Page 82 of Dr. Sexypants

I racked my brain but came up empty. I just knew it wasn’t me.

“I have no idea.”

Lainey looked at me and sighed as she stood up. “Well, this has turned out to be a shit day.”

“At least Ruthie’s going to be all right.”

My BFF linked her arm through mine as we walked toward the door. “Thank God for that.”

****

Justin

When my phone buzzed in my lab coat pocket, alerting me to a text, I had a good idea who it was from, so I almost ignored it.

But, I was also waiting for lab results for Ruthie, so I pulled it from my pocket and checked the screen.

Kristy.

Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the message.

Kristy: I just heard the rumors. You have to know it wasn’t me. I would never betray your confidence like that.

“Nice try, sweetheart,” I scoffed under my breath. “You’re the only one I told.”

Yet, my pathetic heart desperately didn’t want it to be her, so it tried to come up with an explanation.

Maybe one of my out-of-town hookups figured out who I am?

I supposed it was plausible. Except I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been with a woman before Kristy. Why would they try to find me now?

Was there a connection between the VA and someone from the hospital? Or the prosthetics lab?

Maybe. But even if there was, HIPAA made it unlikely that was the source.

One of my parents’ friends they’d told?

It was an option. But at this point, my legs were old news; my parents didn’t even ask about them anymore.

The hiker bros?

They didn’t know my name—how could that be possible?

No, the answer was Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation was the best one.

Kristy: I’m telling the truth, Justin. Please, can we talk?

I couldn’t get past the nagging feeling in my gut telling me to at least hear her out.

If I were giving advice to a friend in my situation, what would I tell them?

“Don’t be a fool.”

With a pit in my stomach, I typed out a reply.

Me: There’s nothing left to say.

I stared at the words on my screen with my finger hovering over the “send” button.