Page 54 of Part & Parcel

“Doc. There’s some tension there, it’s kind of weird.”

Nick blinked at him, feeling stupid. “Really?”

Ty raised both eyebrows and leaned a little closer, searching Nick’s eyes for something.

“We’re good,” Nick insisted.

Ty backed away a step, still scowling but looking like he believed it.

Nick winced and glanced over his shoulder at Kelly. “I guess it’s just weird not being able to touch him. Or . . . talk to him.”

“What do you mean?” Ty asked.

“It’s like we’re speaking different languages lately. He can’t hear me. I can’t hear him.”

“Well,” Ty said softly, looking over his shoulder. “You two have always figured it out.”

Nick lowered his head, nodding. They always figured it out.

Ty grunted, and when Nick looked back at him, Ty was frowning harder, watching Zane as he wandered around the kitschy lobby. They shared a wry glance.

“Tonight’s going to suck,” Ty muttered as he turned away.

They wound up being able to get two rooms on the ground floor, and one on the second. Digger and Owen took the upper room because it had two double beds instead of one queen, and Owen tossed Ty and Nick the other sets of keys as they trudged up the shaky iron steps. The keys were actual keys, with little vintage plastic tags that were probably as old as Nick was. Nick snorted, a smirk playing over his lips.

“Eli would have loved this place,” Ty grumbled as they walked to their rooms in the moonlight.

Nick let his smile break free as he ran his thumb over the plastic. Ty was right, Eli would have loved it. They said good-night to Ty and Zane, and they could hear Digger and Owen talking near the railing right above them. Digger leaned over far enough that Nick could see him outlined against the night sky.

“What up, Romeo?” he called softly.

“Go to sleep, Juliet,” Kelly whispered in return, his grin bright enough to rival the moon. Nick stared at him as he handed the key to him, and Kelly let his fingers linger on Nick’s when he took it. That simple touch and that enchanting smile were like torture for Nick, knowing he couldn’t do more than pull Kelly to him and kiss him.

Kelly read his mind, and he tugged Nick to him with a smirk. The kiss was gentle, and Nick’s eyes fluttered closed as Kelly took charge of it.

“You two never gonna make it all week,” Digger observed from above. By the time they both looked up, he was gone.

Kelly took Nick’s hand and held on as he unlocked the door. The room wasn’t as bad as Nick had expected it to be. It seemed clean, anyway, and that was all he asked for. They were both coming out of their clothes almost before the door had latched, and it was only the habit of expecting trouble in the middle of the night that made Nick retain his boxers when he finally settled into the bed.

The light in the bathroom switched off, and Kelly prowled out into the bedroom, eyes on Nick, a smirk flirting over his lips. “Are we really not having sex on this trip?”

Nick snorted. At least they would both be on the same frustrated page the whole week. “We go without sex for weeks at a time when we’re apart.”

“When we’re apart, being the key phrase there.”

“I know,” Nick assured him. He leaned against the flimsy headboard, absently rubbing at his sore quad muscle. All the walking and flying and driving were a little more than his surgically repaired knee was ready for.

“I’ve got something for that,” Kelly told him, and he bent to search in his bag.

“If you come up with lube, I’m going to cry,” Nick warned him.

Kelly laughed as he continued searching, and it pulled a grin out of Nick. He loved Kelly’s laugh, possibly more than he loved his smile.

“You realize Eli won’t know if we break the rules, right?” Kelly said as he tossed his medical kit on the end of the bed and crawled in beside Nick.

“Yeah, he will,” Nick said quietly.

Kelly searched his eyes for a second, dropping the teasing. He finally nodded as if he understood Nick’s determination. “Okay, babe,” he whispered. He pulled a tin of homemade something out of his bag and twisted the top off.

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