Page 11 of Where the River Meets the Skye

“Well, if it’s not bothering you then it’s really not a problem, but your tailbone is dislocated,” the doctor said. She showed them the image. Sure enough, River’s tailbone was deviated to the left a bit. “It’s possible the accident just exacerbated the issue and it wasn’t this bad before. Do you have any pain when you sit, either in the low back or coccyx, or any pain during intercourse?”

River flinched and flushed bright red. And when the doctor’s eyes shifted to Skye and then back to River, Skye felt his cheeks heating, too.

“No!” Skye said at the same time as his roommate.

“No, he’s not, I mean, we’re not,” River stammered, gesturing between them. He winced again, his face looking drawn and pale.

“We’re not together,” Skye said more calmly. “Just roommates.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Dr. Rosemary blushed herself. “My mistake. Well, if it does become painful for whatever reason we’ve given you the information for an orthopedist with your discharge papers. We’ll get those here soon and you should be ready to leave within the next couple of hours. Take care of yourself.” She smiled at them and left.

“That was awkward,” River said, his face flushed yet again. He didn’t make eye contact with Skye as he bit his lip.

“Whatever,” Skye shrugged, and River glanced at him. “She thought we were together. It’s not a big deal. I didn’t know you had that fall back in college, by the way. You never told me that.”

River rested back against his pillows again. He spoke softly. “Didn’t really seem important. Besides, what was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Skye, guess what, I fell on my ass today on my way to class. Everyone saw me. It was super embarrassing and my bum hurt like hell the whole way there. By the way, how's your Philosophy class going?’”

Skye couldn’t hold back his chuckle. “Smart ass.” River gave him a small smile and his chest constricted. That smile made him weak in the knees and he didn’t see it nearly enough.

“I texted everyone while you were asleep,” Skye told his friend. “Nick and Jenna said there are easier ways to get out of our weekly game nights.”

That made River laugh, but Skye immediately regretted it when his friend winced in pain. Shit.

“Sorry,” he grimaced. “They also said to let them know if we need anything. I couldn’t text Anna ‘cause I don’t have her number, so you probably want to do that.”

River nodded and Skye handed him his phone. It took him longer than normal to send the text but he finally did and put his phone aside again, already looking peaked.

“Your Aunt Jodi offered to come too, but I told her she didn’t need to make the drive until we knew what was happening.”

There was a moment of silence before Skye spoke again. He looked down and fiddled with the pen in his hands. “Did it bother you?” he asked. He felt River’s gaze on him and looked up.

“Did what bother me?” River’s blue eyes were soft, searching his, those full lips puckered ever so slightly, just begging to be kissed. Stop it. Skye glanced down. Ice wall. Ice wall. Very, very thick ice wall. With a couple of dinosaurs in front of it and a tank and some sumo wrestlers, too.

He knew better than this. He knew better than to ask this question. Why was he stepping down this road? He knew it was dangerous. Still, he found himself saying, “Her, assuming we were together. Did it bother you?” he felt his throat closing tightly. The room suddenly got ten degrees colder. His heart rate spiked as he waited for what seemed like an eternity for River to answer.

“I don’t know,” River said, honestly, unable to meet Skye’s gaze as if he were ashamed. “I don’t know,” he repeated. “I don’t know what was going through my mind when I said ‘no’ to her question about intercourse. I don’t know if it was because it was directed to you and me and I found it disturbing because we’re friends and not lovers, or if I was just afraid of what you would think when she said that because I wanted to make it clear on your behalf we weren’t together, because I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” He looked Skye in the eyes now. “Honestly, I think that just the mention of me having sex with another man is hard for me, after what happened to me in high school, and maybe that’s what I reacted to most of all. Not you. Or us.”

Jerk. Skye was a big fat jerk. Here he was, trying to size up their relationship, putting River under a spotlight, after he’d just been in an accident that had left him immobile for the next six weeks, and then he gets bombarded with memories of his past. Skye was such a jerk.

“River, I’m so sorry,” he said. “That makes perfect sense, and I shouldn’t have asked you that. It doesn’t matter.”

River tilted his head to the side in a way that Skye found so very endearing. “Of course it does.” His voice was so sincere. “If I claim to love and advocate for the queer community I shouldn’t be ashamed or disgusted to be counted as a part of it, whether on purpose or by accident. I don’t blame you for asking.”

Skye gave him a sideways grin. But he almost wished River hadn’t said that, because now, one of the sumo wrestlers Skye had put in front of the ice wall was gone.

CHAPTER 4

River

“Stay here,” Skye demanded, putting the car in park and turning to River. “I’ll get the crutches out of the back seat and bring them to you.

“River, I mean it,” he added, when River opened the passenger door and shoved it open even further with his foot, putting his good ankle on the ground. “You take one more step and I’m spitting in your dinner.”

River sighed and rested his head against the back of the seat as Skye came around to the passenger side with the crutches. He set them against the car and wrapped his arm around River’s torso. River could tell how careful Skye was being, trying not to touch his cracked ribs as he lifted him out of the car and then handed him the crutches. Using them was painful, just like the doctor said it would be, and River had to keep from grunting and hissing as he made his way up the pathway to the front door, Skye right beside him the entire time like he was afraid River would trip and faceplant. It was driving River nuts how much his roommate was fussing over him and how attentive he was being, but he knew it came from a place of love, so he didn’t say anything.

Seriously, though, River was going to go crazy if Skye hovered over him like this for the next six weeks. It was bad enough that he’d needed his help getting dressed before they left the hospital. Skye had taken it in stride but River knew it was awkward for him, too. He’d seen the blush creep up the other man’s cheeks as he’d helped slide River’s pants on, and River had been wondering if he could possibly get away with staying in the same clothes for the next six weeks to avoid that embarrassment all over again.

Skye unlocked the door and they stepped inside. “Let’s get you comfortable and then I’m gonna make a run to the store for some ice packs and to pick up your meds.”

---