Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

up, sitting in the chair by the bed to tie his shoes. "He assigned a new nurse to me."
    "Why?"
    "Not sure." Gabe took his time with the laces, avoiding his friend's questioning stare—he could feel Eric's eyes on him, even without looking at him.
    "Bullshit. What did you do?"
    "Me?" He glanced up at Eric and pointed a finger at his chest. "Why would you think it was me?"
    Eric laughed. "Because I know you, and Lucas is a sweet kid. By the way you looked at him, I was pretty sure you liked him too." He sat down on the bed. "What happened? I was hoping you two would hit it off or some shit."
    He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Eric wanted him to hook up with Lucas? "He's too young for me." He said the first thing that popped into his mind.
    "Once again I call bullshit." Eric ran a hand through his hair. "Aren't you sick of being alone?"
    "I'm not alone. I got you and Anna and the boys."
    "You know what I mean. You've lived here for the last three years and you haven't had one single relationship. What gives?"
    "Nothing." Gabe didn't want to discuss his love life with Eric. He appreciated that he accepted him being gay, but he didn't need to divulge any facts about his relationships or lack thereof. "Can we please talk about something else?"
    Eric let the subject of Lucas die. Gabe didn't want to think about how he'd screwed up any chance to be with the nurse, but it was for the best. No good could come from a quick hook-up with the gorgeous man. Lucas would just break his heart, like Colby did. It wasn't fair to judge Lucas by what his ex-boyfriend had done, but Gabe wasn't taking any chances.
    "Excuse me, gentlemen," the nurse interrupted. "Detective Edgerton, what will it take to get you into this wheelchair?"
    Gabe shook his head. "I don't need a wheelchair. Really, I'm fine." He was still a little achy, but he'd be damned if he got rolled out of his room. His legs worked perfectly fine and he was walking out of this hospital on his own two feet.
    Before the nurse could get the chance to debate the matter with him, Eric spoke up. "Connie, don't worry about Gabe here. I'll wheel him out."
    Gabe narrowed his eyes at Eric.
    "If he argues with me I'll just shoot him in the leg." Eric chuckled.
    "All righty then, he's your problem now." Connie put the brake on the chair and left the room.
    "What the hell, man?" He stood up and grabbed his back as he headed for the door.
    "Just get in the fucking chair. I'll be your personal chauffeur—" Eric looked down at his watch, "—for the next five minutes. So don't bother arguing with me, just get your ass in the chair so we can get out of here."
    "Fine." He huffed out. He wasn't in the mood to fight over something so little with his friend.
    "You know, Gabe—" Eric grabbed his bag from his grip and threw the strap over his shoulder, carrying it out of the room, "—I'm not going to pretend to understand what you're going through. But I can tell that you're lonely, and all I'm saying is why not get to know Lucas a little better? If anything, you guys can become friends."
    Gabe tapped his fingers in a steady beat on the arm rest of the wheelchair. He was annoyed with Eric for butting into his personal life. Eric couldn't understand all the loss and hurt he he'd experienced over the years. He was happily married, with kids. As they rounded the corner, he saw Lucas leaning against the counter, his back to him. He held up his hand to stop Eric from continuing forward. "Let's take the stairs."
    "Are you fucking crazy? You must be if you think I'm pushing you down two flights of stairs in this thing." Eric started to laugh when he noticed why Gabe didn't want to go near the elevators. "Oh Gabe, my boy, it's Fate. Go on and apologize to the guy. You know you want to. Look how cute he is, standing there."
    Gabe snapped his head to the side at Eric's comment. His teeth ground together and he took a small step toward his friend.
    "Hey, I was just fucking with you." Eric held his hands up in surrender. "But one would have to wonder if you didn't like Lucas, why would you care if I thought he was cute?"
    His head rolled back on his shoulders and he silently counted to ten. Looking back at Lucas, then to Eric, he cursed silently under his breath. "Fine."
    Gabe stood up slowly, rubbing his side as a jolt of pain hit him with every step he took. The walk felt like it took an eternity. Part of him was excited, the other part nervous. He had to admit he was attracted to the younger man