Page 61 of The Jock
Colby started the car. “You know you can call me even if I’m busy.”
Taylor groaned. “I thought we were past this, Colby.”
Colby laughed at Taylor’s theatrics. “I know. I know. I’m allowed to have my own life and I’m allowed to put myself first. Blah, blah, I get it.”
“Do you?” Taylor was suddenly serious. “Do you actually get it, or are you pretending until the next time you’re not the first responder to a crisis?”
“Ouch.” Colby frowned. “Tell me how you really feel.”
He turned away from Taylor, embarrassment pooling in his stomach, emphasizing the fact that it had been hours since his last meal.
“I think you like being needed to an unhealthy degree. I’m not a problem you need to solve and I’m not a kid you need to shield. I like that you want to help, Colby. I do. It’s what makes you, you. When I was a kid it made me feel safe, but now I need to be able to fix things my own way. Tell me you understand.”
Colby didn’t talk for a few blocks. He drove, being careful not to let his emotions overflow. “Listen. You’re right. Okay? I’m only human. I can’t turn off something I’ve been doing for years. It’s second nature to me. It’s why I work in a gym, you know. I like helping people fix shit. I like being the one they come to when they want to make things better. It’s like being a psychiatrist, but sweatier.”
Colby turned into a drive-thru and caught sight of the happy smile Taylor tried to smother.
“You used to talk about being a psychiatrist. Why didn’t you become one?”
“Lots of reasons. Mostly because it took too long. Too many years in school.” Colby eased the car forward as the line progressed.
“You could go back now.”
Taylor’s suggestion was sweet, but Colby shook his head.“Nah. It’s not for me. I like what I do. I think there’s more than one way to help people through shit. And, sure, being a psychiatrist is great, but I couldn’t give up what I love.”
He took a deep breath. “It’s why I took it so hard when you turned to Nash. It felt like letting go, and I sort of suck at that.”
The line moved forward and Colby ordered food for both of them and something extra to take to Milo before his shift. It wasn’t until they were halfway done with their burgers, sitting off in an empty row of the parking lot that Taylor spoke again.“You don’t suck at anything.”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for taking me with you today.”
Colby grabbed a fry out of Taylor’s basket. “Thanks for never ever asking me to go shoe shopping with you ever again.”
“I didn’t ask you this time. You volunteered!” Taylor threw a fry at him, but he caught it and shoved it in his mouth.
“And I’m permanently un-volunteering.”
“Mean. But okay.” Taylor was thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder if I could convince Jonah to go.”
“Only if you ask him when Spencer’s there. Jonah is so soft for him.”
Taylor choked on a fry. “Pretty sure that’s not how that works.”
Colby blinked at Taylor until he understood. Horror swept through him. “Oh, gross. Don’t make sex jokes about Jonah. That’s just… No. Ew.”
Taylor continued to cackle, clearly enjoying Colby’s discomfort. He did in fact continue to make lewd innuendos until Colby dropped him off at home, with a heads up that he was bringing Milo to Sunday breakfast.
CHAPTER 26
MILO
Milo should have knownthat his good luck would run out eventually, but he didn’t expect for it to all happen at once. He stowed the makeup kit in the passenger seat and started his car. Well, attempted to start it. He turned the key and all that happened was a whole bunch of nothing. It made a clicking sound, then it wouldn’t even do that. It hadn’t so much as attempted to turn over.
If he had time to swear, he would, but as it was he was running late. Nothing that he’d set out to do this morning had worked in his favor. He brewed a cup of coffee to get himself going but had forgotten to put the coffee in the machine, resulting in a nice refreshing cup of hot water.
And at least that water was hot. For some reason, the hot water in Milo’s apartment stopped working. He’d taken an icy sponge bath and had shot a message off to maintenance about the issue.
