Chapter 3

He used condoms though, that’s the thing. As long as he keeps it

covered…isn’t that how it works? Shields engaged, no Klingons

breech the hull, and the bridge is safe, right?

Right?

Through

half-closed eyes, the older man notices Jason’s look and gives him

a wan smile. At the desk, in that confrontational voice of his,

Wesley tells anyone who cares to listen, “You can give me the

card.I’mhis

companion.” As if the nurse might argue the

point.

Companion. For some reason the word

calls to Jason’s mind images of the two men strolling down

leaf-strewn paths or lingering in bed naked between the sheets. He

wonders who tops who. He’s heard older men can hold out during sex,

make it last, keep it up longer and harder anddamn, but that makes him hurt. In

his mind he sees himself spread out across an unmade bed, white

sheets twined around his legs and pillows crammed beneath his head

and chest to prop him up. He sees this older man above him, this