“You don’t know?”
“It was an impulse thing. It was either kissin’ you or stranglin’ you. I went for the safer option.”
“And he still thinks this is the time to grow a sense of humor.”
“I’m sorry?”
He dragged himself over to where his crutches were, and I watched him with a sickening feeling in my stomach. What had I done? He got up onto his crutches, then came back to pick up his prosthesis and all the lining and stuff, shoving it under onearm. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were blazing. “I’m not something for you to play with, some kind of tool to test if you’re bi-curious. I’m worth way more than that, and if you think otherwise, you can go fuck yourself.”
CHAPTER TEN
HEATH
Dropping one hand to the sink counter, I stared at myself in the mirror, and I wasn’t entirely sure I recognized myself. My lips were red from where I’d been pressing my fingers, and my eyes were wide and a little wild.
He kissed me.
Creek hadkissedme.
In the moments before our lips crashed together, I’d been so sure he was going to knock me on my ass. I’d braced myself for a punch. Not for…for this. I swallowed heavily and felt like there was a boulder on my chest. Everything about him was both expected and unexpected, and the juxtaposition made me feel like I was losing my mind.
He’d done the one thing I’d wanted the bastard to do since I’d realized I was crushing on him, and it was a thousand times worse than anything I could have imagined because I knew better. I knew he didn’t want me.
This was hardly the first time someone had given in to the tense, hot feeling in their gut and used me to see if they felt anything…but this was the first time it really hurt. Usually, it was drunk frenemies at the bar after a long day of competitive surfing.
I was a great shit-talker. I was amazing at getting people riled up, and more than once, dudes who were less than a one on the Kinsey scale suddenly felt something. Nothing ever came of it apart from a few angry homophobes who accused me of corrupting them. But usually, they just bought me a beer and apologized for taking things too far.
But with him—Sergeant Grumpy. No,Creek—he was nothing like them.
He was one of the few people who understood this life. All of my friends were sympathetic, but none of them got it. None of them understood what it was like to wake up in the morning and have everything take twice as long. To look down at a single foot in the shower and have to face the reality that this was forever.
None of them knew what it was like to forget, just for a second, and then fall on their face.
But he did. His healing was different from mine. His journey was different. But he still understood.
And hell, I thought maybe we could be friends.
I hadn’t pictured it all ending like this.
Taking several more deep breaths, I turned on the water and splashed my face, groping for a towel just as I heard the door squeak open. Panic rushed through me because I wasn’t ready to face whatever the hell Creek wanted to say to me right then, but when I dried my eyes and looked behind me, it was some guy I didn’t recognize.
He gave me the bro-nod, which I shot back almost on instinct. He disappeared behind the door of a stall, and I quickly dropped to the bench to slide my leg on. My stump was aching. God, every muscle in my body was aching from the tension I was holding, and I was going to pay for this later.
Testing my balance, I grabbed my cane, then made the slow trek out into the hallway, still petrified that I’d run into him. I’d shot out of there like a bat out of hell because I couldn’ttake whatever excuse he was going to give me, and that hadn’t changed.
I had no idea what to say if he started apologizing. Or if his bi-panic kicked in and he started coming at me. I didn’t think I could fight him.
That left me with one single choice, and I hated myself a little for limping down the hall and eventually appearing in Kent’s doorway. He was standing behind his desk, leaning all the way over his keyboard, and he looked up with vague surprise.
“You’re not done.”
“Uh,” I said, dragging a trembling hand down my face. “Actually, I think I am.”
Kent stood up straight, his face a mask of concern. “Does this have anything to do with the way Creek stormed out of here? Melissa at the front desk told me he shook the windows with how hard he slammed the door.”
I let out a long, heavy sigh. “Would you let it go if I said I didn’t want to talk about it?”
His flat expression told me his answer.
