Page 56 of Nuts

“You got trust issues, too?” he asked.

“No, not really.”

“Why don’t you go on dates?”

Sooner or later I’d have to tell him, but I sure wasn’t planning on telling him on that night. Revealing my promotion was my intention, but the plans got changed.

I silently blamed him, his cologne, and his breath against my neck. Not that I was complaining.

I inhaled a short breath, looked up, and exhaled. “I’m a burn victim.”

“A what?”

“A burn victim.”

He squinted. “What does that mean?”

“I’ve been burned really bad, and I’m self-conscious about it. I’ve been on a few dates, and the guys always left me after they saw it.”

“If they left you because of that, they were stupid fuckers.”

“You haven’t seen it yet.”

“Don’t need to see it to make that statement. Nobody’s without fault. They were dumb fuckers.”

“My uhhm. My entire left leg is covered in scars. I’ve had a few grafts, and the skin looks like.” I shook my head. “It’s gross.”

“Shit.” He stood, reached for his shoe, and pulled it off. After taking off his sock, he raised his left foot over the edge of the table.

Two-thirds of his toes were missing.

“Look at this fucker. That’s gross. Cut the little one almost all the way off. Next one is half gone, and the third is missing the end. Guess I’m a lawnmower victim.”

“Oh wow. It’s not gross, but what happened?”

“I was a junior in high school, just started school. Grass was wet, and I was mowing the lawn. Pulled the mower backward down a hill, even though my pop had taught me not to. I slipped, and the mower ran over my foot. Cut the end of my shoe. I didn’t even know my toes were fucked up until I took the shoe off. Makes me walk funny. Kind of like a limp.”

“I like the way you walk. It’s sexy.”

Crap.

I called him sexy.

Somehow, it simply slipped out.

“Sexy? I doubt that. You want to see sexy, go look in the mirror.”

My face went flush. I needed a fan. Or a cold shower.

Something.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

I couldn’t even look at him.

He stood, walked around the corner of the table, and then motioned for me to stand.

I had no idea what was next, but I stood, nonetheless.