A Beautiful Struggle by Emily McKee Page A

stopped and waited for Iz to open his door. I thanked her then walked in and very carefully laid him down on his bed. I knew he’d be suffering tomorrow from a headache, so I didn’t want to add more problems to that.
    Standing back up , I looked down at Patrick. Even drunk off his ass, passed out, he was still a beautiful man. I had gotten a bit caught up in his appearance when I heard Iz walk over to the other side and place a bottle of water and some aspirin within easy reach.
    I grab bed the little garbage can in the corner of his room and placed it by his bed. Looking over at Iz, I asked, “Are you going to stay the night?”
    “Yeah , I guess.” She smiled. “Thanks, Derr.”
    I nodded. “Anytime. I had a lot of fun tonight.”
    “It seemed like you really like Derrick.”
    “Yeah , we did.” I hesitated. “Well, good night, Iz.”
    “Good night , Derr.”
    I’d just reached the door when I heard Patrick. “Stay.”
    Turning around , I saw Patrick’s glossy eyes staring at me. Looking at Iz, I said, “I guess I’ll stay and you can go, Iz.”
    Nodding , Iz looked down at Patrick. “Well, get better, hotass,” she said as she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.
    After she left the room, I walked over to Patrick . “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    Leaving Patrick’s room , I saw Iz sitting on the couch, holding a bottle of water, waiting for a taxi. Grabbing one from the fridge for myself, I sat down next to Iz. “It seemed like you two really hit it off tonight?”
    I started to nod my head but realized she wasn’t looking at me , so I said, “Yeah.”
    Turning to look at me , Iz smiled and said, “I’m glad. You two looked like you were having some fun.”
    Nodding my head this time , I said, “Yeah, I really like him, Iz.”
    Smiling at me she said, “I’m glad,” and then the doorbell rang , signaling Iz’s ride was here.
    “Well , I guess I better get going, then.”
    Standing up from the couch I walked Iz to the door.
    Leaning up , Iz kissed me on the cheek and said, “Take care of the hot mess, will ya?”
    Chuckling , I said, “Yeah, I will.”
    “Al l right, well, I’ll talk to you two tomorrow, I guess.”
    “Definitely,” I said, waiting for Iz to get in the taxi before I closed the door. Locking it, I then walked back to Patrick’s room to check on him. I decided to take off his shoes so he was a little more comfortable and then covered him up with the blanket.
    I turned to leave his room and then I heard, “Please stay.”
    I saw Patrick sitting up in bed. His hair was all disheveled and his eyes were half closed. With my hand on the knob, I uttered, “I am staying.”
    Shaking his head , he asked, “Will you stay in here with me?”
    My body responded before I could even think about the consequences. I walked over to his bed. “Yes,” I whispered. I saw the biggest, lopsided smile come across his face. I knew that instant the choice I had made was all worth it.
    He scooted over so I had room. I sat down and slipped my shoes off. Laying down in bed, I turned to Patrick to say good night, but he was already asleep. He was laying on his side, facing me, with a little smile on his face.
    Letting out a breath , I smiled and said, “Sweet dreams, Patrick.”
    Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard Patrick say, “Sweet dreams , Derr,” and I knew that whatever struggles we were about to face would all be worth it in the end.

Chapter 6

    Patrick

    “Ugh.” Groaning, I tried to sit up in bed. I quickly realized I would rather just lay there in agony. I couldn’t believe how much I had drank last night. I was just so damn nervous when I met Derrick. Oh my god, Derrick! Sitting up in bed, I yelled, “Derrick!” at the top of my lungs.
    “Yeah?”
    I saw Derrick standing in my doorway with just his jeans on. “What the fuck?” I yelled, jumping out of bed. Placing a hand on my chest, I had to calm my rapidly beating heart. First off he scared the fucking