Page 51 of Waiting for Ru
Ru didn’t have many possessions. Even though Jasim had seen what he’d arrived with, looking at his things neatly laid out in the drawers made him realise how little Ru had. He selected a few items and put them in the backpack, along with Ru’s phone and charger. There was food in the room too, and he wondered why, when they had plenty of space in the kitchen. Jasim gathered items from the bathroom and glanced round, hoping he’d got all that Ru would need. After grabbing the cage, he went back to the room he’d decided on for Ru.
Georgia was still sitting with Ru when Jasim came up to them. Ru had a pool towel wrapped around him, and there was a little more colour in his cheeks, though he still held the small towel against his head.
“Thanks, Georgia. I’ll take over now.” Jasim shot her a smile and she nodded.
As she walked away, Jasim turned to Bela. “I’m going to take Ru into the house. You’re welcome too.” He pointed to a room above his study. “I opened the window for you.”
Bela flew off in the opposite direction.
Ru chuckled. “Thank you for talking to her as if she understands.”
“Did she? Or is she ignoring me?”
“She’d get the pointing and the open window.”
Ru pushed to his feet and wobbled. Jasim caught hold of his arm. As he helped Ru to the house, Jasim couldn’t speak, he was so acutely aware of him, of his young body, his long legs. Ru was clinging to him with one hand, the other pressing the towel against his head.
“You don’t need to do this,” Ru said.
Ru was wrong. He absolutely needed to do this. “Yes, I do.”
Then Ru glanced at him and it was as if they’d been caught up in a bubble, the air around them shrinking, pressing them together. Jasim was the one who was weak now, his heartbeat an erratic mess in his chest, his legs shaking. Up until this point, Ru had been a temptation he’d managed to resist, the result of an uncharacteristic kindness in offering him a job. He should have remained a temptation, but somewhere a line had been crossed. A toe sliding into danger, driven by desire and Jasim was left teetering on the edge of a precipice.
Even as he was talking himself into taking another step and allowing himself to fall, he was also trying to talk himself away from trouble.Be kind and do no more.No line had been crossed in reality. He was doing what any good boss would do for an injured employee.
Putting his arms around them? Letting them stay in his house?Who am I trying to fool?
He opened the door of the guest bedroom and led Ru through to the bathroom.
“I put your backpack by the bed. If I missed anything, tell me.” He’d drawn the bedroom curtains to block the sun, but left a gap in front of the open window by Bela’s cage. “I’ll stay in the bedroom while you shower because I’m concerned you might fall. I’ll hear you and I can help. Leave your wet clothes on the floor. They can be dealt with later. Okay?”
Ru clung onto the washbasin. He looked straight at Jasim and smiled. “Okay.”
Jasim walked away from him while he still could. He sat on the bed and listened to the sounds of Ru taking off his clothing, the wet thud as his shorts dropped to the bathroom floor, then the rush of water in the shower, the change in the sound when Ru stepped under the flow. Jasim tensed when he heard Ru’s quiet groan, and pressed his fingers into his palms to keep himself sitting down.
When the shower went off, he pictured Ru drying himself, wiping drops of water from that smooth, flat chest… Rubbing his tackle…Fuck!Before Ru came in and saw just what effect Jasim’s imagination was having, he pressed down hard on his balls to the point of pain.Ouch!
Ru was hardly more than a boy. He was innocent. Jasim shouldn’t touch him.
If I do, I’ll ruin him.
He stood up and paced. How could doing the right thing, so quickly turn into doing the wrong thing? He’d leave him alone. Nothing had to happen. Jasim dragged himself closer to safety.
Ru emerged with a large towel wrapped around his waist, gave him a weak smile and Jasim began sliding again.
“That made me feel so much better. Maybe I should go back to my room.”
“You’re still bleeding.”
“Oh no. I don’t want to stain anything.” Ru looked panic-stricken.
“Sit down. Let me get the towel we used for your head.”
He came out of the bathroom to find Ru sitting on the bed, the towel around his waist slightly open and showing part of his thigh.Don’t look.Jasim wiped the blood from Ru’s neck, then pressed the towel against his head.Don’t sit down.
“Head injuries always bleed a lot,” Ru said. “In horses too.”
“Where did those bruises come from? They look recent.”
