Jason swallowed, and grimaced, rubbing his throat gingerly. “Well, I am. This virus thing is bullshit.”
“No kidding. You know, since you don’t mind spicy food, my mother has a recipe that’s good for the throat and clearing out the sinuses.” Blake drummed his fingers on the counter. “Damn it, I can’t remember the whole recipe. I should call her.”
Jason chuckled. “You’re not going to tell your mum you’re nursing an ill rentboy back to health, are you?”
Blake laughed. “I don’t know that she’d be surprised, but . . .”
Jason’s eyes were suddenly huge. “She knows? That you, uh . . .”
“God, I hope not. But considering how long it’s been since I’ve had a boyfriend, I’m sure she’d prefer a rentboy habit over working myself to death.”
“A rentboy habit?” Jason laughed, punctuating it with that deep cough. “You make it sound like I’m a hit of crack.”
“Well, maybe not crack . . .” But it was an oddly fitting description, wasn’t it? “Anyway. About that recipe. In the mood for something spicy?”
“There isn’t much I won’t eat at this point if it means I can fucking breathe.”
“In that case, let me make a phone call . . .”
One long call, a trip to the grocery store, and an hour of prep work later, and the kitchen smelled like every breed of chili imaginable. Blake ladled the steaming soup into two large bowls.
Jason gestured at the second bowl. “You’re having it too?”
“Damn right I am. If there’s even a chance I’m going to get what you’ve got, maybe I can scare the microbe away before it sets in.”
Jason glanced at the bowl, then at Blake. “Exactly how spicy is this?”
“Only one way to find out.” He winked. “And for the record, sick or not, I do like it. So no, you don’t get it all.”
“Fine.” Jason clicked his tongue. “And here I thought you’d gone to so much trouble strictly on my behalf.”
“To be fair, I did offer to take you to the doctor. If you knew how much I hate doctor’s offices, you’d understand how altruistic that was.”
“Mm-hmm. Well, now I’m glad I didn’t take you up on it, if they’re that bad.”
“They are. Here.” He slid the bowl closer to Jason. “And there’s more than enough for seconds and leftovers, so have as much as you want.”
“Thanks.”
They moved into the living room. Jason set his soup bowl on the armrest beside a box of tissues and a bag of eucalyptus drops, and Blake balanced his on his knee.
Jason carefully blew on a spoonful, then tried it. After he’d swallowed it, he coughed a couple of times. “Jesus H. Christ.” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “You weren’t joking about it being spicy.”
“At least I warned you. The first time my mom made it, she told me it was ‘a bit strong.’”
“I suppose it’s ‘a bit strong’ in the same sense that the Thames is ‘a bit dirty.’” He coughed again. “I don’t think there will be any blowjobs occurring in this house tonight.”
Blake laughed. “I didn’t think there would be anyway. Not with you feeling like that.”
Jason sighed. “Sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry about.”
“This fucking microbe ought to explain itself, though . . .”
“I think the drugstore carries the Neti Pot if you want to try waterboarding it.”
His eyes widened. “Uh . . . no. That’s okay.”
“No sense of adventure whatsoever.”
“Not when it comes to that, no.” Jason met his gaze, and they both chuckled. He swallowed some more of the soup. “Thank you again. I really do appreciate this.”
Blake patted his leg. “You wouldn’t be sick if I hadn’t brought you on that flight.”
“No, but I think we were both looking forward to something a bit . . . healthier.”
“It’s all right.” He smiled. “You’re still good company.”
They locked eyes again, and Jason returned the smile, but didn’t say anything.
After they’d finished, Blake took the dishes back into the kitchen, and then settled beside Jason once more. They pulled a blanket up over their laps, and Blake wrapped his arm around Jason’s shoulders.
With his free hand, he picked up the remote. “So, any movie preference?”
Jason shrugged beneath Blake’s arm. “Not a porno, if it’s all the same to you.”
Blake laughed. “You’re no fun.”
Jason elbowed him playfully. “You can watch one if you’d like. I won’t guarantee I can do anything about the results, though.”
“Fair point. How about some comedy?”
“Comedy would be perfect.”
They scrolled through the movies Blake already owned, then went through what was available for download before finally agreeing on a couple of Adam Sandler movies. Not exactly high comedy, but stupid enough to keep them both entertained for the evening.