“None of that.” Joe waved him off. “What do you say we do a bit of soft cardio and then some stretching, and we can start you on some lighter weights? Don’t want to overdo it so soon.”
“Soon after what? The twenty years I’ve spent not going to the gym?” Oscar arched an eyebrow at him.
Joe clapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Aaron hasn’t stopped yapping about how the two of you met. When I had my hernia surgery, I had to take it easy, too. Nothing heroic about undoing progress.” He cast him a knowing glance but said no more, walking instead towards the treadmills.
At least he hadn’t been lying about the gym being empty. It was practically dead. A girl sat at reception, sipping on aprotein shake, and two teenagers played around with dumbbells and then tried to do a deadlift, prompting Joe to give them a lecture about biting off more than they could chew and getting seriously hurt.
They left after that, which freed up all the weak-ass weights Joe allowed Oscar to use, and maybe it was good, with or without his recovery in mind, because when Joe made him lift them above his head and put down his arms, Oscar thought he was about to die.
“Come on, one last cooldown cardio run, and we can call it a day,” Joe said. He took him to the stationary bikes and hopped on the one next to his. “Drink some water, Oz.”
“Like the wizard,” Oscar said, casting him a glance through the corner of his eye.
“Wasn’t Oz the place?” Joe arched his eyebrows at Oscar, sipping on his own bottle, barely breaking a sweat.
“That’s very sus for a Gymbro General,” Oscar replied.
“Bitch, please. I’m a token straight if you’ve ever seen one. All my friends are friends of Dorothy. Which makes me…”
“Dorothy?” Oscar asked.
“Precisely, Toto.” Joe laughed, glancing at the clock on his bike. “Alright. Come on. I’m clocking out now.”
Oscar climbed off his bike and followed Joe to the reception desk. The girl passed him a sign-in sheet, and Joe put in the time exactly to the minute.
“Come on, Wiz,” he said, throwing Oscar a smirk.
Oscar rolled his eyes, and he knew Joe had caught it by the familiar laugh, warm as the first days of true spring.
“Hungry?”
“I’m always hungry, Joe,” Oscar replied.
“Good. I’m meeting Anna for early dinner. Come with us.”
“Crash your date?” Oscar looked at Joe in bewilderment.
“Text Aaron. We can call it a double.” Joe flashed him awink, taking off into a run, which was quite confusing for Oscar until he glimpsed Anna lifting off the ground in Joe’s arms. She giggled as he pressed kisses to her cheeks and mouth and nose, and Oscar took his sweet time getting to them, fumbling with his phone while he prepared a text for Aaron.
Joe and Anna took him to a different coffee shop on their side of town, a bit fancier than what he was accustomed to, but the prices were fine. He studied the menu like he was going to be quizzed about it, avoiding the couple sitting in front of him kissing each other and mumbling.
Aaron saved him a quarter of an hour later, still in the T-shirt he’d worn to man the counter of a clothing store all day. He shuffled in beside him, grinning.
“Hey,” he said.
Maybe without even thinking much about it, Aaron squeezed Oscar’s hand. A moment later, he was saying hello to his roommates and reaching for Oscar’s menu, looking for their selection of coffees.
“Have something to eat,” Oscar muttered, casting him a glance.
“Yes, sir,” Aaron muttered back, but his lips twitched.
“So, Oscar, Joe tells me you’re trying to hook him up with a part-time gig. That’s really cool of you,” Anna said, tapping her fingernails on the table.
“Yeah, of course. It’s nothing.” Oscar waved a dismissive hand. “I’m waiting for a response, but one of the guys emailed me to say they’d have something soon. So it should be good news.”
“My sibling, Riley, they’re so excited about it. You’d thinkthey’rethe one beta testing the game.” Joe laughed, rubbing his shaved head. “They’re so cute, really.”
“They haven’t been ’round recently,” Anna said. “Tell them to come for dinner next week.When are you off?”
