Without another word, Holden picked up his thick winter coat and held it out to me. “Put this on.” I didn’t hesitate to slide my arms in, zipping it up and smelling his intoxicating scent surrounding me.
Holden closed my suitcase and put it on the floor, lifting the pull bar. He picked me up and swung me around onto his back. “I have a pair of your shoes at my house. We’ll stop by yourapartment and get more of your things...though, I don’t mind you wearing my stuff. Ready to go?”
Just then, Jack came in with paperwork and a wheelchair. He laughed at me on Holden’s back. “I like this. Then I don’t have to wheel you out into the cold. Don’t go by the nurses’ station so I don’t get in trouble for ignoring the hospital policy of all patients leaving in a wheelchair. Here are your discharge papers, your prescriptions, and your follow-up orders. You’ll need to call Dr. Latham’s office and make an appointment for a follow-up visit.”
I took the envelope and smiled. “Thank you, Jack. I loved having you take care of me.”
He nodded. “I put my cell number on back of the discharge papers. If you ever want to talk or get a coffee, reach out. You’re a joy to know...both of you.” He turned and walked out of the room with the wheelchair.
I shoved up the sleeves of Holden’s coat before hugging my arms around his neck and kissing him behind his ear. His contented sigh made my heart stutter, reminding me that Holly “Happy” Rose had been right. Her brother, Holden, was exactly right for me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Holden
I stopped in front of his apartment building on President Street, lucky to find a temporary spot used for deliveries in front of the place. “Let’s run up and get your stuff.”
Avery was able to get us into the building without trouble, but unfortunately, I’d forgotten his keys at my house when I came to the hospital to get him. I carried him over to the security desk where a large African American man sat, watching a basketball game on a laptop.
“Hi, Joe. I left my keys somewhere, and I need to get into my apartment to get some shoes.” Avery held up his sock-covered foot and laughed.
The security guard chuckled. “Sure, Avery. Who’s your friend?” He eyed me carefully, and my face flushed.
“This is Holden Rose, my pack mule.” We laughed at Avery’s comment.
“I’m Holden, the boyfriend, and Brooke didn’t bring him any shoes or a coat. He just got out of the hospital, and he’s coming to stay with me.” Maybe I gave too much of an explanation because Joe raised an eyebrow at me.
“As you can imagine, Kyle and Brooke are celebrating their engagement on every flat surface of our apartment, so I’m relocating while I convalesce,” Avery added.
Joe stood from the desk and grabbed a key ring. “I’ll take you up. They haven’t come in that I’ve noticed. Holden, it’s nice to meet you. You live in B’more?”
We made small talk on the ride up, and Joe was kind enough to let us inside. “Please lock up when you leave, Avery. Feel better soon.”
I put Avery on the floor and he took off my coat, hanging it on the back of a dining room chair. “I’ll be back,” Avery said with that cute smile on his pretty face.
“No lifting anything heavy,” I ordered. I was going to make sure Avery listened to the doctor’s orders.
I sat on the couch and turned on the television. There was a movie cued up, so I decided, what the hell. I hit play, noticing a web cam on top of the entertainment center. When the movie started, I did a double take. People were fucking, and the room they were fucking in looked very familiar.
The volume was damn loud, and when the moaning started, it bounced off the walls of the living room. A woman was riding a guy, and he was losing his mind. Suddenly she stopped, stripped off the T-shirt she was wearing, and flipped around, reverse cowboy. It was Brooke, and she was staring at the big screen. She winked, and I felt very dirty.
Avery rushed into the room and hurried behind the couch to stand with his hands on my shoulders. “What the hell? Oh, no! Why would they...?”
He reached over my shoulder for the remote frozen in my hand mid-air and stopped the video as Kyle put his chin on her shoulder and reached down to stroke her clit. “At least he knows she might not get off with just his dick.” Why I said it, I didn’t know, but Avery and I both cracked up.
“I hope his finger was lubed. That looks like it could hurt.” Avery climbed over the back of the couch and sat, snuggling up to me.
“She comes with natural lube, sweetheart.” That answered the question of whether he’d ever been with a woman. I chuckled at two gold-star gays watching het amateur porn made by his best friends.
“Oh!” We both gasped as she accidentally elbowed him in the nose. It seemed as if she was going to run her hands through her long hair in a sexy move, but Kyle stuck his head around her to see the TV, and she clipped him but good.
Blood began pouring from his nose, and I glanced down to see blood on the carpet. “Crap, this happened recently, and they did it right here on this couch.”
We both jumped up, and Avery stopped the video. “God, let’s go. Have you fucked anyone on your couch?”
I chuckled. “I didn’t bring anyone home with me. I haven’t had a hookup in quite a while. I either rented a hotel room, did it in the backroom of a club, or I went to their place. You?”
“Same. It’s easier to leave when you want if you’re at their place.” He stepped away and stared at me. “You don’t have to let me force my way into your home. I’m being a bitch. I shouldn’t have—”
