Chapter 14
Logan
Jekyll stares back at me from the passenger seat.
He’s already greeted me by pushing his nose right under my ass, but it’s not enough for the cuddly beast. If Kyle didn’t tell him to stay put, he’d be walking all over me and my injured leg, which rests on the back sofa, where I sit, to avoid further swelling.
I’m in the car with an almost-stranger, who’s obsessed enough with me to come all the way from Texas, after ditching his fiancée at the altar. And while Hassan sees who I’m leaving with, the adrenaline flowing through my veins pushes me to think about the worst of scenarios.
“Just breathe, the hospital is only twenty minutes from here,” Kyle says, pulling out of the stables.
I huff in frustration. “I don’t need advice,” I rasp, but when Jekyll whines, my heart softens a little and give him my hand to lick.
“I know. It’s just... I’m thinking it’s best if you don’t think about the pain. We can talk about anything else. Like… what’s the name of your horse?” Kyle asks.
“Or, like, what are you doing here?” I don’t even have the energy to yell as I glance into his big brown eyes in the rearview mirror. Damn, they’re beautiful, like a doe’s, but that doesn’t change a thing, because he sought me out and invaded my privacy. For what?
Kyle’s shoulders stiffen, and when he speaks, his voice is low and flat.
“I’m sure you heard what happened with the wedding.
I got real with Madison, told her I know what she’d been up to, and broke things off.
But… I don’t know, it didn’t feel fair to leave her to take the blame just because no one knew what I did, so the official version is that I wasn’t ready. It’s been a shitshow.”
I rub my forehead in frustration. Of course Kyle took the fall. He had to prove to himself that he’s the good guy. “How am I involved in this?” I have a vague idea but I want him to say it.
Kyle looks back, for a moment neglecting the road ahead, but he focuses on where we’re going before I have to remind him that he’s in a moving car. “Well… we had this amazing chemistry, and I kept thinking about you. So I figured I’ll seek you out and see what happens.”
I swallow, processing that. Okay, maybe it’s a little psycho stalker, but he’s got good intentions. I don’t have to be mean to him.
“That’s… brave of you, taking life in your hands and all that, but you don’t know me. Not really."
Kyle chuckles as we speed up on the highway.
“I know, but with the way things developed, I can’t be home right now.
I drove away after Mom got the pastor involved.
It was a whole intervention kind of thing, and for a moment I was seriously worried they might try to take me somewhere.
” He rubs his forehead before hitting the back of his head against the seat.
Oh God. This is bad. I’m not some mother hen about to take baby gay boys under her wing. None of this should be my problem, but somehow I’m involved, and on top of it, I’ll owe him for driving me to the hospital.
“I’m… sorry,” I mutter. “So I understand you came out?”
Kyle nods with a deep exhale. “Madison didn’t want anyone to know, but my Mom has seen my porn before, and she told the rest of the family that this is why I really backed out.
I know they’re just worried, but it was relentless.
I didn’t want to stay with any of my friends back home, because their ties to my family are too strong, so I figured…
I guess I wasn’t thinking straight. I just packed one bag, Jekyll’s food, and we were on our way. ”
“On your way… here? Where are you staying?” I ask as the cogs in my brain move at an increasing speed.
“I don’t really know anyone living far away enough. This is the first time I left Texas,” Kyle says, squeezing the steering wheel.
I don’t know any more if he’s brave or reckless. “Why did you think this was a good idea? If you knew your mom would cause you problems you should have waited and saved up for an escape plan. Jesus!” I whimper with pain when he drives over a bump in the road.
“Well, she already knew. And didn’t you tell me to not marry Madison yourself?”
I’m exhausted already. I don’t want this upheaval in my life. I’ve barely got it together after a clusterfuck of a relationship last year. “Okay, so what do you plan to do here?”
Kyle rubs his face. “Find work, see how things go,” he says, meeting my gaze in the mirror.
With you is silent. He is out of his mind, hung up on a good fuck.
It’s flattering really, but also stupid and borderline insane.
I glance at my swollen ankle. This is the beginning of the problems he will bring into my life.
There’s no reason to not let him down gently though.
After all, I can’t expect a twenty-year-old gay dude who just got his first dick to make the best of decisions.
“I mean… it’s a good place to live. Quite a gay-friendly area too. I can give you some tips on nice places to eat when I get my fill of painkillers.”
Kyle’s silent, but his hands work the steering wheel, offering me a glimpse of his innermost thoughts. Jekyll looks at his master and whines softly, which makes Kyle snap out of his thoughts.
“I tried to book a motel, but none of the places that have rooms available around here accept dogs…”
Oh no. Oh hell no! I can see where this is going.
I take a deep, shivery breath, but it’s so hard to think when my leg is a throbbing mass of pain. “Are you shitting me? Don’t tell me you’ve been staying in your car?”
“Yeah, last night. It wasn’t ideal. I was thinking that maybe you’d agree to let Jekyll stay at yours until I find someplace to live?”
The dog doesn’t understand what’s being said, but the expression on his little canine face is crestfallen, as if the weight of the world suddenly fell on its back.
I have to close my eyes and count to five. “Kyle. You can’t do that. This isn’t Texas, it’s still cold at night at this time of year. Are you sure you can’t go back home? I’m sure your mom will come around.” I have no idea if she will, but I also don’t want any of this to be my problem.
He takes a loud breath as farmland passes by. “But… you told me not to marry her, and then left before the ceremony, because you didn’t want to see me go through with it. I thought you’d be glad to see me.”
I catch a glimpse of his eyes and have to look away because they’re red and getting that sheen of tears that makes me want to jump out of the car and break another leg just so I don’t have to see him cry.
He’s so fucking lost he’s decided a man he fucked twice would welcome him with open arms simply because he was nice during their brief interactions.
Jekyll whines and nuzzles Kyle’s arm. I might be willing to tell Kyle he’s deluded, but what am I gonna do? Kick his dog to the curb? I might be cold, but I’m not a monster.
“Okay, you can stay at my place for a few days but just until you get your shit together.”
“Sure. Of course,” Kyle says right away and blinks several times, regaining his composure.
I should have stopped when I realized I was his first guy, but I was greedy, and horny, and fucked things up for future me. God damn it.
Kyle pulls into the parking lot of our small local hospital and since there are barely any vehicles around, he drives straight for the gray front of the concrete beast I so far had the displeasure of visiting once. When someone else broke their hand.
When he opens the door for me with a wholesome smile that shows off his dimples. Just looking at him makes my leg hurt a bit less.
“And you’re gonna cook me steak,” I say because if he and his dog are about to make my life chaos, he’ll be paying for it any way he can. Other than sex, of course, because he needs to realize what’s not on the table so he can move on.
“Yes, sir,” Kyle says in a way that somehow bypasses my logical brain and goes straight to the primitive part that steers my sex drive.
“Twice a week,” I add, trying to keep my eyes on his face, not on his attractive body.
Kyle shrugs, leaning over me and definitely not smelling like someone who spent the night in their car, hugging a dog. “Oh, I can cook dinner every day. I always do that for myself anyway. It’s no big deal.”
I have to force my brain from imagining a life of steak and blowjobs.
He’s only staying for a week. But having him cook for me while I recover from whatever’s wrong with my ankle will be helpful.
Kyle runs to the hospital while Jekyll guards me, but moments later he’s back with a wheelchair.
As if I haven’t been humiliated enough. But I suppose being pushed in a chair is better than breaking my other leg while I hop around.
I reluctantly allow him to pull me out of the car and I lean half of my weight on him, panting. The change in position brings a surge of pain and I can’t even think about any of this living arrangements stuff for a while.
He helps me into the wheelchair and scoots down to place both my feet in the foldable rests.
“They already know you’re here,” he assures me and gets up to shut the car.
Jekyll stays behind with the window cracked open to let in air, but I can't care less about him being bored in the vehicle, because each bump on the uneven surface sends sparks of pain up my body.
I slump in the chair, taking a trembling breath. “You have to find a job too. I’m not gonna be your sugar daddy.”
Was that a snicker? I feel like I’m negotiating with Brisket.
“I don’t like sitting on my hands. Don’t you worry,” Kyle says as a nurse in blue scrubs opens the door for us.
“And you can’t bring hook-ups over. Would be fucked-up and awkward,” I lower my voice as we approach the woman, but I’m set in putting my point across.
“No hook-ups,” Kyle says matter-of-factly as he pulls the chair back and wheels me up the ramp into the beige hell of tile, steel and… whatever other materials make up a hospital ward. I’ve never seen a place so devoid of color.
I groan at another flash flood of pain. “And you’ll help me with Brisket while my leg is fucked up. That’s my horse,” I offer with a sense of surrender.
I did this to myself by trying to avoid him so desperately. Joke’s on me.
“Not a problem. My horse is still back at home, so I’ll enjoy taking care of yours and giving it some exercise.”
“Well that looks real bad,” the nurse says, leaning down to see my fucked-up leg.
“His horse got spooked,” Kyle offers, clearly wanting to save me the indignity of the truth.
“Could have been worse,” the nurse says, adjusting the band holding back her curls. “At least you didn’t ‘fall’ on a potato naked and ‘accidentally’ have it enter your rectum, like the last gentleman I had the pleasure of helping.”
It’s so surprising I burst out laughing. The shaking makes my leg hurt more, but at least it’s a ray of sunshine in this hell of a day.