Jase kissed him and laughed. “I have a dirty mind and I'm a pervert. But that's only because I love you so much. You make me think that way.”
Luis reached up and rested his palms on Jase's shoulders. Though Luis knew he might never get back to his real life if he submitted to Jase that night, he couldn't fight the love he felt for Jase any longer. He sighed and leaned into Jase's wet body. When he did this, Jase placed his palms against Luis's naked back and lowered him to the floor. He rested Luis in the middle of the fluffy blue blanket and climbed on top of him. He pulled down his zipper and pointed his dick toward the softest spot between Luis's legs. Luis pulled him closer and wrapped his legs around Jase's wet pants. And when Jase entered him, Luis opened his legs as wide as he could and forgot all about why he'd been crying.
Chapter Fifteen
Before Luis opened his eyes, he heard The Reverend von Klingensmith's voice chanting in an incoherent language. Then he heard his son, Hunter, calling his name in the distance. He felt a surge of panic pass through his body. These weren't clear sounds. They were more like muffled whispers floating through his head and he couldn't seem to focus on them, or grasp them, for longer than a second.
Then someone reached for his hand and he opened his eyes. He glanced to the right and looked into Jase's eyes. He looked over Jase's shoulder and saw dozens of ornate flower arrangements set against stark white walls, set upon shelves and furniture he'd never seen before. He blinked and rubbed his eyes with his other hand. He took a quick breath and said, “Jase, you're old again.”
Jase squeezed his hand and smiled. “Excuse me. I'm sorry I don't look my best. I've been up for the last twenty-four hours waiting for you to wake up.”
“Where am I? What happened?” The room looked vaguely familiar. But he couldn't quite place it.
“You're in the hospital,” Jase said. “We're in Anchorage. It's the same hospital room in ICU where they had my father when he had his heart attack. After you went down at the reunion, I had you flown to Anchorage so you'd get the best care. You hit your head hard and they had to sedate you and keep watching over you for the last forty-eight hours.” He leaned forward and a tear ran down his cheek. “I've never been so frightened in my life. I thought I was going to lose you. You've never seen me scream and shout at people so much.” He wiped a tear and smiled. “You would have been so embarrassed.”
Luis glanced to the left at a wall of sealed windows. There was a flat screen TV in the corner and a gray vinyl chair below it. “I'm in the hospital?”
“You had an allergic reaction to the shell fish at the reunion,” Jase said. “Your throat closed and you lost consciousness. That's how you went down and hit your head. You almost died. In fact, the doctors are shocked you're actually alive. They lost you twice and revived you.” He was still so emotional about this he had to turn away and wipe his eyes.
“I'm not allergic to shell fish,” Luis said. “I'm not allergic to anything.” For a moment, he thought he might be dreaming again.
“Sometimes it happens,” Jase said. “At least that's what the doctor's said. People can develop allergies at any point in their lives. And you've got it bad with shell fish. You almost died from the reaction. But the fall on top of that made it worse.”
Luis was beginning to remember. The crab had been so good, and he'd been so starved, he couldn't stop eating it. Then he remembered his throat closing and becoming light-headed. He sent Jase a glance and said, “I had the strangest dream. I went back to 1986 and you were eighteen years old. You drove me around in your Grand National.”
Jase laughed. “I haven't thought about that car in years.”
Luis took a quick breath. “I kept trying to tell you to leave me alone because I was afraid I'd ruin our future together. But you wouldn't listen to me. I ran to Tennessee and there was a huge snow storm in June. You followed me there. You wouldn't leave me alone and I couldn't fight you. I wasn't strong enough.”
Jase leaned closer to Luis's side. He looked into his eyes. “I will never leave you alone. I love you too much and you should know that.”
“You didn't have any money back then,” Luis said. “You were a poor eighteen year old guy starting out in the world. And I loved you as much then, without money. It didn't matter to me. Nothing mattered to me but being with you.”
“You always say if I were to have a reversal of fortune you'd still stick by me,” Jase said.
“I'll prove it,” Luis said. “Give everything you own away today. Do it right now. And see what happens. I'm not going anywhere.”
Jase laughed. “We don't have to get that dramatic. Rich is way better.”
Luis didn't disagree. “I also saw my Uncle Frank. He'd just been diagnosed with AIDS. I tried to help him. He was so kind to me. I'd almost forgotten what a kind man he was.”
“I'm sorry,” Jase said. “I know how much you loved him and wanted to help him stay alive. I remember how devastated you were about him dying when we first met.”
Jase didn't have to say another word for Luis to understand he hadn't been able to change his uncle's future. He smiled. “No, it's wasn't bad this time. It was nice seeing him.” He decided not to mention what had happened with the Reverend von Klingensmith. There were some things about his trip back in time he wanted to keep private.
Before Jase could speak, the door of Luis's room opened and Luis glanced at a man in a dark suit. The man carried a book in his right hand. He wore a black turtle neck sweater and a black leather sport jacket. He seemed to be about the same age as Jase and he had a well-trimmed dark beard. At first Luis couldn't place him, but then he pointed and said, “Alec Stark, is it really you? You're not in a wheel chair. You're walking.”
Jase and Alec exchanged glances. They ignored Luis's remark about the wheel chair.
Alec sent Luis a smile and said, “Yes, it's me. I wanted to stop by on my way to the airport and drop off a copy of my latest novel. It's a new release. Hope you're not into reading e-books yet.” He set the thick book on the tray next to the bed.
Luis smiled. “I'm totally not into e-books yet. I'll make this the last print book I ever read before I do get into e-books.”
Jase stood up and walked toward Alec. He put his arm around him and said, “This guy has been great through all this. He helped me get you here and he's been waiting with me the whole time.”
“You're not in a wheel chair,” Luis said. “You didn't go to Betsy Melchiorri's swimming party after all.”