“You’re just scared of needles,” she whispers. It’s the first time I’ve seen her face genuinely soften since we had sex.
“That too.” My lips twitch. “I need you to hold my hand.”
“Christ, you two, I think I’m going to be sick again. Although knowing that Reed Saddington is afraid of needles makes my day,” Brance calls over his shoulder as he leaves.
I turn to the guy in scrubs. Shit, he looks nervous. I smile, trying to calm the guy. I mean he is going to be putting a needle in my arm.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Tess’s manners break the awkward moment.
“No… No, I’m fine. He glances around Brance’s ridiculous fortress. The white walls make me nervous. I can only imagine what this guy is thinking.
“So, where do you want me?” I want this done. I hate needles. When we were kids, my mom always had to bring Tess whenever I got a shot; otherwise, I caused a scene.
“Uh, well, wherever is comfortable. I need to draw blood. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?”
“I had coffee and a banana.”
“That’s fine. So, I need a urine sample, and I’ll draw your blood. Dr. Miller will get the results and call you in a couple hours.” He smiles reassuringly. I fight the urge to laugh because this is so stupid but I guess necessary.
“Wow, that is so quick.” Tess caresses my arm as she holds my hand.
“This is my girlfriend Tess.”
“Hi.” The guy is flustered. He barely looks at her as he writes something on the plastic cup he wants me to pee in.
“And you are?”
“Um, yeah… I’m Steve. Sorry.” He looks around like he’s sure someone is going to come around the corner and gun him down. Can’t say I blame him. If our positions were reversed, I would probably hesitate to give my name too.
“My girlfriend has some questions for you. Tess, fire away.”
She smiles at him, obviously trying to put him at ease too.
“So, if he is clean, that means I have nothing to worry about?” Her new attitude is different. I love it.
Steve clears his throat. “Well, yeah, if all the tests are negative, you should be fine. If you’re worried about it, he can get retested in six months.”
Holding up my hand, I say, “We’re fine. Let’s do this. I’m hungry.”
He gets prepared, and Tess watches as he ties the band around my bicep. “You have great veins. Makes my job easy.” A nervous laugh escapes him.
I look at Tess who’s biting her lip as she looks at me. I’ll give Steve credit—he knows what he’s doing, and I barely feel the needle prick. Tess moves closer. I lean into her as she runs her hand through my hair.
Steve clears his throat again. I wonder if it’s a nervous tick
“So… that’s done. Now take this, urinate in it, and I will be out of your way. Unless you have any more questions?”
“No, thank you. You’ve been great.” Tess smiles at him.
He blinks, clears his throat, and looks at his feet for a moment. I can’t help but chuckle.
“Steve?” His eyes pop over to me.
“The cup?”
“Oh, geez… I’m sorry. Here.” He shoves it at me.
“Thanks.” Making my way down the hall, I pee quickly and send him on his way.
I turn to Tess. “Pack some stuff. We can come back for the rest in a couple days.”
Surprisingly she doesn’t fight me. She walks to her room and returns with a bag. Brance is leaning against the wall as we leave.
“Call me, Pretty Girl.”
“Love you.”
I roll my eyes as they do their hug thing.
“Christ, you two, enough. I’m not taking her to China. We’ll be at the Saint Regis,” I say, grabbing her hand and bag.
“Reed,” she says with a hiss, “I swear to God, you can’t boss me around like that. I’m not Lexi!”
“Don’t.” The blood pumps in my head. She needs to let this shit go. So I take it out on the poor elevator button.
She doesn’t speak, but her energy says it all. We glare at each other in the elevator as it glides down to the concrete hole Brance calls his garage. I wait as she slowly sinks into the seat of my Ferrari.
I’m exhausted. The last three years have caught up with me at last.
My fingers grip the steering wheel. “I want to show you the apartment. How hungry are you?”
“I’m fine, but you’re not. We should stop and eat.” She’s right. Food would help immensely.
I reach for