Double Full (Nice Guys 1)

“Why do we need to change it?” Colt asked after swallowing the first spoonful. Jace wasted no time in bringing a second spoonful to Colt’s lips. He immediately opened. He learned earlier, when he’d tried not opening for Jace he ended up wearing the soup. Jace would then go nuts, trying to clean him up without causing pain, which was pretty impossible to do.

Apparently, his question earned him silence from his now chatty Jace. So much so things turned slightly awkward between them. What did that mean?

“We can leave it like it is, right?” Colt tried approaching the subject again before opening his mouth wide, encouraging Jace to participate in the feeding. Jace continued to sit there, staring at him. After a minute, Jace mechanically lifted the spoon and put the broth to his lips. Colt forced the bland liquid down. Cold chicken broth wasn’t on his list of favorite culinary delights and tasted worse when his boyfriend didn’t want to stay married to him. Damn.

“Isn’t a commitment what you wanted when you were leaving me?” Colt asked and tried to shift his position so he could see Jace’s face without straining his neck.

“I wasn’t leaving you,” Jace said.

“Really? I definitely think notes of goodbye forever and don’t contact me again constitute as leaving me,” Colt said, arching his brow. Jace scoffed, and Colt couldn’t help the chuckle or the immediate curse when his ribs made sure he knew how much they disliked the movement the laughter caused.

“You deserve that, mister.” Jace smiled and continued watching him closely. “I guess I’d prefer a marriage not to be decided for you. You were forced into it,” Jace said, placing the bowl back on the tray and lifting the water glass back to his mouth. Jace angled the straw between his lips. Again, he was given no choice but to drink.

“Bring the hospital chaplain in. I’ll marry you right now,” Colt shot back, and just like he’d done about twenty-five times already today, Jace stood and began re-tucking the sheet back around Colt’s body.

“You’re not thinking right. You had a major traumatic accident four days ago. Your mind’s clouded and medicated, and you’re basing your decisions on events, not emotion,” Jace explained, reasonably.

Colt watched him for a couple of long moments. He hated he couldn’t get up and shake some sense into Jace. Even more frustrating, he needed to have this conversation face to face, not while lying flat on his back.

The doctor cast both his legs and his left arm earlier this morning, but his right arm was still wrapped and immobilized in a semi-cast. More surgeries were needed before the actual cast could be set. The gravity of the breaks to his throwing arm seemed to become a dark cloud looming over everyone who entered the hospital room. It didn’t weigh on Colt, though. He knew the odds were stacked solidly against being ready for football season this year, and if he wasn’t ready, he wouldn’t have to leave Jace for all those months. Colt couldn’t convince himself that was a bad thing.

“Babe, look at me,” Colt said. Jace kept his head turned away, obviously pretending to busy himself. “Jace, I’m serious, look at me,” Colt tried again.

Jace finally stopped, rose from fixing the sheets, and looked over at Colt. The raw emotion pouring from Jace’s gaze caught Colt by surprise. The clear sentiment reflected in his eyes caused Colt to take a sharp breath. They were exactly on the same page. Just as Colt’s heart lurched, so did his ribs, making him instantly regret the extra draw of air. Jace came back to the front of the bed, concerned about his discomfort, and the sweet gesture sealed the deal for Colt.

“Baby, it’s not spur of the moment, and I’m thinking just fine. I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. We’ve already wasted too much time. Jace Montgomery, be mine forever. Marry me on our terms before we leave this island,” Colt implored. He couldn’t pull Jace to him, he couldn’t even get out of this damn bed and fall on one knee and ask Jace properly. All he could hope was that Jace would see the sincerity in his eyes and believe him.

“Just say yes. If I could move, I’d hold you, kiss you, beg you to say yes. Please, go find the chaplain and let’s do this thing, right now. I don’t want to destroy that marriage certificate. I want it to be real. I want to marry you. I want to say the words ‘I do’ in front of witnesses.”

“If you get back to the states and want out, I won’t hold it against you,” Jace replied softly, still right up in his face, exactly where Colt wanted him to be.

“Noted, now go get the chaplain, please. Tell him we have the marriage license, and now we want a ceremony. And call the nurse in here for me. Fuck! I hate being so useless,” Colt cursed his predicament. He’d gotten his agreement. Now all he needed was a little help from someone other than Jace, and he stared helplessly at the call button, willing the device to ring the nurse. Clearly his mental telepathy needed fine-tuning. He finally lifted his heavily casted left arm, intent on reaching out for the button.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jace was right on him, pushing the button and tucking the covers back in around him.

“You go find the chaplain. I want the nurse to help me with my hair. I don’t wanna marry you with bed head.” That had Jace stopping in his tracks and glancing in his direction. The look on Jace’s face was comical.

“You look fine to me, pretty boy,” Jace responded with wink.

“Go, you’re stalling,” Colt barked and then gave him a grin. The nurse came through the door as Jace started to exit.

“Did you call?” The nurse looked from one to the other while carrying a small tray of his medicines into the room.