Page 45 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“They had to cut the shirt off, and the trousers are…. I’ll get a new one. My sergeant gave Mom my badge to take home.”

“All right.” Tommy could tell Bobby still wasn’t himself, but he figured that was to be expected. Not many people lived through what he had, and those who did had a right to being a little rattled as far as Tommy was concerned. “Looks like you’re good to go, then.”

Bobby took a seat in the wheelchair. He looked more tired than Tommy had ever seen him. He figured Bobby had a right to that too.

It took a few minutes to get the car to where Bobby was waiting with the nurse. He pulled up carefully to the curb and got out to open the door for him.

“Mom must like you,” Bobby said as he stood up. “She doesn’t even let me drive her car.”

Tommy closed the passenger door for Bobby before getting in behind the wheel. “She can keep it. I feel like I’m trying to pilot a spaceship in this thing.”

Bobby had closed his eyes and tipped his head back against the leather seat, but he was grinning. He carefully reached his hand out and rested it on Tommy’s thigh as Tommy drove.

Chapter Ten

Tommy had only been to Bobby’s apartment once in the time they’d been together, and that was in the middle of the night after a long shift at the pub, but he remembered the way. “This place looks smaller at night,” he said as he pulled in to the driveway.

“It’s because of all the trees.” Bobby studied the house he’d grown up in as if he were seeing it for the first time before he opened the passenger door. “They hide half the house in the dark.”

Tommy grabbed Bobby’s things from the backseat and locked the car before he followed Bobby around Judy’s house to his little garage apartment on the side. “I can see why she was having a hard time keeping the place up without you. It’s huge.”

Bobby tried to shrug, but seemed to think better of it as he patted down the empty pockets of his jeans. Tommy realized what he was doing and handed him Judy’s key ring, assuming she had a key to his place.

“Thanks,” Bobby murmured as he unlocked the door. “And the house isn’t really that big. Only four rooms.”

Only four rooms with a big back yard and a deck that wrapped around the house. A fire pit in a circle of trees and a swing set in the back that Tommy could barely see the top of from the driveway.

Tommy followed him inside and kicked off his shoes when Bobby did. The curtains were drawn, so Tommy found the light switch by the door. Bobby’s apartment was nice, considering it had once been a garage. In the main living area stood a small couch with a dark blue velvet cover over it across from the brick wall where Bobby had mounted his flat-screen television. In the corner was a bar with a sink and a toaster oven, a microwave, and a minifridge. The other side of the room had been divided off with screens that, Tommy remembered from last time, hid Bobby’s queen-size bed and dresser. The bathroom only housed a small shower and toilet. It wasn’t grand—really just a bachelor’s studio apartment—but it was quiet and clean, and it felt like a little oasis to Tommy, one he often wished he could spend more time in.

Bobby disappeared behind the screens that made up his bedroom. “You need to take off back home now?”

His voice was muffled and Tommy assumed he was changing his clothes.

In truth, part of him wanted to head straight home. He didn’t like leaving Max and Zoe with anyone under any circumstances. At the same time, though, the rest of the kids weren’t due home for a few hours and the twins, even if they woke up, would at least be well fed with Judy. If Cal and Cheryl showed up, it might be…. Well, Tommy really didn’t want to think about how that might go, but he figured the odds were slim. They’d already made their appearance a few days earlier, and Cal had told him they were heading south to see Cheryl’s sister. Tommy pitied her sister, but not enough to try to talk them out of skipping town for a while. “Your mom said I should make sure you were settled.”

Bobby poked his head around the screen, a smile on his face. “Oh yeah?”

Tommy only nodded before walking closer. “She even told me to take my time,” he whispered when he got close enough to touch Bobby. Bobby stood in front of him with his shirt off and jeans unbuttoned. “I’ve got at least three hours before Colleen gets home with the kids, so….”

“So…,” Bobby echoed and leaned in for a kiss. “You wanna help me put something over this bandage so I can take a quick shower?”

“You wanna tell me more about that sponge bath you got this morning?”

“That depends,” Bobby told him, taking him by the hand and leading him to the small kitchen. He found some plastic wrap under the sink and passed it to Tommy. “You gonna join me for my shower?”

The shower stall was barely big enough for the two of them to fit in together, but Tommy didn’t mind. The water was warm as it sprayed over them, and Bobby was so close Tommy had no choice but to touch him. He reached for the bottle of shampoo from the hanging rack in the corner and poured some into his palm as Bobby wet his hair. “Here,” he murmured, turning Bobby gently until his back was to Tommy.

Tommy worked up a rich lather in Bobby’s hair, his strong fingers massaging down to the scalp as the small space filled with the scent Tommy had been missing. The steam smelled like lemons and something earthy Tommy couldn’t name, but it was familiar and made him smile as he washed Bobby’s hair.

Bobby let out a deep sigh and relaxed against Tommy. He dropped his head forward under the running water when Tommy slid his hands lower. Tommy rubbed Bobby’s shoulders and neck and found little knots under the skin, easing them with his thumbs. Tommy was careful of the wound on Bobby’s arm and avoided it altogether, but he figured every other inch of him was fair game.

“Was your sponge bath this good?” Tommy asked teasingly.

Bobby laughed softly. “Not even close.”

He pressed himself against Tommy as the soap sluiced down his back. Tommy was already hard, and it didn’t take much encouragement to get him to rock his hips against the slick warmth of Bobby’s skin. He cursed the fact they hadn’t thought to bring a condom with them. It would’ve been so easy to hold Bobby there and slide right into him.

A slight whimper escaped Bobby’s throat, and Tommy wrapped both arms around him. He held him close and pressed his face against Bobby’s shoulder. The showerhead was tilted just right, and Tommy was thankful for that, though he figured if he had to drown, this was the only way it would be worth it.

---