Page 93 of Conquest

“Why don’t you lie down and I’ll go get you some breakfast,” Jesse said, pulling the curtains closed.

The bed creaked as Evan got in. Jesse turned toward the bedroom door.

“Jess?” Evan said, his voice just above a whisper.

“Yeah?”

“Will you lay with me for a little while? Just until I fall asleep?”

Jesse glanced down at the floor. He looked at Evan from under his eyelashes. Evan’s gaze was turned away from him. Jesse sighed. He stepped out of his Nikes and climbed into bed with his back to him. His muscles stayed tense, unable to relax in the bed where he and Evan had shared so many intimate moments. He swore he could hear the spectral sounds of them in pleasure seeping from the walls, the furniture, the bed itself. He felt the tips of Evan’s fingers on his back as if he wanted to touch him, but was afraid to.

Evan exhaled a shaky breath. “You’re better than I am. Or what I was, I should say. Your voice, your skill, your gift, is so much greater than mine. I realized that a long time ago. But it goes beyond just music. As a person, you’re so much better than me.”

“That’s not true and we both know it.”

“It is true.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this. It’s stupid,” Jesse snapped.

Evan stayed quiet. Slowly, he rolled onto his other side.

Jesse stayed still. He wanted to hold him, to tell him everything would be okay, but the poisonous memory of Evan’s harsh words and the coldness in his eyes when he broke up with him invaded his mind, and he wanted to spring out of bed and tell him to go to hell. He was so confused by the dichotomy of his emotions that he felt disconnected with himself. As he lay silent, the part of him that had awoken the day he met Evan, his soul that had fallen silent since they parted, murmured the answer to what he should do. He flipped over and pressed his body against Evan’s back, draping one arm over his side. Evan reached down and took Jesse’s hand. Jesse nuzzled into his hair and held him closer.

Within seconds, Evan’s breathing deepened with sleep. Achilles jumped on the bed and curled up at the foot. Jesse closed his eyes and drifted asleep.

  

Jesse started to wake, still in the same position tucked behind Evan. He came fully awake, feeling more refreshed than in weeks, and wondered how long he slept. He cranked his head around to look at the clock and couldn’t believe it was past one in the afternoon. They had slept the whole morning, both so deep in sleep neither so much as twitched. Jesse shifted and felt his erection rub against the inside of his boxers. Well, maybe one part of him had twitched.

He inched out of bed and crept from the bedroom. He let Achilles outside and checked his cell phone, seeing that not even it vibrating in his pocket when Kenny called had roused him. He called him back and let him know he was obviously going to be extremely late for rehearsing at the Auditorium Theatre. Then, since it appeared Evan no longer had the care staff come to the house anymore, he set to cleaning.

He started with the kitchen, throwing away the empty beer and liquor bottles piled on the counters and scrubbed everything down. He tackled the family room next, carrying a garbage bag to chuck the bottles in, and went to pick up the pieces of broken glass by the fireplace. He saw the pictures of him and Evan they had placed on the mantel on the floor, the glass of their frames shattered.

He carefully removed the images from their broken frames, gazing at one of him and Evan wrestling in the pool from when they had thrown Brandon a birthday cook-out party. Another of them sitting at a piano in the studio working together. One more had them snuggled on the couch in the chill-out room taking a nap when they needed to back off from the music.

Jesse sighed and set the photos on the mantel. With everything cleaned, he jumped in his car and ran down to the grocery store, buying a cartload of food he knew Evan liked and some new picture frames. When he got back to the house, he unloaded the groceries and restored the pictures to frames, setting them back on the mantel with a note that read, Whatever you do, please don’t shatter our memories.

He went into the kitchen to make Evan something to eat and heard him and Achilles coming down the stairs. Jesse glanced at him as he walked in, seeing his hair wet, he had shaved, and he smelled like he just got out of the shower. His eyes went to Evan’s left hand, and on his ring finger the alexandrite stone glistened, silently telling him that after showering Evan had put it on again.

Evan sat down at the breakfast counter. “You cleaned and went grocery shopping. Thanks.”

Jesse shrugged and turned to the refrigerator. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

Jesse pulled some lunch meat from the refrigerator and started making Evan a sandwich, piling the roast beef, ham, and Genoa salami on thick, one piece of white American cheese, and touching it with mustard, knowing exactly how Evan liked it.

“I called the gardeners, the pool people, and the housecleaners,” Jesse said, sliding the plate toward Evan. “They’ll be here tomorrow to get this place back in shape. After that they’ll come on the old schedule.”

“Thanks,” Evan mumbled. He took a bite of the sandwich and smiled at Jesse. “You made it perfect, gorgeous.” He clamped his mouth shut at saying his pet name for Jesse and dropped his gaze.

Jesse reached across the counter and brushed a tendril of hair away from Evan’s eyes. “I have to get going. I’m about seven hours late for rehearsal at the Auditorium, and I’ve got so much to do before we leave, it’s ridiculous. Are you going to be okay?”

Evan nodded. “Yeah.”

Jesse picked up his car keys and Achilles’s leash. “I bought you some bagels and cream cheese, so make sure you start eating breakfast. You know you can hardly tie your shoes if you haven’t eaten.”

“I know. I’ll start eating better,” Evan said quietly.