First Down

by Paula Mabbel

  Simon smiled slyly before turning around with a face full of mock surprise. “Connor? What are you doing in here?”

  Connor didn’t reply straight away. Simon could see his mind working through thoughts as he tried to decide whether Simon had been the person following him.

  “It’s my favourite place to go for breakfast,” Connor said as he gestured for Simon to come and sit with him.

  “It’s a little late for breakfast, isn’t it?” Simon asked him with an amused look on his face.

  “I know, but I’m starving,” Connor said with a small shrug. “Plus they cook all-day breakfasts here.”

  “Well, I guess it’s in the name, then.”

  Connor lifted the mug that was sitting in front of him and took a deep drink from it. “You know, I have to be honest with you,” he said when he’d set the cup back down on the table. “I was sent to follow you tonight.”

  Simon tried to look surprised, but he could feel the delay on his face, as he brought about the expression. “You were sent to follow me?” he asked, as though he didn’t already know the full story.

  “Yeah,” Connor said with a sheepish smile. “I mean I told you about the fire earlier, right?”

  “You did.”

  “Well, the person who set the apartments on fire fits your description perfectly. So, I was sent to follow you, so that I could find out who you were and whether or not you were guilty.”

  “And what did your findings tell you?” Simon asked him curiously, as the waitress who had taken his order brought over a plate full of breakfast food for Connor.

  “Well, to be honest, I don’t think you did it,” he said as he filled his fork and brought it to his mouth.

  “You don’t?” Simon’s eyebrows lifted. “What, don’t you think I’m badass enough to start a fire like that?”

  Connor’s cheeks turned pink and he swallowed hard before he spoke. “It’s not that. I mean you have that whole dark brooding thing going on,” he said as he gestured toward Simon. “It’s just this fire doesn’t seem right. It’s like it’s been energized with something. I’m not sure it’s the work of any one person. I think it was a designed attack,” Connor said, falling into conspiracy territory.

  “And what does your brother think?” Simon asked him.

  “He thinks that it’s you,” Connor said without hesitation.

  “Does that mean I should expect the police knocking on my door?” Simon asked with slightly amused eyes.

  “If he has his way then yeah, I’d expect some questioning,” Connor said, taking another huge mouthful of food. “You don’t seem at all fazed by this,” Connor noted, when he’d finished chewing.

  “Should I be?” Simon asked him with a quizzical look.

  “Well, if it were me then I would be, yeah. I mean some stranger tells you that he’s been following you because you’re a suspect to a crime. I think I’d have some questions about it myself.”

  “Well, I guess we all react differently to oddities,” Simon said as an offering to explain his behavior.

  “I suppose so,” Connor said without really thinking too deeply into the situation.

  “Well, I’m sure your brother will be happy to know that I won’t be around much longer,” Simon said thoughtfully, as he took a drink out of the mug that a waitress had just brought over for him.

  “Oh, really? How come?” Connor asked with big, surprised eyes that for the briefest of moments reminded Simon of what beauty could look like.

  “I guess we all get to that point when we need to say goodbye to everything that is familiar to us,” Simon said with a casual shrug.

  “I don’t get what you mean,” Connor said, a frown pulling across his face and wrinkling his forehead.

  “I don’t think you need to, but rest assured, in a few days you won’t be bumping into me ever again,” he explained.

  Connor didn’t say anything for a moment. Simon could feel his face being examined by Connor’s eyes, but he didn’t turn away his intense stare. “You know only guilty people run,” Connor said. He pushed away his empty plate and finished his drink.

  “Who says I’m running?” Simon countered him quickly.

  “Well, it sounds as though you are to me,” Connor said in a matter of fact way that didn’t really suit him.

  “Well, perhaps I’m guilty then,” Simon teased Connor.

  “Perhaps,” Connor said thoughtfully. “But I think I’d know if you were,” he finished ironically.

  “I’m sure you would,” Simon said in agreeance, before leaning back against his chair and stretching out his arms.

  “Listen, I’ve got to go,” Connor said when he’d put his empty cup down beside the empty plate. He pulled a small pad out of pocket and pen and scribbled something down quickly. “That’s my number, call me sometime if you’re ever back in town,” he said, pushing over the hastily jotted down number and standing up.

  “I’ll make sure I do that,” Simon said. He took the piece of paper and folded it carefully.

  “Seriously though, Simon, my brother doesn’t relent when he thinks he’s on to something. If you run, then that’s going to seal this case for him,” Connor said with a look of concern on his face and a gentle warning in his tone.

  “Oh, don’t worry about your brother. I’m certainly not,” Simon said with an easy smile.

  *******

  The light in Connor’s apartment had gone off about half an hour ago, but Simon was still standing outside of the building. He knew that he would need to be careful. Connor had mentioned to him that he lived with his brother, and Simon knew an encounter with him would end any possibility of a happy ending. He gave it another hour before he crept into the building and worked his way up to the top floor.

  The apartment block was dingy and damp. The smell of rotting wood and carpet mold filled Simon’s nose and burnt away at his lungs as he finally reached the right door and stopped. The door was in the same kind of state as the rest of the building. It looked damp and half rotted through. He listened carefully to the sounds coming from the other side, and when he was satisfied that both Connor and his brother were in bed, he continued on his way up to the roof.

  He knew that he couldn’t just break in through the front door. He needed to make Connor think that it was all a dream, and to do that, he would need to sneak in through the window. When Simon had been standing outside he’d noticed the fire escape ran straight past Connor’s bedroom window. The plan had come together almost too perfectly.

  He reached the roof of the building and walked quickly over to the steps that would take him down to Connor. He made sure to tread lightly, so that his footsteps wouldn’t shake the metal frame of the fire escape. He worked his way down and then he stopped when he was sure that it was Connor’s window he was standing in front of.

  He could feel his heart hammering against his chest as his fingertips dug under the window frame and slowly slid it up. He paused for a moment when Connor stirred in his bed, clearly disturbed by the fresh wind that was blowing in through the now-open window, but he didn’t wake up, and within seconds his breathing had dropped back down to the casual pull of somebody who was deeply asleep.

  Simon stepped in through the window quietly and closed it again behind him. He knew what he had to do if his plan was going to work, but even if he got everything done perfectly there were still huge risks involved. Simon walked over to Connor’s bed and placed his hand gently on Connor’s shoulder before he lightly shook him and brought him back into the world of the awake.

  “Don’t panic,” Simon said in a deep, soothing voice, as Connor’s eyes opened and a startled expression spread across his face. “There is no reason to panic. You’re still asleep,” Simon said quickly.

  Connor opened his mouth to speak, but then it fell shut again. His eyes were filled with a confused bewilderment that told Simon he didn’t quite believe the story. “I’m asleep?” he asked with narrowing eyes, as though he could see right through Simon’s
lie.

  “Of course you are,” Simon said with a gentle smile. “Otherwise how would you explain this?” He opened up his shoulders and felt his wings starting to unfurl. He almost sighed with sweet satisfaction when his wings had reached their full span. It had been so long since he’d been able to stretch them, and having them pressed against his spine was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling to endure.

  “Oh my god,” Connor said with wide eyes. “You’re, you’re, you’re not human,” he stammered before finally getting out what he was trying to say.

  “Of course I’m human,” Simon said simply. “I told you, this is a dream.”

  “Right,” Connor said, but his eyes told Simon that he didn’t quite believe what he was being told.

  “Listen,” Simon said softly. “I need your help. I’ve been on this Earth for too long now, and I’m ready to go. I’m happy to go, even, but I need to leave a legacy. There are so few of my kind left, and to die without bearing a child would be the ultimate sin,” Simon explained.

  “I thought you said you were human,” Connor pointed out much more quickly than Simon had been expecting.

  “And I’ve told you this is a dream. You can see my wings; do you doubt what I tell you?” Simon asked him whilst staring deeply into his eyes.

  “I don’t doubt what you are telling me,” Connor said with a small shake of his head. “But if that’s the case, what are you doing in my dream? What can I do to help you have a child?” he asked, confused.

  “You have been touched by magic and you have lived through it. The bar you went to when you were looking for me had a protection spell over its door, and you walked right through it as though it wasn’t there. That makes you strong, and that’s what I need. Dragons don’t have children in the same way as humans. We get pregnant through strong bonds and exchanges of power,” Simon explained.

  “What is an exchange of power?” Connor asked.

  “It means that, for a short while, our life forces become one,” Simon explained in the simplest way that he could think of.

  “But how?” Connor pushed for an answer with a terrified look in his eyes.

  “I think it would be easier to show you,” Simon said as he brought his face close to Connor’s and gently kissed him.

  Connor pulled away with a look of surprise. “I’m not gay,” he said quickly, frantically shaking his head.

  “You don’t need to be gay,” Simon said with a smile pulling across his lips. “I’ve told you this is a dream,” he said in his best soothing voice, before returning to Connor’s lips.

  Simon kissed him deeply. He could feel Connor’s hesitation at first, but when Simon let his tongue slide slowly into Connor’s mouth, he felt his body relax and his lips start to respond. Simon lifted his hand up and rested it on Connor’s leg. He waited for a moment to see whether Connor would move away from his touch, but when he didn’t he let his hand graze up Connor’s thigh until it was resting on the waistline of his lounge pants.

  He traced lines across the spot before he gently let his hand fall so that it was cupping the now-throbbing hardness that sat between Connor’s legs. He stroked along the long shaft until Connor’s lips became too preoccupied with gentle moans to kiss him back, and then Simon lowered his lips to Connor’s neck and started to leave a trail of goose bumps marking where his touch had been.

  He let his lips fall farther down his body and couldn’t help but smile when he reached his chest and heard how hard Connor’s heart was beating against it. Connor might not have been gay, but he was certainly enjoying Simon’s caress. Simon let his head fall farther, until his lips had reached the waistline of Connor’s lounge pants, and then he gently pulled at them so that they would release the prisoner that was throbbing hard with anticipation.

  Simon lowered his lips to Connor’s hardness and let his tongue work its way up and down, until Connor couldn’t help but grab hold of Simon’s hair to push his head down farther and pull it up much more quickly. Simon listened to the gentle instructions that Connor’s hands were giving him and let his mouth work its magic, until Connor’s hands were holding so tightly onto Simon’s hair that he was sure that clumps would be pulled out.

  Simon quickened his speed and enjoyed the noises that were coming from Connor. He could tell that he was close. He could tell that in any moment he would blow his load right into Simon’s mouth. Simon’s taste buds were tingling with anticipation.

  “I think I’m going to—” Connor said, but his warning was too late, as Simon’s mouth filled up with a hot, salty liquid that felt thick as it shot into his mouth and coated his tongue.

  *******

  Simon walked away from the apartment with a deeply satisfied feeling. He’d thought when Daniel had left him that his chances of leaving a legacy were over, but somehow he’d managed to find Connor in the carnage of his previous relationship. He had known from the moment that he tasted Connor on his tongue that it had worked. He could feel the deep burning from his stomach that was undoubtable proof that it was only a matter of time before he could finally make his peace.

  He stepped off the curb and walked over to a small diner that sat across from the apartment building that Connor lived in. The sun was starting to turn the sky into a milky-pink color that told Simon that the day would soon be upon him. He wondered whether he should stop at the diner or whether he should continue on his way before the marshal had a chance to get up and catch him in the act of eating so close to his home.

  The thought didn’t last for long, though, when someone walked out of the diner and released all the delicious smells of frying bacon and freshly ground coffee. His stomach growled with hunger and any thought of leaving before he had eaten seemed to retreat from his mind quickly.

  He walked into the diner and took one of the small booths that were lined against the wall. The diner was surprisingly clean, and Simon noticed that the walls were filled with retro signs and pictures that gave the place a funky feel. He pulled over the laminated menu and let his eyes scour the options before a waitress came over and asked for his order. He decided on a simple omelette and smiled at the friendly-looking girl as she wrote it down and walked away.

  He could hear the soft background noise coming from the radio that was sitting on the servers’ hatch between the kitchen and the main room, but he ignored it, finally settling down to his thoughts. It had been a long time, he realized, since he had felt anything close to happiness. It occurred to him that any brief moment out of the misery and contempt he held for life had been spent in nothing more than a state of contentment, and that wasn’t quite the same thing.

  He felt happy, though. He could feel the strange, light feeling rushing through his veins and attaching itself to the rhythm of his body. It was almost as though he was excited, excited to be finally reaching the end of his long life. The world had changed so much since he had been born into it and those changes had forced his kind into the shadows, as though having magic in one’s blood was something to be ashamed of. He was tired of it. He was tired of it all, but he finally he had what he needed.

  The bubbly waitress brought over his food and a mug filled with steaming coffee and placed them in front of him. “You look happy,” she commented with smile as she placed the mug down beside the plate.

  “I think I am happy,” Simon said, and he could hear how strange those words sounded coming out of his mouth. He had long since given up on the idea of happiness, just as he had long since given up on the idea that beauty could still exist in such a bleak and money-driven world.

  He finished his breakfast quietly and then asked for the bill. It was when he pulled out his wallet that he noticed he still had the small folded paper that held Connor’s number. He looked at it for a moment, as though its existence was somehow confusing to him, and then he picked it up and opened it. He ran his hand flat across the creases, as though it mattered what state the paper was in. When he’d finished doing that, his hand went quickly to his pocket and he pulled out h
is phone.

  He dialed the number without thinking and only when it started to ring did he realize that he didn’t even know what he was going to say.

  “Hello?” a sleepy sounding Connor said through the speaker.

  “Connor, it’s Simon. I know this might sound weird, but I was just thinking about you and I thought I’d call,” Simon said honestly.

  “That does sound pretty weird,” Connor said, but in a non-judgmental voice. “You know, I think I had a dream about you last night,” he admitted to Simon, but his voice didn’t sound so sure.

  “Oh, really?” Simon asked innocently. “What was it about?”

  “I don’t really remember,” Connor said too quickly, making it clear that he remembered exactly what happened.

  “That’s a shame,” Simon said, because he had no intentions of pushing Connor into admitting what he knew.

  “Well, what can you do?” Connor asked rhetorically. “Listen, I’m actually glad you called, because I’ve got something I need to tell you,” Connor said and his voice changed from a laid-back sleepiness to being fully alert.

  The change in his tone caught Simon’s attention, and he could feel his spine straightening out as he waited for Connor to share with him what he had to say.

  “My brother has decided to prosecute you. He’s going back to the bar that I found you in last night and he’s going to force anyone he can into revealing where you live. If you value your life then you need to get out of town,” Connor said, all in a hushed rush.

  “I thought you said that leaving town would make me look guilty?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. My brother has decided you are, and that’s all he needs to know. If he catches you and you stand trial for what you did, then you’re going to get put on death row. A lot of people died in that fire, you know.”

  “I understand. Thank you for telling me, Connor, you’ve been a good friend in the little time that we’ve known each other and you’ve been more help to me than you’ll ever know,” Simon said, as his hand reached up to his stomach and rested there for a moment.