“Andrew Joseph, what exactly do you think you’re doing down here?” She lectured me as she began picking up the throw pillows off the floor.

I had no clue how they got there and could barely give her an answer as to how I got to the couch in the media room. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a pair of ratty, faded sweatpants and nothing else. Memories of last night started creeping to the forefront of my mind. Eric waking me when I had a nightmare. Him helping me shower to get the dirt and hospital grime off my body. His body pressing against mine. His hands gliding over my body as he washed me. I quickly covered my lower half with an afghan to keep Mom from seeing my predicament. Then I remembered him walking away from me. Rejecting me. And suddenly there was nothing to hide.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” I admitted. “Eric was up and suggested we come down here so we wouldn’t wake you. I must’ve fallen asleep.”

Mom sucked in a sharp, disapproving breath. “That’s probably because you were worn out and had no business traipsing all over the house. Now, let’s get you back to your bed.”

“Mom, I’m fine,” I snapped. She retreated, her shoulders slumped forward. I hated when she did that. It was as though she took my declaration as a personal affront. It wasn’t, I just needed my space. I reached out to her and draped my good arm over her shoulders as I kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“You always were a stubborn, grouchy ass when you didn’t feel well.” Mom sighed, and I knew we’d get past this. Or at least I hoped we would, but she’d need to see that I wasn’t completely dependent on anyone, even with cracked ribs and a broken arm. “I know you think I’m a pain in your backside, but that’s only because I worry about you. You might be a grown man and a hot-shot athlete now, but a mother never stops worrying about her baby boy.”

“Yes Mom,” I grumbled. “But please don’t call me your baby boy in front of the guys. They’ll use that against me for the rest of my career.”

“Okay sweetie,” she promised as she reached up to pat my cheek. “Now, let’s get you upstairs. Eric was up before your father and I and he’s making breakfast.”

Eric never cooked. Or at least he hadn’t in the week since he’d gotten home. I couldn’t remember if he had last winter or not, but then again I wasn’t around as much since I’d gone home to help my parents. They needed my help, whether they’d admit it or not. I glared at the stupid fucking cast on my arm, knowing that I’d be worthless to them for a while.

When we got upstairs, Eric poured me a cup of coffee and dumped three spoonfuls of sugar into the mug before handing it to me. My stomach did this stupid little flip thing over the knowledge that he knew how I liked my coffee. Most of the guys thought it was disgusting, but I didn’t drink the shit because it tasted good. I’d had my first cup when I was eight and I’d needed the sugar to make it palatable. Ever since then, I hadn’t seen a need to cut back.

“Thanks,” I said as I eased myself onto one of the stools at the kitchen island. My mom said something about leaving the two of us alone while she got dressed for the day. It wasn’t necessary, but I figured it was her way of trying to let me know she wasn’t going to be up my ass the whole time they were there. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

“Eggs and bacon. I didn’t want them eating cold cereal and figured you’d want something a bit more substantial as well,” he informed me. Again, I was touched by Eric’s thoughtfulness.

“You didn’t have to go out of your way,” I reminded him. This was his house and he was already doing enough just by opening the doors to my family. I didn’t want him thinking it was his job to cater to us as well.

“It’s not a problem. Really.” He offered me a quick smile before turning back to the stove. “By the way, Mason and Sean are coming over in a bit. I thought about telling them to hold off, but then I figured Asher might be a good distraction for your mother.”

Babies were always the perfect distraction for a woman who felt an obsessive need to care for others. It’d even be worth listening to whatever bad jokes Mason wanted to tell, just to have her otherwise occupied for a while. “Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to go get dressed.”

“Holler if you need me,” Eric offered without taking his attention off breakfast. That was the type of help I wanted to have around. He knew enough to tell me he was there if I needed him, but didn’t offer to follow me down the hall and pick out my outfit for the day.

I groaned when I walked into my bedroom and found the bed made and an outfit laying at the foot. So much for Mom backing off a bit. I sat down gingerly, feeling every single scrape, bruise, and cracked bone in my body since I hadn’t had any pain pills this morning. If the pain became unbearable I’d take something, but I wanted to hold off as long as possible.

I struggled to get my arms into the button down shirt and then stared at my reflection in the mirror. After about a minute of fumbling, I called out for Eric because I wasn’t getting anywhere with the buttons.

Eric leaned against the door frame, watching me as I continued my battle with the shirt. “Are you going to help me or stand there laughing?”

“I don’t know, this is somewhat amusing to watch,” he admitted as he crossed the room. I turned to face him and closed my eyes as the backs of his fingers brushed across my chest. Until yesterday, I honestly hadn’t thought about Eric as anything more than a roommate, possibly a friend, but now that Jason had planted a seed in my head, it seemed to be all I could think about. Last night sure as fuck wasn’t helping.

As Eric dressed me, my mind floated back to last night, remembering how it felt when he undressed me and helped me get cleaned up. Yes, I’d been embarrassed that I needed his help, but having him so close to me, catching the faintest whiff of his cologne as he steadied me had me wishing I wasn’t injured for other reasons. I wanted to be whole, to shove him down onto my bed and suck his cock to the back of my throat.

Once he finished buttoning my shirt, he turned his attention to the sleeve that was stretched over my cast. My chest ached because I knew deep down that he was only trying to be helpful. His actions weren’t because he wanted to fuck me, they were fueled by his desire to be a good human being. I swallowed around the lump in my throat before muttering a quick thanks.

“Like I’ve said every other time, it’s not a problem. You’d do the same for me if roles were reversed.” That was true, but I bet he wouldn’t be standing here getting hard if I was helping him. He took a step back and looked over my appearance. For a moment, I could’ve sworn his eyes lingered over my jeans. My cheeks flushed as I turned away. Eric cleared his throat. “You look good.”

The floors were cold since I was walking around barefoot, but I couldn’t cave and ask Eric to get me a pair of socks out of the drawer and help me pull them on. I made a mental note to send Mom out to get me some slippers later. It’d get her out of the house for a while if nothing else. Giving her busy work seemed the best plan of attack to keep from losing my mind. It turned out that I didn’t need to ask Eric because he quickly figured out what was making me shuffle from one foot to the other.

Eric led me to the bed and gently pushed on my shoulders until I took the not-so-subtle hint. Although there was nothing to hide, I felt uncomfortably exposed as I watched him open the top drawer of my dresser. He knelt between my legs when he returned and carefully lifted one foot off the cold floor. “Look, I know this is tough for you, but you need to be willing to ask for help when you need it,” he scolded me.

“I know,” I sulked. “I guess I just don’t want you getting sick of having to do shit for me. After all, I’m just the kid who needed a place to stay when I first moved to town.”