He couldn’t take another second of this inner turmoil. He rose up and Green’s eyes tracked him all the way to the kitchen. He pulled out a shot glass and poured a drink of Jack and dumped it back. He let the strong liquid burn down his chest, enjoying the feeling of something else for a few minutes that wasn’t lust-fueled. He quickly poured another and threw it back, wincing this time.
“You have to get up early. Do you think that’s a good idea?” Green was right behind him.
“What are you? My mother.” Fuck. Ruxs regretted it as soon as he said it. That was completely fucked up and if the harsh breath that gusted from Green’s mouth was any indication, he wasn’t pleased by it either.
Green’s voice was stern when he finally spoke. “I’m going to let that slide this time, because you had a bad day.” He yanked hard on Ruxs’ shoulder, spinning him around to face him. He stepped in close to him, his dark eyes were like simmering charcoal. “But don’t you ever say that to me again. I don’t even want my name mentioned with hers.”
“I’m sorry,” Ruxs said in a hushed murmur. He cast his eyes down and stared at the floor. He didn’t want to ostracize his only friend. Lashing out at him wasn’t going to help. “I know you think I’m a pathetic shit for going over there all the time and letting her do that —”
“You know I’d never think that about you.” Green cut him off.
“I didn’t want you there.” Ruxs’ voice quivered with emotion. His gut clenched when he thought of Green seeing him cry. He was a big guy and such a badass on the streets. He grinned in the face of danger. Flipped his middle finger up at death. Thrived in a good shoot-out. But let his mom call him useless and he turned into a crying pussy.
Green’s hands rubbed his sore shoulders. He was so wound up with tension he didn’t think he could even turn his head without grimacing. His partner worked those strong hands around to the back of his neck, kneading the soft tissue back there. Ruxs kept his head down. It felt so fuckin’ good; he wanted to lay his head in the crook of Green’s shoulder and bury himself in that intoxicating fragrance.
“Hey, why don’t you go on up. Take a quick shower. I’ll turn everything off down here and then come up and finish this,” Green said softly, his massage moving just beneath his hairline.
Ruxs didn’t know if he could tolerate Green giving him a full on massage right now. But it felt too good to decline. “Okay.”
A Massage or a Message?
Green put away the Jack Daniel’s. He’d thought about dumping it but changed his mind. He’d noticed his partner’s drinking had picked up substantially in the last few months. Drinking to the point of getting completely smashed. It was one thing to drink socially with friends to have some fun. It was completely unacceptable to drink to numb emotional pain. He’d leave things for now. But if it began to get too out of hand, he’d veto the drinking. He wouldn’t have Ruxs picking up an addiction. Number one, it would ruin his career and number two, it would be ten times harder on him since he loathed his mother’s addiction so much.
Green turned all the lights off and scanned the outside parking lots for anything out of the norm before going up to his bedroom. He could hear Ruxs in the shower so he changed into some thin sleeping pants and removed his tank top. He was just coming out of his room when he heard the bathroom door open and a big cloud of steam followed his partner out.
Green met him at the guest bedroom door and opened it for him. Ruxs had to turn to the side to walk through. He smelled wonderful. Goodness. Water dripped from his short hair, down over his muscular torso. What was always intriguing to Green was that Ruxs didn’t have one single tattoo or piercing. His body was a large, ripped, unaltered canvas. Perfection. Ruxs’ towel was wrapped low on his hips and Green saw the long treasure trail that lead up to all that slick, black hair on his chest, which looked absolutely delectable when wet. Green never liked baby smooth, hairless men. It just wasn’t something he went for. Well, lately he hadn’t gone for anything, but it’d been years since he’d thought about what he preferred in a man. His life had been consumed with work. Consumed with Ruxs, too. He should change that soon. Ruxs was dating now. He should too.
“Lie down,” Green told him. The room was dark and chilly. The temperature had begun to drop in the late September days but they were still running the air conditioning. He assumed that’s why Ruxs’ dark nipples had goose pimples around them, the brown buds firm and taut. Green yanked his eyes away.