Page 37 of Just A Little Joy

I actually had a point to the texting you though.

And that was?

To see when you got off work and your plans.

2 p.m., then gym, and then home, I guess.

Want some company for the gym and a surprise after?

Good surprise?

I think so. Hope so anyway.

I’m in.

Whoop, whoop! Can I pick you up?

I drove to work, but meet me at my apartment?

Is this a date?

I hope so ’cause I want it to be a date.

Date it is.

See you then.

“I kinda regret goingfor leg day. The trainers don’t have anything on you,” Travis said when he collapsed next to me on the bench. His panting breaths came out short and fast, reminding me of a similar sound from over the weekend. “Holy shit.”

“C’mon, it’s not that bad. Maybe you just haven’t pushed yourself in a while,” I offered with a grin. Travis playfully pushed me toward the locker room. I danced away. He tried to follow but groaned low instead. “Maybe it’s an age thing?”

“We are practically the same age!”

“Pretty sure you’re older. How old are you anyway?”

“Thirty-four. You?”

“Thirty-two. Clearly, the old man here.” Travis’s laugh was deep and rich like dark chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles. “But we do have to take the hockey into account. By my last season, some days it hurt to get out of bed days after a rough game. I don’t think I had another season in me.”

We’d stopped to grab some towels to shower before heading off for what Travis called an adventure, though he wouldn’t share the details.

“Do you miss it?” I asked as we waited our turn in line. “Playing all the time?”

Travis hesitated before he answered. “I miss the excitement of it, but I don’t miss the loneliness of being gone all the time and being alone.”

“I thought I read you were divorced.”

“Yeah, she traveled all the time for her job, and I did the same, and we weren’t ready for the work it took to make it work. We split, no hard feelings from either side, and moved on.”

“You were married to a woman?”

“Yeah, I never hid that I was bi, but I didn’t advertise it either. She didn’t care about that part. She’s pan. She’s married to a sweet farmer now, and they grow organic herbs and make soaps.”

“Any chance that’s the stuff in your shower? Because damn.”

“Yep, that’s them,” he answered proudly. “When she and her partner started, I was happily their first customer. Their bubble bath is next level.”

“I’ll have to order some.”