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"Yeah, well, it’s e have to do right now Dad’s treat his house payment back in Sydney and he can’t touch his retirement from the Oilers until he turns sixty-five Plus I still have student loans and there are some incidental medications that aren’t covered by insurance, so it’s necessary right now"

"Do youwhat you make here?" Hawke asks, and while that’s a deeply personal question to ask an acquaintance, I suppose our historybecause it doesn’t botherhoym, but that’s coht now"

Hawke is silent as he pops open a bag of chips He’d finished his sandwich, but that was always the way Hawke ate, one thing on his plate at a ti, despite the fact I used to remind him often that it would do so in his stomach

"Do you need so his eyes fro me in place

"Financial help?" I practically squeak out in surprise

"Yeah… I make considerably more than forty-one thousand dollars and I don’tto help…uative before he can even finish his sentence "No, thanks We’re good"

"Then how about takingHe waves it in a circle in front of his face with an i"

"That’s part of the job I already get paid for," I remind him with a stern look "If you want to schedule some time with me each week, we can do that"

"But I don’t like the equipyyive me money when I don’t want to take it fro soardless of this new truce, there’s still unspoken anger on my part as well I sure as shit cut him loose, but he sure as shit turned his back on me when I reached out to him I don’t want any handouts from him, now or ever, because in the back of uilt driven

"Okay," he says with both hands raised up defensively "But "

"That’s fine," I say curtly before wiping et soment and pops another chip into his mouth I ball up my napkin, throw it on the remains of my unfinished tuna salad, and stand up froht, picking it up fro, perhaps to counter et those extra calories

"Sure," he says with a grin, and reaches out to take it froer touches the end of hbitch," I scream out as I jerk my hand away from the bathroom vanity drahere I had just slah our tiny apart closer until Hawke bursts in the bathroo ?" he asks as his panicked eyes rove all overout

"My thumb," I whine as I hold it out for him to inspect It’s red on the tip and throbs like a bitch "I slaust of relieved breath and ave le and try to look apologetic "Sorry But it hurt, and that was just a little reflexive curse that popped out"

Hawke takes my hand, lifts it up to examine the end of my thumb, and then bends down to press a kiss on the tip "That wasn’t a little curse that popped out You screa ready to slice you to bits"

"And you burst in to save me," I say as I step in closer to hi ain Except this tiue flicks out and licks the end, while his other hand coe ofI could do to you to take your mind off this little thumb injury"

I release the cookie and jerk backward froaze quickly, but not before I see his eyebrows knit together in confusion Grabbing my tray, I kick the chair back in toward the table androom I’ll catch you later"

"Later," he says softly, but I don’t look back at him

Chapter 7

Hawke

I place the last stack of plates onto the shelf and shut the cabinet The kitchen is now officially unpacked I look around wearily at the e tape scattered all over It all needs to be cleaned up and I still have et done today because I e football It’s opening gaet nor fully appreciate the sport, it’s what guys do when they hang out together