Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Released from hospital, Anaheim
“Okay! Get me the hell out of here.” Bryce had endured enough of being stuck in the hospital.
He dropped his ass in the wheelchair that Pilot rolled in.
He wasn't even going to argue about it. The pain meds had him feeling a little high, but his knee still ached some.
He wanted to go somewhere he felt safe so he could just crash.
He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand.
He wasn't sure how he felt about Pilot and Tate jumping in to take care of him, but he was going to let them.
They were acting a little strange. Pilot obviously had protective instincts kicking in.
That was fine, but he didn't want him thinking Bryce was a kid. His desires were anything but childish.
Tate's fidgeting seriously wigged him out, though.
He didn't know why Tate was suddenly so uncomfortable with him.
They'd been fine until he asked Bryce to stay with them.
Tate probably thought Bryce wanted more than just hanging out with them, and he did, but maybe Tate wanted that too.
Maybe that was the problem. He must have been fighting with Pilot over it.
Or Bryce could be making it all up in his head.
He didn't know them that well. Maybe Tate was just tired. It'd been a long night.
“Hey, I don't have to stay with you guys. You could just drop me off at my room.”
“Don't be stupid,” Pilot answered from behind him as he pushed Bryce through the halls. “Here. Push him, Tate. I'm going to go get the car.”
“Okay.”
Pilot walked away and Bryce felt guilt hit him like a punch in the chest. He didn't want them to split up. “I'm sorry, Tate. Don't let me get between you two.”
“It's not like that, wonder-boy.” Tate pushed the wheel chair through the sliding front doors and stopped by the curb. He ran his fingers through Bryce's hair.
“What's it like then?” He tilted his head back so he could see Tate behind him.
They stared at each other for a minute and Bryce could feel the energy tingling between them.
Tate leaned forward and pushed his lips against Bryce's.
It felt odd with Tate being upside down, or maybe he was upside down.
Either way, the kiss happened, even though it wasn't supposed to.
When Tate straightened up, Bryce saw that Pilot had already pulled up to the curb.
He had to have seen them kiss, but when he got out of the car, he smiled like it was his birthday or something.
He came around the car and stopped in front of Bryce. He gave Tate a silly look and then leaned forward, putting his hands on the armrests and getting in Bryce's face.
“What?” Bryce snapped, expecting a fight and already on the defensive.
Pilot chuckled and pressed his own lips against Bryce's.
The kiss was probing and asking for more and Bryce couldn't help himself.
He opened his mouth and let Pilot take it.
His tongue tasted like stale coffee, but Bryce didn't give a damn.
His tongue slid against Pilot's and licked into his mouth.
His stomach fluttered with excitement. Tate's fingers tickled the hair at the back of Bryce's neck before sliding across his shoulders.
Holy hot hell! Bryce wanted both of these men.
He reached down and shoved his junk around under his track pants, happy he'd been able to get his cup and jock strap off earlier.
He still had on compression shorts under his pants, just enough to keep his dick from poking up at a funny angle if he wasn't settled in right.
Why it mattered, he didn't know. No one else would see him, but he didn't want to feel embarrassed in front of Tate and Pilot.
Pilot pulled back and looked at him with lust-filled eyes that made even more blood rush to his cock. The surprise of it, overwhelmed him just a little. “I don't know if I can do this,” he blurted out. He wanted it, but he wanted their friendship more.
Tate had his hands in Bryce's hair again. They felt like they belonged there. “We're not going to push you into something you don't want. No matter what, we're here for you. Friends. Like I said before.”
“But? You want more?”
Pilot squatted in front of him so they faced each other, eye-to-eye. “We do, but what you want is important to us and we care about you. If you say no, it's no. Okay? Come on. Let's get out of here. We'll talk later.”
Pilot helped Bryce into the car. This day had been crazy.
First the horrible race day and wreck. He didn’t even get to the Main Event.
Hours in the hospital and now Tate and Pilot were making moves on him.
Thinking about all of it made him a little dizzy, or maybe it was the pain meds.
The latter was probably more likely since he fell asleep against the car window on the way to the hotel.
They had been booked in the same hotel where most of the other Supercross teams had rooms. He was on the second floor, so Tate and Pilot insisted that he stay in the car and off his leg while they packed up his stuff for him.
Bryce couldn't remember if he'd already packed his clothes, or what clothes he had out and he was afraid they were going to see it.
He needed them, but he wasn't a stupid kid and he didn't want them to think he was.
His face flushed, knowing they'd see what he had in his room. Would it ruin everything with them?
They dropped his stuff in the trunk and got in the car without a word.
Bryce chewed the inside of his mouth, worried about what they weren't saying.
They drove around to the back of the building where their room was.
Thankfully, they were on the ground floor and he didn't have to fuck with stairs.
He swung his legs out of the car and pushed himself up on his good leg, holding on to the car door.
Pilot came around the car and scooped Bryce up, hard arms wrapped around him.
Tate opened the door and carried his luggage inside while Pilot carried him.
He felt a flush crawl over his face. Once inside, Pilot put Bryce down on the bed.
One bed. King sized, but still only one bed.
Bryce hadn't asked; he'd assumed they had a double. His anxiety over it made him feel like a big baby, and that’s exactly what Tate and Pilot would think about him, too.
“Hey, man,” Tate said scooting in beside him on the bed. “Why don't you take a bath, clean up, and put on some clean clothes. It'll make you feel better.” He winked.
Damn.
Tate winked at him.
He wanted them. Wanted to go along with them. He was afraid, though, and he figured if he was this scared, then he wasn't ready. He had to trust that above all else. But, close friends. Maybe they could start there. Tate helped him into the bathroom and started the water in the tub.
Tate pulled Bryce's shirt up over his head.
He'd already taken off his gear and folks from the team had collected all the pads and chest plate and boots at the hospital.
He pulled at the buckle of his pants, frustrated that he'd have to throw this pair away since the EMTs ruined them by cutting them instead of just letting him take them off.
He dropped them to the floor and started pulling his compression shorts off.
They were tight and getting them down his thighs without putting weight on this bad leg proved difficult.
Tate hurried to help and ended up sitting on the floor in front of him, looking at his cock.
Bryce couldn't stop it from getting hard as Tate watched him.
Tate opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, or maybe he wanted to suck Bryce's cock.
Bryce started shaking. He wasn't sure if it was nerves, excitement, or an overload of the pain meds, but it made Tate shut his mouth and stand up.
“Here. Let me help.” He wrapped his arm around Bryce's naked waist.
Bryce wanted to feel him skin on skin, but Tate had on a long sleeved t-shirt.
Tate took his weight and helped him get settled in the tub.
The water was on the hot side, but it felt good as he eased down into it.
Once he settled, Tate stood up and looked down at him, focusing on his face.
Bryce started to thank him, but what came out was, “I'm not a kid.”
“I know you're not.”
“Okay then.”
Tate smirked and then left him alone in the bathroom. He didn't know if he wanted Tate to come back in or not. He was torn in half by wanting and fear. He sighed and grabbed the soap.
By the time he finished washing up, the tub water turned dark with dirt from the track. He tried to stand up and slipped. “Tate!”
The door opened. “You okay?”
“Yeah, but I need to rinse off. Help me stand up.”
Tate didn't even laugh at him, just stepped in and helped him up and turned on the water.
He rinsed off and Tate helped him out of the tub, throwing a towel on his head and handing him another.
Bryce dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. Tate helped him into the main room and sat him on the edge of the bed. He scrubbed at his hair with the towel.
“What do you want to wear?” Tate asked, pulling one of his bags up.
Pilot had stretched out on the bed with pillows behind his back, against the headboard, and was flipping through the channels. “Need help?” he asked.
Bryce froze. He didn't want them going through his clothes. Didn't want them to see it.
“Look,” Tate said, unzipping his big duffle with the double zipped top and flinging it open. “You've had a shit day and you should just be comfortable. Be yourself. We're not going to pressure you or judge you or anything. Okay? We—”
“What?”
Tate huffed and pulled out the one thing Bryce didn't want them to see. “We care about you. We don't think you're a kid. We're both extremely attracted to you. Just be yourself.” He handed Bryce the pajamas.
Maybe it would be okay.
“Davey McAllister has a superhero fetish. Do you think he's less than manly?” Pilot asked. “Tyler says he has underwear in almost every variety. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Spiderman.”
Tate laughed. “Nothing manly about him.”
He really wanted to wear his tiger pajamas, but he cared about what they thought more than anyone else.
He glanced at Tate, expecting to see some kind of judgment, but that's not what he saw.
Tate might not understand, but he cared enough that he wouldn't laugh and he didn't seem to think Bryce was stupid. “Okay.”
He pulled the soft hoodie top over his head. That was the worst of it with the tiger ears on the hood. The pants were just tiger stripped pajama bottoms. He pulled them on under his towel with Tate's help. Then Tate looked at him with more compassion in his eyes.
“That's damn cute, wonder-boy.” Tate leaned forward and kissed Bryce. Just a peck on the lips, but it was enough to make Bryce smile.
Pilot stood up. “Into bed with you. Do you need more ice?”
“Probably.”
Pilot helped him into the bed and Tate put some ice in a plastic bag the hotel supplied and tied it off. They wrapped a hand towel around the ice and situated it on Bryce's knee.
“It's late. Let's get some sleep and then food and then we'll figure out what to do next.” Pilot seemed to be really good at directing things, taking charge.
Bryce was happy to let him do it. In a few minutes, they were all snuggled in together with him in his tiger pajamas.
Tate wore tight briefs and an oversized t-shirt that probably belonged to Pilot, while Pilot wore just a pair of red boxers.
They looked nice against his tanned skin.
They both seemed relaxed, and Bryce wasn't uncomfortable at all.
It felt right being with them. It was enough for the moment.