Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Donovan shakes his head. I can’t say I blame him.
“Seriously, sometimes it’s better than sex.”
“It absolutely is not better than sex.”
I shrug. “Not most of the time, but apparently you’ve never had to hold in a really long pee.”
“Apparently, you’re not having very good sex.”
I mock-gasp. “I have great sex, thank you very much!”
He pats my shoulder. “Sure you do, big guy. Sit down and wash up when you’re done. I’ll get you some clean clothes.” He tosses the washcloth to the counter and leaves.
I finish going to the bathroom, my foot hurting and tired of flopping around in the air. The restroom is small, so I’m able to lean over, wash my hands, then close the toilet lid and flop down on it. I take my shirt off and wipe down my chest, neck, and pits.
Donovan comes back in, sets the clothes down, then takes the rag from me, wetting and wringing it out again. I push my hips up and fight my way out of my shorts and underwear. Donovan turns to hand me the washcloth, then jerks his head in the other direction, squeezing his eyes closed. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were doing that.”
I frown. Is there something so repulsive about seeing me naked? “Dude. We’ve been friends since we were kids. It’s okay if you see my dick.”
“I don’t want to see your dick.”
Oh…well, that’s a good reason for him not to see it, then. Here I am being the creepy straight best friend who… Am I acting like he would want to see my dick because he’s gay? I don’t think I am. That’s not what I mean, it’s just, I’ve spent my life in locker rooms and shit like that, and no one has ever actively avoided seeing me naked as much as Donovan does. “I didn’t mean that you should want to see it. God, am I being gross? I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to…” I lean forward, rip the towel off the rack, and hide my junk.
“You’re not being gross. You’re not flopping your cock out against my consent. I know what you meant, I just… Never mind. It’s not important right now. Let’s just get you to the doctor.”
I finish washing up beneath the towel, then do my best to keep myself as covered as possible while I tug on fresh underwear and shorts. Donovan organizes things on my counter, keeping busy, and I can tell he’s nervous or unsure. Great. Now I’ve made my best friend feel uncomfortable. This is shaping up to be a great day.
Once I’m dressed and reach for my sock, Donovan tugs it out of my grasp and kneels in front of me to put it on my good foot.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Sorry if I got weird just now.”
“Shut up. And what do you mean just now? You’re always weird.”
He chuckles. “If I’m weird, you’re weird too.”
“Was that ever in question? I thought we both knew that already.”
He puts my shoe on next, which is sweet and totally Donovan. “You should have called me last night.”
“You were at work. It’s just a sprained ankle.”
“Yeah, but we’re here for each other when something is wrong or when one of us is hurt. That’s what we do. Or at least, that’s what you always did. I want to be there for you too.”
And this right here is why I love Donovan so much. He has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. He cares about other people so much, always wants to do the right thing and help others. The thing is, even if we didn’t have the relationship we do, even if I hadn’t been around when he was sick, he would still do his best to be there for me. It’s who he is.
“You are here for me, D.” I lean in and kiss his temple. “Even if you don’t want to see my dick.” I wink, which earns me a shake of his head.
Donovan pulls me to my feet, then grabs my cell and wallet before helping me downstairs. He insists I sit at the bottom of the stairs while he brings his car up to the curb, then comes over to help me into his vehicle.
The whole drive to urgent care, I do my best to ignore the rock in my gut, wondering how much all this will cost and how much time I’ll miss from work.
CHAPTER FOUR
Donovan
I’m trying not to let on how nervous I am. Being a nurse, I know it doesn’t make sense to most people, that there’s something in my brain that makes me take injury and illness with those I care about to the extreme, but I know it comes from my own struggles as a kid. One day I just woke up with my body hurting, and it steadily got worse. I had a million tests, spent too much time feeling broken, laid up in bed in agony, not to mention my parents’ worry, the money, the diagnosis, and everything that followed.