Whispered Desires

Chapter 24: Guy Talk

KILIAN

I've never been a man of many words.

I've never been a man of any words, frankly.

Flirting? Yeah, I can do that. Dirty talk? Fuck yeah, I can do that. Strategizing the next move on the field? Absolutely.

Being alone with my thoughts for several days on end? No. Fuck that. I'm a man of action, impulse, and drive.

At least I was.

"Dude, what the hell is this?" Hayden comes back from the kitchen with my tablet dispenser in his hands. "Why is this still full to the brim?"

I take a sip of my beer, watching how he places a new one in front of me and then plops on the armchair to my right. "I stopped taking them a few days ago," I explain.

"Why? These are important."

"They're just painkillers, man. I took them for a week, that's more than enough. I still take the antibiotics, don't worry." I shrug, snatching the dispenser from his fingers and throwing it on the couch table. "You know why I don't like this stuff."

"Just because your mother couldn't stop taking them doesn't mean you won't be able to either, you know. You're much stronger than her."

"Yeah." I shrug. "I know. That's why I stopped."

He sighs in response, the discomfort visible on his features when he gets up again, disappearing into the kitchen. It only takes a moment for him to come back, now carrying a beer for himself.

"I thought you didn't drink with Mila being pregnant and all?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. I have a feeling my best friend doesn't want to drink alone the entire evening. I can sleep on the couch for once." He winks, but his statement makes me laugh out loud.

"Bro, who the fuck are you kidding? You hate sleeping without your wife."

Hayden regards me for a moment, the way he narrows his eyes telling me he has something else on his mind. "True. But stop talking about me, man. I've been here an hour and you haven't told me how you are yet."

I groan, opening the full bottle of beer in front of me with the edge of my crutch. "Because I don't know, brother. I just don't know."

"Well, what do you know?"

"I know I want to play football." The answer shoots out of me without hesitation. Not that I'm surprised; this is all I've been thinking about. Well, this, and the fiery redhead living with me. "And I'm horny as hell," I add.

He laughs at my words, and even though every inch of my body aches, I join right in. "How's that going?" he asks. "Living with Jas, I mean."

"Torture." I groan. "Literal torture. The woman doesn't stop calling me out, and then she runs around looking like she does... Do you know how hard it is to watch her shimmy around this fucking apartment all day while I sit here with a raging boner in my pants? I can't even do shit about it!"

Hayden snorts in response, almost spitting out his beer as he shakes his head in amusement. "Nope. Haven't experienced that yet. What's it like?"

"Fuck you." I flick a coaster at him. "I'm not only trapped in this apartment, I'm also trapped in this fucking prison she built in my head."

"She built what now?" My best friend has a hard time suppressing the smile on his face, but I ignore him.

"A prison. Like, in my brain."