Bad, Dad, and Dangerous

by Rhys Ford

  “Did it for my grandparents. She loved roses, and he gave me his WWII Army compass when I was a kid.” KJ giggled when Thomas dabbed the tattoo with the tip of his tongue. “I lost it. Never told him it was gone because I didn’t want to let him down. Used all my allowance that summer to buy a new one so he wouldn’t know.”

  Thomas wasn’t really listening to KJ’s story. He was too interested in exploring his body with his hands to get the younger man’s attention. The talking was great—getting to know each other was important—but Thomas was on his knees and peeling KJ’s underwear down his hips and was starting to wonder if biting was required.

  Settling on curling his tongue around the tip of KJ’s cock, Thomas was pleased when all he heard was a gasp before KJ twined his fingers into Thomas’s hair, which he took as the universal sign of approval. Humming to himself, he scooted an inch or so forward—there wasn’t much more space between the two of them—and gave in to his curiosity about what KJ tasted like from the base to the end and then wrapped his mouth around him. He took his time, testing what KJ liked and what he didn’t, until KJ’s fingers tightened in his hair and Thomas could hear him.

  “Going to make a mess.”

  “No, you’re not,” Thomas said quickly, gripping KJ with both hands on his hips to hold him as still as possible while he took him over the edge. He released his grip on KJ, letting him settle on the edge of the bed while he methodically—and, Thomas hoped, enjoyably—cleaned up any mess he might’ve missed.

  “You okay?” Thomas asked as he got to his feet. He leaned over for a long kiss, sharing KJ’s taste as their tongues tangled.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Thomas let out a snort of laughter at KJ’s eloquent reply and climbed onto the bed with him, hovering over him on the brightly colored satin quilt, and let out a moan of his own when his cock pressed against KJ’s thigh. And a much louder one when KJ curled his fingers around him. “I should reciprocate.”

  “You could, or I could get a condom and lube out of the nightstand.”

  “I like that idea a lot. Why don’t you do that?”

  Eleven

  KJ LISTENED to Thomas dozing beside him on Thomas’s bed, watching the lights of a few cars shift over the ceiling as they went by. He rolled onto his side, brushing his fingers over Thomas’s biceps in the dimly lit room, entranced by the sparkling magic trails he was leaving on his skin. The colors shifted from red to gold to blue and green before fading away. “Is that from you or me?”

  Thomas’s eyes opened a crack, and he watched KJ scribble. “Might be both. Never had that happen before.”

  “You should’ve seen your hair when you were on the floor.” KJ started giggling and tucked his face against Thomas’s chest until it passed. “Thought your hair was going to stick up like Doc Brown’s.”

  “You’re lucky I like movies, or I wouldn’t get that.” Thomas shifted slightly, pulling a thin blanket over them. “Are the cards still moving?”

  “No, they stopped when you pushed me onto the bed, which is good, since I was afraid they’d watch us having sex.” Not that KJ doubted he’d been watched before. He caught too many sparkles and shimmers from the corners of his eyes on a daily basis to think he was ever completely alone or anyplace was truly private, although other than the now-unmoving sigils on the ceiling, Thomas’s room seemed to be devoid of anything alive or spooky. No fairies darted through the air, and there were no eyes reflecting in the shadows. “This is nice. Quieter than my place.”

  “If we go there next time, I’ll bring some supplies, teach you how to seal off your home. I don’t mind company out there, but I like my room to be mine and mine alone. Nation’s not allowed in here thanks to the wards either.”

  “He’s not normal, is he?” KJ had to ask about the cat. “Star told me he was special, and… yeah, there was a sunbeam on him, but he seemed… well, just weird. I can’t describe it. I could see marks on him, but not when I looked for them. Also, why do you call him Nation when his name is Nathaniel?”

  “I call him Nation because it’s short for Abomination.” Thomas rolled flat onto his back, pulling KJ along with him so he was sprawled across his chest. Thomas’s dark eyes got a faraway look, and his forehead creased. KJ knew from his research that magic users didn’t exactly tell the world about their business, and he was flattered he was hearing as much as he was.

  It definitely meant Thomas liked him—a ton—which was great since he liked him too.

  “I was away for the summer when Star was seven and still going by Estelle. Nathan slipped outside and got hit by a car. She found him in the middle of the alley.” KJ could hear the sadness and guilt in Thomas’s voice, and he hugged him, kissing his collarbone to hopefully make him feel better.

  “He was gone. I don’t know all the details. Jules told me she was devastated—horrified that it was her fault because she’d run off without making sure the door was shut. I hated that I was half the world away when she needed me. Her tears woke me up in the middle of the night, and when I called home, they were both crying when they talked to me. I promised to try to get home early, since they needed me.” While he told the story, Thomas carded his fingers through KJ’s hair, which wasn’t making it easy for him to pay attention.

  “Let me sit up a little. Actually, let me get us something to drink,” he said and then laughed. “Like this is my house. Do you have any beer in the fridge, or a bottle of wine?”

  “How about I get up and make us some tea?” Thomas offered. “We’ve still got a few hours until dawn, and I get by on very little sleep.”

  “And I’m off until August.” KJ slid off the bed and gathered up his clothes.

  “Unless you’re planning on leaving right after,” Thomas said as he pulled open a dresser drawer, “we’re close enough to share pajama bottoms.” He handed KJ a carefully folded pair in black or dark blue—it was impossible to tell in the dimly lit room. “Bathroom’s right there. I’ll use Star’s and meet you in the sitting room or kitchen.”

  THOMAS RAN his finger over his teeth with a gob of toothpaste and then ran wet fingers through his hair. Tugging at the drawstring in a pair of red bottoms, he padded barefooted into the kitchen and filled the kettle. He set a tea chest with a variety of herbal and caffeinated teas on the table along with a bright gold package of instant Vietnamese coffee. He didn’t drink it often enough to have a coffee maker, but sometimes tea did not give him the energy he needed. He also didn’t know if KJ preferred leaf or bean. He pulled a couple of bottles of creamer from the fridge, one vanilla, the other hazelnut, to give KJ another choice.

  He was pouring boiling water over an Earl Grey tea bag when KJ came in. His hair was sticking up, and Thomas would’ve had to be blind to miss the bite he’d left on his shoulder. “Sorry about that.”

  “This? ’Tis merely a flesh wound,” KJ said with a sleepy smile, which grew brighter when he saw the coffee. “Hoping for one on the other shoulder so I can have a matching set, to be honest. Really liked how I got the first one, and thank you for this. I love this stuff.” He tore open a coffee packet and dumped it into a mug, wrinkled his nose, and poured a second pouch in before adding water and leaving room for extra cream. “Sweet and strong enough to put hair on your chest—although that has yet to work for me.”

  While they were talking, Nation jumped onto one of the chairs and peered over the edge of the table. He tilted his head to the side, watching KJ intently, before glancing in Thomas’s direction. “Does he know?” the cat asked.

  “Jesus fucking Christ!” KJ jumped, nearly upending his coffee, and ended up with his back against the pantry door. “He talks!”

  “I hadn’t gotten that far in the story, Nation,” Thomas said before grabbing a slice of American cheese from the fridge. He peeled off the wrapping and broke the slice into smaller pieces for Nation to have a treat. “I was telling him about Star and Jules finding you.”

  “Oh, not the good parts yet, then.” He sat up, placing his fron
t paws on the table, and chewed on a bit of the cheese. Looking over at KJ, he licked his lips. “Star told me about you, Beshter. She thinks you’re amazing. So grab your coffee, get comfy, and Thomas can tell you the rest about me while I eat my treat.”

  Well, that could have gone better or a lot worse. Thomas decided snacks for the two of them would be a nice addition to their hot drinks and would also give KJ something tangible to hold on to while he shared more of Nation’s story. He wouldn’t tell him all of it, even if his gut told him KJ was not a short-term affair. They were drawn to each other physically, mentally, and apparently magically, which was a hell of a surprise. At the very least, he felt a need to teach the man how to cast a personal ward to protect himself.

  By the time he joined KJ in the front room, Nation was leaning against him on the sofa. Thomas could see a small tremble in KJ’s hands, making the surface of his barely tasted coffee ripple. He placed a plate covered in a selection of Girl Scout cookies he’d been hoarding since spring on the coffee table and settled into the other corner of the couch.

  “Stop being an asshole, Nation. He’s terrified of you,” Thomas said as he bit into a Thin Mint.

  “Not terrified. Freaked out, I’ll give you.” The other man shifted and reached for a couple of shortbread cookies and then settled back. Nation made no move to leave his chosen spot at KJ’s side, but he did roll onto his back, offering his belly for a rub.

  “Whatever you do, KJ, do not touch that. It’s a trap.”

  “I was going to ask. My nana had a cat who would throw herself in your way and offer belly, and if you were stupid enough to fall for it, she’d snicker while you bled on the carpet.” He bit into the cookie and then dabbed at the crumbs on his chest with a finger. “If you bite me, you get a coffee bath, which would be a crime, because I really need this right now.”

  “I do not bite without provocation,” Nation informed KJ and then decided to snuggle alongside Thomas instead. “But I know when I’m not wanted.”

  “Really?” Thomas teased and then petted Nation’s side with long strokes. Even after so many years, it felt strange to run his fingers over a hairless creature instead of the fluffball Nate had been. “That never seems to work for me.”

  “Don’t be a dick, Thomas. You don’t want Kevin-James judging you.”

  Kevin-James?

  Thomas sat up, any further tales of Nation’s life forgotten. He’d been looking at KJ all night, had thought about him most of his free time since he’d walked into the shop, but he’d not once wondered what the KJ stood for. He accepted it as his name, and after seeing the compass tattoo, he felt more than a little foolish.

  “You know my name?” KJ wrinkled his nose and set his cup on the coffee table. “I haven’t used it on anything but official documents since high school. Do you have magic Google or something?”

  “Star knows all about you,” Nation told him and then turned his attention to chewing on one of the toes on his back feet.

  “Star,” Thomas said with a sigh, as he scooped up Nation and set him on the floor, and then twisted in the seat to give KJ his full attention. “I am going to be having a very long talk with my daughter when she gets home. I’m sorry if you didn’t mean for anyone to know it.” He decided it’d be best not to tell KJ/Kevin-James about the power of true names for now, although there was considerable debate on which was your true name—the one your parents gave you or the one you gave yourself. Either way, he did not want KJ more spooked than he already was.

  “You’ve had a lot to absorb since coming upstairs with me last night.”

  “THAT’S PUTTING it mildly.” KJ felt vulnerable, which was not really a surprise. There was a sentient talking cat with glowing eyes licking between its legs across the room and a genuine warlock sitting on the couch. A pretty, very nice, and great in bed warlock, if he wanted to get technical, but he was overwhelmed. “This is so much bigger than the Lady in White talking to me last night.”

  “She did?” Thomas’s eyebrows rose at that bit of information, but he didn’t ask KJ to keep going.

  “I find out it’s all real. It’s not my imagination. You’re real. The cat’s real. The Lady’s real. Apparently Star did some digging to find what KJ stands for, not that I was keeping it a secret, but she still… well, I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m just… I feel like I took a sip from a fire hose.”

  “I am sorry, KJ,” Thomas said as he got up and stepped around the coffee table. “If Star was here, I’m sure we’d have all the answers, but not being entirely stupid, I think I know where she got the idea to put this in motion. Please don’t leave while I get something from my bedroom. I promise that if you want to go afterward, I won’t stop you. But please give me another twenty minutes or so.”

  “I can’t leave gracefully anyway,” KJ said with his arms folded across his chest. “My clothes are in your room with my car keys. You’ve also been honest with me, so I can wait.” To say nothing of how curious he was about whatever Thomas needed to show him. “I’ll just drink my coffee and eat more cookies until you get back.”

  It didn’t take Thomas long to return, but he brought KJ’s clothes with him, neatly folded, and put them on the seat of the empty rocking chair. “This is not incentive for you to get out of my house. When you see this, you’ll see that our story is a lot longer than either of us thought.”

  KJ nodded and took a couple of breaths to try to calm his nervousness. He hadn’t had an anxiety attack in years, but he felt like one was trying to come out. “You don’t look like an evil mastermind, even if you do have Mr. Bigglesworth’s much smarter cousin.”

  “Good, you’re still making jokes,” Thomas said as he settled back in his seat. He held out his hand, showing KJ the compass he’d lost at Boy Scout camp all those years ago. “You are KJB. I’ve had this since the solstice when I was fifteen. When a lost Scout ended up at our ceremony.”

  “With your naked dancers and blue bonfire.” KJ’s fingers were shaking when he took the compass from Thomas’s palm. It was warm from being in the warlock’s hand, and KJ wrapped his grip around it tightly. “I got lost. I heard the chanting. No one believed me. I couldn’t even find the place because they hustled me to the doctor and had my mom come get me. I thought I was crazy!”

  “You weren’t crazy. You dropped the compass when I tried to make you sleep. For some reason my spells didn’t work on you. You weren’t supposed to remember any of it. Something about you blocked what I was doing.” Thomas looked embarrassed to admit his failure and flustered by the situation, which made KJ feel better. Flustered and embarrassed were two states he was good at, but it was obvious Thomas wasn’t a frequent flyer.

  “I don’t remember very much. The chanting. The dancing. I thought there were creatures. There was a goddess—she had flowers in her hair—and she was nice to the boy—the naked boy—who caught me.” He shifted his attention from Thomas to the compass, turning it over and over in his hands. The initials etched on the back were his and his grandfather’s. Flashes of blue, purple, and green sparks danced over the bronze shell like they had when he’d touched Thomas earlier. When he popped it open, the needle spun about drunkenly until it came to a stop pointing at the warlock. “This is what it did when I tried to use it to find my way back. It stopped spinning when I saw the fire.”

  “That was my mother—the naked lady. She was one of the priestesses of our coven. I was the naked boy, and now it’s my turn to blush for some reason, which is ridiculous considering we spent a few hours naked in my bed.” Thomas reached across the small space between them to place his hand on KJ’s wrist. “I didn’t mean to steal it from you. I brought it into our camp while I got dressed to bring you back to yours and forgot it in our camper. We were on our way back to San Diego when I discovered it. I’m sorry.”

  KJ didn’t draw away from Thomas’s touch. Instead he put his other hand over Thomas’s to hold him there. “I know people say stuff happens for a reason. It’s looking like you
and I were supposed to meet and be friends… or more.”

  “Of all the gin joints in all the world….” Nation quoted Casablanca from his perch in the window seat. “Star figured it all out, because she’s the most powerful witch of her generation.”

  “She brought you back from the dead. Figured out I was the kid her dad met naked in the woods before she was born, and that we’d like each other. That’s up there on the amazing scale.” He could see the horizon brightening and gave Thomas’s hands a squeeze. “I’m not running away, but I should go home. You need to open your shop, and I need to get ready for tonight’s filming at Pioneer Park. Maybe finding you and the compass is a good sign and we’ll finally get a ghost on camera, right?”

  “It’s possible. I’ve been feeling something coming for a week or so. Nation too.” Thomas got up, and when KJ didn’t step away, they shared a gentle kiss. “Would you mind some company tonight? If your Lady in White’s warning is linked to what we’ve been sensing, you might need some help.”

  KJ nodded before gathering his clothes. “I wouldn’t mind the company at all. David’s a good guy, and if this keeps going, you’ll have to meet him anyway. Why not meet him doing our favorite thing? Will Nation be coming too?”

  “More than likely. But hopefully he’ll refrain from talking in front of David. I don’t mind if you tell him about me or Star, but Nation’s situation is precarious.”

  “Yeah, not a problem. I’m going to get dressed, come back and give you a better kiss, and then head home. I’ll text you later to set up where we can meet tonight.”

  There were three kisses before KJ climbed into his Toyota: one in the front room, another in the kitchen, and the last on the porch. The compass glowed the entire drive home.