Page 95 of Full Tilt
He had a pretty good glower going on, but it didn’t intimidate me. Even now, when his gaze on me hardened into something close to anger.
“Okay then,” I said. “You want to tell me the purpose of this visit? I’m sure you didn’t come here forPretty in Pink 101.”
“You and Jonah,” he said. “You’re sleeping together.”
“I thought we established this back at Grand Basin.”
Theo began to pace my tiny living room, his hand scrubbing through his hair. “Listen, there’s some shit you need to know if you’re going to be…with him. Shit he won’t tell you because he’s too damn stubborn.”
“Like?”
“His immune system is fucked, okay? Because of the drugs he has to take. If he gets a cold or an infection, it’s not like you or I getting sick. It could kill him.”
“I’m aware,” I said. “He seems healthy now—”
“Yeah,now.Four months ago, he caught a cold from somewhere, and it turned into pneumonia. He was in the hospital for two days.”
I shivered involuntarily. “Oh. Okay.”
“So you have to be careful. If you eventhinkyou’re coming down with something, you have to stay away from him. You can’t…kiss him or sleep in the same bed. Promise me.”
I nodded. “Of course. Jonah’s talked to me about it, and I understand. I’ll be careful.”
“And when you have sex…” Theo’s face turned red, and he turned his glance to anywhere in the room but on me. “You have to take it easy on the sex.”
“All right, that sort of falls under the category of None of Your Business.”
“Not if his goddamn life is at stake,” Theo spat. “Everything he does is my business.”
“I think he can handle his bedroom matters, bossy,” I said, trying to lighten the energy between us. “He’ll know what he’s up for. No pun intended.”
Theo’s face went even redder. “He might, or he might not,” he said. “Like I said, he’s a stubborn bastard.”
And you’re the epitome of grace and tact, Theodore.I kept the snark to myself though. “It seems to me he’s doing a really good job of being careful,” I said. “And I will too. I will, Theo, I promise.”
He nodded, his hard stare unrelenting. I held still in it, letting him see me. Despite his rough manner, I liked Theo. He was Jonah’s family and I wanted him to like me too, especially now that Jonah and I were together.
“I promise,” I said again.
His hands went back in his pockets. “All right.”
“Is anything else bothering you?”
“I want to know what your intentions are.”
I blinked. “Myintentions?To make an honest man out of him?”
I laughed and went to give him a playful shove, but he stepped aside. “You’re just going to leave.”
I froze, my laughter catching in my throat. “No, I’m not,” Isaid softly. “I would never…”
“This is a big fucking deal,” Theo said. “This is the rest of his life. Do you get that?The rest of his life.If you hurt him…”
I leaned my hip on the back of my couch for support. “Hurting him is the last thing I want.”
We stared across the space of my little living room. Slowly the steely glint in Theo’s eyes softened. His hands came out, looked for something to do, and then he crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay. And what happens when it gets bad? What are you going to do?”
“I’m not thinking like that,” I said, and felt my own anger flare. “What about hope? What aboutnotbeing so goddamn sure he doesn’t have a chance?”
