RoadBlock (5 page)

Dagger sighed. But if both his mother and Calderon felt this way, he supposed there was a good reason to be cautious. “
Really?
I guess I can…I mean, my boss is in the coven. I can explain it to him and he’ll probably let me work from home. Some of the other guys will be pissed, vacation time in August is a big deal. I’ll have to go in every day to pick up and drop off. And he’ll probably still want me to go out on the road. Our big clients expect us to come to them and fix their issues. Maybe you can come with me if we get any service calls?”

“I can do that.” Calderon smiled, relieved. He didn’t know why, but the idea of separating was filling him with fear, and he’d learned never to ignore that feeling. He turned to Wade next. “How about you, Wade? What do you do for work?”

“Uhh... Well, I’m kind of between jobs right now. That’s sort of why I was on a week-long bender. I was a personal trainer at the country club, but I got in a fight with the manager and she fired me.”

Betony snorted. “I’d love to hear that story.”

Wade smirked at her and folded his arms on the table. “You assume I started it, don’t you? Believe me, honey, you have no idea the level of bitch I was dealing with over there.”

“Tell me, then. What was the fight that got you fired about?” Her brown eyes were sparkling with amusement and she leaned in, mimicking his posture.

“Well. There are these rich assholes that come every summer, there are probably a dozen families. They move in to their summer houses, and spend every day at the club. Its basically
their
club, not many year-round locals can afford the dues. So the rule of thumb is, we give them whatever the hell they want. There are these five kids, from about seventeen to twenty years old, who started hanging out in my gym, and scheduling training sessions with me. They’re spoiled little pricks, but whatever, it’s my job, so I made them all specialized routines, meal plans, the whole package, you know? And then Lammas weekend was coming up, and I had put in for the days off, and the little fuckers started giving me shit! Saying they can’t go two days without training, that it’s going to mess up their whole program. Which is bullshit, they just wanted to get into the gym alone, but that’s against policy.
Someone
has to be there, or the idiots will hurt themselves and sue the club. Anyway, they took it to the manager, and she demanded I work the days. I said no. We argued. It got a little personal. She fired me.”

“A little personal?”

“Well…I may have called her an evil cunt.
Possibly
.”

Betony shook her head and clucked her tongue at him, but she was smiling. “Okay. You’re right. You didn’t
start
it. What are you going to do for work now?”

“I was going to ask for my job back. Its actually not the first time the bitch has fired me. And if she says no, then I’ll look into the other gyms, I guess.”

Calderon was just pleased that Wade had nothing standing in the way of him living with them for a short time. Dagger’s situation was more manageable if the rest of them were free. “So, Wade, can you call your mother?”

“Oh right, sure!”

Wade pulled his phone out and got up, pacing the living room as he spoke to his mother. From the comments they overheard, it was clear Wade hadn’t called his mom in a while. After he finished apologizing, and explaining the basics of the situation to her, he said, “Thanks, mom. I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you, too,” and hung up.

He looked at the others as he slipped the phone into his pocket. “Early afternoon. She gets home at two tomorrow, so anytime after that is good.”

“Great.” Dagger was starting to get a little stressed about this whole thing. At first, the mystery of Calvin’s longevity charm and the possibility of some kind of adventure with Calderon was exciting. Now, he was panicking about having to take an unplanned vacation, and remembering the worried look on Cal’s face when he had said they needed to stay together, and the worried tone of his mother’s voice on the phone last night, was freaking him out. “Can we talk about all this, Cal? I’d like to know how serious this really is, and what else you know.”

Calderon nodded. He hated that Dagger was nervous, and wished he could reassure him, but the only information he had was going to make things worse. “Let’s go sit in the living room, and we’ll all talk about it.”

They cleared the dinner plates and sat around the living room. Betony nestled into an upholstered side chair, Wade and Dagger took opposite ends of the sofa, and Calderon stood, pacing in front of them.

“I know this is serious, and there might be some danger. I know we need to stay together, or we won’t succeed. I think that something is going to happen in the next few days. I’m fairly sure, now, that there is more than just this particular coven at risk. We need to stop whatever the threat is here, or it will continue to destroy witches, moving from coven to coven until our people are decimated.”

Dagger ran a hand through his short hair, ruffling it. “Listen, Cal, I don’t want to sound like a wimp or anything, but…I’m not exactly superhero material, you know? I fix computers, I surf, and I move small objects with my mind.
That’s it.
I’m not prepared to stop anything that might be capable of ‘decimation’! I think we might be screwed, here.”

Calderon shook his head sharply. “No, Dagger, you can’t think like that. I don’t know why your skill is important to us, but it is. You don’t have to be a superhero. Together, we will be enough.” He sat next to Dagger and laid a hand on his knee. “We’ll be okay.”

“You
know
that? Or are you just saying it to make me feel better?”

“I’m almost sure of it.”

Dagger huffed out a little half-laugh, and laid his head on Cal’s shoulder. Calderon wrapped his arm around Dagger, pulling him in closer and kissing his temple softly. Betony watched them with a small smile and very carefully avoided looking at Wade. “So, I guess we’ll find out more tomorrow, then.”

Wade watched Dagger and Calderon with a touch of jealousy. He hadn’t had anyone in his life he could lean on like that for a long time. And never would he be able to show such vulnerability after knowing someone only a few days. But Dagger had always been open in a way that Wade never could be. It was one of the reasons Wade had always liked Dagger, and trusted him. If it wasn’t for that trust, and the unsettling attraction he felt for Betony, he would have bailed on this whole thing already.

“Hey, guys? I’m pretty tired. Should I sleep in your old room, Dag?”

“Sure. I guess we’ve all had a long day.” Dagger started to get up, and Calderon reached out instinctively, unwilling to break their embrace. He caught himself quickly, but not before Betony noticed the slip. She had seen her brother kissing Dagger before she went inside the previous night, and knew they must want to be together. Cal gave up a lot for her, always taking care of her, thinking of her needs first. He hadn’t had a boyfriend in a long time.

“Hey…Wade? Maybe you could sleep here?” She cringed a little as she said it, knowing he might misinterpret her intentions.

“Really?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, I think Cal and Dagger would appreciate being together, and I know I can trust you, so…yeah, if its okay with Cal, I mean.”

Calderon was blushing furiously, but he held his head up and answered, “Bet, only if you’re sure you’ll be okay.”

“I’m sure. Wade will stay in your room, and he’ll be here to protect me if necessary.”

Calderon nodded, then dragged a hand over his face, embarrassed that his sister had just set him up to sleep with Dagger. Dagger chuckled softly, not embarrassed at all. “Betony, that’s really thoughtful of you.”

Wade rolled his eyes, “Okay, so now that we all know Dagger is getting laid tonight, I’m going to go grab my stuff and get some sleep.” He got up and walked past Cal, who was now slumped forward, his face buried in his hands. Wade patted his back in a congratulatory way as he passed him, and Calderon groaned.

Once Wade returned with his bags Cal and Dagger said a quick goodbye, Cal’s face still burning.

“I should have packed a few things.”

“You don’t need anything, Cal.
Relax
.”

Calderon closed his eyes and let Dagger hold him, trying to enjoy the moment and forget about his earlier embarrassment. Wade would probably be a big part of his life from now on, and there was no reason to be self-conscious in front of him.

“I just can’t believe Betony said that.”

“She was being nice. We’re adults, Cal, and we don’t need to be ashamed of anything. It’s all right, really.”

“I know. You’re right.”

“Good, so let’s focus on what’s important right now. I think I could use a shower. Want to take one with me?”

Calderon smiled, his face warming in a different way. “Yes.”

Dagger grabbed some towels and led Cal to his bathroom. He took off his shirt and tossed it into the hamper, following it quickly with his shorts and briefs. He turned around to find Calderon still fully dressed, staring at him with his mouth slightly open. “No clothes in the shower, Cal, come on.”

Cal knew he should move, or answer, but the sight of Dagger had him paralyzed. He was a beautiful man, all lean golden muscle and long lines, and Cal swallowed hard and whispered, “You’re gorgeous,” without thinking. Dagger smiled and walked up to him, lifting Cal’s shirt over his head. “
Thank you
. Pants, now.” He gave Cal’s jeans a pointed look, and Cal removed them. Dagger snatched up the clothes and checked the tag on the pants, then nodded. “You can borrow a pair of mine tomorrow. You want me to throw these in the laundry?”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

Cal watched Dagger scoop up all their clothes and toss them into a straw hamper in the closet. His body was mesmerizing to Cal- the tan, the soft hair on his arms and chest bleached golden from the sun, the flash of pale skin that his bathing suit would cover. Then he was walking back towards Cal, a hungry look in his eyes. He dipped his mouth to Cal’s chest, licking a line down to his tight nipple and sucking it softly. Cal moaned his approval, and Dagger pressed their bodies together, moving up to take Cal’s mouth.

Dagger broke the kiss before it could get too heated. Cal had him crazy with lust, but he wanted to go slow tonight. If he kept kissing him they’d probably end up fucking on the bathroom floor. He turned and started the water, climbing in when it was warm. Cal followed him, and for a few moments they just stared at each other, the water sluicing over their shoulders.

The shower was small, and they had to stand so close their erections brushed together. Calderon closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. He really didn’t want to cum in the shower, especially after his ‘performance’ during their kiss the night before. Dagger was all business now, though, and quickly soaped himself thoroughly before moving on to Cal. Cal kept his eyes closed as Dagger washed him, and the sensation was unbelievably intimate.

He’d had a few serious boyfriends, and a lot of casual ones, but he’d only shared a handful of showers, and never had anyone washed him this way. It wasn’t sexual at all, more like Dagger just really wanted to get the job done and move on to the bedroom, but the feeling of Dagger’s hands on him, rubbing gently, was most definitely
sensual
, and Calderon let himself enjoy it. Too soon he heard the dull thud of the soap bar landing in it’s dish, and felt the spray from the showerhead rinsing him off. When the water stopped he opened his eyes, and found Dagger’s face inches from his own, his hands braced on the wall on either side of Cal’s head.

“
Fuck
, Cal, you are so hot,” Dagger leaned in for a quick kiss, and then pulled back, grasping Cal’s hand as he stepped out of the shower. They dried themselves quickly, and were still mostly damp when they tumbled into Dagger’s bed. For several feverish minutes they were a tangle of limbs. Groping, twisting, kissing roughly, until Dagger wrenched himself free, panting. “I want to go slow, Cal. I want to enjoy this.”

Calderon nodded, scooting up the bed to lay his head back on the pillow. Dagger followed, kneeling between Cal’s legs and running his hands up and down his chest, before leaning down and kissing Cal slowly. The kiss was gentle and sweet, and so different from the hard and sloppy kisses they’d just shared that Cal’s stomach fluttered. Dagger groaned and dragged his hand down Cal’s body, pausing at his hip, then reaching back to cup his ass. He reached under and pulled Cal’s leg up, resting it over his own hip. Without any lube he wouldn’t be able to penetrate, but he played his fingers over Cal’s ass anyway.

Their kiss grew more intense, Cal sucking at Dagger’s lips, thrusting his tongue inside. And Cal’s hips were rocking, pressing against Dagger’s fingers. Dagger smiled. This might be all the ‘slow’ they could handle, for now. He broke their kiss and reached over Cal, grabbing a condom and the bottle of lube. He rolled the condom over himself first, then slicked himself and his fingers.

Cal watched Dagger prepare to fuck him with nervous anticipation. He always knew how sex would go, always used his foresight to determine if someone would be a good sexual match for him, and could usually be more aggressive, knowing that his partner would respond as expected. But now, with Dagger, he was completely in the dark. This might be great, or awful, and he had no idea. Even realizing Dagger would top was a little bit of a surprise. Cal loved bottoming, but he could go either way. Usually he just knew what was right, he’d never had to read those kinds of signs from anyone before.