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At the door, she turned and added a wave. “See ya.”
“Monday,” Boone echoed.
She’d left without a kiss or a hug, maybe embarrassed that I was here—the ex. But then she was the ex ex… It wasn’t worth the effort to puzzle out.
“Why are you here?” Boone asked as soon as the door closed.
Time for step two. “I didn’t thank you for what you did tonight.”
“You’re welcome. He’s a turd, and it was the right thing.”
That was a Lancelot statement if I’d ever heard one. “I owe you a debt I don’t know how to repay.”
“No need. Like I said, it was the right thing.”
That right there highlighted the difference between him and Kevin. Kevin would have had his zipper down and me on my knees making it up to him by now, and then again every day for a month.
“Still it was rude of me to not thank you before you left.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve had a long day.”
Not having completed my checklist ahead of time, words failed me as I tried to choose what to say next.
“And that’s why you came over?” he asked.
My words came out on autopilot. “Yes. I thought it was a good reason.” They sounded lame. With Lisa in the picture, I wasn’t sure what to say or ask. If this had been one of his beloved football games, I could call a timeout to plan my next play. A pause, a distraction—anything to buy me a few seconds.
“If that’s all, I’m kinda tired,” he said. A drip of blood fell onto his shirt, reminding me of his sacrifice.
That was it—the cut.
“Timeout.” I coughed to hide my error of saying it out loud.
“What?”
“Timeout to get the germs. I mean time to get the germs out.” I turned toward the kitchen. “Get the first aid kit.”
“I’m fine,” he complained.
“I’m an expert at fight injuries,” I scoffed, and it was true. “Trust me, you’re not fine. Since you won’t decide, this is partial repayment of my debt. Now get the kit.”
He didn’t move. “When did you become so bossy?”
“When you decided to be stupid. Now get the kit, and I’ll try to tone down the bossy.”
He sighed and shuffled toward the bathroom.
I yelled to him, “And bring fresh towels.” I located the Super Glue in a drawer. It felt right to be controlling the situation, but Grace’s advice had been to give that up. The thought scared me.
He returned with the first aid box and held out his shirt to survey the blood all over it. “I guess it’s a little worse than I thought.”
“Lie down.” I pointed to the tile floor.
“Here?”
I folded the towel. “Yes, here. A hard surface will keep you still. Put this under your head.” When he still looked skeptical, I added, “Please.”
He lay down without further argument, and I pulled what I needed from the box. I began soaking some gauze.
