Richie woke up the next morning with Eddie spooning him again. He was closer than he had been yesterday, now firmly pressed against Richie. Richie could feel Eddie's morning wood and resisted reaching around to grab him. Instead he sighed in frustration and went to take a shower. Eddie knew what he was doing, the bandage was still on his head. Richie gingerly unwrapped it and felt the cut. It seemed to be healing well.

When he came out of the shower (with boxers on this time) Eddie was sitting up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Come here, let me see your head." Richie sat and allowed Eddie to gently prod his cut. He hissed when Eddie's fingers came too close.

"Sorry!" Eddie removed his fingers but stayed close to Richie. "I think we need to get you a new bandage but it looks okay. Still no drinking today- or swimming!' He said as he went to get supplies.

"Nurse Eddie strikes again." Richie said to himself as he got dressed.

The group divided again. Richie wanted to go hiking today and got the okay from Eddie to go with Audra and Mike. Bev convinced Eddie to go tubing with her. The others decided to go into town for more supplies and some shopping.

The three picked an easy hiking path and set out. Not long into the hike Mike asked "So, how are things going with Eddie?"

Richie adjusted his bandage, it was itchy now that he was starting to sweat. "Well we're not fucking yet, so that's disappointing." Mike threw him a look. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, I was wondering how Operation Free Gazebo was going but also how...you two are." Mike finished, looking at Richie. Richie's favorite thing about Mike was his straightforwardness. If you were being an ass, he'd call you out. He didn't beat around the bush.

"Ooh, yes! I'd like to hear about that too," Audra said, wiggling her eyebrows at Richie. "He was pretty attentive to you last night."

"Well, he thought he gave me a concussion and he's the only one of us who knows any first aid." It was one of the few advantages of growing up around Mrs. K, Eddie definitely knew a lot about minor injuries. "So I'm not sure it wasn't just guilt."

"Don't lie, that was the excuse, not the reason." Mike said.

"Good ol' frank Mike." Richie responded but hearing someone else say what he had been thinking gave him butterflies. He told them about the conversation on the couch.

"About time you actually told him how you felt. You've been pining over him for years." Mike said once they finished.

"Well, I hold him about how I felt a decade ago. I just keep telling him I want to bend him over the kitchen counter now."

"We all eat on those counters, no sex. Also, I think he knows how you feel now. You keep staring at him like you want to devour him." Audra said.

Richie didn't know he was quite that obvious. Oops. He flushed slightly. "Don't worry man, he looks at you the same. He's just more subtle than you." Mike said reassuringly.

"He does?" Richie had totally missed that.

"Well, he only looks at you when you aren't looking at him. And you look when he isn't looking at you. It's some Shakespeare shit."

Richie smiled. Hearing other people say they saw the same things he felt made him feel much better. He hoped that having everyone talk to Eddie was working and that Myra would be history once Eddie went back to New York.

The trio continued to hike for another half hour then turned back. They were the first ones back, Richie went to take a nap while the others watched an old movie. He woke up to Bev drawing on him with lipstick.

"What the fuck!" He grabbed the lipstick from her hand.

"Just making you purdy for your boyfriieeendd," she sang.

Richie walked to the bathroom, his face was covered in bright red lipstick. "We both know he's not my boyfriend. That's the whole point." He got a washcloth dirty and started scrubbing.

"Well he kept getting red whenever he talked about you. And refused to talk about Myra. So my money is on you two." Bev sauntered over to the bathroom and stood in the doorframe.

"This shit isn't coming off." Richie had only succeeded in making his skin red.

"You need some vaseline. Or maybe your boyyfrieenddd can kiss it off." Bev started to make smooch-y noises.

"Stop saying boyfriend like that. He'll hear you and we'll both be in deep shit. Can you check Eddie's bag? He probably brought vaseline." Bev walked over to Eddie's bag and rifled through it, eventually throwing Richie some vaseline.

"Hey Bev?" She walked back over as Richie slathered the thick goop over his face. "What...what else did Eddie say?" Richie felt like a teenager asking.

As Bev opened her mouth to answer Bill came in "Any dinner preferences?" He walked to the bathroom. "Damn Richie, Eddie has terrible aim."

"Fuck you." The lipstick was finally coming off. "Lady Bev did this."

"Guys, you gotta see Richie!" Bill yelled.

"I'm going to kill you." Richie told Bev, she just laughed.