Which is probably why I can’t stop thinking about Keno’s joke the other day. Then there are the jokes we hear from the guys about already being a married couple and we just don’t know it. We’ve been hearing it since Keno was traded to Arizona last summer.
We knew it was always said in good humor and honestly, it’s never been something we were offended by. Yeah, we spend a lot of time together. Every single day. We practically live together; and even though we have our own houses, it’s rare that we spend a night apart.
I’m confident that half of our clothing and belongings are at the other person’s house as it is. We buy shit together. Go on vacations together. We even opened a bank account together, so it’s easier to plan for financial shit together.
What’s more, I think it’s been well over a year since we’ve spent the night in separate beds. Not because we harbor some latent homoerotic attraction to each other. Besides the drunken day caught on camera, there’s been zero physical contact of that sort between us.
The first time we fell asleep together was accidental. The subsequent times after that weren’t. It’s comfortable. We enjoy each other’s company.
So, in all honesty, yeah, I can totally see why our buddies tease us about us already being married. In a sense, I guess we are.
Then why not just make it happen?
Keno and I have talked about our futures and somehow, we always imagine them together. All our plans, it’s as if we’re always going to be traded together. It’s insanely unlikely it’ll happen that way even once, but it’s cool to think it might.
But we’ve even created back-up plans to hang out when we’re separated due to a trade.
Isn’t that something you’d do with your spouse?
The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. And the more it aligns with our lives now and how we’ve been planning for next month and year and beyond. We always see ourselves together. Best friends. Hanging out and happy.
Then there’s the conversation we had that day about how in some Asian cultures, people are marrying for sustainability and longevity. When he teasingly followed up about marrying me, I kind of thought, in the days to follow, he’d hint about it again. It just kind of fell into the conversation too easily.
As the days passed, I realized that Keno really was just having a conversation and telling me about something he read about. Hewasjoking. But is that joke far from the truth?Wouldhe marry me?
“Your turn,” Keno says, slapping my arm with the back of his hand as he grabs his water.
I nod and climb on. I force myself to stop thinking about marrying my best friend and focus on what I’m doing. Working out distracted is an easy way to hurt yourself. So I concentrate on counting my reps and breathing.
Honestly, it’s nice to have a break from the badgering of these thoughts. They’ve been consuming me for days. Weeks. Ever since he brought it up. It’s never been far from my thoughts.
“One more set?” Keno asks as I finish my turn. “Then I think we need to head upstairs and get ready.”
An advantage to Keno’s new Gays Can Play connections is there’s a more likely chance of Keno knowing someone on the team we’re visiting. So during downtime, the likelihood of someone being around to show us the best of what their city has to offer is increased.
L.A. has a large number of Gays Can Play guys on their roster. Their athletic trainer, three guys on the team, and their mascot. They’re now rivaling Buffalo for the most gay guys on a single team. I saw on a post there’s some good-natured rivalry to see which team can beat out the other.
Today, Noah and Hector are meeting us at the hotel to show us the sights. We’re dragging Hilt, Horny, and Julian with us too.
“Yep,” I agree. Maybe sightseeing will take my mind off this whole marrying my best friend thing. It’s ridiculous and he obviously only meant it as a joke.
We get through the last rep, wave to the guys still working out, and head upstairs. I chug my water as we wait in the elevator. This bottle needs to be gone before we get back to the room. A personal goal is always to drink at least one of my big bottles of water before getting home when I work out. Staying hydrated is important for everyone, but especially for athletes who sweat a lot.
“Want the shower first?” Keno asks.
There was a time when I thought that if we’d use our own showers in our separate hotel rooms, then we could just shower at the same time. Now, the first thing I think about is that we could just shower together and save time. It’s not like we haven’t been in communal showers before. The life of an athlete doesn’t support privacy very well.
“Sure,” I answer.
“You talk to your sister?”
I glance at him as I swallow. It’s possible I let him believe my recent distraction is because I miss my twin. I mean, it’s not a lie. I do miss Edna. We have been talking more since Thanksgiving because we’re both feeling the absence a little greater right now.
But the real reason for my quietness is because I’m plagued by thoughts of marriage.
“Yeah. This morning.”
The thing is, I should be concerned that my only thoughts circling around marrying Keno are platonic. Right? Am I worried about the absence of a romantic connection for the rest of my life? Then there’s the obvious elephant in the room—sex. Not going to lie. I don’t necessarily have an answer for that.
