Page 18 of The Grumpy Vet
"I only believe the first two things," Dario says, and boy am I glad he's here. I'd be panicking if he weren't. "Tell us more about this old injury."
"It's tendonitis from when I was younger. Flares up and gets inflamed from time to time. Once I get off my feet, I'll be fine."
Dario claps his hands together. "What a great idea. Ryde, you want to help me get Linus onto the floor?"
"Onto the floor?" Linus and I reply in unison. One of our voices may have gone up an octave.
"Yep. The floor."
"Why?" Linus asks suspiciously.
I'm curious to find out, too. Knowing Dario as well as I do, I can tell there's a scheme forming in that pretty head of his.
"Remember that massage course you did?" Dario directs the question to me, his eyebrow flicking up, a subtle reminder of the wholeyes, andimprov thing we've been doing all morning.
"Uh, sure."
"Well, Linus needs a rubdown. It'll help with the pain." He says it so matter-of-factly, like he hasn't just detonated an IED inside my chest.
Me? Touching Linus? On his leg? Maybe other parts of his body?
No.
No way.
I made sure to give him a wide berth during the workout, calling out my instructions and keeping an eye on him from a safe distance. I can't just rub my hands all over his muscular thigh. That's ludicrous, and I'm sure Linus will agree with me on this one.
I stare at him, waiting for him to back me up on this. His jaw is clenched, he's breathing hard, and he's…stiff. Like he's trying not to move because it might aggravate his leg.
And it suddenly hits me. This isn't about me anymore. Linus is in pain, and we have to do something.
Webeing the operative word.
"Lie down on the floor, Linus.Please," I say, making the same face I always make whenever I want something from Dario. It works every time. "Trust me. This will make you feel better."
He lets out a low huff and begins to very slowly lower himself to the floor. I want to reach out and assist him but hold back. This is already a huge win. I don't want to offer help and have him suddenly change his mind.
Once he's sitting on the carpet, he looks up at me. "Well?"
"I'll move the coffee table out of the way," Dario says, sounding way too chipper. Oh, if he thinks he's got one over on me, I'll show him. He starts dragging the table and says, "Lie all the way down, Linus. Ryde, are you okay massaging over Linus's shorts, or do you want him to take them off? What would be better, medically speaking?"
Linus stops moving. "I amnottaking off my shorts."
"Freeballing are we?" Dario nods smugly at him. "No worries. Completely understand, what with this heat and all. Think of Ryde as a medical professional. He's seen it all. Haven't you, buddy?"
Theyes, andingstops right the fuck now.
"The shorts stay on," I mutter, shooting Dario an evil grin. "But I will need assistance. Good thing we did that massage coursetogether. Right, Dario?"
My confidence dissipates as soon as the words leave me, and I follow up with a pleading look. He said he wouldn't leave me alone with Linus, at least not at the start. And this is very much the start. I need him. Icannotdo it without him.
Holding my gaze, he relents with a long exhale through his nose. "Yeah, that's right. We did."
I grab a cushion from the couch and prop it under Linus's head as he lies down. I have no idea what he's making of this. Probably nothing. He most likely just wants us to do something to make him feel better.
Which would be a massage…if either one of us knew how to give one. This is the point in most of Dario's so-called awesome plans where they come undone—the part where you have to actually go through with it.
We kneel down on either side of Linus. "Now what?" I mouth as Linus stares up at the ceiling.
