The Tour

sixteen / let's get dinner

The next morning started in a grueling fashion. I was back in the gym and ready for the first day of the offseason. Naturally, I thought that I was ready for the conditioning, but the session had already proven that I wasn't.

Part of my thrived in the offseason. There was nothing to worry about, no expectations to meet or people to please. Everything was about how I could improve and go into next season even stronger. Which was usually fun until it actually became time to get stronger, and then it was hard.

The gym catered to professional athletes, surfers being the prime clientele. My own training group consisted of two other guys my age, both of which had already made it onto the CT a year or two ago. 

Finishing my last set of box jumps, I groaned and wiped the sweat off of my face with my shirt. The other two guys were finishing up some balance work on a bosu ball and their medicine ball throws, respectively.

    Kaleo, our trainer, called us together to finish out the session with some ab work. Eight minutes later I stood up, wondering if I may never do another plank again. The guys discussed where they were going to surf today, and I made my way over to the showers. I had already gotten my surf in for the day; anyone who was trying to paddle after working out for an hour and a half was crazy. 

    I drove with the windows down in an attempt to let my hair dry on the way to the hospital, although there was only a twenty five percent success rate happening there. Either way, it wasn't as if a trip to the hospital required the level of hair care that my photoshoots did. 

    The clock read 3:54 as I entered the room, getting an eyebrow raise and a look at the clock from Will, who I promptly made a face at.

    "I'm six minutes early, I don't know what you're upset about."

    "He's been complaining about being left alone all day," a nurse who appeared to be disconnecting his PICC line from the IV responded. "I'm glad that someone came to save him from his loneliness," she joked before leaving the room with a smile.

    "I have not-" Will protested.

    I raised my eyebrows at him, "Mhmmm, sure."

    Thankfully, the physical therapist chose that instance to walk into the room, sparing us from any additional bickering. He greeted us and began his usual routine of taking a look at Will's legs and starting the massage. I took my phone out and began to scroll through social media, knowing that this would take a few minutes. 

    "Nothing, nothing, nothing..." Will spoke. I continued to like videos that the World Surf League had just posted of some girl surfing a monster of a wave at Nazaré.

    "Nothing, nothing, yes, yes, yes..."

    It took me more than a few seconds to notice the shift in Will's dialogue. In fact, I probably spent half of a minute responding to comments on my most recent post before I comprehend what he was saying.

    I looked up to see him absolutely grinning at me. My expression was probably just one of shock as I watched the therapist massage his calf while he continued to nod his head. 

    "Are you saying yes, as in?" I was too afraid to actually say the words, just in case they weren't true.

    Will's dimples got even more prominent as his smile widened, which seemed impossible at this point. "I can feel it."

    My hands shot to my mouth as I looked on in a mixture of shock and joy. The therapist laughed and leaned back when I came rushing over to the side of the bed, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm so, so happy right now," I whispered in his ear.