Page 20 of Teddy Tea Time

The shower is still running when I reach the closed door. Instinct to break down the door almost overrides my common sense again, but I don’t know where Ash is on the other side. If they are just on the other side of the door, I could hurt them.

“Ash?” I call out loud enough to be heard over the music. “You okay?”

The sound of something solid hitting the door followed by a string of profanity has me both relieved and more worried. I gently push on the door to get it open, giving them time to move if they are in the way, or to minimize harm if they can’t move.

“Gimme a minute, Jace,” Ash grits out in a strained voice. “I can’t… fuck, it’s not easy putting on panties with only one hand…”

After meeting no resistance, I force my way into the room against their sputtered protests. My first reaction – much to my own shame – is a flash of arousal at the sight of my neighbor leaning against the wall with a pair of black lace panties around their thighs, just under a cock that I would love to have buried down my throat.

“Fuck, Jace!” Ash yelps and almost falls over in their haste to turn around, giving me an unobstructed view of what is probably the most perfect ass I have ever seen… just enough cushion without needing to use hands to spread those cheeks.

And… is that a birthmark or a tattoo?

My arms shoot out to pull them against the front of me. How did I never notice just how tiny they are? Do clothes really hide that much? They aren’t exactly short, so I didn’t realize… I can feel almost every muscle in their back tense, and I barely resist the urge to start fondling them. The hiss of pain that comes out when they try to push away from me has my gaze dropping to see the swelling on their left arm.

What the fuck is wrong with me? They’re obviously hurt, and I’m here ogling them.

Carefully, I help them regain and hold their balance with my hands on their shoulders so that they can get covered up. They relax a bit after managing to awkwardly tuck themselves into the lace, so I lead them to sit on the closed toilet seat and turn off the shower.

Fuck, that’s some icy water.

“How long was the shower running to get this cold?”

The thought of Ash being in pain for the thirty plus minutes it usually takes for the tanks in these mobile homes to run out of hot water has me damn near seeing red. I don’t think Gerry and I were gone much longer than that, so it must have happened right after we left.

“I wish it was because I ran out the tank,” Ash mutters after successfully pulling on the basketball shorts that were previously sitting on a shelf behind him. “I need to check the pilot on the tank and shoot an email to the landlord.”

They stand up with a grimace and head towards the front of the home. Part of me doesn’t want to let Ash out of my sight, but a decently sized part of me below the belt needs to calm down a bit before I face them outside of the emergent situation we were just in.

The music cuts off and more profanity drifts back to me, sending me scrambling to get to the living room where… Oh, shit. The front door’s frame is splintered. In my rush to get inside, I was not exactly gentle with the door.

“What else?!” Ash yells to the sky and grabs at their hair, only to start cursing at the pain in their arm.

They merely glare at me as I help them to sit on the chair at their desk. It’s higher and honestly easier to get out of compared to trying to get up from the thrift store couch in front of the window.

I feel horrible.

“Hey Ash!... Woah… what happened to your door?”

Gerry stops on the little deck outside and doesn’t cross the threshold. His smile falters when he sees how Ash is only wearing shorts and holding their arm tightly against their chest.

“Your brother happened,” they say with a dark look at me before offering a much gentler one for the boy in the doorway. “I had the music up too loud that I didn’t hear him knock and I guess he heard me yell when I banged my arm in the bathroom.”

The look on my little brother’s face flashes between concern for Ash and reproach for me. Instead of having the takeout date we were both looking forward to, Gerry decides we are taking Ash to get his arm looked at. I don’t miss the trepidation on their face, but they don’t fight against the stubborn as hell eight-year-old leading them to the sliding door of my Odyssey.

18

ASH

I don’t know what was discussed between Jace and our other friends during the four hours we were at the urgent care, but by the time he pulled into the space between our homes, there was a piece of plywood where my front door should be, and my California king platform bed had been relocated to a bedroom in Jace’s home.

“Go get some rest while I reheat the food from earlier.”

Of course, Jace is ignoring all of my protests that I shouldn’t be putting him out like this. I never agreed to move in here. It doesn’t matter that I don’t have a functional front door or hot water in my home at the moment. It’s not right or proper…

Okay, so I might have noticed the way Jace licked his lips during the mortification earlier when he literally caught me with my pants down. I had to rush through covering up before my dick decided to reciprocate the interest.

The pain was actually a necessary evil for those few moments. Thank every divine being that ever existed for the fact that I am absolutely not a masochist.