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Dylan wouldn’t let Derek minimize this. “It’s an enormous deal to me.” He took Derek’s hands in his. “Do you forgive me for what I said this morning? I really understand if you’re still mad. It was an overreaction. Being sensitive about feeling like a broken mess isn’t an excuse for exploding at someone who’s trying to help me. I know you like helping people. Fixing things. It’s something I really… admire about you.”
Derek frowned down at their hands.
“You okay?”
“What you said about me fixing things—” Gus cut in, licking and sniffing the spot where Dylan’s dad had been sitting, looking for crumbs. Derek nudged Gus away.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant… I never want to feel like you need to sugarcoat it with me. I’m not fragile, and I didn’t realize until talking to my dad about stuff… So much of everything I went through with them could’ve been avoided if they’d just been honest with me, and if I told them how I felt too. And that’s not to excuse what they did, but I’m just saying…”
Derek squeezed his hands. “Honesty’s really hard if you’re trying not to make something a big deal. But I’m glad you were honest with your dad…”
“I liked that when I pulled some shit like this morning you were honest with me about it. And threw a pillow at my face.”
“It was between the face and crotch, but since you weren’t wearing your glasses… and also, I have a vested interest in your crotch area.”
Dylan nestled his head into the angle of Derek’s neck. “You don’t know how glad I am to hear you still have a vested interest in my crotch area.”
Derek cringed. “I’m really regretting ever putting it that way.”
“I’m really regretting repeating it.”
Dylan’s phone dinged.
CHASE
The CEO bought you a plane ticket for tonight. They want you onsite NOW leading into the demos because they’ve decided that no one else is competent, and I guess even though you don’t actually work here, you “were impressive” during last night’s shitstorm.
CHASE
Double your typical fees.
Groaning, he held up the text messages to show Derek.
“You want to go, don’t you?” Derek measured him.
“I want to make sure I can help them get everything right so I don’t have nights like last night.”
“You should go then.”
“Okay.” Dylan smiled and then typed out a text. “You know… one of the things about being okay with myself as I am is the ability to acknowledge my weaknesses and ask for help when I do need it.”
“What are you saying?”
“You strike me as the type of hyperorganized person who’s really good at packing for last-minute cross-country trips. Help me?”
“Oh, Dylan Gallagher.” Derek affected a romance movie–esque voice. “I thought you’d never proposition me in such a way.”
Dylan smacked him on the shoulder and then tackled his boyfriend horizontal.
Packing could wait a little while.
Chapter 44
Derek scanned the board at the charge nurse desk. His phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking his concentration. His body had been literally aching for Dylan. He’d been gone for over two weeks, since he’d left early. His flight got in this morning, and the hospital was too short-staffed for Derek to call out. They had talked for hours on the phone most nights and had perfected the unsubtle art of FaceTime sex, but Derek needed him back in his arms. He also needed to stop being a coward and have a conversation he’d been avoiding for weeks. It had been easy to make excuses when Dylan was dealing with stuff with his family or when he was on the other coast, but the excuses stopped tonight.
DYLAN
Making sous vide steak tonight because my brother brought by some meat. How do you like yours again?