Chapter 5
Paul
Great! You meet a cute omega male and you screw it up. Paul closed the door to his apartment and sat down on the couch again. His cell phone rang and he reached over to pick it up. “Hello. This is Paul.” He pressed the phone up to his ear and leaned his head to the side to hold it against his shoulder. His hand found the remote control for his television and powered it on.
The voice on the other end was a familiar one to him. “Paul. It’s Dan. I think I found a solution for us. The hotel that is by the swim meet said they have a few cancellations on the day of the competition but it is very last minute. It is first come first serve. We have to get there early if want to grab one of the rooms.”
Paul pressed the buttons on the remote to flip through the various television stations. He wasn’t paying attention to what was on the screen. It was more of a distraction for what had just happened. “Okay. That sounds good Dan. At least we have the possibility of getting room. When is the meet?”
“Two weeks from now. I can send you the details to your email. We will meet up a few times before then to go over drills and to make sure that you have some good practice in before we go.” Dan was always prepared to have a training session. If Paul was bored and called him up, he would drop everything to go train with him. It is part of what makes him a great coach.
Paul sat up on the couch and took hold of the phone again in his left hand. “Alright. Sounds good Dan. Send me the details. Let me know when we are going to meet up for the practice and I will be there.”
Dan sounded enthusiastic over the phone. “You bet buddy. I will let you know as soon as I got everything lined up. Great job today at the competition. I picked up your trophy for you by the way. I can bring it over to you when you have free time.”
“Sound good to me Dan. Thanks for doing that. I will talk to you later.” He pressed the button on his phone and it clicked off. He stood up from the couch and tossed the phone onto the table. “Two weeks to get ready. No time to think about what happened. Need to get my head back into the game.”
Two weeks later
Dan pulled up in his car at the front of Paul’s apartment building. Paul was waiting for him to show up. The man drove a large sports utility vehicle which would fit their luggage. It also provided plenty of leg room for Paul which he enjoyed. Paul grabbed his rolling luggage bag and pulled it over to the car. Dan was already out of the car and opening up the trunk door for Paul.
“There’s my star. How are you feeling about the competition? Are you ready? Feeling pumped and excited yet?” Dan laughed, slapping his hand onto Paul’s back. “Let me get that for you.” He took the luggage bag from Paul and loaded it into the back of the vehicle. Closing the trunk, he looked back at Paul. “Everything alright?”
Paul had spent the last two weeks training with Dan. When they spent so much time together, he often did not look forward to seeing the man again so quickly. He understood it was all for training and to get him ready. Dan had a way of getting on your nerves though. His attitude of being too nice seemed like he was overcompensating. “It’s nothing Dan. I am alright. Looking forward to the competition. Let’s hit the road.” He sat in the passenger seat of the car and Dan drove them toward Boston. It was a two-hour trip. Paul didn’t like to converse on long road trips so he put his headphones over his ears. The music relaxed him into sleep during the journey.
When Paul woke up, Dan had pulled into a parking garage. The garage was full of cars and Dan cursed every time he had to go up another floor to look for a parking spot. Paul removed the headphones from his ears and looked over at the man. “Took you long enough to get here.”
Dan simply retorted. “Easy for you to say. I didn’t sleep the entire way here. You got to sleep while I had to deal with traffic.” The man finally spotted a parking place and pulled into it. After being in the car for a long time, Paul was ready to get out and stretch his legs.
He stretched his arms over his head as he came around to the trunk. Dan unloaded the luggage from the car. Paul grabbed the handle for his suitcase and rolled it behind him. He followed Dan as the man had a sixth sense for direction. “Thanks for driving by the way. I hate driving myself to these things.”
The balding elderly gentleman shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not a problem. You don’t need to stress about it. I don’t mind driving at all. I used to be an over the road truck driver before I took up being a coach. This is a lot easier to do than driving one of those monsters around.”
They arrived at the lobby of the hotel and Dan left Paul with their luggage while he went to check on available rooms. He looked around the entrance and there appeared to be a lot of people with business suits. It didn’t surprise him after Dan told him about the IT convention. He was about to put his headphones back on when he saw a familiar face. The cute redhead from the swim meet two weeks ago. What was he doing here?
Paul rushed over to the redhead and stopped in front of him. “Um, hey. Sorry about the last time we met. I didn’t want to push you into doing something you didn’t want to do. I thought it might have been what you wanted. I just got caught up in the moment.”
Sam looked over at Paul and smiled. He shook his head a few times. “No. It’s alright. Things were going fast for me. I’m not ready for another committed relationship yet. I should have explained that when we were having lunch.”
“It is quite alright. I understand. I’d still like to make it up to you. There is a good Chinese restaurant around the corner from the hotel. I have been here a few times so I know about it. Let me treat you to dinner?”
The redhead gave an approving nod. “That sounds nice. I would appreciate that.” He held a keycard packet in his hand. It looked like he had already checked into the hotel.
Dan approached the two of them and stopped as he looked to Paul to explain. “Sorry about this Paul. They didn’t have any openings available. I can try to look around to find a room, but it is not looking good.” Dan looked over at Sam. “A friend of yours?”
Sam held out his hand toward Dan in greeting. “Sam Deland. I am here to do some photo shoots of the swim competition.”
Dan took the hand in his own for a firm handshake. “Oh, you are here for the swim meet too? That is great. I might be able to find something for one person but it is not looking good for finding two rooms. Heck, even a room with two double beds would be a miracle.”
The keycard flipped around in Sam’s hand as he held it up. “I know it is not much, but I do have a room reserved with two double beds. Maybe you can share one of the beds? I normally get the double room to setup my camera equipment.”
The elderly manager looked pleased about that news. “That sounds great. Let me grab out bags and we will follow you.” Dan proceeded to gather up their luggage and the three of them made their way to the hotel elevator.
“Thanks for doing this. It is very nice of you Sam. I don’t want to impose on you.” Paul stuffed his hands into his pockets. His eyes looking over at the cute omega that was standing right next to him. He leaned up against the wall of the elevator as it ascended to the fifth floor.
Sam tugged his camera bag closer to his shoulder. His other hand gripped onto his suitcase handle. “It isn’t a problem. I’m glad to help out.” The elevator doors chimed, opening to the hallway. The three of them made their way to the room where Sam pushed his keycard in the door. A beep sounded out before he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Paul followed behind him and reached over to flip the light switch on. What greeted the three men was a single king size bed in the middle of the room.
“I don’t understand. I reserved a double room. They must have changed it on me. I can try to get this straightened out with the front desk.” Sam set his bags down on the floor. “Do you mind waiting here while I check on the room?”
Dan shook his head at Sam, putting out a hand to stop him from leaving. “I wouldn’t bother with that. As fast as the rooms are going, it is doubtful you will get a double bed room. If one was available, I would have been able to get it for Paul and me.”
A deep sigh escaped from Sam’s lips. He looked over at the bed and then back to the two others in the room. “I know it is not much, but one of you can stay in the room with me and share the bed. At least, Paul can get a good night sleep and be ready for the competition practice.”
Dan nodded his head in approval. “Alright. It is settled. I will meet you in the lobby at eight in the morning for practice Paul. Don’t be late.” Dan grabbed his luggage and proceeded out of the room.
Paul smiled as he looked at Sam. “Thanks for doing this. I know you didn’t have to, but it is really nice of you.” Paul walked around the bed. “Do you sleep on the right or the left side?”
Sam hadn’t considered the sleeping arrangements. He looked at the bed and had to think briefly before he pointed to the bed. “On the right side.”