by Sierra Riley
The night before was still too fresh on his mind and Calder was trying to make sense of it.
“Do you have anything you want to do today?” Calder asked, although that could’ve been a double entendre, too.
“Actually, Laura called and asked if I’d come to her charity event today.”
Laura was Justin’s older sister. She was only about two years older, so Calder had seen her around while hanging out with Justin as kids. She’d been around a lot less when they’d been teenagers, though. Still, she had always been kind, although she did love to play rough. When it came to wrestling, she’d given Calder a run for his money at a young age.
“Oh? What kind of charity event?”
“She’s trying to raise some money for the LGBT youth center she volunteers with. She’s running a silent auction with paintings done by the community. She’s got a piece in there, too.”
“Oh? And she needs your help running it?”
“I think she wants me to bid on paintings, too,” Justin laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
Calder gazed around at the collection of fandom art on the walls. “It probably wouldn’t hurt to branch out and show off something new,” he teased. “It sounds like it’d be for a good cause. Where is it?”
Once Justin gave Calder the address, he immediately set to work planning the quickest and safest route as well as learning more about the neighborhood and the youth center.
“You’re really going into depth. It’s one event.”
“This is what I do and what you’ve paid for.”
Justin blushed and hesitated again. “Um, speaking of... Even though I’m paying you, you don’t need to go along with everything I say or do.”
“What do you mean?” Calder asked while furrowing his brow. By this point, Justin had started pacing around him and the dining room table.
“Like, if you didn’t want what happened last night.”
Calder’s eyes widened with shock as he reached out and grabbed Justin’s arm on his next pass around the table. “What? Justin, no. Last night was nothing like that. I didn’t do it because I felt obligated to.”
Justin tensed when he was grabbed but relaxed and glanced to him. “Oh, okay.”
Calder groaned with a laugh, letting go of Justin’s arm and rubbing his face. “Why the hell would you think that?”
“Everything happened at once and I wasn’t sure why. We’ve never done that before.”
“No, we haven’t,” Calder agreed, shifting on his chair some. “I think we were both just a bit stressed and tense from all of the changes lately.”
Justin watched Calder intently. “Have you ever thought of me like that before?”
Calder was a bit nervous about the question and cleared his throat. So many things were racing through his head at that moment and he had no real idea how to respond. He was used to being prepared for everything, so stalling like this really threw him for a loop.
“I—” Calder started but was then interrupted when Justin’s phone rang. As Justin grabbed the phone from his pocket and stepped away, Calder let out a breath.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Laura. Sorry I didn’t respond yet. I was just getting up.”
As Justin wandered away to talk on the phone with his sister, Calder resumed his planning. It was only now that he was aware of how fast his heart was beating.
If they hadn’t been interrupted by the phone call, what would he have told Justin?
Even now, he didn’t know.
17
Justin
Justin wandered away from Calder, slowly pacing around the house as he spoke with Laura.
“So, what time are you going to show up?” Laura asked, sounding as chipper as always.
Justin loved his sister but they didn’t see each other that often despite living in the same city. Just like it was with Calder, most of the communication was done online. Laura was always busy, anyway, as a real-estate agent. When she wasn’t working, she was volunteering around the city. The fact that they caught each other when they needed to, however infrequent that was, worked for them.
“What time is the event?” Justin asked.
“It starts at noon.”
“I can be there for noon. Is there anything I should bring?”
“Just yourself... and your wallet.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”
“Oh, come on. I’m just having fun but actually bidding would be nice. Trying to raise money for this mini-library has been tricky.”
“What exactly are you doing?”
“I’ve been doing book drives and trying to collect as many LGBT books as possible to keep at the community center. I’m hoping to get a lot of, you know, uplifting stuff. I’m especially looking for good fiction.”
Hearing the passion in his sister’s voice always stirred something inside Justin. As passionate as Justin was about technology, she was passionate about helping her community. It made Justin feel a little guilty at times that he wasn’t more involved.
“Is Sarah going to be working with you today?”
“Sadly, no. She’s got a cleaning gig today. It’s a shame because she would’ve loved coming to bid on some of the pieces.”
Laura and her wife Sarah had been together for eight years now and they were still going strong. Laura had met her while helping Sarah find a new apartment. Sarah was every bit as energetic as Laura and loved art. She was the one that had got Laura into painting in her spare time.
Justin had envied their relationship. They seemed to have everything together.
Sarah also happened to work at Sybil Industries part-time as part of the cleaning crew. Justin saw her now and again but they didn’t get to interact too much.
“All right, we’ll be there for noon.”
“Wait, we?” Laura exclaimed.
Justin stopped dead in his tracks, glancing behind him to see where Calder was. The handsome man was engrossed in whatever was on his computer screen. Justin wasn’t sure how much he was listening in, though, so he ambled upstairs and lowered his voice.
“Er, Calder’s here.”
“Oh? Is he in for a visit?”
“Um, no, he’s working for me.”
Laura laughed sharply on the other end. “What? I’m confused.”
Justin let out a breath. “Okay, I’ll bring you up to speed but don’t freak out, all right? And keep it between us since I don’t want Mom and Dad freaking out about it.”
“Sure thing,” Laura agreed, and there was no mistaking the curiosity in her voice.
Justin drew in a breath then let it out. “Well, you already know the whole thing about me being fired, and stuff. Well, I’ve been getting harassed a lot online. Some of it I’m sure is from people I’ve worked with and the rest is just from the community in general.”
“Oh?”
“And it’s been really hard to find work, because everyone thinks I leaked vulnerable info, or... left them open for exploitation, at the very best,” Justin pressed on. “So I’m starting my own IT security firm.”
“To rub it in their faces?”
Justin blushed as he paced his way into his bedroom. “A little, but also because it’s something new and challenging. Anyway, me and Calder were talking and now he’s here as my bodyguard and personal assistant.”
“Oh, my God, Justin! Are these coworkers out to harm you?”
Justin winced. “Calder found out that one of them has a history of obsessing and stalking, and we think he might be likely to do that with me.”
“Has this guy been giving you trouble, too?”
“He used to be the best at Sybil before I started. He did make me a job offer recently, but I suspect he has some not-so-legal work outside of pentesting.”
“Justin...”
“So Calder agreed to come and help me out and keep me out of trouble. I could use his help networking with others, too. Especially at this big convention I’m going to in Seattle this weekend.”
“You’ve never been the best at handling people.”
Justin jutted his jaw. Laura knew why that was, but she still took jabs like most siblings. She was gentle, though, and Justin knew to never take it to heart. “No, so hopefully Calder can help me make amends. I could use a personal assistant, too.”
Laura laughed. “I bet you could. Especially if Calder looks as hot as his Facebook pictures. I noticed he’s gotten some tattoos lately.”
Justin’s cheeks burst with color. Every new picture that Calder put up through social media became the hottest thing Justin had ever seen. It seemed like the man was incapable of taking a bad picture. Especially when it came to shirtless pictures.
Calder was more adventurous than him. There were old pictures of Calder trekking through the woods, rock climbing, and out on the water in his canoe. There hadn’t been so many new pictures lately, which Justin suspected was because of the bodyguard work. He hoped now that Calder would finally be able to make more time for himself.
And Justin wanted to experience more of the great outdoors, too. He spent so much of his time inside behind screens. He knew he was missing out on so much. But with Calder’s courage and guidance, Justin felt like he could be brave enough to try experiencing some things of his own.
“And you’ve always had a crush on him, haven’t you?” Laura suddenly brought up, although Justin had been expecting some form of teasing after the Facebook comment.
“Laura, he’s right here downstairs,” Justin lamented in a light hiss.
Laura laughed richly on the other end. “I’ll let you go now. I have a lot to do this morning. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, see you,” Justin bade. Once he hung up, he shook his head, still flustered by his sister’s comments. She had teased him about it a lot when they were young. She had still poked a bit of fun in the later years as well.
But, as much as she teased, she never seriously nudged Justin to go after Calder. After all, Calder had never made his sexuality or interest clear. The last thing Justin figured his sister wanted was to put him in an upsetting position.
Little did she know, everything had now changed.
She’s so going to know when she sees us. Justin fretted as he made his way back downstairs.
“Is everything okay?” Calder asked as he glanced up.
“Fine. She was just checking in about the charity thing.”
“We’re all good to go whenever you are,” Calder said as he closed his laptop.
18
Justin
A few hours later, Calder and Justin arrived at the community center. The cars parked outside already were a good sign.
As they stepped inside, Justin smiled slightly as he spotted the pay table in the entranceway. To gain access to the event, there was a five-dollar entry fee or the option to donate an LGBT book. He was happy to see a growing pile of books. The money that they received could go a long way toward buying books that didn’t show up in the donations pile.
Once Justin and Calder paid their fees, Justin peered around. The place had various paintings set up on easels and tables. There was a wide range of skill and subject matter, and Justin was looking forward to looking a little more closely at some of the pieces.
As distracted and fascinated as he was, Calder was focused. Justin caught sight of Calder scanning their surroundings from the corner of his eye. Seeing him so alert and making sure everything around them was safe made Justin’s heart flutter.
Justin was really glad that, despite last night, Calder had stuck around. It would ‘have been all too easy for Calder to simply leave. Well, not that easy since they had signed a contract but Justin wouldn’t have held anything against Calder.
As Justin gazed around, he worked on keeping himself calm. There were so many people and Justin always was a bit anxious in crowds. His eyes were drawn to people who obviously felt at home, admiring how easy it was for them to chat and share laughter.
“Hey, little brother!”
Justin smiled as he spotted Laura walking out from behind one of the nearby tables that held a painting of a beautiful mermaid. He and Laura didn’t look much alike. While Justin took after their mom, with his dark hair and features, Laura took after their dad. She had long, curly blonde hair and grey eyes.
“Hey, Laura,” Justin greeted.
“And, hello, Calder,” Laura greeted, wheeling on her heels to face Calder.
Calder laughed and nodded. “Hello, Laura. How are you?”
“I’m not too bad. How are you? You’re looking handsome.”
Calder did look handsome that day—and every other day. Today, he was wearing black slacks, a blue shirt with a tie, and blazer. The attire, while professional, had more of a casual feel about it. Calder looked more like a personal assistant and less like a bodyguard.
But, damn, that suit still looked good on Calder.
“Thank you, Laura, and you’re looking very beautiful,” Calder responded without missing a beat. The smile he wore was so warm and disarming. Anyone could see how people were easily drawn to him.
“It’s good to see you again, although we’ll all have to get together properly sometime, huh? You haven’t even met Sarah.”
“That sounds good to me,” Calder chuckled.
“Now, don’t you guys be shy about bidding. All you need to do is put your name, number, and the amount you’re willing to pay into the box in front of any paintings you like. Later on tonight, after the show is done and we’ve looked at the bids, we’ll announce the winners.”
“Sounds good. Come on, Calder, let’s have a look around.”
Justin led Calder away and walked from table to table. A lot of the paintings were nice but none really captured his attention. He was too attached to the kinds of art he had at home and none of this spoke to his geeky side.
But there was one painting that seemed to attract Calder’s attention. It was a beautiful picture of a waterfall surrounded by lush trees and bright flowers.
“You like that one, huh?” Justin mused as he peered at the painting.
Calder was snapped to attention by Justin’s voice. “Oh? Yeah, that one’s cool.”
“What do you like about it?”
“It reminds me of a waterfall in Portugal I’d like to go to sometime.”
Justin’s heart melted at the words as he inched a little closer to Calder’s side. He itched to take Calder’s arm or hand but resisted. Now was not the time or place to get sappy, especially since the events of the night before still hung in the air.
Justin internally cringed when he remembered admitting that he was worried Calder had given in to his advances because of the money. Now that he had time to reflect on it, it really hadn’t been a cool thing to say or think. Still, the human mind was great at bringing up all kinds of crazy thoughts and feelings when one was anxious.
“Maybe sometime we can go,” Justin threw out there.
Calder raised his brow. “You’d want to go to Portugal?”
“Once I get the firm off the ground, maybe? I need to do more things. I need to be more adventurous like you.”
As soon as Justin uttered his words of envy and admiration, he felt embarrassed. While Calder looked surprised, he also looked pleased, though, so that helped to calm Justin’s nerves down.
“I’d love to go traveling with you.” Calder smiled. “We can easily turn everything into a business expense. Find some convention to attend.”
Justin laughed, then focused back on the painting. He wanted to bid on the painting as a secret gift for Calder but there was no way that Calder was going to leave his side. He sucked it up and grabbed a paper, putting his information and bid onto it, then tucking it into the box.
He caught Calder’s eyes only once.
And he caught the light blush in Calder’s cheeks.
No words were exchanged, although it was a given that Calder knew exactly what Justin had been doing. Still, it hadn’t stopped Justin, and Justin only walked with his head held
higher as they moved on to the next table.
The thought of being able to treat Calder, if he did win that painting, had Justin feeling on top of the world. This was one of the few times that he might be able to buy Calder something outside of a holiday or birthday.
As they walked around, Justin noticed more people looking at Calder. Those eyes were clearly drinking him in. He was a looker, no doubt, and he had the kind of energy that people were drawn to.
Justin was a little jealous and tried his best to keep it to himself. They were supposed to be there as boss and employee, after all, and it’d be weird if Justin reacted. Anyway, even as people came up to them to chat idly in passing, Calder handled it like a pro.
Meanwhile, people were unsure with how to handle Justin and vice versa.
Calder caught onto this pretty quickly and soon introduced Justin to various people. How much did his job as a bodyguard clash with him pretending to be his personal assistant? Justin wondered. Well, he was doing all the work of a personal assistant, so he was actually legitimately both—and Justin was paying him as such.
None of these people could ‘have posed a threat or Calder wouldn’t have been introducing them to him.
After a while, the two were alone again and standing in front of a painting of a giraffe. “Why are you introducing me to everyone?” Justin muttered. He was a bit worked up from all the interactions and the energy it took to converse. It was hard keeping up with and deciphering all the social cues.
“You’re networking,” Calder stated as he punched some numbers into his phone.
“These people hardly look like techies,” Justin muttered.
“Even if they aren’t, you’d be surprised with what kind of connections they all might have. Remember, you’re trying to build a new reputation for yourself.”
The words were pointed and Justin flinched. “Yeah, you’re right.” Again, he needed to keep his mind open and work through his anxiety. He had to shape up and he had to let go of the jealousy as well.
From that point on, Justin tried his hardest to socialize. When people idly chatted, he tried to be as engaged as possible. While he stumbled on topics, Calder was right there to guide him along through little prompts.