Page 84 of The Closed Off Captain

“I already told you—"

“You’re fine, I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m worried about you, and Grandma May is too.”

My eyes narrow. “Don’t bring Grandma May into this.”

He smiles gently. “I’m not. I just remember the first time I went with you to see her, she wanted you to get bloodwork done. Please, for me.”

I turn to him fully. “You’re serious.”

He doesn’t look away. “I am.”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because you matter to me, and I don’t want you to be sick.”

“It’s just food allergies,” I remind him.

“Let’s just make sure.”

I stare at him a moment; my brain feels overloaded. I think being sick has killed some of my brain cells. “Fine.”

“You’ll make the appointment?”

“Yes,” I say with a sigh.

“And you’ll tell me when it is, so I can go with you?”

I shrug. “It may not work out with your schedule.”

“You know my schedule, probably better than I do. Schedule it when I can go with you.”

“You are so bossy. Sometimes I forget that you’re the captain, and then you do something like this, and I remember,” Igrumble and lean against the couch, suddenly exhausted. The doorbell rings, and I make a move to get up.

“I’ll get it.” I don’t fight him; I don’t have the energy to.

He comes back moments later with a large brown bag. He walks back over to the couch and sits before opening the bag. When he opens the bag, I get hit with the smell of food. My stomach growls, and I realize just how hungry I am. “What did you order?”

“Rice bowls.” He glances over at me. “Does that sound good?”

“That sounds amazing.” He pulls out a bowl with a lid and hands it to me.

“I tried to keep it mild for you, in case your stomach was still bothering you. It’s brown rice, grilled chicken, shredded carrots, avocado, shaved kale, and a coconut curry sauce. It was the only one they had that was gluten and dairy free, but I had them put the sauce on the side in case it’s too much.”

I take it from him and take the lid off. With the fork he hands me, I dig in and take a bite. “That’s really good.” I take another bite. “I didn’t know what I was hungry for, but this is exactly it.” I don't bother with the sauce, just in case it makes me sick.

Gunner almost gives me a full smile. “Good.”

“What kind did you get?”

“Brown rice, shrimp, chicken, broccoli, peppers, onions, carrots, kale, fresh lime, and shaved parmesan.”

“Is it good?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

It’s quiet between us as we eat. When I can’t eat any more, I hand it to him. “I’m full. Do you want mine?”

“You sure you don’t want it?”

---