Page 17 of A Case of You
Brandon nuzzled Stuart’s ear. “Yes, you are myverygood boy.”
Chapter Five
On the couch, Jeff had dozed off and on ever since they’d returned home from his doctor appointment. His late-night solo bravado had fizzled right out in the harsh light of day.
He couldn’t evendrivefeeling the way he did now.
How the hell did he expect towork? Seriously?
Even the earlier shower sex, which to be honest he hadn’t had to expend any energy to enjoy, had left him physically drained.
Because of being out of it, Jeff only caught snippets of conversations from the dining room. He was aware of Stuart arriving home, then disappearing for a while. He could hear Emma and Grace softly talking while doing their homework. Stuart and Brandon returned, soon followed by the aroma of dinner being cooked.
Someone rounded the couch. When Jeff opened his eyes, Stuart was kneeling in front of him, gently brushing the hair away from Jeff’s forehead.
“Hey.” Stuart leaned in and kissed him before settling on the floor. “How you feeling?”
“Shitty.”
“Sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
“I’m still sorry. Dinner’s almost ready. Can I bring you a plate?”
Jeff needed a moment to answer that. His stomach both rumbled with hunger and dangerously rolled at the thought of eating anything, even though the house smelled delicious now.
“No,” Jeff finally said.
Brandon suddenly appeared from somewhere. Jeff realized he must have really been out of it to not sense him walking over. “You heard the doctor, buddy. You need to eat. You’re losing weight. If you don’t eat, I’m going to make you start drinking those shakes.”
“They’re disgusting. They taste like—” He’d been about to sayass, and not even good ass, but realized with the girls standing right there in the kitchen that it wasn’t exactly appropriate to say with them within earshot. “They taste horrible. I hate them.”
“I know you do. You still need to eat. At least a little.”
Jeff tried to sit up and realized he had two sets of hands helping to stabilize him. The room spun for a moment, then settled. “I don’t want another PICC line,” he said, not even caring he sounded like a petulant child.
“Then you need to eat something,” Brandon gently said. “I know the meds upset your stomach. We need to adjust your meal schedule so you’re eating a little before you take them. That might help. The doctor said so. Spread it out. Find stuff you can tolerate and let you graze throughout the day.”
Stuart stared up at Jeff, his brow furrowed, his sweet green eyes full of worry.
“Can you please bring me something?” Jeff finally asked him.
Stuart jumped up to do it, leaving Brandon there with him.
Brandon sat next to him on the couch, draping an arm around his shoulders. “No, you arenotgoing back to work right now.”
Jeff glared at him. “How’d you even know I thought that?”
“You were mumbling at me earlier when I checked on you before I called work. Before Stuart got home.”
Hereallymust have been out of it. He didn’t even remember doing that.
Brandon arched an eyebrow at him. “Once you’re feeling better, yes, then we can talk about it. Right now? No. Absolutely not. I didn’t want to make you quit working, but you and I both know it had to happen like this.”
Jeff was torn between wanting to cry and wanting to throw a temper tantrum and realized he didn’t have the energy to do either.
Not to mention Brandon was absolutely right.
