Theo is avoiding me.
Almost a week since he left my bed, and that’s one week too long.
In truth, I am swamped at Summit House. It’s the last of Spring Break, and my reservations have a waitlist. I also have a quinceañera booked, with a custom menu for the event, plus training my line and the sous chefs.
Still.
I should have run into him at Black Diamond or my condo. Theo’s perfect body should already have been curled next to mine, sated properly and praised until his beautiful face burns crimson.
Instead, we are ships passing in the night. Tiny things, like Mulder’s full bowl when I return, are all I have of him in my life when he should be a much bigger part of it. Black Diamond is slammed every time I am in there, and I merely see glimpses of him.
Spring Break weeks are always crazy, and I curse the timing.
We got past the attraction to the kissing, and through the kissing to me getting to watch him unravel in my hands. What comes next is obvious.
Obvious to me, at least.
Once I wrap up the quinceañera menu tasting with the Miranda family, I head straight to Black Diamond. I have access to the Black Diamond calendar, so I know Theo is working and almost off. He handled the long lunch crowd for a Bear Valley about ready to burst at the seams with skiers trying to get in the final runs of the season. I’m determined to catch him before he leaves.
As soon as I clear the doorway, I see Theo’s back. He picks up a tray from a bussed table, turns toward me, and . . .sways.
His face is pale, hair dark and lank, with dark circles holding up his eyes. Theo’s lips, usually so full, look bloodless and thin. I don’t know if it is exhaustion or what, but instead of his effortless grace, Theo almost stumbles under an empty tray.
“Thank god you are here,” Quinn says, coming up beside me. “Your boy is sick, and he needs someone to take him home.”
“The fuck, Quinn? Why is he still working?”
Slow down there, killer. I just walked in. Apparently, he was pale when he arrived, and then it progressed to this.”
“Should have called me.”
“Phone’s in my hand, Matt.”
Theo makes his way to the kitchen with his tray, and to be honest, I don’t think he sees me or Quinn.
Giving Quinn a look, I follow Theo’s unsteady form to the kitchen. I find him braced against a counter in the kitchen, catching his breath. “Sweetness, what’s going on?”
He jumps like he needs to run away, but I’m faster, sliding in front of him. When I cup it, Theo’s cheek is on fire, his eyes glassy—and not in the way I want them to be. His small body lurches toward me, and my arm automatically wraps his slender waist.
“Mummph,” he rasps, voice like he’s talking through glass, pressing his face to my chest.
“Are you sick, sugar? Feel hot?”
“I’m cold. Bussed the tables to stay away from serving,” he mutters into my chest as I stroke his hot face. “I shouldn’t be here.”
Sighing a big sigh, he tries to curl into me. The move is one of comfort, and I love his head tucked into my chest. I get not wanting to let anyone down, and Black Diamond has been short-staffed lately. But banishing himself to a solitary job involving so much labor when he was feeling ill demonstrates how he isn’t looking after himself. He should have gone home.
Well, now I get to take care of him.
I’m concerned he feels cold even though he’s hot to the touch. Germs—cold, flu, you name it—always haunt a ski town. It’s inevitable with the number of people coming through and the time of year.
“Let’s go.” I make my voice authoritative, commanding, even, and to my surprise and supreme enjoyment, he sags into the command. For the first time, Theo’s brain doesn’t try to get in the way.
Not how I hoped to turn his brain off, but I’ll take it.
“How you feeling, sweetheart?”
“I’m so . . .tired, Matt.” His voice is reedy and thin.
