Mark scoffed. “Right, like I have any room to report anyone. As long as it’s not a harassment situation, you are free to do what you want.”
“We’re two consenting adults,” I promised.
“Good. Because I’ll ask Taylor the same thing.”
“Don’t bug him when he’s sick, though,” Sawyer said. “Not like Griff is going to. Believe me, the pining is mutual. The two of them are ridiculous.”
“I will not be bothering him. I’m going to swing by the café, get him some soup, pick up some cold medicine, and see if he needs anything,” I said.
“Oh, you’ve got it bad. See, he takes care of his boyfriend.” Sawyer elbowed Mark in the ribs.
“Oh, I’d take care of you too if you were sick, baby, as long as you promise not to whine the whole time. But please don’t get sick. I don’t have time for that.”
I left the two of them to their bickering and flirting.
True to my word, I stopped at the café and got two servings of the chicken noodle soup, then grabbed some cough drops, tissues, and cold medicine from the corner store. I had never been to Taylor’s place except to drop him off, but I knew where he lived.
He opened the door quickly after I knocked. He was wrapped in a bathrobe, his nose red from having wiped it and his eyes heavy.
“Griff, what are you doing here?” He wrapped the robe tighter around himself as if he was cold.
“I come bearing gifts. I heard you weren’t feeling well, so I wanted to take care of you. You know, nurse you back to health.”
He grimaced. “I hope that’s not a euphemism for getting me into bed, because I’m not up for that.” Taylor swayed on his feet, andI went to his side. I dropped my bags to the floor and held his elbow as I guided him back to the couch.
“None of that,” I said. “In fact, let’s get you off your feet. You look like you’re going to fall over.”
“I’m sorry. I really might fall over, or maybe I already have. This feels like a fever dream.” His voice was hoarse and nasally.
I chuckled as I helped him back down. He had a heated blanket next to him, and I put it over top of him, then started cleaning up the mess of tissues around him.
“You don’t have to do that. I’m gross. It’s been—”
“You’re perfect, and I’m sorry that you’re not feeling well. Do you want me to go so you can rest? I have soup if you want it now, or I can put it in the fridge. I just wanted to check on you. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
His stomach rumbled. “Soup sounds amazing. But are you sure you want to stay? I’m sick.”
“Of course I’m sure. I came here for you.” I brushed his hair out of his face. His forehead was beaded with sweat. The head cold did nothing to detract from his attractiveness. He was still my Taylor, the adventurous writer with an imagination that drove me wild.
His face flushed, either from the fever or my attention, I didn’t know. “You’re going to an awful lot of effort for a fuck buddy.”
I raised a brow. “Is that what we are? And here I thought we were dating.”
Taylor’s eyes went wide.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have even brought that up,” I said. “We can talk more when you’re feeling better.”
“Well, you did bring it up. What do you mean dating?” Taylor’s eyes roved over my face and he blinked repeatedly.
“Well, I guess if you’re up for it, maybe we should talk about it.”
“About what?” He blinked again. “I think that I hallucinated for a second. What did you say?”
I grinned. He was too fucking cute. “That we aren’t just fuck buddies. This isn’t casual for me, Taylor. I didn’t want to spook you before, but I’m beginning to think you really don’t realize just how much I like you.”
“You do?”
My shoulders shook as I held in a laugh. “Yeah, I like you. And not just because of the super-sexy chapters you bring me. I’d make it more obvious in the office if it wouldn’t get us fired.” I grabbed the bags and began unloading the items I’d picked up for him.
