18
Avery woke up with a migraine the next morning. Not a bad one. Just a persistent throb behind his eyes that made seeing difficult, but with no nausea or ringing in his ears.
Linc, though, reacted like he was dying.
“Are you okay? You’re not okay. What can I do?”
When he was worried, Linc sounded like Avery did on a good day.
“Nothing.” He lay in bed with one arm flung over his eyes to block out any light.
“You have to let me do something.”
He slid farther down the bed, pulling the sheets over his head. It smelled like them. Sweat and sex. Too bad he hurt too much for a repeat.
He drifted off to sleep. When he woke a few hours later, the apartment was quiet. The pain in his head was gone, and he had to squint until his eyes adjusted to the light sneaking in around the edges of his curtains, but he felt okay. He dressed quietly and checked his phone. He’d texted his uncle to say he’d be late for work, but had received no reply.
His stomach growled, which was a good sign. When his migraines were at their worst, eating was totally out of the question. Even the scent of food could send him running to the toilet. But he was hungry now. He and Linc had snacked on a few carrots and a container of leftover chicken and rice the night before, but that meager meal hadn’t been much for the two of them to share. Little in Avery’s house counted as edible food. His stomach growled again viciously. He’d have to grab something on the way to the office.
Except as he came down the hall, he heard the clink of bottles and the rustle of plastic. He craned his neck, and Linc—or Linc’s ass, clad again in perfectly worn denim—was poking out from behind Avery’s fridge door. He was tempted to smack it, but instead stepped very quietly behind him and ran his hands over the firm muscle and—
Linc yelped and flailed. His elbow swung backward. Avery tried to dodge, but the kitchen was small, and he was trapped between Linc’s body and the breakfast bar.
He heard the crunch before he felt the pain. He tasted the blood before he registered the warmth dripping down his chin.
“Red!” Linc’s eyes were wide.
“No. No, it’s fine.”
“Oh, Jesus, I think it’s broken.”
“It isn’t. I’m fine.” He tried to prove his point by inhaling, but the jolt as he went to wrinkle his nose made his migraine seem like a distant dream. “Oh my God.” He wobbled, and Linc caught him.
“Shit. I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you coming.” As he led Avery to the couch, Linc peeled of his shirt, thrusting it against Avery’s mouth. He winced, and tears sprang to his eyes as it brushed the tip of his nose.
“I can’t even smell you on this shirt,” he said sadly.
Linc stared at him. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
Avery coughed. The pain was making him dizzy. “What were you doing in my fridge?”
“I was putting the groceries away.”
“Groceries?”
“You wouldn’t let me help, so I went shopping instead.”
“You bought me groceries?” New tears formed in Avery’s eyes, but not because of his throbbing face this time.
“And then I broke your nose!” Linc ran a hand through Avery’s hair fondly, then pulled the shirt away from his face. “Let me see. Shit, it’s swelling pretty badly. Do you want me to set it for you?”
“Shouldn’t we go to the hospital?”
Linc sighed. “Legally, as a first responder, I should tell you yes, because we should check to make sure there’s no other damage. As your boyfriend, I’m going to tell you that by the time we get there, it’ll have set on its own and they’ll have to break it again to put it back in place.”
“Other damage? What kind of—” Avery choked and coughed. “My boyfriend?”
“Yeah.” Linc cupped his cheeks in both hands. “I mean, assuming you aren’t going to kick me to the curb for breaking your nose?”
