by Shea Balik
His luck remained with him as he found a parking spot in a nearby parking lot with ten minutes to spare. Since he had the time, Elden made sure his color charts were with him, just in case it wasn’t really blue the man wanted, Elden had brought them all. Then he checked the battery on both his phone and laptop.
Satisfied everything was in order, Elden got out of the car and made his way to Village Woodcarving. When he entered the store, Elden was once more struck with the beauty of the pieces on display. Mr. Salisburg might be a jerk with a capital J, but he was a master when it came to carving.
Everything from entire tiny villages, to toys, and even clocks were for sale. But Mr. Salisburg didn’t just stop with German themed carvings, he also made gorgeous statues of bears, deer, and other woodland creatures that roamed the North Georgia Mountains. The man was smart when it came to knowing what the people wanted and giving it to them.
“Can I help you?” one of the sales clerks asked as he strolled through the store.
“Yes,” Elden told the young man. “I have an appointment with Mr. Salisburg.”
He thanked the sales clerk who led him to the back office where his client waited with a scowl on his face. Elden wanted to sigh, really loudly, but he held it back as he slid the color swatches out of his bag.
Mr. Salisburg eyed the multiple pages of blue and shook his head. “You can’t honestly expect me to look through all of those.”
Only if the man wanted his website to be finished, but once more Elden held that thought to himself. Instead, he quickly spread the pages across his desk. In ten seconds flat, Mr. Salisburg jabbed at the color he wanted. “That one. That, my boy, is what blue looks like.”
Elden literally had to bite his tongue, hoping the pain would not only keep what he wanted to stay inside for a little while longer, but also to stop his eyes from rolling. He was proud of himself for managing to nod and say, “Of course, Mr. Salisburg. I will have the designs finished tomorrow afternoon. Depending on how quickly you get back to me, I can have the new website loaded and ready to go the following morning.”
“It’s about time,” the man barked out. “I’m losing sales because that old one won’t take credit cards.”
To save money, Mr. Salisburg, had gone to one of those design your own webpages and unfortunately picked one that only took online payments from Paypal. That was great for those who used the service but not everyone did, which ended up stopping people from ordering from Village Carvings.
“I will call you when I have everything ready,” Elden assured him and quickly left the store.
How he made it out of there before he said something he’d regret, Elden wasn’t sure, but the moment he cleared the shop, he started muttering. “Teal. He has got to be kidding about it being a real blue. It’s green and blue, not just blue. How was I supposed to know he meant teal of all colors?”
“Elden?”
As agitated as he was, Elden had no chance of hiding the shudder of dread at the sound of his mother’s voice. He turned, apparently having walked right past her without even seeing her. Then again, after his meeting with Mr. Salisburg, he was fairly certain he wouldn’t have noticed the Pope standing there, either.
“Hello, mother.” Please let her be on her way to meet with friends or something.
“You haven’t been to Sunday dinner since before New Year’s. Nor have you called since that rude man came to take you back to Dahlonia.” There was no question there, just statements of fact, so Elden wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
Actually, that wasn’t true. He knew what his mother wanted him to say, that he was sorry and he would come to dinner this Sunday or that he would make it up to her by taking her to dinner. Knowing this and willing to do it were two very different things.
First of all, Elden had no desire to see his mother after all the things she’d said to him in front of Cabe. But mostly, he didn’t want to give up his time with Cabe to be ridiculed by his own mother. Selfish? Maybe, but he still wasn’t going to do it.
When he remained standing there, not saying anything, his mother narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as if she were ready for an argument. “Is there a reason you’re not answering me?” she asked.
Elden shrugged. “Up until just now, you hadn’t actually asked a question,” he answered without giving her one inch of ground on the other two topics.
“You very well know what I meant, Elden James Richland.” In the past, his mother’s tone would have had Elden standing up straighter and giving her what she wanted.
Over the years, her ability to make him do what she wanted had diminished, but not when she used that voice. This time though, this time, he wasn’t about to give in, not when having dinner with her meant not having dinner with Cabe.
CHAPTER 14
“Elden, Cabe, so nice of you to join me for Sunday dinner,” Elden’s mother greeted with a forced smile. “It would have been nice, being that you own a bar, if you’d brought some wine, but I guess manners aren’t for everyone.”
Cabe stood there staring at her and wondering how in the hell he’d gotten there.
“Sorry,” Elden whispered as they followed Doris into the house. “I tried to get out of it, I swear.”
Right, Elden. Cabe wasn’t sure how or why Elden had him wrapped around his little finger but he clearly did if he’d managed to convince Cabe to come with him to his mother’s house for dinner. That or he was out of his mind at the time.
Which, considering he was buried balls deep in Elden’s tight little ass at the time, was entirely possible. When he’d come out of his sex induced haze, he really should have put his foot down about going to Doris’s but Elden had the sweetest smile on his face and Cabe just didn’t have the heart to ruin it.
“Since Elden doesn’t like wine, I decided not to bring any,” Cabe told her truthfully. They had been trying a few drinks at the bar. Elden had a taste for drinks that were on the sweet side, but he hadn’t found that one that Elden truly loved as of yet.
“Doesn’t like wine?” Doris scoffed. “Figures,” she added as if it were a bad thing.
Her son’s shoulders slumped, which only served to piss Cabe off. He hadn’t wanted to be there. Hell, Elden hadn’t wanted to be there. It was Doris who had insisted. If she was going to act like a bitch, Cabe sure as fuck wasn’t about to put up with it, not when it meant Elden ended up feeling like crap.
“Personally, wine isn’t my favorite, either,” Cabe told her. “I would much prefer beer or a mixed drink. If you have any liquor, I’d be happy to mix us up some drinks.”
The wrinkle of her nose at the suggestion gave Cabe a sense of satisfaction. Until her attention turned to Elden. “I’ve made fried catfish.”
An odd choice when she didn’t even know if Cabe liked catfish. Usually people went with something safe like chicken, beef, or pasta for that first meal. But it was Elden’s reaction that made the reason she picked catfish obvious.
His nose scrunched up and he actually turned a little green as if he were going to be sick. Elden clearly didn’t like catfish, yet his mother made it anyway. That was the final straw. No way was Cabe allowing Elden to suffer through this meal.
“Oh no,” Cabe said dramatically. “Catfish makes me violently sick. It would explain why my stomach has been turning since I walked in the door from that horrible smell. I just thought you hadn’t been able to keep up on your cleaning.”
Doris cheeks turned a mottled red, most likely in both embarrassment and fury at his insinuation that her house was unkempt. Either one of those reasons, or both, kept her from being able to speak, which worked in Cabe’s favor.
He grabbed Elden’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “We’ll have to do this another time. Maybe you should take other people’s likes and dislikes into consideration next time.”
He opened the door and yanked their coats off the rack next to it. Then gently pushed Elden out the door. “It’s been great seeing you again, Doris.”
&nbs
p; Without another word, he closed the door and rushed Elden to the car, not stopping until they were both inside and pulling out of the driveway. With Doris’s house in the rearview mirror, Cabe let out a sigh of relief.
“What the horse was that?” Elden asked as if still unsure what just happened.
“Horse? Is that supposed to be hell?” Cabe guessed. They had talked about frog being fuck, duck was damn, and sheep was shit, but Elden hadn’t mentioned horse.
There it was. That adorable blush once more creeping into Elden’s face.
Stopped at a stop sign, Cabe reached over and cupped Elden’s jaw, forcing Elden to look at him. “Hey, no being embarrassed. I happen to love your quirks. They make you, you. I, for one, wouldn’t want you to change a duck.”
Elden lips twitched at Cabe’s lame attempt to make him laugh. It wasn’t what Cabe had hoped for, but he’d take it. He couldn’t even blame Elden for being upset when his own mother purposefully made something she knew Elden didn’t like.
“Want to tell me why your mother made something you obviously don’t like?” Cabe asked. He glanced in the rearview mirror, thankful there was no one coming up behind him so he could have this conversation with Elden now when it was still fresh.
One of Elden’s shoulders rose up and down in a half-hearted shrug. “I wish I knew.”
“Is it all fish or just catfish you don’t like?” There was definitely something going on that Elden didn’t want to talk about. Cabe hoped by going around it in a different way, he might get Elden to tell him what that was.
“Just catfish. When I was fourteen, there was a group of us that went tubing down the river for the day. It was mostly family friends, but, of course, my mother had another boyfriend who joined us.” Elden glanced down at his hands. His fingers were twisted together like a complex puzzle.
Cabe placed a hand over his, tangling his own fingers into the mix to let Elden know he was there, on his side.
“His name was Chadwick Baxley, III. He was one of those athletic guys who thought I was too soft and was determined to teach me how a real man behaved.” Cabe’s heart lurched at the thought of a teenage Elden having to deal with some jackass like that.
“The tubing was fine,” Elden said a little too woodenly for Cabe. It was as if Elden were shutting down and Cabe couldn’t stand it.
So he drove through the small intersection and pulled over onto the edge of the road. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled Elden into his arms. The need to comfort Elden was too great to do nothing but sit there and listen. Holding him had been imperative.
“We had gone further than the others and came across a small shack off the side of the river that was selling food. The boards were so warped and rotting the whole thing appeared as if it were ready to fall right into the river.” Elden’s body shuddered as he spoke.
“Chadwick insisted we eat before we had to carry our tubes back to where we were supposed to meet up with the group.” When Elden pushed further into his arms, Cabe was glad he’d pulled over. “Even though the placed looked disgusting, I was hungry so I ate the catfish sandwich Chadwick had ordered each of us.”
Red stained his cheeks as he whispered, “I ended up with food poisoning. Well, we both did, but Chadwick had gone home so I didn’t know about him until later. It was so bad,” Elden admitted. “My stomach hurt so bad I thought I was going to die.”
“I don’t get it.” Cabe knew Doris tended to pick on Elden but to serve him food after an experience like that, didn’t make any sense. “Why would she make catfish after that?”
Elden buried his face into the crook of Cabe’s neck. “Because she never forgave me for getting sick,” he let out a wobbly sigh, “out of both ends in her car.”
Ouch.
Admittedly, that would have sucked to clean, but it wasn’t as if it were Elden’s fault. “I’m so sorry she did that in front of you,” Elden told him.
Cabe rubbed his hands up and down Elden’s back, hoping to offer reassurance and comfort. “Not your fault. There’s no need for you to apologize. I just hope to be able to repay her hospitality someday.”
That caused Elden to chuckle. “I’d like to see that. If you have noticed my mother can be kind of a…” Elden hesitated in saying what Cabe was sure to be an animal reference instead of bitch.
“Bumblebee?” Cabe guessed. “No, wait, bird.” He shook his head. “No, too generic.” His brain raced through all the animals, trying to come up with something that started with the letter B.
Elden actually giggled, causing Cabe’s heart to skip a beat. “Baboon,” Elden told him.
Cabe threw his head back and laughed. “Well, since your mom is a baboon for treating you so poorly, it definitely fits.”
That sent Elden into another fit of giggles and for the first time that day, all was right with Cabe’s world. He’d dreaded having to eat dinner with Doris, but now he was kind of glad it had happened. Not only did he find out more about Elden, but he’d made him laugh. Nothing could have been better than that.
“All right then, we still haven’t eaten and now that I don’t have to sit down and eat with your mother, I’m actually hungry.” Cabe put the truck in gear and headed away from Helen. “How about we head back to Dahlonia and eat there?”
Elden nodded. “I wouldn’t mind some Italian.”
Cabe grinned as he pulled onto the main road that would lead them back home. “Papa Nick’s it is.”
Why Doris seemed intent to pick on her child made no sense to Cabe. Then again, his own parents hadn’t been that great either. Apparently, being a parent didn’t come naturally to everyone. It was a shame, because Cabe had always wanted to have kids. He just wasn’t sure if the examples he and Elden had growing up would be a detriment to their ability to raise a child.
Warmth flowed through him as he thought of how great Elden would be as a father. He was so kind and caring, any child would be lucky to have him to look up to. Needing to be connected to the love of his life in some small way, Cabe reached over and linked their fingers together.
Maybe someday all of their dreams would come true.
CHAPTER 15
“Happy Valentine’s Day, my sweet,” Cabe murmured into his ear as he pulled Elden closer and kissed his cheek, then his jaw, before Elden turned in his arms for a good morning kiss.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Elden said as the kiss ended. Tingles of pleasure raced along his skin where Cabe’s fingers were lightly trailing a path.
When Cabe’s firm mouth took his again in a searing kiss, Elden arched against his body, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer. It never ceased to amaze him that he woke up next to this man every day for the past month.
There were moments it was almost surreal, as if Elden’s mind had to have created the fantasy. Like now. The way Cabe worshipped his body with his hands, his lips. “Ungh,” Elden moaned as fire shot through him when Cabe’s teeth bit down on his nipple.
Who knew he’d love the sting of pain as much as he did. Just the other night, Cabe had spanked him. Actually spanked him. Yet, Elden had not only loved it, he enjoyed it still the next day when the ache returned every time he moved in his chair.
It got to the point that Elden was squirming every few minutes just to feel it. Cabe had known what he was doing too, for he would smile at Elden and give him a wink whenever he caught him.
“I have a present for you,” whispered Cabe.
He held out his hand. In his palm were two hearts attached to what looked like alligator clips. Elden frowned. “They’re pretty, but what are they?”
The mischievous grin that appeared on Cabe’s face brought a shiver of anticipation to Elden. “You’ll see.” Then he bent forward and sucked hard on one nipple.
Elden’s dick throbbed. Fluid leaked from its tip as Cabe tugged on the tip of his nipple with his teeth. “Oh, God,” Elden moaned.
He started to cry out when Cabe’s mouth disappeared but that sound turned into a shout as s
omething sharp closed around his protruding nip. The most delicious pain radiated from that point, going into his body and straight down to his balls, causing them to roll in their sac.
His back bowed back into the mattress as if running away from the sensations swamping him, then he arched up, striving for more. Cabe didn’t disappoint as his teeth gnawed on his other nipple.
More fluid leaked from his aching cock as Elden curled his fingers into Cabe’s hair, desperate to pull him closer. But Cabe wouldn’t be rushed. He stretched every moment out until Elden was mindless with a hunger for more.
“Pllleeaassee.” The word seemed to go on forever as Cabe went from nibbling to licking the already sensitive bud until Elden was sure he was going to come. He needed something, anything, and he needed it now.
But Cabe continued to slowly lick, from one direction to another, then back again. It was a kind of torture, but Elden prayed it never stopped. When it did, he gave a chocked sob, wishing his mind could focus enough to come up with the words to beg Cabe to come back.
Instead, his present clamped down on his vulnerable nipple. For one brief moment, Elden’s mouth dropped open on a silent scream. He felt Cabe slide two fingers into his ass. All ability to control his impending orgasm fled as his body seized while lightning raced up and down his spine, electrifying every nerve ending in his body. His balls slammed up against his body, unloading their contents as his dick throbbed hard before the tip erupted, coating his chest and stomach in a sticky mess.
“Fuck, but I love to watch you come apart in my arms.” Cabe’s eyes glowed as he smashed their lips together, devouring Elden’s mouth. When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard and Cabe had papers in his hand.
Elden frowned. “What are those?” he asked in between gulps of air.
That mischievous grin was back. “Your second surprise.” He held the papers in front of Elden, but didn’t wait for him to try and read them. “Our test results came back.”
