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“This will be the safest, easiest way.” Brian thanked the chef again. “We don’t want this to turn into a circus. This is a real nice hotel.”
The chef walked them to the service door and showed them where it exited. It was perfect. There was restricted parking space for the restaurant to receive deliveries. They could back their trucks up and hustle their jumper out before anyone knew anything.
Brian shook John’s hand again. “Thank you for an amazing lunch, John. We never get to eat like that. Always on the go, ya’ know,” Brian said.
“Anytime. I mean that,” The chef said softly and closed the door.
Sway ordered a triple espresso latte at the hospital cafeteria counter, then moved his tray along the line. He felt an elbow bump his, but he ignored it, surveying Monday’s lunch selections. He was starved, having skipped breakfast. He asked the café worker for the roast beef combo, then glanced over and saw it was Dr. Dominick touching him. Leaning out of reach, he spoke, “Dr. Dominick, afternoon.”
“Hello Sway. I see you’re no longer calling me James. What happened? I’ve been demoted.” The suave doctor bumped Sway again, moving down the line. He pulled a large garden salad from the display and a bottle of grapefruit juice.
“I don’t want my nurses thinking it’s all right to address you like that, so I don’t think I should.” Sway sat at a table near the window, thinking Dr. Dominick would find some of his physician colleagues to sit with, but to his uncomfortable surprise, the head of Nephrology sat directly across from him.
“Your nurses,” Dr. Dominick said. A bit of arrogance and jackassery’ mixed in with his smooth tone. “You work for me, Sway. They are my nurses.” Dr. Dominick glared at Sway. “And so are you, Nurse Hamilton.”
Sway frowned, not sure if the doctor was being serious or pulling his leg. Dr. Dominick chuckled lightly and popped the plastic lid on his salad, not clarifying one way or the other. Sway went about eating his lunch as quickly as possible, not liking the company.
“So,” Dr. Dominick blurted in his OR voice, making Sway jump. “Are you attending the nurse’s appreciation gala next month?”
Sway still ate quickly. He had to swallow his mouthful before he could answer. “I don’t think so. I haven’t even bought a ticket. Black tie isn’t really my thing.” The nurse’s gala was a formal black tie the hospital threw for the nursing staff. Okay food—not really his taste—and nice music, but Sway hated renting a tux or the way he stood out, going dateless each year.
“That’s a shame.”
Sway nodded, uninterested. He cleaned up his area and went to stand. “Enjoy the rest of your lunch.”
Dr. Dominick clenched Sway’s wrist in a vice-like grip when he tried to pass by. Sway peeked to see if anyone was watching, but no one was paying them any attention. “Stop by my office before you leave for the day, Nurse Hamilton. I’d like to discuss the new patients.”
What was he going to discuss with him in private that hadn’t already been addressed at their team meeting this morning? Sway gave a clipped ‘yes sir’ to his boss and left the cafeteria. Fuck, he hated Mondays.
Brian
Brian slept like shit. Of course. No nightmares but lots of tossing and turning and reaching for someone who wasn’t there. Not that he’d gotten used to Sway—he just craved him. Brian got up at five in the morning and put on some jogging gear. It was a frigid thirty-two degrees outside but once he got a good pace going, he’d heat up.
At nine-thirty, Brian walked into Colt’s office, his run and weightlifting having done little to settle him. His session went well. He told Colt about the progress in his and Sway’s relationship and that they’d put a label on it and it was official. Brian had confessed to having a couple of flashbangers’—was what he called them—not full on flashbacks, but glimpses of the war or his trauma. One had been after his run that morning. He’d jogged up his driveway and a horn startled him unexpectedly. When Brian had flung around to see what it was… all he’d seen was vast expanses of desert. Afghanistan desert. He shook his head and the image retreated. Flashbanger. They were quick, but could pack a wallop. Brian didn’t want his flashbacks to take over. But, Colt felt it was because Brian was pressuring himself to be an exceptional boyfriend and not giving himself time to adjust.
That part was true. Brian had put his complete faith and trust in another person who wasn’t his brother or his team. They focused on that for a while. Colt wouldn’t have been his therapist if he didn’t tell Brian to not overdo it. Before they wrapped up, Brian gave Colt a brief update on his speech therapy appointments. When he told Colt that he felt stronger vibrations than ever, Colt assured him to take his time and not to pressure himself to speak. By ten forty-five Brian was back at work with his counselor’s words continuously ringing in his mind. “When you need to… you’ll speak, Brian. I guarantee you that.”
