It was late but James answered the call. Even before they became a couple, he offered to help Eli if he needed it. That was the promise when he gave Eli his cell number. He hoped, for Eli's sake, that such a call wouldn't come, but when it did James didn't dawdle. He didn't even bother to dress properly, he just threw a hooded jacket over his pajamas to keep the rain off and slipped barefoot into shoes to head over.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he assured over the phone.
And truly, he made no stops, took no detours, and had taken all of five minutes to get from his cozy bed to the road. Seeing the bouncer waiting with Eli took the sharpest edge of worry from James' mind. As soon as he saw them, he pulled into the alley and leaned over to open the passenger door for his young boyfriend. As soon as that door was closed, he put the car in gear and started to drive through to the other end of the alley to get back on the road.
In the dim light, he could tell that Eli was really rattled. Seeing that made his lips press into a thin line and he kept a careful watch in his rearview mirror for anything that might be suspicious.
"She went back to her mom's today." Which meant that they could go back to his place. Even if his daughter hadn't left, he wouldn't have taken Eli anywhere else. Scared and cold? No, he would've let him have the hideaway bed and he'd have taken the couch and worried about making up so story later. James dawdled for a few blocks to ensure they were safe to head back. At the first red light, he wiggled out of his jacket to drape it over Eli.
The ride to James' house was blessedly uneventful. He held Eli's hand the whole time, right up the time he had to let go to unlock the front door. It was late and dark and who in the world would see them? He flicked the foyer light on once they were inside, both of them now wet from the rain, though James significantly less so. In clear lighting, he could still see how upset Eli was. But also... with his hair dripping and makeup smeared, he looked absolutely debauched.
"Wait here, I'll get you a towel and something dry." With that, he vanished into the house. When he came back, James had an oversized towel and some pajamas for Eli. Just a pair of lounge pants and a plain t-shirt. He also had a pair of socks in case Eli's feet were cold, too. "C'mon," he said quietly as he wrapped the towel around the young man's shoulders and used one end of it to tussle Eli's hair so it wasn't dripping. Once satisfied he was dry enough not to drip through the house, he handed Eli the change of clothes.
"Go get changed. I'll get you something hot to drink and you can tell me what happened... if you want." If he didn't want to talk about it, that was fine.
no subject
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he assured over the phone.
And truly, he made no stops, took no detours, and had taken all of five minutes to get from his cozy bed to the road. Seeing the bouncer waiting with Eli took the sharpest edge of worry from James' mind. As soon as he saw them, he pulled into the alley and leaned over to open the passenger door for his young boyfriend. As soon as that door was closed, he put the car in gear and started to drive through to the other end of the alley to get back on the road.
In the dim light, he could tell that Eli was really rattled. Seeing that made his lips press into a thin line and he kept a careful watch in his rearview mirror for anything that might be suspicious.
"She went back to her mom's today." Which meant that they could go back to his place. Even if his daughter hadn't left, he wouldn't have taken Eli anywhere else. Scared and cold? No, he would've let him have the hideaway bed and he'd have taken the couch and worried about making up so story later. James dawdled for a few blocks to ensure they were safe to head back. At the first red light, he wiggled out of his jacket to drape it over Eli.
The ride to James' house was blessedly uneventful. He held Eli's hand the whole time, right up the time he had to let go to unlock the front door. It was late and dark and who in the world would see them? He flicked the foyer light on once they were inside, both of them now wet from the rain, though James significantly less so. In clear lighting, he could still see how upset Eli was. But also... with his hair dripping and makeup smeared, he looked absolutely debauched.
"Wait here, I'll get you a towel and something dry." With that, he vanished into the house. When he came back, James had an oversized towel and some pajamas for Eli. Just a pair of lounge pants and a plain t-shirt. He also had a pair of socks in case Eli's feet were cold, too. "C'mon," he said quietly as he wrapped the towel around the young man's shoulders and used one end of it to tussle Eli's hair so it wasn't dripping. Once satisfied he was dry enough not to drip through the house, he handed Eli the change of clothes.
"Go get changed. I'll get you something hot to drink and you can tell me what happened... if you want." If he didn't want to talk about it, that was fine.