“I mean, not the dry humping, but putting you in that position.”
“It’s alright.”
“I don’t know what got into me,” Dylan continued. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, but I also know how much you love Paul.”
Jared winced. He did love him, but hearing Paul’s name on Dylan’s lips after their make-out session was nauseating.
“And you’re so young…”
“I’m not.” He scowled, feeling more annoyed than he should at that statement.
He was younger than Dylan, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a man completely aware of what and who he wanted.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to force you into that position.”
“You didn’t force me to do anything.” Jared sighed. “Wanting to do something and being able to are two entirely different things…”
He could have lied, or at least kept his mouth shut, but he didn’t care about anything right now. Besides, what was the point of lying? It wasn’t like Jared hadn’t been super obvious when he kissed him back.
And honestly? It felt great to get that off his chest.
“So, are we cool?” Dylan’s eyes were glassy, clouded in a way that showed he wasn’t a hundred percent conscious of the conversation.
“The fact that I brought you home should be a hint at that, no?” Jared replied anyway.
“True.” Dylan chuckled, eyelids closing as if they weighed a ton.
The thermometer beeped. Of course, Dylan had a fever. It was so high Jared wasn’t sure how he hadn’t combusted yet.
“Hey, bud…” he whispered as he left the device on the table. “We need to get you undressed.” Jared pulled on Dylan’s tee, trying to make him move. “And you should also take the Paracetamol.”
“Nah, I’m fine like this,” Dylan muttered, rolling onto his side to face the other way.
Jared struggled to stop him. The man was heavier than he looked, which was saying a lot since he was built like a horse.
“No, Dylan.” Trying to move him was like pushing a truck with the handbrake on. Impossible. “We need to cool you down.”
“I’ll just sleep it off.”
“No, come on, mate,” Jared croaked.
After a couple more minutes of nonsensical rambling, Dylan grumbled and finally sat up. He was trembling, stiffening when a chill ran through him. Good thing he didn’t fight it this time when Jared pulled his t-shirt over his head, dried the layer of cold sweat from his skin with it, and unbuttoned his jeans.
At any other moment, Jared would have felt bad. Being on his knees in front of such an imposing specimen and not touching him had to be some sort of blasphemy. He, of course, feasted on the wicked beauty of Dylan practically naked. But his intrinsic impulse to help others, especially when they were vulnerable, didn’t allow his body to react. Thank fuck.
“I’m cold,” Dylan said as he laid down again, curling up.
“I know, but it’s better this way. I’ll go get something light to cover you.”
“Thanks.”
Grabbing all the scattered clothes from the floor, Jared dumped them in the laundry hamper in the bathroom and returned to the living room. From the basket beside the sofa, he pulled out the sheet Dylan had lent him when he’d last been here. Jared didn’t want the man to cool down too fast, but the weather was still fairly warm for the middle of September, and he didn’t want him to get worse.
“Better?”
“Yeah.” Dylan snuggled up, hugging one of the cushions. “You smell so nice...”
Jared wanted to laugh at the cuteness of this scene, but he didn’t. He was sick, but vehemently refused any help at first. How stubborn could someone be?
