Reid smiled at that. “It pays okay, yeah. That’s not why I’m doing it, though. I do a lot of charity work.” He paused. “I’m not saying that to impress you.”
“I know.” Gabriel nodded again. “You’re saying it because it’s true. But I also already know about your charity work.”
“Of course you do,” Reid murmured, blushing again.
Gabriel probably didn’t buy a sandwich without looking up reviews. He was a research-focused guy.
That was fine. Hell, it wassmart.
Most people got referred to him one way or another. Gabriel had sought him out.
That was surprisingly flattering.
And definitely not helping Reid put his crush aside. Seeing Gabriel outside of his office had only made that worse. When he was here as a patient, it was easy enough to be professional.
When he was out in the world as a relatively normal person, it was a whole lot harder. Gabriel was so exactly Reid’s type that it almost hurt.
Obviously, he was straight, but that didn’t change much except Reid’s chances. Which were zero, because Gabriel was a patient.
Reid worked quietly on Gabriel’s other arm, mindful of the soft sighs and pained sounds he was making as he touched him. This was obviously helping, but it wasn’t a perfect solution.
“You do seem to have a little more muscle tone than last time,” Reid said as he finished up with Gabriel’s arm. “Lie down for me.”
Gabriel obeyed, groaning as he settled himself back.
“More muscle tone is good, right?”
“Right, yeah. That’s what we’re aiming at,” Reid said. “So you’re getting better already, like I promised you would.”
“I don’t feel better right now,” Gabriel responded, wriggling his toes as Reid started working on his legs. “I feel weak, sore, and stupid.”
“Two out of three of those will pass. And you're not stupid. Not really. Everyone screws up, and you're not gonna do it again, are you?”
“Oh hell no. I never want to experience this again,” Gabriel said.
“So you've learned from your mistakes,” Reid said. “Which means you're not stupid. Besides, stupid people don't build rockets.”
Gabriel clearly valued being seen as intelligent, so Reid was happy to reassure him that this wasn't about intelligence.
Besides, smart guys were hot. Reid was used to dealing with them, because he liked to be around them.
Gabriel was a pretty typical smart guy, aside from the space thing.
“You're very nice to me,” Gabriel said. “Aside from when you're teasing.”
“I tease because I like you,” Reid admitted. “Besides, you like it.”
“I do,” Gabriel admitted. “Most people don't know how to handle me. I guess I'm intimidating, but I don't really understand why.”
“You're not my first genius,” Reid said. “And you won't be my last.”
Not if he had any say in it, anyway. Things had been intense for a while, but he was stepping back his work hours now, looking for a balance. Considering how eager he was to be around Gabriel, it was probably time he started dating again. He was ready.
“I'm starting to think you know how to handle me because if you wanted to build rockets, you could,” Gabriel said. “They have standards in pre-law. Stricter standards than engineering, even. Your charming smile doesn't fool me.”
Reid couldn't stop himself from smiling at that. “I suck at math,” he said, which was true. He’d only ever been good enough at it to pass what he needed to, in contrast to most other subjects.
“Don’t tell anyone I said so, but it is possible to be very smart and still terrible at math.”
