Numbers mean everything to an Olympic marathoner, but for Gordon O’Dooley, his obsession with one number in particular might get a little out of hand. Gordon literally comes running into Marty Walsh’s family diner one day, and their mutual attraction is instant. He comes on too strong, though, and Marty quickly slams on the brakes. When Marty suggests they take things slow, Gordon races off, and any hope of a relationship goes right along with him. Four years pass, and Marty does his best to move on. But fate brings them back together as Gordon is preparing for another Olympic bid. They agree to start over, slowly this time. As they get to know each other, Marty comes to realize how strong Gordon's obsession with the number five is. Will Marty be able to handle Gordon's OCD? And what will Gordon do when he realizes the reason behind Marty's reluctance at intimacy?

Put Five Rings on It

“They got used to it at work. Fifteen CCs, a hundred milligrams, one-ten over eighty…All day, it’s numbers, numbers, numbers. Anyway, so I’m in a few dozen episodes of Mama’s show.”


“Maybe. I’m dying to say five hundred twenty episodes plus thirty various holiday and other specials divided by…anyway, my brother and sister are in more. I might be in more than Pop. Though it’s got to be close. It got to the point for a while where I couldn’t be on camera, because I was always adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing in my head, staring off like some kind of zombie or one of the children of the corn, or something. My therapist wondered about the correlation between hiding my sexuality and the OCD. We never really came to a conclusion.”


Chapter 16