Page 52 of The Grumpy Vet
"It's fine," Ryde assures him.
"Totally fine," I say. "It's you I'm worried about." I whisper that last part under my breath, for his ears only.
He gives us each a slight nod before turning to the table and pointing sternly at the guys. "Do not breathe a word of this to anyone."
Wilby, Col, and Muir all nod in stunned silence. Fitz reaches for his phone. "Just a quick update for my followers?" The pissed-off look on Linus's face is priceless. Someone should capture it and hang it in an art gallery. "I'll take that as a no," Fitz says, resting his phone back on a dry spot on the table.
"We'll keep our mouths shut, but youhave tofill us in," Col says, drumming his fingers against the table excitedly. "Who would've guessed that a small vet clinic in the middle of the Australian outback would be better thanThe Bold and the Beautiful?"
Ryde and I stay quiet and let Linus answer. It feels like the right thing to do. But also, I'm just as curious as the crew is to hear what he has to say and, especially,howhe chooses to phrase certain things.
Linus takes a moment to collect his thoughts. Then he lifts his hand off my leg and reaches for my hand on the table. He does the same with Ryde.
"The three of us have been…" He stops, saying nothing for a solid ten, fifteen seconds, or however long it takes for the guys' jaws to drop to the floor then slowly come back up again. "Doing stuff."
"Like gardening?" Fitz teases.
"Or cooking?" That's Muir.
Never one to be outdone, Wilby chimes in with, "Guys, guys, guys. It's obvious what they're doing, and it involves cocks. Cluck Norris, Sunny, Elvis, and the rest of the gang." He tosses a satisfied smirk our way. "Am I right, fellas?"
"I hate you all," Linus grumps, then he shakes his head, grinning.
"It's so weird to see you like this, Linus," Col says.
"What? Holding hands?" he asks.
"No." Col's eyes sparkle with amusement. "Smiling."
"What can I say?" Linus turns to me then to Ryde. "I've got two very special reasons to smile as much as I fucking want."
Ryde
"I need a black piece for the top of the chimney with just a tiny bit of blue sky in the corner," Dario mutters, hunched over Linus's dining table, tapping his chin and squinting at the laid-out jigsaw pieces.
"This one?" I pick up a piece that I think matches what he's looking for and hand it to him. Our fingers touch, and warmth zips up my spine. That's a new sensation. A very pleasurable new sensation. One that's happening more and more the longer this thing between him, Linus, and me goes on.
Dario examines it closely then tries fitting it into the spot. A huge smile. "It's perfect. Thank you."
"No worries."
"I reckon if we stay up, we should get this puzzle finished tonight," Linus says, his face lighting up with satisfaction as he finishes off the troublesome section he's been anguishing over the past two nights since karaoke.
I like seeing him happy. I like spending time with him and Dario. And I really like how open he was with the guys the other night. I mean he did sorta accidentally blurt out the wrong thing when he should have waited for Wilby to finish what he was saying. If all we were accused of was laughing, he could have easily come up with an excuse to explain that.
But that's not what happened. And he didn't shirk away or try to deny anything. That's the impressive part. He owned it and proudly told our friends that we're together, even if the three of us haven't yet defined what being together entails.
The other night was a more than adequate first step though. From how reserved and shut down he normally is, it was one giant leap for Linus kind.
"We're close, but my vision is starting to go blurry," Dario says, giving up looking for whatever piece he was searching for. "And I have an early start tomorrow."
"Same," I say then, right on cue, let out a yawn. I glance over at Dario. "We should get going."
"Or you could stay?" Linus offers casually, still scanning the table for a piece.
Dario and I stare at each other in shock. We've never stayed the night. Yes, Linus's nearest neighbour is a good distance away, but my parked car is visible from the road, and we've never wanted to give people reason to gossip. Gym training sessions don't typically run overnight.
"Are you sure?" I ask, prompting Linus to look up at me, then at Dario, then back to me.
