elbow. “I wonder if getting beaten up made me tired. Can’t think what else it might be.”
“Remember that egos are fragile? And I still have my gay guy learner plates.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”
“Bed all right?” Tay came into the room on his crutches.
“Want to try it out?”
Ah. He’d found a way to make Tay blush. Tay took his arms from his crutches and sat down.
“Finished your work?” Ink asked.
“Yep and sent it in. Someone is fiddling the books.”
Ink gently pulled him back until he was lying down and Tay scooted backwards.
“This is the best bed I’ve ever had,” Ink said.
“You haven’t even spent the night in it yet.”
Ink chuckled. “That’s true.”
“I don’t want you to. Well, not without me.” Tay leaned over and kissed him, his touch a feathery brush along Ink’s lips. “I like kissing you.”
“I knew I was right about the bed.” Ink grinned. “Kiss me again.”
Tay wasn’t gentle the next time. It was a kiss that would have blown Ink’s socks off, had he been wearing them. Lips, tongue and teeth in play, demanding Ink respond in kind. The kiss grew more desperate, their hands clutching and grabbing. Ink’s groans of pain when his bruises were touched were muffled and swallowed as they ate at each other. When the need for air finally overpowered their lust, they broke apart and panted into each other’s face, breathing each other’s air.
“Fuck,” Tay gasped. “I only came in to see if you wanted lunch.”
“You mean you’d like lunch.”
“Yes, please.”
Ink pushed to his feet and pulled Tay to his. “Your wish is my command.”
“Is it?”
“No.”
WHEN IT CAME TIME TO set off for the hospital, Tay worried about Ink pushing him in the chair, though Ink insisted he was fine which he changed to good when Tay frowned at him. Dog had been fed and was now lying in the sun in the main room. Tay had persuaded Ink to put on one of his shirts, a white cotton one, and he looked so hot in it that Tay’s mouth had gone dry. He wanted to buy Ink more clothes, but suspected he’d encounter resistance. Don’t try to buy him repeated in his head.
Once they were inside the hospital, Tay walked with his crutches and Ink pushed the chair.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” Ink asked.
Tay nodded. Once he’d confirmed his arrival at the neurology department reception, they sat in the waiting area and kept smiling at each other. He knew Ink was still holding stuff back and unless he stopped doing that, how could they move forward? Tay needed it to be more than sex between them. It was more than sex, for him anyway. He got that it was a bit weird, Ink moving in before they were in a relationship, but this was the most excited and optimistic Tay had felt for a long time.
He’d emailed his parents and his sisters that morning, just to reassure them he was still alive. He’d told his mum how well he and Ink were getting on. A little bit of him wanted to say that Ink was his boyfriend, but maybe that wasn’t something to put in an email and he wasn’t sure Ink felt that way. Not yet. Tay very nearly emailed Jonty, then changed his mind. He needed to stand in front of him to tell him he was sorry.
What was he going to do if Ink never opened up to him? Ink had told him he had a National Insurance number so he could work in a proper job, just not his dream job. If Ink was so sure he’d fail the DBS, then any job where he was dealing with the public, including kids, would be a non-starter. He guessed Ink had been to prison. But what had he done?
If Ink’s work options were limited, then he could work for himself, but doing what? And what about going on holiday? Could he get a passport? Why didn’t he have a driving licence? Tay remembered the local authority had offered Jonty driving lessons, but he’d still been terrible after he’d finished the course and hadn’t had the money to pay for more. Maybe each local authority had different rules, but it did make Tay wonder if Ink had had a licence, but been banned from driving after a bad accident. That might explain a lot.
“That’s you,” Ink said.
Tay looked up to see a nurse in front of them. He grabbed his crutches and pushed