“I can’t have that on my eyes,” he said, his voice cracking.

I grabbed the towel from the floor and he sat up.

“Sorry—” he began.

I shook my head, lifting my hands up. “It’s okay. I should have asked . . .”

He was recently back from a deployment, and I wondered if his reaction was related to that, or if he simply didn’t like his eyes being covered. Maybe the towel was too hot? The list of things Kael didn’t like was building. The smell of peppermint, his lower body being massaged, towels covering his eyes . . .

His eyes were wide, his hands were gripping the sides of the table. “If you want to stop, it’s okay. I’m really sorry that—”

He shook his head and unwrapped his fingers, one by one, from the table’s edge. He let out a breath and closed his eyes.

Seconds later, I almost asked him what sounded good for dinner. I thought about telling him how I convinced Mali to let me choose my own music for the treatment room—and how much I loved the Beyoncé song that was playing. Should I ask him if he liked the smell of the caramel cake candle that filled the room? Something about him made me want to speak. All the time. I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Only two minutes had gone by since I’d had him roll over. Fuck my life, time was going so slowly. It was unprofessional to talk a client’s ear off without them talking first. I repeated that to myself a few times.

“Everything good?” I asked finally. The words were practically bursting out of my mouth.

He nodded. “How’s your brother?” His question surprised me.

“I don’t know. I thought he’d come to my house as soon as he arrived to Benning, but I guess not,” I said. “He’s asleep at my dad’s now. My dad’s the one who told me that. I still haven’t gotten to talk to Austin alone. It’s so frustrating. He must have really fucked up. Otherwise, he would have called me by now. I can’t even believe he’s staying with our dad. Like what the hell?”

Kael kept his eyes closed. I was kneading my fists down his shoulders and arms. His eyes clenched shut.

“Sorry, that’s a longer answer than you probably wanted. I seem to do that a lot.” I laughed, but it sounded so fake. Probably because it was. I realized I had said too much, and really should be protecting my brother from a stranger’s judgment.

Kael’s eyes opened for a second and he leaned his head up, forcing eye contact. “It’s fine. I don’t mind it.”