Hunger Unleashed

Chapter 31: Jean Broody vs. Bradley Jackson ~ When suppressed desires explode… Appease!

***

Wasn’t Jean taking the whole matter a little too seriously, Bradley asked himself as he took a shower that evening. It was already past eight p.m. and he’d just finished working out but there was still no sign of Jean. What worried Bradley, even more, was the fact that Jean had barely touched his lunch that afternoon. Surely the man must be hungry. Bradley had begun to feel hunger pangs about two hours after Jean had gone up to his room so he’d gone back to finish his food. He couldn’t believe Jean was so mad at him he didn’t even want to come down to eat. Well, if the mountain wasn’t going to come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain, right?

After his shower, Bradley headed for the kitchen to prepare something to take up to Jean. He prepared a club sandwich and added a glass of juice and a mug of delicious hot chocolate, complete with baileys cream and marshmallow topping. Bradley couldn’t suppress his grin as he grated some chocolate onto the marshmallows. He knew that Jean had a sweet tooth so would love the rich and creamy decadent hot chocolate.

When Bradley entered Jean’s room, it was dark and quiet. He balanced the tray in one hand and flicked on the switch, flooding the room with brightness. He thought Jean wasn’t in the room till he looked up and saw him fast asleep up in his loft. Bradley climbed the stairs to where the handsome doctor slept peacefully in his bed with an opened laptop beside him. He placed the tray on the tufted ottoman at the foot of the bed and went to close the laptop. Then he sat on the bed and gently shook Jean awake.

“What?” Jean asked groggily as he squinted at the glare of the light.

“It’s late,” Bradley said softly. “I brought you something to eat.”

Jean stretched and squinted up at Bradley. “What’s the time?”

“Almost nine p.m. according to your bedside clock,” Bradley responded, getting up to go for the tray. “You’ll probably have slept till morning if I hadn’t come to wake you up.” He drawled and then chuckled at Jean’s answering groan.

Jean’s groaned turned into a gasp when his eyes landed on the tray with its goodies. His stomach chose that moment to rumble, announcing just how famished its owner was. Jean couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the hot chocolate. It looked so yummy.

“What’s this? An attempt to make me forget what you did?” Jean muttered as he sat up.

“Will it work?” Bradley grinned.

“No.” With his disheveled hair and the adorable scowl on his face, Jean could have easily passed for a kid.

Before Bradley knew what he was doing, his hand moved up to comb Jean’s hair off his forehead. He couldn’t stifle the smile that widened his mouth when Jean actually blushed.

“He blushes,” Bradley murmured, amused.

“Fuck you,” Jean growled as he moved back to lean against the headboard. “This had better be good.”

And it was. The smile on Jean’s face said it all.

“Good?” Bradley smirked.

Jean gave a thumbs-up as he placed the empty mug on the tray. “Holy shit, what did you put in this cream?” He licked the last bit of the cream.

“Baileys,” Bradley muttered as he grabbed the magazine on Jean’s bedside table. “What are all these knobs on the side of the bed for?” He asked, glancing at the side of Jean’s bed.

“That’s to turn the bed into a thermal massage bed,” Jean responded around the mouthful of club sandwich in his mouth. “You should try it one of these days. It feels great. Hits you in all the right places. Almost orgasmic.” He grinned, making Bradley snort.

Bradley thumbed through the magazine as Jean ate. He felt so comfortable it was almost as if they’ve been living like that for years. Bradley knew he was going to miss Jean when everything ended. He’d lived on his own for years. But for the few times his team, the Arrowheads met to hang out, he was almost always alone. He’d been in a few relationships that hadn’t lasted too long because the women always wanted more than he was ready to give.

He was never too bothered to let them go because deep down, he knew what he wanted. And it wasn’t them. For the first time in his life, Bradley felt at peace. It was almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. He felt free and lightheaded. He didn’t have to pretend around Jean. And knowing that Jean wasn’t judging him also made all the difference.

“This was good,” Jean said and then let out a satisfied belch as he placed his empty glass on the tray. “Pardon me.”

Bradley laughed. “So…am I forgiven?” He looked at Jean who looked right back at him.

“Yeah.” Jean relaxed against the headboard. ”You are.”

“Good. Now, why don’t you tell me about your family?” Bradley closed the magazine and relaxed on his back so that he and Jean were facing each other from the opposite sides of the bed. “If I’m to dine with them on Sunday, then I have to at least know what to expect. Are they anything like you and Dean?”

Jean burst into laughter. “Are you talking about looks or…”

“Why the fuck would I be interested in how they look like?” Bradley snorted. “Are they as crazy as you two?”

“That depends on how you define crazy.” Jean laughed and then proceeded to tell Bradley all about his large family.

By the time he was done, Bradley had a fair idea of the kind of people he was to spend Christmas day with.

“So apart from you, all your brothers are married with kids.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yep. Those kids are terrible but adorable as fuck.”

“Hmm…and I bet you’re being expected to get married and make your own babies soon,” Bradley murmured.

“Surprisingly, no.” Jean chuckled. “My brothers claim in every family, there should be at least one irresponsible bachelor. I’m that person in mine. So no pressure.”

“I see,” Bradley said quietly. “And are you okay with that?”

“Hey, listen to me.” Jean moved the tray and laptop onto the rug and went to lie on his back beside Bradley. “I believe in…” He paused to inhale. “Did you just take a shower?” Bradley smelt divine, Jean couldn’t help but think.

“Uh-huh. I didn’t work out to my heart’s content this morning so I decided to hit the gym this evening. Why?”

“Nothing. As I was saying, I believe in taking things as they come. I don’t expect too much. Life is short so I do what brings me joy. If I meet someone at a point and have the urge to settle down and have kids with the person, I will. It’s just that I don’t live with that as a goal. Society expects you to get married and have kids, right?”

“Right.” Bradley sighed.

“I say, fuck society.” Jean rasped. “Do what makes you happy. I know you think my lifestyle is shitty and…”

“I’m sorry I said that,” Bradley said quickly, cutting Jean off. “But it is shitty.” He drawled, drawing laughter from Jean.

“I agree I act irresponsibly sometimes but…it’s fun to simply let go and act foolish at times.” Jean shrugged.

“Trust you to call that fun,” Bradley muttered. “Booze, women, dru… Do you do drugs?”

“I don’t do drugs,” Jean stated emphatically. “In fact, I don’t even drink that much.”

“Hmm… Tell me about one very irresponsible act you regret.” Bradley asked, rolling onto his side to enable him look at Jean.

Jean laughed. “One very irresponsible act… Okay, I have one that will blow your mind but I don’t think it qualifies because I don’t regret it.” He turned amused eyes on Bradley.