Page 56 of Storm Bound
“Thank fuck,” Andy muttered under his breath.
“Hey. You said you liked my idea for cocktails,” Kyle whined.
“I do. I just don’t like the idea of shaking crap all night,” he said.
“Well, tough shit, my love. Everyone else in town is doing cocktails, and we’re not going back to old habits now, are we?”
“Yeahahhguessnot,” Andy droned with an eye roll.
Everyone asked for a beer, so I went for one, too, and soon we were all sitting in a circle in the middle of the room on top of crates and dusty make-shift chairs. The only thing that was missing was the campfire and a bottle to spin.
“So… you’re the talk of the town, doc. How are you finding us folk so far?” Luke asked.
“Everyone is great. And friendly. I was actually worried about being an outsider and all, but all my patients have been great and very welcoming.”
“Except for Mr. and Mrs. Calcott,” Charlie huffed.
“Oh well. They hate their own guts, so there’s nothing to be done there,” Luke said.
“Are those the ones that sent that letter to tell us they won’t be stepping into your sinful establishment again?” Kyle asked Andy.
Andy took a sip in response and rolled his eyes again.
“Oy vey. I’m sorry. That’s horrible,” I said.
Kyle shrugged.
“It’s fine. Considering the size of this town, the amount of people that have turned their backs on us because of our relationship is minimal, if at all noticeable. Everyone’s been amazing,” Kyle said. “But… enough about us. Where are you from, Doc? Tell us everything about you and your life.”
“Kyle!” Andy grumbled behind his bottleneck.
“Oh, shush. Let the man speak,” he dismissed his boyfriend.
They looked like a fun pair.
“I’m from Michigan but have been based in Chicago since I graduated. I did my residency at the General Hospital and then I went off to open my family practice, and I was doing that until… I moved here.”
I could feel Charlie’s eyes on me, and his presence brought me comfort. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. But I was really starting to feel the sense of community I could have here. I’d never had many friends or people that knew much about my life, but it seemed as if I had no say in Cedarwood Beach. Everyone knew everything about everyone, and in a way, that was a good feeling. It made me feel secure.
“Chicago, huh? Is it anything like Chicago Med?” Kyle asked.
I grimaced.
“I have no idea what that is,” I said.
“It’s a-it’s a TV show. Don’t you watch TV? Do you not have the time? Or do you not watch anything medical because… well, you do it all day?”
I laughed. That was a silly question.
“Oh, I definitely watch TV. But I’m more into—”
“My kind of stuff,” Charlie cut in, and Luke sighed. Andy huffed. But Kyle just looked at everyone around the room, just as confused as the chefs.
“Wh-what? Why… why is everyone rolling their eyes?” he asked so innocently I almost felt bad for the kid.
“He’s into super geeks and crap,” Andy commented.
Kyle frowned.
