Here Comes Trouble (Nothing Special #3)(18)

Green chuckled at them. “Dinner in ten, fellas.” He turned to walk away, lightly running his fingers along the back of Ruxs’ neck as he went. It felt good. Too good. He was careful not to squirm in his chair.

They ate on TV trays in front of the huge television so they didn’t miss a moment of the game. During one of the commercials Green asked Curtis how his mom was doing.

He wiped his rosy mouth with his napkin before answering softly. “She doesn’t have much time left. The doctors say days. I helped her sign the DNR a couple months ago, ya know.”

Ruxs patted Curtis on his shoulder in comfort. “That was a brave thing to do, buddy.”

Curtis nodded his head up and down. He gave them a watery smile. “It’s time. I’ve said goodbye. It’s time for her to rest. She fought a good fight. I promised her I’d be a good man. I told her she could go now. Go be with grandma. A place where she never had to feel pain again.”

“I’m proud of you, Curtis.” Green pulled Curtis to him, placing a tender kiss on the top of his soft blonde hair.

“Thanks Green.” Curtis sat back up. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you guys. Never would’ve made it through these last couple of years. All of ya.”

Gosh this kid was awesome. That’s why all of them were crazy about him. They finished Green’s pot roast – damn it was good – now they were on to the famous cinnamon rolls. Curtis had a huge heaping of ice cream and two large rolls on his plate. Where the hell did he put it all? The kid was lean and tall. Ruxs was actually laughing, watching Curtis stuff his mouth with the sticky rolls. He would probably eat them all if Ruxs didn’t stop him. Green could never deny the sweet boy anything; Ruxs was the one that kept him in line. The second time Curtis got a speeding ticket, Ruxs had actually made him sit in traffic court for two days and listen to the whole docket – which was a horrible punishment – before he gave him his keys back.

Ruxs looked up from Curtis’ devouring and saw Green staring at him as he reclined in his La-Z-Boy. He watched him for a few seconds, neither of them breaking eye contact. But when Green winked at him, he had to turn his head. Green had winked at him a million times since they’d been friends, but fuck it. It felt different now… sexy.

It was nearing ten and all of them were stuffed full as ticks. “I got to head out guys. Got school tomorrow. Ugh. Thank god tomorrow is Friday.” Curtis grumbled, heaving his way up from where he lay sprawled on the couch.

“Hey, buddy it’s late. Why don’t you crash on the pullout in the weight room, again? Get a good night’s sleep for your test tomorrow, instead of driving thirty minutes home. You can borrow one of my T-shirts in the morning,” Ruxs suggested.

“I’m not gonna argue with that. I actually like that pullout.” Curtis yawned. “But I have my clean laundry in my car from today, so I won’t have to wear your T-shirt again. It looked like a doggone dress on me.”

“Gain some weight.” Ruxs threw a throw pillow at him.

“Lose some weight.” He threw it back.

“Night guys,” he yelled taking the stairs two at a time. “Love y’all.”

“Love you too, bud,” Green yelled.

“Night,” Ruxs said.

The room was silent, just the low murmur of Sports Center coming from the television. Ruxs’ eyes were on the sports announcers but he wasn’t listening to them. He could feel Green’s strong presence. It called to him. He heard him rustling in his chair and turned to look in his direction. Green was still reclined all the way back. He was looking at the TV, his eyes heavy, one hand down inside his lounge pants. Ruxs could see his hand moving. Oh my God. Ruxs had an urge to rub his own aching balls. Shit. Poor things. They’d been sorely neglected for months.

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.