Handle With Care by Josephine Myles Read Free Book Online

feel my whole body break out in a sweat.
    I couldn’t meet Ollie’s gaze, so I kept my eyes lowered. That was when I noticed the packing knife hanging off his belt. It was one of those safety ones with the little hooked blade for cutting through tape. The ones that are bloody useless at getting through cardboard neatly.
    “Have you been opening my stuff?” Rage tore through me. My hands started to shake. “That’s private!”
    He just shrugged and gave me a cheeky grin. “Yeah, well, I had to find out what you’re into, since you give so little away. You seen it yet? It’s a great film— got a proper plot and everything. My ex had it, so I’ve seen it loads of times.
    Logan McCree’s so fucking hot. Get a load of those tats.” He leered, and jealousy washed over me.
    Just perfect—he was definitely gay, but now I had to compete with guys like Logan tattooed-dick McCree for his attention. I didn’t stop to ask myself when I’d decided I was actually in with a chance, because my blood was roaring in my ears, and things were starting to look funny. Must be the red mist coming down, making things split apart and refuse to glue back together. I now had two purple-haired delivery boys standing on my doorstep.
    “Don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s that sound?” I wasn’t sure which of the two Ollies to look at, so I focused somewhere in the middle. “It’s like a waterfall.”
    “Are you all right?” the Ollies asked, their voice distant like they were standing at the other end of a tunnel.
    The cheek of it! “Of course I’m all right! Never better.” I tried to close the door, but it slipped away from me, and I slid down to the floor. The DVD
    tumbled out of my hand. I wondered if I’d be able to watch it by running my fingers over the disc.
    “Ben? Ben, what’s wrong?” There was a loud voice that sounded like it was coming from inside my skull. “Ben? I think you need some help. Maybe a doctor.
    Shit!”
    42

Chapter Six
    Ollie knelt down beside me, his face up really close. There was only one of him now. I leant forward to kiss him. Slippery boy, dodging me. Huh! Thought he was meant to be gay.
    “What are you doing, Ben? I’m not gonna snog you now. You’re ill.”
    “I’m always fucking ill,” I told him, but the words sounded slurred and melty. “You should kiss me better.” I pursed up my lips and closed my eyes.
    “What do you need? You’d better tell me, or I’m phoning for an ambulance.”
    My brain didn’t seem to want to work, so I pointed at the chain around my neck. Ollie frowned but then pulled the Medic alert pendant out from under my gilet. I heard footsteps disappearing down my hall, and the next thing I was aware of was a sickly drink pouring into my mouth and down my chin.
    When the world started to make sense again, a wave of breathtaking shame crashed over me. Not only had I neglected myself enough to have an attack— which hadn’t happened for ages—but I’d thrown myself at Ollie. I leant back against the wall and tried to regain my cool. It seemed to have deserted me, and I couldn’t blame it.
    “You okay now?” he asked me.
    I nodded. I still didn’t trust myself not to say something stupid.
    “Shit, Ben, you had me worried there. Do you need me to call someone for you?”
    “No, it’s fine. Just had a hypo. Nothing to worry about. Zoe will be here soon. She’ll sort me out.”
    “Zoe? That’s your sister, right?”
    “Yeah. She calls in every day on her way into work.”
    He nodded, but he still didn’t look happy. I missed his smile.
    “Thanks,” I said. “You did exactly the right thing. Sorry I acted like a total wanker. I don’t know what I’m doing when I have an attack.”
    There was that curve of his lips I loved so much. “I thought you were drunk at first,” Ollie said.
    “No chance.” I smiled back. “No alcohol, no coffee, no cigarettes, no sugar, no sex—”
    “No sex? What, your doctor told you that?”
    I