"Are we meeting tonight?" Josh said, sensing I was freaked out by my wife's comments indicating she believes Josh and I were now fucking, which we were.
It was a whirlwind of playing around at first, until last night with Mel out of state and the house to myself (kids at college) I invited Josh back and he took me.
"I want to make up for last night," Josh said as we sat at the coffee shop after our morning training run. The race was upcoming and I was on track with my rehabilitation.
"What do you mean, 'make up for'," I said, having enjoyed the experience, though now thinking about it in a negative light, shown the detachment we had together. "I mean, you felt amazing inside me."
"I don't want to get into it now, except I feel we didn't connect and that was my fault, 100%," Josh said, being introspective without revisiting the recounting the story of his first lover. "I want this to be more than just sex, because up until last night it wasn't."
"Let's get a room downtown somewhere then," I said, totally blowing my fear of my wife's discovery out of the water. "Dinner, going out somewhere, maybe the river walk, just being together and then being together. I mean we can simulate my race with tomorrow's long run by doing it partially on the course."
"Ah, you're a planner Donnie," Josh said. "Though, this open-ended plan sounds delicious."
"You're separating, right?" I said boldly. "Can you pull something like an overnight off?"
"If you're not worried about your wife, and you're not separated," Josh said acknowledging my sacrifice in this situation. "Then I can work something out."
"We'll stay at the same place we are before the race," I said. "As far as my wife goes, I just deny until there's hard proof and as for staying with you we're simulating the run all the way down to race morning."
"Brilliant, Donnie," he said and touched my hand in the busy coffee shop and held my gaze. His sweat and post run smell was intoxicating and I was ready to tell him to cancel his morning appointments and just join me at home.
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"So it was just shots and talk," Mel said. "I mean he's separating from his wife? That's pretty serious."
"Yeah, he was broken up about it, and Mel I get it we spend a lot of time together and," I said and paused, not sure I wanted to go there at this minute, but she had gone from bisexual jokes to compassion for Josh in a hot minute so I decided to strike.
"And?" she said, noticing my pause.
"We're two weeks out from the race and we're going to simulate running the race on my long run tomorrow," I said setting up the staying downtown. "We're going to stay at the hotel we've booked for the race and run it tomorrow, timed and everything."
"Okay, you guys are fucking," she said directly, half-joking. "I mean, Donnie what the hell??"
"He is really serious about getting this data and getting me to a low time," I said convincingly. "He's freakin' obsessed with that, not me sexually."
"You'd let him, right?" the coy Mel reappeared quickly, my explanation hitting home as she's seen the data and heard the tales of his strict training.
"Oh, of course," I said and then threw a little extra into the banter. "I can see the outline in his spandex, he's hung so who wouldn't."
"Ha!" she said and then began to talk about the conference. Alibi set, no lies, didn't even have to deny directly. I mean I don't think he's necessarily "obsessed" more like "interested." It's all in the semantics.
"Date night when you get back?" I threw in to further smoke screen the events that were going to unfold.
"I get to pick the movie AND the restaurant," she said, the jokingly threw more Josh banter out."I mean, you have your date night tonight."
"Call me before bed" I said and ended the call and started our days.
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Work was a slog. Cash Andrews had given me a major project, biggest of my career, and kept moving deadlines on our timeline, contacting buyers and contractors, basically micromanaging the project to my annoyance.
"Did you get a hold of McGee's landscaping?" Is an example of how he would greet me in the morning, afternoon and most engagements in between. Normally the answer would be...
"Yes, Cash we're set for Tuesday," I would say, drawing a line to the work.
"Tuesday?" He would just automatically question and I would have to say, "Yes". He would then say something like, "Why not Monday?" I would angrily say "because it's Tuesday."
Today I walked into his office, emboldened for some reason, maybe the physical affection of another, my discovery of myself, or just not ready for the same question that morning.
"Cash, I need to say something," I said as his head was buried in the computer. "You gave me this project, and I'm two weeks ahead of schedule and everyone's happy. Can we reverse this cycle of checks and balances where I'm coming to you with daily, twice daily updates rather than 20 questions each day?"
He looked up at me and smiled. "Maybe it's the 20 questions that has it two weeks ahead of schedule? Maybe?"
It shook me for a second, like a jab in a fight on the concert floor of the Doobie Brothers back in the day. I almost groveled, saying something like, "yeah boss you caught that port-a-pottie mis-schedule (which he did, but that wouldn't have done anything for the timeline), but no.
"Cash, if anything your questions have slowed me down. If I'm the lead on the project I'm going to come to you," I said and sat down.
"Bothers you that much?" He said and I nodded an emphatic 'yes'. "Well, alright then, we'll it your way."
"Hey Cash, did you order something?" Jenny his office assistant called out into his office from her desk.
"No, Jenny," he said and we both got up. A delivery man was bringing in fruit and veggies with a card that read - "To Donnie on rocking his race prep and training, you'll blaze it in two weeks! - Josh Striker Athletes in Action Physical Therapy"
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I worked through lunch so I could get out early and was at the AC by Marriott on the river right at check-in time around 3 p.m.. I wanted to clean up and trim in areas I hadn't in a while, and just relax before Josh got there.
His text read - "I've got two late sessions taking me to 5:30 so I'll meet you at the restaurant of your choice and check-in later."
I had thanked him for the fruit and veggies, and they were a hit at work, texting him - "We're all in a get-in-shape mode and you may get a couple clients from the gesture as Shelby and Rick are nursing injuries."