He removes his shirt.
I look at him.
Twenty years of the catch bar.
The work built density of him. Every muscle present because it is necessary rather than decorative. The forearms from the gripping. The shoulders from the inverted position. The chest and core from twenty years of bearing weight at height.
I have been conducting a professional assessment of this body for twenty six days.
The professional assessment was significantly incomplete.
He looks at me looking at him.
He says nothing.
He lets me look.
The dark eyes watching me watching him with the complete patience of someone who has allocated this moment the full time it deserves.
I say: I've been underprepared.
He says: yes.
I say: significantly.
He says: the assessment is being revised.
I say: several points.
He s
