Firewall

by Sierra Riley

  Justin fidgeted, looking like he was having second thoughts about the whole thing.

  “But it’s fine as long as you take care of yourself,” Calder assured him. He didn’t want Justin’s first experience at a proper night out to be a bad one. “C’mon, let’s dance.”

  “You want to dance with me?” Justin almost squeaked.

  “I do.”

  In the back of his mind, Calder was worried about what it’d look like for Justin to be dancing with his personal assistant. The convention was over, though, and a lot of people were probably already headed home. What damage could be done now?

  And, really, whose business was it, anyway?

  That protectiveness flared up inside once again as Calder moved in close to Justin. He gave Justin enough space to make him feel comfortable but was close enough to keep other men away as well.

  “I’m not the best dancer either,” Calder chuckled as he swayed to the music, getting a feel for the beat.

  “I have some moves when I’m playing dancing games.”

  Calder laughed. “You can try putting some of those moves into effect here.”

  “No way. I’ll look like an idiot,” Justin insisted, although a smile was curling his lips.

  Calder laughed again and focused now on dancing to the music. Justin was worse off than he was but his movements were adorable. Calder had stopped trying to think about how not to think his best friend was cute and was learning to enjoy it.

  Slowly and surely, Justin came into his own. With each new song, he had more energy and was relaxing his limbs more. Eventually, people were backing off to give him more space since he was starting to really flail about.

  To stop Justin from accidentally hitting someone behind him, Calder reached out and snagged Justin’s arm. The moment he did, a jolt of dread went through him.

  “Sorry,” Calder apologized as he released Justin’s arm. “I was making sure you didn’t smack the dude behind you.”

  Justin lowered his arm once it was released but was smiling away, apparently not bothered by Calder’s move. “It’s okay. Hey, can we get another drink?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Calder agreed as he led Justin back to the counter. Justin ordered another piña colada and drank that one down without a problem.

  “You might want to slow down,” Calder advised his friend, client, and boss.

  “There’s not much in here.”

  “No, but you don’t drink a lot either,” Calder pointed out.

  “I’ll be fine!” Justin was bouncing more to the beat now as he reached for Calder’s hand. “Come on.”

  Calder was surprised, but he didn’t hesitate to take Justin’s hand. He trailed along after him as Justin made his way to the dance floor. As soon as they had found a spot that Justin liked, he released his hold on Calder’s hand and danced like there was no tomorrow.

  Calder couldn’t help but laugh and enjoy himself as the two danced. He had never seen Justin be so energetic. In a setting like this, it really blew his mind. That smile and his laughter were addicting as they chatted and made fun of each other for their dance moves. Justin definitely moved his body more than Calder did.

  Calder couldn’t help the heat that was starting to creep through his body. It made him more aware of their proximity and he stepped back whenever he thought they were too close. Each time he did, though, Justin closed the gap.

  He wants to be close to me.

  This realization stirred all kinds of interesting sensations deep down inside of him. After two sexual situations with Justin, was this about to lead to a third?

  No, Justin had a couple of drinks under his belt. It wouldn’t be right. No matter how cute Justin was being, he’d have to resist. Resisting was even more difficult now as Justin tried to press close, especially for slower songs.

  Justin was trying to flirt. It was obvious when Justin glanced around that he was trying to pick up some moves to use on Calder. He was not subtle at all. Man, Justin and alcohol did not mix well, which Calder knew, anyway. Even one beer was enough to get the lightweight drunk.

  When Justin suddenly stumbled into him for seemingly no reason at all, Calder laughed. “Hey, now. All right, I think it’s time to get you back to the hotel.”

  “Aw, but I’m not done yet.”

  “We’ve got a drive ahead of us in the morning,” Calder reminded him.

  Justin sighed and nodded. “Okay.”

  Justin looked so sad in that moment. Calder raised a hand to cup Justin’s cheek. “We can do this again sometime whenever the mood strikes you.”

  Calder wasn’t entirely sure why he offered such a thing out of the blue. Seeing Justin dancing and enjoying himself in a new environment was nice. Sharing that experience with Justin was nice, too, and Calder wanted more.

  Justin’s cheek was so warm against his hand from exertion—and blushing. He nodded again and drew away from the hand. “That would be nice.”

  Calder grew warm inside as he led Justin away from the dance floor and out into the night. Even though it was a hot summer night, it was cooler outside the club than it had been inside. Now that they were out, Calder breathed easier and was able to hear himself think.

  Calder led Justin to his car while Justin hummed behind him. “Oh, my God. You are drunk off those two drinks.”

  “Am not,” Justin snorted as he climbed into the car with Calder.

  Calder shook his head fondly as he started up the car and drove back to the hotel.

  Once they were back in the hotel room, Justin crashed into bed. “That was fun.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  “Except for when that guy grabbed my arm.”

  Calder worked his jaw around. “I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. You were so quick to step in, though. You were my hero.” Justin gazed to Calder with such adoring eyes that he was suddenly self-conscious.

  “I’m just—”

  “Doing your job? Don’t give me that bullshit,” Justin scoffed as he kicked off his shoes while easing himself and crawling into bed, still fully clothed.

  Calder was taken aback by the comment but chuckled as he stripped down to his boxers and undershirt, then crawled onto the other side of the bed.

  “I’m really glad you came to help me,” Justin murmured as he snuggled down into the pillows. “I really missed you.”

  Calder’s heart ached as he rested on his side facing Justin. “I really missed you, too.”

  “And I’m glad we stayed such good friends even though we barely see each other.”

  “Me, too. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “I like things this way, too,” Justin murmured. It was easy to tell he was struggling to keep his eyes open. “I was lonely.”

  Those were the last words Justin uttered before drifting off to sleep and they rang in Calder’s ears. As he gazed at the brunet sleeping peacefully beside him, Calder resisted the urge to cup his cheek.

  “I was lonely, too,” Calder whispered into the darkness of the room.

  27

  Justin

  Dreams of collecting gold coins floated through Justin’s mind that night. There was even a snippet where he was rescuing a princess that looked a lot like Calder.

  When he stirred awake, he was aware of heat next to him. It was still so new.

  Justin cracked open his eyes and came face to face with Calder, who was still sleeping while facing in. Justin was nestled close to Calder.

  And Calder had an arm around him.

  Justin made an involuntary pleased sound, his cheeks warm. Being so close to Calder first thing in the morning also made heat rush to his crotch.

  As soon as the sound escaped his mouth, Calder shifted awake as well. There was a moment where Calder’s sleepy eyes gazed into Justin’s wide ones and nothing happened. Then Calder smirked.

  “It wasn’t me this time! You were cuddling!” Justin snorted. “You had your arm around me and everything.”

 
Not that it was a bad thing. It had felt so nice to be tucked under Calder’s arm.

  So right.

  Calder laughed and rubbed his face. “Good morning to you, too.”

  As much as he wanted to curl right back into Calder, it still seemed like such a sacred place. Their relationship was evolving but they still weren’t directly talking about it.

  Justin wanted more than anything to have that conversation but he wasn’t ready.

  Would he ever be ready to risk everything?

  By the time they arrived back home in Portland, Justin was already beat, although it was only just after noon. He was ready to relax the day away now. He had so many people he needed to contact and things to do to get his business in the air but he was exhausted. The two days at the convention, plus all of the attractions he and Calder had been to, had been more than enough social interaction for Justin.

  And then there was the club...

  Dancing closely with Calder but never really touching... Justin had wanted nothing more than to bump and grind Calder right there for all to see. He had wanted to show Calder off, although he wasn’t sure how well that had worked.

  Once they were unpacked and crashing together on the couch, Justin nodded toward the television. “Want to play some games?”

  “I’ve got to write up some documents but I’ll watch you,” Calder insisted as he opened up his computer.

  “Okay, cool.” Even having Calder watch him play games was enough because he enjoyed his presence. As Calder worked, he still got distracted and absorbed in what Justin was doing. Justin blasted his way through the game. He didn’t care much for the single-player missions but loved messing around in the multiplayer mode.

  Just as Justin was really getting into the zone, he was jarred out of it by his phone going off. He dropped the controller and grabbed the phone, his heart pounding. Was one of the people he met at the convention getting back to him now?

  No, it was his old workplace.

  Justin’s eyes flashed and he frowned as he picked up the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello! Is this Justin?” came the familiar voice of his old boss, Pat.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” Justin murmured.

  “Hey, Justin. It’s been awhile. Listen, I hear you were at the Security Secrets convention in Seattle.”

  “I just got back a few hours ago.”

  “Perfect timing, huh? Well, I heard some pretty good things about you from some buddies of mine that were there. Some even mentioned getting into contact with you and hiring you.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. Look, I’m sorry we let you go as we did back then. It was a mistake.”

  “You were very quick to doubt my loyalty,” Justin asserted, gripping his phone more tightly.

  “A lot of things were going wrong that day. Like I said, it was a mistake. We never should’ve let you go. You were the best. If you’d consider coming back, I’d be happy to increase your wage.”

  Now this was interesting. Was Pat feeling threatened by the thought of competitors getting their hands on him? He had been so quick to fire Justin but now he wanted him back? Was Justin’s reputation not as damaged as he believed it to be despite Wallace’s best efforts? Or did he really make that much of an impact at the convention?

  “That’s interesting,” Justin drawled, feeling cocky now. “Did your friends also tell you that I was there because I was learning how to start my own business?”

  There was silence on the other end for a moment or two before Pat cleared his throat. “Yes, I heard.”

  “I’m not interested in coming to work for you again. Or anyone, really. It’s time to be my own boss.”

  “Right. Well, if you change your mind, you have my number.”

  “Thanks.”

  Justin hung up and then stared at Calder. “Can you believe that? Pat, my old boss, wanted to hire me back on.”

  “You weren’t taking the bait,” Calder chuckled.

  “Definitely not. I’d never be able to trust them. I don’t want to help them out when they’ve been so quick to dump me,” Justin grunted, working his jaw around. “And Wallace is still working with them, so I could’ve used that as a chance to cause trouble for him.”

  “You handled that well,” Calder praised. “And it’s probably best to avoid Wallace now. Don’t stoop to his level.”

  Justin smiled, puffing out his chest with pride as he pocketed his phone and picked up the controller once again. “I’ll try not to.”

  But that confidence was already waning. What if the business didn’t do well and he really needed his old job back? No, now that he’d had so much contact with other people, he’d branch out and work with them instead.

  He just had to keep looking forward.

  The day went by well enough as the two relaxed and recovered in each other’s presence. By time the evening rolled around, Justin was ready to crash. Yet, as they both headed upstairs together, after Calder made sure all of the security measures were in place, Justin’s stomach twisted.

  The two would be sleeping in separate beds again. Sleeping with Calder those three nights had been great. As Justin stood in his doorway and gazed at his Star Wars bedspread, he was hit by how lonely it would be to sleep that night. He had been feeling lonely as it was but it’d only be worse now that he’d had that bit of relief with Calder.

  “Well, good night,” Calder spoke up from behind Justin.

  “Yeah, good night... I’ll see you in the morning,” Justin bade.

  Calder nodded and seemed to wait for a second too long before turning and disappearing to his room. Did he crave some company as well?

  Justin nipped his bottom lip and closed his bedroom door. He changed and climbed into bed with his laptop, doing his usual routine of logging on for chatting with Calder if he hadn’t already gone to bed. Calder signed on a few minutes later and all was well as Justin browsed and unwound.

  Until he received a message through his Twitter account from none other than Wallace.

  They were running in circles. The thought of Wallace was enough to make Justin’s stomach churn. Each interaction, no matter the outcome, served to build up even more anxiety. He really was a stalker. A restraining order sounded like a very good thing, but would it do anything to stop him from contacting him online? He’d have to check into it.

  So you hit it off with Alan Twain pretty well yesterday,

  the private message read.

  You must think you’re invincible now.

  Justin didn’t respond, his heart pounding.

  I also know you were out clubbing last night with your “PA.” He’s pretty hot. I would’ve loved to get my hands on him. Is he as invincible as you are?

  Justin flung his covers off and clutched the laptop close to him as he hurried out of his room and toward Calder’s. He knocked on his door and let himself in, trying not to panic.

  “Calder, Wallace’s sending me messages. He’s seen us clubbing.”

  Justin was panicking, his chest getting tight and his world starting to spin out of control. That brief victory over Wallace at the convention seemed so far away now, and for nothing.

  And Wallace was now being creepy, even threatening, about Calder.

  Calder jumped out of bed and rushed to Justin, taking him by the arm and guiding him to sit on the bed. “What? Show me.” Calder’s eyes were fierce and Justin would have thought that hot if he wasn’t reminding himself to breathe.

  Justin thrust the computer at him, his hands shaking.

  Calder took the computer from him and read the screen, frowning hard. There were even more messages now.

  The way you two were dancing... I never knew you could move like that, Justin. It was so hard to get you to go out anywhere that I never would’ve pegged you for the clubbing type. You’re not as simple and innocent as everyone makes you out to be, are you? You’re playing everyone. Especially that PA.

  Justin felt sick as he reread the words on the screen. He d
idn’t care so much about the jabs at himself but it was the jabs at Calder that hurt the most. He hated that Wallace was taunting him by being creepy about Calder. Wallace was touchy-feely enough with him as it was. How far would he take it if he had the chance?

  “This is uncalled for,” Calder growled.

  “And there’s nothing we can do about it. No matter what, he’s not backing off. This is going to be one of those stories where someone gets stalked for twelve years, or something,” Justin gasped.

  “Justin...”

  “What if he tries to kill me? Or you? What if he’s that mental? Maybe that’s why he keeps taking this further?” Justin didn’t like calling someone else “mental” because he had been called that himself plenty of times in the past.

  Calder put aside the computer and held out his arms, which Justin was more than happy to tumble into. He buried his face into Calder’s chest, his breathing ragged. He was mildly soothed by Calder’s presence and the way Calder rubbed his back.

  “I won’t let him,” Calder growled lowly. “I won’t let it get that far. First thing in the morning, we’re going to get a restraining order against this guy.”

  Calder was such a defender at heart. As much as Justin wanted to wholeheartedly believe him, there was dread deep down inside that wasn’t going away. Calder was still only one man. He could only do so much.

  After a few moments of being embraced, Justin raised his head. “What’s one more restraining order to him? How much has it helped the people in the past?”

  Justin was chilled as he thought about how persistent Wallace had been in the past and how persistent he was now. With Wallace having made remarks about wanting to get his hands on Calder, Justin was fearful that sexual assault was not out of the question. Wallace was already handsy as it were—mix that with anger and a desire to dominate and destroy...

  “Can I stay with you?” Justin uttered. He wanted to be with Calder, not only to comfort himself but to protect Calder as well. It was ridiculous, though. How could Justin protect Calder? Calder was more than capable of protecting himself, but Justin had to believe that he’d be able to do something.