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“I’m g-good. Th-thanks, Carol.” Derek’s attention narrowed in on Gallagher’s face. If he looked anywhere else, his composure would crumble. He braced a hand on the bag of food pressed between them. He had planned on turning so that he could maneuver the food between his back and the wall, but something about watching Dylan Gallagher try not to laugh stopped him. His glasses had slid an inch down his nose.
“Olive was right about your eyes,” Derek said before he realized that it was a weird thing to say.
Carol’s car sped away from the curb, but neither man moved.
Gallagher’s expression softened. “What about my eyes?”
A husky voice broke the silence. “Well… well… well. Been watching this from across the street waiting for Crocs lady to leave. She scares me.”
Derek pulled away from Gallagher. “Oh hey. Um… so…”
“Hey there, both of you.” Hudson shook Dylan’s hand and winked at him. “Hudson Gregory.” Hudson’s blond curly hair was still shower damp and his light-green hospital surgical scrubs were as tight as usual. “I’d been kidding when I’d said we should invite your cute little neighbor down next time, but I’m definitely down. If you know what I mean?” Hudson’s eyebrow made a suggestive motion astronauts on the Space Station could probably see and interpret.
“What?” Dylan gaped.
Mortified, Derek stepped away from Gallagher, hoping the ground would open and swallow him whole. The dog food slipped. Derek and Gallagher attempted to catch it at the same time, heads knocking painfully. Dylan grabbed the bag and held it to his chest like a shield. His blue eyes coolly assessed Hudson, taking in everything on display through the thin tightness of Hudson’s scrub pants.
Hudson smiled genially. His slightly clueless niceness was grating in a way it never had been before. Maybe it was because Hudson had just casually implied that he and Derek had once discussed inviting Gallagher (a complete goddamn stranger to Hudson) into a threesome… but who could say?
Hudson smacked Derek playfully on the ass and then checked his watch. “Sorry I’m a little earlier than usual.”
Dylan stood rigid, arms still locked around the dog food.
Hudson’s movie-star smile turned confused as he did a similar up and down of Dylan. He pointed to Dylan’s toolbelt, respirator, and safety glasses. “Is this a costume thing? You should’ve told me, Derek. I can do costumes. Derek knows. Don’t you?”
Derek had shriveled into a husk of his former self.
“Uh… no… just, no.” Dylan clutched the bag of dog food tighter. “I’m just helping Derek—uh—with some renovation work around the apartment…”
“Oh… that makes more sense then. Guess I got the wrong idea from the little sidewalk snuggle. No biggie.” Hudson had never been afflicted by petty things like shame. He turned back to Derek. “I know we didn’t make a definite plan for tonight, but you said you were off like usual, so I thought I’d stop by—”
“Right… okay.” Gallagher pointed to the sidewalk that led to the door to his uncle’s apartment. “I’ll just take this to Gus.”
“I’ll be up in a—”
“No need to rush on my account.” Gallagher shrugged and walked away.
Derek couldn’t focus on anything else as Gallagher went around the corner.
“You okay, man?”
He’d forgotten Hudson was there for a second. “Oh… Hey, sorry. I’m actually having an apartment crisis right now. Everything’s demolished. I’m actually staying with…”
Hudson smirked. “You know when you said ‘not in a million years’ would you want to have a hookup or a threesome with that guy, I don’t think I fully understood what you meant. I thought you meant he wasn’t your type, but…” A knowing nod. “I think I get it now. Good for you, dude.”
“Huh?”
“Call me if you ever want to hang out again.” He clapped a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Good luck, man. Dylan seems like a really nice guy.”
“Sure, I—well, it’s just that…”
“Don’t worry.” Hudson shook his head. “We’ve had fun. I’ve always known what this was. No hard feelings, bro.” He checked his watch. He was probably on call later tonight. Derek’s proximity to the hospital was part of what had made it easy to fall into the situationship with the surgeon in the first place. He’d completely forgotten Hudson was coming back into town this week. Hudson gave Derek’s arm a final squeeze before reshouldering his gym bag and heading in the direction of the hospital. Instead of watching him go as Derek might usually have done, his attention returned to the spot where Gallagher had disappeared.
Derek’s nights with men had established expectations. As a rule, Derek prided himself on his communication skills. He was always ready to spell out what he wanted. He was clear with what he was offering. Yes, Derek was a cocky bastard, but everyone left satisfied. No one got hurt. No one ever got hurt because it wasn’t about deeper feelings.
A small voice that sounded like Olive’s whispered in his brain—DEREK never got hurt.
Irritation brimmed at the edges of his consciousness. He just didn’t really understand who he was irritated with.