Page 15 of New Year

Zack nodded, surprised and pleased Nathaniel had come up with that himself. “For now, yes. The weather isn’t deathly hot, and there’s no torrential rain forecasted this week. I’ll give you my work schedule, and we’ll see how things go for a few days.”

“That’s fair. I mean, I didn’t expect you to hand over a key to a stranger.”

“I don’t consider you a stranger anymore, Nathaniel. You’re a new friend, but we are still getting to know and trust each other. I don’t wish to be taken advantage of anymore than you do.”

“Yeah. Okay. Can I, um, take a shower? Please?”

“Of course.”

Zack led him to the bathroom and showed him the contents of the small linen closet. “While you’re showering, I’ll find something clean you can wear.” He pulled a set of sheets and a blanket out of the closet. “And I’ll make your bed.”

“You don’t have to.”

“It’s no trouble. Enjoy the shower.” Zack closed the bathroom door behind himself, then stood there a moment, taking it all in. When he’d left work tonight, he had no illusions of picking a prostitute up off the street and bringing him home to…what? Take care of him? Kind of, yes. They were definitely not going to bang, no matter how sweet, sexy, and sensual Nathaniel was. His dick perked up, aware that said sexy man was probably getting naked on the other side of that flimsy, hollow-wood door.

With a grunt, Zack rummaged until he found cotton workout pants and a clean t-shirt. He left them on the bed then shut the bedroom door for privacy. Unfolded the sofa bed and made it up. He only had the pillows on his own bed, though, which would be a problem. Definitely needed to go shopping tomorrow for a few things. The apartment was not equipped for visitors.

He checked his phone for messages. Nothing urgent. He did send a text to Chase that dinner service went smoothly, and asked to speak in the morning about a personal matter.

Chase had a separate alarm system from Zack’s, with codes they’d shared with each other, and Zack knew his friend never went to bed without arming it. Zack didn’t always remember to set his, but tonight he did. Not so much to keep Nathaniel in, as to let Zack know if he fled. At least then, Zack could immediately check for theft and call the police.

He doubted Nathaniel would do that, though. Nathaniel was exhausted to his core and needed a safe place to rest. Zack truly hoped he could give him that, at least for one night.

Nathaniel didn’t shower for as long as Zack would have guessed, based on his time on the street, but he probably had fight-or-flight kicked in right now, and being vulnerable in a shower was a bad position for anyone in a new situation. A few more minutes passed before his bedroom door opened, and Nathaniel shuffled out in the clean clothes, which were baggy but still showed how dangerously thin he was. He also had visible bruises on his right wrist and another on his neck, previously hidden by the sweatshirt.

“What should I do with my dirty clothes?” Nathaniel asked.

“Well, we can wash them now if you like.” Zack opened a narrow door near the front door, which Chase told him had once been the hall closet for coats. Inside now was a stacked washer/dryer and a bit of overhead storage. “Cycle doesn’t take long, and if you remember to put them in the dryer before bed, they’ll be clean when you wake up.”

“Okay, great. Should we, um, keep track of things like that? Like, what I’d pay at the Laundromat, I’ll owe you at the end of the week, or something?”

Zack bit back his instinct to say no and considered it. A flicker of fear lingered in Nathaniel’s eyes, fear that still didn’t trust this offer was altruistic. “Would it make you feel better if we did that? Kept a tally sheet of things you can repay when you’ve got the cash?”

“Yes.”

“Then we will.” Zack found a notepad and pen in the kitchen’s junk drawer, wrote the date, then used his phone to check the price of a load of laundry at the nearest public Laundromat. Wrote it down and showed it to Nathaniel. “That okay?”

“Yes, thank you. Can you show me how to use the machines? I don’t wanna break them.”

He did. The rest of the place was pretty self-explanatory. “Help yourself to the fridge. The water from the tap is potable, but there’s bottled sparkling water, too. Not many snacks, I’m afraid, but feel free to whatever. You can keep your own food here, too, if you like. Tomorrow, we can get you some personal toiletries, as well.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Remember, we’re trusting each other here.”

“I know. I promise I’ll do my best to respect what you’re doing for me.”

“All right. I’m going to bed. I usually sleep with the door open anyway, so if you have to use the bathroom, go ahead.” If this lasted longer than a few nights, maybe he’d hang a blanket between his bed and the bathroom door for a touch more privacy, but that was for the future. Not a worry for tonight.

“And you’re sure you, um…” Nathaniel blushed. “Don’t want any company tonight?”

His dick betrayed him by twitching with interest. “I’m positive. Good night, Nathaniel.”

“You can call me Nat.”

“Good night, Nat.”

It took a great deal of Zack’s self-control not to close and lock his bedroom door behind him. But he also didn’t want Nat peeing in the sink if he had to go later, and he’d said they had to trust each other. Respect each other.

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