“Which, that I fall for everything? Or that I’m a sucker?” He laughed at his really bad pun as he climbed into Troy’s bed. He was reminded for a minute of the Saturday nights in college that he’d spent three or four or more in a hotel room fooling around and watching porn. Good times. He didn’t really miss them, though. This was way better.
Even the view was better. Troy was solid and lean, and sexy as hell.
“That you’ll watch ghost hunting shows with me and snuggle. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Aw. Come here.” He held his arms out. “I wonder, you know? If all the rest of it was so we could have this. This is kind of the best part.”
“I love that idea.” Troy came right to him, burrowing into his arms.
He stuck the remote in Troy’s fingers and hugged his lover close. “Right? Me too.” He watched as the TV came on and Troy messed with the channels feeling pretty ready to shut his brain off for a while and just enjoy Troy’s company.
Troy’s cheek rested on his chest, and they both settled, the spooky music and melodrama filling the air.
20
Troy woke up with vicious heartburn and a throbbing head. All he wanted in all the world was to stay in bed and sleep.
He sat up, the room spinning, and dropped his head in his hands. “Goddamn.”
“Whassup?” Saul asked sleepily, sitting up beside him. “Oh. Headache?” A warm hand landed on his neck and started massaging.
“Uh-huh.” Oh God. That felt so good. “Please.”
Please don’t stop.
“That bad?” Saul shifted around behind him and started working his neck with both hands.
“Yeah. Just throbbing and like to split.”
Saul stopped just long enough to hand him some water and then went back to rubbing, Sir’s fingers finding spots that made fireworks go off behind his eyelids. “Did we stay up too late maybe? Do you have Advil or Tylenol or something? Tell me where, I’ll get it for you.”
“Excedrin Migraine in the medicine cabinet, please.”
Saul climbed around him carefully and got up, returning with the bottle. He could hear it rattling in Saul’s fingers and then the top pop off. “How many?”
“Four.” He was hurting. Bad. Bad enough that he could see his heart beating behind his eyelids.
“Jesus, that sounds bad. You’re pale too. Do you get migraines usually?” Saul put four pills in his hand.
“I don’t think so.” He just got headaches. He popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry, swearing that he heard them clicking all the way down.
“You’ve got water, baby. Right in your hands.” Saul tapped the bottle and then took the cap off for him. “Drink it down.” Saul moved around him again and went back to rubbing.
He drank deep, the cold water splashing in his belly. Oh fuck.
“You should lie down again. What time do you have to be at work?” He felt his lover trying to coax him back down into the pillows. “Come on. Lie down.”
“Today is Sunday? Six.” He stretched out, not even caring what time it was.
“Baby, it’s already five-twenty. You need to call out. Or at least say you’ll be late and give the meds time to work.” Saul shifted and stretched out beside him. “You… you want me to call?”
Did he want Saul to? Fuck yes, but that was cowardly, and he wasn’t a titty baby. “I’ll do it.”
He sighed and forced himself to sit back up. Come on. Focus. Phone. Carter.
He hit 2 on his phone and waited for Carter to answer. “If the place has burned down, just call me later.”
“I’m sick, boss.” There was no way Carter was going to be okay with this.
“Too bad. You’re my only cook. You’re coming in.”
“I’m—”
“Look. I know you have a new, hot lover. That’s great. But if he wears your ass out, you deal. You don’t call in sick on Sundays. Period.”
“Back off, man.” He stood, grabbing a pair of jeans. He couldn’t stop shaking — whether from fury or pain, he wasn’t sure. “Don’t you snarl at me.”
“Troy? Whoa. Whoa! Hey.” Saul followed him, hands gently fighting with him, trying to get him to let go of the jeans. “You need to get back in bed.”
“He’s there. I knew it. Tell your baby Dom you’re an adult and adults don’t play hooky to stay in bed like college students do.”
He felt like Carter just poured ice water over him, and for a second he couldn’t quite breathe. He turned off the phone without another word and turned to Saul. “I have to go in. There’s no one else.”
“Baby, you can’t even… are you kidding? What did he say to you? He can’t find anyone else?”
“Yeah. He’s still hiring people.” No way on earth would he hurt Saul’s feelings. Not a chance. Baby Dom his ass.
Something flashed in Saul’s eyes but then his lover let his jeans go and sighed. “What can I do? You want coffee?”
“Please.” He wanted to go back to bed, to have Saul hold him, but Carter was part right. He was a grownup; this was his job.
“Okay. I’ll… go make some. Put that Excedrin in your pocket.” Saul kissed him and left the room.
He sat down to put his jeans on, a cold sweat shaking him. Dammit. He was hurting, and he felt a little like he was fixin’ to hurl.
“All you have to do is get dressed. Once you get moving, you’ll feel better.” All he had to do was convince himself.
It took him damn near five minutes to get dressed and another five to make it down the stairs. Thank God Saul was in the kitchen.
“Jesus, Troy. You look awful. Are you sure you can do this?” Saul handed him a mug of coffee. “I’m kind of worried about you.”
“Thank you, honey. I’m kind of worried about me too.” He found a smile, though, even though he didn’t mean it. “Nine hours and I have two days off, right?”
“Nine hours. If you can’t handle it, you have to tell Carter, okay? I’ll come over when I get off work and we’ll get you feeling better.” Saul glanced around the room. “Shit, I better get dressed. Why don’t you let me drive you? That’s something anyway, right? You don’t need to walk.”
“I’ll make it. Thank you, though. Please, take the truck, huh? You’ll need it more than me.”
“I guess it will get me back here faster tonight. I have to figure out where to park it. Let me just run up and get clothes on.” Saul bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. He hadn’t had three sips off his coffee before his lover reappeared, dressed.
He handed Saul the spare truck keys, before heading for the little hidden drawer in his desk and digging out a house key. “Here you go. Truck keys. House keys.”
Saul stared at him for a second and took the key to his house. “Wow. Thanks. I mean, yeah. Thank you.” Saul pressed a hand against his jaw and kissed him. There was a whole lot of Dom about it and not a bit of baby. “You take care of yourself today.”
“I will. All I have to do is get through today, right?” He rubbed their noses together. “See you later.”