Winding the afternoon down with the bench press in the garage and listening to Jonathan shouting words of encouragement—“one more big push”—Riley racked the bar and felt his body relax after getting the extra weight off his arms. This routine felt good; it took him back to the days in high school when he had started lifting so that he could impress one of the cheerleaders—Allison, the girl he knew would be his future wife. Since he didn’t play sports, he figured maybe a nice physique would help him build up the courage to talk to her.
Smiling to himself, he grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat off his brow. “Hey, I have an oddball question for you.”
Jonathan, taking the weights off the bar and putting them up, responded with a shrug, as if to say I know what you’re going to ask, but go
