Page 79 of Everything's Better With You
Two beats later the door burst open and Leslie filled the doorway, blocking out the dim light from the hall.
“Oh my God, what happened? Joe, I’ve been trying to call you.”
Joe’s buzzer went off for real this time.
“I’m sorry, Leslie. I came straight here.”
“Yeah, Terrell texted me. Said I should check in with you.”
Joe let his head fall back. Damn kid. He couldn’t blame him.
“How was Atlanta?”
“Jesus, Joe—”
“Don’t forget Mary.”
Leslie planted his hands on his hips. “Your lips are blue. Let me get you out of there.”
“I can—”
“Stop it. Babe. Why didn’t you…never mind. I’ll yell at you when I’m sure you’re not going to die of hypothermia. You’ll appreciate me for it later.”
Joe took Leslie’s hand and let the much more powerful man pull him up from the bath. He’d left his boxers on, thankfully, because he didn’t need complete humiliation tonight. Once he was standing, Leslie carried his weight as he stepped out of the tub, then he wrapped him in several towels.
“If you just let me lean on you—”
Leslie pulled his arm over his shoulders. “Where does it hurt?”
Joe gazed up into his blue eyes and his bravado melted.
“Everywhere.” His chin quivered and he cursed as a sob escaped.
“I’m going to carry you.” It was not a request.
Joe bit his lip and gave a slight nod before Leslie scooped him up effortlessly. Joe groaned and tucked his head into Leslie’s neck as Leslie guided them out the door, across the hall, and into Joe’s apartment. He spoke to someone before the door closed behind them, but Joe was fighting too hard to keep it together to care who saw them.
“We need to get you moving around and then get you a hot shower and then some sleep. I’m going to put you down and let’s try to walk. Slowly. Lean on me.”
Leslie set him down gently and thankfully the ice had numbed the area enough that the slicing pain had eased. Numb was better than pain tonight.
“I’m s-s-sorry I d-d-didn’t answer when you c-c-called. It t-t-took everything to d-d-drive.” Joe was shivering so much he could barely get the words out. Ice baths were a suffering athlete’s accomplice and torturer at the same time. Joe used them sparingly, but tonight he’d been desperate for relief. The hours on the plane, the lack of sleep—he’d reached his limit, he truly had, and if Leslie hadn’t been there…
“Shhhh. Just walk. We need to keep you moving for just a bit more and then I’ll stretch it out. Is it your hip?”
Joe nodded. “Right hip flexor. It’s torn. S-sn-snapped d-d-during the p-performance. I can’t…Leslie, I can’t…”
“It’s going to be okay, I promise. We’ll get through it. I’ll do therapy with you. I’ll take care of you, Joe, God, why didn’t you… Sorry.”
Joe put his hand on Leslie’s chest to stop him. “Didn’t want to fall apart on you. Fucking hate crying.”
But when Leslie wrapped his arms around Joe and pulled him in tight, Joe let it all go. He cried. He bawled. He was a snotty mess and he didn’t care. Neither did Leslie. He stroked Joe’s back and hair and whispered assurances to him, so calm, so patient. So loving.
Once he had it out of his system, he stepped back and accepted the tissue Leslie handed him. He blew his nose, took off the towel and wiped at his face.
“Let’s get you on the bed and I can stretch you out a little, just a little. Don’t want to overdo it. Did the doctor give you the severity?”
“Grade two,” Joe said, wiping away the last of his tears and sniffling. “And I really want to shower first.” He dropped the rest of the towel and started to pull at his wet boxers but he couldn’t bend over to pull them off. “Les?”
