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As the door slid shut, Seth asked, “What was that about and where in the hell did Arizona disappear to?”
There were so many things I wanted to say to Seth, questions to ask where the answers could lead to calming my insecurities or sending my emotions into a state of despair. Instead of having the balls to ask any of those questions, though, I said, “Am I released to go back to work yet?”
Seth sighed. “No, Baker; you’re not. You knew the answer to that question before I went into Landon’s office. I feel confident you were present at your own doctor’s appointment this morning and heard his decision. Doctor Jacobs says one more week. Landon can’t release you until the doctor does.”
It was stupid. I was fine. I told the doctor I was fine. Like everyone else, he ignored me. Frustration made me want to pick a fight and since Seth was the only one trapped in the elevator with me, he should be on the receiving end of my wrath…but I couldn’t. The fear that I’d do or say something that might finally push him away and send me back to Arizona kept my mouth closed with the smart-ass remark dying to escape. Instead of demanding he explain why he was suddenly Mr. Rule-Abider, I asked, “If it wasn’t to discuss my medical release, what was the meeting about?”
“The new employee,” Seth growled bitterly.
I wanted to laugh at the sour expression on his face but managed to hold it inside. Was this my new life? Was I always going to be tip-toeing on egg shells, living in constant fear that I’d do something wrong in front of Seth? Frowning, I paused to try and figure out when exactly things had gotten so tense between us. Sure, we’d bickered over silly things from the very beginning, but since bickering always led to make-up sex, we’d both been completely comfortable with it. All that had changed about two weeks ago. Seth had changed. He acted nervous and withdrawn. No, not exactly withdrawn, but not exactly himself, either. I’d caught him whispering on the phone to some unknown person and then there’d been several times I’d walked in and he’d been on his laptop. He would immediately log off and tuck it away.
Sketchy.
Shit, he was cheating on me!
How could I have missed it? It all made sense now. His nervousness. His whispered phone calls. Sneaky computer activity. His refusal to take me to the playroom. His determination to keep sex as vanilla as possible.
Shit. Fuck. Damn.
I felt my back bump against the cold elevator wall and I slowly slid to the floor, shocked at the remarkable speed I’d managed to fuck things up with Seth. I should have known I wouldn’t be able to hold his interest. Seth was…Seth. He was perfect. I was…inexperienced. At relationships. And as a gay man. Boring, probably.
“Baker! What’s wrong, babe? Talk to me!” I heard Seth yelling at me in a fear-laced voice. His hands touched my face and then began slowly working down the length of my body, like he was checking for injuries. “Baker, you’re scaring me.”
The elevator door opened, and I saw we’d finally reached the parking garage. Ari stood right outside the door, obviously waiting on us, and then hustled inside when he saw me on the floor with Seth kneeling next to me. Confusion mingled with the pain that had caused my collapse. I didn’t understand. One second Seth was whispering to strangers and in the next second, he was acting like the perfect boyfriend.
I looked into his eyes and saw nothing but worry and love. Maybe I was overreacting, seeing monsters under the bed when there weren’t any there?
“What happened?” Ari demanded as he knelt next to Seth. “Are you okay, Baker?” He looked at Seth and said, “What did you do?”
“Me? Why would you think I did something?”
Okay, this conversation needed to stop.
“I’m fine,” I answered quickly and made myself stand back up, shrugging off the help both of them offered. “I think my sugar must be messed up. I just felt dizzy for a second.” My sugar wasn’t messed up…my head was.
By the tightening of Seth’s lips, I knew he didn’t believe a word I’d just said.
“Come on,” I urged. “I’m hungry. Let’s get home so I can eat. I’ll be fine then.” I stepped off the elevator, knowing they’d be forced to follow me or get stuck on the other side of the elevator door.
“Did you tell Seth I needed a ride home?” Ari asked, catching up to me quicker than Seth. Actually, Seth seemed to be hanging back, pecking away on his phone. “Because if you didn’t, let’s not mention it. I’ll call for a car. If you’re feeling bad enough to almost pass out, I’m not going to be the one responsible for keeping you away from food.” His body shook in another exaggerated shiver, like earlier. “I don’t want to be the one caveman blames if his lover has another sugar attack.”
