Page 44 of Chasing You

Adele jutted his chin toward the small sign hanging from an awning. “Right there. You want everything on it?”

Kash took a step back, his legs still a little shaky, but he didn’t look like he was going to fall over. “I’ll pick off what I don’t like. You know me.”

He did. And that rested warmly in Adele’s chest as he watched Kash head toward the bathroom doors. He did his best not to hover like a nervous new mother. That was one sin Kash would never forgive him for if he ever caught him at it.

He distracted himself with the line for food and then with snagging a table at the end of the patio with the best umbrella. He set up their drink cups, then shoved some napkins under a little stone that had come loose from the tide wall and surveyed his work. Tidy, yes. Romantic…not exactly what he’d pictured for a date.

But he wasn’t really surprised by that. This was not him. He was trying to make some afternoon picnic look like it was more than what it was. And the worst part was he knew that wasn’t what Kash would have wanted.

He’d want to feel like if he did this—if he gave Adele a chance to be more than just friends—they could still be who they were. That neither of them would have to change. And Adele felt the same way. He didn’t want Kash to try to be anyone other than who he was. So why was he?—

“Sir!” He turned the second he realized the stranger’s voice was calling out to him. Adele turned to find a manin the doorway of the bathroom. “Are you Adele? Your friend fell, and he needs help.”

He moved before he was consciously aware of it, running toward the stranger, who was holding the door open. Adele’s heart sank to his feet when he caught a glimpse of Kash sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, pressing a wad of paper towels to his forehead. There was a drying streak of blood on his temple, and Kash was staring down at his feet, which were turned so far inward it must have been agony.

Adele looked over at the stranger and realized he was wearing a ferry uniform, and the badge on his shirt read Captain.

“He was asking for you,” the man said. “We don’t have emergency services at the beach, but we do have first aid on the boat.”

“It’s fine. I’m EMT certified,” Adele said quickly. He brushed past the man and dropped to his knees in front of Kash. His best friend’s cheeks were very red, and he wouldn’t look up to meet his gaze. “Hey. Let me check your pupils,” he said softly.

Kash’s jaw clenched, but he looked up. They were normal. “I’m not concussed. Just really fucking embarrassed.”

Adele sighed and closed his fingers around Kash’s wrist, pulling his hand down. There was a gash—shallow but in the right spot for the blood that was coming out of it. He looked back at the captain. “Can I take him on board? Our ferry isn’t until later this afternoon, but?—”

“No,” the guy said quickly. He had a very hoarse voice, which didn’t fit his baby face. He was short but broad with a five-o’clock shadow and dark hair. “That’stotally fine. We’re nowhere near capacity, so if you want to head back now, you can.”

Adele looked at Kash, who squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Leaning in, Adele pressed a kiss to the uninjured side of his head. “Don’t start that shit now. Do you need me to carry you?”

“I don’t know,” Kash admitted. “I’m afraid to stand up.”

Adele looked back at the captain. “Would you mind giving us a second?”

The guy nodded and quickly backed out, and Adele waited until the door swung shut before climbing to his feet. His back wasn’t going to thank him for all the lifting he was doing, but he ignored the twinge in his side, shoved his arms under Kash’s, and eased him up. His feet took a second to respond, but with the braces, Kash managed to stand. They were still turned in, but he was holding himself up on his own.

“Where’s your cane?”

Kash pointed toward the urinal, where it was resting against the porcelain. He looked miserable. “I think there’s piss on my pants from where I fell.”

“Uhg, why are men’s bathrooms always like this,” Adele muttered as he grabbed the cane. The smell there wasn’t pleasant, so he grabbed a wad of paper towels and wiped it down before handing it off. “I bet the boat has some shorts or something I could buy.”

Kash grimaced as he attempted a few steps, and his legs began to tremble. “Fuck. This wasn’t supposed to happen today.”

“I know.” He had no idea what else to say to that. He could see the anger on Kash’s face and the way he was clearly holding back tears of regret and frustration. Hehad no idea how to keep from making it worse. “Let me help.”

Kash nodded and bit his lip. “It’s going to take me an hour to make it to the boat like this. By the time I get there, our own fucking ship will be docking.”

Adele wanted to offer to carry him, but he was pretty sure Kash wasn’t going to agree this time. He lashed his arm around Kash’s waist and got him to the door, but he could feel the way his best friend’s steps were struggling.

“We need to get you that wheelchair.”

Kash swallowed heavily. “Yeah. Fuck. How am I going to do this?”

Adele hip-checked the door open and held it as Kash managed shuffling steps out. When the sun hit him, his wound looked even worse. His face was bloodied, and two women standing off to the side gasped loudly.

“I need to get out of here,” Kash said, his voice tense.

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