Catch and Release

by BA Tortuga

  He snorted. Yeah. Sage and Troy and Eric and even Win were better friends than anyone he’d ever met. He was grateful for them, and Jayden, every day.

  “I smell like Ivory soap and me, so thank you. They say it’s bad when you don’t like how your lover smells.”

  Jayden kept using that word. Lover. Every time it sank a little deeper. The very thought eased his breathing, and he opened up to take the pills Jayden popped between his lips, followed by cool water.

  “Thank you. What time is it?” Hell, what day was it?

  “Just about suppertime. I was going to go see if I could con Sage out of some food, but you were having a bad dream.”

  “Yeah. You got the results back, and they said it was me.”

  Jayden touched his forehead, gentle as anything. “That really worries you, huh? The idea that something is contaminated or missing in the kit?”

  “It would be my luck.” He didn’t need another hurdle. He was tired of hurdling, being hurdled, experiencing hurds. The thoughts made him chuckle, and fuck, that hurt.

  “No laughing. You need to hit the head? I think Win said he had a hospital bottle if you don’t think you can move.”

  “Fuck that. I can walk.” He wasn’t broke dick, dammit.

  That thought showed up in Sage’s voice, a cowboy kind of expression.

  “Sure.” Jayden chuckled. “No worries, Dakota. I can help.”

  “Good.” Because while he knew he could walk, he wasn’t sure he could stand up.

  “Here.” Jayden helped him sit, and his muscles tried to seize. Nausea roared through him, and he hung his head, breathing hard.

  “You got this. You do. You puke, honey, and I’m calling 911. Your ribs can’t handle it.”

  He nodded, shaking like a leaf as he went from sweating to freezing in a couple heartbeats. No puking. He wasn’t running a fever. Jayden would have said so. He just needed to cowboy up or go sit in the truck.

  “Okay. Ready for the next stage.”

  Jayden slid both hands under his arms and helped him lever up off the bed. Oh, good Lord.

  That made him groan, and Adam and Sage were right there, helping Jayden get him upright.

  “That one will be the worst,” Sage said, and Dakota snorted.

  “Tomorrow morning will be the worst, and we both know it.” This was just a few hours of still. After a whole night, he was going to be like splintered lumber.

  “Yeah, but by then, you’ll have a protein shake in you and another ten hours of sleep,” Win said. “This too shall pass. Come on, man. We’ll leave you with Jay in the bathroom, but we’ll come help when you need to go back to bed.”

  “I’ll come sit with y’all.” If he didn’t die on the pot, of course.

  “We can eat in the front room,” Sage said. “Pile up pillows on the couch.”

  Win gave Sage a skeptical look but nodded. “Sure. There you go.”

  The three of them eased him down on the pot. Oh, joy. Naked time with the guys.

  Sage gave him a wicked, evil grin. “You know, Landry, if you missed the whole group bathroom experience so bad, you could’ve just asked nicely.”

  “Fuck off, Redding.”

  Jayden hooted. “I’ve missed it so since baseball. Out, y’all. We’ll holler when we need you.”

  Sage nodded. “I’ll get you those shorts, Dakota.”

  “Thanks, man.” He tried not to think about how bad it was going to hurt to piss, because if he did, he’d never manage it. Blood clots were a bitch to pass.

  “You need me to run some water?” Jayden teased, and he flipped the man off. “Seriously, if you need anything, I can help. I mean, I have no idea how….”

  “I just need to do it the first time.” He couldn’t remember not knowing how to be beaten up, how to recover from it. God knew, his dad and mom’s position on it was “Boys will be boys” and “Toughen up, Son.”

  “Gotcha. I got hit in the lower belly with a line drive once. I swear, my balls turned purple and I thought I might die. Took maybe two days before I managed to pee without screaming.”

  “Oh, Jesus. That sounds like hell. What position did you play?”

  Jayden answered him, but he didn’t listen. He was in his own private fiery hell for the longest thirty seconds he’d had in, oh, four or five years.

  When his ears stopped ringing, Jayden was holding him upright, silent and waiting.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t you apologize,” Jayden told him. “You all done?”

  “Yes. God yes. I may never pee again.”

  “That is a valid life choice.” Jayden helped him up, and he washed his hands, trying to see his face in the mirror. Horror movie extra.

  “Wow. You should take pictures. What not to do.” He splashed some cold water on his face and told himself it made him feel better. “I’m ready to be social now.”

  “You sure? No one will bitch if you go lie down some more. Rest up.” Gentle hands guided him back out of the bathroom, and Sage was there, handing him soft shorts.

  “I’m sure. I got this.” He wasn’t a pussy, and he wasn’t letting this break him, dammit.

  “Cool. Adam is making you a shake.” Sage led the way to the front room, this bizarre little parade of clothed Sage, half-naked Jayden, and naked him.

  No laughing. None.

  “Y’all look like the fucked-up Beatles, except none of you have long hair.” Adam had a knife, a blender, and kale.

  “You look like a scene out of a torture porn movie,” Jayden shot back, quick like a bunny.

  “The torture part is the kale, right?” Oh, Sage was on it too.

  “The porn is the blender. There are always small kitchen appliances in porn.” See? He could play too. Azel watched some weird-assed shit.

  “No shit?” Jayden tilted his head. “I mean, I see magically appearing condoms, tops who bottom like someone flipped a switch, and lots of rimming. Rarely a blender.”

  “You’re watching the wrong porn, Jay,” Adam murmured.

  Sage looked at Dakota, and he looked back. “At least neither one of them are watching prison flicks, right?”

  “No shit on that, man. If Adam’s going to get off on a convict, it better be me.”

  “Sage!”

  Okay, so Adam Winchester was an easy mark. Way more sensitive than Jayden.

  Dakota gritted his teeth when Sage and Jayden eased him down on the couch, and then Jayden slipped Dakota’s shorts on. “Ta-da. Now we need pillows.”

  “Got it. We’ll have to pad you in the truck on the way to the lake.” Sage got a metric fuckton of pillows propped around him.

  “Yeah. I might live if we do that.” The couch was better than the bed, actually, once they got him all propped up. The pillows held his weight, letting him relax.

  They all brought TV trays in, and the television came on, Sage pulling up rodeo on the recorder. Supper was tomato soup and grilled cheese. Well, he got the strawberry, banana, and kale shake instead of the grilled cheese, which seemed like adding insult to injury, really.

  “The shake is good, Adam,” he said after a sip. It was lukewarm now, which meant it didn’t bother his tooth too bad, and it tasted like melted ice cream. With kale.

  “Did you hear that, cowboy? The shake is good.”

  “Shut up, Adam.”

  Jayden grabbed the shake and took a sip. Oh, that was almost worth all the pain. Jayden’s eyes crossed, and he grimaced, then gagged. “Jesus. Toxic sludge.”

  “Is this where I make the bloodsucking lawyer quote?” Sage rolled with laughter, and Dakota beamed.

  “Jurassic Park! I know that one!”

  “Yay!” Jayden popped the top on a Sprite. “That was… wow. Glad you have to heal up, not me.”

  “Next time I’ll call Troy and get his recipe,” Adam said. “It’s neon green.”

  “Oh, man. That shit is like soylent green or something.” Sage looked honestly horrified. “Every day, y’all. Every fucking day he drinks th
at shit.”

  “No kidding?” Jayden’s brows rose. “God. No wonder he’s so… disgustingly cheerful. Give me coffee any day.”

  “You know it.”

  Even Dakota could approve that message. Morning coffee was proof that someone somewhere loved them.

  “Oh, look at that little mare buck.” Sage got all involved with the rodeo, and Jayden set their dishes aside before cuddling up with Dakota gently, just like they did this all the time.

  “You told me once you wanted to go to a school with a rodeo team,” he whispered.

  Jayden nodded. “I totally did. I wanted to watch Wrangler butts without getting beaten up. Also, I thought it would make my dad proud.”

  “I bet he’s proud.” Jayden was a lawyer, for fuck’s sake.

  “Oh, he is. He did think I was a pussy when I was in high school, though.” Jayden grinned, his eyes twinkling. “Now I just bore him with legal talk until he shuts up.”

  Dakota chuckled, but he had to wonder if anyone would ever have reason to be proud of him. Was that ever going to be a thing? Because even when they proved he didn’t rape Briony McCarthy, what was there? I’m proud you didn’t rape her? That wasn’t a thing.

  He closed his eyes, swallowing hard. Jayden liked him. Called him lover. That was something to be proud of.

  “You okay, honey?”

  “I’m good. Just recovering from the smoothie.”

  “Ah. That can take time. Did you want something else to drink?” Jayden asked.

  “I’m good.” He had to get himself together. “Y’all looking forward to tomorrow?”

  “Hell, yes.” Adam chuckled. “I’m wanting to go fishing. I’m ready.”

  “I want to relax, melt in the sun, just be lazy.” Jayden winked at him. “I know you want to swim, huh?”

  “Yeah, a little.” He loved being in the water. Dakota wasn’t sure if he would be able to get too physical, but hey, floating was easy on the joints and helped with the gravity effect, right?

  Sage chuckled. “I want to put my feet up and eat lots of hot dogs. I got lots of bug spray and sunscreen.”

  “Do you even burn anymore?” Dakota asked, because he sure didn’t, not after his first six weeks on the job.

  “Fuck no, but the lawyer and the security guy have baby skin.” Sage’s eyebrows gyrated wildly. “They’re not cowboys like us.”

  Did Sage just call him a cowboy? His cheeks heated. Wow, that was a compliment coming from Sage Redding.

  “Yeah, well, we can’t all be out working in the heat all summer,” Win murmured, waggling his eyebrows. “Shit, I did that for years in the Army, and I got smart enough to figure out an inside job.”

  “I didn’t even need the years in the Army, boys. I started out like I intended to hold out.”

  “Yeah, but we’re corrupting you,” Sage said. “Taking you tubing and camping and wearing jeans and boots to work. Pretty soon you’ll be rednecking it up with the rest of us.”

  “I can make the redneck mating call noise,” Jayden said.

  All of them joined in when he started. “Heeyyyyyyy.”

  “Totally works on me, man.” Dakota refused to be embarrassed, because it was true, balls to bones.

  “Yeah?” Jayden batted those golden eyelashes. “There’s more where that came from.”

  “Are they flirting, babe?” Adam asked, and Sage nodded.

  “It’s a little weird, because one’s a lawyer and one’s a cowboy, but that’s to be expected. We were way easier—cops and cons speak a similar language.”

  “Mmm. Don’t beat me, Officer?”

  Jayden made gagging noises again. “That’s so wrong.”

  “It’s great.” He loved how Sage looked at Adam. He hoped he looked at Jayden that way. He thought he maybe did.

  “I try not to think about Win as a cop,” Jayden said.

  “Makes you hot,” Adam teased. “Admit it.”

  “Oh, yeah. Tan double knit gets my motor running.”

  “Yeah, I hated that shit. I liked the hat, though. I looked good in the hat.”

  “And the sunglasses,” Sage muttered.

  “I scared the crap out of Sage to begin with, but I won him over with my sunglasses.” Adam winked right at Dakota, which made him laugh out loud, holding his ribs.

  “Ass… asshole.” God, that hurt, but it was so funny.

  “You okay?” Jayden asked, putting a hand on his arm.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I won’t let them ruin your birthday.”

  “Or your weekend.” Jayden winked, but concern shone through in those blue eyes, and Jayden’s hands were gentle when they eased Dakota back against the pillows. “You need to let your muscles relax, huh?”

  “I’m trying. You guys crack me up.”

  “Babe, you still got that natural muscle relaxant that chiro gave you?” Adam asked.

  “I do. Let me grab them.” Sage was up and moving, lickety-split.

  Dakota wanted to protest, but he was hurting, so he sat real still and listened to his body parts throb. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he had no idea Jayden was gone until he came back with a cool, damp cloth.

  “This will help, honey, and I’m going to get you some Sprite too.”

  “I’m sorry.” He hated this shit, down in his bones.

  “Shh. Just focus on resting, huh?”

  Sage appeared with pills, and Win took his temperature, and he drifted for a bit, but the pain subsided some, and the Sprite eased his throat. “Maybe I ought to go back to bed so y’all can enjoy the rodeo.”

  “Shut up,” Adam told him. “You got the shit kicked out of you. Let us fuss.”

  “Is he always this bossy?” Dakota asked, and both Sage and Jayden answered.

  “Yes.”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “That’s what I get paid for, buddy. Anyone else want a beer?”

  “Will it bother you?” Jayden asked, and Dakota shook his head. “Then I’ll take one.”

  “Bring me a Coke?” Sage asked, and Adam nodded easily.

  Dakota had to admit it was nice seeing them together, so easy and so right. He needed them to be okay, just because he wanted to know that men like him got that happily ever after.

  He dozed some more, and woke up at one point to find Sage and Adam and Jayden playing cards. He played possum a minute, watching them from under his lashes.

  Jayden was golden under the lamplight, just gleaming, skin warm like metal. He found himself wanting to touch it, not in an innocent way either. Now was not the time, and he knew it, but Dakota let himself dream a little. It wasn’t like he was going to spring wood and embarrass himself, after all.

  Jayden started laughing at something Adam said and threw a piece of popcorn across the coffee table. “Butthead.”

  God, he loved that man. So hard that it squeezed his chest, making it hard to breathe a moment.

  Jayden turned and looked to him, smiled. “Hey, honey. You with us?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How’s the pain?”

  “Not too bad. The Advil helped.”

  “Good. I bet that muscle relaxer helped too. Sage says there’s nothing in it but vitamins and enzymes, so you can take it three or four times a day.” Jayden leaned over and kissed his chin. “You need anything?”

  “I’m happy.” Weirdly, he was. Beat to shit, sore, and losing a half day of work, and he was happy.

  “Weirdo.” Jayden smiled, though, and he thought maybe Jayden got it. Two peas in a very odd pod.

  “Yeah, yeah. I think it’s your deal.”

  “Mine?” Jayden widened his eyes very big.

  “Uh-huh. The cards, you know?” Sage and Adam were waiting.

  “Oh! Shit.” Jayden hooted, then grabbed up the cards and began to shuffle. “Right.”

  He wasn’t sure what Jayden thought, but he loved the laughter.

  Sage winked at him, the grin huge. “Should we deal you in?”

  “Sure. Yeah. What are we playing?” How the hell was he goin
g to get sat up?

  “How about we play a few rounds, and you can watch. We’re playing poker.” Jayden saved his bacon with that.

  “Works for me. We’ve got all weekend to play.” And cards he knew. He’d played for hours when he was in, and he understood when he needed to throw the game and when it was safe to win a hand. Those things were important. He liked that Jayden was competitive but a pretty gracious loser, if not a particularly good one.

  “We do,” Sage agreed. “You holler if you need anything.”

  “I will.” Right now he wanted to float. Rest. Listen to the sounds of Jayden’s goofy jokes and Sage’s weird cackling laughter. Maybe by tomorrow he could keep his eyes open, breathe a little bit, and focus on this whole having a lover idea. Right now he thought he would just bask in knowing he was safe and so was Jayden. At least until Monday.

  He hoped.

  Chapter Nineteen

  JAYDEN ARGUED with Win for about an hour before he went to bed. He wanted to take Dakota to the ER. Win insisted that Dakota was doing way better than he’d expected. No labored breathing due to liquid, no swelling anywhere that would be an organ or internal bleeding. No fever.

  Morning dawned bright and hot already, and they were heading to the lake by way of Whataburger.

  “You want a shake, Dakota?”

  “Please. Chocolate. We got to stop at my place for your birthday present and chips and stuff.”

  “Yeah. I need to grab my shit too. Sage and Win will just meet us there.” He had Dakota all bundled up in the passenger seat, pillows all around him like a too-small kid in a baby seat.

  He hated this. Not the camping part or the Dakota part, but the hurting and the bruising and the way he knew Dakota was in agony. A man could only take so much Advil, but Dakota swore that muscle stuff Sage had given him was helping.

  He pulled into the drive-thru.

  “Do you think you could eat a burger, honey?”

  “No, but I’ll take some fries.”

  “Okay.” Win swore he would grab some protein shit at the store, so he would just let it go. Dakota was going to be doing a lot of smoothies.

  “I’m going to have a burger from the grill, Jayden. I’m going to be okay. I promise.”