Page 2 of The Grumpy Vet
"Keep going. We've recently started sharingphotos."
His eyes light up, and his thumb glides over the screen with an increased urgency. Then his face drops. "You mean these?"
He lifts the phone and turns the screen to me. I nod as I see the first photo I sent Linus. Me, in bed, nursing a shocking hangover, the day after Fitz's birthday party where I drank too muchagainand embarrassed myself in front of Linusagain.
I'm pretty good at managing my feelings for him on a day-to-day basis, but as soon as I get some alcohol in me, my inner army of horny demons takes over and I cannot be held responsible for what I say or do. It's a pattern that's been going on the entire time I've been here, and it needs to stop. I'm entrusting Dario with ensuring that it does. And with helping me progress things. I need to, once and for all, find out if what I feel for Linus is one-sided or if the attraction is mutual.
He lets out a dramatic groan, dragging the sound out for effect. "But you're still wearing clothes."
I chuckle but say nothing as he continues skimming through the messages with a furrowed brow. "And this is so not what I thought you meant when you said Linus has an impressive cock."
He flips the screen towards me.
"What?" I say. "That is impressive. Cluck Norris has won best rooster at The Great Scuttlebutt Strut & Crow-Off three years running."
He drops the phone into his lap, closes his eyes, and starts massaging his temples. "Okay. Somehow, this is even worse than my worst-case scenario."
"What was your worst-case scenario?" I ask.
"You know." With a sly grin, he raises his pinkie and gives it a deliberate wiggle.
"Oh my god, you are terrible." I laugh anyway, smacking him across the chest.
"Seriously, though." He exhales, blinks, and when he turns, his golden-flecked eyes meet mine with quiet determination. "I know you don't feel confident around guys, but that's okay. I'm confident enough for the two of us, and I can do this. Wait. No. That's not right." He leans over the centre console and takes my hands in his. "Wecan do this."
I smile in relief. As excited as I am to have my bestie living and working with me, a huge benefit of his stay here will be exactly this. Dario has always been way better at reading people and knowing what to say and do around them than me. I misread signs, and if there's a worst thing to say or do, best believe I'll be saying and doing it. I'm generally a pretty smart guy, but when it comes to someone I like, common sense flies out the door and I turn into a bumbling, usually drunk out of my mind, idiot.
Case in point, I've been crushing on Linus for two years, and all I have to show for it is a string of embarrassing episodes—grinding and twerking on him at Wilby and Col's wedding reception, basically blushing and stuttering the whole time when Dad visited for Pride and the three of us hung out together, and then there was possibly the most humiliating episode of all—texting himI'm horny and my vibrator just ran out of juice.
I meant to send it to Dario as a joke based on a truth, but I accidentally sent it to Linus instead.
Thankfully, I was able to explain the mix-up to Linus, and he a) didn't fire me on the spot and b) was actually super nice about it, and as an unexpected bonus, it led to c) us texting each other every few days ever since.
Even if the texts aren't what I'd maybe led Dario to believe they were. Which is all the more reason why I need his help. Stat.
Dario flicks his gaze to the sun-bleached timber and sagging tin roof of the Scuttlebutt Pub. "And he'll be here tonight?"
I nod. "Yep. Monthly karaoke is the closest thing to a local tradition. You'll get to meet the entire gang before you start work tomorrow. Even Wilby and Col are flying in."
Dario smiles. "You talk about the guys so much I feel like I already know them."
"They're awesome."
"With one being more awesome than the others?"
My cheeks warm, and I open the door. "Yeah."
"Why do you like him so much?" Dario asks as we step out of the car.
I pull him away from the entrance so that no one coming or going can overhear us. In a town this small, gossip travels faster than the speed of sound.
"It's hard to explain. It's just a feeling I got when I moved here. I've known him all my life, but when I came in on my firstday at the clinic, something changed. I saw him in a new light, and I just… I just like him."
It feels good letting the words out. I've kept my emotions bottled up so tight for so long, not telling a single soul. I'm pretty sure none of the guys at the clinic suspect how I feel, and that gets tiring. Confiding in someone I trust with my whole heart lifts a huge weight off my shoulders.
I lean against the streetlight and grin wistfully. "He's kind of grumpy and a bit of a closed book, but he's a good man with a good heart."
"And he's older?"
