An hour later Dave and Jason walked back into Pete's room together. They couldn't hide that they were up to something, and Pete was instantly suspicious. "What have you two been up to?"
Jason looked at Dave and then back at Pete. "I can't lie to you, Pete. Dave took me over to his house."
Pete's smile fell as he looked from Jason to Dave and back to Jason. They were both looking guilty. He was scared.
Dave glanced at Jason. "You want to tell him or shall I?"
"You better tell him, Dave." Jason said looking at the floor.
"Tell me what? Are you playing around with my boyfriend, Dave?" He was on the verge of tears
"I'm old enough to be his father," Dave scolded. "Do you honestly think I'd do a thing like that?"
"Well, no... but you're both acting awfully weird."
"Tell him, Dave, before we get into trouble here." Jason said, grinning. That confused Pete. Why would he be grinning?
"Alright." Amusement danced in Dave's eyes. "Pete, Jason and I... ah... well, we thought it would be fun if....."
Jason couldn't stand the suspense. He blurted out, "Pete, Dave is giving us his house, so you have a place to recuperate. He even hired a nurse to look after you during the day while I'm in school. I'll stay with you at night. And we'll have the whole house to ourselves." Jason was so excited he was nearly dancing.
Pete's expression darkened. "That was mean." Then it blanked as it dawned on him what Jason was saying. Dave was grinning like a Cheshire. Pete's expression became incredulous. "Are you telling me I can get out of here?" he asked. "Oh, Dave you're the best. How can I ever thank you enough?"
"Pete, I hate to remind you, but you're in here because of me. If I'd had my wits about me when I stepped into the street, you wouldn't be in here to begin with. Anything I can do to make your life better I will."
* * *
Pete discovered that having his arm in a cast that stuck out in front of him was a bigger handicap than he'd previously thought. Jason was helping him dress. He'd gotten Pete's legs into his jeans and was pulling them up around his hips while Pete was using his one hand to tuck his goodies in. Jason accidentally goosed him and got struck in the head when Pete jumped. Pete was sure that he had decapitated Jason. And then when Jason started zipping him up, he got hard and that made a difficult task impossible. Dave was making matters worse by sitting back and laughing while he watched.
The cast held Pete's arm out level from his shoulder, it covered his whole upper rib cage and shoulder. Dave had foreseen that a regular shirt wasn't going to work as long as he was in the cast, so he'd bought several large football jerseys. They still had to be cut up the side to get past the support that held his arm up. But at least, for the moment, it covered the fact that his pants weren't zipped.
"Maybe I'd better just wear elastic band sweats until I can use both hands again."
"You'll get the hang of it," Dave said, encouraging him. "Jason will just have to keep his distance until you do."
"Yeah, Pete, I'm just thankful that you didn't break both your arms. I love you, but I don't know if I'm ready to wipe your butt for you."
"Jason!" Pete scolded, and then turned to Dave. "Dave, are you teaching my boyfriend how to embarrass me?"
"Gee, Pete. It seems he doesn't need any lessons. He's pretty good at all by himself. I would never have imagined having to wipe you cute little butt."
Jason fell backward onto the bed laughing.
"Oh God." Pete muttered. "My face is going to be permanently red with you two taking care of me."
When they got into the car, Pete attempted to fasten his seat belt and in twisting his body around, managed to conk Dave on the shoulder. It was a good thing that Jason was already buckled up in the backseat, for he would surely have rolled off the seat he was laughing so hard.
"Dave? Can that nurse take care me at night, too?" Pete asked glaring over the seat at Jason. "Otherwise, I won't ever get any sleep with Jason laughing at me all the time."
"Sure, but what happens if he finds you funny, too?"
"Well....HE?"
"I thought you'd be more comfortable with a male nurse."
"I'm sorry Pete. I promise I'll try not to laugh again. Besides, I know you'd really rather have me taking care of you than some old man."
They managed to get Pete into the house without another incident. There was a recliner in the livingroom that he immediately headed for, and fell back into it with a sigh.
"I'm bushed."
There was a knock on the door. Jason was closest, so he opened it. His mouth fell open when the big muscle bound man dressed in whites smiled at him.
"Hi, I'm Jim Provost. Is Mr. Gates here?"
"Y-Y-Y-yeah. Come in." He couldn't help but gawk at the big muscular nurse.
"Hi, I'm Dave Gates, come over and meet your patient. Pete, this is Jim, the fellow that will be here to help you until you get the cast off. Jim, this is Pete Peterson."
Pete's eyes nearly fell out of his head as he took in the sight of Jim's muscles.
"Hi, Pete, nice to meet you." Jim said, his perfect white teeth sparkling as he spoke. Pete didn't notice them; his eyes were riveted to Jim's biceps.
"Cool." Was the only word that Pete could get his mouth to form as he stared with a foolish grin plastered across his face.
Jason stood transfixed by the door. He watched Pete's reaction to the big man and felt totally inadequate. His small body pulled in on itself making him feel even smaller. How could he compete with a six foot giant that was perfect in every way?
Dave broke up the moment by offering to show Jim the layout of the house.
"When I moved out, I left nearly everything here. So there's sheets, towels and------"
Jason was barely aware of Dave's dissertation as he disappeared down the hall with Jim following.
Pete watched Jim's muscular bubble butt until he was out of sight, then he turned to Jason grinning. "Man, he's something, isn't he?"
Jason had watched Pete's reaction to the muscular nurse and suddenly felt completely out of place with Pete's question."Yeah, he is something. I've got to get to class," he mumbled and ducked out the door before Pete could object that he didn't have a class that afternoon.
Pete had difficulty making the chair move into an upright position so he could get out of it. He struggled to his feet and trotted to the door. "Jason, come back." he yelled at the diminutive young man who was already a half block down the street.
Jason stopped. He didn't want to leave. He really had no idea why he had fled. He turned to look back as Pete stumbled down the steps and crumpled to the ground. He ran back, his heart in his throat, afraid that Pete had hurt himself.
Dave and Jim heard Pete yell and both hurried back to the livingroom to find it empty. Jim rushed to the door and saw Jason kneeling with Pete's head in his lap.
"Don't leave me. Please, don't ever leave me, Jase." Pete was near tears.
"You don't need me." Jason scoffed. "You've got that big muscleman to take care of you now."
"Yeah, but I don't love him. I love you, Babe."
They were both oblivious to Jim standing over them.
"Besides," Jim said, kneeling beside the two younger men "I've got a very jealous boyfriend and he's bigger than me." They looked up at the big man. "Come on, let's get you back inside."Jim scooped Pete off the ground as if he weighed nothing, carried him inside and laid him on the lounger. He turned and glared at Jason. "And you," he said as he picked him up. Before Jason could react, Jim had deposited him on Pete's lap. "Stay put. I can't be having my patient running out the door every time you decide to leave." He grinned to take the sting out of the command. Dave stood to the side watching with a worried grin on his face.
Pete grinned at Jason's shocked expression. "I like that guy," he whispered in Jason's ear and lay back exhausted from all the exertion.
Jason looked to see that Jim and Dave had disappeared into another part of the house. He relaxed against Pete and laid his head on his chest. "Yeah, he's a take charge kinda guy, isn't he? I sure will be glad when you get this cast off. It doesn't make a very good pillow," he grouched.
"Jase... why did you run off like that?" He had his good arm around Jason holding him tight. He kissed the top of Jason's head.
"Scared I guess. I can't take care of you like he can. I couldn't even drag you into the house. He can take care of you a lot better than I ever could."
"So?"
Jason didn't respond.
"Don't you realize that you've become more important to me than my family? I was willing to lose them when I told them I was gay, but I don't think I could survive losing you, Jase. I just don't think I could."
"But why? I'm just a scrawny little runt with nothing much to offer."
"You've listened to those stupid jocks too much. You may be diminutive in stature, but you are not a scrawny runt. You're beautiful, perfectly proportioned and muscular. I love looking at you, with your big brown eyes. Your lips are so kissable. I love touching your hair - it's so shiny, so soft, it's blacker than a raven's wing. Your skin is nearly translucent, it glows with vitality.
"You're so alive. You awake people around you and make them see the beauty around them. You have a beautiful voice. You're so talented, you're going to be a great architect one day, and a famous artist. You see the beauty in everything around you. You have so much to offer. But the best thing I like about you is that you chose me to love. When you are near me, my heart sings with joy. You make me happy. I love you, Jason."
"And you're going to be a great writer one day, Pete. I've never heard anyone who can talk like you do."
Pete smiled as he lay there with Jason on his lap, the top of his head under his chin. They were both quiet for a moment. Jason noticed that Pete's breathing had evened out and he was quietly snoring. He soon relaxed into sleep, too.
* * *
"They can't be comfortable like that." Jim commented as he and Dave walked back into the livingroom.
"I know Jason's got to be exhausted with the schedule he's been keeping. He's been by Pete's side every moment that he's been able to spare from school and his studies."
"If you will carry him, I'll take Pete, and we'll just put them to bed." Jim said as he picked Jason up and deposited him into Dave's arms. Jason sighed and snuggled his head against Dave's neck.
Pete awoke as Jim picked him up. "You're making me feel like a child. I can walk you know."
Jim grinned at him. "Stop grousing and enjoy it."
In the bedroom Jim laid Pete in the middle of the big queen size bed and stepped back. Dave laid Jason's sleeping form next to him. Pete maneuvered Jason's head onto his shoulder with his good arm as Jason rolled up against him, flinging an arm over Pete's chest. After pulling their shoes off, Jim laid a blanket over them, tucking an edge of it under Jason's chin where it lay on the edge of Pete's body cast. Pete smiled a 'thanks' to him and contentedly closed his eyes and was soon back to sleep.
* * *
Hours later Jason moved his head and raked the roughness of the cast against his face. Awakening, he realized he was sleeping against Pete. He became aware that Pete had his arm wrapped protectively around his shoulders. He slowly raised his head and looked into Pete's grin.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself you horny little bugger."
"Why are you calling me that?" Jason asked, stretching.
Pete chuckled.
"You've been humping my thigh for the last half hour."
"Oh my God, I'm sorry Pete."
"Hey, don't be. I loved every second of it. As soon as Jim leaves tonight I'd love to make love to you."
"But I thought we had agreed to wait until we got a place of our own next semester."
"We have a place of our own now."
"But what about our commitment vows?"
"Jason, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."
"You know that I feel the same about you, Pete."
"Then as far as I'm concerned, we are married. We can still have a ceremony if you want, but it won't make us any more partners than we are right now."
"I love you so much, Pete. Shall I go tell Jim to get the hell out of here so we can fuck our brains out in private?" Jason grinned slyly up at Pete.
"Nah, He's fixing dinner for us. Let's at least wait until we've eaten."
"I'm not hungry for anything except you, Pete." But at that moment Jason's stomach loudly growled, disagreeing with what he'd just said.
Pete laughed. "You can't lie worth shit, Jase."
Jason sat up and moved off the bed.
"Alright, I'm starved, but I'd still rather munch on you."
He padded into the bathroom to relieve himself. Pete struggled to get over to the edge of the bed where he could roll off onto his feet and then followed Jason.
Pete rolled back onto the bed as Jason put his shoes on.
"I'm going to go see if I can help with dinner," he said as he left the room.
Before Jason could open his mouth when he entered the kitchen, Jim said, "Well it's about time you woke up. Peel those potatoes in the sink. And then cut them into one inch chunks."
"I don't know who the hell you think you are. But just because you're Pete's nurse doesn't mean you get to boss me around."
"Feisty little bugger aren't you? Now if you would do as I ask, we'll all have dinner a little sooner."
"You're worse than my father. You didn't ask, you just told me to peel the damned potatoes."
"So do it and stop hassling." Jim towered over Jason with his huge hands on his narrow hips.
Jason glared up at him. "You may be five times bigger than me. And you may scare the shit out of me. But FUCK YOU. I am out of here. You can explain to Pete why I left."
Jason stormed out of the kitchen, picked up his books and backpack off the dining room table and left the house, leaving Jim staring at the door with an opened mouth, knowing he'd just fucked up... royally.
Jason had felt minuscule every time Jim looked at him. He'd be damned if he was going to put up with it, and being told to peel potatoes as if he were a servant was just too much. 'Damned arrogant asshole! Just because he's so big and I'm so small is no reason for me to put up with that kind of crap!'
A couple of hours later as he lay on his bed in the dorm staring at the ceiling... he was still fuming. He regretted leaving without telling Pete, but he wasn't going to put up with that monster male nurse. And that was that!!
There was a quiet knock on his door. Jason's heart jumped into his throat as he wondered if Pete had come clear across campus. He jumped off the bed and flung the door open ready to scold him for being stupid. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared up at a man that was even taller than Jim and just as muscular.
"Hi, my name is Jake. May I come in and speak with you?"
Jason looked up into a kind gentle face, and fell under his spell. Jake wasn't just handsome, there was something that made him just about the most beautiful man Jason had ever seen. His soulful brown eyes pleaded to be let in. Jason let go of the door knob and stepped back. He couldn't make his vocal cords work.
Jake ducked his head through the doorway and stepped over to Pete's bed and sat down. He knew that his height and size intimidated people, so by sitting he didn't tower over them. Except with Jason's diminutive size, he still did. Jason crept back to his bed and sat down across from him. He drank in the big man's looks. His square chin, firm lips, straight nose and closely cropped brown hair made him perfect for a marine recruiting poster. Jason suddenly realized that Jake was speaking.
"Jim can get kinda bossy sometimes... I guess it comes with the job. And I reckon he kinda looked on you as a kid 'cause of your size. He didn't want to leave Pete by himself, so he called me and asked if I would come apologize for him. He said to tell you that he will treat you with respect when you come back. And Pete needs you back there. So will you go back to the house with me?"
Jason nodded his head, but didn't move. Jake held out his arms to him.
"Come're, let me give you a big hug. You look like you really could use one right now."
Jason slipped off the bed feeling like he was ten years old and stepped between the big man's legs. Jake gently enfolded him in his arms. For the first time in his life, Jason felt what it would be like to have a father's loving embrace. His dad had never hugged him, even as a child. Jason couldn't remember ever being touched in a loving manner by the man. He relaxed into Jake's chest and hugged him back.
"Yep, I could tell you needed this. You and I are going to be great friends."
* * *
Jim met them at the door. "Jason, I want to thank you for coming back. I was totally out of line speaking to you like that. I promise I will respect you from now on. I guess that I'm just a big bossy ol' nurse. Please, forgive me?"
"That's alright. I'm used to being treated like a little kid." Jason's voice was resigned. Jim may have said the words, but Jason didn't think they meant much. Only time would tell.
"Well, you shouldn't have to be used to it. I'm sorry that I treated you that way. I admitted to Pete what I had done and he's pissed at me, too."
"I'm not mad any more. And thanks for realizing I'm not a child."
Jake was standing behind Jason with his hands on his shoulders, watching his lover apologize. He squeezed lightly. "You're more of a man than I would've been. I would've punched his lights out."
Jason grinned up at him. "Yeah, right. Like I could do that. Besides, I don't think you really would. I'd better go see Pete. He's such a worry wart."
A couple of hours later, after sharing a delicious, simple dinner with Pete and Jason, Jim and Jake had cleaned up the kitchen and left. Jason and Pete sat at the kitchen table doing their home work. Pete slipped his shoes off and was rubbing Jason's leg. He didn't have any socks on because someone had to help him put them on, and his shoes he could just slip into without help. He started to get a hard on, feeling Jason's hair with his toes. Jason was doing his best to ignore the effects of being touched by Pete... but not succeeding very well. He reached down and grabbed Pete's foot and propped the heel between his thighs on the chair seat and commenced to massage his toes with his fingers. Jason wet his forefinger and slid it between Pete's two biggest toes as he intently studied the book in front of him. Pete lay back and moaned.
"Oh man, I can't concentrate with you doing that."
Jason gave him a devilish grin, stuck his finger in his mouth again and then slid the well-wetted finger back between his toes.
Pete let out a guttural groan. "To hell with studying. I want you so badly. Let's go to bed, Jase."
Jason slammed his book closed and stood up. "I've just been waiting for an invitation."
"You don't need no invite. Let's go."
Pete lumbered to the bedroom with Jason following like a little puppy. He was so excited he was bouncing. Having been raised by a mother that only went to church on Easter and Christmas, and a father that didn't go at all, he wasn't religious. His love for Pete was the only reason for going along with waiting for this special time. Having played the devil's advocate when Pete had earlier expressed his desire, was only to make sure that he wouldn't have any regrets not waiting until they had made public vows. He'd dreamed of making love to Pete since they first met in their dorm room. Now it was going to finally happen.