“That had an unspoken ‘but’ hanging off it.”
I laughed. “Okay, busted.ButI wonder what’s going on in that head of yours that you needed to come here for the program that focuses on healing.”
Something strange and unreadable flashed over his face before he shook his head, making it disappear. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“I’m not so sure of that.”
“I would be hard, but it’s better than being arrogant enough to believe you’re capable of helping another person so casually.”
“Are you...being nice?”
“I have my moments,” he said, leaning back and pushing into his back. “Most of my early, negative, andunspokencriticisms of you were accurate but unfair when presented with the full context. I think you’re far more capable of doing this job than you give yourself credit for, something that won’t be alleviated until you’ve had time to get your feet properly wet.”
I squinted. “What unspoken criticism?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not telling you because, as I said, it wasn’t fair.”
“I don’t even get a teaser?”
“That was the teaser.”
I sighed, watching as he used the bench to stretch. I cleared my throat. “What are you, uh, doing after this?”
“Well, I planned on rinsing off in the showers as I’m covered in sweat,” he said. “And then I was thinking about grabbing something to drink and reading.”
“I see, are you leaving now?”
“I might be. Are you interested in showering with me?” he asked wryly, his expression shifting to one of surprise. “That was an ill-timed joke, not?—”
“Not you breaking your promise not to bring up what happened between us unless I brought it up first,” I finished, amused at seeing him suddenly so awkward. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you embarrassed.”
“I...made a promise. I was trying to make it clear that I wasn’t breaking it,” he said, averting his gaze.
I smiled. “And so another piece of the puzzle snaps into place.”
“I am no puzzle,” he said roughly.
“You are. More than you think,” I said, dropping onto the bench he was using to stretch. “I keep trying to see the whole picture, but I’ve been struggling. I’m no closer to getting the answer than I was before, but this at least makes things a little clearer.”
“And what does that tell you?” he asked in a dry tone that wasn’t welcoming or dismissive.
“You’re direct whenever you can be, though you know how to be tactful or hold back, so you’re not brutally honest. I can’t really say whether you’re willing to lie or hide things, but you’re human, so you probably are. At the same time, you put weight behind words, which is why you wouldn’t tell me what you thought of me at first, because you don’t want those words to have more weight than your current ones, which is probably why you’re hesitant to speak up even when your face says plenty. Andyou’re not unreasonable; you can be a little harsh, but you pay attention, you listen, and so far, you’ve shown you’re willing to shift your opinion about people if you aren’t pushed.”
His expression never changed, but there was something different about his face, and I realized he was analyzing my analysis. Or maybe he was analyzing the analyzer. “I see, anything else?”
I smiled. “You use ‘I see’ a lot, as if that explains the situation when, in fact, you’re using it to shut down a conversation or stall for time. I bet, right now, you’re surprised by how accurate my assessment was, and you’re not sure how to move on.”
The corner of his lips twitched. “And we see you are perhaps not as hopeless at this job as you thought.”
That tookmeby surprise, but I rallied. “And it means I realize that although we are not peers in the traditional sense, neither are you some helpless guy who doesn’t know what’s going on. I didn’t cross an ethical line.”
“You did not,” he affirmed.
“And—”
“And?”
“And I’m having a hard time maintaining professionalism when you keep stretching like that,” I admitted as he did it again, making his ass stick out even more than before. It wasn’t helped by the fact that his shorts kept riding up and showing off his thighs for me to admire as the muscles stretched and shifted under his skin.
