DEAR DIARY - THAD

Dear Diary, 

Graham Pennington is something else.  

Don’t get me wrong, he’s hot. In the rich, frat boy kinda way that would have gotten him either laughed out of prison or made him very popular with certain guys.  

I knew who he was of course. Top line winger. Golden boy.  

The kind of franchise building player who Gavin’s always salivating over.  

Squeaky-clean too. The dude’s probably never smoked weed or gotten so much as a speeding ticket.  

He’s a decent guy though, I’ll give him that. 

Today was fucking rough.  

Like, it wasn’t any one thing, it was just a lot of shitty little reminders that everyone working for the Harriers has had a way fucking different life than me.  

Half of the social media team are wide-eyed kids fresh out of college and they’re all bubbling over with enthusiasm about the life ahead of them. This job is a steppingstone to something bigger.  

A bunch of them still have Mommy and Daddy paying the bills too. I bet none of them have ever had to look at their bank accounts and choose between eating or putting gas in the fucking car …  

Graham definitely never has, I can tell you that much.  

But between a bunch of reminders that I’m over 40 and just starting my career, I was already feeling pretty shitty today. And then Gavin and I got into it when he caught me flirting with the woman who works at the coffee shop in the lobby.  

I know he was all “keep your hands off anyone who works for the Harriers,” when I got hired but Jesus, it’s not like there’s any conflict of interest there.  

Honestly, I didn’t even realize I was flirting. I thought I was just being friendly. 

But brother dearest tore me a new one and I was just sick and fucking tired of the way I have to keep my fucking mouth shut and be on my best behavior all the damn time. I like working here, I do, but damn does it get old to have to constantly kiss ass just to make sure I don’t get fired.  

Anyway, I took a walk in one of the back halls to cool down before I said something to Gavin I’d regret. After I stopped wanting to strangle him, I took a seat on the floor and just did some deep breathing.   

Graham stopped by, took a seat next to me, and offered me some of his sports drink. He said it looked like I was having a bad day. He was … so earnestly fucking nice about everything. I’d have laughed in his face about his Boy Scout routine but I think it would have hurt his feelings and that would feel like kicking a puppy or something, you know? 

We talked for a bit. Turns out he’s from Pennsylvania too, so we kinda connected over that. He said he remembered what it was like to be new in Boston and that it had sucked. So he invited me to grab lunch with him sometime.  

I would have thought he was hitting on me, but the man is painfully fucking straight. I don’t even know why I said yes to the invite to be honest, except I think he’s right.  

It is kinda lonely here, sometimes.  

I figure I’ll go, see if we have fun hanging out, then go from there.  

Who knows? Maybe I’ll make a friend. We couldn’t be any more opposite if we tried but he seems like a good dude.  

Shame he’s straight though. Those are some serious dick-sucking lips … 

-Thad 

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