[center][h3][color=#f39d14]5 AM: Wake up and– Check my notifications?[/color][/h3][/center]

Eli groaned and pushed himself out of bed. Moving his arms burned. Moving in general burned. He wished he could go right back to sleep. Instead, he looked at his phone. He had not considered turning off his alarm last night, something he was quickly regretting. Eli picked up his phone and checked his messages. A small smile crossed his face.

[color=#9d9751]’1 sounds good to me! Funny. I got into a work accident too. I wouldn’t be able to run or climb or anything either, haha! See u then.’[/color]

Eli pressed the send button, then dragged himself out of bed. Normally, he would be prepping for his workout. Instead, he took a long, careful shower, hating that he had to avoid getting the wound wet. His medical skills meant he knew how to skillfully replace his bandages, which helped him feel a little more normal.

Then Eli was in his closet. There was not much inside but workout clothes, sweatshirts, and the like. Big, comfy clothes that were loose and did not touch his skin much. He fished out a nice dress shirt and shorts, regretting that they were wrinkled. Eli tossed them on and stared at himself in the mirror. The brown pants made his ass look great, which was nice, but the tight, blue shirt emphasized the underlying bandages. There was one other issue with the outfit. [color=#ed6885][i][s]He’s going to know you’re not a real man. He’s going to know you’re not good enough.[/s][/i][/color]

Elijah scrapped the outfit. Clearly, the bandages were too clear. Besides! He did not want to dress to fancy. What if this was not a romantic thing?? Sorrel would think he was a weirdo. Instead, he grabbed the nicest, cleanest grey sweatshirt he had and tossed on some jeans that were a bit too large. He considered packing… would that be disingenuous? Probably. He felt weird. Self conscious. Eventually, he decided against it.

Eli grabbed his gym bag, tossed his laptop into it, as well as the yarn and tools needed for his knitting project. Then he headed out for a leisurely walk to the park. The doctor said to be easy on his body! What is a few miles walk if it is slow and leisurely? He was fine and NOT a workaholic, thank you very much. Off he went to the park, arriving… only a few hours early.