Page 85 of A is for Aftercare

“Spectacularly out of date,” Gabe says. “It’s a wonder anyone recognises you.”

“I haven’t changed that much,” I grumble.

“You should tell Archie about the second time you and Hamish met,” Calvin says to Spencer.

“I don’t think that story needs to be told,” I mutter, which probably means Spencer is going to tell it anyway.

“You mean the hospital encounter?” Spencer asks.

Calvin nods.

"Archie disnae want to hear about that," I say in an authoritative tone. Of course, it doesn't help that Archie is the only sub at the table. There's no way any of my friends will pay attention to my tone of voice and shut the fuck up.

Archie gasps. "In thehospital?”

Spencer smirks. “Don’t worry. Hamish wasn’t the patient. The guy he was playing with was.”

I bury my face in my hands. “It was a long time ago.”

“They’d been playing with atoy,and it got stuck,” Spencer says.

“Hewas playing with a toy while I was in the shower,” I correct. “I’dnever do anything so careless.”

“You must have seen some interesting things, working in accident and emergency,” Archie says, thankfully steering the conversation away from me.

"Up people's arses, you mean?" Spencer asks.

Archie chuckles. “Yeah.”

"Sex toys are the most frequent, especially anal plugs that don't have a flanged base to stop them from going too deep. Someone did come in after having tried to use an aubergine as a dildo, though."

Archie gapes at him. “Really?”

“Honest to God. I don’t recommend it. Or beer bottles.” He shakes his head. “Luckily, the bottledidn’tbreak inside my patient’s anus.”

We all wince at the thought.

“And you're a photographer?” Archie asks Calvin.

“Yes. Boudoir shoots mostly, but I do fashion work for a few online companies too.”

“I’m a welder,” Gabe says. “Nothing quite so exciting as these three.”

“Not exciting?” Calvin asks. “What he’s not telling you is that he’s rope trained, so he dangles off tall buildings with a welding gun in his hand for a living.”

“Torch,” Gabe corrects.

"Sorry, darling." Although Calvin's tone is teasing, it's also full of affection. They are together. I hadn't seen that coming at all.

“That sounds dangerous,” Archie says.

“It’s not without its risks,” Gabe agrees. “But we do everything we can to mitigate them.”

“And it pays well,” Calvin says.

"There's that too." Gabe smiles at Archie. "And you're the man who's bringing some much-needed organisation into Hamish's life?"

“Yeah, I guess I am.”