Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 2.1 - On Deck (4 page)

Evan checks his watch, and almost instantly Carlos is there, inquiring whether they'd like anything else, or just the bill. Evan pulls a credit card out of his wallet and hands it to Carlos, cutting out a step, and Dan wonders if they're actually in a hurry or if Evan is just trying to keep Dan from catching a peek at the bill. He excuses himself to go to the

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bathroom, and by the time he's back, everything seems to have been taken care of. Again, he's torn between appreciating Evan's chivalry and worrying that it's setting up a weird sort of power dynamic. He figures he can always even that out later, though, so he smiles as Evan stands and nods towards the door.

Dan isn't all that full, really, but he had quite a bit more of the wine than Evan, since Evan had to drive, and the day on the water had definitely taken its toll. Dan kind of wants to manhandle Evan into his bedroom and start evening out the power structure right away, but he also kind of wants a nap. They walk back to the car and Dan barely notices as Evan opens the door for him, just slides inside and waits for the door to be shut so he can rest his head against it.

When Evan gets in, he nods over at Dan's seat. "It reclines, if you want. We've got a bit of a drive."

"And you like watching me sleep… you creeper."
Evan just shrugs. "Yup, that's me."

Dan gives in to temptation and reclines the seat, turning his head sideways so he's looking at Evan. He lets his eyes drift shut, and he doesn't really plan to doze, but he guesses he does, because the next thing he's aware of is the truck slowing down somewhere with a lot of bright lights overhead. Evan's talking quietly into his cellphone, and then the truck cuts to the right and stops, and Dan lifts his head to look outside. They're at the airport, and Dan's first thought is that Jeff must be coming back early, but that doesn't really make sense. And that's when he sees Chris's smiling face standing at the curb.

Dan turns his face towards Evan, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Chris? What's Chris doing here?"

 

Evan laughs. "Why don't you ask
him
, dude?"

 

Dan hops out of the truck, and this time it's Chris who starts the hug,
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although Dan returns it enthusiastically as soon as he gets his bearings back. "Chris, holy shit! What are you doing here?"

"Seriously? You didn't figure it out?" Chris nods over at Evan. "Good work, man. I knew
I
was smooth enough to keep it quiet, but I figured you… well, spending more time with him, and with the pillow talk… I figured you'd crack."

Evan shakes his head seriously. "That's the first thing you're going to have to learn about me, man… I'm excellent under pressure." "Good to know, boss."

Dan is looking back and forth between them with growing chagrin. "What? 'Boss'? Shit, Chris, did you take the job?" Chris raises his eyebrows in agreement, and Dan hits him on the shoulder. Hard. "You fucker! I talked to you three days ago, and you said you were still thinking about it! How the hell long have you been lying to me?"

Chris is trying to pretend his shoulder isn't sore, but he finds time to answer. "Ease off, slugger." He takes a step sideways until he's hiding behind Evan, and then peeks out. "A little while…." Dan's jaw drops, and Chris laughs. "But, you know, it's not like I
wasn't
thinking about it… I was just thinking about how to
do
the job, not whether to
take
the job…." He sees that Dan's looking for an actual number. "Less than a week, dude. The case I was on wrapped up, and I started looking around for the next project, and nothing really caught my attention, and the firm's been laying people off and they were about to do another round, and I just figured, better me than somebody with a family to support. And Evan said I could stay at his guesthouse until I found somewhere to live, so it's not like I needed to worry about
that
."

Dan's a little blown away. "Holy shit. It's… it's lucky I'm glad to see you, or I'd be totally pissed off." His eyes shift to Evan. "And
you
! What the fuck? You can't lie to me this afternoon in order to pretend that there's no big surprise, but you can lie to me for a whole week about whether my

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best friend is moving out and working for you? How does that work?"

Evan is clearly pleased with himself. "The ways of deception are not simple, grasshopper." He takes a step closer, bends a little to look into Dan's eyes. "You're not really pissed, are you? We just… we wanted to surprise you." Evan shrugs. "Chris said you'd be pissy about it, but I didn't think you'd mind. And he seemed to think that it would be funny if you got mad, so…."

Dan's still digesting. "Jeff knew?"

Evan nods. "Yeah. He said we should tell you. And he
doesn't
have my deceptive skills, so that's why you haven't seen much of him for the last few days."

"I thought he was busy getting ready for his mom to arrive." Dan thinks back. "And, fuck, I thought you were being weird because of the stupid date!" He looks down at himself. "I can't believe I bought a new shirt."

Chris takes a cautious step forward. "It's a really nice shirt, Danny…." He steps back when Dan glares at him. "Okay, too soon."

Dan doesn't want to prove Chris right by being pissy, but he also doesn't want to prove
Evan
right by
not
being pissy. And damn it, he doesn't like it when people lie to him, even if it's just for a joke. And he's not altogether comfortable with this new bond between Chris and Evan, with them having secrets together, and Chris staying at Evan's house. Okay, the guest house, and it hasn't really been used much as the love nest, so it's not like it doesn't make sense for Chris to be there. And it
is
really good to see Chris, and it'll be great to be living near him again….

He sighs, and nods towards a pack of bags near where Chris had been standing. "Is that your stuff?" Chris nods cautiously, as if he's worried that Dan might be about to grab it and toss it into traffic. Instead, Dan walks over and heaves one of the duffels to his shoulder. "Jesus, Chris, did you move ALL your stuff by plane? Could you not wait the four

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days to ship it overland?"

Chris smiles cautiously. "There's more coming. We aren't all natural nomads, Dan… some of us actually accumulate belongings." He quickly ducks his head. "Not that it's not very impressive to me, the way you've managed to remove yourself from petty concerns about material goods. Certainly an attitude that I could learn from."

"Shut up, Chris." He moves to the back of the Cherokee and tries to open the hatch, only to fiind it locked. He glares at Evan, who hurries over to help. When Evan's close, Dan growls, "Just unlock it, don't fucking
open
it for me."

Evan nods obediently, and once the door is open, he swings Chris's bag inside and goes back for another. He wishes they were heavier, so he could burn off a little more energy with lifting them.

This time, Chris and Evan both grab bags too, and that means there are none left, which means that there's no reason to hang around the airport anymore. Dan can tell that Chris and Evan are exchanging looks behind his back, maybe even mouthing words to each other, but he tries to ignore them.

Evan slams the hatch shut and heads around to the driver's side while Dan and Chris do an awkward dance to get to the curb-side doors. Dan comes out in front, but Chris grabs his arm.

"You about done, Dan?" he asks, his voice quiet and carefully neutral.

 

"I'll let you know."

"Yeah, but don't make it much longer. Evan's starting to really feel bad, and he totally was just trying to give you a nice surprise." Dan pauses, then pulls his arm away and goes up to the front of the car. He thinks about making Chris sit in front so he could continue his sulk in the back, but it seems a bit too petty. His hand feels weird on the door handle,

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and he wonders just how long it's been since he opened his own door to this vehicle.

Evan's looking straight ahead, and once the doors are shut, he keeps his voice light as he asks, "Are we ready to go?" No one objects, so he pulls out into traffic.

They drive quietly for a while, Evan concentrating perhaps more than necessary on the airport traffic. They hit a stoplight just before going out onto the highway, and Dan keeps looking forward, but his peripheral vision tells him that Evan looks over at him a little anxiously and seems about to speak, but then turns back to resolutely face front. Dan sighs. His hand creeps out almost of its own volition, reaching over to find its familiar place on Evan's thigh. The muscles there are tight, and Dan rubs a little bit. He's not sure if a thigh rub can really be apologetic, but he does his best. Evan glances over at him in surprise, but Dan just keeps looking forward, and Evan contents himself with laying his hand on top of Dan's and lacing their fingers together. They drive like that for a while, and then there's a disgusted snort from the backseat.

Evan releases Dan's fingers, but Dan squeezes tight, doesn't let Evan's hand get away. He half turns in his seat. "Something to say, Foster?"

"Yeah!" Chris sounds aggrieved, and Dan just waits for it. "Where's
my
cute little leg rub? And how come nobody's holding
my
damn hand?" He snorts again. "It's just not fair, is all I'm saying. You were at
least
as pissy to me as you were to him…."

Dan grins. "Yeah, and you're not going to get the make-up blow job, either."

 

"Huh. I'm telling you— so far, this whole California-living thing has not been as satisfying as I might have hoped." He leans forward. "Evan, you must know all kinds of hot California women, right? Single, lonely
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women? 'Cause, I'm just saying…."

 

Dan shakes his head. "No, Evan, don't introduce him to anyone you actually like. His love-life is a path of destruction. Seriously." Chris makes another disgusted snort. "I can't help it if women can't keep up with me."

Evan glances around. "Hey, I have a possible solution for someone who finds himself dissatisfied with women… you know, if you want to hear about it…."

Chris laughs. "What, you guys are recruiting now? Would I get a free set of steak knives?"

"Dude, we don't need to have extra enticements, not when the actual product is this fine." Evan squishes his fingers into Dan's cheek and turns his head so Chris can see his profile.

Dan dodges his head away and looks into the back seat. "Don't let him get your hopes up, Chris… two of them are about all I can handle, I'm really not looking for a third." He nods towards Evan. "Evan, on the other hand, is full of damn energy. Maybe you should take him for a test drive."

"Damn." Chris sounds amazed. "This is
just
what the ladies at Momma's church warned me about when they heard I was moving out to Cali— land of sin and debauchery." He shakes his head, then grins. "I think I'm gonna like it here just fine."

Dan grins at him, and then turns around and looks towards the driver's seat. "Thanks, Evan."

 

Evan glances at him in surprise. "Huh? What for?" He sounds genuinely confused.

 

Dan squeezes his fingers again. "For everything. It… it's been a really nice day."

 

Evan smiles, then shrugs. "Yeah, I had a good time too. Nice to see
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that we
can
get along without Jeff."

 

Dan just shakes his head. "Come on, of course we can. I mean… did you ever have any doubt?"
On Deck | Kate Sherwood

Kate started writing at about the same time she got back on a horse after a twenty-year break. She’d like to think that she’s far too young for it to be a mid-life crisis, but apparently she was ready for a few changes!

Kate’s writing focuses on characters and relationships, people trying to find out how much of themselves they need to keep, and how much they can afford to give away. She tries to find that careful balance between drama and humor – she wants readers to have an intense experience and feel drawn into the book, but she also wants them to enjoy the time they spend reading.

Kate started writing in the m/m area of Romance, and she’s spent some serious time trying to figure out why that is… if you’re interested, her reflections on why m/m fiction appeals to
one
straight woman can be found at her blog (http://kate-sherwood.dreamwidth.org/). Kate definitely plans to continue writing in both sub-genres, and is drawn to YA, as well. And maybe some women’s fiction. And urban fantasy. Possibly sci fi. Thriller? The possibilities are endless!