Spiral Bound Journal

Con Prep

Morgan reached for his towel as he felt the treadmill belt finish slowing down to come to a halt. He hadn't planned to get in a workout during VidCon but found himself glad that he decided to pack some gym clothes, anyway. The run would help him keep his head clear, if nothing else at the afterparty. That way, he'd be a bit less tempted to sock Matthew the next time he saw his gazing at Dana. Then again, Morgan suspected that if Gus caught wind of this he might get decked. In spite of his super chill personality, Morgan still found himself intimidated by Gus' stature. He was not used to British guys being tall, and Gus could use his relative height to his advantage even without trying. Wiping his brow, Morgan stepped off the treadmill to get what he hoped would be a moist sanitizing wipe. The amount of chemicals on those things tended to be hit and miss from his experience.

After wiping down the treadmill, he sauntered over to an area near the free weights. There he found Dana in the middle of her deeper squats. She curled the ten pound weights up as she lowered hips below parallel with the floor. The curl and squat combination of movements looked almost like a collective rolling of her body even with her feet staying planted. Dana had told Morgan how much these squats made her heart race and how it forced her to slow down her movements to keep her cardiac rhythms from spiking in unhealthy ways. Morgan watched as Dana rolled through two more squats before setting the weights on the ground. he looked over at him and waved.

"How was your run?" she asked him.

"Good," he replied with a slight huff. "Since I don't have a panel today, I figured I could run a little longer than usual."

"Yeah, it's just meet and greets for you, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"Need me to load the number ticker?"

Morgan snorted. "Maybe. Not sure if I'll have the same mob that wanted a piece of me like what happened two years ago. This crowd knows me a bit better now."

"There is that, but the number ticker is still there if we need it."

Dana smiled and knelt down to pick up the weights. She set them on the rack and grabbed a wipe from a nearby dispenser.

"Oh good," she remarked. "Still damp."

"Yeah, thank goodness. Then again, we did shell out for a nicer hotel, so they can afford to make sure the wipes are usable at all times."

"Fair. Clearly we are willing to shell out to stay next to the Brutalism."

Morgan chuckled. "Well, more you than me, but still."

"It also gives us a break from most of the VidCon crowd. I suspect that's more for your benefit than mine."

"Yeah, yeah, it is."

Dana cocked her head. "Something's up. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not here," Morgan replied with a shake of his head. "Are you still working?"

"Still want to do a couple more hip exercises than stretches. I take it you're done?"

"Yeah. I think I'll stretch in the room and then take a shower. Got your key card?"

Dana tapped to small belt pack around her waist. "Yup. I suppose I'll see you in a bit."

With that Morgan gave her one last smile before leaving the fitness center.

Morgan returned to the room just after seven. He didn't have to be at the convention center until 10:30, but he knew Dana would have a somewhat tighter schedule if she spent a lot more time on her workout. He had seen her in action once before, and even without getting distracted by something on her phone she could take an hour completing a normal routine. Then again, she would do anywhere between six to eight strength training exercises in addition to multiple bits of cardio of varying intensity. Her workouts were designed to develop both her running capacity and photography strength. With it being the last day of the con Morgan knew Dana was going to have her hands full. He decided to do a few quick stretches before hopping in for a quick shower.

Morgan had finished his shower and was in the middle of getting dressed when he heard the door open. Sticking his head out, he found Dana wandering back into the room, her hair half-soaked in sweat. He nodded at her as she walked into the main room. He then stuck his head back in the bathroom and resumed getting ready for the day.

Once he stepped out of the bathroom, Morgan made his way into the room. There, Dana had set her backpack on the bed, the back zipper opened all the way to expose the contents of the bag. He watched as Dana tucked a somewhat long lens into the main compartment before adding one of her camera bodies. Looking around, he spotted her rolling suitcase standing upright near the foot of the bed.

"Not bringing everything today?"

Dana shook her head. "I'm bringing everything but keeping a different set of lenses on me at all times since I'll be in the halls more often. Figured I'd pack now so I'm not futzing around with it in the media lounge."

"Makes sense."

At that, Morgan sat on the foot of the bed. Dana looked up at him and pushed her bag aside. She took a seat next to him and fixed him with a look.

"Are you up to talking?" she asked.

Morgan gave her a small nod. "I'm not a fan of Matthew."

Dana's eyes widened a touch. "Why's that?"

"Well, he's not a bad guy, but he seems way more animated around you than literally everyone else at the con, including his fans. That just seems really off to me, especially given his public persona of being pretty serious."

Dana nodded. "I can see how that would not necessarily compute. I admit I have noticed him being a bit more-how should I put this-vibrant around me. If Quinn was here, I'd ask if Matthew was a Ray."

Morgan chuckled. "Do you think he's a Ray?"

"Yes, and at the same time I think he's picked up on us. When he and I have been having a conversation and you happen to be close by, he starts to get more reserved before you're actually near us."

"Oh, really."

"Yeah. He has wanted to talk to you about blockchain stuff as he's looking to return to the computer scene for a bit, but he's noticed that you tend to look a bit aggressive around him. Gus and Fiona have mentioned something similar to Matthew and myself."

"Oh crap," Morgan muttered.

"That's what I figured. Is there anything else about Matthew that makes you wary?"

"Honestly? Nothing about him as a person. If anything, he sounds like he's had an interesting life. It's when he's with you that I'm not so thrilled with him."

Dana nodded. "And I can understand that. I think we need more time to talk about this in depth, but I will admit that had I met him before I met you the roles you two have right now would be reversed. At this point, I really only have time for two relationships. Any more than that is stretching me too thin."

Morgan sighed and nodded his head a couple times. "You're right that we do need to talk more about this later. I'm struggling with this information, but I also know that it's better you've told me now. I'm not mad at you. Heck, I'm not even mad. I'm just...a little scared, maybe? This is really outside of anything I've ever experienced. I'm out of my depth."

"I think we all are. And I think it's trickier because we haven't been open about our relationship. That one's on me. I think that things will shift with Matthew after tonight, but the shift might be less painful than we think."

"But it will still be painful."

Dana gave Morgan a wan smile. "Yeah, a least a bit. Now I know I'm a sweaty mess, but do you want a hug?"

Morgan kissed her forehead. "Tempting as it is to have your pheromones clinging to my undershirt, I'll let you have a shower. Then we can hug. Sound good?"

"Yes. I really need to get out of these threads."

"Haha! Go on. Skedaddle. I promise I won't go anywhere."

Dana took that as her cue to head for her suitcase. As she worked on finding a suitable outfit for the day, Morgan flopped back on the bed for a bit. He was still a bit shaken about what they both owned up to, but he knew it was better to have that spoken between them before they embarked on the final day of the con. It was going to be a busy day as it was. Why make it more complicated by perceiving someone as a rival when the reality was more flexible than that? Hearing Dana make her way to the bathroom, Morgan allowed himself a moment to sink further into the mattress and relax.