Starting From Somewhere (Starting From 4)

“Shh. You’re okay. And I’m here. I’ll help you.”

“You don’t have to stay. This is hell.” I sighed dramatically.

Cody chuckled softly. “Not quite. Why don’t I fill out the paperwork for you? I don’t think they ask anything too personal.”

I passed over the forms, sucking in a deep breath, then releasing it slowly. “Go for it.”

“How many years of college did you complete?”

“A lot.”

“Okay. I’ll guess. Occupation…” He lifted a brow. “Rock star?”

“That works.” I drummed my fingers on the armrest and chewed on the inside of my mouth.

Cody slipped his palm beneath mine and linked our fingers with his free hand. “Chief medical complaint?”

“I can’t fuckin’ see.”

He snickered. “Any previous surgeries?”

“No. Well, not true. I broke my arm pretty badly when I was seven. I fell off a slide and jammed my elbow so hard, it popped through my skin and—”

He put his hand over my mouth. “Got it. That’s a bit graphic, and I don’t think that’s relevant to your eyesight. Let’s skip to fitness. How many times a week do you exercise?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like to go to the gym, but I like to eat, so I try to do something every day. Nothing crazy. How about you? What’s your favorite kind of exercise? And before you tell me this isn’t about you, humor me…talking to you relaxes me.”

Cody smiled. “Okay. My favorite is…”

“Sex?”

“You’re incorrigible, but yes, sex is definitely number one. Um, the last few are about alcohol and tobacco intake. Are you a light, moderate, or heavy drinker?”

“Light to moderate. You?”

“Light to nonexistent.”

I chuckled. “I knew that about you. Here, hand that over. I’m gonna ask you the rest of these questions.”

“There’s only a few, and they’re about drugs. The answer for me is no. I’ve never done any, and I don’t intend to try,” he replied primly.

“What about weed? Something tells me it might be good for you to get high,” I teased.

He shook his head vehemently. “No, I couldn’t chance it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” He pulled out his cell and settled into his chair.

I’d been dismissed. I stared at his profile for a long moment.

“Cody…”

“Don’t forget to sign your name,” he said, tapping at the last page of the forms without looking up. “You can give it to the receptionist and check out the glasses on display while you’re at it.”

I wanted to ask a few dozen questions to crack the shell he’d suddenly put around himself, but I obeyed. I handed over the clipboard, stopping to gather a few frames before flopping gracelessly beside him again.

“What do you think of these?”

Cody did a double take, then burst into laughter. “They’re perfect.”

“Are you laughing at me or with me? I can’t tell.”

I moved to the nearby display case and checked my reflection. The ginormous red, round frames almost covered half my face. I looked fucking ridiculous, but he was smiling again, and that was all that mattered.

Cody sidled next to me and peered over my shoulder. “Perhaps they’re a bit too much of a statement. How about these?”

The tiny tortoise frames ignited another bout of hysteria. The kids looked up from their iPads, and the old folks spared us a curious glance. I didn’t care. I would have happily tried on every pair of glasses in my damn underwear if that was all it took to chase away his demons and make him smile. I set a stylish pair of green eyewear on his nose and kissed it.

“These are nice on you. They go with your eyes.”

He snort-laughed. “Thanks. I think.”

I returned the frames to their case, then captured his face in my hands and planted a swift kiss on his lips before lowering my voice in a faux-serious tone. “Listen, they’re gonna call my name soon and I might never return, so—”

“Oh, brother.”

“Tell me why you got upset. I want to know, so I don’t accidentally do it again. Something about drugs. What was it?”

Cody’s eyes looked suspiciously wet. He blinked them furiously and bit his bottom lip. “My brother almost died of a drug overdose. He still struggles and…it’s hard on everyone. My sister and I do a lot of overachieving to compensate. That’s not healthy either. Of course, no one discusses it in my family, which makes the situation ten kinds of awkward and…let’s just say holidays at the Fletcher house aren’t always fun.”

“Hmm. Well, overachieving and under-communicating is just another thing we have in common.” I kissed him again. “Let’s make a pact not to do that with each other. Okay?”

“Okay. You know people can see us.” Cody sighed dreamily when I caressed his cheek.

“Don’t care. Dry your eyes, pretty boy. I’ll—”

“Robert Prescott?” someone called.

Cody gave me an encouraging smile. “Go on. You’ve got this.”

I lifted his hand to my lips. “I know. See you soon.”

Okay…my visit with the optometrist wasn’t that bad. Even though my vision was shit, it was a relatively painless experience. Seeing a doctor who dealt with other body parts might be another story, but I’d deal with that when the time came.