by Sean Michael
“I’m stuck in bed, baby. How much more relaxed do you want me?”
He giggled. “Melty, snoring, healing at the speed of light.”
“Only get melty when I fuck you, baby.”
“Not for a while, Jessy. You need to save your energy.” He reached over, petting Jess gently.
“Spoilsport.” Jess gave him a wink.
“Just taking care of you, Jessy.”
“Not used to being on this end of the taking care of.”
“Well, you need to get used to it.” He could be the strong one. He could.
“I’ll do my best, baby.” Jess gave him a wink. “Long as you don’t cut off my caffeine.”
“No way. Coffee for all. Coffee is good.” He grinned, leaned over for a soft kiss.
Jess hummed softly. “Thank God you’re not a hardass like that Turner fellow.”
“No shit.” He stroked Jess’s face, eyes filling again. “I love you.”
“Shh. Shh. No crying, baby. I’m not gonna die.”
“No. No, you’re not. You’re going to get better and live forever.”
“Oh, I don’t know about forever, but I promise to haunt you.”
“Not good enough, Jess.” He fluffed Jess’s pillow. “You need to sleep.”
“I’d rather stay awake and be with you.”
“Yeah?” He moved the chair around so he could sit and look and talk, relaxing. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“No worrying. It’ll give you wrinkles.”
“We can’t have that. Where would we be without my youthful good looks?”
Jess giggled. “Lost.”
“You know it.” He smiled, squeezed Jess’s hand.
“Christ, baby, I love you.”
“I love you, Jessy. I do.” Mike leaned over, head on the hospital bed. “I’ve been busy. The house in Austin’s been rented, and we have a little one-story condo off the beach until we decide what next. I have an SUV to drive you home. I’ve talked to the UT lawyers; they’re suing the whole world.”
“Wow, you have been busy. And the beach sounds wonderful, baby. A good place to recover, play in the water.” Jessy’s hand slid along his head. “There a pool at this condo?”
He nodded. “The agent found one with a full-sized pool, a hot tub, even a weight room. She was going off the list of things we needed before the whole car thing happened. I just made sure there weren’t stairs for you.”
“And we need it early as we were supposed to go to Australia. I’m really sorry, Mike. I knew you were looking forward to that. Hell, so was I.”
“Not your fault.” None of this was Jessy’s fault. It was his. He put Jessy in harm’s way.
“So UT’s lawyers are suing everyone on our behalf? Did they suggest we consult our own lawyer? Just to make sure all our interests are being covered?”
“Coach Samuels said to let them handle everything until you were feeling better. The guy on the phone said nothing can really happen until the police part’s done.”
Jessy nodded. “I just want to make sure UT’s looking out for your interests, not just their own.”
Mike nodded. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow, if you want. Jeff and the team are going home in the afternoon.”
“Yeah? When do we get to go home, baby? I just want you to take me home. Nobody gets better in a hospital.”
“They said if you were still doing as well as now, you could go home day after tomorrow. I’ll drive us back. It’ll take four or five days, but we can sightsee.”
“That’s a long time to go without swimming. You okay with that?”
He smiled, shook his head. “I told you, I’m retiring. I haven’t been in the pool for almost two days. Another couple weeks won’t hurt me.”
“Mike Gauliet stop swimming?” Jessy snorted. “I don’t believe it.”
“No?” He chuckled. “We’re not discussing it until things calm down, remember?”
Jessy nodded. “That’s right. You’re going to wait until I’ve got my strength back so I can be the hardass.”
“Then I’m safe tonight.”
Jess laughed and then winced. “Yeah, baby. I guess you are.”
“Be careful, Jessy. You have to heal.” He lifted his hand, smoothed Jess’s sheets. “You thirsty?”
“Now that you mention it, I could use something to drink.” Jessy gave him a wink. “Coke?”
“I can go get you one from the little fridge in the nurses’ station. They showed me where the snacks and stuff were.” Hell, he could use a Dr Pepper in the worst way.
“I don’t think my stomach’ll take the Coke, baby. Water’s fine.”
“There’s ginger ale with ice chips.” He tempted easily, knowing Jess could probably use the calories.
“I can try, baby.” Jess was looking tired again, mouth tight.
“I’ll get the nurse to bring you meds too. Let you get some rest.” He stood, gave Jess a smile. “I’ll take care of you, Jess. Don’t worry.”
He would. He could do this.
He could.
Chapter Twenty-One
JESSY GROWLED at the nurse. He was ready to go home. Now. Hell, yesterday.
They’d forced Mike to go home overnight the last couple nights, and he missed his baby. He was bored and tired of lying in bed and everything aching, and he just wanted to be on the beach, lying in the sun, watching his baby play in the waves.
Mike had called the UT lawyers and then their lawyer, and he at least was confident that Mike’s needs were going to be met. He didn’t figure UT was going to screw them on this as they didn’t want to lose Mike as member of the team, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.
And thank God he’d been the one to be hit and not Mike.
It all went around and around in his head, nothing but the pain to distract him from it. If they didn’t discharge him today, the nurses were going to smother him with his pillow.
Mike wandered in, huge dark circles under his eyes, but a real, happy smile. “Talked to your doctor. They’re going to let me take you home after lunch.”
“Thank God.” He smiled at Mike, mood lighter just from seeing his baby, let alone the get-out-of-jail card. “You up to driving?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know if you wanted to spend another night here in a hotel or just drive and stop later, so I checked myself out of the hotel so we could figure it out.”
“If you’re up to it, I’d like to get the hell out of town. Hell, even if we stop at the first little town on the way home.” He just wanted out of here.
“Yeah, I have the car packed. I bought a ton of pillows for the back seat of the car. Hell, you have a TV and a DVD player back there.” Mike grinned. “So you don’t get bored.”
“Does the front seat recline? I want to sit near you.”
“Yeah, but the back seat’s bigger. I figure you’ll need to spend some time there, just to rest.” Mike held up a plastic bag. “Sweats, slide-on shoes, a razor. All the good stuff.”
He smiled at Mike, warm inside. “Damn, baby. You’re really good at this taking-care-of-me thing.”
“It’s part of the whole madly-in-love thing, yeah?” Mike chuckled. “I bought a map too. Thought we should decide how to get home.”
“As long as you remember I can’t navigate worth shit, baby—if you go off the beaten, well-signed path you’re on your own.” Christ, they both needed to get out of the hospital, get out of the city, and just be them.
“Yeah. I think we’ll go down along the coast and over. It’ll take longer, but I’ve never driven in snow, so it’ll be safer.”
“Sounds good, baby. Maybe we can find hotels along the beach to stop at.”
He needed to see Mike in the water again, see Mike taking joy from swimming whether or not it was a racing situation.
Mike nodded, sat beside him. “Man, I’m so ready to get moving. The little condo is furnished; when we decide on a permanent place, I’ll have the stuff brought from storage.”
“Sou
nds good, baby.” If Mike wasn’t careful, Jessy was going to get used to this being pampered thing.
Mike nodded, scooting so they could touch. He reached out immediately, sliding his fingers on Mike’s cheek. Mike’s eyes closed, Mike nuzzling in. “Oh. Oh.”
“Christ, baby, I’ve missed this so much.” He rubbed his thumb along Mike’s lower lip.
Mike nodded, kissing his thumb. “I was scared that…. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Shh. Shh. I’m not going anywhere, baby.” He dragged his hand back to cup Mike’s head, tugging softly to bring their mouths together.
Mike’s kiss was slow and careful, sweet, almost painfully gentle.
“Not going to break, baby.” He pushed his mouth harder against Mike’s.
Mike moaned, shivered. “Don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” He ran his free hand along Mike’s belly and then down, pressing against Mike’s cock. The sound he got was almost a sob, Mike’s hips jerking toward his hand, those eyes huge and dark. “Oh, baby.” He pushed his hand into Mike’s sweats, wrapping his fingers around his baby’s heat.
“Jess, Jess, you can’t. What if someone comes in?”
“If you hit the nurse call button, we’re guaranteed twenty minutes of privacy.” He winked at Mike and kept tugging.
“You’ll…. Oh.” Mike’s eyes rolled. “Y-y-you’ll hurt yourself. Oh, Jessy. Love.”
“I’m not doing anything to hurt myself, baby.”
Mike arched, lips parted, flushed. “I. Oh. Oh. So good.”
“Christ, you’re beautiful.” He watched Mike’s face, the pleasure there perfect.
“I missed you, in the bed. I missed this.”
He nodded. “I need you. Need to touch and to play.”
Mike whimpered. “Yeah. Yeah. I need you. You’re my home, Jessy.”
He nodded and licked at Mike’s lips, stroking faster. Mike pushed hard, sobbing as that cock jerked, heat splashing over his fingers. Groaning, he tugged a couple more times, sliding on Mike’s wet flesh, and then he brought his hand to his mouth, almost whimpered as he licked the come from his fingers.
Mike shivered, watching him with wide eyes. “Oh. Jessy.”
He purred, feeling better now than he had in days. “Oh, baby, I had forgotten what you tasted like.”
Mike smiled, eyes just shining. “Oh. Oh, I missed that sound.”
He smiled back, not stopping licking until he’d cleaned his hand.
“Jess.” Mike sat on the chair, grinning. “I can’t believe we just did this.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner.” He winked, chuckling a little as a nurse came in.
“And how are we this morning, Mr. Turner?”
“I don’t know about you, ma’am, but I’m ready to run the marathon.”
Mike turned bright red; the nurse arched an eyebrow. “You must have heard you get to go home.”
“I did hear that.” Jess grinned at Mike, winked at him again.
Mike ducked his head, nodded. “I brought him clothes and stuff.”
“And stuff,” he agreed, nodding enthusiastically, managing not to laugh.
They got another look, the nurse shaking her head. “Oh, it’s definitely time for you to go home, Mr. Turner.”
“I’ve been saying that for two days.” Hell, if he’d known all it would take for them to be pushing him out was a little nookie, he’d have jacked Mike off sooner.
“We’re doing the paperwork now. Once you have your orders and the IV removed? You can get dressed.”
“I’ve never been this excited about putting clothes on before.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Be good, Coach.”
“I’m just excited… to be going home.” He winked again, making the nurse chuckle.
“Well, it’ll probably be an hour at least, so just relax.” The nurse smiled, took his vitals one more time, and noted them on the chart.
“Hurry up and wait.” Just like the last couple of days. It was harder, too, now that he knew he was being sprung.
Mike grinned, moved out of reach. “Just focus on the wall, Coach.”
He laughed. “Brat.”
Mike nodded, wincing as the nurse checked the incisions, cleaned them. “Yes. Hey, I’m going to run to the machine and grab breakfast. I’ll be back.”
“You okay, baby?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just hate that you’re hurt.”
“I’m gonna need help changing the dressings, baby. You going to be able to do that?” He really wished Mike wouldn’t blame himself for this.
Mike nodded. “I will. The nurses showed me what to do, how to do it.”
“Cool. And I’m getting better, yeah? That’s why they’re letting me out.”
“Yep. You want some coffee? Juice?”
“Coffee and a danish or something, please.” He’d kill for real food.
“’Kay. I’ll be right back.”
The nurse chuckled, shook her head. “He’s a bundle of energy.”
“Yeah, it’s got to be killing him to just sit around and watch me lie here.”
“Oh, he’s been entertaining us, playing fetch and carry. He’s a good one.”
“He is. Really good.” And his.
She nodded, got his IV removed, his leg eased down from the traction. “You have a wheelchair and crutches. I’d start with the crutches slowly and wean yourself off the chair.”
He made a face. “I’m not going to be mobile?”
“Well, it’s all up to you. You won’t hurt the leg; it’s casted. If you feel up to walking on the crutches? Feel free. In fact? Let’s give it a try now, get you used to it.”
He nodded. “All right.”
She grabbed a big orderly from the hallway and a pair of crutches. He got himself upright, amazed at how much effort that seemed to take. He was actually puffing.
The leg wasn’t really painful; what ached was the tiny incision in his belly, the weight of the cast pulling it. “You okay? Can you make it?”
“Yep. Just gotta focus on the wall.” Which in this case was being better, being with Mike. Jess hobbled a few steps, grimacing hard.
“Let the crutches support you, now.” They walked him toward the bathroom. “Bet you’d like to stop there on your own power, huh?”
“Hell, yeah.” He nodded, just sweating like a pig but determined to do this.
“Good for you. You pull the cord if you get into trouble.”
“Thanks.”
He waited until they left him on his own and then braced himself against the wall with one hand, the other pulling up his gown so he could aim at the toilet. Damn—who knew going to the bathroom could be this hard.
“Is he okay?” Mike’s voice was worried, tense. “Is he hurting?”
“He’ll be fine. He’s in good shape.”
Damn, he was hoping he’d be back in bed before Mike got back. He had his pride. He finished up and opened the door, pasting a grin on his face as he started heading back for the bed.
Mike smiled, coffee in hand. “Oh, you’re up!”
That smile was definitely worth the effort, and his grin got real as he nodded. “For a minute or two. I need to rest up before the trek out to the car.”
“You’ll be wheeling out to the car, I think.” Mike nodded to the nurse. “I even have a wheelchair in the SUV.”
He frowned. “I don’t—” His words were cut off as he started to slide over, just out of reach of the bed.
Mike and the orderly and the nurse all moved in unison, made sure he didn’t fall.
“Christ.” He let them get him settled back onto the bed and stared out at the window. Damn it. A little trip to the bathroom and he was falling all over himself.
“That was damned impressive, for a first time.” The orderly smiled. “When the cast is off? I recommend swimming. It’ll build the muscle up.”
He looked over at Mike and laughed. Mike’s eyes just danced, almost really happy.
“I think I can get him in a pool.”
“I think you might manage it at that.” He gave Mike a wink.
“Maybe.” Mike gave him his coffee, his danish, and grinned.
He took a sip of the coffee and made a face. “Damn, baby, this sucks.”
“It’s not Starbucks, Coach. It’s a hospital.”
“Yeah, but do they have to make sure that every little thing makes you want to get the hell out?” He tried a corner of the danish. Well, at least that didn’t taste like it was designed to kill him. He tried another bite.
“Yep. You don’t need to get comfy here. You need to want to come home.”
“Trust me, I do. I did even before this poor excuse for coffee.” He reached out for Mike.
Mike came to him, hand sliding in his. “You about ready to get dressed, Coach? Put on real clothes.”
He nodded, wondering how much this was going to take out of him. Christ, he hated being sick.
“Do you two need help?”
Mike shook his head, moving to grab the clothes. “I can do it.”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” He gave Mike a long, slow smile.
“Okay. Press the button if you need me.”
The room emptied out, and Mike relaxed. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed.”
“Gotta get undressed first.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Well, that’s easy. You’re held together by strings.”
“Yeah. But are you going to be able to resist my bod once I’m naked?”
“Resist your bod? Me? Never.” Mike laughed, reaching around him to untie his gown.
He leaned in, burying his face in Mike’s shoulder. “Oh, baby, you smell so good.”
Mike sighed, the sound happy, sweet. “Feels good.”
He nodded. “You do.”
“You’ll heal faster out of here, in a real bed, where I can touch you.”
“I will.” He had no doubt about it.
“It can’t come soon enough.”
He kissed Mike’s neck and sat back, letting Mike pull off his gown.
Mike was gentle, careful around his leg, his belly. “I brought sweatpants. I think they’ll stretch.”
He nodded, reaching out to touch Mike again. “Sounds good.”
Mike touched him, sliding a hand over his body, warm and soft, making him feel easy in his skin for the first time in days.
