My dick apparently hadn’t gotten the memo that this was nothing more than one roommate helping another and it grew harder every time Drew moaned as I ran my hands over his skin. He leaned back against my chest and I shifted, certain that my erection would press torturously between his ass checks.

“That feels amazing,” Drew praised. “You’re a good friend, Eric.”

He could claim that, but I sure as hell didn’t feel like one. I felt as though I were taking advantage of the situation. My mind urged me to push the boundaries and drop the scrap of terrycloth to the floor so I could feel the soapy glide of my hands on his rippled stomach. It’d be so easy to allow my fingers to tease the smattering of dark blond hair leading to his cock. To wrap my fingers around it and see how he’d moan in pleasure as I stroked him.

With one hand on his shoulder to steady him, I took a step back, needing space between our bodies. Drew reached out to me. I wanted to believe it was because he wanted me as much as I wanted him, but that was ludicrous.

I wasn’t certain, but given the amount of time Bryce had spent in his room today, I assumed they were together. That was just one more reason for Drew to be off-limits. The cons to even entertaining thoughts of burying myself deep in his ass outweighed the pros.

I held Drew’s shoulders and positioned him under the spray of water as I handed him the washcloth. He looked ridiculous standing there trying to keep his casted arm out of the spray of water while the terrycloth dangled from his other hand. “Here, I think you can manage the rest.”

I stared through the mist-covered shower door, trying to make out the shapes in the wallpaper on the other side of the room, knowing he was washing his most private areas. I nearly choked on my own saliva as I swallowed to keep from drooling or from opening my mouth to suggest helping him.

The flow of water stopped, leaving both of us dripping wet and cold. I forgot how icy this bathroom was to shower in if the baseboard heater wasn’t turned on. I shivered and stepped out for the towels, handing one to Drew without turning to look at him. I’d already pushed my self-restraint further than could possibly be healthy.

While Drew dried off, I raced down the hall to my room, hoping I wasn’t leaving puddles of water on the hardwood floors. If he needed help, he’d ask and I needed a moment to calm myself down. I could not fall for my much younger, vulnerable roommate. I also couldn’t ever let him hear me refer to him as vulnerable. Injured or not, he’d likely kick my ass from here to the state line.

“Eric.” Drew’s voice calling to me pulled me out of my self-recriminations.  I pulled on a pair of sweatpants as I hurried down the hall.

He’d managed to hobble his way back to his bedroom, but stood in front of his dresser staring at the bottom drawer.

“Stupid fucking ribs,” he muttered. “Can’t even bend over to get a damn pair of pants for myself.”

I squeezed his shoulder when I stepped up behind him. “You’ve gotta knock off that self-pity bullshit,” I scolded him. “It really isn’t working for you and it’s starting to annoy the hell out of me.”

“Gee, sorry I’m bothering you,” he sulked. I closed my eyes tightly and pursed my lips to keep from saying something stupid. “If you could just get me a pair of pants out of the bottom drawer, you can go back to your happy little bubble.”

I sighed heavily, willing myself to be patient with him. It’d only been twenty-seven hours since the attack, and he was used to being independent. It had to be an adjustment for him.

“Actually, I was thinking I’d sneak you down to the basement and we could watch a movie or something,” I told him. I didn’t look at him because I didn’t want him to see that I did feel bad for him. The only thing worse than self-pity was others taking pity on you when you’re down. “It’s gotta be boring as hell to lay in your bed and your mom’s probably sound asleep by now. What do you say?”

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

I steadied Drew while allowing him to dress himself. It looked awkward and I could tell it hurt, but I was bound and determined to prove that I didn’t see him as some sort of cripple. He was perfectly capable of doing shit for himself. He just needed to learn how to adapt until he was more mobile.

The beer and chips were still sitting on the floor right inside Drew’s bedroom door. The beer had gotten warm and I wasn’t hungry, so I excused myself to put everything back in the kitchen while he made his way to the stairs. “Do you want a sandwich or something? You haven’t had much.”

“Yeah, that’d be good. Thank you.”

I nodded and turned away. It was better than holding my breath as I watched him, waiting to make sure his knee didn’t buckle again.

Wisely, Drew waited for me at the top of the stairs and we headed into the basement. I didn’t bother turning on the lights, since part of me hoped that at least one of us would be able to get a bit of sleep. He needed it more than I did, but I couldn’t guarantee exhaustion wouldn’t get the better of me.

I helped Drew get comfortable at one end of the couch and pressed my body up against the opposite arm, putting as much space between us as I could. My dick was still threatening to spring to life every time I looked at him and no amount of silent pleading did a damn thing to shut it down.

There wasn’t much on in the middle of the night, so I settled on an action flick from the late eighties. The effects were embarrassingly simplistic and the plot nonexistent. That didn’t matter, because it was a fucking classic I’d loved watching when I was in middle school.

“Oh, my God! How can you watch this shit?” Drew laughed at the stilted dialogue. “Seriously, if this is the quality you’re looking for, you might as well turn on some porn. At least then we could both rub one out.”

My mouth gaped open as I stared at Drew. He smiled wickedly, and I knew he’d said that on purpose. One glance toward his waist revealed that at least one part of his body was uninjured and ready to go. It’d be so easy. He wanted this.

“Yeah, that’d be swell,” I scoffed. “Knowing my luck, that’d be the time your mom woke up and started searching the house for you. She’d come down here and scream at me for taking advantage of you.”

Drew shifted closer to me. Every small movement sent a flare of pain across his face, but he was determined. My breathing grew labored as I watched him, trying to find the words to stop him.

“What if I told her that I’m the one taking advantage of you?” His casted arm hit the back of the couch with a soft thud as his other hand slid up my leg. “I want you to show me that I’m not broken. Show me that I can feel something other than pain.”

God, I wanted to be that person for him. I wanted to show him everything he needed and more. But I couldn’t, not yet. Not so soon after the attack when he was on painkillers and likely not making the best decisions.

As much as it killed me to do so, I pushed Drew away before we were incapable of stopping what felt inevitable. I briefly leaned in to kiss a bruise on the side of his face. He needed to know I wasn’t rejecting him, I was simply trying to do the right thing.

“Maybe we should head upstairs,” I told him. I stood and held out my hand to him.

Drew simply shook his head. “I think I’m going to stay down here a bit longer. You go up, I’ll be fine.”

When I looked back as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw a mask of indifference where there’d so recently been lust. I hoped he’d understand that walking away from him was one of the hardest things I’d ever done off the field.

Chapter 7

I felt her presence before I opened my eyes. When I did, my mind took a trip back in time to when I was a teenager and slept in the basement after sneaking in from one of the team’s parties. Even though she was barely over five feet tall, Mom towered over me with her hands on her hips, lips pursed and eyes narrowed.