We talked until the competition hall emptied and people started stacking chairs around us.
We moved somewhere quieter, then kept talking there too.
Thomas told me stories about training, competitions, injuries, and people who had underestimated him.
I told him about my family, the things I wanted from life, and the mistakes I was convinced I would never make again.
He listened carefully.
That was what surprised me.
Thomas had the confidence of someone who could easily dominate a conversation, but he didn’t.
When I spoke, he looked directly at me.
He asked questions. He remembered little things I mentioned an hour earlier.
And I realized there was something between us.
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