Page 44 of Izzy
"Use another one." There were a million damn bathrooms in the house.
The door opened and Izzy entered. Of course he wouldn’t ask Ulises’ permission. The gods forbid Izzy used manners.
Before Izzy closed the door, he saw Todd leaning against the wall as if waiting for them. Izzy also didn't close it all the way. He'd left it ajar. Was that to let Todd know they wouldn't be up to anything sexual?
"We need to talk." Izzy took up so much space. He always seemed larger than the room he was in and some of it had to do with his size. He was tall like all dragon shifters and had wide shoulders. But his personality was larger than life. He was extroverted and outgoing. He had an easy smile except he hadn't had one for Ulises lately. Before when they were fucking, there had been a sparkle in his eyes. The attraction had been there, but over time it seemed to die out, as if Izzy had extinguished the flame.
And as they stood with their wills clashing as if they were jousting, the sparkle still wasn't there. But determination was present.
"You've said everything already? Why beat a dead horse?" Ulises shook his head when the tears threatened. He was so done with crying over Izzy. And why did it have to be in front of him. "I'm not going to get in the middle of your mating. I told Todd that."
Izzy took a step closer. "That's not the issue."
Ulises ripped off a piece of toilet paper and used it to wipe his face off. "Then what is? I haven't done or said anything to either of you. You're the one who won't leave me alone. Not the other way around."
Izzy pulled Ulises into his arms. Ulises stiffened, not giving in to the hug. The last thing he wanted was to fall into Izzy's little trap of affection again. "I know. I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not."
Ulises didn't know what to say. All the other boys Izzy had been with were either one-night stands or he hadn't cared if he broke their hearts. And Izzy always broke hearts. Ulises hadn't expected anything different. He had just hoped maybe Izzy would feel something for him. Maybe Ulises wouldn’t be like all the others. But it hadn’t been surprising when he wasn’t. But the last few days, with Izzy being so attentive, finding time to spend with Ulises as if he wanted to be in his presence had been. Ulises didn’t know what to do. It left him speechless. The only thing he could come up with was, "Please, just let me go."
Izzy released Ulises although that hadn't been what he'd meant. He held up his hands as if showing Ulises he wasn't armed with a weapon. What he didn't do was take a step back. "I made a mistake."
Here they went again on the same merry-go-round they'd been on before. This was where Izzy would tell Ulises that they shouldn't have fucked in the first place because it messed up the club dynamics. "You've said all this before. No need to rehash it."
Izzy growled but for some reason it turned into a chuckle. "Would you just listen? You always have something to say about everything, don't you?"
Ulises narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Now move out of my way. I'm late for training."
"I'm trying to tell you I still want to be with you. We want too, I mean."
Ulises didn't know if he wanted to hit or hug Izzy. He was still deciding when Todd came into the room. He stood behind Izzy, but Ulises still met his gaze. Todd smiled and nodded as if confirming Izzy's claim.
Ulises turned to Izzy again. "I don't want your pity. Either of you."
Of the two of them, he half expected Izzy to be the one to get all pissed off, but it was Todd who shoved his way further into the bathroom and got in Ulises’ face. "That was mean, Ully."
"But accurate. Or didn't he fill you in on my medical condition." Ulises didn't back down. He knew if he did, he'd lose some type of showdown, and he was already outnumbered.
"Not the particulars. But it doesn't matter to us." Todd turned to Izzy. "Tell him."
Izzy averted his gaze and didn't say anything.
Ulises shook his head. "That's what I thought."
Ulises tried to push past them, but Izzy grabbed him, hugging him again. Todd's arms came around him from behind. They sandwiched him in a hug Ulises didn't want. Okay, he did want it but he knew he shouldn't.
Izzy kissed the top of his head and must have kissed Todd too because he pressed Ulises into his chest a bit more than before as if he were leaning forward.
And then he whispered, "It kills me that you’re sick. I'd fucking take it from you and endure it myself if I could. And I…I don't want you to die, baby."
Die? Who said anything about dying?
Ulises wrapped one arm around Izzy and the other around Todd, holding onto them. "I won't. Not for a long time."
"Do you promise?"
If his tumor grew into his brain, he wouldn't be able to keep it. The threat of that had always been there. Living his whole life in the shadow of death made him comfortable with his own mortality. But it was clear Izzy wasn't.
Ulises cleared his throat and tried to pull away. "No. No, I can't."
