The reply came back almost instantly.On my way.A second later his phone rang. “Neil?”
“Hey. Hey, I need…”Help. “…you.”
“I can come.” Isaac’s voice was steady and sure. “I’d already canceled my afternoon so we could spend some time together. I’ll leave now. Are you safe?”
“If I’m not now, I never will be.” He closed his eyes against the wave of nausea. “I’ll tell you everything. I can tell you everything now.”
“Okay.” He could hear Isaac’s deep breath and long sigh. “I’m coming. I’m going to bring Alain. We need to include him.”
“That’s fine.” He thought his head was going to explode. “Can I have a Coke? Something for my headache?”
“We’ll bring you lunch. And a Coke. Alain’s probably the best thing for your headache; he loves you.” A car door closed in the background, and sounds of the city streets came over the line.
“So do you.” He sighed softly, his chest on fire. “I need to get cleaned up. Don’t dawdle?”
“Are you kidding? I need to get my arms around you. I’m glad you texted; I was counting down my last two appointments. We’ll be there very soon.”
“I’ll be here. I swear, it’s safe to tell you now.”
“I love you. See you soon.” Isaac hung up—very Dom of him, one of them had to do it first after all.
Neil put his phone down and slowly wheeled himself into the bathroom.
He didn’t want to stink for his men. He had his pride.
21
Isaac took Alain by the hand and pulled him into the building. “Almost there.” He wasn’t sure if he was reassuring the boy or himself, but maybe it didn’t matter. They were equally anxious to see Neil, equally ready to be together, all of them, in the same room.
“Oui. Oui. He’s missing us bad, and me too. Me too, M’sieur.” Alain sounded less worried, more happy to see him.
“He asked specifically for that Coke, you know.” He led Alain through a doorway and down the long hall toward Neil’s room. “Such a silly thing.”
“He loves his Dr Pepper, he does. When he gets home, it’s going to be a party in my soul.”
He stopped outside Neil’s door and gave Alain a hug. “Mine too.” They weren’t there yet, but they’d get there. “Come on.” He opened the door and let Alain go inside first.
“Oh! Chou, I got you!” Alain shoved the food into his arms and expertly helped Neil get the rest of the way into his bed. “You damn near got it!”
“Kitten. Guapo. Oh, y’all.”
He shook his head at his sudden armful of food and pushed the door closed behind him with his foot. Neil looked…better. Not good, really, but not half-dead either. “Hello, boy. Looks like we walked in just in time to catch you doing something stupid,” he teased. “Typical.”
“I needed to—” Neil chuckled softly. “Yes, Sir. I was.”
Then Neil held his hands open to him, asking for him.
He set the food down on the bed tray and went right to his boy, bending to pull Neil into his arms. “You look good.”
“Liar. I’m tired, but you smell amazing.” Neil nuzzled in. “I have so much to tell you.”
“Sounds like it.” He wasn’t in a hurry though. He held Neil another minute, breathing his boy in and exhaling all the tension. “You feel good though. We want to hear everything. Are you hungry? Alain got your Dr Pepper.”
“Bless you. I’m all acid inside. That cuts it.”
Alain handed over the soda, and then started unwrapping little bread bowls. “I made shrimp bisque to go in. That okay, y’all?”
“We are so spoiled.” He let Neil go reluctantly, he really didn’t feel like he’d had enough, but they needed to eat and talk and if he had his way, at least one of them was going to stay the night. He had a call in to the center’s director, who happened to be a classmate of his at NYU. “Thank you, Alain.”