The warmth of the blanket Tom had draped over him and the dimness of the room were both comforting and made Jeordi want to burrow deeper and never move. But his bladder had a completely different point of view, which forced him to get up. He moved slowly and carefully, feeling frustrated that it was such an effort to get up off the bed.
After he finished in the bathroom, he started down the hallway at the same pace toward the living room but stopped suddenly when he heard voices. He’d feared his family sticking their noses into his business once again. Now he just had to find out who was first up. That, plus thank Tom for running interference and letting him sleep. He hated leaving his boyfriend so much at the mercy of his family because he knew how difficult and pigheaded they could be.
Carefully Jeordi moved down the hall and toward the living room, listening carefully with each step, trying to figure out whose voice he was hearing. He figured it out just as he caught sight of the person. The reason it had taken him so long to recognize the voice was because it belonged to the last person he expected to find sitting in his living room.
“There he is,” Jeordi’s boss, Marvin, said in his typically boisterous manner.
“Hey,” Jeordi said cautiously as he moved the last few steps into the room. He hated the fact that he was walking like a ninety-year-old man. Being less than vibrant ran completely contrary to everything Jeordi had always known.
Tom was by his side, lending an arm and helping get Jeordi settled into a chair.
“I heard you had a rough start to your day,” Marvin said to him.
“Yeah, not exactly my usual. Sorry I didn’t make it to work this morning. I was on my way when this happened.”
“I know. I heard. Your buddy Tom was filling me in on what all happened to you.”
“Good.”
“I heard you got pretty banged up.”
“I did. Scraped off a bunch of skin. I think I had to have some stitches somewhere too.”
“Ninety-eight of them, Tom was just telling me,” Marvin said.
“Ninety-eight?” Jeordi asked Tom, not trusting what he’d heard Marvin say.
“That’s right,” Tom said. “And that’s why you have to take it easy for a few days while everything heals.”
“Marvin, I’m probably not going to make it in tomorrow. I’m really, really sorry about that, man. I know this leaves you shorthanded, and I hate to put you in this bind.”
“Hey!” Marvin spoke sharply. “None of that. You hush up and sit still and get better. You got a lot of healing ahead of you, and trust me, I know, you can’t rush that stuff.”
“Okay,” Jeordi said curiously, not believing what he was hearing from his boss. “How did you hear about what happened?” Jeordi asked.
“Your buddy Tom called me to let me know you’d be off work for a few days. I won’t lie to you—when he told me you were going to be out for a few days, I was pissed. I’m afraid I said a few not so nice words until he told me to shut up so he could explain why you were going to be missing work. You got a good friend with Tom,” Marvin said, continuing to surprise Jeordi, who had only known him as a tough, hard-as-nails boss who put up with no guff from anyone. He was seeing an entirely new side to him, one he’d never even known existed. He kind of liked this Marvin and hoped he wasn’t just dreaming.
“Well, I’m gonna get out of your hair,” Marvin said, rising from his seat. “And you don’t move,” he ordered Jeordi. “You take it easy, and I don’t want to see you back until you’re not about to hurt yourself by being there. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jeordi said, since he quite honestly didn’t have a clue when he would be fully recovered or able to start back to work.
Marvin left Jeordi looking confused, and Tom smiling.
“Who was that?” Jeordi said.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I called him this afternoon while you were sleeping to fill him in on how badly hurt you’d been this morning. His wife fixed some kind of chicken casserole for us for our dinner tonight. It looks like she made enough to feed an army.”
“Wow. I… I can’t believe he did that.”
“They did. He told me he values you because you’re his best man, working circles around everyone else.”
“He said that?” Jeordi asked, not believing what he was hearing.
“He did. We talked quite a bit. He apologized that he isn’t able to pay you while you’re not working and said he would if he could. He did tell me that your job would be waiting for you when you are able to get back to work.”
“Wow,” Jeordi said again. “That’s not at all what I expected to hear when I spoke with him. I thought he’d be pissed and fire me on the spot.”
“I think he was going to at first until I got him to shut up so I could tell him what happened to you.”
“Thanks, babe. I owe you one. A big one.”
“No, you don’t,” Tom said. “You’re my guy. Of course I’m gonna do what I can to take care of you.”
Jeordi nodded.
“Um,” Jeordi started hesitantly. “About what we talked about earlier?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t.”
“That’s… good. I’ve thought about it too, and I would do it, but I don’t want to do it. That’s something only we get to share with one another. Mind you, if you needed something and it was the only choice open to me to be able to take care of you, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
“We’ll find a way to make it all work. I don’t know what it is, but we’ll find it. Things are gonna be rough for us for a few months with me out of work for a while. With my bike ruined—I’ll need to replace that or start walking like you do.”
“All true, but tell you what,” Tom said. “Think about all of that tomorrow. For tonight just pretend you’re a good Southern belle, pretend you’re Scarlett O’Hara, and leave all of that for tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
Chapter Six
THE FOLLOWING morning, as much as it pained him, Tom hauled himself out of bed and got himself ready for work. Like Jeordi, he too had missed most of work the day before. When he’d received the call to come to the hospital, he’d dropped everything and run. He knew this morning he had to redeem himself.
Showered, dressed, and fed, Tom took a last quick gaze at the sleeping form of his boyfriend, the man he so desperately loved and wanted to protect and safeguard. Even though Jeordi was simply lying in bed, his chest regularly rising and falling in silent rhythmic breathing, Tom could have watched him forever. It pained him so much that Jeordi was such a mess from the accident the previous day.
It was only with supreme effort that Tom tore his eyes away from his boyfriend’s sleeping form and quietly exited their home to head to work. He’d prepared things for Jeordi to eat when he woke up and left him written instructions on medications and food.
The rain of the previous day had ended sometime during the night, leaving the air thick with humidity. Cicadas were calling to one another from what seemed like every single tree he passed on his walk to work. Their calls were both comforting and annoying. They were such a part of the season, but the noise they made could become so grating after a while.
Twelve hours later, Tom dragged himself home, finding Jeordi asleep on the sofa in their living room, the television on in the background. Stepping lightly to avoid waking his partner, Tom showered and changed clothes before returning to the living room. He was afraid that if he turned off the television Jeordi would wake, but the man slept on. Grabbing a beat-up paperback he was in the middle of, Tom settled into a chair to read and watch his boyfriend.
Jeordi was the most incredible man he’d ever seen or known. Sure there were others who were more classically handsome, men who were taller, men who had this or that feature, but they all lacked one thing—they didn’t have the passion and heart Jeordi possessed. Jeordi was so much more than just a pretty face. He was an awesome man who was loyal beyond words, fierce, unafraid to confront threats or to go into conflicts i
f need be to stand up for himself and Tom. Jeordi’s heart was his biggest attribute, and it belonged unquestionably to Tom.
The room was quiet for another hour. The only sounds disturbing the silence were the occasional car driving past outside, the pages of Tom’s paperback flipping, and their ancient air conditioner cycling on and off periodically as it struggled to cool the hot and humid air that crept into their sanctuary.
When Jeordi finally stirred, he clearly was confused at first as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. It was not at all typical for him to nap in the living room, so he was unaccustomed to waking up there. His gaze traveled around the room until it settled on Tom.
“Hey,” he said hoarsely.
Immediately dropping the book he’d been reading, Tom was out of his chair and kneeling on the floor beside the sofa where Jeordi lay.
“Hey, babe. How’re you feeling?”
“Okay. I guess I slept for a while. What time is it?”
“About nine o’clock.”
“In the morning?”
“No. At night.”
“Huh?” Jeordi asked, clearly confused.
Tom helped him to sit up.
“Those pain pills really knock me out,” Jeordi said.
“You had a lot of pain today?” Tom asked with concern.
“Yeah. I held off taking one as long as I could, but I finally had to give in and do it. They work, but they make me sleep too.”
“I suppose that’s good. Keeps you from moving around too much and doing something to injure yourself again.”
“I want to take a shower,” Jeordi announced.
“Sorry, babe. Can’t get your stitches wet for forty-eight hours.”
“So no shower?”
“No shower. But I can give you a sponge bath if you like,” Tom said with a smile.
“That… that could be fun.”
“Damned right it could.”
After Tom got Jeordi into their bedroom and helped him out of his clothes, for the first time Jeordi could see the extent of his injuries.
“Jesus, look at me. I’m a total fucking mess. I’m gonna have such awful scars after this.”
“Some,” Tom agreed, “but the doctor said it won’t be too bad.”
Jeordi sighed. “I only hope he’s right.”
Worry or concern about scars quickly evaporated, though, as Tom took off his own clothes and set to work with a washcloth and a basin of warm water. Carefully, tenderly, sensually, he worked his way over his lover’s body, gently washing him with bodywash before wiping it away with clean water.
Despite the awkwardness created by his stitches and bandages, Jeordi became incredibly aroused, especially as Tom cleaned around his penis. Before he’d even touched the organ, Jeordi was rock hard. Tom dispensed with the washcloth for a few moments, replacing it with his tongue as he first toyed with Jeordi’s erection, then sucked him deep into his throat. Jeordi grabbed Tom’s head, his fingers threading their way through Tom’s thick dirty blond hair as if to keep him there—not that he had anything to worry about. Jeordi was almost embarrassed with how quickly he reached orgasm.
“Gosh, you’d think I was a teenager. I couldn’t even last a minute.”
“Hey,” Tom said with a happy smile, “I’m good.”
“No argument there,” Jeordi agreed as Tom snuggled up next to him, Jeordi’s once thick, hard erection now lying swollen and sated on his thigh, a mere shadow of its former grandeur.
“I want to do you, but I don’t know how since I can’t move much,” Jeordi complained.
“Not gonna happen, babe,” Tom said. “We are not risking it. In a few days, you’ll be much more able to move around, and you can have your turn then.”
“But I want it now,” Jeordi whined like a five-year-old.
“Tough. Get better first, and then you can transport me to sexual paradise.”
Sighing, Jeordi agreed. “Fine. Thank you for that. It felt fucking awesome. Sex with you is always great, no matter what we’re doing, because it’s with you. It doesn’t matter if I’m in you or you’re in me, just so long as it’s the two of us connected. I love you so much, Tom.”
“And I love you too, Jeordi Boone.”
Chapter Seven
DAPPLED SUNLIGHT made its way into Tom and Jeordi’s bedroom the following morning. With only an ancient window air conditioner to handle their bedroom, the room was warm and sticky. Jeordi lay naked on his back, the covers kicked off sometime during the night. Tom lay on his side facing away from Jeordi, equally naked.
The grinding of a garbage truck somewhere in their trailer park woke Jeordi. Instinctively he tried to roll over to cuddle up behind his boyfriend, but his injuries prevented that move. With some difficulty but a bit more finesse, Jeordi made it up off the bed and shuffled toward the bathroom.
Startled a moment later by Tom, he accidentally peed on the floor when he lost his aim. Tom wrapped his arms around Jeordi and chuckled as Jeordi cursed.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll clean it up,” Tom assured him.
“Just don’t scare a guy like that, okay? I could have peed on your feet or something like that. No guy wants that.”
“True.”
Finished, Jeordi leaned back into Tom’s warm embrace.
“Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” Jeordi joked.
“No pocket. I’m naked,” Tom said teasingly.
“But I feel something solid, and I could swear it’s loaded.”
“Could be. We’ll deal with that later.”
“But I want it now,” Jeordi whined again.
“Don’t whine, dear. It’s unbecoming.”
“Fuck you,” Jeordi joked.
“Not till you’re better, and I get you first. Then you can have me.”
“I can live with that,” Jeordi agreed readily.
They made their way to the kitchen. While Jeordi sat, Tom made coffee and toast for the two of them. With breakfast, such as it was, finished, Jeordi grabbed Tom’s hand when he started to get up to put the dishes in the sink.
“Hold up a minute, babe, if you can.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Aside from my dick because I’m seeing you naked, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Still holding Tom’s hand, Jeordi said, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Probably, because it all involves you.”
“Go on.”
“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life,” Jeordi said. Tom immediately sensed that whatever Jeordi had to say wasn’t going to be a simple thing.
“From the moment I first saw you sitting in that church just a few feet from me, I was blown away by you. Your beauty, your mind, your zest for life. Each day I learn something more about you and become just that much more impressed and in love with you. You’ve hung in there with me through all the crap my family has thrown at us.
“I guess what I’m trying to say…. No, I know what I want to say. I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’ve spent hours and hours mulling this over.
“The whole hospital thing pissed me off, and it scared the life out of me. Just when I wanted you and needed you the most, my family stood between us. I don’t want that to happen again.” Jeordi sighed but kept a firm hold on Tom’s hand.
“What I’m trying, and failing, to say is, Tom Goodwin, you are the love of my life. I love you more than I can believe. I cannot even imagine a life without you in it. I want you with me, by my side every day, for the rest of my life.” Locking his gaze on Tom’s, Jeordi finally got to his key point. “Tom Goodwin, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Tom stared at Jeordi blankly for a moment.
“What?” he finally said in a whispered voice.
“Will you marry me, Tom? I want to be with you and only you for the rest of all time. I want the world to know that you are mine and I’m yours. I wan
t it clear to everyone that we are husbands, mated for life. So I’m asking you to marry me. Please. You will make me a very happy man.”
Tom continued to stare at Jeordi, his face still not revealing anything going on inside his mind.
“Tom?” he finally asked.
“Huh?”
“Here’s where you say yes and tell me you accept my proposal of marriage.”
“Um… I need to think a little. Is that okay?” Tom asked, pulling his hand free from Jeordi’s for a moment. Carrying the dishes to the sink, Tom stood facing away from Jeordi, whose mind was a whirlwind of thousands of arguments, celebrations, fears, and so much more.
A moment later Tom whirled around and asked, “Is this because of what happened at the hospital?”
“Some of it,” Jeordi admitted. “But I’ve been thinking of this since before that happened.”
“You have? You were?” Tom said.
“Yes, I have. I truly do love you with all my heart. I’m yours, babe, if you’ll have me. You see my flaws, you know I’m damaged goods, you know the baggage I’ve got. I know it’s a lot to ask any one man to take all of that, but I can’t imagine waking up in a bed without you or at least your scent there. I want to go to bed with you each night, wake up with you each morning, and have an untold number of days to show you how much I love and adore you. You’ve made me a better me. You’re the only man who has ever freed me to be who I really am. I absolutely adore you, Tom. Please marry me.”
Tom stood, leaning back against the sink, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze on nothing somewhere in the vicinity of the floor. He finally nodded slightly. “Just give me a few minutes to get this all sorted out in my mind, okay?”
Jeordi, not getting the words he wanted and had expected to hear, slumped in his chair.
Tom disappeared, returning a moment later dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
“I’m gonna just take a walk around the block and try to sort this all out in my head. Okay?”
“Is it because of how much of a mess I am now, physically?” Jeordi blurted out.
“What? Good Lord, no. Just… just give me a few minutes, okay?”
A More Perfect Union Page 12