by Darien Cox
“I’ll go shower. Be right down,” Christian said and took off up the stairs.
Nolan stretched and stood up. He watched Elliot for a minute, thinking he’d speak again, but he remained silent. Nolan hoped the silence was because Elliot had fallen back to sleep, and not because he’d decided he was uncomfortable being alone with Nolan. Again. Because as much as he adored Elliot, much as he’d promised they’d be good no matter what, Nolan didn’t deal well with indecisive bullshit.
He understood this was all knew and Elliot needed time to adjust or whatever. But if blondie over there on the couch was gonna keep playing push forward then pull back with Nolan, it was gonna get old real fast.
Nolan headed toward the kitchen. He needed coffee, and knew everyone else would too.
“Where you going?” Elliot mumbled. He withdrew his arm from his face and squinted up at Nolan.
“To make coffee. You want some?”
“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Elliot stretched his arm out, beckoning with his fingers. “Come here.”
Nolan was so surprised he froze for a moment. Elliot beckoned with his fingers again, so he walked over and knelt beside the couch. Elliot took Nolan’s hand and held it to his chest. “Morning.”
All of what Nolan had been feeling for Elliot swelled up at the simple gesture, and though the sensation wasn’t sexual, it excited things deep inside. “Morning.” He smiled. “I expected you to wake up grumpier than this.”
Elliot’s eyes blinked and a lazy smile spread across his face. “I was just thinking.”
“That’s always dangerous.”
“Ha, yeah. After last night’s ah…” He let go of Nolan’s hand and made finger quotes. “Brainstorming session? I’d have to agree with you.”
“It was kind of a bust, but we were all tired,” Nolan said.
“But hey,” Elliot said. “Trial by fire. Proves we can still work together just fine.”
Nolan laughed. “Yeah. We’ve proven we’re still efficient at achieving absolutely nothing together.”
Elliot laughed, a relaxed, happy sound. He raised an index finger. “But we achieved absolutely nothing with everything we had. And staunch professionalism.”
Nolan smiled as he watched Elliot stretch his arms over his head, then rub his eyes. His gaze drifted over the curve of Elliot’s ribcage, the strip of pale skin where his tee shirt rode up. Unable to help himself, he rested his hand on his stomach and let it drift slowly up to his chest, over his tee shirt.
Elliot flinched and inhaled sharply, letting his hands fall away from his eyes. He kept his eyes closed and let out a slow breath. Nolan slid his hand to the side and ran his fingers over each bump of Elliot’s ribcage, getting pleasure out of the simple act of touching him as he desired. He glanced at Elliot’s face. His eyes were closed, breathing slow and steady. “What are you thinking about now?”
Elliot shook his head and smiled. “If you want your ego fed you’ve got the wrong guy. You’ll just have to guess what I’m thinking.”
Nolan’s fingers reached the bottom of Elliot’s ribcage. Elliot hitched a breath again then blew it out, his eyebrows pinching. “Something wrong?” Nolan asked with a smirk.
Elliot chuckled. “I’m trying to figure out…” He inhaled and his back arched when Nolan ran his thumb across the soft white skin above the hem of his jeans. Keeping the rest of his hand safely over the fabric of Elliot’s tee shirt, he slid his thumb over to the other hip before letting his fingers drift up his shirt, stopping at his chest.
“What are you trying to figure out?”
Elliot grabbed the hand on his chest and held it there. “I’m trying to figure out why every touch from you is like a damn electric shock.”
Nolan smiled. “Do you find it easier to talk to me with your eyes closed or something?”
Keeping them closed, Elliot grinned. “Maybe. For now.”
Nolan shuffled up the side of the couch until he could look down at Elliot’s face. He moved his lips close to his ear. “Well you better get over it soon,” he whispered. “When I finally get the chance to take your clothes off I’m gonna look you in the eye while I do it.”
A whistle of air left Elliot’s lips. “Stop,” he whispered. “Jesus, Nolan. Christian’s upstairs. You’re getting me so hard.”
Nolan lost the power of speech as his throat tightened. For days now he’d been pushing himself outside his comfort zone in order to be honest with Elliot about how he felt. He’d told himself he was prepared for Elliot’s response, be it positive of negative. He’d even asked himself if his own lack of conflict in pursuing this was him falling back on old habits. Elliot was conflicted. So was Nolan trying to be the aggressor for the both of them? Trying to make things easier for Elliot, as he always did?
But actually watching Elliot get turned on by his touch undid Nolan in a way he’d been unprepared for. And that’s when he knew this was what he’d wanted before he even consciously realized it. Touching Elliot was not a calculated ploy to take the reins. He simply couldn’t help himself.
And suddenly here they were. Christian upstairs in the shower, likely to come down any moment. The two of them trapped together in foreplay they both knew could go nowhere. This sensual exchange would have to hang in limbo until who knew when, unfinished, unexplored.
But not unfulfilling. At least to Nolan. He was awed and blissfully content, despite the painful throbbing in his pants, despite the pounding of his heart and restrictive situation. Because sex stuff was happening. Sex was starting, even if it couldn’t be finished right now.
“I’ll make the coffee.” Nolan stood. “Then I’ll run home. Shower and change. Should be back before we hear from JT again.”
Elliot opened his eyes. Nolan expected some joke or quip to leave his lips, but Elliot just stared up at him, expression unreadable. “Nolan. We can handle this. Right?”
“Do you mean containing the disclosure threat? Or you and me?”
“Both.”
Nolan smiled. “The disclosure threat? As you said, this is what you do. And you’re good at it. I have faith we’ll come up with something.”
A sleepy smile spread across Elliot face. “And us? Still kinda feels like a weird dream I’ll wake up from and be embarrassed about then not be able to look you in the eye.”
“Same. But we’ll figure it out as we go. That all right?”
Elliot nodded. “Sounds good.”
Nolan went into the kitchen and started the coffee. Elliot’s words stuck with him. Could they handle this? It was a question Nolan had bypassed in the singlemindedness of trying to get through to Elliot. In trying to determine if the spark was there for him too. Nolan had charged into this recklessly. Passionately. With all his heart, and very little mind, considering what an enormous shift it would be in their relationship. And he’d made blind promises. That no matter how things turned out, their friendship would remain intact.
Nolan would temper himself, move forward at a pace Elliot was comfortable with. Approach it with maturity and mindfulness. But as thrilling as the promise of physical relations between them was, Nolan already knew he ultimately wanted more than that.
He wanted to spend his time making sure Elliot was safe. He wanted to make him coffee when he was too tired to get out of bed. Hot oatmeal when he was sick. To be able to put a smile on his face when he was feeling down. To be the one he relied on as well as the one he desired.
Sure, Elliot was a confident, self-sufficient force of nature, brilliant and brave and wise to the world. He sure as shit didn’t need anyone else to take care of him.
But Nolan wanted to do it anyway.
And while he had enough self-control to keep these thoughts in check and not speak them until he was sure Elliot was ready for that, the truth was he wasn’t entirely sure their friendship could withstand it falling apart. Nolan didn’t want to go back to strictly friendship with Elliot. Suddenly, he couldn’t even be in a room with him without wanting to touch him. He kn
ew how his mouth tasted. How he smelled. Coveted every physical contact Elliot initiated, however tentative and unsure.
To go from that back to simple friendship? At this point, Nolan wasn’t sure he could.
What gave him confidence was knowing this was different for Elliot too. And while Elliot’s obvious caution was about moving from longtime friends to something else, Nolan viewed that caution as a positive detail.
He’d seen Elliot seduce countless men over the years. Elliot was self-assured, confident, near predatory when he wanted to bed someone. If Elliot wanted something, he went after it with no hesitation. But whether it was anxiety over the state of their friendship or not, Elliot was different with Nolan. Shy. Cautious. Tentative. But on the flipside of that, Nolan was able to get something from Elliot no nubile young hard-body in the village ever could. Nolan could feel it. Elliot was made docile and helpless by his passion. This seemed to be an entirely new experience for him. And because of that, there was a pretty damn good chance this could turn into something Elliot had never had before. Something he wouldn’t grow tired of or want to discard. Something real.
So the weirdness they were both feeling, the newness, the holy-shit-what-are-we-doing-ness wasn’t a hindrance in this scenario. It was Nolan’s trump card. And he intended to play it for all it was worth.
****
JT came in the door with a stack of large pizzas, so no one suspected he’d obtained anything other than lunch. At least Elliot didn’t, until Christian got in his face as JT was setting the pizzas down. “What is it? You found something out. I can tell by your expression.”
Elliot chuckled under his breath. Christian and JT had a similar connection to each other as Elliot and Nolan had, always knowing when something was amiss, not needing words to convey it.
After setting the pizzas down, JT’s eyes scanned Elliot’s living room, his long blond hair going askew as he scratched his head. He looked exhausted, and troubled. “Where’s Nolan?”
“He went home to shower and change,” Elliot said. “Should be back any minute.”
“Okay. We wait for him.”
“No!” Christian said. “I want to know what’s happening now, is the teacher still at the school?”
JT looked over his shoulder as he grabbed a slice of pizza. “Christian. You had a third cup of coffee today, didn’t you?”
“So?”
“You know you get too wired if you have more than two.”
Yep. We all know each other too fucking well. It would have been claustrophobic if they didn’t get along so well. Sure, there was the occasional explosion, but considering how much time they had to spend together, strife was minimal.
Nolan chose that convenient moment to step through the front door.
“There he is,” Christian said. “Okay JT, talk.”
Nolan closed the door behind him and scowled. “What’s going on?”
“Everyone sit down,” JT said. “Get some pizza, we’re no good starving. I have news.”
Despite the nerves over whatever JT’s announcement would be, Elliot got hit with a thunderbolt at the sight of Nolan. Freshly showered in a white, long-sleeved cotton jersey that outlined his physique, dark hair tied back, clean-shaven. He got a whiff of his spicy shower gel, a scent so uniquely Nolan it caused a stirring low in his body.
Christ, you just saw him. Settle down.
Elliot had always been aware that Nolan was gorgeous in concept. But he’d always just been Nolan to him. A colleague he had to work with. A friend he’d vowed to protect. Someone he’d always felt particularly comfortable with, sure, but still. Just one of the crew.
But now? Looking at that sweet, gorgeous man, knowing that he desired Elliot? It was like staring into the sun. He had to look away or his eyeballs would burn out. He noticed Christian watching him with a smirk. Elliot narrowed his eyes at Christian and purposely bumped him as he passed by to grab a slice of pizza. “Shut up,” he mumbled, and Christian snickered.
“Where’s the teacher?” Nolan asked.
“He’s back at the school.” JT pulled an envelope out of his jeans. “He left the school for lunch and I followed him. He drove around Singing Bear Village. Slowed down when he went by the marina, but didn’t stop. Slowed down when he drove by my pub. Finally he took Lake Shore, slowed down again, and popped this in my mailbox.” JT shook the envelope.
Elliot’s pulse sped. He walked over to stand before JT. “What is it?”
JT pulled a single photograph out and held it up. It was a copy of one of the photos that had been left in Nolan’s truck the night before—the one of the four of them crowded around the structure holding the craft at the marina over the summer.
“Same picture we got,” Nolan said.
JT nodded. “Yeah. With something written on the back.” He turned it around. In black sharpie were the words, ‘Tick Tock. Expose yourself. Or I will.’
“Great,” Nolan said. “Guess he wants us to know we’re running out of time.”
“This is it,” Elliot said. “We have confirmation. He’s definitely our guy. That one percent of doubt is gone. This is good.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little convenient?” JT said. “I’m out following him, and he drops something in my mailbox?”
“You think he knew you were following him?”
“I stayed a good distance back. I was careful. He shouldn’t have known. I just can’t help feeling that this clown is less about disclosure for all and more about fucking with us. Is it just me? Or is something off about this? Beyond the obvious threat of it all. Elliot? What do you think?”
Elliot nodded. “I’ve been having the same instincts. This guy’s actions feel like they’ve been taken from a cheesy thriller script or something. Stalker 101. My gut tells me there’s still something we’re missing here. Regardless, we have to take it seriously.”
“Gut feelings are irrelevant at this point, as are the teacher’s motivations,” Nolan said. “We have what we need. Now we can grab him and turn him over to Ogden. We can over analyze the fuck out of it later.”
“Grab him yes, preferably before nightfall,” Elliot said. “But only after we make sure he doesn’t have a dead man’s trigger set up. Which is why we can’t just go knock on his door when he gets off work. It could give him time to call someone, or send an email.”
“Well, we can’t just grab him in public,” Nolan said.
“No,” JT said. “We can’t. We need a plan to get him somewhere alone, outside his home or the school. Get him to spill his guts when we corner him, away from prying eyes. Time to get creative, guys.”
They nibbled pizza, serious faces all around. The silence afforded Elliot the time to think. He tuned out everyone else in the room. Tuned out the cloud of sexual tension wafting off Nolan. Allowed his mind to go into job-mode. Get creative.
“Unfortunately none of us know this guy well enough to ask him out for a beer or something,” Christian said. “So how do we do this?”
Elliot studied Christian. “Asking him out for a beer, no. But you just gave me an idea.”
They all stared at him expectantly.
“JT,” he said. “Can you control the phone calls that come into the pub? So that you’re the only one receiving them?”
JT nodded. “I can make that work. Just forward them to my cell. What are you thinking?”
Elliot’s eyes shifted as he thought. “Okay. You know how they’re trying to raise funds to build an elementary school in the village? So the little kids won’t have to commute into the main town for school?”
“Uh huh,” Christian said. “Brock and Michelle always had to drive the kids down to the main town every morning because busses won’t come out to the village. So?”
“What if someone were to go to the middle school and approach Brett Kuna. Tell him there’s a fundraiser at the pub tonight. A bachelor auction. We tell him that someone…no, that many people brought his name up as a potential money-maker.”
J
T shook his head. “You want to stage a bachelor auction tonight? I gotta say that sounds a little complex, and basically impossible on short notice.”
“No, there won’t actually be a bachelor auction. We just tell him there is, and he’s been requested as one of the bachelors. Have all calls forwarded so we can handle it if he calls the pub to check. We watch for him to show up. One of us puts a sign just inside the front door saying ‘Bachelor auction upstairs.’ You can close off the top floor of the pub. JT, is the loft apartment above the pub still empty?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. So he’ll go upstairs. See another sign saying ‘Bachelor Auction’ pointing to the loft entrance. It’s more private. Brett goes up. Sees he’s alone. Wonders if he’s in the wrong place or whatever. We step out and corner him. Make him hand over his phone. Get him to talk.”
“And who’s going to go to the school and do the asking?” Christian said. “He clearly knows all of us. There’s a good chance he’ll say no, and then he’ll be alerted to our intentions.”
“It can’t be one of us, obviously,” Elliot said. “But he’s a teacher. Trying to blend in as a newly minted pillar of the community. Being asked to help school children. I think he’ll feel pressured to participate. Especially if someone in law enforcement asks him.”
“Ah, shit,” Christian said. “You want to bring Myles into this?”
Elliot nodded.
Christian pointed at Elliot. “You just said last night we shouldn’t bring Myles or Rudy into it, because it’s dangerous. Now you want to involve my boyfriend, while Rudy sits home safe and snug?”
“Christian, fuck off!” JT said. “Oh, would you like me to put Rudy in imminent danger so you feel like we’re even?”
“Could you?” Christian grinned. “I’d appreciate it.”
“Um, excuse me.” Nolan raised a finger. “If this Brett Kuna guy knows who we all are, then he likely knows the sheriff is Christian’s boyfriend. He’ll know it’s a setup.”
“Fuck!” Elliot hung his head. “I didn’t think of that.”
