Page 78 of Slew Foot
“Don’t you have to get going?” Rafe asked. “I mean, I like hanging out, but you’ve got practice and …”
“Scheiße!” Mickey lurched to his feet, still talking as he hurried out the door. “Yeah, I’m going. Text if you need anything! Oh, and there’s cough medicine in the bag on the nightstand!”
A few minutes later, Mickey and Tanner were gone, and the apartment was quiet. Rafe finished eating, then set the baking tray on the floor, the empty dishes rattling a little.
He settled back into bed, too tired to keep his eyes open. Dude, he played pro hockey. A shower and breakfast shouldn’t wear him out …
The sun was higher in the sky when he woke with a deep, rasping cough. Once the coughing fit was over and he’d had some water, he reached for the bag on the nightstand.
In it, he found several kinds of cough medicine. Rafe wondered how in the hell Mickey had managed to get itandmake breakfast so quickly, when he found the delivery slip from the pharmacy. Smart.
Rafe went for the liquid stuff in the red bottle, confused when it went down syrupy sweet and leaving his mouth tasting like cherry. Where was the blast of cool? The watering eyes? Why weren’t his sinuses blown out and his throat and ears tingling?
He squinted at the bottle and sighed.Ugh. Not Buckley’s. American cough syrupsucked.
Still, that wasn’t Mickey’s fault.
I should do something nice for him,Rafe thought as he set the bottle on the nightstand. But his eyes were getting heavy again and the moment he got comfy on his side, he fell asleep again.
Rafe awoke the next time to Mickey and Tanner coming back from practice. Rafe called out a croaky greeting.
“How’re you feelin’, bud?” Tanner asked, poking his head through the half-open door.
“Like death,” Rafe said with a shrug. “But like … less death than yesterday? So I guess that’s good?”
“That is good,” Mickey said, shouldering past Tanner. “Did you rest?”
“Yeah,” Rafe said. “I slept all morning. Just woke up coughing a bit and then went right back to sleep.”
Mickey picked up the baking tray from the floor. “You ready for some lunch?”
Rafe considered it. “Soup?”
“I’ve got cans of chicken and stars waiting for you.”
Rafe smiled at him. “You’re the best.”
“Ugh,” Tanner said. “You two are gross. You’re not even dating and you’re gross.”
He disappeared, leaving Rafe and Mickey staring at each other.
“I’ll, uh, get the soup,” Mickey said and disappeared out the door like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Rafe nodded pointlessly, then reached for his phone.
Ugh. He was so tired of beingtired.
He played something dumb on his phone while he waited for Mickey.
This time when he came in, the baking tray held a big bowl of soup, crackers, and a bunch more water. “Thanks,” Rafe said, shifting to lean against the headboard.
“Do you want company while you eat?” Mickey asked as he set the pan on Rafe’s thighs.
“Sure. If you’re sure you aren’t worried about getting sick.”
“I think at this point I’ve already been exposed, or I haven’t. I’m not sure it matters.”
Rafe shrugged and reached for his spoon. “Then yeah, that’d be great.”
