Page 16 of Inevitable

“Shit!” he muttered as he rubbed his palm over his forehead.

Bas didn’t like the panic in his own voice. He liked things in order and liked when he was in control of things. This was the furthest thing from that. He was in way over his head, so he grabbed his phone and called the twenty-four-hour nurse line for starters.

Following the instructions of a perky nurse on the other end of the line, he lifted the hem of Ezra’s shirt. No rash, at least. Small victories. He did have difficulty breathing, but the nurse seemed to think that was mostly the fault of Ezra’s stuffed nose. He wasn’t vomiting, and there hadn’t been any seizures or muscle cramps.

“Okay, based on what you’ve told me, it sounds like it’s just a high fever, but if any of the following symptoms occur, get your friend to the hospital at once.” She proceeded to rattle off a bunch of warning signs, each one more daunting than the last.

“Confusion, hallucinations, or swelling in any part of the body,” she finished, way too chipper for the dire situation.

“Jesus Christ,” Bas muttered as he watched his sleeping houseguest. “Okay. I can do it. I’ll just… keep an eye on him.”

“You do that, sir. Let him rest and try and get some liquids into him.”

Bas ended the call and looked down at Ezra.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he told Ezra. “I won’t freak out and take you to the hospital right now, but you have to promise not to die on me.” He went to his bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. “First of all, I hate dead bodies,” he said as he got back to the living room and placed the clothes on the side table. “And second of all, I don’t think Drew would forgive me if I let something happen to you on my watch.”

6

Ezra woke up disoriented, nose still filled with snot and throat dry and sore.

He looked around the unfamiliar space, trying to figure out how he’d ended up there. His heart started a rapid tattoo in his chest as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

What the hell had happened to him?

And more importantly, where the fuck was he?

“You’re up.”

A voice from the doorway made him snap his head to the left so quickly that an uncomfortable hot surge shot up the back of his neck.

The man… Ezra had seen him before. It took a moment to remember.

“You’re Drew’s…” His voice was scratchy from disuse. When he tried to clear his throat, it only brought on a coughing fit so violent that it made his eyes water.

“Here.” A glass of water was pushed in his direction.

Ezra took it and gulped most of it down in one go.

“Thanks.”

“So you remember me, huh? I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m very memorable. Then again, your fever was so high I was beginning to fear your body would fry your brain and wipe out all the memories of our time together. Phew. I’m glad we managed to dodge that bullet, at least.”

A faint memory of sitting in a diner and talking to this man—Bas, Ezra suddenly remembered—emerged from the foggy depths of his mind.

“How did I get here?”

“Taxi.” Bas grinned. He was different from Drew, Ezra noted absently. Where Drew had been composed and serious, his boyfriend—friend? roommate? whatever—seemed more easygoing in comparison.

Just as ridiculously attractive, though. Bas’s hair was a startling black color and his eyes the most vivid green Ezra had ever seen. He had sharp cheekbones and a dimple in his left cheek that made him look a bit boyish. Here was a man who had charm to spare and knew how to use it. In short, Bas couldn’t have been more different than Ezra.

“You brought me to your home?” Ezra asked. The answer seemed obvious, but his brain felt too sluggish to process any information. Spelling everything out seemed to make the situation easier to grasp.

“It was either that or leave you there to freak out the waitress.” Bas took a seat on the edge of the bed, and Ezra tugged the sheet closer around him. It was ridiculous. He wasn’t naked or anything. Instead, he was wearing a soft, long-sleeve T-shirt and comfy sweats. He frowned as he looked down his body.

“Where are my clothes?”

“I didn’t think you’d be that comfortable in damp jeans. I didn’t want to go through your stuff, so I lent you my clothes. We’re about the same size. It all worked out.”