Living in Fast Forward

by BA Tortuga

  “You smell good.” Jeremy’s tongue slid along his neck, his jaw.

  “You feel better than anything has in months.” God, he needed, and he was glad as hell that Jeremy hadn’t killed the mood.

  “Yeah.” Jeremy’s mouth found his ear, teeth testing his earlobe. “Hollis.”

  “Right here.” Kissing along Jeremy’s neck, he got ahold of that sweet cock, pulling at it, letting his thumb run up the underside.

  “Oh….” Jeremy moaned, hips rolling up toward his touch, pushing into his fingers.

  Oh yeah. Someone was needing just as bad as he was. Jeremy was hot, damp, and so pretty, even if he was too skinny. Jeremy’s mouth crashed against his, tongue fucking his lips in time with his hand, his fingers. Hollis gave as good as he got, kissing Jeremy like it might be the last time he could, pulling at the hard flesh in his hand to beat the band. Come on, baby, he thought. Just come on.

  That pretty cock swelled, throbbing in his fingers a second before heat sprayed between them. Yeah. Yeah, just like that.

  “Smell so good, baby. So hot.” His own prick ached, but he could wait. He could. Right now he just wanted to watch. To see Jeremy.

  “Yeah.” Jeremy blinked up at him, lips kiss-swollen and wet, that expression familiar and right as rain.

  “Help me out, baby.” Grinning, he grabbed Jeremy’s hand, pushing it down. No more waiting.

  “Oh. I can so do that.” Jeremy worked his fly open; then those fingers wrapped around him in no time and worked him just like they hadn’t been apart.

  “God….” Sucking in a deep breath, Hollis started moving, that special Jeremy music finally back in his head, his hips rocking and rolling.

  “Uh-huh. So good.” He was getting little bites, hard sucking kisses wherever that hungry mouth could reach.

  “Been needing you. My hand just isn’t the same.” No, sir. Jeremy’s hand felt like heaven. It wasn’t gonna take long.

  “Your hand.” Jeremy’s lips found his nipple, the suction sudden and sharp, even through his shirt.

  “On the bus. At night. Been waiting to get back to you.” Spreading a little more, Hollis humped, humming at the feel of that mouth on him. The hand around his cock squeezed harder, Jeremy pulling and sucking and moaning and just begging him to give it up.

  “Uhn.” He shot so hard he near bit through his lip, panting for breath, his muscles tight as frozen rope.

  Jeremy eased up, rubbing his spunk into his skin, making him shake. Goddamn.

  Hollis pulled Jeremy up, dragging the man across his lap, making sure he didn’t bend those legs funny. Then he sat back, settling in for a little rest.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Hey, Hollis.” Jeremy leaned in, eyes closing, eyelashes tickling him.

  “Rest for a while, baby. Then I’ll feed you.” And then he would start poking, just like Jeremy had poked him. They’d get Jeremy into fighting trim. It was the least he could do.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  HE WOKE up warm, which was kinda weird, but nice.

  Jeremy snuggled into the blankets with a happy sound, the smell of coffee seeping in and waking him up.

  Coffee?

  He sat up, blinking over at the sight of Hollis—his Hollis—standing in the kitchen with a huge frown, hands on his hips.

  Hollis turned, the frown deepening. “How am I supposed to make eggs, baby? You got no pans.”

  “I don’t need any.” He was on a ramen and corn dog diet right now.

  “Huh? The kind of egg white and sautéed shit you eat, you don’t need pans?” That voice had gone all growly, don’t shit a shitter on him. He’d missed that.

  “I haven’t been….” He shook his head, levered himself upright a little more. “It doesn’t matter. You want a pizza?”

  “No. You sit.” Shaking his head, Hollis turned back to the kitchen. “You got bowls, right?”

  “Yeah. In the cabinet there.” He watched Hollis open one cabinet filled with pill bottles, another with nothing but ramen noodles. “The next one over.”

  “Baby….” Glancing over his shoulder, Hollis gave him a look. Not a frown anymore, more concerned. “I. Damn. You need to take care of yourself better.”

  “I’m fine.” He was still dealing with the whole therapy, metal in his leg, hurting thing.

  “Uh-huh.” Metal clanged against glass, Hollis moving around the kitchen, starting to heat shit up. “At least you have coffee mugs. I got some of that creamer. You want some?”

  “Yeah. Please.” He found his sweats, pulled them up over his legs. “How did Nashville go?”

  “It went. I did what I was supposed to. Got a contract to do one of those duet things. Some crossover album.”

  Clang. Bang.

  “Cool.” He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to figure out what the hell to say. “Chris said y’all got along great. That things went well.”

  “Shit. He was okay, baby, but he wasn’t you. And man, he flamed.” Hollis shook his head. “Too much of a drama queen.”

  Now that? Felt good. Fiercely fucking good. “I fucking hate that he took my place. I wanted to be there, after you played the Bowl.”

  “God, Jeremy.” Now Hollis was smiling, eyes warm and happy. “I was sore, and I was pissed as hell going into it, but I was sold-out. Sold. Out. And the crowd fucking rocked. You should have been there, dammit.”

  “I should have. I was fucking proud.” He had been, whether or not he had any right to. Hollis’s career was on fire. “How long are you in town?”

  “I’ve got some time off. I’ll be around a bit.” After breaking eggs into a bowl, Hollis added some milk before cracking open the microwave. “Did you know you can scramble eggs in the microwave? You got a blender?”

  “Yeah. Mom bought me one for milkshakes.” He got up, headed for the kitchen with slow, careful steps. He had to think about it still, about making his muscles work.

  As soon as he was in reach, Hollis grabbed him, arm sliding around his waist. “You could just point, baby.”

  “Yeah. That would mean I knew where the parts are.” He was sweating bullets, just from the little trip. Shit.

  “Well, what are you gonna do here? Hunt? You’re tottery. Here, lean.” Oh, okay, he could prop up on the counter.

  “Sorry. I just got that brace thing off.” He reached for the dishwasher and tugged it open.

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Before he could even get off-balance, Hollis was scooping him up and carrying him back to the couch. “I said sit. I’ll get some food made up and then go to the Walmart later.”

  He looked at Hollis, shook his head. “Because, you know, no one is going to recognize your fine ass in Houston and mob you in the Walmart.”

  “Well, so far I’ve been good. I mean, I went to that little corner grocery.”

  Yeah, where the guy behind the counter was eighty and half-blind.

  Jeremy shook his head, grinned. “Does Charlie know where you are?”

  “He knows I’m on vacation, and I’ve got my cell.” He got a kiss, sweet and warm, before the microwave dinged and Hollis went to rescue the eggs.

  Oh, that almost smelled good. He settled back, pulled the blankets around him, the action familiar as anything. He dozed, and before he knew it, there was eggs and toast and some kind of weird milkshake thing passing for a smoothie. He also had a Hollis, scooting up next to him and sharing his plate. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Eat.”

  “Hey.” He sort of blinked at the food, reached for a piece of toast. “Sorry.”

  “’S okay. I got you. I got jam, if you want.” Man, Hollis had thought of everything.

  “This is cool.” It felt weird to be sitting here, having Hollis cook for him.

  “Yeah? Excellent. Come on, you gotta have more than toast.” The eggs were a little tough from the microwave, but the rest went down well, even the weird smoothie thing. He actually felt full when he was done.

  “Thanks for the food, man. It was good.” Jeremy didn’t k
now what to do now. Hell, he had thirty thousand questions, and he wanted a shower, and more than fucking anything, he wanted a goddamn kiss, but damned if he knew how to ask for it.

  “No problem.” Staring at him a minute, Hollis reached up to stroke his cheek. “You want help with a shower?”

  Look at the man. Almost reading his mind.

  “I. Yeah, but I’ll take just having you sit and talk to me too.” He didn’t want to come off like a total loser. He didn’t.

  A hard kiss pushed right up against his mouth, Hollis’s tongue sliding in, stunning him a little. “I can do that too. We got a lot to catch up on. But I’m kinda… crusty.”

  Oh. Ew.

  “Oh. Then yeah. It’s little, but we’ll fit.” He could so snuggle.

  “Cool. Come on, baby.” Hollis got up, hoisted him up, and helped him to the bathroom, better than any brace or set of crutches.

  The bathroom was little but nothing worse than they’d had on the bus, and the hot water lasted. There was a seat for the tub, just in case, and he got it out before getting the water going.

  “There you go. That’s fancy, huh?” Hollis did kind damned well. It was enough to make him feel pretty weird.

  “Yeah. It’s my I’m-a-gimp chair.” God, he hoped this wasn’t like a pity-fuck thing, He didn’t think it was, but….

  “Don’t make me beat you, baby. I can. Your ass isn’t all scarred up.” Oh, now that was more like it. All wickedy.

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  “You would, huh? Let’s get clean, baby. Then I might give you what you want.” The water felt good, hot as all hell, but the sting was blocked by Hollis’s body.

  Jeremy grabbed the soap, lathered up Hollis’s belly and chest, rubbing in lazy circles and just touching away. So fucking fine. He’d always liked the way that fuzzy chest hair matted up when it got all wet and soapy. Of course, this was where he usually joked about shaving and waxing. This time he just enjoyed it, jonesing on knowing Hollis was really here.

  “Mmmm. Wrote you a song. For the new album.” Hollis’s hands slid over his back, his shoulders, that flat belly pressing against his cheek.

  “Oh. Oh, wow. For real?” He blinked up, shocked, deep down.

  “Yeah. That one I’ve been humming.” Hollis grinned down at him before going back to scrubbing, just singing for him.

  “Oh.” His heart just sort of stopped, and he soaked it in, staring at Hollis like he’d been whomped.

  That.

  Wow.

  He got an almost shy look when Hollis finished. “Good acoustics in here.”

  “Yeah. You’re fucking amazing, you know that, right?”

  Hollis kissed him, nice and hard, before stepping aside to rinse him off, letting the soap wash away. “You ready for that beating?”

  “You can’t beat gimps, dork.”

  “I can if they beg pretty.” Up again, with Hollis dragging him around like a sack of potatoes. A fluffy towel soaked up most of the moisture before they danced off to his little bedroom to find clean sweats.

  He tugged them on, sighing as they got settled. “They’re all a little big because they had to fit over the braces and shit.”

  “We’ll have to get you new ones, baby.” Stroking his belly, Hollis settled next to him. “Want a little nap?”

  “I do.” He was becoming a world-champion napper.

  Gold-medal class.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  OKAY, HE was never good at the kinder, gentler Hollis at the best of times.

  He’d been good, getting Jeremy pots and pans, getting some food in the pantry, letting the man sleep, and rubbing those poor sore legs.

  A week later, though, Hollis was about out of patience. Jeremy was supposed to be pushing him, not the other way around. All the man wanted to do was sleep. Maybe occasionally have a couple of hand jobs. Hollis needed Jeremy to get his ass back to normal.

  Like now.

  Time for a little wake-up call. Hollis wandered into the bedroom, going with the dramatic and sweeping the covers off Jeremy’s fetal form.

  Jesus, the man looked cute—rumpled and messy and skinny, but cute. “Hollis? What?”

  Ignoring his baser urge in favor of what he would get later if he persevered, Hollis poked at Jeremy’s ass. “Time to get up, baby. I had Ann Marie call your doctor. I know what kind of exercises you’re supposed to be doing.”

  “I don’t work for y’all anymore, Hollis. They hired Chris.”

  “You’re misunderstanding me, baby. I’m not exercising. You are. Come on.” Chris was gone. As soon as the tour leg had ended, Hollis had let him go. With a nice bonus.

  “I am? What are you talking about?” Jeremy stared at him, eyebrows drawn together in an expression Hollis remembered. Somebody was fixin’ to get stubborn.

  “It’s time to get with the physical therapy. I go on the road again in March. I’ll need you well by then.” He may have caved to Jeremy before, but only because deep down he’d known it was a good thing. Not so much this time.

  “I can’t… I can’t train you. I can’t even walk without a limp. You need someone that can keep up.”

  “Fuck that, baby. I don’t care if you can put your leg behind your head anymore. I need you. So get your ass up. They said you should be stretching, working up to doing shit like weights.” It was his turn to be the hardass.

  “Stretching.” Jeremy looked down at his legs, wincing. “Shit. Those things are just ugly. You want a pizza or something?”

  Jeremy grabbed his sweats and tugged them on. Hollis was beginning to hate the ugly things.

  “No, I want you to get up.” Not that he didn’t have sympathy. He did. That look, the one Jeremy got when he contemplated those poor legs, tore his gut up. It did. But it was time to get moving away from that.

  “I’m awake.” Jeremy levered himself out of the bed, lurching a little on his first few steps before things started working. Ann Marie had said the doctor thought Jeremy’d have a full recovery, given time and exercise and willpower.

  “Cool. Go pee, baby, and then we’ll do your prebreakfast therapy.” Hell, prelunch. It was almost noon.

  “You. I. Therapy? I’m not ready for that.” Jeremy hit the head, though, and Hollis heard the water running, Jeremy bitching as he did his business. Muscles atrophied. Or whatever. Jeremy needed to be ready. Hollis bounced on his toes, waiting, just ready to get busy.

  Jeremy had dragged on a T-shirt from the hamper, wet down his hair and scruffy beard. “You’re bouncy.” Then Jeremy headed for the coffeemaker.

  “I am.” He caught Jeremy by the waist. “No coffee until after. What is it you always say? Constricts the blood vessels.”

  “Yeah. It does. Raises the blood pressure.” Jeremy gave him the cutest fucking look, like the man was completely off-balance.

  “There you go. Now, I set up that rolly mat thing by the couch.” Steering, Hollis let Jeremy lean on him, let the man soak up some of his warmth.

  “This is—Hollis, what are you up to?”

  “We’re stretching, baby. Then we’ll have food that is not in the pizza group.” Desperation rose in his chest a little, but he pushed it down. Jeremy wasn’t allowed to quit on him.

  “I.” Those pretty eyes looked at him, really looked. “I don’t. It didn’t feel like it’s supposed to when I tried.”

  “Baby.” Hollis took a kiss, his throat tight, his hands closing hard on Jeremy’s arms. “I bet you tried too hard, thinking you could take on everything at once. This is why you need me, yeah? I’m the king of slack.”

  “No. I need you for completely different reasons.” He could fucking feel Jeremy’s heart beating against him, just pounding away.

  “Well, you got me. Now, come sit with me and stretch, just a little, okay?” He would coax or bully, it was Jeremy’s choice. Hollis got the man eased down on the floor, sitting up with his legs out in front of him, and Hollis sat at Jeremy’s feet.

  There were little scars in a circ
le, right above Jeremy’s ankle, spots where the brace had been screwed in, and Hollis kept his touch light as he took hold of Jeremy’s ankle, slowly, gently flexing Jeremy’s foot. Christ, how many days had Jeremy done this with him, grabbed ahold of him and moved him?

  Now it was his turn. He pushed Jeremy’s foot back until he felt a tiny bit of resistance, then pulled it in a circle, flexing all the muscles. Jeremy moaned, eyes closing. It didn’t look like pain, though, really. That looked more like relief.

  “There you go, baby. There you go.” Hell, it had to be a shock for a man who used his body for his work to be immobile as long as Jeremy had. Hollis moved the other foot the same way, just rolling and stretching.

  “Your hands feel good.” Jeremy fought him a little at first, until those muscles figured out what they were supposed to do.

  “So do you. I swear, Jeremy, I missed you like crazy.” His fingers slid right up Jeremy’s calves, digging in, pushing the muscles to loosen.

  “Oh….” Jeremy shivered, leaning back on his elbows, almost pulling away. “It’s like I don’t fit in my skin, man. I hate it.”

  “Shhh. You just have to make it all fit again, baby. That’s all. Here, bend your knee like this.” Concentrating hard, he kept his mind on what Ann Marie had relayed from the doctor. Easy bending. Slooow stretching.

  He could feel Jeremy’s body fighting him again, anticipating pain or something, then feel the muscles ease in his hands as Jeremy relaxed. No wonder Jeremy fought to do this with him. Shit, it was incredibly fucking intimate. Nodding, licking his dry lips, Hollis moved on to the other leg again, pushing to get the soreness out. Yeah, he could feel Jeremy warming right up.

  Jeremy moaned for him, giving it up, letting him help. It blew his mind, that the leg with a steel rod for the thigh wasn’t the one that was most fucked-up. That didn’t make sense.

  “Okay, time to lie down, baby.” Gently, he pulled Jeremy’s butt forward, sliding on the mat until he could ease the man down on his back. Now for the hard part. The thighs. Ann Marie said the doc had been pretty clear that those had to be worked a certain way.