Page 45 of Peep

“Bloody hell, I thought hospitals were supposed to be the least sexy places in the world. It’s like you’re all in heat,” I joke.

“What on earth am I interrupting?” My brother says, casually strolling in.

“You do not want to know,” Sage mumbles.

“Well, actually, we were talking about sex. Dirty, filthy, high heel wearing, ball crushing, sex,” Delia says while repositioning herself on the bed, wincing in pain.

“Hey, be careful, you. No moving unassisted.” Chris rounds the bed, helping her get comfortable.

“How are you feeling?” My brother asks, expression soft and warm as always.

“Great, I’d be better if Anders finished telling us about his new doctor boyfriend.”

Chris’ head snaps up, and he flashes a wide smile. “New boyfriend, ay? And a doctor? Seems like we need to catch up, little brother.”

“You’re such a little shit.” I playfully glare at Delia, but she waves me off.

“Tell us about him?” Chris asks as he tends to Delia, checking her vitals and dressing.

“Fine, he’s called Jay. I met him at work. He rents one of the apartments at Emeralds.”

“Nice, where does he work?”

“All over the North, actually. He’s doing some locum work at the moment.”

“Great, well, if he’s a doctor, I bet he’s intelligent and handsome. Doctors usually are.” My big brother flashes his eyebrows at me.

“You’re not wrong,” Cameron says, biting his lip and shamelessly checking Chris out.

Sage jumps off his lap, huffing and puffing with their arms crossed.

The room bursts into laughter, and Sage dramatically storms out; they’ll be back.

“I’d love to meet him. You should bring him to dinner next week.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Butterflies dance in my stomach. It’s been so long since I’ve spoken about someone I’m dating with my friends and family. I’m disgustingly giddy, but I know I need to keep these feelings under wraps. What Jahmar and I have is complicated. We’re caught up in some crazy shit right now. It might be best to wait until it settles down before introducing him to everyone.

My phone beeps, and I quickly pull it out to check.

Jay

I may have taste-tested your pumpkin spice latte. I wanted to see what all the hype was about, and well, now it’s all gone. So, I’m heading back to Starbucks. Can you meet me there instead? I’ll buy you a cake. :D

“Oooh, look at that smile,” Delia teases. “Must be his man.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s my cue to leave.”

Leaning down to awkwardly hug Delia, she aggressively slaps me on the back. When did she get too cool for real hugs?

I say my goodbyes to the others, not hugging them, of course, because that’s not the kind of friends we are. Elbow jabs and noogies are more our thing.

When we step outside and reach the ward door, Chris breaks the silence. “You’re beaming, Anders.”

I feel my cheeks pinken, and I can’t suppress the pathetic smile spreading across my face. “Am I?”

“Yes, you are. I’m happy for you. You deserve it. I know you struggle to let people in. Trust me, I’ve had the same issues. You never quite get over being abandoned before you can even talk.”

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