about.
“It is, but I’m not nauseated, and that precedes the headaches,” Sambit said.
“Are you sure?” Derek said. “I mean, I know it usually does, but isn’t it possible that you skipped a step?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Sambit said, “but my dosimeter readings aren’t anywhere near the levels they would need to be for the radiation to make me sick.”
“Yes, but everyone is different. It makes sense that people would react differently. Do we need to call a doctor?”
“Derek, I’m fine,” Sambit said. “I’ll take an Advil and lie down in a quiet, dark room for an hour or two, and I’ll be all better.”
Derek hesitated for a moment, but the need to help outweighed the fear of being refused. “I could rub your shoulders for you if you think it would help. If it’s really tension and not radiation, it might help you relax.”
“If you don’t mind,” Sambit said. “Usually I would try meditation or some stretches, but I usually get to that point before my headache gets this bad. I’m not sure mind over matter will be very successful when my mind hurts too much to concentrate.”
“Take off your shirt,” Derek directed, “the outer one at least. You can leave your undershirt if you’d be more comfortable.”
Sambit shook his head, unbuttoning the oxford shirt he wore and tossing it aside before stripping off his undershirt. Derek had seen him without the outer shirt yesterday, and he’d felt his own muscles strain as they practiced yoga that morning, barely able to hold some of the strength poses that Sambit did with ease, so he knew Sambit had to have some muscle, but that didn’t prepare him for the sheer beauty of the bare torso. His chest, not darkened by the sun, was closer to the color of teak than mahogany, with a patch of dark hair in a triangle across it, narrowing to a thin band that arrowed down into the waistband of his trousers. He could have posed for any of Derek’s magazines in a heartbeat.
“Lie down,” Derek suggested. “You’ll be more comfortable, and if you fall asleep, you can stay there instead of having to move later.”
“Let me take some Advil and then I will,” Sambit said. Derek watched as Sambit dug in his bag and fished out the analgesic. He swallowed it dry and stretched out on the cot, twisting one way and then the other as he tried to get settled. Derek told himself to stop being ridiculous as his mouth watered at the sight. Sambit may have been lying down, but he wasn’t lying down for Derek, not in that sense. He was getting ready for a backrub intended to ease a tension headache. Nothing more.
So why did it feel like so much more?
Derek closed one hand around the back of Sambit’s neck, kneading the tight muscles with firm pressure. Sambit’s skin was warm beneath the pads of Derek’s fingers, the fine hairs on the nape of his neck creating an erotic friction against Derek’s skin despite his determination to keep this friendly, nothing more. He took a deep breath, smelling the spicy hint of days-old cologne beneath the sweat on both their bodies, and it added to the growing sense of intimacy. Ordering himself to concentrate on the matter at hand and not on all the lascivious things he’d do if the situation—and the man—were different, he moved his hand down to Sambit’s shoulder, his other hand joining the first to work at releasing the tension in the tight muscles. Sambit might be gay after all, and he might even be willing to give Derek a chance in this arena, but a relationship couldn’t work between them, and Sambit wasn’t the type for a fling. Derek might be more adrift than he’d felt in years where another man was concerned, but he didn’t think he’d lost all judgment about his potential partners.
“You feel awfully warm,” Derek said as he continued the massage. “Are you sure you aren’t feverish?”
“There are other reasons besides a fever to have heated skin,” Sambit said softly, his eyes
“It is, but I’m not nauseated, and that precedes the headaches,” Sambit said.
“Are you sure?” Derek said. “I mean, I know it usually does, but isn’t it possible that you skipped a step?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Sambit said, “but my dosimeter readings aren’t anywhere near the levels they would need to be for the radiation to make me sick.”
“Yes, but everyone is different. It makes sense that people would react differently. Do we need to call a doctor?”
“Derek, I’m fine,” Sambit said. “I’ll take an Advil and lie down in a quiet, dark room for an hour or two, and I’ll be all better.”
Derek hesitated for a moment, but the need to help outweighed the fear of being refused. “I could rub your shoulders for you if you think it would help. If it’s really tension and not radiation, it might help you relax.”
“If you don’t mind,” Sambit said. “Usually I would try meditation or some stretches, but I usually get to that point before my headache gets this bad. I’m not sure mind over matter will be very successful when my mind hurts too much to concentrate.”
“Take off your shirt,” Derek directed, “the outer one at least. You can leave your undershirt if you’d be more comfortable.”
Sambit shook his head, unbuttoning the oxford shirt he wore and tossing it aside before stripping off his undershirt. Derek had seen him without the outer shirt yesterday, and he’d felt his own muscles strain as they practiced yoga that morning, barely able to hold some of the strength poses that Sambit did with ease, so he knew Sambit had to have some muscle, but that didn’t prepare him for the sheer beauty of the bare torso. His chest, not darkened by the sun, was closer to the color of teak than mahogany, with a patch of dark hair in a triangle across it, narrowing to a thin band that arrowed down into the waistband of his trousers. He could have posed for any of Derek’s magazines in a heartbeat.
“Lie down,” Derek suggested. “You’ll be more comfortable, and if you fall asleep, you can stay there instead of having to move later.”
“Let me take some Advil and then I will,” Sambit said. Derek watched as Sambit dug in his bag and fished out the analgesic. He swallowed it dry and stretched out on the cot, twisting one way and then the other as he tried to get settled. Derek told himself to stop being ridiculous as his mouth watered at the sight. Sambit may have been lying down, but he wasn’t lying down for Derek, not in that sense. He was getting ready for a backrub intended to ease a tension headache. Nothing more.
So why did it feel like so much more?
Derek closed one hand around the back of Sambit’s neck, kneading the tight muscles with firm pressure. Sambit’s skin was warm beneath the pads of Derek’s fingers, the fine hairs on the nape of his neck creating an erotic friction against Derek’s skin despite his determination to keep this friendly, nothing more. He took a deep breath, smelling the spicy hint of days-old cologne beneath the sweat on both their bodies, and it added to the growing sense of intimacy. Ordering himself to concentrate on the matter at hand and not on all the lascivious things he’d do if the situation—and the man—were different, he moved his hand down to Sambit’s shoulder, his other hand joining the first to work at releasing the tension in the tight muscles. Sambit might be gay after all, and he might even be willing to give Derek a chance in this arena, but a relationship couldn’t work between them, and Sambit wasn’t the type for a fling. Derek might be more adrift than he’d felt in years where another man was concerned, but he didn’t think he’d lost all judgment about his potential partners.
“You feel awfully warm,” Derek said as he continued the massage. “Are you sure you aren’t feverish?”
“There are other reasons besides a fever to have heated skin,” Sambit said softly, his eyes
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