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“Can I look in yours now?” I’ my wits The threshold to his apartment is where I left my sanity I sip the tea It is like nectar

“Now, Shortcake We’re going to do so a bit unusual”

He un an old rerun of ER like we do this every night I sit with a pounding heart and try to concentrate Hey, this is no big deal I’ on Joshua Templeman’s couch

I roll my head to the side and stare at hiery scenes and ward conflicts reflected in his eyes

“A you?”

“No,” he replies absently “I’m used to it”

We are not normal The minutes tick past and he drinks his coffee and I continue to stare He’s got a shading of stubble I don’t see during working hours My chest is tight with anxiety My body and brain are conditioned for combat whenever I’m in his immediate radius When he looks over, I jerk back He puts his hand between us on the couch, palm up, and then looks back at the TV

It’s like he’s put out a dish of seed and is now sitting very still, waiting for the cowardly little chicken to make a move And it does take ers into mine For a scary ins to glow into ives me a deep, delicious squeeze He lays our joined hands back down, picks up hiswith his other hand, and nods at the screen

“I watch medical dramas to spite my dad They drive him insane You could never have this on in their house”

“Why? Are they inaccurate?” I’ other than this strange hand-related development

“Oh, yeah They’re complete fiction”

“I prefer Law and Order I love when a restaurant worker finds a body in a Dumpster”

“Or a dog walker in Central Park” He gestures at the screen with his coffee “That so-called doctor isn’t even wearing gloves” He scowls at the screen like he is offended to his core

The art of holding hands is underrated and it’s e how much this simple act has ertips reach across the backs of my hands to my wrist

Large men have always intimidated me When I mentally line up my ex-boyfriends, they’ve all been definitely on the jockey end of the scale Easier to deal with More of an evennext to now