Ash paced back and forth in the apartment, glancing down at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes.Dammit.Six forty-five and no Drew. No answer to the numerous texts he’d sent, starting withHow’d it go?an hour after the appointment was scheduled and increasing in frequency to every few minutes when no answer was received.
Domino meowed from the entrance to the living room, his black tail swishing on the floor.
“What do you want me to do?”
The cat gazed at him with big yellow eyes and meowed again.
“Okay, I’ll call.”
He looked up the doctor’s office number and called, but the service answered.
“The office is closed now, sir.”
“I know that. I wanted to know what time my husband left, but you can’t help me with that, can you?”
“No, I’m afraid not, sir.”
Angry but mainly worried because it was unlike Drew to be out of contact, he clicked out of the call and strode over to the bar, poured himself a vodka, and downed it. In his heart he didn’t think anything harmful had happened to Drew. They were so closely connected that Ash fully believed if Drew had been hurt, he’d know. In his heart. He had so much he wanted to tell Drew. His birthday and Chanukah present to Esther was almost complete, and he’d yet to share his plan. He knew Drew would love it.
So he waited and paced and finished another drink. At seven thirty he thought about calling Rachel to casually ask if she’d heard from Drew, when he heard the key in the lock and almost passed out from relief. The door opened and Drew walked in, wet and pale. Ash had been so caught up in his own head, he hadn’t realized it was raining.
“Are you all right? What the hell happened to you? When you didn’t answer my texts I thought…” Drew leaned against the front door after he’d closed it and hadn’t said a word. A knife’s edge of pain sliced through him. “What’s wrong? Is it Esther?” He forced the words out through frozen lips “Did something happen?”
Please, God. No.
Drew’s eyes opened wide. “What? No. She’s fine.” His messenger bag slid to the floor. “She’s fine,” he repeated.
“Okay.” He drew a deep breath and exhaled. “Where the hell have you been? Get out of those clothes first; then we’ll talk.”
Drew slanted a look at him under the thick fringe of his dark lashes but said nothing. He left his wet coat on the chair by the door and Ash trailed after him. Drew peeled off his clothes, and Ash sat on the bed and watched his husband get naked. Even after all these years together and the innumerable times they’d made love, Ash never got tired of seeing Drew. In Ash’s eyes, Drew was all he needed. Perfect.
“I’m going to shower. Did you eat?”
“No, of course not. I was waiting for you. Drew, baby, what’s wrong?” He stood, and to his dismay, Drew took a step back.
“I don’t…I can’t…I’ll be right out.” He fled into the bathroom and closed the door, and Ash, shocked into silence, sat down again with a whoosh of breath and waited for Drew to come out.
Ash heard the shower run, and when it stopped, he braced himself for Drew’s return. No way would they be leaving this bedroom without Drew telling him what had happened. Panic seized his heart. Something happened at the doctor’s office. That had to be it. For a second his vision grayed, and he couldn’t catch his breath. He rubbed his face with his hands. Whatever it was, he would be there for Drew, the way he’d been there for Ash from the beginning. Never giving up. Together. One truth. One heart.
The door opened and Ash steeled himself. With a towel slung around his waist, Drew crossed the room and sat next to him on the bed. Water droplets still beaded on his firm shoulders, and his damp hair curled in waves around his face and neck. An ache rose in Ash’s heart as he recalled with stunning clarity the first time they were together in this very bed. It seemed a lifetime ago and yet so vivid and clear, it could’ve been yesterday. That Ash Davis—cold, sexually calculating and in such pain he could barely breathe, wouldn’t recognize the Ash of today. A man who lived for his family. A man who put others’ needs before his. A man who could only be satisfied by this man sitting beside him.
Drew wrapped his arms around Ash and leaned into his spot on Ash’s neck. The spot he claimed every night.
“Baby, tell me. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay. I promise.”
Drew’s lips pressed against his throat. “Eric thinks I have cancer.”
“Cancer?” He jerked away from Drew and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What do you mean? Where? What?” Even knowing he should shut up, he couldn’t stop his nervous babbling. Not Drew. He was good. The only good thing in his life. It should be him, not Drew.
Those clear green eyes captured his. “He said one of my testicles is swollen and did an ultrasound and some blood work. We’ll know more soon, but all signs point to it. I have to set up an appointment to meet with a urologist. Eric is sending him my report.”
Words came out of Drew’s mouth, but all Ash heard was “cancer.”
“What’s the prognosis?” he croaked out.
“Good if caught early. But I’ll have to make sure it doesn’t show up in the other one or any nodes, so it’s vigilance and doctor’s appointments every six months.”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
