Page 64 of Between the Pipes

“How do you feel?” His voice, raspy after sleep, is sexy enough to have even my pneumonia-infected libido perking up.

“Better, I think.” Good enough to be aware of the sick, sweaty smell of my body. I have the urge to squirm away from him, suddenly embarrassed as though he didn’t just have his nose buried in my hair. “I stink. Sorry.”

That hand makes another pass from my neck down to my low back. In direct opposition to my words, he leans down and presses a lazy kiss to my head. “No, you don’t.”

“I really, really do.”

“Well, I don’t mind. Wouldn’t say no to another shower, though, if that’s where you’re going with this.” I smile weakly into his chest. Now that he mentions it, I wouldn’t mind either, if he wanted to help me shower again. “We should probably get up, though. You need to take your medicine and drink some water.”

Disinclined though as I am to leave this bed, and the comforting warmth of his body, I untangle my limbs from his and roll away. Moving slowly, so as not to get dizzy, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit for a moment. The room stays still, and I heave a sigh of relief. Seated next to me, Anthony’s leg is pressed against mine and his hand is firm on my lower back. I glance at him and he smiles, encouragingly.

“Good?” He asks.

“Good.”

This time, I join him when he goes downstairs to prepare my food. He directs me to a seat at my dining room table, hands me a Gatorade, and informs me that I’ll be eating an entire bowl of vegetable soup. Apparently, I still need the nutrients. We chat about everything and nothing, Anthony gamely filling in the conversational holes when fatigue renders me silent. He watches, proudly, as I eat the entire bowl of soup and I can see some of his tension release. If I thought I could stomach it, I’d ask for seconds, just to relieve some of his worry.

“You have a game tonight, right?” I ask, standing up carefully from the table to walk around a bit. I feel as shaky and weak as a newborn fawn.

“Yeah. I’m still dressing out, even though I missed two days.” He observes me, as he loads our bowls into the dishwasher. I’m not moving fast or far, yet he’s watching me with the attention of a new parent on their toddler. Trying to give him piece of mind, I make sure I keep a hand on a solid surface as I move around.

“I’ll listen to the broadcast.”

“You will?” He sounds surprised, and pleased. I peek at him and find him grinning at me.

“Of course. I’ve been listening to your games all season. I don’t usually watch TV, but I like to listen.”

A wide grin splits Anthony’s face. He watches me take another slow turn around the kitchen and the smile slips, just a bit. “I’d say we should go walk outside, but…”

“But I live on a college campus and it’s hard to hide when there are hundreds of cell phones walking around at any given moment?” I fill in, dryly. He grimaces, but nods. “I suppose there isn’t any sense in hiding anymore, though.”

I haven’t seen the video but I remember vaguely, the steady arm around my waist and the brush of lips against my temple as he helped me into the car. It hadn’t bothered me; infact, the public setting hadn’t even factored into my thoughts. I’d only felt a bone deep relief that he was there, and a sense of safety that was largely foreign to me.

“Yeah.” He looks uncertain, still. “News might not have circulated around here yet, though. You could have a couple more days of peace.”

I flinch, fingers clenching around the chairback I’m holding for stability. “I’m sorry, Anthony. I wish I hadn’t asked you to hide in the first place. That was selfish, and inconsiderate of me. You’re a far better man than I am, and certainly more than I deserve.”

His shoulders sag. “That’s not true. And you’re allowed to be selfish when you’re just trying to protect yourself.”

“Maybe so, but it wasn’tyouI needed to protect myself from. Yet that’s exactly what I was doing. So, I apologize, for everything. I hope you’ll give me a chance to make it up to you.” I wave a hand at my bedraggled, rumpled form. “I seem to be racking up quite the bill.”

He shakes his head, firmly. “No. I’m not here because I want you to owe me. I’m here because I like you, and I want to be with you. This isn’t…look, you had your reasons for keeping things casual between us, and they were good ones. I’m not holding that against you, and you shouldn’t either. I don’t want any more apologies, Nico, and I don’t want you thinking you’re indebted to me because I’m here making sure you drink water.”

Legs feeling a little shaky, I take a seat in one of the dining room chairs. “I feel awful,” I tell him.

“Pneumonia will do that to you.”

I give a dry chuckle that turns into a hacking cough. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Crouching down in front of me and placing his hands on my knees, he locks eyes with me. Before he can speak, I reach outa hand and touch his face. His scruff scratches across the pad of my thumb as I trace his jaw.

“I probably don’t have to tell you how handsome you are,” I say, mildly.

“Sweet talker.” His hands are warm on my legs, eyes dark and intent on mine.

When he leans forward, closing the distance between our faces, my breath hitches.He’s going to kiss me, I think, just as he changes course and presses his lips to my cheek, barely missing the corner of my mouth. When he leans back and meets my eyes once more, he squeezes my thighs reassuringly.

“Not just yet,” he murmurs.

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