Zach drew his eyebrows together. “Looking at you like what?”
“Like you want me to kiss you or something, because Isowill.” Cael waggled his eyebrows for a little extra touch.
Zach’s face fell, and he looked away. “Fucking whatever.”
Crap. Zach looked like Cael had hurt him in the worst way possible.
“Zach, what’s wrong?” All joking aside, Cael was completely serious now.
Zach blew out a loud breath.
“Fucking everything’s wrong, man.” Zach shook his head and finally looked at him again. “Sorry. Between Abbey and Taylor, I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. So, um… what time do you think you’ll be over tonight?”
“Probably around seven. Do you need me to bring anything?”
Zach jutted his bottom lip out and thought for a few seconds, then shook his head.
Cael narrowed his eyes. “What about dinner?”
Zach shrugged. “I was thinking of making that potato cheese soup I bought yesterday and some garlic toast. Is that okay?”
“Oh.” Normally, Cael would toss out some snide comment about his cooking skills or lack thereof, but instead, he bit his tongue. Something in his gut told him he would regret it if he did. “Yeah. That sounds good, actually.”
“Cool.”
They finished eating in a strange sort of silence, and before Cael knew it, the time had come for him to head back inside for his next patient. As they both stood, Cael collected their trash and crammed the wrappers into the bag.
“Thanks for lunch, by the way,” Cael said as he headed toward the outdoor trashcan with Zach following beside him. He shoved the crumpled bag into the trash and spun around to face Zach.
“No problem. It was the least I could do after you pretty much gave up your weekend for me and Taylor.” Zach shoved one hand in his pocket, taking a long sip of coke through his straw.
Cael gave a jerk of his head to clue him in to start walking back toward the therapy wing entrance. “Who says I gave up anything? Not like I had any place better to be.”
“Still. You’ve been putting up with my sorry ass for two months now. I’m sure you’re tired of it. I don’t expect you to give up your life to help me with all my shit.”
“Listen, Pook.” Cael stopped and faced him, bringing his hand to Zach’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Zach tilted his head back a little, meeting his gaze head on with his uncertain one.No, dammit, don’t look at me like that.
“I know everything seems royally effed up right now, but understand that you are the most important person in my life, so believe me when I say that I had no better place to be lately than with you.” Cael glanced down at his watch. “Shoot. I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
Zach nodded, not saying a word.
Hard as it was to leave him, Cael turned and walked inside, tossing his empty drink in the nearest trashcan while trying to dislodge his heart from his throat before he reached the patient check-in desk. Fortunately, Sammie wasn’t at her station. He hoped to slip away before she came back, but then again, Tara, his next patient, hadn’t arrived either. Grabbing his tablet, he pulled up her chart and scrolled through the notes he’d made last time.
“Hi, Cael,” a familiar, perky voice rang out behind him. Tara, a thirty-two year old Army staff sergeant on medical leave due to a bullet wound in her left shoulder, greeted him at the desk.
“Hey!”
Tara wrote her name and the time on the check-in sheet. “Ready for me?”
Cael gave her a wide grin. “I am.”
Tara was one of his favorite patients. She was fun and easy to work with, and itching to get back to work as soon as she had full motion recovery in her shoulder.
She beamed back. “All right. Let’s do this.”
The rest of the day flew by with little time in between patients to let his mind wander, which was a good thing, because every free second Cael had, his thoughts went right back to Zach, and the pensiveness in his eyes. He couldn’t wipe the memory from his mind. Cael hated the anger and heartache that had swept away the bit of hope and confusion on Zach’s face when he’d teased about kissing him. Cael knew it wasn’t because he’d actually wanted him to.
Shit. Maybe it had been just another reminder of what he didn’t have, and Cael had gone and rubbed it in his face. Dammit. How could he have been so stupid? That had to be it.Freakin’ idiot I am.
