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Patrick looked around at everything and took in the signs. ‘Welcome Home’ and ‘Get Well Soon’ covered most of the posterboard-sized well wishes.
When we got to the front door, Michael stood behind us with our hospital bags as the door opened. Adam stood in the doorway.
“Welcome home!” he whisper shouted. “Simon has been here for half an hour holding a lecture on your care and reminding those big bruisers in there to keep their volume down and use their inside voices.”
Adam raised one brow in Adam fashion. “If you ask me, he’s been watching a little too much Barney on TV.”
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Patrick. He let go of my hand and hugged Adam back. They held on to one another for a long minute. The two of them were closer than brothers. “Don’t do this again, big boy. I can’t take it.”
Patrick chuckled and wiped at his eyes. “I’ll try not to.”
“Good. I’m going to hold you to that. Now go say a quiet hello to your visitors. They’re not staying long, but wanted to welcome you home. They brought food, too. Wasn’t saying no to that.”
He stepped back inside and Michael opened the door wider, like the guard he was. Patrick walked in, steady on his feet and with a smile on his face, to find our friends quietly waiting.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I pulled him into a hug. He was my brother, by all accounts. Adam hugged me tightly, then clapped me on the back. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
Stepping in, I closed the door. “I’ll be in there in a moment.”
Adam nodded as I headed to our bedroom. As I walked through, I took in the neatly made bed we shared and ran my fingertips over the dusty dresser as I walked into the bathroom.
While it was good to be home, I couldn’t help but wonder how long I’d be here after Patrick remembered the cause of the accident. He had at least three-to-four months of physical therapy ahead of him before he’d be able to even think about going back to football. Simon had warned him there was a possibility he wouldn’t be able to play again. The thought terrified me.
Standing in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror, I ran my hands over my face before turning on the water. I needed to wash my face and get myself together before facing everyone. But before I could do that, Patrick wandered in and closed the door behind him.
I twisted to face him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, taking my face in his hands. “I just needed a moment alone with you.”
He pulled my face to his and tilted my head, instead of his own, to kiss me. His tongue slipped into my mouth as a familiar desire came back to life throughout my body. I moved closer and Patrick growled at our connection. Our bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Always had.
My arms slipped around his waist, and I held him to me. I loved him so much, and this was a reunion of sorts. But we also had a house full of guests, and neither of us needed to go out there hard. So I ended the kiss and pulled back.
“We have company out there.” I nuzzled my face into his neck.
“I know. But I needed that first. I needed to feel close to you.”
I nodded, letting that be enough. Patrick had always been the incendiary for me. One look from him could send me up in flames.
When our racing hearts had slowed, I kissed him on the dimple in his chin. “Let’s go.”
He nodded and took my hand as I reached around him and opened the door.
“I hope they don’t stay long,” he grumbled. “I just want to crawl into bed and hold you and love on you.”
I groaned and stopped him. “Please, please don’t say that out here in front of everyone. We don’t want to offend them with your new unfiltered mouth.”
Patrick bit his lip and smiled. “Will you punish me?”
“Don’t do that,” I chided, tugging him toward where our friends waited.
The sound of his laugh made me ridiculously happy. I’d been so afraid I’d lost him.
When we walked into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at us. I could feel the heat from embarrassment crawling up my neck.
“We just needed to…” I trailed off as Patrick took over.
“I needed to kiss the fuck out of him, with tongue. He wouldn’t give me any in the hospital.”
