Page 5 of Bear the Burden

Human beings were social creatures, as well as tactile. There were times when all Wesley wanted was a hug, someone to hold him when he was feeling so damn lonely.

And now that he had strong arms around him, he was pushing the guy away. He wished his brain would make up its mind.

Hyett’s smile robbed Wesley of his breath. “I guess I am.”

Finally, the guy let him go, and Wesley instantly missed the warmth. He wanted those freaking arms back around him so badly.

“I promise I had nothing to do with your tire going flat,” Hyett said. “How do you know it didn’t just lose air?”

He didn’t. Although Hyett’s brother looked guilty as hell, Wesley didn’t have any proof. “I’m just… I’m sorry I acted that way. That’s not like me.”

Wesley needed to get home because he was a little too high. He’d been so busy trying to rid himself of the pain that he hadn’t paid attention to which bottle he had in his hand or even the appearance of the pills.

While Wesley’s medication was legit, Jackson’s wasn’t. His father’s insurance had stopped paying for them because they were no longer covered under his current plan.

Which caused Jackson to find other, not-so-legit avenues to obtain pain relief. Although Wesley despised going to get them for his dad, it was better than dealing with his father without them.

Unfortunately, Wesley had taken his father’s pills by accident, and they were starting to kick in. He had no idea exactly what might happen, but if he didn’t get home by the time they took full affect, he might do things he would regret.

Like beg Hyett to sleep with him.

“You can give me a ride home.” Wesley had no other choice if he wanted to make it home to the safety of his bedroom before shit got crazy.

Hyett pulled out his cell phone.

“What’re you doing?” Wesley wrinkled his nose.

“Texting my brother and telling him to call the house for a ride. And to take my food with him but to keep his paws off of it.” Hyett focused on his text while Wesley swung his head toward the window and watched as the brother threw his arms up with a comically exasperated look on his face.

“I don’t think he’s happy.”

“Hon, for all I care, he can change into a bear and tromp his way home through the woods.” Hyett winked at him.

What an odd thing to say. Even so, Wesley chuckled. Shit. He needed to get home. He knew he should have made a pit stop at home to drop off the pills before he’d driven to work.

His body started buzzing, and his jaw began to tingle. Wesley blinked a few hundred times at the brother, who simply stared at him with a cheesy grin.

“My ride’s this way,” Hyett said, but Wesley couldn’t make his body move. He was stuck, unable to even look away from the brother.

Oh boy.

Suddenly, he was looking at a muscular chest. Forcing his gaze upward, Wesley stared into the prettiest smoky eyes.

“Are you okay?” Hyett frowned. “Why are you eyeballing my brother?” he asked with a hint of a snarl.

“He was eyeballing me!”

Maybe… Wesley wasn’t sure who started staring at who first. He scrunched his face, not liking this feeling at all. His medication mellowed him out and took away the pain.

The stuff his dad bought… What was he just thinking? Wesley lost his train of thought. “What was I just thinking about?”

He was back to staring at Hyett’s chest. The guy was too tall, and Wesley didn’t want to keep tilting his head back to look at him.

Hyett squatted, lowering his body until they were at eye level. The guy studied him. “Are you high?”

Wesley laughed and then grew quiet. “No.”

“Jesus.” Hyett stepped behind Wesley, gripped both upper arms, then guided him to a shiny dark blue SUV. He opened the passenger door and helped Wesley into his seat before buckling him in. “Maybe you should talk to your doctor about lowering your dosage, Wesley. I think it’s too high.”

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