I was new to the DC Metro having relocated for a job from New York. My first 6 months in the area were spent as a geographical bachelor as I waited for my house in Long Island to sell in a down market. I was lucky enough to have bought on the way up so I got out whole after 6 months. I bought a new house in northern Virginia and moved my wife and kids down before school started.
I have always kept myself in good shape but my 6 months as a geobatchelor left me soft and doughy so the first thing I did once we were settled was join a gym.
My hours were long and my commute into DC was longer so my gym time was limited. I found myself getting there when most people were leaving. I would work out hard for an hour the hit the showers around midnight before heading home. The showers were a strange setup. There was a single shower room with 10 shower heads evenly spaced along the walls with no partitions and no privacy but at midnight I was always alone.
It was a Thursday night and I had just finished a light workout and a 30 minute run on the treadmill. I sat at my locker and peeled my sweaty clothes off as my heart rate slowly returned to normal. The room was quiet and empty as I made my way to the shower and started the water at my usual spot in the corner.
The water was hot as it cascaded over my head. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the relaxing feeling of the hot water on my tired body.
I was startled from my trance by the sound of another shower and I opened my eyes to see a well built guy in his late 30's at the shower two spaces away. His body was tan and muscular and completely shaved. I realized that I had been looking at his body and quickly adjusted my eyes to look him in the eye. He smiled at my obvious discomfort and began lathering his hair.
I continued my shower as though he wasn't there but I was again interrupted from my trance as he spoke for the first time.
"Hey," he said casually "can you grab that for me," he continued as he pointed to a bar of soap that had made its way to a spot a foot away from me.