Just a Bit Wrecked (Straight Guys 11)

Isn’t it the same thing you told yourself back on the island?

Carefully pushing the uncomfortable thought away, Logan studied Andrew’s sleeping face, his brows furrowing when he noticed again how thin it was. Andrew was all lips and eyes now, his face almost gaunt. He was still ridiculously lovely, but this thinness didn’t look healthy. It wasn’t just his face; he’d definitely lost a lot of weight overall.

As if feeling his gaze, Andrew mumbled something sleepily and shifted. Those large, pretty eyes opened. They seemed more blue than green this morning. They blinked at Logan owlishly before closing again. “Is it morning already?” he muttered into Logan’s chest, rubbing his cheek against it like a sleepy kitten.

Logan’s stomach tightened, a funny feeling twisting it. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, just an unsettling one.

“Yes. Get off me. I need to go.”

Andrew went very still for a moment.

Then he rolled off him and sat up.

Logan sat up, too.

They just stared at each other for a moment.

“You’re all skin and bones,” Logan said. “Have you been eating at all? You weren’t this thin on the island.”

Andrew shrugged vaguely. It could mean anything.

When Logan continued looking at him, Andrew said, “I forget.”

“You forget,” Logan repeated flatly. “You forget to eat.”

Andrew wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Logan sighed. He reached for the phone on the nightstand and contacted reception. “Good morning. Breakfast for two, please.”

After a moment’s pause, the receptionist said quickly, “Of course, Mr. McCall.”

Andrew was glaring at Logan when he turned back to him. “Why did you do that?” he said, two spots of color appearing on his cheekbones. “Now they’re going to think that—that…”

“That you sucked my dick and I stayed the night?” Logan said, very dryly.

“I didn’t suck your dick,” Andrew said, avoiding his gaze as he straightened his clothes. “I’m not gay.”

Logan snorted a laugh. “Of course not. You just like having your mouth fucked. With a cock.”

The withering look Andrew shot him could have set someone on fire. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be,” Logan said, heading to the ensuite. He needed a shower.

By the time he returned, clad only in a towel wrapped around his hips, a maid was setting down a tray with breakfast on the table.

She started when she saw Logan, her eyes shooting from him to Andrew, whose face was red again.

“Good morning, Mr. McCall,” she said cheerfully, as if there was nothing strange about the situation.

“Good morning,” Logan said. “There are no bathrobes in the bathroom. Make sure that’s corrected.”

The maid flushed. “Of course, Mr. McCall. The only reason we didn’t bring them in was because there was a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door since Mr. Reyes moved in.”

Logan nodded. He didn’t bother saying that they should have brought a bathrobe before a new guest checked into the room; making her flustered would accomplish nothing. But he’d have to talk to the manager about this.

Andrew threw him a t-shirt. Logan caught it and slipped into it. It was a little tight around his chest and shoulders but nothing too uncomfortable.

“You may go, Jane,” he said, glancing at the maid when he realized that she was still there. “Have someone bring me clothes from my suite.”

She nodded and quickly left.

Logan sat down at the table and poured them both coffee. “Sit. Eat.”

Andrew scowled but did as he was told. He nibbled the food at first before suddenly attacking it ravenously, as if only now realizing how hungry he was. Christ, it seemed he hadn’t eaten in days. He certainly looked it.

Logan watched him eat, trying to place the strange feeling that curled in his gut. It wasn’t unfamiliar. It took him a moment to recognize it. It was similar to the primitive satisfaction he derived from watching Andrew enjoy the food he cooked. He liked feeding Andrew. Providing for him.

Cringing on the inside, Logan looked away and focused on his own food.

They ate in silence. It should have probably been uncomfortable, but it actually was the most comfortable Logan had felt in weeks. Returning home and seeing his family and friends for the first time in nearly a year had felt good, of course, but it had done nothing to erase the uneasy feeling under his skin, as if he’d misplaced something. Now that dissatisfied feeling was gone. He felt completely at ease.

It wasn’t that these feelings were completely surprising. It was probably natural that it would take him time to get used to his normal life. It was to be expected that he would still feel more comfortable around the person who had been his world for nine months. In time, these feelings should disappear. He just had to give it time—and stop feeding the codependency, dammit.

The sound of a ringtone snapped him out of his thoughts. Andrew started, too, before reaching for his phone and staring at it with something like trepidation.