[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

that with the nurses.
"Thanks." He gave her a smile and headed on into Chris'
room, wondering what would tempt Chris' tummy and stay
down. He knew pizza or chocolate would be tempting, as
would steak and that really nice stir-fry they made together,
but he doubted any of that was hospital approved...
Chris was stretching, one leg up near his ear, face red and
flushed.
"Jesus!"
Brian went over to Chris, shaking his head. "Don't let your
parents catch you doing that before you get out of here."
He slid his hands over the stretched out leg, nodding at
the lack of hard spots. "It's only been three days; you
shouldn't have lost any of your flexibility. How's it feel?"
Chris didn't need a lecture from him, just support.
"Good. Stretchy. I want out of here." Chris grinned up at
him, winked.
Oh, wow. That smile and wink did wonders for him. Made
him believe that Chris really was going to come through this,
was okay.
"Yeah, you out of here sounds pretty damned fantastic.
The nurse gave me the secret, too. Apparently you have to
eat a meal. I hear you rejected the Jell-o we'll have to find
something that'll stay down."
"Jell-o is nasty." One leg went down, the other up. Chris'
catheter had come out at some point during the night, and
Chris was looking much less grumpy.
201
Perfect Ten
by Sean Michael
Brian watched carefully, looking for any signs of stiffness
or soreness. "How's your head?"
"It itches where that thing is. I want it out." There were
random bruises sprinkled over the long body, but nothing
earth-shattering.
"They said tomorrow morning. And if you can keep
something down, the doc'll let you out by tomorrow evening."
He looked at his watch. "It's nearly suppertime. If you
could have anything at all, what would it be?"
"Hmm..." Chris closed his eyes, chewed on his bottom lip.
"Homemade brownies."
Brian leaned in and licked at Chris' lip until he stopped
biting it. "I could make you some, but then I'd have to leave
again."
He licked again, managing to find a bit of Chris' flavor
beneath the hospital taste.
"I don't want you to go." Chris hummed a little, eyes
closing.
"No, I don't want to go either. You'll have to pick
something else to eat. I'm sure the hospital could round you
up some more Jell-o." He grinned and added, "Or maybe
some tapioca..."
"Ew!" Chris pinched him, eyes just rolling.
He laughed. God, he'd missed this the last few days.
Missed the teasing and the laughter, missed that incredible
drive and focus that Chris brought to more than just the
gymnastics. "How about some soup from Lo Chin's? Maybe
one of their amazing magical eggrolls?"
202
Perfect Ten
by Sean Michael
"Yeah? You unhook me from this machine," Chris tugged
the IV line. "And I'm there."
He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they'll deliver to the nurses'
station, and I'll tell them it's for me. Which won't be a total
lie."
God, Chris wanted out of this place bad. Not that Brian
blamed him.
"No fair..." Oh, man. The Pout.
He leaned back in, lips sliding across Chris', grabbing that
lower lip and tugging on it. "Hey, I can't spring you, but I can
get you spring rolls."
"That's not nearly as good, coach. I've missed six
practices."
"Tomorrow, Chris. We get this food into you and you be
sweet as pie to the nurses and you'll get out tomorrow. Well.
Then you've got to let your folks pamper you for the
weekend. We'll sneak a mat into our room, though, and you
can do some practices in there when you're 'napping.'"
Chris' smile dimmed some. "They want me to move back
home. Pop's really pissed."
He sighed and nodded. "They're scared, Chris. They love
you and they just want you to be safe. All they can see is that
you've been hurt again, that a bad fall isn't just dangerous for
your back now, but for your head as well."
God knew, he was scared himself. But if Chris was going to
do this, he was going to be there, doing everything he could
to make sure that didn't happen.
203
Perfect Ten
by Sean Michael
"You can't live scared." There was something in Chris'
voice that made him stop, look. Maybe his gymnast was a
little bit scared himself.
He took Chris' hands and held on tight, looked right into
one blue and one green eye. "Chris. I love you. Okay? No
matter what. And I'm so proud of you. No matter what. Now I
want you to remember that, and I want you to think about
this before answering. Tell me why you want to go on."
"What? Because it's what I'm made for."
"And you can't imagine doing anything else."
He understood that. He'd felt it. He'd lived it.
"Why would I?"
He could see the heat rising in Chris' cheeks, the worry in
those beautiful eyes.
"Because someone who didn't really want it, who wasn't
meant for it, would let this stop them."
He held Chris' eyes. "I needed to know you were doing it
for the right reasons. That you were doing it because you had
to, because there was nothing else you could do. And you
are. And I believe in you."
"This won't stop me. It can't." Chris reached out to him,
squeezed his hand.
"Then it won't."
He pressed their lips together, kissing Chris hard, putting
his passion and belief into it. "You just go out there and do
what you do, and you let me worry about everything and
everyone else."
"You're going to take Pop on, then?" Chris just held on,
squeezed his hand.
204
Perfect Ten
by Sean Michael
"Your Pop, your Mom. Anyone else who has two cents they
want to put in. I don't want you worrying about any of it,
okay? Your job is doing what you're made for."
"Okay. Thank you. I just want to get back to it." Chris'
stomach growled, loud enough for him to hear. "That and
some hot and sour soup."
"The first you'll have to wait till tomorrow on. The second I
can do."
He gave Chris another quick kiss and reached for the
phone, dialing Lo Chin's number by heart.
Chris rolled out of the bed, heading carefully for the
bathroom, IV stand in hand.
He watched the movement, assessing Chris, even as he
ordered their supper.
Chris looked a bit uneven, the slightest bit unsteady.
They'd have to be careful on the dismounts, on the vault at
first.
They'd start back on the rings again. Let Chris live in his
comfort zone for a while, let Chris get his confidence back.
He pushed his own fears for Chris away. There was no [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]