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Will sighed loudly. “Charlie said something to you.”
“No!” Kairo exclaimed, not even bothering to claim he had no idea what Will was talking about.
“Commanded,” West corrected without lifting his eyes from his phone. “He commanded us to not tease you, and threatened our balls.”
Ed snickered and headed up the stairs, wisely escaping the conversation.
“It was way too early to have my balls threatened,” Kairo muttered into his mug. He then gazed up at Will and smiled. “Is there a specific time you need to do your hospice round?”
Will’s brain locked up for a second. Kairo had changed the subject completely. He’d fully expected there to be comments or questions about him and Charlie, but there was nothing. They seemed willing to let it pass entirely as if it was no big deal.
But it wasn’t a big deal.
It was just sex.
He was simply another of Charlie’s random hookups. They’d seen plenty of them over the years and probably got used to turning a blind eye to the steady stream of people strolling out of Charlie’s bedroom. He was no different. The sooner he remembered that, the easier it was going to be for all of them.
“There isn’t a set time, but I always try to stop by between nine and ten in the morning. Carlos is the only one I see at the hospice center and the visit takes about an hour, but I can make it shorter if you think my presence will put anyone in danger.”
West made a soft noise of dissent. “We got your back. You do your job as normal.”
Kairo smiled at him. “No worries, Doc Will. We got you.”
Will opened his mouth to argue or apologize for the trouble, but he shut it without saying anything. He wasn’t accustomed to having people watching out for him. He’d been on his own almost entirely for the past six years. In fact, when things were going wrong, people were usually turning to him for help, protection, or advice. Besides, Charlie wasn’t the type of person to do something simply because he felt obligated to do it. If Charlie didn’t want to do something, he didn’t. It was very likely the same for his friends. If they didn’t want to help him, then they wouldn’t.
But they were right there, keeping him safe, and it felt good.
“Thank you,” Will said at last. “Thanks for everything.”
“We’re happy to help you with this,” Charlie replied from the doorway. Will jumped, sloshing the hot coffee across his hand. The fucker moved like a damn cat. How had he gotten through this creaky old house without making a sound?
Charlie grabbed a dish towel as Will switched the hand holding his mug. He tried to take the towel from Charlie, but the stubborn man snatched Will’s hand instead and carefully wiped off the coffee with tender care.
“How much stuff do you have at the house? Will it take long to pack?” Charlie inquired.
“Not much. It shouldn’t take more than fifteen or twenty minutes to pack everything.”
It took him two tries to steal his hand from Charlie. He moved to the other side of the room, as far from the coffeemaker as he could get and still be in the kitchen. It was safer to not stand next to Charlie right now.
“Okay. We’ll leave after Ed gets out of the shower. We’ll tackle the house before heading to the hospice. Kairo and Ed will bring your stuff back here while we’re at the hospice,” Charlie announced.
West lifted his eyes from his phone at last and exchanged a look with Kairo. Both men nodded and suddenly left the room without another word. A minute later, they were walking out the front door.
“Where—” Will started.
“Kairo and West are going over to your place ahead of time. Kairo said that no one went into your house overnight, but they’re going to make sure no one is lingering in the area, waiting for us. Ed will ride with us.”
At least they weren’t going to be totally alone together in the car. Ed would be the perfect buffer. Yes, this was going to be okay. Right now, the only problem ahead of him was staying in the same house as Charlie. They were definitely not sharing the same bed again.
Buffers.
The house was full of buffers. As long as West, Ed, and Kairo were around, Charlie would behave himself and Will wouldn’t be tempted.
Except the buffers refused to stay as close as he wanted.
At the house, Ed emptied the bathroom of his supplies, Kairo cleaned out the kitchen, and West patrolled the neighborhood like a stubborn specter who refused to vanish with the light of day. Charlie, on the other hand, remained attached to Will’s hip, helping him to pack his belongings in the bedroom.
To make matters worse, Ed, Kairo, and West all returned to the safe house with Will’s belongings while Charlie alone accompanied him to the hospice.
