<div class="floatleft">(https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F55%2Fff%2F94%2F55ff947afff9e9df4b4d00815f299988.jpg&amp;f=1)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Mark Watson (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=308599.msg15011290#msg15011290)<br/><strong>Age:</strong>26<br/><strong>Sexuality:</strong>Hetero<br/><strong>Hometown:</strong>Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>3 July, 2019, noon-ish<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Exercise area<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Swim Shorts</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-6ehfk/images/stencil/original/products/8115/24103/Addicted-Mesh-Rainbow-Swim-Short-ADS178-01-White-F__38252.1560732424.jpg?c=2?c=2&amp;imbypass=on&amp;imbypass=on)</div></div>, red compression socks and running shoes<br/><br/><strong>Coupled with:</strong>No one as yet<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>J.J. , Grace<br/><br/><br/><hr/><br/>The competition ending was a bit of a blur for him.  He remembered everyone sort of cheering in that enthusiastic, "Hey! We're all on t.v. and we're all winners!" sort of way.  In fact...after the kiss with Rhonda and the subsequent reaction by Logan.  Everything was a blur and it was hard to focus.   He could feel his heart hammering inside his head...it really was close to all he could hear.  He remembered Logan shouting at him and he remembered seeing crew rush in, a couple grabbing him by the shoulders as well but he really didn't care at that point.  Logan could get to him or not.  Logan could beat the hell out of him or not.  He remembered the look on Rhonda's face and realizing just how badly he had misstepped.<br/><br/>He remembered telling Grace that their date was not a shining moment for her.<br/><br/>This...most assuredly was not a shining moment for him.  There were a number of reasons why he had done what he did and none of them were good but again...seemed like a good idea at the time.<br/><br/>For the rest of the competition he kept his eyes downcast; a maelstrom inside his head and he was relieved when the competition was over.  He was the first off the patio and left the crowd behind, eager to be free of the competition and the whole failed moment. He made his way to the backyard, crouching down at the edge of the pool, his forearms on his knees and his hands hanging loosely between them as he struggled emotionally with what he done.<br/><br/>People were going to be disappointed in him.  People that were real.  People that mattered.  People back home.  It was like a knife twisting in his abdomen and he looked up a moment...exhaling.  Watching the clouds drift overhead in a bright blue sky.<br/><br/>This is what going crazy feels like.<br/><br/>He didn't know what to do.  He didn't know how to move past it.  Normally he could see a way around or through problems but this...he didn't have a fix for.  He watched the light of the day play and dance across the cerulean surface of the pool...thinking...trying not to think...trying to stop his heart from racing.<br/><br/>He pushed off of his knees with his forearms....standing and making his way towards the exercise equipment.  He felt as though he had no agency...no control...and he understood that it was more him than anything else but he needed to find a place where he felt as though he had control once more.  He was happy to see that there were weighted jump ropes inside the small hut and choosing a ten pound rope he went back outside and began to move.<br/><br/>It didn't take long to find a rhythm with the rope and the strain against his shoulders, back and forearm were a distraction from how he had acted earlier.  He regulated his breathing.  He stopped thinking.  He just let the heat of the Spanish day hammer down on him as the yellow, weighted jump rope cut through the air under him and overtop of him, a low hum surrounding him as the rope moved. Alternating between bouncing on his toes and heels and finding solace in doing at least this simple thing right.<br/><br/><br/>Letting his eyes drift towards the display on his phone on the nearby weight bench, he could see he'd been at it for a little over thirty minutes.  He could feel it but...right now the best thing that would help would be to just burn off what was left in his tank.  Exhaustion was a good cure for anxiety so he continued to push, letting the heat of the day surround him and distract him from the morning's antics.