Jarek finished his set and left the stage, grabbing a towel from the staff member waiting to gather the loose bills from the stage floor. He had one more trip to the stage before he was done for the night and it was hard for him to keep his head in the game. He had had several requests for private dances tonight and he had only managed to make it through them by imagining he was dancing for Gage.
He had heard of dancers getting stuck on customers before and quitting the job, and he could probably afford to finish up his last four semesters for his degree with what he had saved up, but then came the residency. He shook his head to clear it and finished toweling off backstage.
Two weeks after the hospitalization, Gage got his stitches out and was cleared to start getting into his physical therapy, so a few times a week, they would head over to meet with Jarek to work on the exercises he wanted to run Gage through. Jarek would plan it out each day as to how they would start, usually with some type of warmup like walking or the bike, and then moving onto exercises based on how the knee was feeling.
It was less swollen than it was before, and the wound looked far better. It was clear it was going to scar but Gage mentioned that he had so many scars from dirt biking and hockey that one more wasn't a big deal.
They spent most of the time they were working together, and some time afterward, talking about anything and everything. Gage kept to his promise to talk about the LDS religion, but he was very candid with it and with his own experiences in the church. He had some funny church stories that he was happy to tell, like how his dad had knocked his older sister's head against the side of the baptism pool in front of all of their family and the ward when she was baptized at eight, and when his younger sister tried to eat all of the sacrament bread one time.
Gage preferred it though when Jarek did the talking. Gage liked learning about him and his life, even the difficult parts. The more time they spent together, the more Gage couldn't deny to himself that he was falling for Jarek. They hadn't been romantic with each other, and hadn't kissed or anything. The only time they really touched were comforting gestures or ones to show him the correct stance or posture for the exercises, but every single touch felt electric and exciting and Gage was always on edge waiting for the next time Jarek would get to touch him. He wanted Jarek to touch him more and more.
While he was working on rehabbing his knee after the injury, on Mondays, which happened to be their preparation day for their mission, Gage would call home. The phone calls were becoming more tense though. He could tell that something was going on at home, but no one would really tell him what it was.
"You need to be focused on your mission, dear," his mother would tell him sweetly.
"Your mission is your first priority," his dad reminded him.
"Craig's just being a big baby," Kayla, his older sister, said at one point.
"What do you mean, a baby?" he asked, looking over at where Tate was, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's nothing," Craig yelled before he hung up the phone on Gage.
"That doesn't sound good," Tate said while Gage sat there staring at his phone.
"I'll have to call Addison once she's home from school," Gage replied, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously.
When he did eventually get his younger sister on the phone, Addison explained that Craig had snuck away to be with his boyfriend and their dad followed him there. There was a huge fight and it had turned physical. When Craig was dragged back home, his keys were taken away, as was his phone, and he had mostly barricaded himself up in his room for days.
"Dad and Craig get into screaming fights every night," Addison told him. "Dad keeps trying to bring him back right with god, and you know how well Craig takes that. So they scream at each other for a few hours, and then Craig locks the door and won't answer anymore. I don't know how to help him."
"I can try to talk to him," Gage replied. "Do you think maybe Craig needs to just...leave?"
"Maybe," Addison allowed, though she said it hesitantly. "I don't think he'd leave without his car though."
"Thanks, Addi," Gage replied before they hung up the phone. He didn't have any more time for phone calls, so he decided he would call on Sunday to talk to Craig.
They saw Jarek after walking around through the day on Tuesday, after his classes but before his night job. Gage's brother was still on his mind, so he didn't greet Jarek with his normal enthusiasm. Jarek waved but wasn't sure whether or not to intrude on Gage's thoughts when he didn't really respond. He looked to Tate for a hint as to what to do.
"Major family drama," Tate whispered to Jarek before he nudged Gage by pushing on his shoulder.
That seemed to break Gage out of his thoughts. "Sorry. My brother is dealing with some stuff and I've been thinking of what I want to say to him when I call him later this week."
Jarek nodded. "I know you're not encouraged to do such things, but if you need to contact your brother during our visits..."
Gage smiled at Jarek warmly. "I really appreciate that, and I might take you up on it once I figure out what might best help him. You know, you're pretty good at this physical therapy thing. My knee already feels a lot stronger."
Jarek smiled at the compliment, deciding that he would order dinner in for their next therapy session. "What do you like to eat, Gage?"
"I tend to be a meat and potatoes kind of guy," Gage replied. "But I like things like Indian and Chinese food too."
Jarek smiled and nodded, making a mental note. Tate went outside to smoke and read a book while Jarek started Gage on his warm ups. Gage put aside the upheaval he knew was happening back at home to focus on Jarek and the exercises. It was easy to forget about everything but Jarek when they spent time together, and soon Gage seemed like himself again as they worked on strengthening his knee and talking to each other.
By the end, the hardest thing for Gage was not being able to just kiss Jarek. Despite them both admitting they liked each other at the hospital, their relationship hadn't progressed much past the occasional flirty statement, and lingering touches sometimes. It was clear they were both attracted to each other, and wanted to explore that, but both were trying to figure out how to do that under their current circumstances.
Gage waited to call his brother until Jarek was ordering food on that Thursday. He didn't have work after classes so they could sit and eat together. Gage let Tate and Jarek look through the options and order the food while he called Craig.
"Gage?" Craig answered the phone. "Aren't you supposed to not call on your work days?"
"Usually, yeah, but I'm worried about you," Gage commented, which earned a sigh from his brother. "Is the family there?"
