Involved in separate accidents. Russel and Finn end up sharing a cubicle in the ER on a busy night. As the hours pass, separately and together, they face issues of life and death, human nature, addiction, perceived shortcomings, love, romance, and sexual arousal.<br><br>Both men are feeling flirty and friendly at first, until they end up in a heated argument about what feature in a man is more important, his face or his body. After some time alone to think, Russel is eager to apologize for losing his temper and to explain where he was coming from. Unfortunately, Finn never returns from surgery, leaving Russel both sorry and worried.<br><br>Is Russel’s chance to make amends really gone? What will happen if the two ever do come face to face again? Can Russel win Finn over or will the need to prove his point screw everything up again?

An Arm and a Leg

“Mine’s dead. Broken. Not totaled. But totally dead.”


One day with nothing better to do, I’d eaten up a full charge, not to mention the half a dozen times I’d cut my finger on the cracked screen. Acutely aware I would never be a person who practiced moderation, I would always be partway to recovering, too, if realizing I had a problem was half the battle. Excessive exercise had taken the place of excessive drug use. Jonesing for a workout after less than two days without one had driven me straight to the obsession primed to take its place. It had gripped me for a while, even before the drugs. I’d started clicking those “I’m over 18” boxes back when I was eleven, and there was no turning back.


Chapter 18