Page 49 of Izzy
"Top and middle drawer." Ulises didn't bother to move. Izzy would have growled and told him to stay put if he did. But he was starting to get chilled. "Why are your eyes shifted? Todd isn't here."
"I'll answer when you’re feeling better and ready to talk about it." Izzy carried Ulises' clothes to the bed and laid them beside Ulises.
"I can dress myself." It was a little head cold. He wasn't losing his faculties. Sheesh.
"Let me take care of you." Izzy had never been so attentive before.
Ulises didn't respond except to let Izzy dress him. He should have felt like a child with the way Izzy pulled on his underwear and then his pants. He felt cared-for in a way he never had before.
"Can you sit up?" Izzy wrapped his arms around Ulises and helped him. And then he helped Ulises put his shirt on. "Do you need anything from in here?"
Ulises shook his head and then held on when Izzy lifted him again. They went into the living room and to the couch. He expected Izzy to put him down but he sat instead, still holding Ulises.
Izzy grabbed Ulises' blanket and put it over him. And they settled into the position with Ulises on Izzy's lap. Ulises laid his head against Izzy's chest and closed his eyes.
He was drifting off when he heard the door open and close.
Todd entered carrying a sack from the grocery store. He put the sack on the kitchen counter and came over, sitting beside them. Todd brushed Ulises’ hair off his forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." He sounded like shit too.
The empathy was clear. "I bought cough drops and tea. Would you like either of those things?"
Ulises smiled. It was difficult to be indifferent toward him, even though a part of Ulises wanted to. He was so pretty and seemed innocent. The scars on his neck told a different story about how hard his life had been but it didn’t seem to matter. "Thank you. Tea sounds good."
Todd touched his forehead with the back of his hand. He leaned in and kissed his cheek. And then he kissed Izzy. "Can you take something for your fever, Ully?"
Ulises shrugged. He wasn't aware he had one. "I'll have to call Easton and find out."
"I'll do it," Izzy used his own phone.
Todd went into the kitchen.
Ulises shut his eyes. It didn't take him long to drift off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
There should have been some jealousy, especially with the way Todd looked at Ulises with tenderness. Izzy was contented for the first time in his life. He wasn't running.
The fear was still there but he had control of the part of himself that said everyone would leave him. The difference was he wasn't willing to leave them first.
What he was willing to do was make sure Ulises got better. He wanted to figure out how to cure Ulises of the flu or whatever he had, and also the tumor.
He watched as Todd washed his hands and then sat beside him. He laid his head on Izzy's shoulder and began rubbing Ulises' back. "The soup can be ready whenever he wants some."
"You like to feed people, don't you?" Izzy was starting to understand Todd a little better. One of the first things he'd learned was how much Todd liked to cook.
"I like to take care of the people who matter to me and cooking is my only skill."
"Not your only skill. You're one of the best kissers on the planet."
Todd chuckled.
"You should know. You've kissed a lot of boys," Ulises whispered and then he sneezed. It was as though his nose exploded.
Todd scrambled up and grabbed a tissue, handing it to Ulises.
Izzy hadn't realized Ulises was awake. His breathing hadn't changed, and he hadn't moved before the moment he spoke. When he did all hell broke loose inside his little body. Poor baby was a snot bomb.
