Wyatt seemed to sense his pain, pulling back just enough from the kiss to whisper, “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
John nearly sobbed, gasping as tears fell relentlessly.
The door opened, and someone let out a squeak.
“Taschen,” Samuels barked. “Close the door and stay right fuckin’ there.”
John’s heart dropped into his stomach and he reluctantly released Wyatt.
Fuck. Not Taschen.
Samuels, without missing a beat or stopping his careful patch of Wyatt’s exposed vein, glanced briefly at her. “Come here.”
Ava, eyes wide and carefully avoiding John and Wyatt, stood ramrod straight next to Samuels.
“Remember that debt you owe me?” Samuels said in an icy tone that John had never heard him use before.
Ava squeaked again and nodded mutely.
“I’m callin’ it in, honey.” Samuels side-eyed her just as coldly. “You speak a word of this to anyone, and I mean anyone, and you’ll be back in first year residency so fast, your head will spin like the goddamned Exorcist.Capisce?”
Her big eyes widened in fear and she trembled. “Yeah, yeah, got it.”
John watched as Samuels instructed her to leave and she stumbled over her feet, nearly racing out the door, still avoiding looking at them.
“What was that?” John asked Samuels incredulously.
Samuels arched both eyebrows at him. “What was that?” he glanced between them. “Really? At work? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“You knew?” he asked, stunned.
Samuels scoffed, offended. “Of course, I knew. You’ve been eye-fucking each other for over a month. And don’t even get me started on standing idly by having to listen to Lawson’s praise kink in real time.”
Wyatt barked out a laugh and dropped his head back onto the pillow, still pale yet slowly coming back to life.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” John asked.
Samuels shrugged, “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. I know what it's like to have feelings for someone and not know what the fuck to do about it.”
John scrubbed his hand through his beard, unable to stop his eyes from moving back to Wyatt’s, who was watching him and reading everything on his face like an open book.
Shit.
He had to have seen the truth.
He knew. He had to.
A few minutes later, Samuels said, “You’re done, cowboy.” He peeled off his bloodied latex gloves, looking proudly over the stitch job.
John inspected Samuel's work and nodded approvingly. “Looks good.”
“You may need to ice your shoulder, slugger,” Samuels said with a hitch of his chin.
He glanced down at his shoulder, noticing it was stiff and braced against his body. “Shit. I didn’t even realize.”
“Other priorities,” Samuels said knowingly, and shot a hard look at Wyatt. “You’ll need to keep it clean. Probably scar a bit, but it’ll look cool.”
Wyatt smiled weakly at him, “Thanks.” He hesitated before adding, “I don’t trust Ava not to say anything.”
