“No, I don’t. But I’m going to because you need sleep and he needs to eat when he gets up,” Dax pointed out. “You have to work again tonight, and you’ll never get through it if you’re not rested.”
I sighed, debating whether or not I should continue to argue with him. I probably should because we weren’t his responsibility, but the truth was it felt good to know he gave a damn. Maybe not about me since I was being a royal prick to him, but I knew he cared about Jagger, and that was even more important. “Fine,” I finally conceded. “But make sure I’m up by ten. I normally pick him up from my parents’ about then and try to do something with him during the day.”
“No problem.” I could tell by the change in the volume of his voice that Dax was near the door now. “Have you heard how your mom’s doing?”
I couldn’t keep being cold and distant to Dax. He didn’t deserve that. I rolled to face him, shifting the blankets so he wouldn’t see my morning wood. And if he did, I could easily blame it on just waking up rather than a perverse reaction to him sitting on the edge of my bed. His tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth, leaving more questions floating around in my foggy mind.
“My dad said they sent her to the hospital overnight for observation,” I told him. That concerned me since Dad had tried to make it sound like this was just a cold gone haywire, but Dax didn’t need to hear all about my paranoia. “I offered to bring Jagger up to see her, but until they know what’s going on, he thought it’d be best that we not go up to visit.”
Knowing my dad and how well he knew me, I figured it had just as much to do with the fact that I would play twenty questions with the doctors, demanding that they run tests they’d thought of and dismissed as unnecessary.
“He’s probably right. You can’t afford to get sick and it’d suck for Jagger to catch something right before school starts.” That annoyed the hell out of me. He wasn’t supposed to be rational, he was supposed to tell me to go up there even if Dad said not to. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know I’m right.”
“It’s too early for this,” I grumbled as I pulled the sheets up over my head. As the door creaked closed, I sat up. “By the way, thanks. I know this isn’t how you wanted to spend your weekend.”
“Don’t mention it.” That was all he said before softly closing the door, leaving me to my own scrambled thoughts. When I finally drifted off to sleep again, I was no closer to having any answers, but I had plenty of questions.
The way Dax checked me out made me wonder if he was gay. We hadn’t really talked about it because it wasn’t important to me. Until I suddenly found myself thinking about him as something other than a friend. When Jagger mentioned inviting him to go swimming with us, my first thought was that I’d get to see what he looked like under the jeans and T-shirts he always wore. That really messed with my head because I’d never thought about what my friends looked like with fewer clothes covering their bodies. And then, I couldn’t ignore the disappointment when he said he’d tag along, but wouldn’t swim.
As I tried to sleep, I wished he was still there next to me. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and keep the nightmares from returning. This time, I didn’t dream about the accident, but of Dax seeing my erection and pulling back the sheets for a closer look. I could practically feel the heat of his hand wrapped around my shaft as he pleaded with his eyes for permission before sucking the head of my dick into his mouth. And I came hard, imaging the way he’d sound taking every drop of cum I could give him.
The sun was high in the sky by the time my alarm went off and I stumbled out of bed. I still felt as if I’d been run over by a truck, but at least my body was a bit rested. My sheets clung to my skin, reminding me of the totally messed up dream I’d had. I couldn’t remember ever dreaming about sex with anyone, much less a guy. I had no problem with guys who were into that, but I wasn’t. I was straight.
I followed the sounds of laughter to the front of the house, where Dax and Jagger were playing. The living room looked like a tornado had come through, with Legos and toy cars strewn from one wall to the other. The two of them didn’t notice me watching them, so I let them be.
After stumbling into the kitchen, where I found a full pot of hot coffee brewed, I poured a cup and headed into the living room. Rather than sit on the couch and scowl at the mess, thinking about how long it’d take me to clean up, I eased myself down onto the hardwood floor next to Jagger. I knew immediately that was the right thing to do, not only because he hopped into my lap and started talking about what they were building, but because of the smile Dax shot my way when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. And my heart did this stupid little flip. His opinion mattered way more than it should have.
The three of us worked together to build a tower taller than Jagger, until finally Jagger said he was hungry.
“I should probably head home,” Dax said, pushing himself off the floor and groaning. He did that often, and I wondered just how bad the accident he’d avoided talking about had been.
I didn’t want him to leave. I’d been enjoying the little fantasy world he created when he was around. Yes, I had to admit my mind wasn’t nearly as cluttered with my own failures when he was with us. And that was not a good thing for anyone.
“I don’t want to be a pain, but would you be able to help me with him again tonight?” I asked. I knew he’d offered, but I didn’t want to assume anything. And I hoped that reminding him he’d said he’d stay with Jagger again tonight if I needed would make him stay. Yes, I was pathetic.
“Yeah, but I need to go home and take care of a few things.” Of course he did. Dax wasn’t here to serve us, he was a friend trying to help me out. “If you want, bring him down after you two spend a bit of time together this afternoon. I’ll likely be working outside, but if I’m not, just walk in and holler. There’s some work to do in the basement and I won’t hear you knock if I’m down there.”
He claimed he needed to leave, yet he hadn’t taken a single step to the door.Knock it off,I scolded myself. “Yeah, sure. And thanks again for the help.”
I walked him to the door and stood back while he gave Jagger a huge hug and whispered something in his ear. For a guy who swore he wasn’t good at the family thing, he was pretty impressive. He was more of a natural at dealing with Jagger than I could ever hope to be.
“Daddy, I like Dax,” Jagger announced once we were alone. “Can he watch me every night when you work?”
“I don’t think so, buddy,” I responded, ushering him into the kitchen. That’s when I noticed the note on the fridge.
There’s some homemade mac and cheese on the bottom shelf. Heat it up and then take him to the river for a while. I think he’d like that.
I shook my head and followed Dax’s directions. If I was still the faithful type, I’d think he was an angel sent to save us, but I didn’t believe in any of that anymore. If angels were real, they’d have watched over Erica and I wouldn’t be raising Jagger on my own.
