Page 20 of Hold Me Down

"If I thought you'd be using what you learned against me, I would have been fiercely against the couples therapy you and Amy went to."

"You'd most likely have to deal with my sad, divorced ass if we hadn't."

Dave couldn't imagine these two ever heading that way, but he'd learned over the years that no one could ever truly know what was happening inside someone else's relationship, no matter how close they were.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be independent," Colin continued. "Quite the opposite, as long as you're not pulling too much of that lone wolf shit. But with Travis there,and Kalei, to some extent, I can't see you ever getting too far down that road before they catch up with you."

"Yeah, well, Kalei's pissed right now, so."

He winced at the memory of his boss in the hospital room, laying it on them in that thoroughly disappointed tone that made Dave wish the ground would swallow him whole.

"He'll get over it. I'm sure you and Travis did stupider things when he was your platoon commander, and he still hired you afterwards. He may pick you up by your scruff and shake you every once in a while, but you know he's not leaving you behind."

Dave let out a slow exhale. "I know."

"And Travis—"

"Iknow. I told you I'm feeling sorry for myself. This is me whining about everything."

"I can see that," Colin offered dryly. "And as an older brother, it's up to me to call you out on your bullshit when you sound like you're getting stupid."

"I thought I was allowed to feel how I feel."

"Sure. But there's acknowledging, and there's wallowing. You aren't as helpless as you think you are, even if physically you're less capable than usual."

"I need help getting to the bathroom, not to mention anything else," Dave said, shoulders tensing once again.

Even admitting that out loud was hard, despite the fact that he and Colin were close and knew more about each other than the average siblings.

There was no way to hide his limitations from Travis, which was bad enough. Anyone else…

"And I'm glad you have that help readily available for you," his brother told him, making Dave snort.

"I wish it was as easy as you're making it sound."

"I'm sure it's not. But it's also not as hard asyou'remaking it sound." Colin shook his head. "Especially since it's all temporary."

The thought of it being temporary was the only thing keeping Dave from falling into the abyss. One life-changing injury was more than enough for a lifetime, and while he felt at peace with not going into professional basketballnow, he'd never forget how devastating it was to have that dream taken away when he was a teenager.

"Besides, if the roles were reversed, would you resent Travis for making you help him out?"

"What, no!" Dave sat up, propelled with indignation. "And he wouldn't have tomakeme do anything."

Colin lifted his eyebrows,"I told you so"clearly spelled out without him having to mutter a single word.

"That's different," Dave protested. "Besides, I know Travis doesn't resent me."

"Of course he doesn't. There's nothing to resent."

Dave was pretty sure his grumpy ass would drag anyone else down, but with Travis, things were different.Theywere different. And there was no one else on the planet Dave would rather be doing this with.

Suddenly out of breath, he stared at the wall as everything fell into place in his head.

While there were things he'd like that Travis would never give him, there were a myriad of others that the two of them already had. And this was one of them—a temporary one, a new one, but still another example of Travis not only standing by Dave but also going the distance with him.

Dave would bet every last penny he had that Travis would switch places with him in an instant if it was possible. Not just because he felt guilty—which Dave was trying to talk him out of—but because of who he was, and who they were to each other.

Partners pretty much from the day they met, they had gone through various reiterations of that term, and they would likely go through many others in the future, too. Dave might have wanted them to be romantic partners as well, but even though they weren't, that didn't diminish their relationship in the slightest.

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