Page 71 of Touchdown, Tennessee
I’d all but forgotten that I was dripping with blood. I was so focused on the fact that we’d been caught.
And caught holding hands.
As if we’re two young kids in middle school, for fuck’s sake.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I tripped. Fell into a gnarly hedge. Andrew was just showing me to the first aid kit.”
I tried to ignore the fact that I saw Max’s eyes glance down at us holding hands.
“Max, if you wouldn’t mind, we don’t really want the other guys to know about this,” Andrew offered.
Max held up his hands. “I hear you, loud and clear.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Andrew continued, effortlessly sliding back into being a good host.
“Yeah,” Max said with a smile. “Last time Luke was in the bar, he really enjoyed a rum cocktail I made him, and he kind of demanded my phone number in case he ever wanted more cocktails for a party. He texted me and told me about the good game. It was my night off, so I decided to head over.”
“You’re always welcome here,” Andrew said. “Have fun, okay?”
Max saluted us. “You two have fun, too.”
As we continued up the stairs, the moment he was out of earshot, I spoke to Andrew.
“He thinks we’re fucking. One hundred percent.”
“He might,” Andrew agreed.
“You trust him?”
“I’d trust him with my life. Max has been through a lot, especially with his boyfriend Draven. Trust me.”
Andrew took me up to a nice bathroom on the second floor and quickly located a first aid kit.
“I’m going to tell you something,” Andrew said. “Youalsohave to promise it won’t end up in the article.”
“Yes?”
“Sometimes the guys call me Mother Hen when I grab the first aid kit. This is going to hurt.”
I didn’t wince as he put the alcohol wipe onto the cuts along my left arm. It hurt, but I’d felt worse.
“Mother Hen,” I repeated. “You’re a natural caretaker, huh?”
I watched as he discarded one wipe that had been soaked with blood. He grabbed a fresh one, working down along my arm, then took another one for my face.
He was precise. Focused.
I remembered what he’d told me, the first night we met.
He wanted to have a family one day.
Kids to take care of.
You’d be a very good dad, Andrew.
And it should have been illegal to look as good as he did under a simple bathroom light like this one.
“I don’t know if I’m a caretaker, but I know that I’m going to try to fix anyone’s pain, anytime they have any.”
