Neither answered, their mouths full of cupcake.
As he walked down the hallway, he greeted the other volunteers who came every Saturday and Sunday to meet with the kids who stopped by. They had Rachel to thank for them. She’d gotten ten of her fellow psychology classmates to volunteer to sit with the boys and girls who came in and talked to them. Fortunately the problems weren’t always that bad. More often than not it came down to a simple miscommunication with their parents or siblings or a teenager being a teenager. They talked for a while and went on their way with a better understanding of how to handle a parent or a brother or sister.
Those were the lucky ones and fortunately constituted most of their cases.
But then there were cases like Marly’s, or fifteen-year-old Stevie, that made what Drew had set up here worth everything.
Immersed in his thoughts and not watching where he was going, he ran straight into the man who occupied his mind most of the time.
“Ooof.” Their bodies collided, and Ash’s head made painful contact with Drew’s, a hard edge slicing into his cheekbone as their bodies flattened against one another. He had to admit that for a moment he saw stars.
Staggering away, Ash felt the warm trickle of blood run down his cheek. “Ow.” He touched his cheek, and it came away bloodstained. “What the hell?” The words died on his lips as he saw Drew, a concerned look on his face, wearing glasses that made him look hot as shit. The pain in his head forgotten, he wanted nothing more than to flatten the man against the wall and kiss him senseless.
“When did you get the glasses, Doc?” The man looked like a sexy professor, except no professor he ever had in law school had a face or body like Drew’s. Desire prickled through him, hardening his cock even as the blood dripped down his face.
Drew stopped rubbing his head. “Shit, Ash. Come on to the examining room. I have to see if you need stitches.” He pointed to the door on his right. “This one is free.”
Ash entered and hopped up on the table, forcing himself to raise his gaze to Drew, who stood over him with a wet gauze pad, cleaning up the blood. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Drew’s lips twitched. “Last time I checked, you went to law school, not medical school, so shut up and let me look.” He took off those sexy professor glasses and came close to Ash’s face.
Warning bells went off in his head. Shit. He’d never been this close to the man, except when Drew was too drunk to notice, or in his X-rated dreams. The reality was so much better. His touch was deft yet gentle, and a clean fresh scent emanated from his skin, as if he’d stepped out of a shower only a minute before. Unwittingly, Ash groaned out loud.
Immediately, Drew’s expression turned concerned. “Does it hurt very badly? I might need to put in a stitch or two near your eye. That’s where the cut is the deepest.” The tips of his fingers touched Ash’s cheek, and his eyes clouded with obvious distress. “Shit, I’m sorry. I really didn’t see or hear you.”
Without thinking, Ash covered Drew’s hand. “Not your fault. I was the one not paying attention.”
Neither of them moved; then Ash watched as Drew’s gaze flickered over to their joined hands. A sweet blush colored Drew’s cheeks as he pulled away his fingers. “Uh, anyway, let me see if we can get away with a butterfly bandage on this and then you won’t need the stitches, ’kay?”
Shit. He didn’t mean for that to happen. Sure he lusted over the guy, but Drew was straight and never gave any indication he’d be interested in crossing the line. That time Drew made his drunken confession about jerking off while he thought about Ash was probably a mistake. Everyone had weird dreams now and then. It didn’t mean Drew wanted to change his sexuality.
“Sure. Have at it.” He closed his eyes and relaxed as Drew cleaned and dressed the cut.
“Not as bad as I thought. The skin’s so thin in that area it bleeds a lot, but it wasn’t too deep. Keep it covered, and in a few days I’ll check it to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”
Ash opened his eyes to Drew’s back as he cleaned up and rinsed his hands. It gave him a chance to appreciate the man from behind. “Thanks, Drew. Appreciate it.”
“No problem. Always good to have a doctor in the house, right?” Drew winked over his shoulder at Ash, not realizing the torment he put Ash through. Now, even though he’d only known the man a few months, Ash respected him and wouldn’t think to do anything to jeopardize their friendship, including touching him or kissing him.
But goddamn it to hell, he was dying to do that. As he continued to watch Drew clean up, Ash focused on the part of his neck between where his hair curled at the edges and his T-shirt ended. There was nothing more he wanted to do in this lifetime than lick that teasing bit of flesh. Lost in the fantasy of him driving into Drew on the examining room table, gripping the man’s hips as he pushed into Drew over and over again, he almost jumped a foot when Drew tapped him on the shoulder.
“Whoa, what’s up with you today? You’re jumpy as all hell.” Drew laughed and stepped back with his hands up. “You almost clocked me again.”
It took every effort of Ash’s will not to move and drag Drew up against his hard-on. The last thing he needed, however, was Drew finding out the extent of his feelings, especially as confused as he was about them himself. “Restless night. I have a nasty case coming up I’m not looking forward to.” Big fucking lie. He never let any of his cases get to him, approaching them as a means to an end. The only thing that really mattered to him at this point in his life were the kids he was helping here, and finding the foster brothers he’d left behind in Georgia.
When his body calmed down sufficiently for him to move, he slid off the examining table and held out his hand to shake Drew’s. “Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it.” Drew had those sexy glasses back on again. “You never answered me. When did you get those?”
Drew reddened. “I went to the eye doctor since my vision was getting a little blurry close up. He said I should wear them.”
“They look good. Make you look like a professor. Women will love them.” Ash gave him a two-fingered salute and walked out the door, not waiting for an answer. He didn’t want to think about Drew dating women.
The day flew, and by five o’clock he was on his last appointment. His heart squeezed when he saw Stevie’s name. One of the unlucky ones, Stevie was a target for every homophobic bully he came in contact with. Small, thin, and pale, he was almost pretty enough to pass for a young girl. When his foster siblings would come to him in the middle of the night, hold him down, and abuse him, he was too weak and ineffective to hold them off. It never mattered to them that Stevie didn’t want to be touched. They heaped threats on him, vowing to cut off his balls and stuff them in his mouth should he ever breathe a word to anyone about what they did to him. The bruises they inflicted were crafted to remain hidden under his clothing, but from years of experience, it didn’t fool Ash. He knew where to look.
At their first meeting, Stevie almost vomited, he was so nervous. He kept glancing at the door, later confessing he’d thought someone would burst through it to drag him out and kill him. Only after several weeks could he relax enough and begin to confide his horror story. But only to Ash. When Ash told him he’d have to go to child services or the police to report what Stevie told him, the boy freaked out.
“I’ll run away and never come back if you do that. Please. Let me come here and talk to you.”
Sitting behind his desk, Ash’s fingers tightened on the folder that held the details of all of Stevie’s personal sessions. He understood what the boy lived through each night. The only hope was for Stevie to gain strength and report the abuse. And then they could get him to a good and caring foster family. As of today, he was too scared. Ash could hardly blame him for his very real fear.
