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luxury.
    Jason downed the pills in one big gulp of water and then handed both the cup and water glass back to his nurse. He refused to open his mouth to show that he had indeed swallowed the pills. He had to maintain whatever shred of dignity he could. He looked at her expectantly, knowing this was the time of day she ran over her schedule for him. He didn’t know why she bothered. It was always the same.
    “Excellent,” she said. She glanced at her watch. “Well, then, I guess I’ll go get those errands done and I’ll be back later this afternoon to check in on you. And then. . .”
    Jason tuned her out. He was actually getting quite good at it. And thank goodness too, because without this little talent, he would have broken his deal with Megan long ago. Besides, the woman said the same thing each morning. She would check on him that afternoon, help him off to PT, then be here when he got back, check on him again and then mercifully would leave for the day.
    He wondered if she felt the need to repeat herself around him because of his brain injury. This, of course, incensed him because he wasn’t an idiot. And even if he were, he still didn’t need the woman to constantly repeat herself around him.
    He sensed that she was done, so he did what he always did, smile wanly and nod. “Thank you.”
    “See you in a while then,” Ms. Clark said. “Good-bye Mr. Adams.”
    “See you,” said Tyler, not even glancing up.
    When Ms. Clark finally left, he let out a heavy sigh and turned to Tyler. “You know, if you helped me, Megan would never have to know.”
    Tyler laughed. “I don’t know, man. Megan’s really smart.” Tyler shot him a sympathetic look. “Besides, you get your cast off soon, right?” He nodded. “Maybe by then Megan will agree to ax the nurse idea.”
    “You think?”
    “It’s possible.”
    “Somehow, I doubt that.” He looked at Tyler, unable to let go of the idea of him and Megan together. He knew he should leave that topic alone but he couldn’t. “Let me ask you something, man.”
    “Sure.”
    “How long have you known Megan?”
    “A long time,” Tyler answered. “We go back to when we were kids. Why?”
    He shrugged. “I’m just curious.” He indicated his head. “Trying to fill in the blanks you know?”
    Tyler nodded. “Don’t force it too much. It’ll come, man.”
    “And you and Megan, did you guys ever hook up?” he asked casually. Now it was Tyler’s turn to choke on his coffee. “Dude, you okay?”
    Tyler gasped for breath, his face red. “Shit.” He furrowed his brow at Jason. “If you’re going to ask me something like that, make sure I don’t have anything in my mouth to choke on.”
    “So that’s a ‘no’?” he asked, still striving to maintain that casual tone.
    “Hell yes, that’s a no.” Tyler pretended to shudder. “Megan’s like a sister to me. So dude. . .gross.”
    Tyler’s answer made him feel better, although he wasn’t sure why. Why the thought of Megan with another man would bother him he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was just male protective instincts.
    “How long have I known Megan?” he asked. “’Cause I don’t remember her, even though I remember you.”
    “You remember me?”
    “I remember you and your mom moving in with us.” He looked at Tyler out of the side of his eyes. “And hating your guts.”
    Tyler chuckled. “The feeling was very much mutual back then.”
    “So if you’ve known Megan since you were kids, and I remember you as a kid, how come I don’t remember her?”
    “She was off your radar then. You guys didn’t really meet until high school.”
    Interesting. He had quickly discovered that he seemed to have a knack for reading people. He sensed that he always had this knack, because he could recall instances as a child where he knew how to read his father enough to get out of yet another lecture or brow-beating about his athletic performance. He was very thankful for this skill now. It proved invaluable