“Oh, so he might not be saying things he’ll remember later, when he’s not on the meds?” Kyle sounded disappointed.
“I think the medicine has just caught up with him now, that’s all. He’s been through a lot, what with the surgery. I’m sure whatever he said to you meant something to him at the time.”
What did I say to him? Oh, yeah, I think I told him I love him.
Eric tried to nod to assure Kyle that, yes, indeed, he’d meant every word and he’d tell him again when he was up and about just in case he needed to hear it again.
The nod seemed to grow heavier and Eric surrendered to the warmth of the darkness of sleep calling his name.
“I’m not an invalid. I can make it on my own,” Eric grumbled as Kyle helped him out of the car. Little Lady was tough to get out of when you were still stitched up and sore, but he was determined he could get out of his Roadster without help.
Kyle dangled the car keys in front of him. “Says the man who insisted he could drive us here then ended up having a mini stroke when he pushed down on the pedals.” He slammed the door shut and beamed at his boyfriend. “Lucky I was there to help out. She’s awesome to drive.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” Eric said.
Kyle sniggered. “God, you are such a grump. Come here. Perhaps this will make you feel better.”
In full view of the neighbours outside Aaron’s bubbie’s house, Kyle drew him close and kissed him thoroughly. When he finally let go, Eric was breathless, hard and feeling better. Kyle’s kisses should have been declared a natural amphetamine the way they made his heart beat so fast.
“Tell me again what this visit is in aid of?” Kyle reached into the back of the car and took out a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers. “I remember you said something about meeting Aaron’s girlfriend. Is this his house?”
Eric bit back a laugh. “Nope.” He walked slowly up the path towards the small, terraced house in the middle of Islington. His side still hurt but he was a lot better than he’d been three weeks ago.
Kyle’s tender ministrations, some great medical care and a lot of rest had got him back on his feet quicker than anyone had expected. Kyle still swore it was due to the gentle, yet exhilarating sex sessions prescribed on his calendar.
His boyfriend caught up with him. “Oh, so it’s her house?”
“Nope.” Eric smiled to himself at Kyle’s exasperated grumble behind him.
“Why do you have to be so damned secretive? What is it with you?” He swatted away a bumblebee and scowled.
Eric knocked on the door. You’ll soon find out. Welcome to your baptism of fire.
The door opened to reveal a tiny sprite of a woman with jet-black hair streaked with silver-grey and a myriad of coloured baubles around her neck, dangling across her flat chest. She was dressed in multi-coloured paisley trousers and wore a bright orange blouse, stained with something Eric wasn’t sure about.
“Shalom, Eric, my boy. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. You look a bit pale. Are you eating properly since your accident?” Shrewd pale blue eyes turned to assess Kyle. “Is this the mensch Aaron told me about? Oy vay, he’s skinny. And what’s with all that metal in that pretty face?” She shook her head. “I’ll never understand it.”
Eric stifled a laugh at Kyle’s gobsmacked expression.
“Bubbie Norma, it’s good to see you again. And yes, this mensch is my boyfriend, Kyle.”
Norma waved them in. “Come in, don’t stand there on the doorway. The neighbours will think I’m having a sex party.”
Kyle’s jaw dropped even further. He was speechless for the first time since Eric had known him. Mission accomplished. Thank you, Norma.
As Norma propelled Kyle into a small lounge, his wide eyes stared back at Eric in panic.
“Come, sit,” she fussed as she pushed Kyle physically down into an armchair covered with varying degrees of what looked like knotted multi-coloured cords. She swept them onto the floor with an impatient flip of her hand and turned back to Eric.
“Tea? Aaron and Leah will be here in a while. They walked to the shop to get me some more milk, although I’m sure they’ve taken the opportunity to make out somewhere along the way. They’ve been gone a while.”
She motioned to the chair full of ropes. “Chuck that on the floor if you need room—it’s only my macramé project for the local Women’s Institute.”
“Tea would be good, thank you. We’ll sit and wait for Aaron.” Eric smiled at Norma who gave him a beaming smile and scurried off into the kitchen.
Kyle was up in a shot, standing in front of Eric. “What the hell? You didn’t warn me some crazy Yiddish grandmother was going to accost me. I’m assuming that’s Aaron’s bubbie.” He glanced uneasily toward the kitchen. “I mean, she seems nice enough but she gets a bit personal, doesn’t she?” He fingered his eyebrow stud nervously then his fingers drifted to the one in his lip. He’d finally taken the plunge and had it done. “Should I have taken these out to visit? I would have if I’d known—”
Eric silenced him with a swift kiss. “No, never. I love you just the way you are, so I’d never ask you to remove anything that makes you, you.”
Kyle looked down at the floor. “That’s the second time you’ve said that to me,” he muttered. “I’ll be starting to think you mean it soon.” His violet eyes flashed with emotion and Eric choked back the words that sprung to his lips.
No, not yet. You have a plan, remember? Stick to the plan or Aaron will kill you. He spent hours shopping with you for the right thing. His hand drifted to his pocket, and satisfied the item was still there he gave a sigh of relief.
“Yes, that’s her. She’s quite the character. And, as you can tell, forthright. She’s amazing though.”
He didn’t miss the disappointment on Kyle’s face. They hadn’t really talked about their expressions of loving each other since the accident. It had been a time devoted to healing and recovery, but Eric was damned sure that was going to change tonight, with his close friend and a woman he counted as a surrogate mother.
Ten minutes later, Aaron arrived with a pretty, dark-haired woman he introduced as his girlfriend, Leah. She was tall, curvy and had short, spiky hair that suited her round face. Eric could see the couple were besotted with each other.
They all sat down while Norma forced slices of cake, homemade rugelach and copious amounts of tea upon them.
Eric sat next to Kyle, his hand loosely resting on his thigh.
“So, my Eric, what happened to that bad woman who stabbed you? And her poor mother. Oy.” Norma fanned herself. “What a terrible thing to happen.”
“She was admitted to hospital and is undergoing psychiatric evaluation,” Eric said. “We’ll have to see what happens when they finish with that.”
“Well, I hope they lock her up forever,” Kyle spat out fiercely. “She deserves to go to prison for what she did. Bashing the poor woman’s brains in and nearly killing you.”
Norma laughed. “You have a little spitfire there, Eric. I like him already. So, when is the—”
Aaron cut her off with a glare and a wave of his hand. “Cut it out, bubbie. Don’t even ask that question.”
Leah giggled beside him and he took her hand. “And don’t start on us either. I told you, when we’re ready, we’re ready.”
Norma sat back and folded her arms across her chest. She pouted. “You don’t let me have any fun, do you? I have a yen to plan a wedding. Someone get married, please.”
Her eyes glinted as she leaned in toward Kyle. He made an instinctive movement back. She raised one finger and waggled it at him.
“A little bird told me—”
“Bubbie, could you please fetch the stuff from the kitchen? You know—the stuff we need to do the thing?” Aaron’s voice was desperate. He shot an apologetic glance at Eric, who was having trouble breathing with the need to laugh and the knowledge of what he was about to do.
“The thing? What thing?” Norma looked
confused. Then, as Aaron’s glare grew fiercer, she nodded slowly. “Oh, that thing. My wish is your command, grandson. I am but a slave here to do your bidding.” Muttering under her breath, she disappeared once again into the kitchen.
Eric swallowed down his nervousness and turned to Kyle, who looked like a hare caught in headlights. “What’s going on?” he asked dazedly. “I swear I feel like I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone. Have I missed something?”
“No, baby.” Eric shuffled closer to Kyle and reached up to draw a hand through the spiky hair. “I have something to tell you and I wanted to do it with my friend and his crazy grandmother present.”
Kyle looked visibly nervous. “Oh, wow. Way to pressure a guy. That sounds ominous.” He fiddled with his lip ring again.
Norma came in bearing flute glasses and a bottle of champagne. She set them down and then settled in her armchair again, cherubic smile on her face.
“Go on,” she commanded to Eric. “Do it.”
“Oh, God,” Kyle said faintly. His lip ring twiddling got worse.
Eric reached out and took his hand away from his mouth. “I said something to you when I was in the hospital. Something I meant then and I mean now. Do you remember what I said? You were worried I’d forget about it.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”
“What did I say to you?” Eric prompted.
Kyle stared around at the faces watching him and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, they were shiny. “That you loved me.”
Eric reached out and caressed Kyle’s face tenderly. “I love you. It wasn’t the drugs talking, it was all me. Being there, knowing I might not have made it—I needed you to know that.”
He reached into his pocket and grinned at the panic on Kyle’s face. “Don’t worry. Despite bubbie’s need to have a wedding, I’m not going to ask you to marry me. Yet.”
Kyle’s shoulders sagged in relief but he stared at Eric, entranced, as he continued speaking. “We both know it’s too soon for that.”
Norma made a noise like a fart. Eric ignored her and removed a small velvet bag from his pocket. He reached in and drew out one of the two platinum bracelets he’d had made.
“They’re commitment bracelets. Yours says ‘I’m His’ and mine says ‘I’m Yours.’ Or we can swap them around if you fancy a change.” He chuckled. “Either way, it means I want you by my side as long as you’ll have me.”
Kyle’s eyes were wet with tears as he nodded. “I love you too. And I’m not fussy about what mine says. Either way, it’s true.”
Heart full, Eric took Kyle’s slim wrist and slid the “I’m His” bracelet over, rubbing at the soft skin with his thumb. Then, among soft claps from Aaron and Leah, and a series of noisy hoots interspersed with Yiddish gibberish Eric couldn’t even hope to understand, Eric kissed his man.
As they sat drinking their celebratory champagne, Eric’s mobile rang. He mouthed at Kyle—“Deacon”—then whispered, “Did I tell you we were all meeting them for dinner tonight so they can say congratulations?”
Kyle shook his head, smiling. “No, babe, you didn’t. You’re just full of surprises today, aren’t you? Sounds good though.” He and Eric’d had dinner with Deacon and his wife Chrissy a couple of times, and he’d found Deacon to be a real character. In a way, he felt sorry for Chrissy and Eric, what with Deke’s hare-brained enthusiasm for get-rich-quick schemes.
“Hey, Deke, what’s up?” Eric’s grin grew wider as he listened. “Buddy, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” His shoulders shook with laughter. “I get the whole concept, but hanging your baby up on a wall or a door so you have your hands free sounds like a pretty radical idea. Isn’t that what those baby knapsack thingies are for?”
Kyle’s jaw dropped. He mouthed, “What the hell?” at Eric who was struggling to contain himself. Everyone else was laughing too.
“Deke, hang on, Kyle wants to ask you about your idea—he’s dying to find out what it’s all about.” With a wicked grin, Eric thrust his phone into Kyle’s hand, and he stared mystified at his boyfriend, who had tears rolling down his cheeks.
Kyle sighed and raised the phone to his ear. “Hey, Deke.”
“My man, Kyle. Please tell my wife and my stupid, ignorant friend that a baby carrier that you can hang on a wall, or a door or in a tree, is a great idea. You could, like, push him as well, like a swing if you hung it in a tree, have a bit of fun too.” Deacon’s voice became higher with enthusiasm. “It gives the parents their hands back and the baby can just hang around until they’re done. You know, like in a bathroom when you need to wash your hands or do your business. You hang baby up with this device, like a strap that you can carry him around in on your body but adapts to hang up elsewhere. A bit like a sturdy coat-hanger that goes over the door.”
Kyle blinked. “What does, err, Chrissy think about this?”
Deacon snorted. “Please, she thinks people will end up forgetting the baby and walking out of the bathroom leaving him hanging, or that the tree branch might break, or that the baby will break free and fall down or something. I mean, as a parent, you’d make sure the kid was safe, right? And you’d never forget your baby in a bloody bathroom. As if. What do you think?”
Kyle walked over toward Eric. “I think it’s a great idea.”
Aaron hooted with laughter and Norma gave a smile of satisfaction. “That’ll teach you to put Kyle on the spot like that,” she smirked.
Eric’s head shot up and he stared at Kyle in horror. He smirked. “In fact, Eric agrees with me. He’s even got a name for it. The Kiddy Keeper. Here. I’ll hand him back over so you two can discuss it more. Oh, and I believe we’re seeing you for dinner later. I look forward to it.”
With a snigger, Kyle handed the phone back to Eric, who glared daggers. Aaron, Leah and Norma chuckled as they looked on.
Kyle slapped palms with the others in triumph as Eric tried to convince his best friend that, no, he didn’t think the Kiddy Keeper was a good idea after all.
Later, lying at home after a slow, steamy session of lovemaking, Eric decided it was time to tell Kyle his other bit of good news.
“I have something else to tell you.” He oomphed as Kyle moved on top of him, straddling his hips. His arse was still slick from Eric’s come. They’d dispensed with condoms weeks ago. Eric was tested in the hospital as a matter of course, and Kyle decided to get it done then too.
“More to tell me?” He wiggled his bum suggestively against Eric’s rapidly rising dick. “Is it my birthday or something that I’m being spoilt?” He squinted down at Eric. “It’s good news, right? I don’t want bad news when I’m on a high.”
“It’s good news to me.” Eric lifted his arms and laid them above his head, stretching out. “I’m leaving the ambulance service.”
Kyle’s sexy movements stopped. “What? Since when? Why?”
“You know I’ve been burning out in this job. My heart isn’t in it anymore. I applied for a job as an advanced paramedic practitioner for a large GP practice. I got it.”
Kyle leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Eric’s cheek. “What does that mean for you?”
Eric reached up and drew Kyle down to lie flat on his chest and nuzzled his neck. “It means I get to see you more often. I won’t be working crazy shifts. It will still be damned hard work and I’ll have some further studying to do, but I’m happy with it. I think I’ll fit in there. The people seem really nice.”
Kyle sighed. “Have you told Aaron yet? He’s going to be mad.”
Eric nodded. “Yes, he knows. I needed his advice about the new job. He’s not happy. But he understands. He knows you’re more important now.”
Kyle sat up, hands splayed on Eric’s chest. “Then I approve. Whatever makes you happy, babe. That’s all I want.” He gave a wicked grin and wrapped his hand around Eric’s cock. “And this. This makes me happy too.”
Wet, warm lips found Eric’s, and as Kyle proceeded to ride him into oblivion, Eric thought dreamil
y he couldn’t have wished for a better way to finish his day.
AUTHOR NOTE
Any assumptions or errors in this book about the life of a paramedic, the procedures they use, the ambulance service or the way Las Vegas casinos are run, are my own and may have been adapted for fictional purposes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susan Mac Nicol is a self-confessed bookaholic, an avid watcher of videos of sexy pole-dancing men, a self-confessed geek and nerd, and in love with her Smartphone. This little treasure is called ‘the boyfriend’ by her longsuffering husband, who says if it vibrated there’d be no need for him. Susan hasn’t had the heart to tell him there’s an app for that.
A lover of walks in the forest, theatre productions, dabbling her toes in the cold North Sea and the vibrant city of London where you can experience all four seasons in a day, she is a hater of pantomime (please don’t tar and feather her), duplicitous people, bigotry and self-righteous idiots. She likes to think of herself as a ‘half full’ kind of gal, although sometimes that philosophy is sorely tested.
In an ideal world, Susan Mac Nicol would be Queen of England and banish all the bad people to the Never Never Lands of Wherever-Who Cares. As that’s not going to happen, she contents herself with writing her HEA stories and pretending that, just for a little while, good things happen to good people.
CONNECT WITH SUSAN
Interested in reading more of my books featuring men who make you swoon, steamy scenes and an engrossing relationship story? If you sign up for my newsletter at www.susanmacnicol.net, I’ll send you a complimentary copy of one of my standalone titles, or perhaps the first book in my Men of London series, Love You Senseless. I don’t do too many newsletters, so it’s a low volume list. You have no obligation to buy anything, and you can of course unsubscribe at any time.
Survival Game (Men of London Book 9) Page 18
