“It’s…it’s disorienting being around all of them. They like to all talk at once and talk over each other. It’s noisy and while I know all their voices, it gets overwhelming trying to follow everything while guessing at the nonverbal gestures. Then if someone gets up…”
“You’re trying to figure out who it is and where they’re going while at the same time eating and following the conversation,” Cort filled in.
“Yeah. And then if it gets too quiet, I wonder if they’re watching me.” Grey shook his head and groaned. “It’s good to be around them, but I’m so tense the entire time. A simple meal has never been so exhausting.”
“I know it doesn’t feel like it, but it will get easier, I swear. You will relax. You’ll get better at filling in the blanks, and you’ll stop worrying about things.”
“Cort…” Grey paused and licked his lips. “Are…are you blind too? You just…you seem to understand this even when I can’t explain it.”
“Well…since you asked…” Cort paused a long time, watching Grey’s face pale and eyes widen. He couldn’t help wondering if Grey was always so expressive, or if this was a result of him losing his sight. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh, my God! You fucking asshole!” Grey slid his hand along the back couch cushion until he felt Cort’s shoulder. He dug his fingers in and gave him a hard shove. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“What? Played a trick on a blind man?” Cort teased.
“Asshole. Fucking blind leading the blind,” Grey muttered.
Cort stopped laughing and admired the grin he’d put on Grey’s lips again before turning serious. “In all honesty, most people who work with the blind are vision impaired as well. Who else can understand what you’re going through? When I was in training, I spent a hell of a lot of time in masks that made me completely blind. No light. No shadows. Nothing. I had to be able to do all the things I’m teaching you blind. I know firsthand how scary this can be.”
“But you could always take the mask off.”
“Yeah, that was the unfair part. But I didn’t, no matter how frustrated and scared I got, because it was important to me to be able to understand what you’re going through. I wanted to be able to help you.”
“Umm…yeah…” Grey cleared his throat, his brow furrowing for a moment before he finally shook his head. “What are we working on today? Are you ready to set me free with a knife?”
Cort appreciated the redirect. They had to be serious on occasion, but he preferred to keep Grey’s mood light and the man active.
“As exciting as that sounds, I was thinking we’d go for a walk.” Grey’s expression screamed that Cort was out of his mind. “Being blind doesn’t mean you’re going to sit around on your ass all the time.”
“No, but being a writer does.”
Cort shook his head a little. “Still can’t believe I’m working with an honest-to-God author. I looked you up when I got home. Might have ordered a couple of your books.”
The blush was back, and Grey’s eyes were directed toward the floor again. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I was curious. Besides, after meeting you yesterday, I figured you were more likely to write scathing restaurant reviews.”
“Har. Har. Thank God you weren’t hired for your wit.”
“But you don’t have to give up your writing. We’ll get you set up with some dictation software you can start practicing with. There’s also the option of simply dictating your manuscript and hiring someone to put it into the computer. If you’d like, we can work on that today for a while,” Cort offered, but Grey was already shaking his head.
“Not yet. My head is…it’s too cluttered and distracted right now. I’m not in the right mental space for writing. I’ll just get frustrated because I can’t concentrate.”
Reaching out, Cort wrapped his fingers around Grey’s arm and simply held it for a moment. To his shock, Grey didn’t flinch or jump at his touch. In fact, Cort could feel him relax. Tension unwound and his shoulders lowered just a little. In all his years of doing this, he’d never had a client relax quite like that when he laid a hand on them. Certainly not after such a short time frame of knowing each other. And Grey had done it from the first. It was strange and very intriguing.
“You’ll get there,” Cort said calmly.
“Yes,” Grey murmured. His voice as low and even, as if Cort had put him into a trance.
“All right, back to the walk. I want you to give me a tour of your house.” Cort released Grey’s arm and folded his hands together, trying to ignore the heat that lingered against his palm.
Grey spread his hands out in front of him. He waved his right hand and said, “Kitchen.” Waved both hands in front of him and said, “Living room,” then motioned with his left, saying, “bathroom and bedroom.”
“See, your problem isn’t being blind. You get exhausted from constantly being a smartass.”
“Yes, yes. You’ve seen right through me. That’s what’s so tiring.”
Cort shoved to his feet. “Come on. Get your ass up. Take me on a tour of that fancy house.”
Grey loudly sighed, but it was clear that it was just for show as he muttered under his breath. Cort moved out of the way toward the bathroom so Grey could shuffle along the sofa to the kitchen.
“I’ll follow you,” Cort said,
“Just so you can stare at my ass,” Grey grumbled.
Which then meant Cort’s eyes dropped to the ass in question to reveal that it was indeed a very fine ass in those snug jeans. An ass that would fill his hands just right.
Cort’s eyes jumped up immediately, and he silently cursed himself. He was not going to think of Grey that way.
“Ha! Made you look!” Grey shouted.
Cort gasped. “How did you—” He didn’t catch the words fast enough to keep from giving himself away.
Grey tossed his head back and laughed, which threw him off-balance. He reached for the wall to catch himself, but he missed. Cort jumped forward, grabbing Grey by both shoulders from behind and righting him again.
“We’re done goofing off now. Ready to be serious?” Cort asked, though he was struggling to keep from laughing himself.
“If we must,” Grey sighed.
“At least until we get down the stairs.”
With a soft snort, Grey carefully led the way through the kitchen and the narrow staircase. He paused once to get his bearings before he found the doorknob for the door leading to the patio.
“There. Out of the apartment,” Grey announced once they were outside.
A warm breeze swept across the backyard, carrying with it the scent of flowers and dried leaves. Grey turned his face toward it, tilting it upward as he smiled.
“Good start. So, where are we?”
Grey twisted, looking over his shoulder even though he couldn’t see Cort. “Are you serious?”
“This is a tour. Tell me about this place.”
Grey sighed again but still waved his hand in front of him. “This is the summer kitchen. We use it a lot because Clay and Baer only know how to grill food.” Grey turned right, shuffled forward a little, and stopped. “I…I’m having trouble remembering the spacing of things. There’s a fireplace on my right and patio furniture in this space.”