A New Dream [Dreams: 1] (3 page)

C
hapter 3 –
D
avid:
Landing

A
breath of air touching his cheek woke David up, so subtle it felt like an angel asked him to open his eyes. But when he did, the first thing he felt was his hand imprinted on his crumpled face. He had fallen asleep, his chin resting in his hand as his elbow rested on the armrest between their two seats. His head had slowly slid onto James' arm who didn’t look all too happy about it.

David pulled away as quickly as possible, babbling a sleepy “sorry”. James smiled a dimpled grin. David wasn’t sure he looked upset… more confused, as if James didn’t know what to do about him.

He looked at his watch and saw that he had slept an hour and a half, leaving another five-and-a-half hours of flight. David glanced out the window. They were flying above the clouds and it was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like a white cotton field where you would only want to flop down, roll over and over until you reached the end of the sky. The cerulean sky itself formed a bright arch above, bringing out the whiteness of the clouds. He contemplated the charming landscapes for a few minutes as his head rested against the window frame.

He pictured little characters playing leapfrog in the clouds, gates made out of cotton candy, houses made from gingerbread and fields of green sugar grass. He smiled to himself.

He felt James’ pinky graze his hand and fought not to react, but he felt a blush creep up on his cheeks. In his line of work, he had never experienced any issues when it came to hiding his emotions but he blushed like a three-year-old girl when he was in uncharted territory. And he couldn’t seem to rein in his reactions towards James. When James added two more fingers to the first one, David looked at him, raising his eyebrows in a silent question.

“Did you sleep well?” James asked softly.

“Yes, thank you. Sorry about earlier. I’ll try to not fall asleep on your shoulder again.” David added with a shy smile.

“Ha!” James exclaimed. “It’s okay. It didn’t bother me at all, I can assure you.” His lips stretched in a crooked smile and sparkles in his eyes, James observed David as if he knew a secret David was trying to ignore. He shifted in his seat.

He decided to take his hand away as discreetly as possible and he took his sketch pad, a drawing pencil and an eraser. He began to draw the scene he had imagined as he was looking at the clouds, the pad set on the little table in front of his seat. James watched him in a comfortable silence.

For an hour, neither David nor James had said a word as the drawing was taking form. In addition to the field of clouds with cotton candy gates and sugar grass, David had drawn little fairies who were dancing and laughing, children who played around, and stars in the sky. The sketch was in shades of grey, as David hadn’t brought his color pencils.

He was completely lost in the details of the interlacing pattern of the Celtic knots on one of the fairy’s corset, when James’ voice caressed David’s heart. “It is absolutely gorgeous. You’re an artist…”

David looked down from the pad, amazed by the warmth the compliment raised in him. James bent towards him to get a better look at the drawing, his chin barely touching David’s shoulder.
God, he’s so close!
David squirmed in his seat.

“You’re quite talented,” James carried on. “Have you ever thought of selling your art or organizing an exhibit?”

“No,” David laughed. “I’m not
that
talented. There are people far more talented than me.”

“You’re too modest. The details are amazing,” James added in his low voice, calm and ―oh God, yes― sexy. David eyed him from under his eyelashes, trying to gauge his mood.
Is he hitting on me?
He wondered for the second time
.
The idea sent a shot of adrenaline through his spine.
Would I like that?
That last thought was particularly disturbing. Especially because he wasn’t
that
disturbed by the idea itself.

“Thanks. It’s nice of you to say.” David looked him in the eyes as he fell silent. James didn’t lower his gaze. Instead, his grin grew bigger and his dimple in his cheek deepened. David fought the urge to lick it.

Horrified, he felt the blush of shame and arousal heating his cheeks. He hated the fact that this man he barely knew had made him blush more than he had in his entire life. David licked his lips and James’ breath hitched, his gaze now fixed on David’s tongue.

When their eyes met again, it was David’s turn to catch his breath. The hunger in James’ eyes was mesmerizing. He looked relaxed but his gaze gave him away. The atmosphere grew thicker and the little devil on David’s shoulder whispered in his ear
Well, if the attraction is mutual, why not give in?

James slid his hand over the armrest onto David’s thigh. David shuddered violently, their eyes locked on each others reactions. Heat spread from David’s face to his neck, into his chest and down his spine.

He opened his lips without realizing it until James' eyes dropped to his mouth.

Someone hit the back of James’ seat, spilling a glass of orange juice over James’ shirt. They jerked apart, like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. David turned his face to the window and heard the flight attendant’s excuses.
The Ice Queen
.

She had to have done it on purpose. Her words spoke of excuses but her eyes had screamed victory, as if interrupting something could be some sort of revenge for her. Maybe so James couldn’t have what she hadn’t gotten from David? She didn’t stand a chance, especially with her cold beauty and the calculating look on her face.
Not my type of woman and she doesn't look like someone James could fancy. She lacks a little something, such as a three-piece pack between her legs for example.
David smiled inwardly.

James got up, grabbed his luggage from the overhead compartment and went to the toilets to change his clothes. When he came back, David had his earplugs in, Hugh Laurie playing his blues loudly in his ears, and he had put aside his drawing pad. His head resting against the window, he closed his eyes and hoped James would respect his fake sleep.

He felt wholly lost. Everything was going so fast. In his entire life, he couldn’t think of a single time where he had cast doubt on his sexuality. Before Suzanne, he didn’t go out often. He had met her during his last year in Uni and they had been hired by the same company. Their relationship had been an easy one. She was like the sun to him, bright as a summer's day, and a woman full of life. She had been affable, talked easily to people and, when they ended up working together in the same service, they had taken their friendship to the next level.

He had discovered her body slowly, sweetly, loving her charm, her softness, and her curves. He had liked everything about her. Their friendship had become something deeper, almost like a 'brotherhood' but with benefits. It hadn't been necessarily passionate but it had been warm and comfortable. It had felt like a blanky: you like it, you cuddle it and you can’t sleep without it. He had loved her smile, her humor and her positive way of seeing life.

The birth of their children had been the defining moment of their relationship. Jules was a discreet boy, nice, calm and considerate, curious but never impertinent. Jenny was impetuous―a will-o'-the-wisp, impulsive―but a sweetheart and always the one to worry about others, like a miniature mom.

The day of the accident, David and Suzanne were just coming back from a walk on the ocean front. A drizzle had transformed the road into an ice rink. An exhausted truck driver drifted onto the wrong side of the road and the car swerved to avoid a collision. The tires had lost their grip on the tarmac and, clipping the truck, the car rolled over three or four times before finishing wrong side up. At some point, Suzanne got ejected from the car and wound up lying on the damp grass, several cervical vertebrae fractured. David had balanced between life and death, until death won. He had died in the ambulance but was reanimated a few minutes later. He had never thought about it as a miracle because, in the process, he had lost his sun. Since then, he'd only had rain in his life.

He felt guilty because he had been driving. She had unbuckled her seat belt because he had asked her to grab a bottle of water. She didn’t have time to buckle up again before the crash. He felt guilty because he had insisted she'd grab him the bottle. He felt guilty because it was simply his fault she was gone.

The fact she didn’t suffer was no comfort. She had drifted into a coma and never woke up. The physical pain was nothing compared to the void, the gaping hole in his chest her death had left.

After the funeral, mostly organized by his in-laws, everything had changed. He'd had to find his way around his new life, driving the kids to school, doing the laundry, food shopping and cooking alone. All of it had been excruciating. He admitted now, at the time, he had placed a lot on his children’s shoulders as he slowly sank into depression.

He would sit there, his mind blank, not knowing what he was about to do. Post traumatic depression? Yeah, you bet… he was in shock. Numb. He didn’t feel or want anything.  When his brother-in-law had wanted to drag him to a shrink, he had refused. He had buried his pain and suffering and went back to work. And when he would finally come home at night, he would fall asleep on his wife’s side of the bed and cry as silently as he could. Eventually, he managed to enter their bedroom without crying too much, but, he could no longer bear to sleep in the bed that had seen so much of their life, he'd had to buy a new one.

His children had been terrific; maybe a little too perfect. He missed the smiles on their faces so much. They acted as if he was a piece of china and would break at the faintest sound of music or the slightest laugh. The house became more and more silent as laughter no longer filled the rooms. David stopped going out. Jules set up a studio above the garage and Jenny had an independent entrance to reach her room upstairs. They lived together but hardly ever saw each other. They were a broken family because he had wanted to drink a fucking bottle of water.

Caught up in his dark thoughts, David didn’t notice the time had flown by and it was almost time to land.

James hadn’t uttered another word since the incident with the Ice Queen. From time to time, David had felt his gaze on his back but he hadn’t made any more moves. Maybe he had felt it was going too fast for David?

He heard the pilot give the weather condition and start to descent to Boston.

He was on the edge of a new life.

C
hapter 4 –
J
ames:
Taxi!

D
uring the remainder of the flight, James had looked at him, not duped for a moment by his false sleep. When he had opened his eyes, James had watched the tears rolling down David’s cheeks, tears David hadn’t seemed to notice. He looked like he was lost in a waking nightmare, eyes wide open as he gazed out the window, barely blinking.

James had his own nightmares, his own wretched thoughts, but they hadn’t reappeared during the day in ages. The shadows liked to submerge him at night, when his subconscious rose. His long lost memories would come to him, haunting him with images of the past. He would see the frail silhouette of his mother, her pale skin, her too thin features, yet her eyes filled with love for her children. It would be followed with a rapid succession of flashbacks. His mother, standing in front of the sink with the water running, her gaze vacantly looking through the window. Then, terror on her face, hands before her to protect herself as she walked backwards to escape his father’s tantrums. Lastly, his father’s rat face with his red-rimmed eyes, a knife covered in blood in his hand, looking directly into James’ eyes.

Without fail, the concluding image would arouse him from his slumber, sweating and panting heavily.

The atrocities he had seen while fighting for his country hadn’t overcome his terrible childhood memories. Nothing was worse than what happened to your own family. He had seen some of his brothers-in-arms losing it after fucked up ops but James would always stay calm and steady. Most of his friends had a hard time understanding how he could keep his distance, Bo had been the only one to know the entire story.

He couldn’t wait to see him again; Bo had retired just before James' demobilization. He was a big teddy bear, underneath his impressive appearance. Bo was a good 6.7 ft and about 250 lb of pure muscle. His huge, bright smile could blind someone easily and he had a heart as big as his home state Louisiana. He was clever too and had made a good stash of money over several smart investments in real estate and young companies. James was glad to invest with him on this project, because of the money of course, but more so because it was a way to stay in touch with him a little longer.

They had become undoubtedly close these past thirteen years. Bo had told him about his childhood in the bayou. How he’d avoided hanging out with gangs during his teenage years, his loving parents, the smells he remembered from his mama’s cooking―and, above anything else, the love he’d received all his life. He hadn’t had the chance to study so he counted on the army to give him a goal in his life. He had liked the idea of fighting for his country and helping others, but reality wasn’t up to his ideals and he quickly grew tired of tilting at windmills. So, when he had to choose whether to re-enlist or not, he chose not to, even though he was torn between the sadness of leaving his friends and the relief of going back to the US. The money he had invested just increased over time and he had sufficient funds now to live comfortably, leading on any of the projects he had thought off.

When the pilot announced the landing, James snapped out of his musings and buckled up, wincing. He had tried to walk down the aisle as much as possible during the flight but his knee still hurt. The flight had brought back some dark thoughts and he couldn’t wait to see his best mate again. That, and have a cold beer, sprawled out on his couch after a long, hot shower.

With this in mind, he began to relax a little as he stretched his body and closed his eyes, a gentle smile on his face. A thought crossed his mind. He didn’t want to lose sight of his beautiful Frenchie. Maybe he could lead him to discover new horizons… no restrictions, no expectations. The way he had responded earlier to his light caress, before the tactlessness of the flight attendant, gave him hope that he could do something with him.

He pictured the scene in his head. His lips on David’s, his hands on his body, eating his mouth, licking his way along his jaw, down his neck, nibbling his collar bone… damn, it was so hot that James almost whimpered out loud. His jeans felt too confining right now. His balls tightened at the mere thought of his tongue licking David’s chest, descending into the valley of desire to reach his lover’s hard shaft. If David was as beautiful naked as he was dressed, James would come before even taking care of his man’s body. He tried to compose himself as he stopped his delectable thoughts before he’d release himself in his pants like a teen in heat.

He managed to halt his train of thought as he focused on the upcoming ride with Bo. If his guess was right, David and he were about to see each other on a daily basis. The cathedral David had talked about was on Washington Street and it was precisely there that Bo had told him the building was located. James had never set foot in it so he couldn't be sure but he'd bet anything that he was correct.

His smile kept spreading over his lips; he couldn’t help it. He bit down on his bottom lip but it reminded him of the bite of a hard kiss. The thought brought him back to David and he scrutinized him again.

His not-so-straight nose enhanced his classic beauty. What would have caused it? A fight in a bar? An accident? A faint white scar crossed his left eyebrow. Maybe the two elements were connected in a way. He bet it was an accident. David had beautiful eyes, blue and grey at the same time, a near scintillating color. His pale skin practically glowed in the dim light of the plane. James pictured the contrast of their different complexions on black crumpled sheets, his own tanned skin against the luminescent velvet of David’s. He visualized their turgid members rubbing against each other, the heat spreading in their lower backs… perhaps a blush on David’s neck? Yes, he could picture David blushing perfectly. And even more if he was in his arms, James’ mouth cosseting his with his wet tongue…
Oh my God, I’m gonna cum in my pants like a teen for real!
He was rock hard just thinking of what he could do to this guy…pathetic.

Anyway, it might be a long time before he could take his shy Frenchie this way. He didn’t look like he was out and proud, but much more like he was so far in the closet he would need Ariane’s help to find his way out of the maze in his heart. But still, he
had
seemed to react positively at the gentle touch of his pinky. If James played it well, he might be able to convince David to come over to the Dark Side!

When it was finally time to get off of the plane, James tried not to lose sight of David but he did during a brief moment at passport controls. He caught sight of him again as he queued to get a cab. He hurried to catch him.

“Hey, David!” he called.

David turned to face him as he raised an eyebrow, a small, wheeled suitcase in one hand and a backpack hanging from the opposite shoulder.

“A friend of mine is picking me up. Do you want us to give you a ride? It might be easier than getting a cab.” He tried to ignore the plea in his voice as it betrayed what the indifferent expression on his face tried to hide. He took so long to answer that James started to think he'd better withdraw his offer, when David nodded. James hoped it was not about saving money but because he’d like to have a little more time with James.

“Okay, why not? But it depends on where you’re going.”

Yeah, right, maybe not the most enthusiastic comment on Earth but, hey, he’s coming, right?

“We’re going towards the cathedral.” James said in a non-committal way. “My friend should be waiting for me over there. Shall we go?” he added with a wave in the general direction of parking lot.

David followed him reluctantly and, as James didn’t know what to talk about, he led the way in silence to where he was supposed to meet Bo.