Chapter Seven
Henry: I forgot to mention before I left town, if you need anything, text Shawn. I left instructions with him to help however you need him.
JJ: Thanks for that.
Leary: Let me know if you need me to pick up anything on the way home.
JJ: Yeah… I’m not doing that. You already do too much.
Leary: *rolling eyes* Don’t be hardheaded. I want to do things for you.
JJ: Get back to work. I’m fine
Leary: Fine.
JJ: Let me know when you’re on your way home. I made dinner. It just needs to be heated.
Leary: Awww. You didn’t have to do that. It looks like I’ll be out of here on time tonight.
JJ: So about ten minutes you’ll be on your way?
Leary: Yes.
JJ: Cool. I’m on it.
Leary: Let me know how therapy goes.
JJ: It was therapy.
JJ: I miss you.
Leary: I miss you too.
JJ: I can’t wait for you to get home.
Leary: Turns out I can leave early today. I’ll see you in a few.
JJ: Sweet.
Leary: Don’t forget your appointment.
JJ: I haven’t. I’m in the parking lot.
Leary: Good. See you soon.
Things got a little easier every day. Well, some things did.
He still struggled with his fine motor skills.
The prosthetic also looked extremely robotic.
He could opt for silicone skin to make the hand look more natural, but the added weight made it even more difficult to control.
There was a lot of tinkering involved he hadn’t truly considered.
If motions happened too quickly or too slowly, doing intricate things felt unnatural.
It took a lot of slowing things down, speeding things up, and looking for the sweet spot in between.
JJ felt like he got a little closer every day.
Mentally, the entire process was draining.
He wished he could leave his mind at home to take a nap.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t and there was a constant itch at the back of his brain that drove him insane.
He just wanted to feel like a whole person again.
Leary promised he would get there. JJ hoped he was right.
When JJ walked through the clinic door, smiles greeted him.
He had gotten to know everyone over the past six months.
Even Dr. Highman, whose first name turned out to be Ron, had grown on him.
Once JJ realized Leary was genuinely unbothered by Ron’s antics, and Ron didn’t mean anything he said, their banter was actually pretty funny.
Leary held his own. They were both witty as hell.
JJ checked in and asked the lady at the counter about her dog she had just taken to the vet. He was taken back to a room immediately while Katie chatted happily about the surprise party she had been thrown at lunch by her co-workers.
“Happy birthday. I didn’t know, or I would’ve brought you something.”
She flashed him a bright smile. “It’s fine, but that’s sweet.” She motioned toward the chair. “You know the drill.”
JJ sat and went through the usual blood pressure and temperature checks. She made notes, and then he was left alone to wait. JJ eyed all the posters he had seen a thousand times. Luckily, it only took a couple of minutes for Leary to slip into the room.
JJ lit inside at the sight of him, as if he hadn’t seen him off to work a few hours ago. “Hey.”
Leary’s smile made him look every bit as happy as JJ felt. “Hey. How was the traffic coming in?”
“Oh, you know. Shitty.”
Leary laughed, and JJ’s chest warmed. “Sorry. You know I’d treat you at home, but…” He motioned around.
JJ got it. This part of their lives had to be professional. “It’s okay. This gives me the excuse I need to see you during the day occasionally. How has your day been, by the way?”
Leary checked his arm, turning it from side to side and poking around while he answered. “July texted me earlier. He wants to go together to the club tonight. I told him I’d ask you when you came in if you were up to it.”
“You don’t have to ask me if you want to go somewhere. Just tell me we’re going.”
Leary cut his eyes at JJ. “I’m not doing that. If you’re not up to going, I’m not dragging you out. Plus, if I don’t feel like going, I can use you as an excuse.”
A bark of laughter burst from JJ. “I suppose that’s true.”
Leary let go of his arm and met JJ’s stare. “What about you? How’s your day gone so far?”
JJ shrugged. “I did the laundry.”
Leary huffed. “Stop doing chores. You know I pay people to do all that.”
A smile stretched across JJ’s lips. He had known that would rile Leary. “I’m home all day. What do you think I should be doing?”
“Resting while you still can,” Leary shot back like he didn’t even have to think about it.
JJ’s smile fell. He cleared his throat. “Speaking of that. Henry called this morning.” He saw the way Leary went completely still. Unfortunately, they couldn’t avoid this forever. “He wants to know when I’ll be released back to work. I didn’t tell him I could have returned to work two months ago.”
Leary nodded but didn’t meet his gaze. He moved to his stool and focused on his laptop. “What did you tell him?”
JJ hated this. He didn’t want to go back to Beau’s, working third shift. JJ wanted to stay in Leary’s bed each night where he belonged. “I told him I had an appointment today and should find out then.”
The way Leary’s throat worked let JJ know all he needed to know about Leary’s thoughts. He felt the same way JJ did. This was their life now. He didn’t know how to keep it.
Leary finally met his stare. “What did you learn here today?”
JJ's heart dropped. He didn’t know what to say.
He shrugged. “There’s no leaving the family.
You can’t know how much I hate that now.
But this is what I signed up for when Beau took me in.
Eventually, I’ll have to go back. That doesn’t mean we’re over or anything like that.
I’ll always find ways to be with you as often as possible.
It just fucking sucks that I won’t get to sleep at your side every night. I don’t want to give that up.”
Leary took a deep breath. He squared his shoulders. “Well, whatever you decide to tell him, I’m not going anywhere. Like you said, we’ll figure it out. You can stay with me on your nights off and whatnot.”
JJ nodded. Fuck, he hated this. He finally had the normal life he had sought for so long. The thought of losing this steady, happy, normal life made him feel sick.
“Maybe I can drag another four to six weeks out of this. I still can’t light the cigarette lighter.”
Leary’s mouth lifted in one corner. He knew exactly what JJ meant. One of his fine motor skills training was flicking a lighter. He hadn’t accomplished it.
“I’ll take every extra second I can get with you. Just don’t get yourself into trouble, okay?”
JJ nodded. He would do what he could. Eventually, things between them would change, but JJ was ready and willing to do whatever it took to hold them together. He would make them work.
Leary spent the entire day fretting over JJ’s job. The worry had been in the back of his mind from the first night JJ stayed with him. He had known this day would come. Leary didn’t know why they hadn’t sat down and talked about it before it became an appointment at his office.
He stared at JJ’s profile as JJ drove them to The PlayPen.
July talked nonstop in the back seat. Leary listened with half an ear.
July was one of those people who never needed a second party in the conversation.
Leary had never quite understood what July did for a living.
All he knew was July hated his job and obviously had no one to talk to all day.
“Then he told me he knew I dressed like a girl, but he had expected I would actually look like a girl and his friends wouldn’t know I wasn’t.”
“This is when you kicked his ass, right?”
The question and the outrage on JJ’s face made Leary realize not only had JJ heard every word Leary hadn’t, but he also cared about what July said. Guilt washed over Leary. Sometimes JJ’s presence in his life overwhelmed everything.
Thankfully, July responded without realizing Leary hadn’t heard a word. “I didn’t have to. The waitress overheard everything. We made eye contact. She accidentally dumped a tray of drinks in his lap.”
JJ laughed.
Leary did too, just to cover up how deeply he had been lost in thought.
“How did he react to that?”
At JJ’s question, Leary glanced behind him.
July made a dismissive gesture. “I used the pandemonium to grab my purse, mumble something about running to the restroom, and I was out of there. When I got home, I drank a bottle of wine and passed out. But that’s why I asked you guys to go out with me tonight.
I need to be in a place I belong for a little while. ”
Since he was caught up enough to catch the drift of the conversation, Leary jumped in. “I’ll always be here for you.”
“We,” JJ chimed in.
Leary gave a sharp nod. “We’ll always be here for you.”
July beamed. “You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Normally, Fletch would take me, but he just got home from Hawaii last night. Apparently, the day after traveling, there’s a lot to do around his place.”
July’s wording made Leary wonder if July didn’t know what Fletch did for a living. Surely he did.
JJ pulled into the parking garage of the club.
July popped out as if he couldn’t wait to get inside.
Leary loved seeing July excited about anything at all.
When they had first met, July had always been sullen when they were at the club.
Leary could tell how much July believed he didn’t fit at The PlayPen.
Leary kind of got it. July wasn’t exactly a Little.
He was more like someone stuck in their pre-teen years.
There wasn’t much of that at The PlayPen.
Not to mention, the daddies who came to find a little one obviously weren’t looking for someone like July.
Since July had been going with Fletch, July seemed as if he had found his place at The PlayPen.