Page 91 of Bend Him, Break Him
“Oh, you’re fine,” Isaac said, ignoring Colton’s wince. “We’re almost done.”
“Okay, you can’t put that there—I won’t be able to see,” Colton said, struggling with his grip as Isaac saddled him with another box. “Ah, fuck. That’s heavy.”
“You got this, you big, strong man.” Isaac batted his eyes, pretending to be delicate with his arm cast when they both knew he was the furthest thing.
Colton snorted, nearly making Isaac snicker as he grumbled. But when Colton’s annoyance made him lose his balance, Isaacdid break out into a giggle as Colton stumbled backward and widened his stance to straddle the concrete.
“Come on! At this rate, we’ll only need a few more trips to get everything inside.”
“It’d be even less trips if you actually carried stuff!” Colton bypassed Isaac, bumping him with his hip as he swaggered up to the second floor of the apartment complex.
“I’m carrying the team,” Isaac professed. “They call me Captain Morale.”
“More like Captain Moron,” Mina countered, brushing by Isaac as she carried a trove of boxes, too.
Isaac hadn’t accumulated too much in the time he spent with Mina, but since he needed to actually get furnishing for his new place, that meant he required lots of help with the manual labor. Who better than the gays?
Much like Isaac, Jazz took on a support role, directing the GSA members she could wrangle into helping and leading them up the stairs with the couch, recliner, and tables.
“Hey, watch it!” Isaac glowered when one of them chipped the corner of the coffee table on the railing.
“You get what you pay for,” Carlos teased, carrying nearly as many boxes as Isaac had saddled Colton with a moment ago.
“Someone’s gonna pay if my furniture is fucked up.”
“Be nice, or I won’t assemble this nightstand.”
“You wouldn’t punish Colton like that,” Isaac said. “Imagine leaving my poor sweet boyfriend alone with a feral me as I scream profanities at the directions.”
Carlos rolled his eyes and made his way into the apartment.
Thanks to everyone’s help, they managed to get the entire apartment set up and organized pretty quickly. Isaac hid thebox of glassware in his bedroom as he watched everyone plop onto the furniture to rest after their hard work of moving things and assembling stuff. They all appeared far too homey for Isaac’s liking, and Colton’s incessant need to fill silence with polite conversation would likely delude the GSA members into believing they had an extended welcome.
Isaac cleared his throat, loudly increasing the gravelly cough until the idle chitchat ceased. Locking eye contact with a few he didn’t know, Isaac let his glowering expression rest on them to drive the point home before speaking.
“Thank you all for your assistance. I owe you a cake or parade or drink in the future,” Isaac said quite plainly. “Now, get out of my place before I hurt you.”
A few people laughed until Isaac’s unwavering stare startled them into silence.
Mina rolled her eyes and slapped Isaac on the shoulder. “You owe me big time, bitch.”
With that, she took her leave, directing a few of the GSA members with her. Carlos suggested a bar for everyone to unwind with drinks, and Jazz mentioned a restaurant with cheap specials.
Colton spread out on the couch. “I can’t believe you kicked everyone out like that.”
“Did you really wanna host for the next hour or three?” Isaac huffed. “Seriously, they’d have prattled on until the wee hours.”
“Yeah, I’m too tired for that.” Colton sighed, dragging himself off the couch. Isaac could see Colton’s desire to sink into the cushions and pass out. “I’m gonna take a shower.”
“Want company?” Isaac smirked.
“Company? I know what you want.” Colton tsked. “And after how you used me for manual labor all day?”
“Maybe I can use you for something sweeter.” Isaac squeezed Colton’s shoulders.
When Colton paused, Isaac took full advantage, massaging the tension out of his stiff muscles.
“Or you can use me.”
