“Woah, you, okay?” Shaking my head, “I don’t know. That hurt when you touched my hip,” pulling up my shirt. There was a bruise from my ribs to under the waistband of my sweats, pushing my pants down a little. I couldn't see where it ended without being indecent.
Aaron stared at my stomach and swallowed hard. He reached to touch the spot, and I silently wished for his hand to contact my flesh, pulling away before touching me.
“I’m going to call someone to come look at you.” It wasn’t even a request. It was simply a statement.
He spoke on the phone for a few minutes and then turned to me. “Hey, how do I tell your concierge that a doctor is coming? He should be here in a few minutes to look you over. He was just up the street.”
He sat down and shook his head. “You’ve done a number to yourself, haven’t you?”
“I feel like I kicked my ass.” I got a genuine smirk with that one, which made me more determined to bring a smile out of him. I bet when he smiled, it lit up the room.
He stood up and handed me Charlie. “I’ll be right back.” Watching him go to the back of the house, he returned with his backpack. How did he even know you could get to the bedroom that way?
Cradling Charlie, I put my phone on speaker when it rang. “Mr. Barallo. Dr. Kavalski is here to see you.” Gary said in his sing-song way.
“Send him up, please,” Aaron said before I could answer. He turned to look at me like he was expecting me to challenge him.
Chapter six
Aaron
Dr. Kavalski had been my doctor for about ten years. Having him on call for my guys was not only appreciated but efficient.
The elevator doors opened. “Aaron!!! You glorious bastard!” My friend and the most incredible doctor I know walked into the apartment and hugged me. “Is this the man here that needs some repair?” He looked over at River, who was more interested in his dragon than anything we said.
“Yeah, he has some nasty head wounds and a wicked bruise on his hip.”
“Can I ask what happened?” He looked at River.
“Hey River, tell the Doc here how you ended up with bumps and bruises?” He looked up at us.
“I suppose saying I tripped won’t give you the answers you want.”
“No,” we said in unison.
It was clear that River didn’t want to tell this story. My curiosity was getting the best of me. He was uncomfortable, which made him look pretty cute. He took a deep breath. “Charlie and I were getting acquainted with some water and grapes. Everything was going great until he sneezed, which startled me. I knocked over the water glass and plate.”
“That doesn't sound so bad.” Dr. K said.
“Thisis where it all turned sideways. I grabbed for the glass, scaring Charlie. Flying across the room, he hit the wet bar, which knocked those glasses on the floor, breaking them. Yelling because I was afraid he would cut himself panicked him more.” I was doing everything I could not to start laughing.
Dr. K wasn’t so kind. “Have you ever had a pet son? No common sense in you, is there?” I put my head down and pinched the bridge of my nose. River’s ears were pink when I looked up, and he was looking down, clearly embarrassed. “Well, go on then, so far, you scaring the poor dragon doesn’t explain your shape.”
Not looking up, River continued his story. “When I approached Charlie after he hit the wet bar, I stepped on a piece of glass. Charlie was safely on the kitchen counter by now. Sitting down, I pulled the glass from my foot. Charlie made a snorting noise. A small tendril of smoke rose from his nostril, and the paper towels burned beside him. Trying not to burn down the apartment, I lunged towards the flames.” He had looked down again, drawing himself up, clearly uncomfortable. “Charlie was now on his third round of panic, heading to my bedroom to hide. While trying to stop the fire, I slid headfirst into the cabinets since blood on tile is one of the most slippery surfaces on earth. Then, while trying not to fall, I grabbed what I thought was the counter. It wasn’t the counter. It was a blueberry pie. Losing my balance again, I fell hard, landing on my back.”
“Oh boy.” Dr. K’s eyes were twinkling, and his lips were twitching upward. I managed to contain myself, and it was getting more and more difficult, however.
“There’s more.” He spoke it so softly that I barely heard him. “I knew someone was coming up from the lobby. Wanting to make a good impression, I willed myself to get up. I immediately learned that the only thing more slippery than blood on the tile is blood and piefilling on the tile. I then fell a second time, landing hard on my hip, slamming my head on the floor again, and whacking other parts of me on cabinetry. So, that’s how I ended up with mybumps and bruises. Aaron stepped over me a few minutes after my second fall.”
“Stepped over you?” Dr. K looked at me. I shrugged, raising an eyebrow.
Dr. K started laughing loudly and hard. “That little fellow,” he pointed to Charlie, “really stirred things up for you, didn’t he?” That was it. I tried to look casual as I turned around. If River looked at me, I am sure he could see my shoulders shaking as I chuckled. I knew thinking it was funny was wrong. The man could tell a story, though.
I felt terrible for River and Charlie. The whole thing was traumatizing. Turning back towards them, I bit my tongue to keep my composure. Doc, however, could have been more kind.
“Holy fuck, kid. You’re lucky to be alive. That wee pup nearly did you in. What does he weigh four pounds? Imagine if he were an adult, we’d have to call the coroner.” Then I lost it. I started to laugh. It was from deep inside. It felt good because I hadn’t genuinely laughed in a long time. Putting my hands on my knees, I started to gasp for air.
River looked at us, not appreciating our mirth. “Come on. How many people can say they got beat by something so small?” Doc was ruthless and started to laugh again. River smiled, and then I heard a sound that went straight to my dick and soul.
