Chapter 9
Bodie woke up in the middle of the night feeling as if he was going to burn alive.
He crawled out of bed, turned on the shower, and just sat there in the bottom of the tub.
Dammit.
The cold water helped cool him down but gave him the shivers, and the hot water actually hurt his already heated skin. He found a lukewarm middle ground that didn’t make him feel worse, but he wasn’t sure it was making him feel better either.
He didn’t know if he’d dozed off for a second or just lost track of time, but he kind of blinked back to awareness at someone knocking on the bathroom door.
“Uh. Sorry. Sorry.” God, why was the bathtub so damn tall?
“Are you okay? Bodie? You’ve been in there for a long time.”
“I’m not feeling so good. I didn’t mean to wake you…” He crawled out of the tub, making the long trip to the door.
“Can I—” Cole blinked at him as he opened the door. “Uh. Oh wow. Okay. Um. You need a towel, bud.”
“Oh. Sorry.” He stared at Cole, trying to remember how to move.
“Hey, all good. Can you—let’s take a step back.” Cole took him by his shoulders and leaned some weight into him. “That’s it. One step back. You can lean on me if you need to, it’s cool.”
They were moving somehow, Cole guiding him back into the bathroom. “Sit on the—right there. Sit down before you fall down.”
“Okay. Sorry.” He blinked at Cole. “I don’t think I got the water turned off.”
“I’ve got it.” Cole dropped a towel over his lap and put a robe around his shoulders. “You are so pale.”
“I feel pale.” He felt see-through, to be honest.
Cole touched his forehead. “Whoa. You’re burning up. I’m going to get you some more Tylenol. Tomorrow, we’ll call Doc.”
He tried to nod, but his head was killing him, and he wanted to scream.
“Hm. I might call him now. Let’s get you back in bed.” Cole didn’t want for him to answer; he was just moving. He wasn’t even sure if he was walking or Cole was carrying him, but the bed was soft and the pillow was cool when he laid his head down.
“Doc, Doc, Doc. I know I have his number…” He was so sorry, but he felt like hammered shit, and he couldn’t focus. “Got it. Hang in there, Cole. I’m putting this on speaker.”
“This is not a time you call a man unless a cowboy is dying.” Yeah. That was Doc.
“Doc? It’s Cole Bates. I’m calling about Bodie… Bodie Jimenez?”
“Bodie? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not feeling so good, Doc.” His eyelids were so heavy.
“What’s wrong with him? Did he hit his head?”
“No, he’s sick. Fever, chills, super foggy. He’s really burning up. I think he might need a prescription, but I didn’t think I should take him to the ER. They’re so… complicated.”
“What hotel are you at? I’ll call in antibiotics and have them delivered. He needs liquids. As much as you can get in him. Can you do that?”
“Ironic for a man who keeps telling his clients not to drink, but yes, I can manage that Doc. I even have chicken soup.” Cole sounded proud of himself. “I’ll text you the hotel info.”
“Good deal. If he’s not better in the morning, call me back.” There was a pause. “Wait, who is this?”
“It’s Cole Bates, Doc. Bodie’s agent? We met back when—well, a while ago.”
“Oh. Oh, good. Good, you have a vested interest in keeping him alive.”
Cole laughed. “Yes, Doc. I plan to make sure he stays alive. I did call you after all. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Liquids. Meds. No stupidity. Call me. Sleep now.”
Sleep sounded like a great idea…
“Thanks, Doc. I’ll check in tomorrow. Goodnight.” Cole’s fingers felt cool where they touched his forehead, then rested on his cheek. “You heard the doc. No stupidity.” Cole chuckled. “Meds are coming. I’m going to duck out and get more water. You stay in bed, okay?”
“Uh-huh. Promise. No stupid.” Bodie didn’t have the energy for stupid.
“You’re really shivering…” Cole pulled the comforter higher and added a blanket. “Do you feel cold?”
“I’m okay. I just…” He closed his eyes. “I’m really sorry.”
He felt really stupid.
“Don’t be. I am feeling super smug and smart for telling you to stay. On top of that, Doc is pretty convinced I’m not going to kill you, so… give me that at least.”
“I’m too happy to die yet.” He had a good life, good friends. He was lacking in hot sex, but he could have fantasies about certain sexy agents…
He noticed Cole staring at him. Had he said that out loud? Surely not.
“Good. Stay happy. Go to sleep, Bodie. I’ll keep an eye out and wake you up when your meds arrive.”
“Yessir. Just have ’em text, and I’ll run down.”
“Oh, bullshit, cowboy.” Cole laughed. “You can’t even lift your head off the pillow much less drag your ass out of bed. I’m going to get you water, and I’ll get your meds. Your job is sleep.” Cole moved away. “Sleep.”
“Sleep.” He could so do that. He needed to remember to ask if he could extend his stay a day or two. He was going to have to snooze.
It was the middle of the night, Cole reminded himself. That was the reason he was thinking all these ridiculously inappropriate things.
He punched the elevator call button and stepped in when the doors opened, then leaned back against the wall with a sigh.
Even sick as a fucking dog, Bodie was the sweetest. That wasn’t the ridiculous part.
The ridiculous part was that he had this urge to wrap his arms around the cowboy and… protect him.
Protect Bodie. A bull rider who was braver than he’d ever been in his whole life, tougher than he could ever be. Cole wanted to protect him and make sure nobody fucked with that happy, sunny smile.
Just hide him under the blankets and keep the world and the bulls and the whole shit-show of life at bay.
Naked wouldn’t hurt. Bodie was fucking beautiful from head to toe and everywhere in between.
Every. Where.
And the son of a bitch had said he was sexy. That Bodie fantasized about him.
Cole should probably keep pretending he hadn’t heard that, and he would. But it was the middle of the night, and there were no thought police, so he could let those fever-induced words keep him warm for a while.
He looked around and realized that in all of his ridiculous wool-gathering, he hadn’t even hit the elevator floor button.
He hit the lobby button, and just like that, the elevator started going down. He rolled his eyes at himself and grinned.
He had a naked cowboy in his bed.
A really sweet one. A hot one. One he liked a lot, and he’d never really had a thing for cowboys before. Nothing more than liking to look anyway. This was a lot more than that.
This was changing his flight to make sure Bodie was okay more than that. This was worrying and taking care of and fretting over more than that.
And he was happy to do all of it.
The elevator doors opened, and he was glad because the rest of the more than thats didn’t need to get airtime right now.
He let the reception desk know he was expecting a pharmacy delivery, then wandered over and bought four big bottles of water and a Snickers bar. A person had to eat when they took antibiotics right?
God this place was quiet. Between the hour and the event being over, it was still and empty down here.
The hotel doors opened and a dude in a Walgreens uniform came in, carrying a big bag. “Mr. Jimenez?”
“Oh. shit. That was quick. Over here.” He jogged a few steps to meet the delivery guy. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, we’re just around the corner, and we’re not busy, you know? Not many people pay for delivery down here.”
“Well, the doc handled it.” He handed the guy a few bucks. “This is a big bag for some antibiotics.”
“Antibiotics, thermometer, Gatorade, all that sort of stuff.”
Oh. Wow. Doc took care of them. He was a good man. “Great. Thanks again. Have a good night.” He was weighed down now—a ton of water and a pharmacy in a bag. He headed right back upstairs.
The television was on, but Bodie was sound asleep, sitting up in the bed against the headboard.
He shook his head. Poor guy. He set everything down, poured some Gatorade into a cup and pulled out the meds and the thermometer. He set everything down on the nightstand, then sat next to Bodie. “Hey, Bodie.”
When he didn’t get an answer, he rested his hand on Bodie’s thigh. It was a really muscled thigh. Damn. “Bodie? I have stuff from doc. Meds. Wake up, man.”
“Mmm… Your hand is cold.”
No, Bodie was just hot as hell.
“Ready for some meds?” He took Bodie’s hand and dropped the antibiotic and two Tylenol in it. “Got those? Put them in your mouth, okay? I have some Gatorade. Tastes awful but it’s going to help.”
“Ew… I don’t love that shit.” Bodie drank it, though, didn’t he?
“Nobody does really. But when you feel better, you’ll thank Doc for sending it.
” He picked up the thermometer to get Bodie’s temp.
He really didn’t want to know, but he needed a benchmark.
He held it up to Bodie’s forehead until it beeped, not surprised to see the numbers turn red. “One-oh-one. That’s not nothing.”
“No. My head is throbbing, huh?” Bodie blinked at him, drinking deep.
“I’m sorry, man. That has to suck. Oh.” He hopped up and grabbed the Snickers bar. “I brought you chocolate because… well, the other snacks sucked, and who doesn’t like a Snickers bar? Have a couple of bites.”
“Chocolate is proof there’s a god, and they love us, man.” Bodie broke off a bite and handed it back. “You should have some too.”
His stomach growled right on cue. He hadn’t even realized he was hungry. “Okay then.” He tugged a bit off the bar, popped it in his mouth and hummed, chewing happily. “Mmm. Chocolate really is the best.”
“It is amazing, endorphin—is it endorphins? Serotonins? Something?”
“Magic. It’s magic.” Cole put the rest on the nightstand next to the nearly empty bottle of Gatorade. “We should go back to bed. Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“I keep having nightmares. It’s no big deal, honest.” Bodie shrugged and his cheeks heated.
“Oh, man. That’s the fever, I guess. Maybe the meds will help.” He picked up the remote and turned the TV off. “Hunker down, cowboy, and give it another shot. I’ll wake you up again when it’s time for more horse-pills.”
“You can leave the tv on, if you want. I sleep with it running a lot.”
Cole didn’t really care, but if Bodie wanted the TV, that was fine.
He turned it back on to whatever weird late-night movie Bodie had been watching and climbed into bed again.
He ignored the voice that reminded him that Bodie was still naked.
Or he tried to. “Wake me up if you need anything, okay? Anything at all.”
“You let me know if you need a ride to the airport, huh?” Bodie sighed softly. “I promise to be decent to you.”
“I’ll let you know.” But he wasn’t going to, because he wasn’t leaving Bodie alone like this. He didn’t fight the urge to comfort Bodie this time and reached out to stroke one hot cheek. “I promise to be decent to you too.” He didn’t know what else to say.
“Thank you.” Bodie leaned into his hand. “Good night, pretty.”
He just smiled. Fevers were so funny. “Good night, handsome.”
He didn’t have an excuse himself.