What little wind was blowing was hot, dry, and dusty, making every lungful of air difficult to draw in. Ducking his head, he focused on not falling over as waves of dizziness washed over him. Breathing grew tougher, his heartrate picked up, trembling and disoriented seconds before he hurled all over the side of the rock. Scratchy rough granola and dried apple chunks forced their way out of his stomach at a rapid rate, leaving him trembling as he slid off the boulder onto the red clay below. Joy, now he was freezing and the black spots danced so rapidly he couldn’t even determine if the sudden chill was a good or bad thing. Wrapping his arms around himself, he pressed his back to the boulder, hugging himself as he wretched again. In between bouts of dry heaves his teeth chattered. His vision narrowed to a clump of scraggly bush inches away. Dimly, he heard the crunch of tires on gravel, too weary to raise his head and determine if it was real or a cruel mirage.
​
“Hey! Hey buddy, are you okay?”
​
What a stupid question, he’d have laughed at the sheer absurdity of it if it wasn’t taking so much effort to keep from falling flat on his face. Running his tongue over parched, cracked lips, he tried to moisten them enough that they wouldn’t bleed when he tried to speak, but his tongue was too dry to produce anything.
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“How long have you been out here?”
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Nash rolled his eyes upward to see a dark-haired angel looming over him with the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen. Go figure he’d be at his most wretched when meeting a guy as beautiful as this. His stomach twisted, cramping hard enough that he dug his fingers into the red dust to keep from screaming.
​
“Shit, shit, shit, can you hear me?”
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Nash groaned, though it sounded more like a weak croak. He heard footsteps hurrying away and wanted to beg him to stay, but he lacked the energy to speak. It could have been seconds, or years, he didn’t know, couldn’t keep track, before an arm slid around him and lifted him up enough that he could make out the blurry form of a water bottle being pressed to his lips. Latching on to it with both hands he gulped until he choked and promptly hydropumped it back up.
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“Whoa, hey, you can’t drink it that fast,” the angel said, trying to pull it away, despite Nash’s attempt to pour what was left over his head. “I think I’d better call an ambulance.”
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“N-no,” Nash croaked, letting go of the water.
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“Look man, you look like you’re in really rough shape. I doubt you’ll be able to ride that big machine of yours, even if you can stand.”
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“B-broke down anyways, so…” Nash stammered as another bout of bone rattling tremors begin again.
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“In that case, you’re in luck. I can load it up on the tow rig if you want and take you wherever you need to go.”
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Nash heard the Angel’s offer but comprehending it took several seconds of intense concentration that made his head throb and his stomach threaten to rebel again.
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“Dunno where to go,” Nash groaned. “Was just passing through.”
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“Seems like your bike had different ideas.”
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Nash groaned, loud and pathetic, with half a mind to tell the guy to just leave him there to die.
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“Come on, I’ll help you into the cab, then load your bike. You just got to promise me you won’t puke in there.”
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“Dunno you well enough to start lying to you just yet,” Nash muttered, but he did his best to help the gorgeous angel get him to his feet even if the world slid left and threatened to fall off its axis the moment he was vertical.
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“If you pass out on me I’m calling an ambulance, no ifs, ands, or butts. I’m not gonna watch you die of an overdose of stubborn. That so isn’t on my agenda for the day.”
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“Then leave me here, why don’tcha, didn’t ask for your help anyway,” Nash grumbled, making a half-assed effort to swipe at the angel’s hands. Why the guy didn’t just drop him in a heap and be done with him he didn’t know, but the angel kept moving, dragging Nash along like a petulant child.
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“You might not have asked for it, but you sure as hell need it. You look like you’re a half-step away from heat stroke. Now come on, the cab’s air conditioned and there’s some aloe gel in the glove box. You’d better slather some on before your arms starts to sting. You’ve got one hell of a sunburn there.”
​
Exhausted, conserved what energy he could by not dignifying that with a response and instead focused on putting one foot in front of the other until they reached the truck. The blast of cold air that nailed him when the door was opened was the best thing he’d felt since the blowjob he’d gotten in the back room a Huston club three days before. Damn did it feel good.