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The three of us started walking again, me letting the guys lead the way, given I had no idea where I was going—I’d never been to Drew’s dorm before. It turned out that his room was on one of the higher floors, and I was thankful that, although the building had been lovingly preserved both inside and out, it also featured every state-of-the-art addition possible, including a gorgeous glass elevator, so there was no need to struggle up the stunning wood-paneled staircase.
At the threshold of Drew’s room, I found myself hesitating. What the actual fuck was wrong with me? Here was a guy who’d been nothing but a total asshole to me, except when he was gifting me with orgasms sent from heaven, yet I was swooping in to help him the moment he needed it. Maybe I was the one who’d secretly had a knock to the head, not him.
“It’s okay, you can go. I’m fine.” He sounded so far from fine, it wasn’t even funny.
“Not negotiable, remember?” I loved using his own words against him. “Let’s go.”
As the door swung open, a strange feeling swept over me. Entering his personal space felt like going behind the curtain to discover the Wizard of Oz beyond. Not that I was expecting Drew to turn out to be a little person with a megaphone, but the theory was the same. Whereas every previous interaction had been about the myth—the powerful, intimidating, inflexible guy who was everywhere I went, one step ahead of me, and orchestrating every aspect of my life to get what he wanted—now it was about the man behind it. The human who was vulnerable, broken, and hurting—physically at least.
His friend and I—who hadn’t introduced ourselves—helped Drew to the couch. His groans as he lowered himself gave me some indication of just how fucked-up he was—I was pretty sure that had he been able to carry out the maneuver without alerting us to his level of pain, he would have.
“Give me the first aid kit, please.” I stretched out my hand toward the friend, but kept my focus on Drew. When the guy failed to hand it over, I shot him a look. “The kit. Please.”
“Ah, but I was…”
“Can you go and get something to ice his face and ribs with—frozen vegetables, a bottle of vodka, whatever he has in the icebox.”
He hesitated again, but must have decided that it was easier to do as he was told than argue, as rather than object he edged out of the room with his hands up in surrender. It was kind of funny, really. He was so big he could probably crush me like an ant, yet I was the one who had him on the back foot.
I crouched in front of Drew. “Let me see.” As I reached for the hem of his t-shirt. He swatted me away. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit. Take the shirt off and lie down.” He didn’t move a muscle. “Jesus. Would you just do as I ask you? Please.” He stared at me as though considering whether to test me by continuing to refuse. I crossed my arms, and glared at him. He needed to know I meant business. He finally relented, looking like he’d rather have another fight than oblige my request.
“Fuck. You need to go to the hospital. You have broken ribs, for sure.”
“Nope.” He shook his head for emphasis.
“No what?”
“No hospital.”
“This isn’t a joke. Maybe if you could see this yourself right now, you wouldn’t be saying no. You need medical attention—you could have internal injuries.”
“No doctors. I’m fine.” He shook his head resolutely.
“If you say I’m fine one more time, I’m liable to add more cracked ribs into the mix. You’re anything but fine, and you should have yourself checked out.”
“She’s right.” I almost jumped a mile in the air. I hadn’t heard his friend re-enter the room. For someone who was the size of a small city block, he was incredibly light on his feet. “Dude you’re really banged up. You should get that looked at.” Thank God one of them had some sense in his head.
“No.” Another feeble croak.
The friend looked at me, shrugging as he pulled the red sucker from his mouth before continuing . “I found proper icepacks and a dish towel. Here.”
“Thanks. I’m Kik, by the way.” If I wasn’t mistaken, he raised his eyebrows slightly when I said my name. I wondered briefly what that was about, but then figured I didn’t have the time or energy to waste thinking about it either way.
“Bear.” Perfect name for a guy of his stature.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“You can go, I can manage here, thanks.”
“But he called…”
“And you came, because you’re clearly a great friend. but I’m here now, so…” I raised my eyebrow pointedly and nodded toward the door. I didn’t want to be rude, but I did want to get on with tending to Drew, and I didn’t need assistance, or an audience.
He looked around me to Drew. “You okay with that, man? I can stay, no problem.”
