by Andrew Grey
“What was that all about?” Brent asked. “Sit down and talk to me.” He closed the door.
“The Bobsled Federation is angry because we used the training film in the commercial. They say they’re going to serve Trevor with a cease and desist order.” Todd was breathing rapidly and thought he might be hyperventilating. He purposely slowed his breathing and calmed himself. He needed to keep his mind working normally, not panic.
“Let them,” Brent said with a smile. “Trevor consulted his attorneys before shooting, and they said that as long as Duncan owned the film, which he does, they have no claim. It was fully checked out and signed off on. They can bluster and bluff all they want, but they aren’t going to get anywhere.” Brent sat back in his chair. “Trevor has been around the block enough that he knows the score and made sure he was covered.”
His phone rang, and Todd snapped it up. “Hello?”
“Are you coming over tonight?” Duncan asked happily.
“Yes,” Todd said, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
“What’s wrong?” Duncan asked. “I can tell that something isn’t right.”
Todd turned to Brent and then sighed. “The Bobsled Federation is upset because we used the training films in the commercial. They’re threatening to go after Trevor, and if he doesn’t do what they want, they said they want to remove me. They’ll bar me from competition and using their facilities.” Todd did his best to quell the rising panic.
“Bastards!” Duncan swore.
“It isn’t their film, but they said that they only allow filming at their facilities if it’s for training and noncommercial purposes.” Todd could see his ability to compete flying right out the window. The commercial was already running. There was no way Todd was going to ask Trevor to pull them. Trevor probably would offer, but…. This whole thing was a real mess. The film could probably be edited, but that clip was part of what gave the commercial energy and explained what he did, since most people had no idea what skeleton was. Without it, he was a guy dressed in a bodysuit, holding a weird sled.
“That’s bullshit,” Duncan said, this time with much less conviction. “God… I….” He sighed, and Todd could sense his nervousness.
“There’s nothing you can do right now.” Finally he was starting to think clearly. “I’ve got a call in to Trevor, and once I talk to him, we’ll see what he says and wants to do.” He felt terrible that he might have caused trouble for him.
“This is all my fault,” Duncan whispered. “The commercial… all of it was my idea, and I looked into it.”
“So did Trevor’s lawyers, apparently,” Todd said as Brent nodded. “Let’s not get too far down that road. All I got was a phone call, which doesn’t mean a hill of beans until they decide to actually act on it, and that would have to be in writing.” He was trying to think logically, but part of him wanted to scream at the world.
“Then I guess I’ll have to wait and see,” Duncan said, but it was obvious from his tone that he didn’t like it any more than Todd did. “I hate this… always did. They think they hold all the cards and everyone will bow to whatever they want. We did nothing wrong, even by their own rules.” He coughed nervously anyway.
“I know, and this is not your fault.” He could picture Duncan nervously rocking in his chair. Duncan was quiet, and that only added to Todd’s jitters. “I need to go. Trevor is calling me back, and I need to bring him up to speed.” He hung up and took Trevor’s call, relaying the conversation with Eileen as word for word as he could get it.
“Shit,” Trevor swore lightly. “I need to contact the lawyer and give him the heads-up, but as far as the business is concerned, I don’t think there is anything they can do. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to get what they want through you.” He sounded so calm. “Just relax, and let’s see what they do once they put their money where their mouth is. Organizations like this are used to people being afraid of them.” He paused, and Todd wondered what Trevor was up to.
“Okay. I’ll do my best to hang tight and see what they actually do.” The last thing Todd wanted was to be warned off. He loved his sport and he hoped to be able to continue racing. But they were making it harder and harder for him to do that.
“Let me know as soon as you hear anything. And you and I will talk Thursday. Oh, and see if Duncan can come in as well. If they press this, then we’re going to need a council of war.” Trevor’s tone was harsh as hell.
“Excuse me?”
“There’s more than one way to win a fight like this. There’s the court of law and the court of public opinion, and we’ll get together and be ready to assault them from both sides.” Man, Todd was glad that Trevor was on his side, because he sure as hell didn’t want to fight him. Apparently the man had balls of steel and he wasn’t going to be bullied. “They have vulnerabilities, and what we need to do is find out what they are. Don’t worry. We aren’t going to send you up the river over this.”
“Thank you.” Todd didn’t know what else to say, and Trevor ended the call. Todd put his phone back in his pocket as the garage phone rang. He figured it was Trevor, and left the office to let Brent and Trevor talk things over. This whole situation had the potential to blow up around them, but Todd knew he was most likely on the front firing line.
He went back to work, trying to keep his mind on his tasks. He needed to get his head where it belonged, rather than on things he could do nothing at all about. Trevor was right—once the federation fired their shot, then they would know how to address it.
That idea didn’t make the waiting any easier.
“HOW BAD is it?” Duncan asked that evening as soon as Todd pulled into the drive. He must have been waiting on the porch for him, because he rolled down the ramp and met him as soon as Todd got out of the car.
“I don’t know.” Todd shrugged slightly. “Trevor has asked me to meet on Thursday, and he wants you to be there. He says it’s a council of war.”
Duncan nodded. “Did you expect him to give up without a fight? I sure didn’t.”
Todd hadn’t been sure how Trevor would react. He’d half expected him to be angry with Duncan, and that wasn’t something Todd would stand for. The federation being dicks of the first order wasn’t Duncan’s fault. “I guess I expected him to be angrier.”
“Maybe….” Duncan bit his lower lip. “This is all my fault.”
Todd sighed and bent down to give Duncan’s abused lip a gentle kiss. “No, it isn’t. The film that we used was yours. They can’t own everything and everyone. They just think they do.” He smoothed his hand over Duncan’s hair. Just hugging him was enough to calm Todd down. He’d been on edge all day, and finally some peace settled into his spirit.
“I went over everything they gave us, and I don’t see anything about videos being for training purposes only. Maybe it’s buried somewhere in their rules, but I haven’t been able to find it.” Runs were often taped so they could be analyzed later. It was pretty standard practice given the remoteness of the facilities. They had to make the most of each and every run they had, as well as their time at the facilities.
“I think this is going to be up to the lawyers, and I’m afraid that Trevor might have to recut the ads without that footage.” Todd hated that he was causing trouble for everyone.
“But that’s the cool part and what really makes an impact—the speed, the energy.” Duncan’s voice trembled, and Todd had to keep himself calm or they were both going to go off the emotional deep end.
“I know, and I think Trevor does too. But I don’t think we can expect him to go to the ends of the earth to protect the vision. This is his business and he has to protect it. There are dozens of people who rely on it, and….”
Duncan sighed. “I know. I feel like complete crap. I’m the one who told him this was possible and came up with all the ideas. I even offered him the film.” He pulled away and wiped his eyes.
“I said it before, and I’m going to say it again. This is not your fault, and no
one thinks it is.” He was exceedingly firm.
“But what if they cut you out of the sport because of this?” Duncan hugged him tightly. “What if I cost you your dream?” He looked up at him. “I lost my dream. I don’t want you to lose yours.” Duncan swallowed hard.
“Look, let’s get something straight. If I can’t skeleton again, then I’ll do something else. Maybe I’ll coach, or maybe I’ll find something else to do, like learn how to coach wheelchair racers or push a certain person to be his best. I don’t know. But I’m figuring out that, while racing is important to me, there are other things… and people… who are so much more important.” He hugged Duncan tighter and realized they were still outside next to the driveway having this conversation.
“What do you mean?” Duncan asked, his voice cracking.
“That if it came to a choice of racing skeleton or you, I’d choose you each and every time.” Todd met Duncan’s shocked gaze as he blinked and quivered in his arms. “There’s no doubt about that whatsoever. So let the federation be assholes, let them try to threaten me all they want. They can’t take away you.” He swallowed as a wave of contentment and resolution settled over him like the warmest blanket on the coldest night. “I used to be afraid of them because of what they could take away, but now… let them try.” Todd took a step back. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Duncan nodded and slowly turned around. He started up the ramp, and his hands slipped on the wheels. Todd caught the chair to stop it from rolling backward as Duncan put his hands over his face. Todd got him to the top of the ramp and turned Duncan around.
Tears ran down his cheeks. “How is that possible? How could you love me that much?” Duncan let go, tears flowing. “I mean, I’m….” He looked down at his legs. “I’m only part of what I was and….”
“No. You aren’t, and you need to stop thinking that way.” Todd opened the door so Duncan could roll inside. “You are you.” Todd closed the door. “You are not your legs or your feet or any individual body part.”
“But….” Duncan swallowed hard, lips moving but no words coming out at first. “How can you give all that up for me?” He sniffed and blinked, and Todd gently wiped the wetness from Duncan’s cheeks. “I don’t have anything to give up to show how much I love you. I have nothing that I can use to demonstrate that.”
“You have your heart.” Todd leaned down to kiss him. “I give you mine.”
Duncan nodded. “But you already have mine. You’ve truly held it for a long time—I just didn’t realize it.” He put his arms around Todd’s neck, drawing him closer.
Todd kissed Duncan with everything he had, opening himself, letting Duncan feel all that Todd had to give him, and what surprised him was the way Duncan gave it back. Each gave to the other, building as they kissed and held on, with Todd nearly sitting in Duncan’s lap.
“How could I have not seen you all that time we trained together?”
Todd smiled. “What’s important is that we see each other now.” He smiled and rested his forehead against Duncan’s. “I see you for who you are.”
“A guy in a chair,” Duncan muttered.
“If that were all you were, I probably would never have looked at you twice.” Todd knew he was being a little harsh, but he needed to get Duncan’s attention. “Look what you did. You made a plan for Trevor that is showing results. There is more business than ever before. The website is up and running, and soon customers will fill our appointments. Brent told me that Trevor is considering adding another location or two just to handle the increased business. You did all that.”
“Yeah, and look what else I did. The federation is having a fit and threatening to expel you, and they’re going to give Trevor a hard time as well. I should have done more. I should have thought about this.” Duncan turned away, looking downward. “I have big ideas that are as useless as my legs.”
“Your ideas got Trevor and the business moving again, and they are brilliant. Don’t you understand? You were talking to James, explaining the next set of ads you wanted to help Trevor with, and he understood them. James hasn’t seen anything on television in many years, but he understood. Your ideas have power, and people like them. Look at how they’ve responded. This is a gift, and you need to embrace it… and fight for it.” He took Duncan’s hand. “Because I’m here, willing to fight for you.”
Todd wasn’t sure how much more he could say to Duncan to make him understand that his feelings were real and just how far he was willing to go.
“I can’t believe you would do that.”
“But you’d do the exact same thing for me without even thinking about it.” Todd knew that, just as surely as he knew that he was prepared to walk away from skeleton and his sport in order to protect Duncan and his ideas and reputation.
Duncan lifted his gaze, and Todd squeezed his hand but didn’t say anything. Then Duncan pulled his hands away and gathered Todd to him, holding him tight. Todd blinked and gasped at his strength. He didn’t say anything, just held Duncan for a long time.
“I love you too, so very much,” Duncan finally whispered just as his mother came up from the basement. She walked into the room carrying a basket of laundry, and paused for a second as she saw the two of them. Todd watched her over Duncan’s shoulder, her expression softening and then her lips curling into a smile. She turned down the hallway, leaving them alone again.
Todd didn’t want to let go and stayed where he was even after his legs grew tired and his calves and thighs began to protest.
“What do we do now?”
“It depends on what you want to do,” Todd said.
“Then we have to fight, somehow. I won’t let you go down for my idea, and I’m not going to allow Trevor to have to pay for doing what I suggested.” Duncan sat back in his chair, wiped his eyes, and looked straight forward. “But I don’t know where to start.”
“We’ll figure it out.” The words sounded lame to him, but they were all he had at the moment. Todd stood and sat on the sofa across from Duncan, just watching him. There was nothing he wanted more than to take Duncan down to his room, close the door, and then strip him naked and make love to him for the entire night. He needed to show Duncan just how much he meant to him, and he needed to feel Duncan against him to know that they were together and that Duncan was his.
“Sweetheart, I left your laundry on your bed.” Duncan’s mother set the basket behind the living room chair and picked up her purse. “I need to run to the store. I’ll be back in a little while.” She left the house, and Todd met Duncan’s amused gaze. It was clear that neither of them believed her excuse.
“I think I love your mother.” Todd peered out the window, then wheeled Duncan down the hallway to his room, closed the door with his foot, and wasted no time lifting Duncan out of his chair and gently laying him on the bed. Todd didn’t break Duncan’s gaze as he opened Duncan’s shirt, popping the buttons one by one to expose his chest. “You take my breath away,” Todd whispered, raking his eyes over Duncan’s bare golden skin. He wanted him so badly, he couldn’t keep from kissing him, like an invisible force pulling them together.
Duncan sighed as Todd wrapped his arms around him, cradling Duncan as he kissed him for all he was worth, reveling in the rich, earthy heat touched with a hint of sweetness that was all Duncan—his Duncan.
Todd slipped off Duncan’s shirt, popped open his pants, and slipped them off his legs. He was always so careful with him, afraid he’d hurt him. Yes, Duncan was strong, but the last thing Todd ever wanted was to cause Duncan pain.
Duncan shifted on the bed, pulling the edge of the coverlet over his feet and legs.
“You don’t need to hide from me, you know that.” Todd pushed the blanket away, running his hands slowly along Duncan’s legs. “Can you feel me?”
“Yeah. Sort of. It’s like you’re a long ways away.” He smiled and closed his eyes.
“Does it feel bad when I touch you?”
Duncan shook his head. “More like y
ou’re touching someone else and I’m feeling it through them. It’s removed. Like there is the barest hint of signal making its way through.” He laughed slightly. “Unfortunately that’s the only sensation I have.”
Todd rubbed one of Duncan’s feet and then up his leg, the smooth skin flowing under his fingertips.
Duncan gasped when Todd reached the top of his leg and hip. “God. It’s like your hands came from behind a curtain.” He tried to sit up, but Todd pressed him back down, using his hands to glide over his belly and chest, leaving Duncan’s tented boxers alone for now.
“I want you to be happy.”
Duncan sniffed. “That’s all I want too, and I keep wondering if I’m going to be enough.” He cupped Todd’s cheeks in his hand, guiding him until their gazes met. “I need for you to be happy.”
“Then I am,” Todd breathed.
“But will you be happy in a year or five years? Is this…?” Duncan shifted his gaze down to his legs. “Are you going to resent me?”
“Are you going to resent me because I can walk?” Todd figured a stupid question could be answered with another, because to him that had to be one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever heard. “Of course not. You are who you are.” Todd leaned closer and gently kissed along Duncan’s neck. He was getting tired of this conversation. There had been way too much talking and not enough loving, given the fact that Duncan’s mother was only going to be gone for so long. It didn’t take him but a few seconds to find that spot at the base of Duncan’s neck that made him shake, and he worried his lips over it.
“Todd….”
“That’s better…,” Todd said at the almost musical moan he got in response. “Less talk.”
“Okay.” Duncan wrapped his arms around Todd’s neck, and Todd went to work, feasting on Duncan until he was on the verge of screaming. There were plenty of concerns and worries waiting outside that door. For now, at this moment, their love held it all at bay, and Todd wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.
