LifeOverLimb by Stephani Hecht Page A

from Korea, Ben inherited her exotic features while taking on his father’s easy going nature, which made for a great combination. Plus, Ben always made sure to dress and groom himself impeccably no matter how late it might be. So normally, Ben would be the kind of guy Ricky went for.
    It was just that Ricky and Ben were so close they felt like brothers and it didn’t seem right to either of them to be into each other that way. They had an unspoken rule to never to cross that line and Ricky knew it would forever be that way. Which suited him just fine.
    Ben eyed the burger on Ricky’s tray and shook his head. “I love you, but there is no way in hell that thing is touching my mouth.”
    Ricky pretended to inspect the food carefully. “I don’t know…I’ve seen you tongue much grosser things.”
    “Says the guy who hasn’t been laid in six months.”
    “Ouch,” Ricky muttered.
    Like he could help it that he was going through a spell dryer than the Sahara Desert. It’s not like he hadn’t wanted any company. It’s just that he only wanted one person in particular and said person had so far remained elusive.
    Shaking his head, Ricky shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was already depressed enough as it was and there was no reason to add to it by thinking of Tanner. He had to wonder why for months Tanner had flirted with Ricky, only to drop out of sight a couple of months ago. Ricky had even dug up the courage to ask the mobile flight nurse’s partner what happened. All he got for an answer was that Tanner was taking a leave of absence and they didn’t know when he’d be returning.
    Ben grabbed a tray and began to load junk food on it. Ricky eyed up a big, piece of chocolate cake. God, what he would give to be able to eat it—but that kind of food was permanently off his menu. The last time he’d cheated and eaten something like that, his blood sugar had shot through the ceiling and he ended up as a patient at the very hospital he worked for.
    Ben reached over, snagged up an apple and orange and dumped them on Ricky’s tray. Next, he chose a few hardboiled eggs and added those, too. It was on the tip of Ricky’s tongue to say that he could pick out his own food, but he held it back. Ben always seemed to think it was his job to make sure his friend ate right.
    “You’ll never guess what I found out today,” Ben announced as they picked up their trays and carried them over to the register.
    They both nodded hello to the cashier, an elderly man who had yet to utter one word to them other than to tell them how much money they owed.
    “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s your news?” Ricky asked as he dug out his wallet and paid.
    “Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be training a new nurse they hired for the ER.”
    Ricky cocked a brow. “They trust you to be in charge of somebody? Wow.”
    “Shut up,” Ricky shot back good-naturedly as they picked up their trays.
    They chose a table in the center of the empty cafeteria and sat down before continuing their conversation.
    “You’re never going to believe who the new hire is either,” Ben said.
    “Who?”
    “Tanner.”
    Ricky felt all the blood drain from his face as he strove to keep from gaping in shock. Since he didn’t want to give Ben the satisfaction of knowing how unnerving that bombshell was, Ricky picked up his orange and began to peel it, giving the fruit the upmost attention.
    “Oh, as in Tanner from the helicopter?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.
    “No. Tanner from that dippy soap opera you watch,” Ben snarked.
    “Oh, good. Then then he can finally tell me if he is the father of Victoria’s baby. I’ve been dying to know the answer to that mystery for three months now.”
    Ben pointed with his candy bar. “See? That’s why you should watch something else. Take Toddlers and Tiaras for example, you always know who’s won Grand Supreme by the end of the episode.”
    “If it weren’t for the fact that I wanted to