asked for any of this.
“If that’s how you see it. I’m here to work out, not ogle anyone.”
One of the newcomers, who had a pot belly pushing at the front of his shirt, and dull skin that said a lot about his habits, gave a low chuckle that took Caspian right back to middle school, when even the word sex had made all the kids giggle as if they knew what fucking was about.
“Oh, Gunner, did you want him to see your schlong?”
It took Caspian a moment to recognize him, but the voice was distinctive enough to identify him as Bud Dorset. Literally named after the beer, as he’d boasted many times in high school, unaware that it made him pathetic instead of cool to anyone with half a brain.
Gunner shrugged and rearranged the towel around his hips. “Show’s over.”
The third guy, freckled, bald, and with a big red beard stepped right in front of him like a ginger wolf about to play with its prey. He wasn’t as massive as Gunner, but then again… few people were.
“Wait. Aren’t you… Casper, right? Like the ghost?”
Todd Brown. A bully even worse than Gunner. Back in high school the fact that he was a year older than the rest of his hyena pack had made him their informal leader, and it seemed he hadn’t turned into a decent human being since.
Clenching his jaw, Caspian stuffed the T-shirt back into his backpack. “I see you really want this space to yourselves. I won’t disturb you.”
“Wait. We’re not done here,” Todd said and pushed Caspian at the locker so hard all of his survival instincts kicked in and… he froze, like a rabbit facing three wolves with nowhere to run.
He was sixteen again, small and weak. Defenseless against a pack of predators who didn’t care about his valuable skills, or the fact that lots of people loved him. Civilization might have moved forward since the Stone Age, but those troglodytes hadn’t gotten the memo.
Gunner laughed, leaning against the wall as if he were trying to lure Caspian in, not intimidate him. “What are you even doing here, shrimp?”
Bud rested against the door, as if to make sure Caspian understood he wasn’t going anywhere until they allowed it. “I don’t think it’s fair that you got to see Gunner’s dick, but we didn’t see yours.”
Caspian’s head hurt where it had hit the locker, and he squeezed the backpack to his chest, as if it could stop his heart from going frantic. “I learned my lesson, all right? I’ll just go—”
He tried to take a step toward the door, but Bud and Todd grabbed his arms and pushed him right back, as if they’d agreed on it telepathically.
He should have screamed then, called for assistance, but when he tried to rip his arms out of their grip and found out their hands were like shackles, his voice just wouldn’t come out, leaving him vulnerable to whatever was to happen next.
Gunner groaned. “I really don’t need to see his dick. Just kick him out.”
Todd faced him with a scowl. “Stop being such a fucking spoilsport.”
“Take off his pants, Gun. Let’s see what this faggot has to offer.” Bud laughed.
“No—” Caspian tried, but his voice came out tiny, like the squeak of a mouse. This was his nightmare come alive. The price he’d be paying for wanting to better himself. Who had he been kidding? He didn’t belong here.
Unable to get away from the grip of sweaty hands, he shut his eyes and waited, listening to the slow clap of Gunner’s flip flops. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. He wished he could leave his body and not have to go through this humiliation. But it was no use.
When big hands pulled on his pants and unceremoniously slid them down to his thighs along with his underwear, the seconds of endless silence were somehow even worse than the burst of laughter that followed. It meant that while they hadn’t expected him to be big, they were stunned at just how small his cock was.
Bud was the first to voice it. “My thumb is longer than that.”