“You did more than help. Rick, I love you. You know that?” There. He said it.
Rick’s jaw dropped open. He shut his mouth, opened it again. Then he turned to Coop. “Are you sure?”
Coop rubbed his face. Was he sure? Fuck him. What the hell? He needed to know Rick felt the same. “I was sure before we moved in together, but you know? I thought it was too soon. D-Do you? I mean. I’m all in, Rick, you know that. Right?”
“Fuck. You really are full of surprises.” He swallowed hard. “I think I love you, too. I’ve never felt like this before.” He raised his hands off the wheel.
“Okay. Maybe start the car and let’s go. We can talk more later.” They always talked things through. Rick was super good at that, but the wholeI love youthing seemed to have knocked him off his game. Coop had hoped Rick would have a better reaction. “Maybe it was timing,” he muttered under his breath.
“What? Timing?” Or maybe Coop had said it too loudly.
“Yeah. I was waiting for the right time to say it, but it never seemed right, and I kind of needed to tell you. I’ve wanted to blurt it out like ten times a day. You know?”
“Wow. You got all that out in one breath.”
Coop sighed long and hard. “Yeah.”
Rick reached over and took his hand that wasn’t hurt, thankfully, the left. “I was afraid it was too soon, too. But maybe it’s not.”
“What are you sayin’?”
“Well.” Rick squeezed his hand. “I love you, too. I didn’t mean to mess up the moment. I was surprised. And yeah. Timing, Coop.”
Coop grinned, ear to ear. His heart was about to grow wings and explode from his chest. “I’ve never felt this way either. I’m like this big bad dirt bike racer with an attitude. But underneath, I guess, the right person turned me to mush.”
“Eh…you were always mush under there. Took the right person to see it.”
“Yeah. That. Now hurry up. I’m going to be late. I need this motherfucker off.”
Rick laughed as he started the car, and Coop couldn’t help laughing with him. This cast was coming off and he was getting started on PT. Probably six weeks, at the minimum. But the most important thing was that Rick loved him back. “I knew you loved me. What’s not to love?”
Rick huffed. “Don’t get a bigger head over there than you already have, Hot Wheels.”
“Again. Not what you said this morning.”
“Lucas Cooper,” a nurse called from the open doorway, and Coop stood, more than ready to go back and get this shitty plaster off his arm.
Rick had waited with Coop, but he went back alone. Coop was a big boy after all. That’s right, a fucking adult. Although over the past month or so, there were plenty of times when he didn’t feel like it. He knew he’d been depressed. Upset. Hiding out like a kid. But things were changing. As of right now, Coop was going to suck it up and move forward because no matter what, he had Rick.
He sat in a chair in a small exam room, waiting. Finally, the doc came in. “Mr. Cooper, nice to meet you.” After verifying his date of birth. He looked at his clipboard. “I’ve reviewed yourrecords. We’re going to take an X-ray first. If everything looks good, this will come off.” He smiled as he gestured at Coop with the clipboard. “Any questions?” The hospital had sent the information over after he’d scheduled the appointment.
“Nah. That’s pretty straightforward.”
“Good. Someone will take you back in just a minute.” Coop did a backwards handshake with the doctor and waited. Again. The waiting sucked, but eventually, someone came and got him. They did the X-ray and sent him back to the exam room to wait again.
Then the tech came in. He was a young guy, but probably older than Coop. With short, professionally cut, brown hair. And nothing remarkable about him, except the tool he fiddled with. “Okay, Mr. Cooper. The doctor says off with the cast.”
“Cool. And it’s just Cooper or Coop.”
“Okay, Cooper. Let’s do this.”
The saw was a bit scary, but the tech showed him how it wouldn’t cut, but it did get warm. Then it was gone. Coop flexed his fingers and examined his shriveled and very pale skin. “Yuck.”
“Soak it a bit, use a little exfoliant and lotion, but be gentle.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem, Cooper. The front desk has your information ready to go. They’ll get you all set up.”
