by Carol Lynne
“Just once. The day of the collapse.”
Ethan had his arms crossed in a defensive posture. Jay wondered if Ethan still carried a torch for Erico. He hated that his friend had been hurt, but a small part of him was torn by the rest of it. If Erico had wanted Jay all those months ago, why hadn’t he acted on it? Jay already knew Erico enjoyed travelling from bed to bed, so that much didn’t come as a surprise. What did was suddenly being jealous of his own friend.
Jay ran his fingers through his hair. He took the elastic band off his wrist and put his hair into a ponytail. Why did he have the urge to hurt his best friend by telling him who’d been in Erico’s bed recently? The mere thought shamed him.
Jay lay back down. “We gonna finish watching this or what?”
* * * *
By the time Jay made it to The Canoe, he was out of sorts. He still wasn’t sure whether or not to confront Erico about fucking his best friend. Stepping into the kitchen, he spotted Erico going over a sheet of paper with a man he assumed to be Francois, who was leaning way too close to Erico for Jay’s comfort.
“Hey,” Jay said, announcing his presence.
Erico looked up and smiled. Jay could swear the man looked relieved to see him. “Glad you made it.”
Erico gestured to Jay. “Francois, this is Jay. He’s the friend I told you would be helping you out from time to time this week. Jay, this is Francois Tilmont.”
Jay stepped forward and reached out to shake the man’s hand. He didn’t miss the way Francois looked him up and down before taking his hand. Evidently, Erico hadn’t missed the leer either. Twice Jay attempted to pull his hand away only to have Francois tighten his grip. Jay flashed a look at Erico.
“Introductions finished, let’s go over the menu for the week,” Erico said in a brusque tone.
Francois finally released Jay’s hand. “Yes,” he said and returned to his original position at Erico’s side.
Erico reached out and pulled Jay against his other side. As he began to go over the menu, Jay felt Erico’s hand land on his back, rubbing circles against Jay’s skin.
Jay glanced at Erico and smiled. He knew what Erico was doing and oddly enough, didn’t mind a bit. To further prove the two of them were together, Jay took a deep breath and placed his hand on Erico’s shoulder. Was he ready to bring his relationship with Erico out for public consumption? He knew it was a huge thing to do, especially with someone he didn’t even know, but he refused to be leered at every time he turned around.
Jay felt Erico’s body relax under his hand. Jay began to wonder what had happened before he’d arrived. It was obvious there was tension between the two men. Perhaps Francois had made a move towards Erico. Jay prayed if it had happened, Erico had rebuffed the handsome man.
Jay slid his hand to the back of Erico’s neck, idly playing with the soft curls he enjoyed so much. He spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to see Francois staring at him. “Yes?”
Francois made a noise before clearing his throat. “Nothing.”
“So you think you can handle this?” Erico asked Francois.
“I’m good at what I do,” Francois stated bluntly.
“Yes. I’m sure you are. Otherwise I would never have hired you.” Erico said, letting the sous chef know in no uncertain terms that he’d been hired to do a job and not to warm his bed.
Jay wanted to wrap his arms around Erico and kiss him until they were both hard and gasping for oxygen. Instead he subtly rubbed his erection against Erico’s side.
Francois simply nodded at Erico’s statement. “Will you be staying through the dinner shift?”
“Of course,” Erico answered. “I’ll also be here tomorrow.”
“I’m going to go over a few things with Jay in my office. Why don’t you go introduce yourself to the wait staff? Your assistants should be showing up any time, too.”
With a sharp nod, Francois exited the kitchen. Erico stood and led Jay out the back door of the kitchen towards his office. Jay followed, swinging Erico’s hand towards him to brush against the front of his jeans.
“You’ve got me horny,” Jay confessed as Erico opened his door.
Erico pulled him into the office and slammed Jay against the solid wood door. “Fuck, you’re driving me crazy.”
Jay sighed as Erico immediately dropped to his knees and began fumbling with Jay’s jeans. While Erico went to work pulling them down, Jay toed off his shoes. Getting his dick sucked was nice, but he had something else in mind.
Erico’s face pressed against Jay’s genitals. The first rasp of teeth against Jay’s balls had him ready to whimper. “Need your cock,” Jay begged.
“You’ll get it,” Erico said, licking his way up Jay’s erection.
Jay wanted to argue but the hot mouth enveloping his cock felt fantastic. He placed one foot on Erico’s shoulder, hoping his lover would get the hint that his ass also needed some attention.
Right on cue, Erico held up his hand, and Jay quickly spit on the man’s fingers before rubbing the saliva down their length. Erico’s fingers found their way easily to Jay’s ass. As he eased them inside, Jay almost lost his balance.
Erico released the cock in his mouth and pulled Jay onto the carpeted floor with him. “Hands and knees.”
Jay gleefully assumed the position and moaned when he felt Erico’s tongue take its first swipe across his hole. “Aahhh, yeah, eat me.”
It hadn’t taken Jay long to learn talking dirty to Erico only made their sessions more intense. Jay was all for that. He loved to talk dirty. He figured it had something to do with his normally shy nature outside of the bedroom.
“Gonna shove that fat cock up my ass?” he asked.
“Mmm hmm,” Erico answered without taking his face out of Jay’s crack.
Jay rocked back and forth as Erico’s tongue worked its way inside of him. “You need to tell Frenchy this tongue is mine.”
Erico pulled out his tongue and nipped the sensitive flesh surrounding Jay’s hole. “I’ll bring him in here right now and make him watch me fuck your brains out if that’s what you want.”
Jay chuckled. He may be a slut but he’d never been into exhibitionism. “Uhhh, I think you telling him will be enough. Now fuck me like you really mean it.”
Erico made quick work of his pants, pulling a condom from out of his pocket. Jay rested his shoulders on the floor, sticking his ass up even higher into the air and wrapped a hand around his cock.
“Need you,” he began to whimper when Erico took longer than Jay thought he should.
“You got me, baby.”
Jay felt the first touch of Erico’s cock a second before it slammed deep inside of him. He howled as his body fought to accommodate Erico’s length and girth. “So good. So fucking good,” Jay babbled.
Erico barely gave Jay a moment to catch his breath before he started a hard, fast rhythm. This was no leisurely fuck, this was a complete ass reaming, and Jay loved it. “Faster. Harder.”
Jay was forced to put one hand under the side of his face to keep it from catching fire as it continued to rub across the carpet. He heard a loud gasp from Erico and assumed his lover was coming, but all too quickly Erico landed on the carpet beside him.
Jay glanced over to give the man a hard time. Erico was clutching his chest and staring helplessly at Jay. “Fuck!”
Jay jumped to his feet and scrambled for the pill case in Erico’s pants. In his haste to open the container, he ended up spilling the contents. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I got it.” He grabbed one off the carpet and shoved it under Erico’s tongue.
Jay could tell by the expression on Erico’s face this attack was different. He got to his feet and ran for the phone on Erico’s desk, punching 9-1-1.
“9-1-1 operator.”
“I need an ambulance at The Canoe. Erico Morrelli’s having a heart attack.” Jay knew he was supposed to hold the line, but he tossed the phone down and returned to Erico’s side. He ran a hand over Erico’s crea
sed forehead. “Hang on. They’re coming.”
“Dressed,” Erico gasped.
Jay shook his head. Fuck his clothes. He wasn’t leaving Erico’s side until the paramedics arrived. “Don’t worry about me. Just take slow, deep breaths.”
Erico nodded. “Getting better,” he panted.
Jay continued to soothe Erico with soft touches and words until there was a banging on the door. He leant over Erico’s body and unlocked the door. “Be careful,” he shouted. “He’s in the way of the door.”
Jay tried his best to move Erico far enough away to let help in. The first person through the door was Zac Alben, quickly followed by Sammy Lee. Jay scooted back to give the men room to work and reached for his jeans. He was grateful neither man asked him what had happened. It was pretty obvious what he and Erico had been doing.
As they questioned Erico about his heart condition, Jay slid into his jeans. He glanced up just in time to see Francois staring at him with a grin on his face. The stupid smile set Jay off. “Fuck you, asshole. Shouldn’t you be more concerned with your new boss than my cock?”
All faces in the room turned to stare at Jay. He stared right back until they went back to their jobs. When George Manning and Collin Zeffer made their way into the office with a stretcher, Jay began to pace. This isn’t good if they’re taking him to the hospital. Erico seemed fairly alert as they began to load him onto the stretcher.
“Where’re you taking him?” Jay asked.
“To the clinic and then probably to the hospital in Sheridan,” Sammy informed Jay.
“Can I ride with him?” Jay asked.
Sammy shook his head. “Sorry.”
“My keys,” Erico mumbled, pointing to his pants.
“You’re going to let me take your SUV?” Jay was shocked. Erico’s pride and joy cost more than most houses in town.
Erico nodded. “Need you.”
Jay tried to smile. He wasn’t ready to admit he also needed Erico, but he had a bad feeling that he did. Jay was rummaging in Erico’s pants pocket for his keys and phone when he overheard Erico say something to Francois as they wheeled him out of the office.
“He’s mine,” Erico mumbled.
Jay followed the paramedics out of the restaurant, thankful they’d placed a blanket over Erico’s nude lower-half. Instead of loading Erico into the ambulance, they pushed the gurney across the parking lot to the clinic.
After pocketing Erico’s keys, he opened the phone and scrolled through Erico’s numbers until he came to one he thought must be Erico’s mother. It wasn’t exactly the way he’d wanted to talk to the woman for the first time, but Jay knew Erico’s mom would want to know. He just hoped the woman didn’t hate him for bringing on her son’s heart attack.
Chapter Six
Jay sat in the hospital waiting room alone. Rosa, Erico’s mother, had tried to get him to sit in Erico’s room with her, but Jay didn’t feel right about it. He was still pissed at himself for getting Erico worked up to the point of having a minor heart attack.
Dammit. They both should have learned their lesson after the first time. With his feet up in the chair, Jay hugged his legs. After the ambulance had transferred Erico to the hospital in Sheridan, he had to undergo a series of tests to prepare him for today’s procedure. The call to Erico’s mother had been one of the hardest of Jay’s life. Bless the woman for not getting overly upset. It had been almost like she’d been expecting the call.
Jay had picked her up at the airport that morning and brought her to the hospital in time to see Erico before he went in for his procedure. Rosa had offered to wait and let Jay go in first, but he’d refused. His feelings were all over the place. Guilt and confusion were still at war within him.
According to Erico’s doctor, the angioplasty and stent they put in should take care of Erico’s immediate problem, but Erico would need to completely change his lifestyle if he intended to live a long and full life.
Jay wondered if good food, alcohol and stress were the only things the doctor expected Erico to give up.
“Jay?”
Jay looked up to see Rosa’s kind face looking down at him.
“Erico is awake. He’d like to see you.”
Jay shook his head. “I don’t know if I should. Especially after what happened yesterday.”
Rosa sat down beside Jay and patted his arm. “You think his pain was your fault?”
Well, he was pounding my ass at the time. Instead of voicing his true thoughts, Jay simply nodded.
“My son has lived recklessly for most of his life. It’s his fault he’s in that hospital bed and he knows it. He watched his father die when he was still a very young man, and instead of learning from it, Erico got it in his head to live every day like it was his last.”
Jay blinked. That’s exactly how he’d always tried to live. “That’s a good thing, though, right?”
Rosa shook her head. “That’s a dangerous thing. A selfish thing. He should have been taking better care of himself instead of living that way. Unfortunately, his bad habits caught up with him. That’s why he’s here, not because he was…intimate with you.”
“You know?” Jay asked. He was even more embarrassed than he had been earlier.
Rosa squeezed Jay’s arm. “I suspected. Why else would you feel so guilty?”
“I’m sorry,” Jay tried to apologise.
Rosa leant in. “I’m not. When he woke up a few moments ago you were the first person he called for. I’ve never known my son to care so much for someone.” Rosa released Jay’s arm. “Now, go in there and see him while he’s still awake.”
Jay’s mind was reeling. He wasn’t sure how to take Rosa’s statement. It was way too early for Erico to have developed actual feelings for him. Wasn’t it?
He entered the room and stood by the door as a nurse spoke quietly to Erico. Although Erico was pale, he looked a hell of a lot better than he had the previous day. The nurse smiled at Jay as she left the room.
“Hey, you,” Erico said, sounding tired.
Jay walked over and stood, uncomfortably, beside the bed. “How’re you feeling?”
Erico grinned. “Like I’d love to move my leg. You know how it is when someone says you can’t do something, just makes you want to do it even more.”
Erico’s good mood went a long way in putting Jay at ease. He noticed the chair next to the bed and sat down. “So how long do you have to stay?”
“I’m crossing my fingers that everything will go smoothly and they’ll let me out tomorrow. I’ll have to take it easy for a few days, but I actually feel better than I have in years.” Erico held out his hand.
Jay stared at Erico’s palm for several moments before accepting the gesture. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. You scared me really bad yesterday.”
Erico lifted Jay’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “It scared me, too. But I’m glad you were with me.”
Once again, Jay felt uncomfortable. He saw true feelings in Erico’s eyes and it scared him. Their new relationship was supposed to be built on sex. Feelings weren’t part of the deal.
Jay knew he had a lot of thinking to do. He wasn’t ready for anything other than an affair. The illness was a wrench in the plan, but Jay figured they would go back to their sexual encounters in a few weeks. Erico’s expression told him something completely different.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Jay said, subtly pulling his hand away. “I’m planning to go to The Canoe this evening to check things out for you. Sean’ll be back Thursday, so I’ll have to work at the pub.”
“Will you stop by my place once I get home?” Erico asked, confusion wrinkling his brow.
“You should probably rest. With your mom there, you don’t really need me anyway,” Jay told Erico. He hated it, but Jay knew he needed to pull back and regroup.
“Have I done something wrong?” Erico questioned.
Jay studied Erico for several moments. Was it better to be honest now or later? “I just think things are
moving too fast. I know you’ve had a lot of fuck buddies over the years.”
Jay shook his head. “I’m sorry. I guess I just don’t know that I’m ready for more.”
“I don’t consider you a fuck buddy. I know I didn’t contradict you when you first called us that, but it was never my intention to have a brief affair with you.” Erico reached out, but Jay kept his hands tucked safely in his pockets.
“I’ve watched you for months, trying to figure out a way to get close to you,” Erico continued.
In a defensive gesture, Jay lashed out. “And you thought the best way to do that was to stick your dick into my best friend’s asshole?” Jay shook his head. “Sorry. I’m not buying it. Men like you don’t change. You’ll always be on the lookout for the next piece of ass.”
“No!” Erico yelled.
Jay jumped at the vehemence in Erico’s voice. He knew getting upset wasn’t good for the man, so he took a step back. “I’ll try to give you a call later in the week.”
“Please don’t go. I’m sorry about what happened with Ethan. It was you I wanted. The thing with him just happened.”
Jay stopped at the door and turned back. “Exactly my point. It’ll always ‘just happen’. Goodbye, Erico.”
Shutting down his emotions, he walked back to the waiting room and held out the keys to Erico’s SUV. “I’m leaving to check on the restaurant. Will you be able to drive yourself back to Cattle Valley?”
Rosa stared at Jay before reaching out to take the keys. “What happened?”
Jay wasn’t about to get into the particulars of his relationship with Erico’s mom. He shook his head. “Nothing. We just needed to straighten some things out. I’m going to call a friend to pick me up.”
He could tell by the look on Rosa’s face she didn’t believe him. Jay shrugged and walked out of the waiting room. He hated to hurt people, but he also knew not only his own limits, but Erico’s as well.
* * * *
“Hey, sickie,” Mario chuckled walking into Erico’s room.
“What’re you doing here?” Erico asked, trying to keep his leg still. God he wanted to move it.