I am walking toward the home clubhouse, from the visitors clubhouse. TM is also in the hallway. He looks back and catches my eye, then stops.

TM: (smirks) So...have you been practicing?

M: A little.

TM: Yeah? On what?

M: Heh. Something that doesn't give feedback.

TM: ... Listen, I'd let you practice on me, but I just...I know it'd be great, but...

M: No, I don't want you to...

TM: (grins) Stop pressuring me! ... I would let you practice on me, but you'd get funny.

M: Funny?

TM: Yeah, funny. I mean, if I was your first...if that was the first time you did that, and it was on me, then you'd start acting funny.

M: How?

TM: I don't know.

M: Well. I guess I might. I do tend to get a little weird about things like that.

TM: There, see? I don't want you to get weird.

 

He asks me to get him some stats, which he wants for nepotism research purposes, so he wants me to "keep it quiet." He is waiting in the stairwell for me to bring them down. 

  

M: Is it what you thought?

TM: Where's the...oh, there it is. ... I thought it would be worse.

M: That's not good.

TM: Well, no, but it's not [really terrible].

M: Is he really that bad? 

TM: Yeah. He just...he misses a lot, and...I don't know. He's just not good.

M: But he has the right name on the back of his jersey.

TM: Heh. (bitter) Yeah.

M: Does that make you mad? I think it would make me mad.

TM seems to be peering intently at the stats, and he's quiet for so long that I think he won't answer, but then he says, "Yeah," and looks up finally.

TM: Thanks for getting this. Come on, give me a hug, in case I don't see you again.

M: What, like, ever??

(NSG once said this to me, and I responded the same way. I did see him after that hug, but...)

TM: Well, I don't know. There's only two games left.

M: But you'll be here, though...right?

TM: For two days.

M: So you'll see me.

He grins, a little, and reaches for me, and I hug him. He's just so solid. His hugs seemed different lately, and I couldn't figure it out at first, but I realized that now he's leaning down to hug me whereas before he would just stay up straight, which is why I became fascinated with his lower back. Then he grabs my hand.

 

+++

He steps back. I step back. We look at each other. He starts toward the door. I start up the stairs. He looks at me. I am, of course, looking back down toward him. Either it doesn't take much to get him turned on or that grip really does work. He grins. I grin. I take one more step up but then stop.

M: What am I gonna do, once you're gone?

TM: Heh. Just find a boytoy.

M: It's not that easy.

TM: I know. You just need to be more aggressive.

M: Yeah, I do. I'm not very aggressive.

TM: (grins) Just tell a guy you'll [retracted].

M: Even if I just wanted to do that, I mean, it'd still have to be a guy I liked.

TM: Yeah, I know. You'll find one.