2016 Top Ten Gay Romance

by Snyder, J. M. ; Black, Becky; Creech, T. A.

  “Yes.” He noticed one ear bud still stuck in Elijah’s left ear. He pulled it out. “Everything’s going to be all right. I’m sure they’ll get us out of here soon.”

  “Can-can you stay with me until they do?”

  He managed a smile, somehow. “I’m not going anywhere, promise. Your arms hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Legs, too?”

  “Yeah, though not as bad as my arms.”

  Kirk hoped he didn’t have any internal injuries. “Anywhere else?”

  “Everywhere. Are you a doctor?”

  He laughed a little at that. “No, I’m a PA.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Personal assistant. My boss works at a company that teaches other companies about diversity.”

  “Huh?”

  “Human resources type stuff. She goes around the country giving classes at corporations. I go along and set up equipment and make sure she’s taken care of.”

  Elijah nodded. “Gotcha.”

  Kirk frowned when Elijah’s eyelids lowered. He didn’t like that. “What about you? Where do you work?”

  “I’m an engineer. Environmental Science.”

  “Oh, a smart guy, huh?”

  Elijah’s lips curved. “I guess.”

  “Is that your work computer you’re always on?”

  “Yeah. Where is it? Can you see it?”

  He glanced around the immediate area but saw no sign of it. “No. I’m sure it’s here somewhere. Hopefully it’s not thrashed.”

  A loud crash just outside the bus caught his attention. He could hear radio communication, too. “I’m thinking they’re trying to get to us now.”

  “S’good. I’m sleepy,” Elijah mumbled.

  “Stay with me, okay? Just until they come to take you to the hospital.” He didn’t know if Elijah had hit his head like Kirk, but he thought the experts said to keep the person awake. Didn’t they? Well, he wasn’t sure, but it’s what he intended to do anyway.

  “How much longer?”

  He glanced toward the sounds. It sounded like they were maybe using axes or something to break in. “Not long I think.”

  “You’re still bleeding,” Elijah pointed out.

  As if on cue, a trickle of blood streaked down his cheek. Kirk touched the wound and winced. It throbbed and he had a feeling it needed stitches.

  “It’s nothing.” He attempted a reassuring smile but worried that he failed when Elijah frowned.

  Metal being torn apart and then a man’s voice reached them. “Can anyone hear me?”

  “Yeah,” Kirk called back.

  “Hang on.”

  He blew out a sigh of relief. “See, almost here. How do you feel, Elijah?”

  “Kinda weird.”

  His heart skipped a beat. “How so?”

  “Numb, I think. And very tired.”

  Fuck.

  “Can you guys hurry?”

  A fireman in full gear appeared, followed by another. They came toward him. One knelt next to him. “That gash looks pretty bad. Let’s get you—”

  “Take care of him first,” Kirk insisted. Even as he spoke his stomach rolled. Queasiness overwhelmed him. The fireman’s face swam in front of him.

  “Sir?”

  Kirk opened his mouth to say something and then his world went dark.

  Chapter 2

  “I think he’s waking up.”

  Even just barely conscious, Kirk recognized that voice. He struggled to lift his eyelids even as a shadow seemed to move across him. Hot breath scented with bubblegum fanned his face.

  “Hey, is anyone home?”

  Kirk opened his eyes and stared into the pores of someone’s nose. “Get off me.”

  After a low chuckle, Toby Sherwood’s face no longer hovered over him. “Seems like he feels pretty good to me.”

  Now he was staring at fluorescent lights above him. He lay flat on his back, which he immediately decided sucked. “Where am I?”

  Toby leaned over him again. “The hospital. You were in a bus accident.”

  Oh, yeah.

  “Can you lift me up or something? This is uncomfortable.”

  “We should probably call his nurse,” a woman said. He recognized her, too. His mother.

  “They’ll take too long. I think it’s this gizmo.”

  Even as he could see Toby getting ready to attack something, Kirk panicked. Good God, what had he been thinking? He’d be folded in half or shot out of the bed or…oh, sitting up now. He blew out a shaky breath.

  Sure enough there were two other occupants of the hospital room besides him.

  His mother, Susan Richardson or Owens or Henry. He forgot what name she happened to be using these days. She’d just divorced her fourth husband. Kirk thought that maybe if you couldn’t get it right after four tries it might be time to give up. She wore a lime green sheath dress with purple and pink flowers. Like his mom, it was bright and vivacious.

  Toby, of course, was his best friend forever. Well, since grade school. He suspected they’d be best friends when they were little old men sitting on a bench at the beach. Not that Toby ever went to the beach. He was as white as porcelain and burned if the sun hit him for ten seconds. Kirk blinked. He was pretty sure Toby had on a Charlie Brown shirt. Yellow with the black zigzag. The yellow nearly matched his dyed hair.

  “Thanks,” he said. He touched his forehead and felt the bandage they’d put across the gash. “Stitches?”

  “Afraid so. You might have a scar to mar that awesome face.” Despite his words, Toby smiled, showing the perfect, straight teeth his folks had spent a fortune on.

  His mother grabbed his hand. “We’ve sent for the nurse. Do you know who I am?”

  “Uh, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you hit your head, dearest.” She kissed his forehead, likely leaving a big violet lip print there. “You gave Toby and me the biggest scare.”

  “I feel okay. Was my head the only injury?”

  “Looks that way,” Toby spoke up. He plopped down on the edge of the hospital bed. “The others on the bus didn’t do so well, I heard.”

  Kirk frowned, thinking of Elijah. “What have you heard?”

  “I think there’s been several fatalities. Heard ‘em talking outside in the hall.”

  Kirk’s mom shot Toby a look. “Don’t bother him with that now, Toby. Where is that nurse?”

  “How long do I have to stay in here?”

  “I think you should be in here at least a week, but the doctor said overnight.” His mother tsked. “They’re all in such a hurry these days to discharge patients.”

  He blew out a breath. “I’m glad. The sooner I get out of this place the better. Did someone call Helen Montoya?”

  “Yes, I called your boss lady. She said she might come by later.” Toby gestured with his shoulder to a plant sitting on a rolling table across the room. “That’s from her.”

  A short, blonde woman walked into the room. “Good afternoon, Mr. Matheson. It’s good to see you awake. I’m your nurse on this shift. My name is Mabel. If we could have a few minutes, I’d like to check your vitals.”

  Toby stood, pecked him on the cheek. He smelled like the bubblegum he chomped and the candy, lemonheads. “I think your mom and me will head out to get something to eat. We’ll be back after that.”

  His mom kissed him again. “See you later, dearest. Try to get some rest.”

  When they left, Mabel set to work on him. “Do you know what day this is?”

  “Yes. And I know who the president is, too. When can I leave?”

  She smiled. “Sometime tomorrow. Do you remember what happened?”

  “Yeah, a car spun out, hit another car, and then flew up into the bus, pretty much. Toby said people died.”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “How-how many?”

  Mabel had that look about her, the one that said I won’t tell you anything, but then her face softened. “Four. Three at the scene and one
after transport.”

  Kirk swallowed the sense of dread that suddenly overwhelmed him. “I had a friend on the bus. Can you tell me if he’s okay?”

  “Mr. Matheson—”

  “Please. His name is Elijah Cartwright.”

  She finished with his blood pressure. “Get some rest, Mr. Matheson. I’ll check on your friend and let you know.”

  “Thank you.”

  * * * *

  He slept again, or so he assumed, because he woke up to an empty room. Kirk had no idea how long he’d been out. Earlier he’d been brought lunch, fried fish sticks, and waxy green beans. And orange gelatin. Pretty distasteful, all of it.

  He’d sent Toby and his mother home at lunch, telling them to come and get him tomorrow morning. He just hoped the doctor would sign his discharge papers by then.

  No word on Elijah yet. Kirk hoped the old adage, no news is good news held true. He flipped on the overhead television and tried not to think about it. He didn’t even really know Elijah. That morning had been the only time he’d even spoken to him.

  He flipped the channels and landed on the news. They spent a lot of time talking about the rain and all the accidents. Kirk wasn’t really surprised when pictures of his flipped bus appeared together with the caption, Fatal Bus Accident. He turned up the volume.

  “Four people died on the bus, including the driver and three passengers, and there were numerous injuries,” the anchorwoman said. “The driver of the Mustang was also declared dead at the scene. The driver and passenger in the Honda Civic were transported to West Hills Hospital.”

  Tears pricked his eyes. He knew one of the dead had to be the woman across from him and the driver, an older Hispanic man, had been driving for them a number of months.

  Kirk tried to wrap his mind around the fact these people got up in the morning, expecting to have an ordinary day, and now they were gone. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned off the television. He’d been lucky. So very lucky.

  Mabel, his nurse, came into the room carrying a Styrofoam cup, which she set on the table that lay across the hospital bed that had earlier contained his lunch tray. “I thought you might like some more hot tea.”

  “Hot?”

  She smiled. “Lukewarm.”

  He nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Are you in any pain?” she asked.

  “No, it throbs a bit, but it’s manageable.” He forced himself to ask, “Did you find out any news?”

  The smile faded instantly and his stomach twisted in knots. Now he knew whatever she found out was something he didn’t want to hear.

  “I’m sorry, Kirk. I’ve been told your friend didn’t make it.”

  Kirk didn’t know what he could possibly say or if he could even make his mouth move, so he just nodded…or he thought maybe he did. He felt numb. Maybe that was wishful thinking.

  “I’m sorry. Do you need anything?” Mabel asked gently.

  “Can I just be alone?”

  She patted his hand. “Sure. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”

  When she had gone through the doorway, Kirk let his tears fall. His nerd was dead. It hurt like hell. Maybe more than it should, he didn’t know. But he was tired again and hoped sleep would take away the pain.

  * * * *

  “Ouch, watch where you’re going,” Kirk said, as once more Toby ran his wheelchair into the corridor wall. “My God, this is just like how you drive a car.”

  “Is not. I think there’s something wrong with the wheel.” Toby stopped the wheelchair and knelt down to inspect it.

  Kirk was being released after spending a depressing night at the hospital. He’d told the nurse he could easily walk out on his own, but Toby had made a big deal of how he wanted to wheel Kirk out. He’d given in, much to his regret now.

  Today his best friend wore skinny black jeans and a black silk buttoned-down shirt. He’d brought Kirk a change of clothes when he came to pick him up, consisting of old ratty jeans Kirk thought he’d thrown away and a Grateful Dead shirt. He didn’t like the Dead, but one of his mother’s husbands had given it to him one Christmas. Toby would have had to go back to the way back of his closet to even find it.

  “Come on, I’m hungry.” Kirk realized he was whining, but he looked forward to the real food they planned to eat before Toby took him home.

  “I knew it! The wheel is crooked.”

  “Just leave it alone and be careful.”

  Toby straightened and stood. “All right, but I can’t be blamed if it turns to the side a bit.”

  He pushed Kirk down the hall and made a turn right at the end when given the choice between that or left. Coming down the long hallway toward them was another wheelchair, also occupied by a man. He was on the far end so Kirk couldn’t make out his features, but there was something definitely familiar about him.

  When Toby made to turn down the short hallway in the middle that led to the elevators, Kirk touched Toby’s arm. “Wait.”

  “Forget something in your room?”

  “No. I-I think I know that guy down there. Maybe from the bus?”

  Toby squinted. “Hmmm. Want me to wheel you down there?”

  “Please.”

  As Toby wheeled him toward the man, Kirk couldn’t believe his eyes. For a moment he was certain he was seeing a ghost. Wasn’t he?

  The other man was likewise being wheeled by a man, but was still dressed in a hospital gown as well as a robe. His leg was bandaged and his arm swollen, and the glasses were different than the ones he usually wore. But that would make sense, since they’d been broken on the bus.

  “Elijah!”

  The man wheeling Elijah Cartwright stopped the chair just a few paces from where Toby stopped his. The man, very tall and movie-star handsome with dark, perfectly coiffed hair and blue eyes much like Elijah’s, gazed at him quizzically.

  “You know this guy, Eej?” the man asked, pronouncing it with an exaggerated double e and ja sound.

  Elijah’s face lit up with a smile. “Yes, this is my rescuer. The man I told you about.”

  “They told me you didn’t make it,” Kirk blurted out.

  “As you can see, here I am,” Elijah said with a little laugh. “Kirk, right?”

  Elated at seeing Elijah alive, he grinned like an idiot. “Yes. I’m so glad you’re all right.”

  “Well,” said the man with him, “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m Lucas Cartwright.” His gaze went quickly from Kirk to Toby, where it lingered.

  “OMG, the Lucas Cartwright? The one who stars in the detective show on cable television?” Toby squealed. He stared hard at the man. “It is you!”

  Now that Toby said it, Kirk realized he did recognize the man who played Detective Pete Harrow on the popular cable series. He’d seen the show several times himself.

  Lucas smiled, showing dimples and the perfect white teeth of an actor. “Yes, that’s me. Elijah’s my little brother. Elijah, why don’t you introduce me to your friends?”

  Elijah blushed. “Well, um, this is my rescuer, Kirk. I’m sorry I forget your last name.”

  “Matheson.” He shook Lucas’s hand. “We rode the bus together several times a week.”

  “I don’t know the other man,” Elijah admitted.

  Toby, never one to hold back because of shyness, stepped around Kirk’s chair and right in front of Lucas. “Tobias Sherwood. Like the forest.”

  Lucas laughed. “I see.”

  “Most people call me Toby.” He took Lucas’s hand and didn’t let go even after they finished their handshake. “I’ve seen on your website it says you’re bisexual. Is that true?”

  Kirk choked. “Toby, for God’s sake.”

  “It’s perfectly fine,” Lucas assured him. “As it happens, yes, I am. Though currently I do have a girlfriend.”

  Toby released his hand and pursed his lips. “Too bad for me. Ah, well. Just the same, I love your show.”

  “Glad to hear it. Maybe you’d like to come by one day while we’re filming it
and see what it takes to shoot an episode.”

  “Really?”

  “Here, let me get you a card and a number.”

  Kirk was grateful when they moved over a bit to the side of the wheelchairs. Elijah had lowered his gaze shyly. He reached for Elijah’s hand and the man raised his gaze in surprise at the contact.

  “I didn’t really rescue you, but I’m so glad you’re not dead.”

  “Me, too. And I don’t know if I would have made it without you. Getting out today?”

  Kirk nodded. “Yeah, on my way out now. How about you?”

  Elijah sighed. “I have to stay in for a few more days, and then Lucas will take me home. I’m staying with him for a while until I’m fully healed. The arm’s basically just a bad sprain, but there’s a tiny fracture in my lower leg, I have stitches in my stomach where I had a gash, and they’re keeping an eye on my kidney levels.”

  He knew he should probably release Elijah’s hand, but he didn’t want to. Not yet. He wanted to ask about seeing the pretty man again—when he felt better, of course—but he didn’t even know if Elijah was gay.

  Elijah smiled. “I probably should let you get out of here. I’m sure you’re anxious to leave. I know I would be.”

  “Elijah, I was wondering—”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you…“ He stopped, glanced at Lucas, who was still talking to Toby. Both looked rather captivated by the other. “I was wondering if you’re like your brother…or not.”

  The other man frowned. “Like my brother?”

  Kirk’s cheeks burned hot. “Um, you know, do you sometimes like both girls and guys?”

  The blue eyes widened behind the wire-framed glasses and the plump lips curved. “No.”

  Disappointment washed over him. So much for the notion he’d ever get to have his nerd. “Okay, that’s fine.” He released Elijah’s hand.

  “Wait. I mean, I don’t ever like girls,” Elijah said, when Kirk went to turn his wheelchair.

  His heart racing, Kirk blinked. “Does that mean you like guys?”

  “Yes, I believe it does mean that.”

  “Duh.” Kirk grinned. “Head injury making me a bit slow. Can I call you? When you’re out of here, that is.”

  “I’d like that.” Elijah tugged on his brother’s shirt. Lucas turned to face him. “Can you write down your number for Kirk? Sorry, my cell phone’s history from the crash.”