Crisp:We’ll talk as soon as you get here.
Foster:Can’t wait.
Crisp’s eyes fell closed. He couldn’t wait either and now all he felt was depressed. His greedy heart needed soothing. He needed to be held. Crisp undressed as quickly as possible.
Jay watched him step into the wet room as if he waited for exactly that. He opened his arms and Crisp walked into them. In Jay’s hold and his face buried against Jay’s chest, he took a freeing breath.
“Tell me what I can do.”
“You’re doing it.”
Jay couldn’t know what he did for Crisp’s soul each time he held him. Everything went still, and Crisp’s every thought and worry vanished. He forgot the entire world outside Jay’s hold.
Jay pushed Crisp away from him just enough to kiss his cheek. “Tell me where your head’s at.”
Crisp already knew Jay would argue with the assessment of his life, but Crisp had no one else to talk to about this. “I’m being a terrible brother.” When Jay didn’t say anything, Crisp pinched him. “You’re supposed to argue and convince me I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Jay kissed his forehead. His lips lingered against Crisp’s skin as if considering his words before he spoke. Finally, he pulled away. “I don’t think you’ve been a terrible brother. You’ve been the hurt brother. But you can’t lick your wounds forever.”
Ouch.
Jay didn’t stop with the tough love. “It’s been long enough for you to decide if you’re in or out. If you love them and want to hang on to them, you have to let those results go. You don’t have to spend every second of your life with me. It’s okay to have both, I would think. Would you want me to isolate myself for you?”
That maybe wasn’t the example Jay hoped. “I mean, you kind of have.”
Jay shot him an annoyed look. “That’s different and you know it. I don’t have a family. But say Jett shows up tonight and wants to hang out, would you be upset with me? No, I think not. I think you are too kind for that. Just let it go. They are your family. You wouldn’t be this upset if they weren’t.” Jay reached for the shampoo. “Now let’s get you clean so you feel refreshed, and then you’ll be ready to spend all night talking to Foster.”
Crisp’s brows snapped together. “How did you know that was my plan?”
A wicked smile stretched across Jay’s lips. “I am the knower of things. He is coming, is he not?”
Crisp rolled his eyes. Truthfully, Jay was that guy who always knew what went on around him. “Yes.”
Jay chuckled. “See? Plus, Beau will not let anyone in his circle fly like the peasant. He’ll be here much faster than anticipated, I should think.”
Crisp smiled and shook his head. “Seriously, how do you do that?”
Jay’s expression darkened. His gaze bored into Crisp. “Calculated deduction. I watch you always. I can see everything in your eyes. If I’m an expert on nothing else, I’m masterful when it comes to you.”
A sharp burst of laughter escaped him. “Masterful?”
Jay rinsed Crisp’s hair before crowding his space. “Do you deny it?” He reached between them and stroked Crisp’s already hard dick. “Go on. Tell me I’m not a specialist on the only topic that matters: you.”
While Crisp couldn’t recall how they ended up here, he wouldn’t balk. “Maybe you need to remind me.”
Jay shook his head. “It is always when the bed will soak.”
Crisp’s gaze never wavered from Jay’s stare. “Are you saying the shower is your kryptonite? Do you doubt your ability here?”
Yeah, Crisp purposely goaded Jay. He needed Jay’s aggravation to explode all over him.
“You taunt me.”
“Yes.” Crisp wouldn’t deny it.
His feet left the floor, and Jay’s weight leaned into him. “Choose your lube.”
Oh no. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Maybe we should dry off and stick to the bedroom.”
