Page 76 of Blaze & Ajax

“God, what is my landlord going to think? He’s going to kick me out.”

“Don’t worry about that now.”

Ajax let me climb out of bed, and he pulled the covers over his head. I made my way to the bathroom and stared at the disaster before I went in search of garbage bags, which I found in his kitchen, along with a broom and dustpan tucked away in a little closet by the front door.

I tackled the big pieces of tile first, making a pile to deal with later. I swept up the smaller pieces and dumped them into the bag. Once most of the debris was out of the tub and put onto the floor or in the trash, I washed the tub as best as I could.

Satisfied that it was clean enough and that we wouldn’t cut our feet on broken tile pieces, I ran the water. As it filled, I poured some of Ajax’s body wash in to make bubbles.

The tub was full, so I went to get Ajax. I found him with his face peeping out of his covers, watching me, still looking like a fucking kicked puppy.

I sighed, still not knowing what to do. I just remembered my mom would always bitch about something, then demand that she needed a bath to relax, so maybe that would help him. Plus, being clean always made me feel better.

“Let’s take a bath.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You need to. You stink. It will also make you feel better.”

“I’m too tired.”

I sat on the corner of his bed, willing to give him another piece of myself, if only to get him moving. “When I was on the streets, I hadn’t bathed in so long. It was fucking awful. Cueball took me in, and I had my firstshower in god knows how long. I felt like… a new person, the water leaving me refreshed, renewed, and whole.”

When he didn’t say anything and still didn’t move, I pulled off my shirt and jeans and tossed them onto the floor. Ajax never took his eyes off me.

“What if you take one with me?” I asked.

When he didn’t answer, I knew he was thinking about it. “Come on. We’ll bathe, and maybe I’ll make you something to eat. I’m not the best cook, but you won’t starve. Then we can curl up in your bed and watch TV.”

“You’ll watch TV with me?”

“Why the fuck not?”

I finally managed to drag him out of bed. We peeled off our underwear, and suddenly Ajax was on me, turning me so my back faced him. Gentle fingers ran over my back. I knew exactly what he was looking at. He’d left me quite a few bite marks. Some were superficial. Some had bled and scabbed over, the rest were bruised.

“God, Aiden… I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Stop it. Don’t be. I don’t care.”

“You should care!” he growled.

I turned around and took his scruffy face in my hands. “I donotcare. It was hot. Sexy. I love you marking me and making me yours.”

His dark eyes looked uncertain before they flashed with guilt again. “I’m never doing that to you again.”

“It’s up to you, but stop feeling guilty. I’m okay. Remember our trust. You need to believe that I’m not lying to you. Now, enough of this. Let’s get into the bath.”

I climbed into the hot water first, and then Ajax got in, sitting in front of me, slumping his body forward. I grabbed his washcloth, poured his soap into it, and washed him as best as I could.

I lifted a heavy arm and cleaned his armpit, his arm, chest, and all the way down to his junk. He was in such a funk that not even my touching him aroused him. I swallowed back the insecurity because this wasn’t about me. Whatever was bugging him could’ve been the reason for the lack of a hard-on, and not because he’d lost interest in me.

Once I had his body washed, I wetted his hair with a cup I’d brought into the bathroom, then lathered it with shampoo. After rinsing it, I leaned back and pulled him against me so we could just sit there and relax in the steamy warmth. I may have slipped a couple of kisses in his wet hair.

Ajax’s head rested against my shoulder as he played with my fingers. We hadn’t said a word since we got into the bath.

As the water grew cold, we got out, and I dried him off first, and then I dried myself off.

“I draw the line on brushing your teeth,” I said, handing him his toothbrush and toothpaste. “You’re going to do that while I get dinner ready.”

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