“Promise. And I better go inside. If I stay in this heat much longer, I might pass out from exhaustion. If it’s this hot at the end of winter, I don’t want to know what it’s like in the summer.”
“Same.”
They said their goodbyes, and Branson pocketed his phone, buoyed by the conversation with his dad, and confident he and Tarius could clear this newest hurdle. They might stumble a bit in the process, but they’d pick each other up and continue the long journey of building their future together.
As husbands.
As family.
EIGHTEEN
Branson hadevery intention of following his omegin’s advice and not going to sleep angry, but not long after stretching out on a bed to read, the sounds of frequent coughing and sneezing began drifting through the mostly-shut door between their adjoining rooms. Even over the sound of the television and the marathon of movies Jeuel was enjoying, Branson looked up whenever he heard it, worried Corinth was getting sick.
Except around the same time that Branson’s stomach started growling for more than small bags of chips and sandwich cookies, Corinth popped his head into the room. “Tarius is feeling pretty crappy, and he asked for some cold medicine,” Corinth said. “I couldn’t find a delivery service in the phone book, so I called the front desk. There’s a pharmacy two blocks from here I can walk to. Do you two need anything?”
Branson stared dumbly at Corinth, his brain still trying to catch up. “Tarius is sick?”
“Yeah, said he hasn’t felt right since we got off the train. I can bring back a pizza or sandwiches, or something, too. I’ve been hungry for a while.”
“Um, yeah, pizza’s fine.” He glanced at Jeuel who nodded, Jeuel’s own concern for Tarius etched across his youthful face. “Shouldn’t I get him medicine? I’m his husband.”
“I know, but it’s safer for me to go. I can’t tell if he’s running a fever, so it’s probably better for you two to stay in here.”
“Right.” Branson worked to keep a petulant frown off his face. “Does Tarius need anything?”
“Just some medicine and softer tissues than—his words—the torture paper provided by the hotel.”
“I hear that,” Jeuel said. “The toilet paper here chafes my ass.” His perfectly deadpan delivery of the comment made Branson smile. If he was making jokes, maybe Jeuel was okay, after all.
More okay than Tarius, obviously. Branson pulled his credit card out of his wallet and handed it to Corinth. “For the pizza and anything Tarius needs from the pharmacy. Tissues with lotion, medicine, lozenges, a thermometer, whatever.”
Corinth offered him a sympathetic smile. “It sounds like a summer cold, probably from the climate difference. He just needs to rest.”
Branson scowled at Corinth’s departing back. Tarius was only sick because he’d agreed to come here and hold Branson’s hand through this ordeal, and that had only happened because he’d agreed to marry Branson, so Jeuel and Trei could move to Sansbury. He wasn’t supposed to be sick.
Once the door to the other hotel room clicked shut, Branson walked to the adjoining door and knocked gently on the frame. “Tar?”
Tarius coughed, a dry, wheezing noise. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Who knew I was allergic to terracotta and palm trees?”
Branson snickered then peeked into the room. Tarius was on the far bed, curled under the covers, his back to Branson. He couldn’t look his husband in the eyes, but he still laid his own eyes on the man, and his heart panged with love and concern. “I meant, I’m sorry about our fight.”
Tarius groaned. “Not tonight, babe, please?”
Babe.The rare use of a pet name made Branson back off immediately. “Okay. It can wait. Do you need anything?”
“Just pharmacy stuff.”
“Want me to turn on the TV?”
“Goddess, no, I need to sleep for a while. Please?”
“Sure, yeah. I’ll let you sleep.”
Branson pulled the door almost completely shut, leaving half his heart on the other side. Sure, there wasn’t anything Branson could do to fix this cold/virus/whatever for Tarius, but he wanted to slide onto the bed, hold him, tell him it would be okay. He also couldn’t risk getting sick, too, not with Corinth already exposed. The four of them sick and miserable on the long train ride home?
