Galen looked as if he were going to say something and instead reached down into the oven to pull out dinner. The top crust had turned a flaky golden brown, and Nick’s stomach rumbled at the scent, which reminded him of happier family gatherings when he was a boy. “Now that we’ve had our profound discussion, what do you say about risking my carpets, taking dinner into the living room, and finding a movie?”
Nick jumped on the chance to retreat onto less treacherous ground. No more talk about statues or relationships. He wanted to relax and have a little fun.
“I brought something that might grab your interest.” Nick pulled a couple of DVDs out and grinned at Galen. “How about a little of the Seventh Doctor? I have my two favorites, The Silver Nemesis and The Curse of Fenric.”
Galen snatched one of the DVDs out of his hand with a chuckle and shot Nick an amused glance. “You’re such a geek.”
“And yet, I don’t hear you saying no.” Nick waved the other DVD enticingly. “What do you say? Good food, a geek fest, and some snogging on that pristine couch of yours?”
Galen tossed the DVD back at him with a laugh. “I say yes to all three. And it just so happens you’ve picked my favorite Doctor. He was my first.”
“Mine’s Peter Davison. I love how he was always trying to take care of everyone and getting frustrated when they got into escapades anyway.”
Galen bit the corner of his lip as he transferred a steaming helping of spanakopita onto each plate. It was a little charming, the way he concentrated so hard on some tasks, and when he blew a lock of hair out of his eyes, Nick chuckled. This new side of Galen had him entranced. Galen glanced at him and grinned in return. “So it had nothing to do with him being young and blond?”
“That certainly didn’t hurt.” Nick scooped the salad into smaller bowls, and they made their way into the pristine living room, juggling food, wine, and DVDs. Galen set his load down and tugged the glass coffee table closer to the couch.
Five minutes later they were sitting back, shoulder to shoulder, with loaded plates on their laps and wine close at hand as the DVD started. Nick studied Galen’s profile as a little hope blossomed in his chest. He’d wished for nights like this: simple, homey nights where they shared their interests and enjoyed each other’s company. The reality was so much better.
“LOOK at you, making such a mess.” Nick laughed at Rory’s antics as he rolled around in the water, splashing it all over the table. That was his favorite thing to do. Amy preferred it when Nick ran the water in the small fountain so she could duck her head under the spray. “Silly bird, you really love your baths, trying to get all pretty for your lady friend, huh?”
Amy stopped preening her damp feathers long enough to chirp an answer to that, and Nick grinned. “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.”
His cell phone rang, the screen showing Galen’s name, and a flush of warmth struck him. Last night had been everything that Nick had dreamt of the first time he’d hooked up with Galen. They’d had fun, curled up on the couch together, watching the old Doctor Who episodes and stealing kisses.
“Hey there,” Nick answered as he got up to get some paper towels to sop up the mess. “How are things going at the museum today?”
“Let’s say… interesting. Do you have a minute? I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy.”
The hesitance in Galen’s voice sparked Nick’s curiosity. “I’m totally free. I have an appointment later, so I took off from work for a mental health day. Spring assessments are coming, and I’m not going to get another chance for a while. What’s up? Is it something with the statues?”
“I think so, but I don’t know if it’s a product of wishful thinking or not enough sleep. Nobody else can see it. Hold on, I’m e-mailing you a clip from the security footage. You take a look at it and tell me what you think.”
“Sure.” Nick dried his hands and flipped open his laptop in the living room. “I take it that means Lykon isn’t a part of the second statue yet.”
“I’m not saying a word until you see the clip. I’ve asked Suzane, Ella, and Heather to take a look at it, and they don’t see anything. If Knox shows up, I’ll have him take a look too, but I’m not holding my breath. These statues have been a mystery since they showed up, and there are some days when I worry I’ve lost my ever-loving mind.”
Nick opened his e-mail and clicked on the message from Galen. “Okay, hold on, I’m watching now.” The clip opened up, showing the exhibit room, the light dimmer from the rain that came down steadily outside. Ella was lying down on a scaffold, painting with an intent look on her face. The camera panned, revealing the statues, and Nick frowned. They looked exactly the same.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Dammit. I am losing it,” Galen said with a real note of worry in his voice.
The camera shifted, and a light shimmered out of the corner of Nick’s eye. “Wait.” He hit the rewind and watched again. Just as the camera moved out of view he saw it, a strange coalescing light around the second statue where Lykon should be. He hit pause and leaned closer. He could almost make out the image of Lykon, but as Galen said, he didn’t know if it was just because he wanted to see it. “Is that Lykon in the second statue?”
Galen let out an explosive breath of air. “Thank God, I’m not crazy. I don’t see it all the time, just sometimes. So something is going on with them. Maybe we triggered a change, but damned if I know what we did.”
Nick sat back, frowning as he watched the clip again. He was half tempted to stop by the museum to take a look at it for himself, but what he really should do was find those old journals that he’d packed away and see if there were any clues in them that he wasn’t remembering. Until now, those journals had been nothing more than a cool story and a link to the Dexios Collection. Now they might be just what they needed.
“We’ll figure it out,” Nick assured him. “Until then, you’re not crazy. I see it too.”
“At least I’m not alone in this insanity.” Galen laughed. “I’d better get back to work. It’s almost time for Heather’s lunch, and I’m covering the front for her. I’ll talk to you tonight.”
“See you.” Nick hung up the phone and watched the clip again. So weird. The sounds of splashing had stopped coming from the kitchen. “Are you two hooligans done?”
Rory had finished his bath and had settled on the terrycloth towel that Nick had laid out for him. He sometimes got soaked, though it didn’t seem to be too bad today. The towel let him get off the excess before he got a chill. Nick whistled at him as he cleaned up the mess and flipped on the radio for them.
The journals had to be in the apartment somewhere. Nick remembered packing them as he prepared to leave San Francisco. He also remembered his dad bitching about his dreaming ways and that it was time to put childish things in the past. He’d change his tune when Nick told him about the statues… he hoped.
Nick dug through the hallway closet, pulling out old scuba equipment, extra flippers; he really needed to pick up some new stuff before his trip to Santorini. Most of this could be tossed. He dragged out the box tucked in the back corner and stole a peek. The scent of old leather and the dry mustiness of yellowing paper hit him. A hot leap of excitement struck him and awakened a sense of anticipation.
He picked up the box and carried it into the living room. He had loved the story of his dad’s uncle and the mysterious lover he’d met during the war and moments of magic. He used to read it before bed, especially after he started to realize that he was different from his brothers, and that he might have more in common with his great-uncle than just a name. Uncle Stavros had been in love with another man.
Nick settled back on the couch with his uncle’s journal in his hands and a glass of iced tea on the table. There had to be a clue in one of these that would help him. Uncle Stavros had been in Greece during the Italian invasion, and the statues had been in a private museum run by his father. He’d met the other man when the British came to Greece’s aid.
Nick lost himself in the tale and suffered the same pang of empathy that he had as a teenager when Uncle Stavros’s heart had been broken. There didn’t seem to be many clues to the statues in that journal. Uncle Stavros had been more concerned with the war, and his lover, than what had been going on with Dexios and Lykon.
“You should not be looking in those old books for answers.”
Nick dropped the journal and scrambled to his feet with a startled yelp at the sound of the voice in his living room. Rory and Amy went silent as Dexios came forward, his helmet tucked under his arm.
“What the hell are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t move that far away from your statue,” Nick said. Dexios, with his armor and sword, seemed to take up all the space in the small living room, and having him there was more than a little unnerving.
“I am tied to you as much as I am tied to the statue.”
Nick had started to suspect that he was Dexios’s reincarnation, as Galen was Lykon’s, and this pretty much confirmed his suspicions. “Why won’t it help? Didn’t the people who wrote them have similar experiences? We’re just trying to figure it out to help and to make sense of it all.”
Dexios’s stern expression softened. “I know, but this journey is a leap of faith, a dream to dare. Reading the accounts of the men who failed will only cloud your vision.”
Nick glanced at the box, full to the brim with records, photographs, and artistic renderings of the statues. There was so much in there to discover. One of the birds trilled, breaking the silence, and Nick looked up to find that Dexios had disappeared again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IT HAD taken quite a bit of pleading on Galen’s part, but he’d managed to convince Heather to stay all day long to run the front of the museum on a Saturday. Normally, he did that stint. It was one of his favorite days of the week because they were busier than others, and he got to dump the paperwork for a day in favor of interacting with patrons.
If he’d had any other first date in mind for Nick, he wouldn’t have begged her; however, when he’d seen the ad for the Emerald City Comicon, he’d known it was perfect. And Saturday would be the best day of the con. The way he looked at it, both he and Nick were holding back. He figured that the only way they’d relax and be themselves without any pretense would be by immersing themselves in a day both fun and interesting. And if there was any way into a bona fide geek’s heart, it was a comic book convention.
Galen bounded up the outside stairwell and knocked on Nick’s apartment door. If they hurried, they’d have a chance to grab a bite of breakfast before they had to queue up. He wasn’t sure how long the line would be, but the website warned him, and he wasn’t about to ruin his surprise by taking it lightly.
He checked his watch and knocked again. The morning air was cool and damp on his skin. It was not the kind of Saturday to encourage waking up and getting out of a warm, comfortable bed. Nick answered with his toothbrush in hand, his hair in disarray, and his pajama bottoms riding low on his hips.
Well, hello.
Galen’s eyes slid over Nick’s bare chest. He had the lean, sleek, muscled build of a swimmer. Fine, dark-blond hair sparsely covered his torso and thickened to a trail down his stomach. Galen had to admit to being a fool for not allowing himself the chance to wake up to that before.
Desire stirred, and Galen had to remind himself that he’d promised Nick dates, not casual fucks. They should have at least one date before Galen lured him back to his bedroom and talked Nick into having his way with him. Besides, they would be late, and Galen didn’t want to miss one minute of Nick’s reaction when he realized where they were headed. He’d had a hard enough time keeping silent all week.
“You’re fifteen minutes early and you’re cheerful.” The accusation in Nick’s voice had Galen’s eyes jerking back up from Nick’s naked skin to his face.
Galen grinned. “And you are rabidly antimorning and underdressed.”
“Aren’t most sane people at this time?” Nick stepped back to let him in and dragged a hand through his already rumpled hair. His living room was dark with the shades still drawn, and one of Nick’s birds trilled a greeting filled with curiosity as Galen came in. “Just give me the fifteen minutes. I need to jump in the shower and down some coffee if you want replies that aren’t belligerent.”
“Wear something comfortable. We’re going to be doing a lot of walking.”
Nick paused in the doorway to his bathroom and shot a narrow-eyed look at Galen, taking in his jeans and sneakers. “That’s all the hint I get? Be comfortable, and you’re expecting me to exercise?”
“Yep.” Galen grinned at him, perversely entertained by Nick’s morning surliness. It was kind of sexy, though that might also have something to do with Nick’s half nakedness and Galen’s reawakening libido. He flipped his hands at him. “Hurry up. Trust me; you’re not going to want to drag your feet on this.”
The bathroom door shut on Nick’s mutters, and Galen chuckled. The soft whoosh and flap of wings went by him; then Rory landed by the window and pecked at the wooden slats covering it. He fixed one eye on Galen and called out a very clear demand. “I agree, Rory. It’s darker than a dungeon in here.”
Galen turned the blinds to let the gray morning light filter into the room. The clouds couldn’t seem to decide if they wanted to drizzle or break apart to let the sun through. He was hoping for sun, at least until they got out of line. Then the weather could do whatever it wanted.
Nick’s living room invited people in; no wonder he’d felt out of place in Galen’s. The furniture was mismatched with a long, leather sofa and a deep, comfortable-looking green recliner. He kept the hardwood floors bare except for an area rug under the coffee table. It had a lived-in appeal Galen’s place was missing. Galen’s favorite part was Nick’s mural of photographs taken from his travels: wooly sheep dotting a field in Ireland, the steep, rocky walls of a fjord in Norway. There were a few of Nick alone, none with friends or family.
Another picture caught his eye, this one older, yellowed on the edges, not as crisp and clear as pictures nowadays. A man who looked a lot like Nick around the eyes stood next to the first Dexios statue, leaning against it. The smile he had for the camera seemed intimate, warm, and Galen wondered who had taken the photograph.
The sound of the shower stopped, and moments later the door opened. Galen couldn’t have stopped himself from stealing a quick peek if his life had depended on it. A short towel swathed Nick’s hips and water beaded on his skin. The urge to lick it from Nick’s body welled up within Galen. Nick paused, looked back at him, and a smile broke out on his lips.
“Like what you see, sweetheart?”
“You know I do.” Galen smiled back at him and made a little motion with his hand. “Go, change, before I say screw our schedule and pounce you. You just might end up kicking yourself for it later.”
“You’re forcing me to choose between my sex drive and curiosity. Not cool, not cool at all,” Nick called back as he went down the hallway to his bedroom. “For the record, Saturdays and schedules should not exist. It’s amoral.”
A few minutes later Nick emerged in jeans, sneakers, and a gray T-shirt that said “Men of Scarves” with Sherlock, the Fourth Doctor, and Harry Potter underneath. “Does this meet with your approval, O Ringmaster?”
“It’s perfect.” Galen tossed Nick his jacket. “Ready?”
“Yeah, let me get the kids in their cage first.” Nick caught Rory in gentle hands and transferred him to the cage as he let out a screech of protest. Amy was harder to track down. He finally got her down from the cabinets in the kitchen and let the two of them complain about their incarceration.
“So any more unannounced visits from Dexios?” Galen asked as Nick grabbed his keys and stuffed them in his jacket.
“Nope, once was enough. How about you? You’re the real magnet. You’ve had Dexios visiting, Lykon poking, and we still don’t know how those statues showed up in the first place.”
> “Things have been quiet, for the most part. I’m sure it won’t last, but for now I’ll take it.” Galen grinned and caught Nick’s hand. The statues were the last things he wanted to think about today. He was too excited to see Nick’s face. “Come on.”
“Please tell me that coffee is on your agenda.”
“Yep. I figured we’d need some food to fortify us for the day ahead.” Galen shrugged back into his own jacket as he stepped outside. The morning air still held a cold nip, but he thought the threatening rain might hold off. “First stop, the Metro, then breakfast and caffeine, then my surprise.”
Nick groaned and locked the door with a shake of his head. “You’re an evil man, Galen Kanellis. Evil.”
“One does try one’s best.”
Galen had a hard time resisting Nick’s attempts to get the surprise out of him during their Metro ride. It was the anticipation of seeing his expression when they reached the convention center that stopped him from spilling his guts. Thirty minutes later, hot coffees in hand, and the remains of their breakfast sandwiches in their stomachs, Nick paused on the sidewalk outside of the café and turned to Galen.
“Now that I feel semihuman and it’s at least almost an acceptable hour to be awake on a Saturday, where to next?”
Galen grinned and pointed across the street. While they’d been inside the line had gotten longer and now wound around the side of the convention center that they faced. “There.”
Nick glanced over with an expression of bewilderment, and his eyes widened. “The Emerald City Comicon? For real? That’s awesome.” He caught Galen’s face between his hands and dropped a kiss that tingled Galen’s lips.
Galen laughed and tugged his hand to get him moving. They glanced both ways, then ran across the street, dodging traffic. “I can’t believe you agreed to go out with me today. I would’ve thought you had already made plans to go.”
Make Me Whole Page 13
