Page 69 of Ravenous

Ollie gave him a brave nod. “Okay. There’s been zero word from my parents so I guess Tommy’s kept his mouth shut.”

“Great! No news is good news.”

“Exactly.” Nodding again, Ollie scrambled off the bed, allowing Finn to get up. “I have to catch up on some posts so I’ll do that in your hammock because the deck isamazing.”

“I knew you’d love it.” Finn winked, stretching again and noticing how Ollie eyeballed him, so he dropped his pants and walked backward to the adjoining bathroom, enjoying how Ollie’s mouth fell open and how he didn’t look away until the door closed.

Showering as fast as possible, Finn dressed and cleaned up a bit, putting his sleep clothes in the hamper and making the bed. But as he straightened the blanket, his eye caught a strange glint on one of the pillows.

He moved closer, running his hand over the fabric. Squinting down at what he’d collected, his heart sank because several strands of Ollie’s hair lay across his palm. Last night’s afterglow had been nice but reality just tapped Finn on the shoulder, reminding him that Ollie had a serious problem.

There was fighting to be done, but first he had to make a phone call.

Once he was done, it didn’t take him long to track Ollie down for he was exactly where he said he’d be - in Finn’s hammock, tapping away on his phone as he swayed gently back and forth, bundled up in the quilt despite it being quite seasonable out. Finn made a note of that as well, remembering that Ollie had almost no insulation left, and reached back inside, turning the heat up a few degrees.

“The coffee was delicious, Sunshine, thank you again.” Finn leaned over Ollie, who immediately dropped his phone with a soft smile, tilting his head up for the offered kiss. “Making yourself at home, I see?”

“Of course. I love the window seat in my room but this ismuchbetter. And I knew you’d want caffeine after sleeping like the dead.”

Finn reclined on an outdoor couch. “Sorry about that, I guess I came so hard it put me in a coma.”

The hammock swung more violently as Ollie’s head whipped around, looking at the townhouses on either side of them. “Shh, don’t you have neighbors?”

Finn laughed, putting his hands behind his head, as he lounged back. “Sunshine, after the way you screamed last night? They already know.”

“Oh my god.” Ollie’s blush shone through the makeup.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Finn laughed. “It’s okay, really. The soundproofing is great here. I’ve never heard anyone and these decks are surprisingly private.”

“Good,” Ollie sighed, less stricken than he was a few seconds ago. Silence lingered between them and before Finn attempted to broach the subject of food, Ollie pocketed his phone and smoothly rolled out of the quilt and hammock, landing on his feet. “I guess we should have breakfast? Or brunch since you decided to sleep in like the diva that you are.”

Since Ollie was trying for lightness, Finn would give him all the levity that he could. “Listen, I amnota diva.” He brushed imaginary lint off his shoulders, pouting. “It’s just that your cute little ass tried to crush my dick, anyone would sleep for a week after that.”

“Um.” Ollie acted like he was directing planes on the tarmac, straight arms at ninety degrees waving him toward the door. “We’re goinginside.”

Laughing, Finn got to his feet and the two of them ended up in the living room again. Surprisingly, the brightness remained in Ollie’s gaze as he browsed the menu on a delivery app. Together, it didn’t take long at all for them to place an order and settle on the couch, this time with mugs of tea, where they combed through the bookmarks on Finn’s laptop, selecting the first few doctors to call.

Steeling his shoulders, Ollie courageously dove right in, but the first call almost drained his vitality. After a fifteen-minute hold, the receptionist was rude and disinterested and when tears welled in Ollie’s eyes, Finn grabbed the phone out of his hands and hung up.

“You don’t have to put up with that. There are other doctors out there and you want a place where the staff cares about you. It’s important,” Finn insisted, trying to keep Ollie calm.

Nodding, Ollie blinked a bunch of times, stifling his tears and steadying himself again. “You’re right. Itisimportant because I’ll need to make appointments and maybe get prescriptions and if they’re mean all the time, it’ll make things harder.” He looked at the ceiling, taking a long breath. “I hope the next place is nicer.”

Thankfully, they were but the first available appointment was six weeks away. The third office was booking three months out, and the fourth bounced him around via automatic menu only to hang up on him after five minutes on hold, which caused Ollie to tear up again.

“Let me take that.” Finn removed the phone from his hands again, placed it on the table, and then hugged Ollie, slowly rocking him. “You did amazing, Sunshine. I know that was hard as hell.” Ollie nodded into his shirt, sniffling a little, and Finn rubbed his back, trying not to feel the bumps of his spine. “Why don’t you let me take over?”

Ollie pulled away and while his eyes were red, he wasn’t crying anymore. “You’re always such a knight.” His lips curved in a shallow grin as he reached up, sweeping his hand along Finn’s jaw. “But I have to do this myself.”

“We can take a break if you need to.”

“I’d rather get it done before breakfast if I can.” Ollie picked up the cell again and tried the fifth number, tapping his foot as he worked his way through the robot choices until he was once again on hold. A bright chipper voice picked up after a few minutes, and after answering the standard few questions and double-checking his insurance, there was a tense stretch while the schedule software opened and then Finn heard her voice again.

Ollie’s worry vanished, replaced by a relieved smile. “Yes, I’m available Friday morning.”

Finn punched the air and Ollie bit his lip, flapping his hand at him as he gave the receptionist more details, including his email, and then confirmed that he’d received their info packet, which needed to be filled out and brought with him.

“Great work, Sunshine!” Finn gathered Ollie into his arms once he hung up. “And I can help you with the paperwork. Don’t worry about that.”

---