“I’m not going anywhere, Jamie; you’re in no fit state to be alone. Let me help you get cleaned up then. If you still want, I’ll leave.”
He takes a moment; his chin dipped to his chest with his eyes closed before he nods just once.
Removing my t-shirt to avoid getting it wet, I step into the stall with him. As I grab the fresh bar of soap from his caddy, I notice little lavender plants adorning the wrapping. I lather it under the water before crouching down, starting with his arms. I wash him as tenderly as I can.
I get him standing when I do his lower half. Making sure to only wash him intimately until he’s clean and no more. None of this is about control. It’s about care. And right now, Jamie needs someone who won’t make him flinch.
I turn off the water before it gets cold, bundling him up in a towel, then walk him back to his room as quickly as I can with him under my arm. Despite his trembling embrace, he won’t utter a word.
“Jamie, can you tell me what’s going on? I only want to help.” I place him on the bed’s edge, then kneel between his legs asI start to dress him in the clean clothes I found in the single drawer he has.
His lips part and his breath hitches. I stay frozen in place, scared that if I speak, he’ll shut down again. Then, barely above a whisper, he lets me in.
“My stepdad…he’s found me. Told the university that I’m leaving and dropping out. He’s coming for me. Arnie, he’s coming— “
The sobs rip through him as he loses himself again to the pain that his body shakes against me with. If I ever have the displeasure of meeting this stepdad, he’ll regret ever laying a hand on my boy. He deserves to be torn limb from limb for the trauma he has caused.
“I won’t allow that, Jamie. You hear me.”
I take his jaw with my thumb and forefinger, lifting his gaze to mine. I trace his lips with my thumb before placing a chaste kiss on his temple.
“He might be coming. But he’s going home empty-handed. Let’s get packed. You’re coming home with me.”
Jamie looks stunned. The sweet smell of lavender penetrates my senses as he sits speechless, holding on to my forearms so tight his knuckles are white. His cherry lips wet with fresh droplets from his damp ringlet hair.
I worry he’ll say no after already telling me to leave in the shower. That he might not have the strength like last time when he ran from his past nightmares, but he surprises me with a nod. That’s when I see the flicker of a flame inside him.
The one that tells me he’s not giving up. Not by a long shot.
Chapter 15
Jamie
A light in the sea of darkness, he found me.
I was wasting away to nothing in a pit of despair. Happy to sink into the pitch-black depths alone. Arnie came for me. I’m not sure why, but he did, and it surprised me just how much it mattered.
We packed my dorm, there wasn’t much, as we got it all into his Subaru Outback with room left over. He didn’t push for more information, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to tell him more about my old life. My stepdad and finding out that he’s pinned my location has shaken me to my core.
Arnie asks to read the emails from the university, telling me he will take over if I want. He can act as a go-between for them until I need to step in. I’ve never had someone take care of me like that before. I don’t feel weird about it. It feels right.
With Arnie, it does anyway.
We make it back to his house in no time; the familiar scent of lemon in the warm air relaxes me almost immediately. Arnie plants me with a hot chocolate on the comfy loveseat and puts on Netflix for me to scroll through. Even though it’s getting a bit more mundane than I expected when I first signed Arnie’s contract, I’m not discouraged. It makes me feel safe. Despite knowing what the wrath of his hand feels like on my skin, I also know what the softness of his lips feels like too.
In what seems like no time at all, he’s back with a large sandwich filled with cold cuts, homemade slaw and pickles, which he tells me to finish or else with that little smirk of his.
He left me to go back to his office. No doubt to talk to the uni but right now, I’m not concerned about self-sufficiency. I’m happy with him being the adult for me today.
I’m protected for now. Jed can’t find me. He doesn’t even know Arnie, so it’s unlikely he’ll come knocking. But then again, he found me after all this time. Didn’t he?
I try to focus on the movie, but the gnawing of Jed’s possible presence in my life again keeps poking through into my immediate thoughts.
I should probably call Christian and see if he knows anything. I haven’t spoken to him in a while. He knows where I am, but I trust him completely. There’s no way he is behind Jed finding me or my phone number.
After a short while, Arnie comes back. Freshly showered, with nothing but those grey sweats on again. He looks utterly delicious. His pink, dusty nipples with the little black barbells, just begging to be flicked and licked.
What we did together in our last session unleashed something in me, and I want to do it again and again with Arnie at the helm.
