[hockeypreg2]

Zach shifted a little in his side of the booth. He could answer that pretty easily actually. "I don't really have time to date. I'm not around much so I tend not to start anything." He shrugged a little. "No hiding a secret relationship or anything. I don't think I could hide that."

He exhaled in relief, glad that it was that and not a question about his sexuality. He hated answering that one because he always had to lie.

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded his head and chewed on his straw, pink tongue coming out to wrap around it every so often - his lips were red from biting on them, and slightly swollen, making them look just that much more plump and full. "I guess... I can understand that. But... It doesn't make a whole lot of sense - if you were dating someone, wouldn't they come with you? Travel to your shooting locations and stay where you're at?" Caleb asked curiously.

He had no idea what the world of Acting was like, and seemed genuinely curious about the more technical sides of things - he wanted to get more personal, of course, but he also didn't want to scare Zach away; he had a good habit of scaring people away, even when he just wanted to be friends with them.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach made a face and fiddled with his coffee cup. "I don't want to date someone who just wants to date me because I'm Zach Martin. If they're just going to follow me from location to location, then they don't have their own life to live outside of me. I want someone who wants to be with me, not because of what I can do for them, but because they want me for me."

Zach's eyes were drawn to Caleb's lips and tongue as they played with the straw. It was distracting to say the least. And ... arousing.

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded slowly, sucking the straw into his mouth - he fiddled with it for a few seconds in his mouth, bending and twisting the thin stir stick with his tongue. He pulled it out of his mouth with his fingertips and set the knotted straw on his saucer plate, smirking a little at his own handiwork, not at all realizing just what he was doing to Zach across from him.

"Yeah but, if you're dating someone who really does love you... Wouldn't you want them to be with you? Instead of back home in LA or wherever, just waiting around for you to maybe come back home? I would think that... someone putting their life on hold so you can fulfill your dreams... well, seems like someone who would be pretty dedicated to you and really does want to be with you, just for being you - and not Zach Martin, the actor, but Zach Martin, the boyfriend."

[hockeypreg2]

"I'm only gone for 6 weeks or so at a time," Zach said. He dropped a hand to his lap to adjust his dick in his jeans. "And the person I'm dating would be so bored if they were with me the whole time. I'm gone for hours and when I'm home, I spend most of it sleeping and going over lines. It's really not very exciting. I just don't think it would be a romantic thing to have someone who doesn't want their own life and only wants to live mine."

[Sam260]

Caleb seemed to deflate rather quickly, but he kept a stoic look on his face - smiling through the pain that lanced his heart "I... It's understandable, I guess." He felt the heat rise in his eyes, tears were going to fall - "I need to use the bathroom." He got up quickly and turned toward where the restrooms were - his hips swaying and jean clad ass tight in those jeans of his as he moved toward the far back area where the restrooms were located.

Caleb locked himself in a stall, taking several shaky breaths and letting the tears ride freely down his cheeks - he would allow himself three minutes of this behavior, and then he was going to go back out there and put on his bravest face, end their not-so-much date, and get on with his life. Whatever that even meant.

Three minutes were up quicker than he expected and he dried his eyes, washed his face with cold water to help the puffiness go down some, and then he went back to the booth.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach had no idea what he had said that upset Caleb so much, but he had obviously fucked up with the whole not wanting someone to follow him around thing. Which was the absolute truth. He didn't date and even if he did, he wouldn't want someone to follow him around. He would want someone who had their own life, someone who had a career of their own. He didn't realize that was a weird thing to want, but apparently Caleb had the celebrity version of him in his head as well.

Caleb came back a few minutes later and Zach smiled at him. "Hey, everything okay?"

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded and smiled, his eyes were still a bit shiny but no more tears were falling down his face "Yep." he said simply, fiddling with a small napkin on the table. He glanced at his watch and sighed quietly "So, when do you want to go for that run?" he knew he had to keep things as normal as possible -- it was heart breaking but, he couldn't do anything to change the way Zach thought, nor could he change the way he, himself, felt toward Zach...

It was possible to, him at least, be able to follow Zach from location to location and still work full-time - Traveling nurses were a hot commodity these days, and he only had another year left before graduation, so... He had to hold onto what little hope he had. If the flirting and stuff were any indication, he knew that Zach wasn't as straight as he claimed to be, but Caleb wasn't ready to put his heart out there either... He'd let it play out, watch the scene unfold like he so often did when watching Zach on TV.

And besides, he also knew that the college he went too offered online courses for nursing, he just needed a hospital in order to complete his rotation hours, and there were hospitals in literally every corner of the country he could do them at.

[hockeypreg2]

"I was thinking tomorrow. My plan for today is to just veg after this. I'm exhausted," Zach admitted. He could tell that things had gotten awkward now and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. He played with his mug as they sat in silence.

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever I said. I guess I made it weird with the relationship stuff."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded and started standing up "Tomorrow is fine. I'll text you to let you know where we can meet up at." Caleb stood fully, leaving his still slightly warm cocoa sitting on the table "Enjoy the rest of your day, Zach. I think you deserve a break."

Caleb sighed and shook his head "You didn't make it weird -- I was just asking you questions. We are simply just two guys, hanging out, while we have the chance."

Caleb swaggered out after that - hips swaying dramatically and bubble bottom bouncing with each step he took towards the coffee shop door.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach watched him go, entirely confused as to what had just happened. He shook his head and finished up his coffee. Guys were so confusing.

----

Zach parked his car, clipping Leo's leash on him before they got out of the car. Caleb had texted him where to meet and Zach was a little early so Leo could sniff around first. He had a running pack that had water for himself and Leo. It wasn't especially hot but he always ran with water. Leo was his responsibility and he took it seriously.

Leo sniffed at the bushes, pulling Zach along as he went. Zach kept his eyes open for Caleb, not wanting to get too far from where they were supposed to meet. He hoped today was a little less awkward with Caleb. Their texts had been normal enough.

[Sam260]

Caleb stood just a distance away, watching Zach and Leo as they explored the park that he decided to run in with - The park was beautiful, with tall oak trees and flowers everywhere -- it was a community project a couple of years ago, wanting to revamp the park and bring it up to date.

Caleb was wearing a tank top - sort of - it cut off just underneath his pectoral muscles, showing off his very slim waist and abdominal muscles - they weren't nearly as toned as most athletes, only sporting about a four-pack. The shorts he was wearing were short-short, coming to just to his mid-thigh -- it was his normal running attire when he wasn't doing Track and he had a feeling that Zach would probably think otherwise.

He moved away from the tree he had been standing near and went to the water fountain where he told Zach he would be at, and when the older man noticed he was standing there, he waved happily -- All thoughts of yesterday completely banished from his mind, after a bit of drinking and sobbing to his closest relative - a cousin who lived on the other side of the country.

[hockeypreg2]

"Hey!" Zach said happily, waving at him. Leo tugged him over, making a beeline for Caleb. "Leo, down! Sit." Leo did sit, but he was wriggling with excitement at meeting someone new. Zach didn't want him to jump since he would probably be almost the same height as Caleb if he was on his hind legs. Plus he didn't know how comfortable Caleb was with dogs.

"He gets really excited to meet new people," Zach explained, holding him back. He leaned over to give Caleb a bro hug, clapping him on the back briefly. "It's good to see you."

[Sam260]

Caleb reached his hand out to Leo, smiling warmly at the dog when he started lapping at his hand "Good morning, Leo." he spoke directly to the dog before turning to look up at Zach, a hand still resting on the dog's head "Good morning, Zach."

"I'm not afraid of him, but he's massive... I think he'd definitely knock me down with all that excitement in him." Caleb said with a small laugh and a smile, his eyes twinkling slightly as he looked back down at Leo "I've always wanted a dog... maybe something smaller than Leo here, but a dog nonetheless."

Caleb returned the bro-hug a bit awkwardly - not many people had given him 'bro-hugs' before "It's good to see you too... How do you like the park?"

[hockeypreg2]

"He's got no idea how big he is, right Leo?" Zach grinned, rubbing Leo's head happily. He did love this ridiculous, lug of a dog. He looked up at the park when Caleb asked and nodded. "It's a nice park. Lots of good smells apparently. I like the flowers myself."

Zach began to stretch as Leo licked Caleb's hand some more. "So where do you like to run around here?"

[Sam260]

Caleb pointed toward a wooded area that gave background to the beauty of the forest "They call it the North-West Trail, because obviously it goes North-West, but it's relatively flat, some hills and stuff but nothing major... not like the Southern trails - Those are nothing but hills." Caleb shuddered slightly at the thought.

He started slowly walking towards the trail, stretching his arms and legs out every few steps "I ran the most southern trail once, fell and nearly broke my ankle... I was glad to have a friend with me that day - as it was I sprained my ankle and had to sit out of three track meets in order for it to heal properly."

[hockeypreg2]

"Let's not break anything today. I would be in a lot of trouble," Zach said, trying and failing not to stare at Caleb's ass when he bent over to stretch out his hamstrings. His ass was great. Leo trotted ahead of them, his leash loose and long. "So once we get going, Leo's good about running. It's just when we're walking that he's going to stop and smell everything."

Leo decided to prove his point, stopping and ducking his head in the underbrush to sniff thoroughly at something only he could see and smell. Zach kept moving, tugging lightly when the leash went slack. "That's why we use a harness or else he'd choke himself the whole time."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded and smiled "It makes sense - If I were a dog I think I'd prefer a harness when running, but a collar when I'm just enjoying the day..." Caleb reached up and rubbed his neck lightly, where a collar would be "I'd pick out a purple one, if my owner would let me."

He didn't think anything of his statement, because he was simply speaking about if he were a dog -- a BDSM situation never even crossed his mind.

Caleb stretched himself out one last time as they reached the trail, bending himself in half to grab the tips of his toes. He straightened up after a few moments and twisted his back "Okay, the trail is really easy, so even if you get lost... We'll find each other again."

And with that, Caleb started easily jogging the trail - he seemed to be going slow, just until he knew Zach could keep up and stick with him.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach had to shake himself because holy crap Caleb was bendy and that was just an appealing visual that flashed in his head. He jogged after him, Leo immediately figuring out what was going on and running happily as well. They caught up quickly and kept the easy pace next to Caleb. Leo picked up the pace which meant Zach had to, Caleb easily matching them.

It was a gorgeous day for a run and the trail was nice and easy. Zach enjoyed himself. Caleb was a good running partner who knew when to pick up the pace and when to slow it down. He did eventually have to stop to get Leo to drink some water though.

He knelt down and detached his pack, getting Leo's collapsible bowl out. "This will only take a minute."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded and went over to a low hanging branch on one of the many trees that lined the trail - it was a thick branch and he wrapped his hands around it, slowly pulling himself up to sit down on the top of it, swinging his feet back and forth slowly "You guys are pretty good running partners... We may have to do this again sometime."

Caleb waited until Leo had finished off his water before flipping backwards off the tree branch and landing solidly on his feet. He stretched himself out once again, bending himself in half and bringing both legs up high against his chest - one at a time - he was extremely flexible and probably could have been a gymnast, had he wanted too.

"Alright, I'm ready again." he said with a smile before turning down the trail once again, jogging at a decent pace once again.