“Shit. We need a van. Where the hell am I supposed to get a van from by tonight?” Who did he know—Damn. Lou was going to kill him. Ash must have seen him cringe, because he gave him a questioning look. The light turned, and Dex continued up First Avenue. “Lou. He rents space in a garage a block away from Clove Catering where the company vans are parked.”
Ash seemed to consider this. “You think he’ll let you borrow one?”
Dex pulled up outside Ash’s apartment building and turned to look at him. “I sure as hell hope so.”
“You do what you gotta do. I’ll call the team. Now go home.” Ash checked his watch. “Sloane should be waking up soon. The least you can do is bring him breakfast in bed.”
“So he won’t be pissed at me?”
Ash got out of the car and leaned in to scowl at Dex. “No, jackass. Bring him breakfast in bed because he’s injured, and you’re his fucking boyfriend. Stop treating him like your Team Leader and treat him like the guy you’re in love with. It’s the least he deserves.” Ash slammed the door, and Dex sat there gaping. Had he been out-relationshipped by Ash Keeler? What the hell was the world coming to?
“Damn.” Ash was right. Again. How messed up was that? Dex drove home hoping he had time to make breakfast before Sloane woke up. He really needed to get his shit together. After everything they’d been through, they were finally starting to build something solid. The last thing Dex wanted to do was fuck it all up. If he hadn’t already. Though he’d like to think they’d be able to work through this the same way they’d worked through everything else.
He got home in record time. Standing perfectly still inside the living room, he listened for any movement upstairs. Nothing. Being as quiet as could be, because Therians had ridiculously good hearing, Dex got to work making Sloane’s favorite. Double eggs benedict and a side stack of blueberry pancakes. Dex even made the Hollandaise sauce and pancakes from scratch. While the ham cooked, his stomach demanded not to be left out, so Dex made himself an egg and ham breakfast sandwich and munched while he finished cooking Sloane’s food. It made him smile knowing Sloane was upstairs in his bed, sound asleep. How awesome would it be to
have Sloane in his bed every night? Lou’s words rang in his ear and he frowned. Maybe Dex needed to rein himself in a little. Let Sloane set the pace. In the meantime, he needed to show Sloane how serious he was about them and their relationship, how much he loved him. Feeling a little extra sappy, he used the heart mold he’d bought during Valentine’s Day and made the pancakes heart-shaped.
With breakfast cooked, Dex carefully arranged the layers of food on one of his Death Star dinner plates. He poured some orange juice in Sloane’s favorite Star Wars glass and grabbed the folding tray table from the storage drawer under the island counter. With great care, he arranged the cutlery on the folded napkin, placed the Darth and Storm Trooper salt and pepper shakers next, followed by the R2D2 syrup dispenser. My God, he really was an unbelievable nerd. But so was his partner, even if he was still somewhat in the closet about his nerdiness. Dex was working on fixing that.
He carried the tray upstairs and into the bedroom as Sloane was returning from the bathroom. His partner looked at Dex, then the tray, then back at Dex.
“Morning, Sunshine Bear.” Dex smiled brightly as he motioned over to the bed.
Using one of his crutches, Sloane returned to bed, and Dex put the tray down on the dresser to help him.
“I can do it,” Sloane grumbled, sitting down on the bed and propping the crutch up against the nightstand. He sat back and brought his left leg up, but he was forced to use his hands to lift his right leg.
“How is it?” Dex asked.
“It’s getting better. I’ve been getting up every few hours and walking around the room, with crutches obviously, but it feels like it’s getting stronger. Therapy starts next week.” Sloane shifted back, and Dex ran over.
“Hold on. Let me prop your pillows up.” He didn’t want Sloane twisting his body too much. His Therian body might heal quicker than a Human’s, but his stitches still needed more time.
Dex sorted out all of Sloane’s pillows, fluffing them up and arranging them before bringing the tray over. Once Sloane was settled, Dex placed the tray over his lap and kissed him, tasting a faint hint of minty freshness.
Sloane stared down at the tray.
“Is it okay?” Dex asked. Had he forgotten something? “Eggs benedict and pancakes are your favorite, right?”
Sloane nodded.
“What’s wrong?”
“You made heart-shaped pancakes.”
Dex held back a smile. “Are they too unmanly? Should I have made them grenade-shaped? I’m sure Letty’s got a mold for those.”
Sloane chuckled. “No, hearts are fine. It’s real sweet. Thank you.”
Dex sat down on the edge of the bed beside him. He ran his fingers through Sloane’s hair feeling guilty for having left him on his own last night. Sloane could take care of himself, even if he was injured, but his partner was drugged up and obviously feeling a little out of it, considering his reaction to the heart-shaped pancakes. Maybe it was time he took care of his partner like he’d promised he would.
“Why don’t you eat your breakfast while I shower, and we’ll watch a movie or something together?”
Sloane gave him a wide smile. “I’d like that.”
Dex left Sloane to his breakfast and went off to shower as quickly as he could. Showering wasn’t as much fun without his partner. As he lathered himself up, a naughty thought occurred to him. He’d also promised he’d make his partner purr. Finishing up, he could barely hold back his smile or the heat spreading through him. Easy there, Daley. Don’t get yourself worked up yet. He dressed in his comfy cotton pajama bottoms and a loose faded Back to the Future T-shirt before heading out into the bedroom. Sloane was smiling, his plate devoid of any evidence food had ever been on there. Wow, his partner had been hungry. Really hungry. Starving. Sort of like after….
“Please tell me you didn’t.” Dex removed the tray and put it on the floor against the wall. He pulled the blanket back and tried to lift Sloane’s T-shirt, but his partner slapped his hand away. “Sloane, let me see, damn it.” He grabbed Sloane’s wrist with one hand and managed to pull up the cotton shirt, cursing under his breath at the tiny beads of blood seeping through the bandage. “For fuck’s sake, did you try to shift?” When Sloane looked away, Dex had his answer. No wonder his partner was out of it. It wasn’t just the meds. Sloane hadn’t recuperated from postshift. Dex opened the minifridge and found it empty. “When?” He slammed the fridge door shut.