Page 5 of Fall for Him

Derek tried to make his voice less assholey. “I’ll bandage this for now, but you probably need to go get stitches.”

“Can’t we just pour peroxide on it or something?”

“No. Do not do that. Ever. It does more harm than good. It’s clean now. But it’s going to keep opening—”

“It’ll be fine.” Gallagher pursed his lips. “I’ve had worse.”

“Yet he still faints.” The sarcasm kept popping out without permission.

“Remember that whole asking you not to be a dick about it thing?”

“Remember that whole falling through my ceiling at two A.M. thing?”

“Are you going to let me fix your apartment or not?” The patterns of black ink streaking across Gallagher’s chest and shoulders flexed.

Yanking his eyes back to where they were supposed to be, Derek taped the edge of gauze into place and then snapped his gloves into the trash. “You can try. I am going to take you up on the place to sleep though, because if Gus doesn’t sleep on a bed, he’s stiff the next day.” At the sound of his name, Gus lumbered in and stared at Dylan.

“Whoa wait, I offered the bed to you, not a dog.”

“This dog is the only reason I’m not calling your uncle right now about the flood. If you can actually fix this and somehow pay for it, then fine. I’ll keep it quiet. If you mess it up, you’re going to have to get a professional to fix it.” Derek couldn’t afford to pay the $2,500 insurance deductible right now anyway. If Gallagher was right and there was a bigger issue, insurance might refuse to pay.

“Fine. The dog can use the bed too. Whatever.” He studied Gus, whose tongue had lolled out. “It doesn’t… shit the bed or—”

“No. I don’t sleep next to an animal who shits the bed.” Derek rolled his eyes.

Gallagher lifted his hands defensively. “I mean, you said he’s old. Just asking. I might have some of my niece’s diapers around, but I’m not sure they’d fit him.”

Two steps into the hallway, Gallagher stopped so abruptly Derek’s bare chest smacked into his tattooed back and his crotch collided with Dylan’s surprisingly firm ass. To stop himself from accidentally tackling the guy, Derek’s hand reached around, a palm bracing against Gallagher’s stomach while the other grabbed on to the wall.

Gallagher twisted away as if contact with Derek’s skin was painful. “Christ, can you put some clothes on or something?”

“You’re the one who… ah… okay. Sorry about that.” Derek probably could have stopped the cocky smile from spreading on his face. But he didn’t.

The look on Gallagher’s face was the same one he got from men catching themselves checking out Derek’s body in locker rooms when they thought he wasn’t looking. Since his rather momentous ascent to the sunnier side of puberty, Derek had never been shy. Olive might call him a smug asshole for it, but Derek had spent years working on this body, and he could damn well enjoy it when his hard work was appreciated.

“Something about me making you uncomfortable, Gallagher? I was just trying not to knock you over.”

“No, ughhh, I just… like… whatever. Ugh.” Dylan dragged his hand through his hair, flicking drywall bits in every direction. “Right. So I just remembered… I keep my keys on a hook by the door, so I don’t forget them. I don’t have them. Think the chain’s locked too.”

Shit. Well, there went Derek’s remaining time to sleep.

“Who has an extra key?”

Dylan frowned. His face looked younger without the glasses even though Derek knew he was also in his midthirties. “I think the woman living above my unit does, maybe? Uncle Sean said she has extra keys for most of the units because her sister—”

Derek shook his head. “We’re not going to knock on Carol Taylor’s door at two A.M.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s probably sleeping in a coffin after drinking the blood of her enemies.”

“Huh?”

“Anyone else?”

“My sister, but…” He shook his head. “She’s got exams this week. I’m not waking her up.”

“Well, then I guess Gus’s sleeping on the couch. I’ll be on the pillows. You can take the floor.”

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