Page 31 of Stay with Me
“Let’s go, Drew. Major Hill is expecting us,” Steve said as he stood. “Top, when Provo arrives, please put him in the conference room and have someone on the door. I’ll give you a call with the next steps.”
§ § § §
Brody was dragging by the time he got home. Bouncing between day and night shift was killing him. It was not the time of year for a flu outbreak but surprise! He’d spoken with Cap, and assignments were shifted around for him to stay with Jared and act as his advocate. They’d arranged for him to be put in temporary housing away from the barracks. Brody had no idea what the MPs were going to do. The alleged perpetrator was one of their own. He knew that Drew wasn’t going to let it slide, but he also knew that Drew wasn’t in command. He could only hope that they would listen to Jared’s side of the story.
As he climbed the steps to his condo, Brody was debating whether he was hungrier than he was tired. A throat clearing got his attention. Drew was standing there, hair wet from a recentshower, T-shirt molded to his chest, wearing a pair of shorts and flip-flops. A bag of takeout hung from his fingers. It was definitely a sight that Brody could appreciate.
“Hey, figured you’d be as drained from today as me. Brought some barbeque,” Drew said as he closed the distance and placed a kiss on Brody’s lips.
Brody let the sensation of Drew’s lips against his seep into his body. The feeling of that small connection soothed something in him. He followed Drew when he pulled back, making the kiss linger a minute longer.
“Bless you,” Brody whispered when they parted. “I was debating whether I was more tired or hungry as I climbed the stairs. Now, I don’t have to worry about food plus I’ve got someone to snuggle with and recharge.”
“I am an expert cuddler,” Drew said proudly. “Let’s get inside. You go shower and change. I’ll get the food set out for us. Eat in front of some mindless streaming?”
“I could get used to this,” Brody told him as he turned the key. As he started down the hallway, he called over his shoulder, “I don’t want to mess with the investigation. I just have one question, they’re taking Jared seriously, right? I know you did but…”
“Shhhh.” Drew stopped Brody from walking any further. “I can’t share much as it’s out of mine and my company’s hands. I can tell you that my company commander and first sergeant were not happy that one of their own did this. We met with our battalion XO and shared all of my information with him and then we sat down with one of the officers from AFSFC. They’ll take over the investigation. From what I heard, Provo had visible signs of a fight on his knuckles when they pulled him in frompatrol but that’s hearsay. Jared’s situation is being taken very seriously by command.”
Brody dropped his chin to his chest and let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding while Drew spoke. Nodding, he looked up into Drew’s eyes. Yup, that’s what he needed to see. Drew was outraged and wasn’t going to let this get pushed aside. Brody cupped Drew’s face in both his hands and leaned his forehead against Drew’s.
“Stay tonight,” Brody asked. They hadn’t spent the night together since their first night together. He needed Drew’s warmth next to him tonight. He needed Drew to ground him.
“No place I’d rather be. I’ve got a clean uniform in the car. Now shower, food, and something brainless,” Drew said as he swatted Brody on the ass.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brody opened his apartment door and couldn’t believe the state Drew was in. He’d seen Drew naked, in PT shorts and tee, jeans and a vest, mess dress, and uniform bottoms and boots — might be his personal favorite not counting naked. He’d seen him all put together and bleeding on a gurney in Brody’s ER But holy hell, right now? Drew looked like a whisper of a wind would knock him on his ass. His uniform was coated in dried mud. There was… grease on his cheek? He had no idea where his cap was as his hair was standing on end … Brody might have to suggest he go see Nova soon.
“Umm, babe? What the hell happened to you?” Brody asked as he put a shoulder under Drew’s arm and pulled him through the door. A quick glance down told Brody that he’d be vacuuming soon.
“We had a morale booster today. After everything that the unit went through because of Provo being an asshole, Major Hill thought we needed to reconnect. The junior enlisted got to plan different maneuvers for the officers and senior NCOs. There was no way that I wasn’t completing everything they threw at us. Guess one of the privates just got done with a binge watch ofBand Of Brothersand they all thought that we should be crawling through mud and muck and… yeah, I’m not sure I want to think about whatever else they put in that. Luckily, it was the last thing we had to do.” Drew finished as they got to the bathroom.
Brody sat Drew on the closed toilet before he reached in and started the shower. Dropping to his knees, Brody began unlacing Drew’s boots. When the first boot came off, Drew groaned. Thesound hit Brody in the gut. Damn, could Drew make that noise again when he wasn’t covered in muck?
“I can see the thoughts going through your head. As much as I’d like to follow up on the activities appearing in your fantasies, right now I can’t even reach above my head.” Drew put his hand on Brody’s cheek and tilted his head up. “However, bookmark the ideas and we will definitely be returning to them.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Brody murmured as he finished with the second boot and reached to yank Drew’s uniform top open. He used the cloth to pull Drew to his feet as Brody stood. A pull here, a push there and Drew was naked as the day he was born. “Into the shower, soldier. Come out to the living room when you’re done. I’ll grab a pair of shorts for you.”
“Brode,” Drew called out. Brody looked back at his boyfriend. “Thank you.”
Brody smiled at the quiet acknowledgement. He nodded and asked, “Did you at least finish?”
A smirk lit up Drew’s face. “Beat everyone by almost two minutes. The rest of the officers were sucking wind.”
§ § § §
Drew dropped his head to the shower wall and let the hot water run down his back. Holy fuck, did today suck. There was no way he wasn’t going to finish. He would’ve been disowned. Tristan would ask for emergency leave from deployment to come and kick his ass. There would’ve been no way that he’d be allowed at family events ever again. But now? Even though he was dragging ass, he could say that he was the only officer who completed the entire event. Christ, he might be the only one who completed more than two obstacles. Thanks to Uncle Spook, he knew he was the only one who made Sergeant Julio tap. Drew wasn’t a mind reader or anything but he could foresee that MajorHill was going to be having the unit do a lot of time on the mat for remedial combatives. Actually, he’d be surprised if Major Hill didn’t have all the senior NCOs and officers doing extra PT with how poorly they all did.
The water was starting to cool so Drew grabbed the body wash. Bubbles flew everywhere as he jumped back from the water. The sound he made might have shattered glass as the water went ice cold before he was done rinsing off. He flicked the knob and pushed back the curtain. Drew spied the shorts on the counter. He hadn’t even heard Brody come into the room. Oh yeah, great situational awareness, Nolan.
He pulled the door open after a quick swipe with the towel and shifting the shorts over his ass. He knew there wasn’t pep in his step as he shuffled down the hallway. A quick sniff told him that dinner was… Mexican? Maybe tacos. Brody didn’t have a big repertoire in the kitchen but what he could make was tasty.
“Collapse on the couch. There’s still twenty or so minutes before the enchiladas are done. Do you want a beer?” Brody asked as he leaned back against the counter.
“Nah, if I have one right now, I’ll be out before the food is ready. Maybe some water?” Drew dropped down on the couch, leaning his head back. He couldn’t stretch out because he really needed food before he crashed.
“I put your phone on the table. It’s been vibrating like crazy. I figured if it was important, someone would call so I ignored it.”
