"It's not fair..." Rayan sobbed. His ribs stabbed at him, not appreciating the sudden violent use.
Scott immediately set the bowl aside to start comforting him. "Rayan, I know it's not fair. I know this is hard on you."
Scott grabbed a tissue to wipe Rayan's face, re
Friday. Michael totally wasn't peeking through the curtains at his parent's house waiting for a car to pull up. He wouldn't do that. He didn't have his phone's notification sound turned to max. That would be a silly thing to do. He totally wasn't dressed in the most "normal," upscale, yet still completely colorful, clothing in his closet. There was no reason for him to do that. He wasn't monitoring the time by the second, either. Nope. Not him.Edwardo was supposed to pick him up at seven. That's what they agreed to in their texts. It was ten 'till. It's not like Michael had been ready to go for an
Michael leaned into Edwardo as an unexpectedly strong gust of wind came through. He wrapped his arms around himself and couldn't help the shivering and chattering of his teeth. This was rapidly becoming not fun anymore. How much dignity would he loose if he just went back to the car?Edwardo reacted quickly once he realized the situation his date was in. He pulled off his coat and wrapped it around Michael's shoulders, pulling Michael in close to his side. Once the guys around them had determined Michael didn't speak Spanish, they'd been bombarding him with questions about his colorful companion. One of them got out a teasing remark, which he ignored."Are you cold?" Edwardo asked Michael in English. "It's kind of chilly tonight."Michael nodded in response, blushing as he gratefully leaned into Edwardo’s embrace. The jacket was warm, hugely oversized, and having Edwardo's smell surrounding him was a very comfortin
You know that feeling when you wake up with a headache and a rocky stomach and a nasty taste in your mouth in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room and you really can’t remember what happened the night before for a few minutes? Yeah. That’s what Michael was going through right now. The room was graciously dark. He was propped over on his side with a towel under his face, and his back was against something big and warm. Wasn’t he on a date last night? He totally was. He went on a date with Edwardo, his crush, hottest guy in the city, with the most sexy eyebrows and beautiful voice. He tried to initiate sex in the limo, going off something he’d seen in a porno…
Edwardo was broken from his musings by Essie running past him and out her doggie door to the yard, where she promptly squatted and did her business. He couldn’t get her to leave Michael’s side at all this morning, not even for breakfast, so if she was up that must mean…Edwardo spun around to face the living room. Sure enough, there on the stairs was his very small house guest. The clothes he’d been dressed in last night were just as oversized as Edwardo remembered, with the borrowed drawstring shorts going well past Michael’s knees and the shirt hanging loosely off one shoulder. Edwardo’s heart skipped a beat. Michael was beautiful, even looking a bit hungover.Michael stood awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs. Sultry music was playing, some kind of love song maybe? It was in Spanish, so he couldn’t tell. The place was huge! The ceiling vaulted high above his head, and one of the walls was occupi
“Why did you even want to go out all of a sudden?” Rayan grumbled.“Because I told you,” Scott replied gently, “staying cooped up inside isn’t doing either of us any good, and I thought of a few errands I need to run.”Scott was wheeling Rayan down to the parking garage where his parent’s car was waiting. They’d swapped vehicles shortly after Rayan got out of the hospital, since it was easier to get Rayan’s wheelchair in and out of their SUV than Scott’s sedan. It was waiting right near the elevator where they’d parked it in the handicap spot, with the temporary disability tag prominently hanging from the rearview mirror.“But do I really have to go too? I’d be fine by myself for a few hours.” Rayan pouted, reaching up to pull his knit cap a little lower. “Bringing me along is only going to slow you down.”
“I was thinking of one more stop before we go home, unless there’s somewhere you want to go?” Scott was already driving to their next destination.“How would I have anywhere I need to go?” Rayan asked, slightly confused.“Not need, WANT.”“If you tell me where we’re going now, I could answer better.”Rayan’s spirits were higher than they’d been in a long time. It was an enormous relief to Scott, who’d been at his wits end trying to alleviate some of Rayan’s completely justifiable depression. Their next stop was the most important one. Rayan was finally going to get his ring back. Strangely enough, he hadn’t asked about it. Scott wondered why, but he didn’t want to pry too much, and he didn’t want to trigger anything on accident. HE knew where the ring was, and HE knew Rayan was about to get it back,
“You want to get a snack before we hunt down a hairdresser with an opening?” Scott asked.“We ate before we came!” Rayan grinned. “You’re hungry again?”After they left the jewelry store they’d parked in a spot out of the way of foot traffic to get themselves put together. Rayan had been wearing a coat since they came inside, but he was getting warm, so Scott helped him take it off and he stowed it in the backpack hanging from the back of the wheelchair. Rayan still refused to take off the hat, and wasn’t quite looking forward to the haircut, since he wasn’t sure he was ready for someone else to see his scar. Never mind that it stopped scabbing up a week ago, never mind that Scott said it healed cleanly, or that it “didn’t look that bad,” it made him more self-conscious than his casts did. He knew it was silly. The casts were WAY more obvious. He just couldn’
“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Scott roared.His blood was rushing in his ears. After he sent the first guy flying, he threw the second to the floor. He shouldn’t have left his Rayan alone, no matter the circumstances. This was his fault, as much as the accident was his fault. If he had taken charge and been a REAL alpha, none of this would have happened! He could have marked his Rayan by force MONTHS ago, and none of this would have happened! There were nervous murmurs from the onlookers. Why hadn’t any of them tried to help HIS Rayan?Security came in shortly after, demanding to know what was going on. Scott was ready to blow up at them too, for not coming sooner. Weren’t they supposed to keep shit like this from happening? Before he even had a chance to open his mouth, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned quickly, ready to beat as much ass as he needed to, to find that it was Rayan trying to get his attention. His Raya