Quit Bein' Ugly (The Southern Gentleman 3)

I’d only seen his coffee made three times before, once by him at his parents’ house for my brother’s and Camryn’s rehearsal dinner, and twice by Raleigh when I was at her house for a birthday or a party of some sort.

I really shouldn’t have paid that much attention, yet I had.

“Not many men like sugar out the ass in their coffee. I remembered when I watched your sister make it for you at your nephew’s first birthday last month,” I lied.

He nodded and took another sip before placing the cup down on the counter in front of him then getting to work on the tape on his shoulder.

When he had it all the way off, he grimaced and left it there for a few long seconds.

“Do you want me to do it?” I questioned.

He nodded pitifully.

“Sure,” he hesitated. “Just do it fast, okay?”

I wouldn’t do it fast.

I didn’t want to accidentally catch a stitch and rip the damn thing out.

But I wouldn’t delay.

I was good with wounds and shit.

I’d always been fascinated by them.

What I was not fascinated by was the man that I had the hots for being the one who was hurting.

That actually sucked quite a bit.

“Okay, let’s do it.” I reached for the edges that he’d freed.

Then, carefully, I pulled it all the way off, being gentle but not stopping until it was free completely.

When I looked at the wound, I grimaced.

It looked angry.

“She said that you needed to watch for it to be hot to the touch, that could indicate infection,” I murmured as I felt around the wound with the palm of my hand. “It feels good, though.”

He grunted out something that didn’t sound happy.

I kept my smile under wraps and went about cleaning it, first the front side, then moving to the back where the exit was.

Once it was all the way clean, I rebandaged it and then went to wash my hands.

“Do you have anything to do today?” he asked curiously.

I looked over my shoulder at him. “No, but yes. At some point I have to go get Danger. I have to go home and shower because I still stink from last night, and I have to go get your other prescriptions from the pharmacy for you.”

He looked at me hopefully. “Any way I can tag along with you and get you to run me by my office for my computer? I thought that I would get to go back today and get it, so I left it there.”

“Of course,” I replied instantly. “As long as you don’t mind me running by to get Danger, that is.”

“I don’t mind,” he admitted.

“Are you up to running by the gym, too?” I asked. “I left all my crap there last night. And I got off for today through Friday for school, but come Monday, I have to go back to my troublemakers.”

He grimaced. “I don’t understand why you continue to stay with that class.”

I went to the fridge and glanced inside, seeing nothing but healthy meals.

“I guess because I don’t want to be that teacher who thinks that they’re irredeemable,” I admitted. “I don’t want them to think that I can be pushed away easily, either.”

“What are you looking so hard for in there?” he asked curiously.

I turned around and looked at him after closing the fridge door.

“I’m looking for something that’s not healthy,” I admitted. “After yesterday, I need something that has carbs in it.”

He grinned.

“I have a stash of candy bars above the stove.” He paused. “But they’re dark chocolate, so not as bad as they could be.”

I grimaced. “I don’t have any at my house. We started that eight hundred gram challenge a couple of days ago, and it was my stupid idea. I need to be eating the veggies and fruits, but I’d rather carve out my own eyeball with a spoon.”

“Gruesome,” he chuckled. “And the eight hundred gram challenge is a good idea. It went over well last time we did it at the gym.”

The eight hundred gram challenge was simple. Every day, you tried to get eight hundred grams of fruits and veggies. That simple.

Well, simple in thought, not so simple in execution.

“Do you ever get eight hundred grams?” I asked curiously.

He shook his head. “Nope. I’ve tried, but I don’t eat enough. When I do have time to eat, it’s enough to get my protein and carbs in to fuel my workouts and my day. I get about five hundred, though, if I put my mind to it.”

I was the same.

I looked at my watch. “I need to get a shower before we go. Do you need anything before I leave?”

“You’re going home to eat, aren’t you?” he asked.

My lips tipped up at the corners.

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“Can I go with you?” he requested. “For some reason, nothing healthy sounds all that good to me, either.”