Page 23 of Stroke Rate

“Hey, you okay?” Bran asked, hands out hovering over Chris’ biceps. “You look like you've just seen a ghost. Come and sit.” Bran’s touch was tentative as he led Chris. Chris tried to ignore the sensation of the touch—the weird burning, the feeling of his skin growing tight—telling himself that Bran was alright and that he was in a secure environment. However, the touch still evoked an uncomfortable feeling, so he removed Bran’s hand as soon as he sat down. “Sorry,” Bran said, whisper-soft.

“It's fine, Bran. I'm working on it. Go ahead, you can touch my knee," he replied, huffing at his own stupidity. It was dumb. He knew his touch aversion was foolish and had been trying to work through it over the past month. If anything, the night with River had shown Chris that he could be brave, that he could do hard things. Chris also knew the only way to get over his aversion was to go through it. To let the people he had deemed safe touch him, even if the touch was as minute as a comforting hand on his knee. Bran lowered his hand and gave Chris’ joint a tentative squeeze. "See, I'm fine," Chris said and shrugged, as a chill rippled over his thigh. Sadly, it wasn’t the good kind of chill; this one had been brought on by nerves. So Chris had taken a fortifying breath and reminded himself that Bran’s touch would not hurt him.

Bran looked at him, his eyes crinkled at the edges, and his lips twisted into a look of pride. "Okay?" He asked with such a tender expression that it made Chris want to cry. Instead of letting tears flow, he cleared his throat and looked down at his phone on the bar-top. The text he had been waiting for all month sat there, looming and ominous.

Hey? Hey?! What the fuck, Riv?

The longer he sat in silence, the more pissed off he got. Chris watched as Jackson walked over, then leaned over and read the message. He heard Jackson say, "well fuck," and felt Bran squeeze his knee again, but Chris seemed unable to grasp reality. After a month of waiting and daily texting, all he got was a "Hey?" Was he not worth more? Chris grunted at the audacity of the text and scanned the three letters again. But relief also filled Chris. He hadn't forgotten him. River hadn't forgotten him.

“Well, what are you going to do?” He heard Jackson say, his voice sounding far away, because Chris thought maybe he was dreaming or maybe he had a stroke, because he had a message from Riv, and Chris was kind of freaking out.

Fingers snapped in front of his face. “Chris, hey buddy,” Bran said. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, ugh, what? Sorry,” he said, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs and come back to the present. “What do I do?” Chris asked the two men looking at him with sympathy and humor written all over their faces.

“What do you want to do?”

“Text him. Text him. Text him,” Jackson ‌chanted with his hands around his mouth, making his voice both muted and echoey through the bar.

“Up to you, Chris. Are you ready to talk to him?” Bran asked. Chris thought about it for a minute: was he ready to talk to River? The answer was an easy yes.

“Fuck yes,” Chris stated with so much enthusiasm it made Bran and Jackson laugh. “But what do I say?”

“Just say hey back?” Jackson winked with both eyes.

“Pshaw, don't do that.” Bran said, “You need to have a plan. What do you want? Do you want to have this convo over text? Do you want to call? Do you want to see him?” Bran asked and winked because he knew the answer. He knew Chris wanted to see River and if he had a choice, he would have him come over tonight. He felt the calming rush of the gummy beginning to run through his system, and decided he shouldn't talk to River for the first time, zonked out of his gourd on gummies.

“Yes, I want to text back. No, I don't want to do this over text, and yes, so much yes, I want to see him.” Bran smiled a sly grin at Chris’ answer and nodded his head.

“Good, then text him back and ask him over. Tomorrow, because I can see in your eyes that you ate a fucking gummy, and it's just about time to call you a car to get you home.”

“Yeah, don't need you to pass out on the bar again,” Jackson giggled as he grabbed Chris’ phone to request him a car. “Text him quick. The car will be here in fifteen minutes. I need to know if he responds before you go,” Jackson said as he bounced behind the bar.

“Okay, okay,” Chris said as he punched out a text.

Chris

Hey Riv, glad to hear from you…finally. Don't want to sound too eager, but want to come over tomorrow?

River

Yes, I'd like that. Can you send me your address?

Please?

Chris

I'll drop you the pin when I get home. Lunch?

River

I'll bring all the meats… 😉(winky face)

Chris

LMAO okay see you tomorrow, noonish?

River