Finding Home (22 page)
Authors: Leighton Rose
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“You’re not naked are you?”
“Only if you want me to be,” Dillon answered.
Cody walked in and shook his head when he saw Dillon. He looked like he’d been run over by a car or something. His leg was in a black metal brace that went from mid-thigh to mid-calf, his forearm and head bandaged up. “I can’t leave you unsupervised for one day, can I?”
Dillon chuckled. “It doesn’t look like it. Does this mean I get to blame it on you?”
“Yeah, sure. Go for it,” Cody laughed. “How are you feeling though?”
“Like I tried to eat concrete and failed miserably.”
“Looks about right,” Cody told him, still standing in the middle of the room.
Dillon gestured toward the bed with his good arm. “You can sit down. I won’t bite you.”
Cody walked slowly over to the bed and sat on the edge. “It feels weird being in someone’s bedroom just to talk. That’s not normally what I’m doing when I’m in one.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Dillon swatted at him.
“Ass!”
“What? It’s true.” Cody’s grin was devilish. “Hey! Look at the bright side. At least you didn’t damage the arm with your new tattoo.”
“True,” Dillon agreed.
“But you have a whole new set of itching to look forward to when that shit begins to heal.”
Dillon put on his fake pouty face. “Why are you being such a jerk to me? I’m injured!” He tried to sound pathetic and whiny. Cody just laughed at him. “It comes with being my friend.”
“Hey, guys,” Adam greeted them tentatively as he walked into the bedroom. Dillon’s face visibly brightened when he saw Adam.
Cody thought it was so nice to see how much happier Dillon was with Adam around. “Hey, how come you never get that excited when I show up?”
Dillon threw a pillow at him. “Because he’s not mean to me, jerkface!”
Adam enjoyed seeing Dillon so much more comfortable around someone else, but he couldn’t ignore the pangs of anxiety that had been flying around in his chest when he walked into his bedroom to see another guy on the bed with Dillon. Even if he was only on the edge and there was obviously nothing going on. He was clearly still affected by what Blaze had done to him and this wasn’t helping to ease the situation. “Of course I’m not mean to you, Dil. I love you.” Adam bent down and lightly kissed his lips. “Mmmm… I missed you,” he murmured against them.
“I missed you, too,” Dillon answered back, not moving an inch.
“Okay, well that’s my cue to exit.” Cody stood up. “I’m glad you’re okay, Dillon. Call me tomorrow or something.”
“Thanks for stopping by to check on me. I appreciate that.”
“Anytime, man. Now stop trying to kill yourself, or I’ll have to hurt you.” Cody winked at him. “Good-bye, Adam. It was nice to see you again.”
“Yeah, you too,” Adam answered, and Cody left.
Adam strolled over to the hamper where he began to discard his clothes, revealing his perfect body piece-by-piece. Dillon groaned as his cock began to stir. “God, you’re such a tease,” he practically growled.
Adam turned to Dillon with his most innocent expression. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Dillon. Care to explain?” Then he grinned mischievously.
“Oh, you are mean to me!” Dillon grumbled. “Go take your shower before a pretty girl from Kansas drops a house on you, you wicked old witch!”
Adam cracked up at that. “Seriously? Quoting the Wizard of Oz? Wouldn’t taking a shower, like, make me melt into a puddle of goo and
kill me
in that case?”
Dillon waved him off dismissively. “Be gone!”
“Don’t make me sick my flying monkeys on you!” Adam walked into the bathroom chuckling to himself and waggling his ass teasingly at Dillon.
“Ass!” Dillon cried out as Adam shut the door on the spectacular view.
Things were definitely going to be okay for them, Dillon thought as he settled back to watch some television and wait for Adam to come to bed.
The worst thing was not being able to shower, because he couldn’t stand up on both legs, so Adam had to help him in and out of the bathtub to wash up. It was humiliating not being able to do that for himself, but Adam never made him feel bad about needing the help.
When the twentieth rolled around, which was the anniversary of his mother’s death, Adam spent most of the day in his room. Dillon spent some time in there trying to comfort him, but Adam wanted to be alone for a bit also, so Dillon gave him the space he needed. Adam just needed some time to grieve alone.
Dillon fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon, so Adam decided to go visit his parents’ grave. He drove the long, winding road through the cemetery until he came to the spot he normally parked in. It took him a few minutes to get up the nerve to get out of the car, but when he reached their headstone, he sat down in front of it.
“Hey Mom and Dad.” He spoke out loud to force himself not to just sit there and cry. “I miss you guys so much.” He reached out and gently ran his fingers down the edge of the stone. “But I’ve met someone.”
He let out a shaky breath and told them about Dillon. It made him smile to have something happy to say to them, so he told them about everything. “I know you guys are with me every day, but I wanted you to know I’m okay. I mean, I feel like things are finally good and right in my life. Or at least as good and right as they can be under the circumstances. Dillon has affected me in such a positive way, and I think I’m really helping him too. I believe it’s fate that brought him here, so I’m just hoping like hell that we don’t screw it up.”
He sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to feel his parents’ presence before saying his good-byes. “I love you guys. I can’t wait for you to meet Dillon. I promise to bring him out next time I come. If his knee wasn’t so jacked up, I would have brought him today. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
He pushed himself off the ground, blew a kiss at them, and turned back toward his car. His heart was always so heavy when he left. It didn’t matter that he knew better, it always felt like he was abandoning them.
*****
Dillon was beyond excited to give Adam his birthday present. He got up early on Wednesday to make sure that it was all ready to go and that everything was there. Cody had helped him with the arrangements since he didn’t have a debit or credit card and was pretty much unable to do a lot for himself still because of the knee. He wasn’t in as much pain as he had been five days earlier when it happened, but it was still sore as hell. He’d been able to stop using the prescription painkillers and was able to use over-the-counter meds.
He’d asked Amy for help with breakfast since he couldn’t make it too easily while hobbling around on crutches. She went to Adam’s favorite diner and got them both breakfast, then delivered it to the house. Dillon was super thankful for all of the people he could rely on.
Dillon made his way down to their bedroom and sat next to Adam on the bed. He leaned over and kissed him. Adam’s lips began responding, so Dillon knew he was awake. He pulled away and Adam groaned as his head lifted, trying to chase Dillon’s retreating kiss. “Mmmm… that’s a nice way to wake up,” he practically purred as he opened his eyes.
Dillon’s face was nothing but smiles as he whisper-shouted, “Happy birthday!” Adam thought he was far too cheerful for so early in the morning but appreciated the sentiment. He didn’t usually like to celebrate his birthday, since in his eyes, there wasn’t much to celebrate with it being such a depressing time of year.
“Thank you, baby,” Adam replied, squeezing Dillon’s hand. “But it’s really just another day to me.”
“Well, it’s a big deal to me. I get to celebrate the day you were born!” Dillon told him. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” Adam responded softly.
“Okay, will you come with me?” Dillon asked excitedly.
Adam got out of bed and slowly followed Dillon back down the hallway to the dining room. Adam was surprised to see a full breakfast waiting for him. “How did you do this?”
Dillon winked at him playfully. “I’ve got my ways.”
They sat down at the table to eat, and Dillon pulled a manila envelope off the empty chair next to him. “Happy birthday, Adam!” He handed the envelope to the birthday boy to open.
“What’s this?” Adam asked curiously.
Dillon giggled. “You’ve got to open it to find out.”
Adam opened the envelope and read through the papers, his eyes lighting up and a smile gracing his face the further into it he got. “Are you serious?” Adam asked when he got to the end. He held up two tickets to a Kansas City Royals baseball game.
“Yes! Do you like it?” Dillon asked nervously. He really, really hoped Adam would like it.
Adam hated the nervousness in Dillon’s voice. “Of course, I love it!” he answered quickly. “But you didn’t have to do this! Just spending time with you is enough of a present!”
“Shut up!” Dillon chastised him. “I wanted to do something you would love. I figured you could take Gramps for a weekend trip.”
“Wait? Are you nuts?” Adam looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m taking you with me.”
“But Gramps is the one who loves the Royals as much as you do. I figured it would be a good chance for you two to spend some time together,” Dillon protested. It’s not that he didn’t want to go, but he wanted Adam to really enjoy the time.
“Well, Gramps and I can always go another time. You did something amazing for me, and this is something I want to share with you.” He got up and walked over to Dillon. “Thank you so much.” He brushed his lips against Dillon’s softly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’m so relieved that you like it and didn’t fight me too much on taking it.”
“I told you I’d try. I think it’s a great gift but it’s so much better that it’s something we can do together,” Adam explained.
They spent the rest of the day on the couch until Adam went off to work.
*****
Dillon was already in bed when Adam got off of work that night. He practically bounced into their bedroom. “Hey, baby! Guess what!”
“What?”
“Matt and Landon are throwing me a party for my birthday on Friday night at Landon’s house. They want you to come too. It’ll be great for you to get to meet all of my friends and stuff!” Adam was vibrating with excitement.
“So is there going to be a lot of people?” Dillon asked nervously. Adam knew he didn’t do well around groups of people, especially ones he didn’t know.
“I’m not sure how many will be invited. I know the core group will be there with possible significant others or dates, and I’m sure that other people will show up. Probably some of our regular clients and other people I know,” Adam answered as he pulled his clothes off to shower.
“I don’t think I can go,” Dillon told him hesitantly. “I’m sure there’s going to be alcohol. It’ll be loud and crowded, and I don’t do well with crowds at all. You know all this.”
Adam’s face filled with disappointment as he stood there naked. “I know. I guess I was just hoping you’d try for me. It would mean a lot to me if you were there.”
“I’ll think about it. That’s all I can promise.”
“Thank you!” That filled Adam with hope again. He turned toward the bathroom.
“But when you come back out, I want to know why Landon is involved in any of this if you two are fighting because of what he did.” Dillon’s tone left no room for argument, and Adam realized he’d never gotten around to telling Dillon about their reconciliation.
Whoops.
*****
When Friday rolled around, Dillon’s stomach was still in knots. He kept thinking about the birthday party, and it made him want to throw up. His anxiety level was through the roof, and he knew for a fact by mid-afternoon that there was absolutely no way he was going to make it through the night.
No. Fucking. Way.
“Hey, Adam,” Dillon called down the hall apprehensively once he’d worked up a little bit of nerve. He was in the living room, and Adam was in the bedroom getting ready. “Can you come in here for a minute?”
Parker was sitting in Dillon’s lap getting loved on, keeping Dillon’s hands from shaking too much and giving him something to concentrate on, which was one of the only reasons his heart hadn’t leapt out of his chest yet. He heard Adam coming down the hall. “What’s up, babe?”
Dillon inhaled deeply. “Ican’tgottothepartytonight…” he mumbled, focusing on Parker’s fur more intensely than normal. He didn’t want to see the disappointment on Adam’s face.
“What?” Adam asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch that.”
Dillon sighed. “I can’t go to the party tonight,” he forced out more audibly. “I’m sorry.” He looked up to see Adam’s eyes shining with rejection. He hated knowing he put that look there.
“Are you sure?” Adam asked. Dillon knew he wouldn’t push him to go, but he also knew how much Adam was looking forward to it.
“I’m positive. I’m about to pass out now just thinking about it. I can’t handle that amount of people, especially with alcohol. There’s no way. I’ll understand if you’re mad at me,” Dillon told him sadly.
Adam leaned against the back of the couch. “I’m not mad. Sad? Yeah. I was really looking forward to it. What if you brought Cody with you? Do you think that would help?”
“I don’t think it would,” Dillon answered honestly. “But I might see if he’ll come hang out with me since you’ll be gone.”
Adam shrugged. “Okay, it was just a suggestion. I’m going to go finish getting ready.” He left the room, and Dillon felt like shit for dispiriting him like that. In his mind, at that moment, Dillon was the worst boyfriend ever. How much fun would Adam have, really? He’d have to look after Dillon all night, he wouldn’t be able to mingle with everyone if Dillon had to be clingy all night, and it’s not like they could dance or anything with Dillon being all gimpy. He’d begun to get around with only one crutch, but that was still not the most ideal way for Adam to spend his birthday celebration.
Dillon texted Cody to come over, and he was just arriving when Adam was getting ready to leave. Adam wasn’t his normal, happy self and that made Dillon feel worse. It seemed like either way he was going to ruin Adam’s night. “I’m sorry,” Dillon whispered as he desperately clung to Adam in a hug, trying to show him how guilty he felt.
“It’s okay,” Adam assured him unconvincingly. “Have fun with Cody. I’m going to go.” Adam pecked him quickly on the forehead and left.
Cody was waiting in the living room. “What was that all about?” he asked questioningly.
“He’s not happy that I’m not going,” Dillon answered flatly. “And I feel like shit for it.”
“Why aren’t you going?” Cody asked. “I mean aside from the anxiety.”
“I don’t want to ruin his night by being a burden. If I can’t handle it, he’ll have no fun at all because he’ll be taking care of me all night.”
“But don’t you think he thought about that already? He knows you, Dillon. He knows that’s highly likely for you, and he still asked you to go. That means he wants you there no matter what. This was important to him. How many of his friends have you met?” Cody asked, going into psych-mode which he seemed to do often with Dillon.
“Two. Landon and Matt,” Dillon told him.