She had barely made it out of bed and into the living room that morning before the door to the hallway opened and Metal stepped back inside.
He almost jogged over to the fridge and pulled the remainder of a gallon of whole milk, judged how much there was left before he figured it was little enough to just drink directly from the jug.
"It's about that time again?" he looked over his shoulder at Emily as he unscrewed the cap of the jug. His expression soft and caring.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Oat milk…." he shrugged, "You only buy that when regular milk upsets you. And it wasn't in the fridge yesterday."
She took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, one thing's for sure… You're observant."
He shrugged as he took a good sip from the near-empty jug.
"So, how was your run?"
"Great." He offered up a grin.
"Did you run alone? Or?"
"No, ran with Ray and Trent." Metal smiled, "Didn't fall as far behind this time. -Most of the time."
"That's good." She smiled.
"They did have to slow it down for me a couple of times…" he frowned, "But, getting better. And my PT is impressed by the progress these last few months."
"We all are…" she winked and stepped close, "You wanna know what's really unfair?"
"What?"
"How hot you are when you're literally dripping with sweat."
He flashed another smile, placed the jug of milk on the counter and stepped over to where she stood and trapped her in a hug.
"…Doesn't mean I wanna be pressed up against your sweaty workout clothes…" she chuckled as she tried to press away from him, "Good thing I already planned on having a shower this morning…"
He chuckled a little and swayed a little from side to side, humming a melody she couldn't quite recall from anywhere.
She felt herself melt into his chest, even though he was soaked with sweat.
"Wanna hit the shower with me?" he asked looking down at her.
She nodded.