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“Like you want to smack his face but kiss it simultaneously?” I asked with a laugh.
“Yep, that sounds about right.” He shut off the water, pulling open the curtain. Cohen stepped out first and grabbed a towel. “The one nice thing is I finally figured out what I am. Talking with your brother and Soren helped me with it. I think I’m a pansexual. It’s more about the person and my relationship with them.”
“Oh? I can see that,” I said, trying not to moan as he carefully dried me. “You know I accept you no matter what, right?”
He peered up, some lightness seeping in. “Yeah, babe, I know. Thank you for that, though.”
“So, what do we do now?” I asked, wrapping the towel around me as he dried himself. The arousal was starting to climb again, and I knew if we didn’t get out of this bathroom soon, I was about to say fuck it and let him have his way with me up against the counter and make Ryker wait for us.
“I guess we hear him out and then go from there. As my handler, I trust him and have a bond I can’t describe. He was also a good friend before things ended romantically with us. I don’t know if I could forgive him or trust him again in the other area though.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. We had a good relationship online, but then he hurt me. I don’t know how I’ll feel if that’s brought to a different light.”
“Well, the only way to know is to find out. Come on.”
He pulled me out, and we both dressed in the room. I popped back into the bathroom and quickly dried my hair, putting on some makeup. I wouldn’t usually care, but it felt essential to have it on with Ryker coming over.
It wasn’t to look nice. Nope. It was to feel invincible.
Yeah, we’d go with that.
Two
FINLEY
I’d been eatingthe same bite of bagel for the past five minutes. Chewing it to the point that it was basically molecules. The conversations I’d had with Cohen and Asa had been good for me, but it didn’t change the fact that I was about to face the man I blamed a lot of my shame on.
“Would you like some tea or coffee?” Milo asked, drawing my attention.
“Yeah, sure. Coffee would be nice.” He smiled, standing, looking pleased to have something to do. He set a mug down in front of me a minute later, fixed precisely how I liked it. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it seemed Milo kept shocking me.
“Wow, that’s perfect. How did you know?” I asked, needing something else to focus on more than the need to know.
“I pay attention.” His cheeks tinted a smidge, and I smiled at the effort.
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.” I took another sip, liking having something to do, so I searched my brain for a new topic that didn’t deal with me or my drama.
“So, where will you be starting your residency?” I asked, keeping my fingers wrapped around the mug. The warmth and familiar gesture were both grounding me.
“Um, well, I’ll actually be working in the health clinic at Lux Brumalis. The doctor there is leaving, so I’ll be starting in his place. I’ll be supervised by one of the doctors at the hospital in Salt Lake.”
I gulped, burning my throat in an attempt to not spit out the hot liquid. In hindsight, it might have been better than scorching my esophagus.
“Oh, wow,” I coughed. Trying to relieve some of my throat's pain, I grabbed the glass of water and drank it down. The cool liquid felt nice on my throat, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry. That took me a little by surprise. Um, can I ask what made you pick Lux?”
His cheeks went full-blown red, his ears even turning pink at the top. “Um, well,” he sputtered, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to find the words. “It just seemed like a nice place, and the opportunity came, and I thought I could do with something less stressful.”
“Have you worked with athletes before? They’re high maintenance,” Asa bellowed, his laugh filling the space.
“Yeah, well, it will be a good learning experience. I think Utah is nice.”
“Just admit you did it to be closer to Fin. We won’t hold it against you… too much,” Cohen teased, picking up his tenth piece of bacon.
“Oh, um, well…” Milo began to mutter, and I took mercy on him.
“No matter the reason, I’m glad you’ll be closer. It will be nice to get to see you more and spend time together. If that’s what you want, I mean.”
“Oh, yes. I’d like that.” He seemed to finally find his words and stopped his stuttering with my proclamation, and I felt things might be okay with us. A knock at the door had us all tensing as Cohen got up, taking the few steps toward it.
