Wyatt attempted an assured smile. “I’m sure you guys will find the time to meet up again.”
“I don’t think so.”
Surprised, Wyatt asked, “How come?”
Dr. Donnelly’s eyebrows arched, and he cocked his head to the side, seeming to consider. “I think that’s a bit personal…”
Wyatt stifled the disappointment and was surprised when Dr. Donnelly continued, “Or maybe we’re just two people who happen to know each other, sitting at the same bar. After all, we’re not at work.”
Yes, fucking, please.
He wanted to know everything about this man—everything.
Wyatt shivered, racing a sweaty palm over his leg.
“We have an arrangement.” Dr. Donnelly let out a soft sigh. “We meet once a month at a bar with a hotel, and I book us a room… well, you can figure out the rest.”
Wyatt felt the heat flush the back of his neck, and he nodded stiffly.
Sex. They had sex.
His cock twitched, wondering if he had ever met the young paramedic who got to fuck or be fucked by Dr. Donnelly in hotels once a month. The swift sting of jealousy reared its head again, and he gritted his teeth, refusing to show how much he didn’t like knowing this information.
“Your silence is really comforting,” Dr. Donnelly remarked with a slight tease.
Wyatt jerked, “Sorry, I’m not judging you, I swear. I just—um, I didn’t know you were…”
Stop talking right now, Lawson.
“It’s all right. All cards on the table?” He glanced at him, and Wyatt quickly nodded, knowing he was being a little too eager. “I actually didn’t know I was gay until about a few years ago. I suppose you can say I’ve got the stereotypical overachiever storyline. Golden child through high school, honor student in college, overly pedigreed med school. Lost in the scramble of becoming great, drifting through my personal life. My ex would hate hearing that. But it’s unfortunately true, I wasted her time not knowing myself. It took me figuring out what I didn’t want—to see what I actually wanted. Not the best strategy, but it’s how it happened.”
Donnelly seemed to age right before his eyes. He looked so vulnerable,so helpless.
Wyatt felt himself sway a little closer.
“I realized tonight that when he canceled, I…” He paused, shaking his head. “Sorry, that was a lot,” he said, clearly self-conscious now.
“It wasn’t,” Wyatt reassured. “It’s not.”
Donnelly hesitated, fingers rubbing the ridges of the whiskey glass in his hands, looking so damned exposed that Wyatt couldn’t stand it. He knew that feeling. Knew what it was like to open up and not know how the other person would receive it.
“I just realized tonight that I haven’t had sex in almost a year,” Wyatt blurted out and immediately flushed in embarrassment, raking his fingers through his hair. “That I’ve been so busy with finishing my last year as a resident, that I don’t do anything other than sleep, shower, and work.”
Donnelly cursed in surprise, smiling broadly at him. “I don’t think I could survive.”
Something shifted in the air between them, crackling with an energy Wyatt hadn’t felt in a long time. The inside of his stomach heated and fluttered with excitement.
Fuck, Jin was right.
Goddamn it! And thank fuckin’ God!
His blood pounded in his ears as he nervously took a quick sip of whiskey.
“Are you seeing anyone now? You and Emily seem close…” Donnelly said casually.
Wyatt breathed in through his nose, catching the faint scent of his cologne. Donnelly didn’t wear anything fancy like this at work, and if Wyatt were honest with himself, he preferred his natural, musky scent. Because there had been times when the nerves were high, the adrenaline pumping, and Dr. Donnelly’s larger frame overshadowed Wyatt’s, pushing into his back or side, his scent engulfing him.
He swallowed. “Who?”
