Chapter 10

Jesus fucking Christ!

Breathe. Just Breathe.

What the fuck was I thinking?

Slowly undressing him to reveal all those smooth lines and surprisingly compact muscles. His peaches-and-cream complexion all but glowed in the bright bathroom lights. Then the way he moaned when I washed his hair.... I squeezed my cock through my jeans, willing it to behave. I was supposed to be helping him, not perving on him like a creeper.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I thought about anything else to try and calm down. After all he’d been through, the last thing he needed was a man hitting on him. Taking a deep breath, I resolutely decided to ignore my cock and my attraction to him. I would focus on helping him and being a good roommate and friend.

He needed a friend.

With that decided, I strode into the kitchen to make us more coffee. A little while later, I was pouring the coffee into two travel mugs, ensuring Bodhi’s was sweetened just right, when the sound of my bedroom door opening and the squeaking of the knee walker’s rubber tires on the wooden floor could be heard as he tried to turn into the living room. I capped our coffees and went to meet him. His hair was still wet and dripping onto his long-sleeved shirt. He also had the same sweatpants on. Does he have any clean clothes or anything warmer? The temperature would start dropping soon, and he would need toastier clothes than these.

“Hey, feeling better?” I asked nonchalantly, trying to keep it casual.

“Much, t-thank you.” He glanced away and refused to make eye contact.

“Do you need anything before we head out? Can I grab your backpack for you?”

“That would be great, thank you.” He rolled over to the couch and attempted to sit but must have misjudged the distance as he flopped down gracelessly with a huff, falling to his side when he tried to use his wrist cast to catch himself. He managed to get upright, his cheeks glowing pink, probably because he knew I’d seen his fumble. He quickly went to pull his sock on, letting his hair fall over his face in an attempt to hide from me.

“Here, let me get your shoe and help you with the walking boot.” I hurriedly grabbed the walking boot where it had fallen by the coffee table and his shoe from where I’d placed it by the front door.

“Do you know where the other one is?” he asked, gesturing at his shoe.

“Still in the car?” I tried to think about when I’d last seen it.

Gently, I rolled the extra-thick sock the hospital had given us over his foot and up his ankle. I then helped him into the walking boot and ensured it was done up correctly. With a smile, I passed him his shoe before grabbing his backpack from the guest room. Once I’d returned, he was waiting by the door, balanced on one leg, knee walker at the ready, with his arm outstretched to take the backpack.

“Don’t worry about it, I have it.” Waving him off, I put the backpack over my shoulder. With a thought, I quickly reached out for one of the wool hats I kept by the door for the cooler weather and carefully placed it on his head, tucking his wet hair under it so he didn’t catch a chill.

“Is that okay?” I asked, pulling back to check on him. “I didn’t want you to get cold with your hair still wet.”

He blushed, his cheeks rosy, as he mumbled, “Thank you.” He reached up to touch the soft material before grabbing his hoodie.

“It’s no problem.”

With a relieved sigh, I picked up our travel mugs from the coffee table. Balancing one on top of the other, I grabbed my keys and wallet, then unlocked the front door. He smiled as he passed me, and like a dumbass, I stood staring, then jolted before locking up. With a bounce in my step, I hurried around to open the passenger door for him. He sent me another one of those shy smiles as I helped him get situated, then passed him his coffee. In a jiffy, I had his knee walker folded up and stashed in the back seat before heading to the driver’s side.

He was cradling the coffee like a lifeline when I hopped inside.

“Thanks for this.” He took a sip.

“No worries.” I started the truck and got the heat going as I reversed out of my driveway and headed toward the garage.

The drive wasn’t long, and I was as quick as could be, getting Bohdi and his belongings out of the truck so I could hustle him out of the cold. Grabbing his backpack, he gave me a soft smile as I led him through the employee’s entrance at the back of the workshop, then through to the break room. Seb was working on a Chevrolet Silverado as we went by. Once Bodhi was settled, I would go check in with Seb and see what was next on the docket.

To my surprise, the break room wasn’t empty when we entered.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Lyric was sitting with his feet up on the break room table sipping coffee, looking surprisingly more awake than I’d expected for this—or any—time of the morning.

“Get your feet off the table, brat. People eat here.” I knocked his feet off the table. “Not that it’s not great to have the help, but how are you here so early?”

“I was up.” He shrugged and jumped to his feet, peering around me. “And who do we have here?” Lyric asked with a smile and wink as he approached Bodhi. He flicked his short brown sun-kissed hair off his forehead as he smirked at me before widening his green eyes and batting his lashes at Bodhi.

“Oh, sorry. This is Bodhi.” I came back to stand beside him. “Bodhi, this is my youngest brother, Lyric.”

“Well, hello,” Lyric said in his usual flirtatious manner while reaching for Bodhi’s hand, only to come up short when he saw it was in a cast. “What in the world happened to you?”

“Fell on the sidewalk,” Bodhi mumbled, looking down.

“I startled Bodhi and caused him to fall. Didn’t Seb fill you in?” I narrowed my eyes at Lyric. “Did you not make it in yesterday?” I was just about fed up with his lack of responsibility.

“Woah. Woah, of course I did. Come on, man.” Lyric had his arms out, palms up. “I just wanted to hear the story from this beauty.” He winked at Bodhi, causing him to blush.

“Leave him alone, Lyric.” I was surprised by the steel in my voice and my body’s reaction as I went to stand in front of Bodhi, blocking him from my brother. Lyric was harmless, but I still didn’t like him directing those flirtations toward my Bodhi. Wait, what? My Bodhi? No, just Bodhi, my friend.

I quickly shook off my thoughts as Lyric glared at me playfully. “Oh, I see how it is. No worries.” With yet another wide smirk and wink for Bodhi, he left the room, hopefully to get back to work.

Sighing out an exasperated breath, I turned back to Bodhi.

He was holding in a chuckle. “So, that’s the infamous Lyric, huh?”

“Yeah, infamous is right.” I barked out a laugh. “Sorry about him. He’s a notorious flirt.” Shaking my head, I changed the topic. “You can either hang out here or in the office. I think I have a spare tablet around here somewhere if you want to use the internet or watch TV. Help yourself to coffee and anything in the fridge. I’ll just check in with Seb. I’ll be right back.”

Leaving the room, I found Lyric with Seb by the Chevrolet Silverado. They stopped talking as I approached.

“What?” I groaned, waiting for the brotherly ribbing that I was sure was coming.

“He’s a real cutie,” Lyric said waggling his eyebrows. “Does someone have a crush?” he added in a teasing singsong.

“It’s not like that!” I exclaimed defensively.

“Leave him alone, brat.” Seb whacked Lyric over the back of his head. “Get back to work and call those customers with their quotes.”

Rolling his eyes, Lyric headed toward the office. “You’re no fun!”

“Thanks.” I glanced at Seb.

He shot me a raised eyebrow. “We know Lyric’s a pain, but is he wrong? Why’d you bring him to work?”

“It’s really not like that, I swear.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I wasn’t sure how much of Bodhi’s story I should share. It really wasn’t my story to tell. “He’s down on his luck and needs a place to stay. So, he’ll be staying in my guest room for now. I offered to help him while he’s recovering.”

Seb was still staring at me with his dark eyebrows raised. Out of all my brothers, we looked the most alike, and it was somewhat unnerving. Seb was just a taller, bigger version of me. The fact that he’d overtaken me in height and muscle led to endless teasing because I was two years older, but it was what it was.

“Just leave it alone, okay?” Raising my eyebrow in return, I willed him to drop it. “Come on, tell me what’s on the agenda for today.”

Thankfully, Seb let it go and filled me in on what was coming up next on the list. I was ready to get back to work once I made sure Bodhi was settled.

To my surprise, Lyric had set Bodhi up with the spare tablet, and he was resting on the break room couch reading. A frown marred his sweet face as he stared intently at the tablet. His walking boot was lying on the floor next to him.

“You okay, there?” I asked, checking him over. “Let me grab some ice for your foot and ribs. The doctor said you should be icing it for the next few days.”

“I’m good and thanks.” He glanced up with a smile that warmed something inside me. I hurriedly made two ice bundles with spare ziplock bags and fresh dish towels. Handing him one for his ribs, I set about placing the other bundle over the top of his foot, watching him for any extra signs of discomfort.

“I’ll just be out there if you need anything. Lyric and Seb will be around, too.” I gestured over my shoulder at the workshop. He sent me another sweet smile and settled back to read.

I had no choice but to get to work. I had almost a day’s worth to catch up on and I needed to get my head in the game.

The next time I looked up was to the sound of Mama’s voice as she came bustling in with enough food to feed an army.

“Where are my yperifáneia kai chará.”

“Hey, Mama!” Lyric came running out of the office. “You have to come meet Atty’s new man!” he added teasingly, knowing full well Mama would go off at the thought of one of her boys having a partner.

Groaning, I glared at Lyric. “Keep it down, will you?” I hissed before turning to Mama. “He’s not my man, Mama, honest. He was the man who was injured outside yesterday. I’m helping him get back on his feet,” I added quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

“Ah yes, well, what are we all standing around for? Let me meet him and feed him.” Chuckling, she moved into the break room to unload all the food she’d brought. Knowing her, we were in for a mouthwatering feast.