Washed

It was late by the time I got to the gym. The parking lot was half-empty and the last few patrons were already trickling out. Still, according to my heavy schedule, I had a short half-hour to exercise. I hoped that I wouldn’t be turned away. I’d only signed up for the trial a couple of weeks previously and this was my first time there since I’d moved into town. The receptionist warned me that I was quite late getting started. “It’s ten after eleven, so you’d better be done soon,” she said, “We close at midnight.” “I’ll be done as quickly as possible,” I answered. I wasn’t really in the mood isvecbahis for exercise but I knew that I had to keep fit so that I could manage the long stressful days at work. Barnett had already chewed me out twice that week. I couldn’t afford to be seen as a further liability. According to him, all the other guys were all pulling their weight. — I started on the treadmill, watching the giant high-def screens silently flick repeatedly through the news. I felt alone, distanced from the craziness of Wall Street. I wasn’t like those guys and those guys weren’t like me. They enjoyed the isveçbahis giriş thrill of the kill. They wanted to be rich and own property, have beautiful girlfriends and wives, and show off how rich they were. Some would go on to be politicians, rising up as important men in society. All I wanted was to live a happy and peaceful life. Perhaps Barnett was right; I was in the wrong place. After ten minutes on the treadmill, I pulled a few weights and decided to call it a night. There was no point trying to get a full workout when it had to be balanced with much-needed sleep. It was isveçbahis yeni giriş barely six hours before I had to be up again for the next meeting. I went to the changing room and headed to the communal men’s shower. — The warm water felt like a stream of energy trickling over my body. All the negative vibes from the day were flowing away. Barnett and his gang drowned down the plughole, along with the soap. I felt happy that I’d finally come to the realization that I wasn’t like the others. More importantly, I didn’t want to be like the others. — I opened my eyes and saw a man in the shower opposite me. He was brown-skinned, perhaps of Indian or Pakistani descent, quite muscular, but not in an overly accentuated way. I wasn’t in the habit of watching other men, but there was something about him that kept my attention.