By Any Other Name (7 page)

Skye yawned again and made Thom yawn too. “Damn reflexes,” he muttered and made his way upstairs. “Though I might just be tired. I worked all day, and then, as it came closer to the time to pick you up, I had to try to calm Dru down.”

Skye smiled a bit. “Oh, shit. Hey, I’ll go take my meds before I forget, and take them downstairs while I’m at it. Can you set up the computer on my desk?” It seemed like the man was weirded out by having to ask Thom for anything, even a small favor like this.

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll check the computer and make sure it has a full battery.” Thom waved a hand absently as he took the Mac and tried to see where in all of Dru’s mess the charger might be.

He heard Skye moving around to his room and then back past him and down the stairs. There were muffled sounds from the discussion the others were having and some laughter too before Skye trotted up the stairs. “Still no charger?” he asked and looked around.

“This is like trying to find Waldo,” Thom said and made Skye laugh again.

“Hey, if we find it, we should dress it in red and white,” Skye said, and they began to rummage through the mess until Thom exclaimed joyously and held up the item.

“Finally,” he said and then walked after Skye to the end of the hall into the guestroom that was now Skye’s.

“How do you like the room?”

“It’s great, very comfy, and I like the colors.” Skye smiled and went to his bag, which was still on top of the bed. “Hey, can I borrow shampoo and stuff? I didn’t take any liquids with me so that I got through the security checks at the airports easier.”

“Absolutely, let’s go see what we have in the master. I’ll leave this to boot,” Thom said and plugged in the Mac before walking to the master bedroom, which was the only way to the biggest bathroom in the house.

“Okay, let’s see,” he mumbled and went to the basket of extra stuff near a Jacuzzi big enough for two people to fit in. “Try this and… this too. And here’s some shower gel.” He picked up the bottles and handed them over to Skye, who was looking a bit wide-eyed.

“Dru loves his products and buys all the new ones and then dislikes most of them.” Thom chuckled and went to the sink on the other side of the bathroom to find an unopened tube of toothpaste. “And here’s this. You got a toothbrush?” he asked.

“Yeah, but no towel,” Skye said with a sigh, and Thom walked closer.

He wanted to touch Skye, put a hand on the man’s shoulder, but he didn’t know if he could.

“You’re safe here. We understand that you literally have nothing. We’ll change that, and you have a home now, Skye. Okay?” he said and saw Skye blink rapidly a few times before he cleared his throat.

“Okay. Thank you. I know… it can’t be easy to have your partner’s friend just drop on your lap like this… especially when he’s a nutjob like me,” Skye said and tried to smile, but Thom could tell he believed the self-assessment of being crazy.

“Hey, none of that in my house. We’ll figure this out. Frankly I’m surprised you’re in this good of a condition,” Thom said honestly and made Skye snort.

“Well yeah, but you haven’t seen me freak out yet. That’s bound to happen, and it isn’t pretty. Trust me.”

They turned to walk back to Skye’s room, and Dru got there right after them.

“So, anything we should know in case you do freak out or have a nightmare or something?” Dru asked as he went on to look at the laptop himself.

“If I scream in my sleep, if it lasts more than a minute, come wake me up, but don’t touch me. I might try to punch you or just fall out of bed or something,” Skye said sheepishly.

“Okay… how about lights around the house at night?” Thom asked.

“I’ll leave some on here, but could you make sure there’s one on in the hallway if I need you?” Skye said, coming out of the little bathroom he had taken the toiletries into.

“Sure, and I left a little light on downstairs if you want something to drink. Okay, this computer is fine now. Just use it as your own; if you have any problems, ask me. I got us a great wireless Internet connection, and it works even in the yard, so you should be set,” Dru said, getting up from the desk chair and coming to lean on Thom.

“If you need us for anything, just come knock on the door,” Thom said, and Skye agreed to do so. Thom just hoped he’d really do it instead of trying to be polite.

“Night, guys, and thanks.”

“Night, Skye. Sleep well,” Dru said, and Thom echoed him as they walked to their own bedroom.

It wasn’t that late yet, but it had been a long day, and the emotional turmoil had been enough to make them both tired. Even Dru, who usually stayed up late, seemed to want to get to bed early.

“I want a shower, but I can’t be bothered.” Dru yawned.

“Fine. Go to bed, I’ll join you in a bit,” Thom said and kissed the blond in passing.

He went into the bathroom and tossed the clothes he had been wearing into the laundry basket. They usually waited for it to be full and then took the laundry downstairs into the utility room to be washed. Maybe tomorrow, by the looks of it.

Stepping into the large glass cubicle, Thom put on the steam option in their luxurious shower and sighed contently. It had been worth every penny, having this whole bathroom re-done when they had bought the house. They would be paying for it for years to come, but hell, if a little luxury wasn’t worth it….

He was surprised that being in the shower like this didn’t make him horny. Maybe it was because of the previous day; their Sunday had been spent making love everywhere in their home, because it wouldn’t be comfortable while Skye was in the house. It would have to be, eventually, but at first they wouldn’t want to alienate their houseguest by the whole living-with-a-gay-couple thing.

They usually had sex a few times every week, sometimes more, but oftentimes they were too tired during the week and settled for blowjobs and handjobs when the situation seemed to fit. They weren’t an old couple, and they were both in their prime. They were also very much in love, so maybe it should have bothered them more, but for some reason it didn’t. It suited them, and that was what counted, anyway.

Dru and Thom had discussed what Skye might think about the fact that Dru was gay and living with a man like this. Apparently it had gone okay; after all, there was no hesitation or sign of disgust or anything from Skye. He had just acted like it was completely normal, which it was, of course, but it had gone better than Thom had dared to hope for. Then again, there was no telling what Skye’s own sexuality was. Dru had said that he thought Skye was straight back when they were teens, but things changed. Hell, they changed for people who weren’t abused and kept as captives and sexual slaves. Thom’s body shook with some emotion bordering on disgust at the mere thought of someone like Skye having gone through what he had. The worst, and maybe best, thing was that they didn’t know and never would know the extent of what he had been through.

Thom rinsed the suds from his body and grabbed a towel. He had left a towel for Skye on the desk, so that was covered too. They really needed to get the man something to wear, as well. Luckily, Thom knew that he didn’t have to worry about that. Dru would take their houseguest shopping one day, he was sure of it. With a smile on his lips, he walked to the bedroom after tossing the damp towel on the rack. They liked to sleep in the nude, but it might be best to put on some boxers in case Skye needed them during the night.

After pulling the boxer shorts on, Thom climbed into bed and slid under the covers. Dru had fallen asleep, his blond hair looking lovely against the dark blue satin pillowcase. As much as Thom hated Dru’s emotionally cold parents, he had to give them credit for making something as beautiful and lovely as Dru. He leaned over to kiss his lover on the forehead and smiled when Dru’s mouth searched for his on autopilot, the man being only half awake.

“Night, babe,” Thom said and kissed him, getting a happy mumble that was probably “night, honey” in response.

The
next morning Thom woke up with a start, trying to figure out what had shaken him out of his sleep. Glancing around the room, he realized it was around five in the morning and Dru was still asleep next to him. He listened, but there were no sounds that explained it either. Thom slipped from under the covers and walked to the bedroom door. It was closed. Huh….

Then he remembered what the feeling was all about: Skye. Either their guest had slept soundly through the night, or any problems he’d experienced hadn’t penetrated Thom’s dreams. So his body had woken him up when nothing was wrong just because he had thought he’d be woken up for
sure
.

Thom turned around and walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and relieve his bladder before tugging on some lounge pants and a ratty old sleeveless T-shirt. Then he walked down the stairs, once again sending a thought to the architect who had designed in-floor heating. It was great in the winter, but he liked it in the early summer mornings too, like now. Slipper-free was the way to live.

Smiling slightly, he made his way to the kitchen to make some coffee. The door to the library was open, and some light was flooding into the rest of the house. So Skye was up already? Thom coughed a bit to announce himself and peeked into the room.

“Morning,” he said and smiled a bit at Skye, who was sitting in one of the large armchairs, wrapped in an afghan and reading a book. There was a mug next to him on the little table, and the scent of coffee was still faint in the room.

Skye smiled a little too. “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“Not at all, I think my internal clock did it or something,” Thom lied. After all, it had sort of been Skye, but he didn’t want to dwell on it.

“There’s coffee in the Thermos, and I was considering making breakfast too, just couldn’t put this down.” Skye raised the book, and Thom noticed it was one of his favorites.

“It’s actually one of the books that’s followed me for years. I love the story and the concept. Once you’ve read it, I’d love to discuss it with you. Dru never has the patience.” He smirked at Skye, who chuckled.

“I do remember that being a problem with him, yeah. The only book we ever discussed was
Romeo and Juliet
,
and that was because we had to write a paper on it in school,” Skye said, and then some clouds gathered over his handsome features, like he remembered something else.

“Breakfast? I’ll make some toast, and I really want bacon,” Thom said, changing the subject. He guessed that the paper had been written close to when Skye had left Rowan Falls. No need to dwell on that now.

“Sure, I’ll be right there, I’ll finish this chapter,” Skye said and looked grateful for the distraction.

Thom backed out of the library and went to the kitchen. The coffee wasn’t that old, so he poured a mug for himself before taking the eggs and bacon out of the fridge. He wanted to go for a run too, so not too much, but he was having a craving. Besides, a bit of bacon actually never killed anyone.

Something on the lesser-used end of the counter, where they usually dropped the mail that needed to be noticed and made their shopping lists, caught his eye: two different bottles of pills. He wondered how many Skye needed to take daily and made a mental note to ask about refills and finding him somewhere to go for therapy in the city.

He was frying the bacon when Skye walked into the kitchen.

“Love that book, the characters and environments are so alive… though I really want to go to London now.” Skye grinned, and for a moment the slightly haunted look that had been there from the first moment Thom had laid eyes on the man disappeared. Then it was back, just like that.

“Yeah, I haven’t been to London for about ten years. I’d really like to go back too.” He smiled, and they spent a pleasant moment talking about what Thom had seen and what Skye especially wanted to see.