He frowned at me, and I left. I didn’t want to leave him, but I’d promised I’d hide his stash. It seemed important to him, so I set out to fulfill his request like a knight questing to slay a dragon to impress the princess. But I’d always been like that with him. Ever since we were kids, I’d kind of thought of myself as his protector.
I stopped by the nurse’s desk to say goodbye to the women working there. Just like the hospital, they were all nice and seemed to enjoy talking with me. I missed my girls and made a note to give Lexa a call soon. My job at the Devil’s Den was up in the air right now, but Jack said he’d be happy to have me back whenever I returned. But I didn’t think I’d be going back to Springfield. I was never meant to stay there because Danny wasn't there. He was destined for bigger and better things, like going to a school as prestigious as MIT to major in engineering. He’d always been smart, whereas I was fairly dim. I’d never understood things like linear equations or electrical circuits. Hell, who even thought it was a good idea to put letters in math? He’d always helped me with my homework and studying for tests, and he never got frustrated when I failed to understand simple things. It was a miracle I’d graduated high school and even then, my GPA was shit. So, I wasn’t surprised he’d been accepted to an ivy-league school.
There had been a long time when I’d hated myself for being stupid because I couldn’t tag along with him to college. But there was one thing I was good at and that was protecting what I considered mine. Whether it was my girls, Mrs. B. or Danny, I’d take care of them the only way I knew how. I supposed I had my father to thank for that. He’d taught me there were a lot of things in this world that could hurt you. Wherever life took Danny, I was meant to go there too. I didn’t care if that was some co-dependent shit going on.
The drive to Danny’s apartment was slow and frustrating in the middle of the evening rush-hour toward downtown Chicago. I’d agreed with Mrs. B. that he should move in with her but hadn’t said anything when he’d shot that idea down. When I arrived, his mom’s car wasn’t in the parking garage. I parked and headed up the elevator to Danny’s apartment as I’d done so many times these past few months. It was hard to believe so much time had passed. It was only yesterday he was fighting for his life. Despite the passage of time, my rage simmered in my gut like bad heartburn. I hadn’t forgotten about what those assholes had done to Danny, and they were going to pay, even if it took years.
Biscuit was at the door to welcome me, and I stroked my hand across his back as he rubbed against my legs. He and I had become good friends lately, and when I did sleep here, he curled up against me, purring like a motorcycle. I fed and watered him, then scooped the litter box, the simple act of caring for an animal enjoyable. I never dared to keep pets when I was a kid, because I’d quickly learned that put them in danger with my father being the way he was.
Figuring it was best not to waste any more time, I made for Danny’s bedroom, picking up strewn clothes as I did. I’d never considered myself a typical macho man, but in regard to housekeeping, I met every criteria for the cliche man-child. Not that I meant to, and I certainly hadn’t intended to make more messes for Mrs. B. to clean up. Sometimes I didn’t think about things like laundry until I had no clean clothes to wear. And with Danny’s situation, he had been the only thing on my mind lately.
I spotted the uninteresting wooden chest at the foot of the bed piled with my duffle bag and wrinkled, clean clothes. Taking a quick scan of its size, I rummaged around in the closet and made a chest-sized space. It wasn't my intent to snoop, but I lifted the lid with the idea of making sure there was nothing fragile or loose that might get jostled in the move. I did a double take at the contents.
Dildos of all shapes, sizes, and colors lay nestled on a towel along with a pump-bottle of lube and various other sex toys. Some were long and thin, others thick and short. A few were fantastical shapes, like balls piled on top of each other. One dildo in particular stood out to me. It was an ombre of pink and purple, heavily ridged and scaled, with a larger ball in the middle. I had my suspicions his stash was dirty magazines and the like, maybe even recreational marijuana, but I never imagined sex toys.
Damn, Danny. Is there something you want to tell me?I lingered there too long, running my eyes over the colorful rubber, wondering if he used them on himself, or his boyfriends? Maybetheyhad used them on him. And why did a little pang of jealousy sneak next to my chest? That familiar tickle I’d gotten in my cock as a teenager whenever I slept in Danny’s bed returned.
I secured the box and lugged it into the closet. I went the extra mile and piled a bunch of stuff on top, ensuring Danny’s mom was unlikely to find it. I tried not thinking about the contents of the box, but I was curious about the toys. Maybe Danny used them on himself like a private kink he didn’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone else.
The question haunted me all night.
Would he ever share something like that with me?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Danny
I plopped my butt on the couch, the effort of getting my battered body from the rehabilitation center and up to my lavish apartment sapping what little strength I’d managed to store up. I felt like I’d gone for a long jog along Lake Michigan, my breath hard to catch up.
I’d put up some resistance to using the wheelchair, but Jere got involved and made a game of zooming me down the hallway as if it were the Indy 500. The nurses had chastised us good-naturedly to which Jere offered his heart-felt apologies while giving me a naughty wink. Leave it to him to make light of the situation. I was secretly glad to have had a wheelchair to help get me to the car. More than that, I was relieved to be home and looking forward to sleeping in my comfortable bed with my expensive sheets and Wonder Bread-soft comforter.
Biscuit leapt into my lap, and I cuddled my baby boy.
“Okay,” Mom said as she undid the strings on my shoes and pulled them off my feet. “All the basics have been covered. Milk, bread, lunchmeat, Hot Tamales. Toilet paper and paper towels are stocked. There are fresh towels in the bathroom and clean dishes in the cabinets. Ronnie will be going in the morning to pick up your medication. The painkillers the center gave you will be enough to get you through the night.”
I passed Jere a worrisome look. He’d said he’d hidden my stash well, but it seemed my mother was determined to turn my apartment upside down. But, she hadn’t given me the same bashful look she had when she’d caught me watching gay porn when I was seventeen. If she’d found the adult toy store in the chest, I’d know.
“I’ll bring some breakfast over, too,” Ronnie said and helped me out of my cardigan. “Pancakes?”
“Oh, yes, please,” I said in a rush of breath.
The food at the rehabilitation center hadn’t been much better than what the hospital served. Despite the overdose of corn syrup and refined carbs, pancakes sounded great.
“And how about you, honey?” she asked Jere.
“I like pancakes,” he said simply.
“He’ll take some sausage links too. Not the patties, the links,” I said.
Ronnie frowned at me. “Is there a difference?”
“Absolutely,” Jere said and took my jacket from her. He hung it up on the hook by the door. “The links taste better.”
Ronnie snickered at the unspoken joke, and I passed her a droll look. She kissed my forehead. “I’m so glad you’re finally home. How about a movie night this weekend? I’ll cook.”
“That would be nice,” I said, trying to sound as chipper as possible. I wanted to crawl into a hole and be a miserable ball of sadness, but I knew my friends wouldn’t let me.
As shitty as I felt about the situation, being around those I loved made me feel better. I hated being a Debbie Downer and complaining about everything but the way I saw it, I had the right to fuss. And the doctor had said there may be some emotional outbursts, but that was best taken care of by a therapist. Of course, I couldn’t afford one right now.
