Page 25 of Stay with Me
Brody dropped his hands to Drew’s ass and gripped hard. He pulled Drew as close as he could get. When Drew moved his hips, he could feel the answering hardness against his cock. As if their hips had minds of their own, they were bumping and grinding against each other to an unheard rhythm that was pulsing between them.
A pull on Drew’s stitches made him stop. “When is my appointment to have these out?” he grumbled, more to himself than to Brody.
“Next Thursday at ten hundred with Doctor Gable’s assistant,” Brody answered as he stepped out of Drew’s arms. He picked up his mug again and took a long sip.
“Go out with me that night?” Drew asked, hesitantly. He thought his odds of Brody accepting were high after their morning excitement, but you never knew.
Brody moved over to the fridge and ran his hand over something there. He nodded and then met Drew’s eyes. “Calendar says I’m not on shift. Yes, I have to keep a paper calendar, marking off the days since night shift kicks my ass enough that I lose track of the days.” Brody picked up a pen and wrote on the calendar. When Drew looked over at the calendar, in big red letters it said, “DREAM DATE WITH DREW”. No pressure there.
§ § § §
The appointment that morning had gone well. Drew’s incision was healing exactly as they wanted it to. He was going to be on restricted duty assignment for another few weeks, but they didn’t expect any long-term effects. He’d gone and had lunch with Aunt Trish at her coffee shop after his appointment.
She hadn’t smothered him which he appreciated. A few times it looked like she was going to say something but held herself back. Nova was supposed to join them but hadn’t been able to. Nicole had spiked a fever and had to be picked up from daycare. Drew knew that Aunt Trish normally would be the one to pick up Nicole. She loved being able to spend afternoons with her grandbaby. But the coffee shop was shorthanded today so she was filling in. Hence, lunch there.
Drew was on his way to pick Brody up for their date. He’d figured they could drive down to the Riverwalk and decide which restaurant they felt like trying. Drew hadn’t gone down since he moved there. He remembered visiting for a memorable weekend when he was in college. It was before Noah had moved to D.C. They’d gone to a popular spot and Noah “spied” on the guys at the end of the bar. It paid to have a cousin who was fluent at reading lips. Experiencing the morons attempting to pick them up after they’d said that Drew and Noah looked like sure things because they were ‘new’ had tried all of Drew’s control not to laugh in the man’s face. Seeing Noah go off on the other guy in sign was priceless. Drew had begun to translate but couldn’t once Noah started with all the insults.
Drew broke from his memories as his phone rang through his speakers. “Hello?” he answered without looking at the screen. Family had been calling on a rotation that he knew they’d worked out. If he’d figured out the rhythm correctly, it should be Cam on the line.
“Why the fuck did you not come see me today to fix your hair?” Nova demanded over the line.
“Excuse me? I just saw you last week. My hair doesn’t grow that fast,” he said, defending himself.
“You’re taking Brody out tonight. You need to be spot on,” Nova argued as he heard Nicole fussing, then quieting, as Nova shushed her. “It’s okay, snuggles. Mama’s upset with Uncle D for being a moron.”
Drew preened a bit being called ‘Uncle D’ just like Uncle Danny before he realized what Nova called him. “Moron? What the hell?” Oh, he knew he was the fuck-up but how was he being a moron today? He was dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt, sleeves rolled up, with a vest buttoned over it. Jeans weren’tpressed — who really did that anymore anyway? — but they were his nicest, and he was wearing a good pair of shoes.
“Don’t you want to impress Brody even more than he already is? Well, at least I’m going with what his nerves today were because he wants to connect with you as more than a friend. Now, where are you taking him? And if you say to Olive Garden, I might reach through this phone and strangle you.”
Drew heard Keith’s voice come over the phone, “Nova, leave Drew alone. He knows what he’s doing. He is an adult who is an officer in the Army. He is not a moron, although, he might be considered a bit slow since he’s waited more than six months to date Brody. I could see the attraction he had for his classmate last May.”
Keith’s comment had Drew’s eyes popping wide. Holy shit. Keith had picked up on feelings that Drew hadn’t even realized he had.
“What are you talking about?” Nova demanded as Drew pulled into the parking lot of Brody’s complex.
“Nova, gotta go. Love you all,” Drew said as he hit the hang up button on his steering wheel. He took a deep breath as he stepped out of his Jeep and climbed the steps to Brody’s landing. He pushed the doorbell, then turned his back to the door as he looked over the common area. He should look over here for a place when his sublet was over. He liked the looks of it and it was close to base.
Drew heard the door open behind him. He turned and anything he would’ve said dried up in his mouth. Brody was standing in the doorway in only a towel. Dropping to his knees sounded like a good thing to him.
“Ummm, I know I said casual dress but…” Drew was impressed with himself that he formed words when all the blood in his body had traveled to his cock.
“Ha, ha. I got a strange message this afternoon. Got tied up in the details and lost track of time. Come in. It’ll only take me a few minutes to get dressed,” Brody said holding the door wide for Drew.
Drew might be the low man on the accomplishment list, but he was no dummy. As he was stepping into the condo, he made sure to rub slightly against Brody and murmured, “For the record, you can dress like this any time you’d like.”
Chapter Seventeen
“I can drive you home. You didn’t need to agree to go out with me tonight,” Drew said from across the table, snapping Brody’s head up.
“I’m sorry. Do I need to bring you back to the ER? Did you fall and hit your head today?” Brody asked since he had no idea why Drew thought he was here under duress.
“We were seated about five minutes ago and you haven’t said a word. You’ve been staring at the table and playing with the silverware. What should I think other than you didn’t want to come out with me?” It sounded like Drew was winding up to be pissed. Brody needed to shut that down hard.
The restaurant they’d picked was on the smaller side with room between the tables. The lighting was subdued which gave Brody the courage to reach across and take Drew’s hand in his. Of course, that was the exact minute the waitress appeared.
“Hi, I’m Sara and I’ll be your server this evening. Can I interest you in one of our drink specials tonight? Or a draft beer?” she asked looking between them.
Drew met Brody’s gaze and had a questioning look in his eyes. Brody nodded. Agreeing to whatever Drew was proposing. Honestly, he’d probably follow the man anywhere he wanted to take him.
