They got out of the shower and Wright let Xander towel dry his whole body. They dressed in their night clothes, Xander opting to leave his shirt off. Wright grumbled about it but let Xander put the sling back on his shoulder. Xander made himsit down at the table while he plated their food, chopping the chicken into bite sizes for Wright before he joined him.
Their conversation flowed easily for the rest of the night. Neither of them brought up what happened in the shower and Xander was okay with that. He didn’t regret it. He hoped that Wright didn’t either. They settled on a movie for the night, something light-hearted that he never would have watched if it wasn’t for Wright. His dad hadn’t let him watch a lot of movies. They didn’t have any streaming services so he couldn’t watch anything while his dad was away at work. He’d mentioned how he preferred music to watching TV, but Xander had a feeling that might have been because he only had the sports channel or very limited options without cable.
“Are you about ready for bed?” Xander asked halfway through the movie. It was the second time Wright had yawned. He’d had his pain meds with his dinner and knew he’d be out sooner than later.
“It’s too early,” Wright said. “What time is it?”
“It’s past eight,” Xander said. He stood up. “Come on, gorgeous. Bedtime.”
Chapter Eight
~ Wright ~
Wright read a lot of books.
Like, a lot, a lot.
He felt like a Dr. Seuss character: he read inside and outside, on the couch or the bed, at the table or even on the grass. Sometimes he would take a book and read on the front porch of the main house. Tracy joined him from time-to-time, sitting silently on the glider chair and enjoying the nice weather. They had a hell of a storm over the weekend that flooded parts of the ranch. Being in the guest house with the tin roof, Xander assured him it sounded worse than it was. Regardless, Wright had curled up against Xander a little more with each crack of thunder.
It was clean up and catch up all week. Xander came to the house each night exhausted and sweaty, but he would take a shower and then they’d head over to the main house for supper. Wright hadn’t joined him for another shower since the first one and they didn’t talk about it.
The shower played a constant loop in his mind. Xander was a big guy compared to him, but he was always so gentle. The light touches, the teasing of his fingertips against the most sensitive part of him. His lips skimming his shoulder. It had been enoughto send him over the edge in under five minutes. He wanted to do it again, but he didn’t want to push Xander. It’d been a tough week, but the weather was back to a dry heat and the land was drying back up. Today was their first day that they had time to go for a walk before the sun started setting.
Despite the slow pace of his life, he was more than grateful for it. He didn’t have to worry about having a clean house or a hot meal ready when Xander came home. Xander was actually happier when the bed was messy and there was a dish or two in the sink. He said it meant that Wright hadn’t lifted a finger or overdone anything. Two weeks had also been the longest he’d gone without being hit or yelled at. It was boring. And he loved it.
“Honey, I’m home!” Xander’s voice traveled through the house and Wright smiled to himself. He had a different greeting for each time he stepped through the door. Wright was waiting for the day when he ran out of things to say. He knew that the bedroom would be his first stop, so Wright didn’t bother to get off the bed. “Hey there, gorgeous.”
“Hey there yourself,” Wright said as Xander started stripping out of his clothes. He looked like he was in a good mood, not his usual tired and grunting self. “Good day today?”
“We finally got the fence on the south end fixed.” Xander was in nothing but his boxers now. “And the ones that Patrick sold have been loaded and taken to their destination.” He moved to the edge of the bed where Wright was propped up. He had his sling on still. Technically, he was okay to get rid of it a few days ago, but Xander told him since he’d been defiant for most of the first week, he was making him wear it longer. Just to make sure he was properly healed. “And it’s finally dry enough we can go on a walk tonight.”
“Can’t wait.” Wright did his best to keep from showing how excited he was for it. He’d never been on a date before. He wasn’tsure if Xander was considering this a date or not, but regardless, he’d never done anything remotely close to it. Blame him for being excited. “Go shower so we can do this.”
“Want to join me?” Xander ran his hand through Wright’s hair. The question was genuine and not in any way suggestive, but Wright smiled to himself. “Or have you showered already?”
“I haven’t,” Wright said. He shifted himself to get his feet on the floor.
“Any more pain today?” Xander started walking across the room to the bathroom.
“None more than the fading bruises,” Wright answered. He finally got off the bed and set the book down on the table between the bed and wall. After a quick lunch with Tracy, he’d laid in bed hoping to finish the last few chapters of the book. Xander wasn’t kidding when he said he had a good selection hidden away. Wright had gone through four of them in the week. It was a good distraction to everything going on.
Xander turned the water on and helped Wright out of his clothes. He paused when he was down to his boxers. “What do you want to do?”
“You’ve already made me come once,” Wright said with a smirk. “Not much else new for you to see.”
Xander laughed and cupped Wright’s face in his hands. “Oh gorgeous, you have no idea what else there is I’d like to see from you.”
“What?” Wright didn’t mean for the word to come out so high pitched. Xander’s smirk turned to a laugh and he dropped his hands to help Wright out of his boxers. “Are you talking about… Like, sex? With me. You want that?”
“It’s a discussion we should have,” Xander said. “But not right now. Not until you are entirely healed. For now, let’s shower and make it quick so we can go walk.”
Wright let Xander lead him across the bathroom to the shower. The water was warm on his skin. Xander washed his body off first, giving Wright a view to enjoy for a few minutes. He’d been so worried last time they were in this situation that he hadn’t fully taken in all of Xander. He was exactly the kind of man that Wright would picture himself with, on the rare occasion he gave into his urges. Big and muscley. Protective and sweet. Great smile. Funny. Caring and gentle. He was admiring his ass when Xander turned around and he got a full view of his front then.
“Holy hell,” Wright said before he could stop himself. He looked up, into Xander’s eyes. “You’re huge.”
Laughter filled the shower space and, just like last time, Xander held his hand out for him to step closer. He was only damp at best, but the water hit his chest when Xander stepped around to stand behind him. “Like what you see?”
“I don’t know,” Wright said honestly. “I’m pretty sure that should be registered as a weapon.”
