“Sure.” Ben patted his arm. “No problem.”
With a final wave, Ben and Alexei scrambled up the bank. Which, shit, was going to be tough for Thompson. Ah, well. Ben had done what he could.
They walked ten minutes before Alexei stopped, abruptly, in front of him.
“Okay,” he said as he turned, hands on his hips. “I’m trying to hold it together here, but Ben”—Alexei looked straight at him—“that was incredible.”
Ben smiled at his more-than-a-hiking-partner.
“You’re cute, Lex. It was just a laceration. I mean…”Ben’s smile dropped as he grimaced. “A pretty nasty laceration, but I didn’t do anything they couldn’t have done themselves. I sort of just took over.” He reflected back on the last twenty minutes, how he’d gone into instinct mode. Over a cut. “I hope they didn’t mind.”
“Didn’tmind?” Alexei’s voice was practically a screech. Ben had only ever heard it reach that pitch when he got real excited about Alanna. “Ben.” Alexei threw out his hands. “Yousawthat dude almost burst into tears when you were done, right? I don’t even know what half the things you have in that first-aid kit are. That was professional. That was…”Alexei sputtered. “Really hot.”
Alexei blushed and stuck his hands back on his hips.
Okay. Well. This had taken an unexpected turn.
Does he believe in you?Julie asked in his head.Does he make you feel like you can do anything?
Ben bit the inside of his cheek.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Yes. I was half hard the entire time. God, Ben. How in the world could you think you won’t be an amazing nurse?”
Ben’s mouth hung open. Holy shit.
“Wait,” he said. “Were you really?”
Alexei shifted uncomfortably, ears crimson. Holyshit.
“So you’re telling me, Alexei Lebedev”—Ben took a step closer—“that you are turned on by the size of my first-aid kit?”
Alexei stared back at him, jaw clenching. Their noses almost brushed.
“Yes. And no.” Alexei shook his head. “I’m just turned on by you.”
Ben had much, much more to say about this.
Before he could, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He took a slow breath before retrieving it. He normally wouldn’t interrupt a conversation such as this, but if his phone was buzzing, it meant he had service, and he couldn’t pass that up.
He tore his eyes away from Alexei’s to look at the screen, and—
A wide grin grew on Ben’s face. He was pretty sure he knew what this gif explosion was about.
With reluctance, he stepped out of Alexei’s orbit.
“Do you mind if I call Carolina? I have, like, half a bar but maybe it’ll work.”
“Of course.” Alexei blew out a breath, turning and rubbing a hand over his face.
Yes, Ben wasverymuch looking forward to continuing this discussion later.
“Ben, hey,” Carolina said on the third ring, her voice deadpan as always, as if she had not just exploded his phone. As if she had not just received the most important news of her life, if Ben’s guess was correct.
“Did you get it?” he asked. “BU?”
