Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 93

"Okay, Jay," Niko opened the door to the condo. "Just remember, you have to be really quiet, okay?"

Jay nodded. He was holding one of the flowers that Niko was planning on giving Solomon. He looked absolutely adorable. Niko just hoped that he could control his energy around Solomon. He knew he couldn't take a toddler jumping on him right when he got out of the hospital.

He had to stay in there for a week, since he could barely move. The doctors told him that he needed at least one more week of bed rest until his back should be healed. And, even then, he needed to take it easy for a little while after that. Niko could tell just how upset he was by all of this. Every time he would come and visit him after work, though, there was always someone there. He was happy for that.

Most of the time it was Ira. It seemed like he had a lot more time on his hands than the last time Niko saw him. When he was younger, the man seemed like he was always busy doing something. Even in court, it seemed like he had a thousand other things on his mind.

But, when he was visiting Solomon, he was focused solely on him. Niko walked in one day to him yelling at one of the nurses for not coming to the room when Solomon had been calling for them. It was easy to see that he was in pain and needed help. As much as Ira seemed to hate Niko, Niko was glad that the man was around. Having someone else to help out while he was taking care of Jay took a lot of worry and stress off him.

The conversations with him, however, were the opposite of that.

"Why are you dating him?" Ira had cornered him in the lobby that day. Those green eyes were piercing through his.

"Because I love him," Niko shrugged.

"Do you really?" Ira slitted his eyes. "Or are you just saying that."

"Why on earth would I say it if I didn't mean it?" Niko asked him. He couldn't help but get a little frustrated at the man. Patience could only last so long.

"The richest bachelor in the state seemed to like his single status not so long ago," Ira crossed his arms. "You were also never seen with any man until Solomon."

"Glad to see you did your research on me," Niko crossed his as well. "Maybe if you looked more into my life, you'd see that I wasn't the exact replica of my parents, too."

"No, you're different from your parents," he told him. "Your parents never slept around with as many people as you did."

Ouch.

"And you really think that's the only thing that's different?"

"What does someone like you, who goes around and sleeps with every woman that even bats an eye at you, want with someone like Solomon?" he asked. "He's not the kind of man you are."

Niko wanted to yell right then. He remembered just how those words burned as he listened to them. He had so many thoughts whizzing through his mind that were dying to get out and fill that room with noise.

But Solomon was in the room right next to them. And he would only get more stressed if he heard them fighting.

"I want to love him," Niko told him. He decided that it was better to answer truthfully and calmly rather than to throw insults at the old man. "That's all I've been trying to do since the day I've met him. Even when it came to holding him as he grieved for Somner."

Ira's face softened a bit as he mentioned his son. It was easy to see on that guilt ridden face that he still missed the man too. Niko didn't want to hurt his feelings, though. He really just wanted him to understand that he wasn't going to hurt Solomon.

"Look," he told Ira. "I don't care if you hate me, or think that I'm not the best fit for Solomon. But can we, at least for the moment, just act like we're okay with each other? For Solomon's sake?"

Ira stared long and hard into his eyes when he said that. It seemed like he was trying to figure out what he wanted to say. After a few minutes, though, he nodded.

"For now," he told him. "Don't think that this is going to last."

"I wouldn't count on it," Niko said. He still smirked just thinking about it. It felt like he had gotten somewhere with the old man at least.

After that, the whole week that Solomon was in the hospital was pretty peaceful. Niko would come over to visit him as much as possible, just to try and put a smile on his face. Solomon really did seem miserable there. There was something that was worrying him that he wasn't telling Niko. As much as he wanted to press him to tell him what was wrong, he didn't want to stress him out.

Now that he was back home, though, maybe he would talk about it. Niko was just happy that he could visit him in his condo rather than the hospital this time.

The first person he saw was Maya. She was in the kitchen cooking again. If that wasn't a sure-fire way of saying that Solomon still wasn't feeling well, Niko didn't know what was. The first thing she did when she saw them walking through the door was put a finger to her mouth. She smiled when she saw Jay running up to her. He gave one of the flowers to her that he was holding.

"Thanks," she hugged him. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail and she had on a pink apron. "But you have to be really quiet."

"Is he okay?" Niko asked her.

"Yeah," she nodded. "He's just sleeping. The trip from the hospital wore him out."

Niko could imagine it would. The doctor had given him a brace for his back so that he could actually sit up. He advised against walking too far yet. When Solomon was trying it out the day before, he seemed to be in a lot of pain. He tried to stick through it, but Niko had to tell him to lay down again. It wasn't worth straining himself over trying to walk too far when he wasn't ready for it.

At least his condo didn't have stairs going to it. That would be the worst for him to deal with considering that foot of his was also hurt. He had to use crutches to get around at the moment. And that, along with his back, lead to a lot of issues with every day tasks.

"Maya," he whispered to her. "Can you watch Jay for a minute or two? I'm gonna go check up on him."

"Sure," she told him. She really loved Jay. It was clear as day on her face. And Jay seemed to enjoy playing with her and talking to her. Niko was sure that he would be occupied enough in that kitchen to not cause havoc for the little while he would be gone. Then again, he really seemed to pick up on when something bad was happening. Because the night that Matilda had found out her grandmother passed he was behaving well, and right now he was practically an angel.

He walked into the dark room. He had missed it the past couple weeks. Living over at his place was lonely without Solomon to cuddle up to. He was thinking of maybe letting Jay spend the night here so that he could have some time with Solomon. He just hadn't seemed like himself lately.

Right now, he was laying straight on his back. That's what the doctor said he should do while his back heals. Laying in any other way could cause a strain on the muscle. And there was no way any of them wanted Solomon to get worse.

He sat down on the bed, right next to where he laid. Solomon looked peaceful when he slept at least. Niko leaned towards him and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He missed being able to hold him like he would before. Even when Solomon was asleep, if Niko went to bed after him, he would unconsciously curl into him. It was better than any sleep medication that money could buy.

Solomon didn't stir at the kiss. The medicine that the doctor gave him must really have tired him out. Medicine for pain always did that, though. Niko was going to get up and leave him be for the moment, when he noticed something.

There was a piece of paper in Solomon's hand. It rested on his stomach. Niko didn't notice before because of how dark the room was, but now that his eyes had finally adjusted, he could see it clearly.

Too curious, he gently took it out of his lover's hand. He didn't need much light to be able to read the bold letters that was on the paper.

It was a letter from his landlord.