Graham Ran Over A Reindeer (4 page)

Chapter Five

The next day…

Rudy grinned widely as he ran some gel through his hair. He had spent the last two hours manscaping and generally losing his mind as he prepared for his date with Graham. They had spoken earlier in the day and Graham had given Rudy every indication that he was still interested. On some level, Rudy couldn’t believe this was happening. Choosing a human for a mate required careful consideration and planning—one couldn’t just pick someone out of a crowd and announce they were Elementir and expect them to be okay with it.

Sure, Rudy wished his heritage hadn’t been revealed the way it had, but what was done was done. He focused on the fact that Graham seemed interested in learning more about Rudy’s heritage. All the other stuff could come later, like stolen kisses and caresses in the dark. He didn’t want a few nights of physical pleasure. He wanted a real mate, someone to love and someone that loved him in equal measure.

Rudy felt the disapproving stare of Grandfather on his back and he turned to regard the man. “Don’t be upset with me, please.”

Grandfather sighed, and suddenly looked older than his four hundred years. “You were always a disobedient child. Seems not much has changed.” Stepping forward, the man gripped Rudy’s shoulders gently. “I love you and only have your best interests at heart. I am afraid this will turn out badly.”

Rudy hugged the man, savoring the heat of his kin and head of his family. He nodded against Grandfather’s chest. “I know. But Graham is different. We’ve grown up together, after all and he seems okay with who I am.”

“Curiosity is exciting, but sometimes the answer to our questions isn’t what we want,” he said, his palm running up and down Rudy’s back.

Pulling away, Rudy gazed into Grandfather’s ancient eyes and wondered how he dealt with being away from Grandmother half of the year. “I really like him. I need to give it a shot or I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

The man nodded ruefully and dropped his arms.  “Grandson must find own path in this life.”

A smile tugged at Rudy’s lips and he embraced him again, savoring the warmth and scent of Grandfather. He knew the man spoke from experience, but true to his words, he would regret not giving his relationship with Graham a chance. Grandfather left without another word and Rudy regarded his reflection. He had spent extra time on his hair and hoped Graham approved. He’d never fused over his appearance so carefully, but he wanted to please the man.

Stepping out onto the front porch, Rudy’s stomach tumbled in trepidation. He’d been intimate with a few guys before so the nerves he was suddenly experiencing was unsettling. It was just a reminder of how crazy he was about Graham. He tried to get a hold of himself, but with every mile his truck covered, the nerves grew—maybe he should have skipped the hair gel? Rudy pulled up to the building where Graham’s apartment was. He took several deep breaths to steady himself but they didn’t help all that much. After a long minute, he phoned Graham to let him know he was waiting outside.

“Be right there!” the guy said, his tone laced with excitement. The call was cut before Rudy could acknowledge him.

Resting his head against the seat, Rudy closed his eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.
This is Graham. We’ve known each other since we were three years old. There is no reason to freak out.
He chanted the words over and over in his mind and the rhythmic beat combined with the positive thought relaxed him—at least until the passenger door was yanked open. Graham slipped in and pegged Rudy with a bright smile that was liable to burn his eyes out of their sockets. He looked amazing with his hair perfectly arranged and freshly shaven jaw. Rudy attempted to grin back, but heat crawled across his skin.
Should have skipped the gel.

Frowning, Graham asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Rudy said, starting the truck up. “Why?”

“You don’t look to enthusiastic to be doing this,” Graham muttered.

“No!” he barked, then flushed deeper. “I’m sorry I gave you that impression. I’m just… really nervous. Actually, I’m freaking out.”

Chuckling, Graham ran a hand through his hair, messing up the effort he’d made. “So am I, but I am pretty good at hiding it.”

The man’s confession did a whole lot to sooth Rudy’s nerves and he smiled. “Okay, so if I do something stupid, like walk into a light pole, don’t hold it against me.”

Graham made a dismissive sound. “That’s nothing. I already fell down the stairs.”

“Did you hurt yourself?” Rudy asked, his trepidation returning full force. His Elementir instinct couldn’t handle the man being injured on his accord. It was the reason he still anguished over the whole caribou-versus-truck ordeal.

“No, it was only a few steps thankfully,” he said, his cheeks coloring. “The worse of it is carpet burn. I guess, it’s best to get the awkward stuff out of the way. I want to do this and if you do, too then get moving.”

Rudy’s cheeks ached as he smiled widely. The trucked roared to life and they were on their way in the flick of a caribou’s tail. Rudy kept his eyes on the road, afraid if he stole a single glance of Graham, he wouldn’t be able to look away. Their drive wasn’t far and Rudy maneuvered the vehicle in an empty parking spot at the nicest diner in town. They traded shy smiles as they walked to the entrance and Rudy scrambled to hold the door open for him.

“What a gentleman,” Graham said lowly, his expression reflecting approval.

The compliment went right to Rudy’s instinct, stroking the animal within. Despite the caribou being a prey animal, he was male and susceptible to the mating drive. He shuttered as he followed behind, his eyes dropping to Graham’s rear. The pair of black jeans he had on looked expensive and new, and cupped the globes of his ass perfectly. Rudy caught the moan crawling up his throat before he made a fool of himself.

The hostess smiled as she retrieved two menus. “Reservation for Snowden?”

“Yep,” Rudy said.

They followed the woman to the quiet corner Rudy had requested. Rudy hesitated as Graham shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the hook. Great Spirit, but the man was fine, the simple black dress shirt clinging to a sculpted torso. Rudy quickly shed his own coat and slid in the chair before he embarrassed himself in front of the hostess.

“Can I start you off with something to drink?” she inquired.

Rudy regarded Graham. “You want some wine?”

“Sure,” he said, looking down at his menu.

Turning his attention to the hostess, he ordered something light. When she was gone, Rudy bit his lip, not sure what to do or say next. His pants had tightened uncomfortably. He had considered masturbating beforehand to relieve the pressure that had been building for years, but what if they ended up in bed tonight? His head spinning, he pulled the lapel on his flannel button-up, needing a little breathing room.

“I haven’t been here for a while,” Graham commented as he unfolded the menu. “With working and all that. It’s nice.”

“I thought you might like it,” Rudy said, bringing a glass of water to his mouth. He sipped carefully, not wanting to dribble any down his chin. “I only come here for special occasions and this is definitely a special occasion.”

A smile tugged at the man’s lips, but his attention didn’t wavier from the menu. Though his expression was loose, Rudy could see his body was tense—maybe he didn’t know where to start?

Chewing on his lip, Rudy looked out the window. The hardest part was telling Graham about his Elementir nature and that was already done, so why was he avoiding this? He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Graham, you can ask me anything.”

The man’s eyes fluttered closed as if he were relieved. He erected his spine and pegged Rudy with a serious expression. “I have so many questions, but I don’t want to pry or say something that might be taken as an insult.”

“You aren’t. I want you to know me.”

Nodding, Graham wet his tongue with a sip of water, then wiped non-existent crumbs from the table. “Have you always been this way? Or is it like a werewolf thing where you get bit? But if you were bitten by a werewolf, wouldn’t you become a werewolf? Wait, that doesn’t make sense.”

Rudy was glad the man finally took that leap. “It doesn’t exactly work like that. I was born as Elementir—what we call ourselves—and chose to remain with my family as caribou. When we mature, we are given the option to choose our forms regardless of the family we are born into.”

Graham digested that news for a moment, his brows pulling down. Rudy waited patiently, knowing that the man needed time. While Graham seemed to formed questions in his mind, the waitress arrived with the wine bottle and popped the cork. Rudy sampled it then nodded his head in acceptance and she filled their glasses.

When she was gone, Graham asked, “So you could become a bear or a wolf, if you wanted to?”

“Yes. But then I would have to leave my family and I couldn’t do that,” Rudy said, his voice cracking. He hadn’t expected Graham to get into the sensitive stuff so quickly.

“Did I hit a nerve? See, I knew I’d say something wrong—”

“No, it’s not you. All Elementir, whether caribou, wolf, bear or any other, are not allowed to mingle by order of our council that rules the people. If I had not chosen caribou, I would have to leave my family and this place. I couldn’t do that.”

Graham looked at him, his throat shifting hard. “I take it you’ve had family choose… differently.”

“Yes.” Rudy took a sip of his wine, hoping the alcohol would mellow him out. “My older brother did not choose caribou. I have not seen him for a very long time, but he sends me a gift every year for my birthday. I miss him.”

“Why?” Graham spoke up, leaning forward. “I mean, why can’t bears and wolves mix? Or caribou and hawks? Wait, are hawks a thing?”

“They are. The ruling council separated us many years ago, a time before even Grandfather was born because our animal instincts conflict with one another. Can you imagine a wolf living with me? It would be chaos.”

Scratching his neck, Graham chuckled. “I see your point. So is your kind like aliens or something? I mean… how does something like that happen? You look totally human.”

“I am human… partially, anyway. Grandfather told you the story?”

“About the Great Spirit coming down and making a boy into a caribou? Yeah, but I thought it was a bunch of folklore. I mean… well, it doesn’t seem like magic could exist in a world of science and technology.” Graham ran his eyes up and down Rudy. “Of course, seeing what I’ve had, I’m not so sure anymore.”

“To be bluntly honest, we really don’t know how we became what we are. Call the Great Spirit a god, or an alien, but for whatever reason, we were made and have existed alongside humanity for a very long time.”

“You said you chose your form. Can you not choose one?” he inquired.

“Yes. There are a few that live as the
unchosen
. They are highly respected.”

The waitress returned. “Are you ready to order yet or would you like some more time?”

They flushed in unison and dropped their attention to the menus. “I think I’ll have the peppercorn chicken,” Rudy said, selecting the first thing that came to mind.

“Ah… the halibut sounds good.” As soon as she was gone, Graham asked, “Can you be made? I mean… like being bitten, or—?”

It was another subject Rudy hadn’t expected Graham to approach so soon. The fantasy of Graham accepting the gift filled him and he smiled softly, reminding himself not to be so hopeful. “Yes. Most Elementir are granted a single gift of creation.”

Graham froze, his body leaning in as if Rudy were a magnet. “Do you want to tell me how that works, or is it too deep a subject?”

It is definitely deep,
Rudy thought, but Graham needed to know what he was getting into. He took a moment to arrange his words and downed some wine for a little added courage. Touching the center of his chest, he explained, “We call it a
light-well
. Inside is the
light-water
that when taken into the receiver’s body, grants them the choice. They become
Elementir
. But it cannot happen without approval from the council. Well it can, but they don’t like it when we go around gifting without permission. I guess they like to keep track of everyone.”

After a long tense moment, Graham croaked, “You said most… do you have the gift?”

****

Graham’s words hung between them for a fraction of a second, but it seemed like so much longer. He instantly regretted asking. He wasn’t sure exactly why—it could have been the stressed look on Rudy’s face or the idea of running around as an animal that suddenly invaded Graham’s mind.

Jesus. Could I become like Rudy?
It was one of those rare thoughts that made one think they were going insane.

“Yeah,” Rudy finally said, his voice rough. “Having a human parent, I had a fifty/fifty chance of being born with a
light-well
. I got lucky. My brother didn’t. I think that’s why he chose differently.”

“I’m sorry,” Graham muttered, having no idea what he was apologizing for. Rudy’s brother seemed to be a touchy topic, even more so than Graham discovering his nature—hell, he hadn’t even known Rudy had siblings. Pushing the thought aside, Graham reached across the table and touched Rudy’s hand, his thumb stroking the man’s knuckle. “I won’t overload you with questions. This is supposed to be a date which implies fun. So no more inquiries.”