Page 42 of Where the River Meets the Skye

“Nothing,” Nick said.

“Bullshit,” Skye replied. Both men eyed him. Jenna was grinning and Nick was so red you could mistake him for a tomato. “Are you two together?”

They nodded and River’s mouth gaped. “Since when?”

“A few weeks,” Jenna said. She glanced at Nick who was clearly flustered, but so happy he could burst. “It happened right before Christmas, and we were going to tell you but then River’s Aunt Jodi passed away and we didn’t want to sound like assholes by announcing we were together right after hearing that news. We also just wanted some time to figure things out.”

“I understand wanting time,” River said, “but you definitely could have said something. I could have used the good news.”

“I’m sorry,” Jenna apologized, and River shook his head.

“Don’t be sorry, just give us details,” he told her. She laughed and Nick flushed all over again.

“There’s not much to tell,” Jenna said. “We were out one night together, got drunk and ended up in bed. When we woke up the next morning we weren’t freaking out, and Nick told me he had feelings for me, and I said the same. After talking for a bit, we decided we didn’t want it to be a one time thing. We wanted to see where things could go.” She pressed another kiss to Nick’s flushed face. He turned and buried his face in her hair. It was utterly adorable.

“Well, we’re happy for you,” Skye said, and River nodded.

“Thank you.” Jenna smiled widely. Then she turned to Nick and whispered loud enough that Skye and River could hear. “I’ll make sure that money goes towards a good cause.” She nibbled on his ear and he turned bright red again.

They all laughed.

“You guys suck,” Nick grumbled.

They laughed harder and Jenna gave him a third kiss on the cheek. River’s chest warmed at the affection they obviously felt for each other, and he felt Skye’s hand sliding into his and squeezing it.

“Bathroom break,” River said, part-way through the meal. His tailbone was starting to throb and he needed a break from sitting. The seat was acutely uncomfortable even with his seat cushion, so he figured a trip to the bathroom was as good of an excuse as any. Plus, he actually did have to pee.

But as soon as he stood, his head started to swim. His vision grew dark, and his heart raced.

The last thing he remembered as his knees gave out from under him, was Skye’s voice saying his name.

CHAPTER 18

River

When River woke up he was on his back, his legs propped up, surrounded by paramedics. Jenna and Nick were standing over him with worried looks on their faces and Skye was kneeling next to him, holding his face in his hands. He looked like he was about to cry.

“River?” Skye said, his voice sick with worry. “Oh my God, you scared the hell out of me, out of all of us. What the hell was that?”

River just blinked and shook his head.

He took some deep breaths and waited a few more minutes, Skye kneeling next to him the entire time.

“Can you tell us what happened?” one of the paramedics asked.

River blinked again. He felt weak and tired. He really had no idea what had actually happened. Only what he’d felt. And he was not ready for it to happen again. “I uh, my heart, it started beating super fast, and I got lightheaded, and I just passed out.” He saw the way Skye’s eyes widened and he closed his eyes again and took in a breath.

“We’d like to take you to the hospital and make sure it’s nothing serious. With heart issues you really don’t want to take a chance,” the paramedic said.

“Can I ride with him?” Skye asked, still gripping River’s hand tightly.

“Of course.”

River swallowed and Skye squeezed his hand before they loaded him on the stretcher.

Skye said goodbye to Jenna and Nick, promising to call them when they knew anything, and climbed into the back of the ambulance with River.

“How are you feeling?” Skye asked, his green eyes filled with concern as they waited in the hospital room, River in the bed with a blood pressure cuff around his upper arm and a pulse oximeter on his finger. God, he was getting far too familiar with this place. They both were.

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