Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
"Okay," Neil said.
Andrew stood and followed Matt to the door. Neil assumed he was leaving to shower in his own room so got up and headed for the bathroom. He let the blanket drop when he heard the door close, but the subsequent click of the lock was definitely from the inside. Neil glanced back, curious, but Andrew was standing out of sight.
Neil reached for the bathroom light. The bag around his hand stuck to the damp tiles on the wall. Neil looked at the shower and wondered if he could just skip it. The bags would protect his injuries and bandages, but they'd also make this entire process a hundred times more complicated. He hadn't showered since Friday night, though, so he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.
Andrew's bare feet were silent against the carpet, but Neil saw a blur of colors on the fogged-up mirror and turned. Andrew studied his chest with a bored look, but the fingers he pressed to Neil's scars were a heavy and lingering weight. Neil waited to see if he had anything to say, but Andrew hadn't spoken to anyone since they checked out of the hotel in Baltimore. Neil doubted the others had noticed, since Andrew rarely talked to even Kevin or Nicky now that he was sober, but Neil wasn't used to the silent treatment.
"Hey," Neil said, just to make Andrew look up at him.
Neil leaned in to kiss him, needing to know if Andrew would lean away or push him back. Instead Andrew opened his mouth to Neil without hesitation and slid his hand up Neil's chest to his throat. Kissing hurt his injured cheeks but Neil fought to ignore that twinging pain. It'd only been a couple days since those kisses on the bus but right now it felt like forever.
Neil remembered too well what it was like to say goodbye. He remembered what it was like saying hello again. A hint of Friday's panic and outrage flickered in his chest, hot enough to burn the air from his lungs. He didn't know what this thing between them was anymore. He didn't know what he wanted or needed it to be. He just knew he had to hold on for as long as he could.
"You are a mess," Andrew said against Neil's lips.
"What else is new?"
Andrew pulled back and guided Neil out of his way. He turned the shower on and held his hand under the stream to check the temperature. Neil stepped on the hems of his pants to get them started in coming off, but Andrew did most of the work stripping him. It was awkward being naked in front of someone else, his scars and bruises on full display, but the uncomfortable curl in Neil's gut was eased somewhat by the detached way Andrew handled him. Neil stepped into the shower, tensing in preparation for pain, and was relieved when the wraps on his face and arms held. He ducked his head and let the water beat against his skull. It gave him an excuse to close his eyes and find his mental footing.
A hand in his hair jarred him from his thoughts and he cracked his eyes open to see Andrew standing in front of him. Andrew hadn't bothered to get undressed aside from stripping his bands and shoes off. Water plastered his black shirt to him, and small streams raced down his temples and over his cheeks to drip off his chin. Neil reached for his face, remembered the bags just in time, and frowned a bit in annoyance. Andrew pushed his hand aside and yanked the shower curtain closed.
Andrew got Neil's hair washed efficiently, if not gently, but by the time he moved on to Neil's body there was more kissing than cleaning. Andrew made the mistake of turning his face away at one point, so Neil chased water down the side of Andrew's neck. Andrew's fingers clenched convulsively on Neil's sides as a shudder wracked Andrew's frame.
Andrew tried to recover with a ground-out, "Your neck fetish is not attractive."
"You like it," Neil said, unapologetic. "I like that you like it."
He bit down to prove his point and Andrew turned his head into it with a sharp hiss. Neil smiled where Andrew couldn't see it. Maybe Andrew felt the twist of his lips against oversensitive skin, because he tangled his fingers in Neil's hair and pulled his head away. Andrew put a hand flat against Neil's abdomen and pushed, backing Neil up until he was out of the spray and pressed flat against slick, chilly tile.
Andrew bit the question into the corner of Neil's jaw. "Yes or no?"
"It's always yes with you," Neil said.
"Except when it's no," Andrew said.
Neil put a plastic-wrapped finger to Andrew's chin, guiding his head up for another kiss. "If you have to keep asking because—I'll answer it as many times as you ask. But this is always going to be yes."
"Don't 'always' me."
"Don't ask for the truth if you're just going to dilute it."
Andrew clapped his hand over Neil's mouth and kept it there until going to his knees meant he couldn't reach anymore. Andrew ghosted a kiss across Neil's hip before swallowing him whole. Neil caught at Andrew's hair, but his injuries and the plastic bags made it difficult for him to get a good grip. He scrabbled at the wall instead, but it was too slick to offer much leverage. Andrew pinned him against the wall with a hand on his hip, which helped, but Neil still felt like he was falling. He did fall afterward, albeit in a controlled slide down the wall, gasping for breath and dizzy with burnt-out need.
"Do you want—" he started, voice ragged.
Andrew kissed him to shut him up. Neil grimaced a little at the taste on Andrew's tongue but was happy to burn it away. Andrew braced himself with a forearm against the wall, keeping a few comfortable inches between their bodies. Neil let him have that gap but crossed his aching arms behind Andrew's head to keep him close. Neil didn't notice the absence of Andrew's other hand until Andrew's breath caught against his lips. It confused him for a second, to the point that he was almost stupid enough to pull back and look down.