Dan's Hauntastic Haunts Investigates

by Alex Silver

  It took longer to shimmy a nicer pair of sweatpants over my bulky cast. I couldn’t be rid of the dratted thing soon enough. My leg had been hurting less, but now it seemed like it was always itchy.

  Once dressed, I checked my phone and found that Lara had already gotten back to me.

  Lara: The Bistro is good. Jane loves their desserts, check out the chocolate mud pie. The owners also run a B&B and they get lots of LGBT+ clientele, if that’s what you’re worried about.

  Dan: Sounds perfect, thanks, do I need a reservation?

  Lara: Not on a Sunday night off peak tourist season.

  Dan: Thanks, you’re the best. Can’t wait to show you the finished video about the history of the haunted barn, I think it will be one of our best ones yet!

  Lara: Looking forward to it.

  Chad still sat facing the monitor listening intently. I touched his shoulder to get his attention. He spun to face me, pulling off the bulky noise canceling headset I used for edits.

  “Come on, I’m taking you out to eat.”

  “Aren’t we eating with the Goodmans?” Chad asked with a confused expression.

  “I mean, we could, but that hardly seems like an ideal first date.”

  “Oh! Right, I wasn’t sure if we planned on doing that tonight.”

  “We are. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Well, I know it isn’t five yet, but what do you say to knocking off early since it’s a Sunday? What kind of tyrant are you working for, anyway?”

  “Oh, he’s a real taskmaster, just intolerable,” Chad teased.

  “Hm, well, I won’t tell that you’re shirking if you don’t.”

  “Deal. So I’m officially off the clock?”

  “Yep.”

  Chad slid from the chair and turned, putting him right in my personal space. I backpedalled, but my cast got in the way, so I almost tipped over when Chad leaned up to kiss me. A quick brush of our lips, there and gone before I could react.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.”

  “Yeah? Worth the wait?” I couldn’t keep a goofy grin off my face.

  “Hm, I think I need to try it a few more times to be sure. Wouldn’t want to jump to any hasty conclusions.”

  “I can get on board with that plan,” I leaned in to kiss him, and he met me halfway. This time our lips parted, and I tasted him.

  His fingers tangled in my hair, and I reached for him too, wanting more contact. Unfortunately, that meant letting go of the chair back I was holding and I wasn’t ready for the shift in weight. I stumbled, breaking the kiss.

  Chad laughed, “Wow, did I just bowl you over?”

  “Swept me right off my feet,” I teased as I recovered my footing. “Though, I’d like to take you on a date before we let ourselves get carried away.”

  “Hmm. Not implying anything, but hypothetically—how removable is the bunk partition?”

  “Removable. It latches into place at the top and bottom and I kept the foam cutout where it fits into the mattress, just in case. I don’t always have a PA.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Yeah. Good,” I agreed, my mind consumed with thoughts of what we might do once I took down the partition between our bunks.

  “I like that I can get you all monosyllabic, it’s a good confidence booster,” Chad laughed. He lifted onto his toes to kiss my cheek. “Come on, if we’re getting dinner before we remove the partition, we should go now.”

  “Yeah. Dinner, now.”

  He was still chuckling as he steered me toward the passenger seat.

  “Sit, I’ll get ready and you tell me where we’re going.”

  I sat, and for once I didn’t have to tear my eyes away when he used a chair to lean into his bunk for clean clothes. I had permission to watch him openly. I glanced away when he stripped down to his boxers to change, not sure if he wanted privacy.

  “It’s fine, you can watch,” Chad said. I looked up, taking in the sight of him in nothing but his silky black boxers. It was a killer view, and I learned he had more ink. The upper curve of black text peeked over his waistband where it wrapped around his hip. I wondered what it said. Wanted to trace whatever words were so important to him he had them etched into his skin with my fingers, or my tongue.

  “I’m not the most modest guy,” he said as he wriggled into a pair of worn jeans that hugged his ass. “I think it comes from growing up with Mom and Kay. We only had the one bathroom, so they were always doing their makeup and hair and stuff while I was showering.

  “We also changed together, no big deal. So that’s what was normal for me,” he shrugged into a polo shirt I hadn’t seen him wearing before. He said he didn’t mind changing in front of me, but the constant patter as he did so seemed to hide nerves.

  He made a quick check of the living area to ensure we’d latched everything into place for driving. I only reviewed the checklist with him once before he got the knack for checking. Unlike some of my previous assistants, I went through countless dishes by forgetting to secure everything in my early days with Vanessa. Now my dishes were plastic, and I was in the habit of stowing them between uses.

  “You’re cute when you’re nervous,” I observed.

  “Who said I’m nervous?”

  “Oh, my bad, I didn’t realize you were a babbler outside of work hours.”

  “Only when I’m nervous... fine, you got me.”

  Chad squeezed past me to get into the driver’s seat. He made much less of an effort to avoid rubbing up against me than he had on previous occasions. I copped a feel, and he shot me a shy smile as he got buckled into his seat.

  I flicked the privacy curtain shut across the back of the cab, then swiveled my seat to face the windshield.

  “Where to, boss?” Chad asked.

  Much as I’d resisted a workplace romance, the teasing way he called me boss had my dick hardening even more than our brief kisses.

  Me and my big mouth inviting him out to dinner instead of skipping right to the good stuff. I wanted more than sex though, we could enjoy a nice meal first. I gave him the directions toward the restaurant.

  THIRTY-TWO

  Chad

  By the time we found a parking spot for the van, I felt like I’d been babbling for hours. No mean feat since it was only about a twenty-minute drive.

  Every time I spared a glance at Daniel he looked at me with an indulgent smile. He prompted me to keep talking the few times I’d curbed my tongue.

  “Okay, your turn to talk, who was your favorite teacher?” I asked, putting the van in park.

  “Does college count?”

  “Sure.”

  It didn’t—I was just over being the focus of conversation.

  “Then Dr. Landry, hands down. That man was smoking hot.”

  “You would be hot for teacher.”

  “I have a habit of being attracted to people I shouldn’t I guess,” he eyed me meaningfully. Not dignifying that with a response, I circled around the van to retrieve his crutches from the back.

  “I think it was his glasses,” Daniel mused as he made his ginger way out of the passenger seat. He took the crutches to hobble along at my side. “And his accent. He had the cutest southern twang. The way he got so worked up about history was almost enough to make me consider declaring a history major.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, he had this way of making the dry facts from the books seem real and relevant. Like ‘today I will tell you how Prussia’s biting horses bear responsibility for the shape of the western world as you know it.’ Or something like that.

  “I dunno, he made it seem cool. Then I looked up careers for history majors, most of them required advanced degrees. I noped out when I saw how much even an undergrad degree would set me back.”

  “You dropped out of college?”

  “Yep, dropped out, cashed out the rest of my college fund to buy film gear and make a go of vlogging.”

  I grabbed
the door for him. Daniel smiled at the young hostess who greeted us. He asked for a table for two. She seated us near the front window. The restaurant decor was rustic chic. Lots of wood finishes, polished until it gleamed and lit with eclectic bare bulb fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

  “Looks nice,” Daniel observed as he watched me taking in our surroundings.

  “Yeah,” I pulled the menu up to cover my nerves at the intensity of his gaze. Like he meant I looked nice and not the bistro. Time to deflect the focus back onto him. “So you started the vlog right out of school then?”

  “I did. My first few videos weren’t great, just messing around on campus in my first year. When I decided not to go back, I started an amateur gig where I would take dares to stay overnight in creepy locations. I called it ‘Daring Dan’. From there it grew into ‘Hauntastic Haunts’.”

  “Did you consider doing anything else?”

  “Sort of? My uncle Kurt does custom carpentry, cabinets and stuff. He hired me to help around his woodshop. He sold me Vanessa on the cheap when he upgraded his work van. So she had some wear and tear, but she’s a gem.”

  “That worked out for you.”

  “Yeah. I worked my ass off doing Uncle Kurt’s grunt work to pay him back and afford the renovations. He gave me a sweet deal on custom woodwork and got me in touch with an electrician to wire her.”

  A server dressed all in black approached to fill our water glasses and take our drink orders. We thanked her, and she left us to peruse the menu.

  “The vlog is your passion then?” I resumed our conversation.

  “Yeah. I’ve always enjoyed filming stuff. What drew me to vlogging was the connection to my audience though. I guess I can thank Dr. Landry for showing me how big an impact you can make when you take the time to connect with people. So, that’s why I started with the dares. I hoped to interact with people all over the place, forge meaningful connections.”

  “Your passion shines through, in your videos.”

  “You think so? Thanks,” Daniel gave me a sheepish look. “It’s weird to me you’re a fan of the show, to be honest. Most of my assistants hadn’t heard of my channel before taking the job. Well, except for Zack, but he’s been my friend since we were kids.”

  “Maybe that’s part of why you’ve gone through so many assistants.”

  “Huh, could be a factor. I figured it was a combination of the glamorous accommodations, scenic work sites and frequent access to all the best medical facilities.”

  I chuckled, “Well, when you put it like that, I’m surprised you had any turnover at all. Let’s try to keep you out of the hospital though.”

  “No argument here. So, what looks good on the menu?” he gestured.

  I glanced down and saw a selection of local cheeses as the featured appetizer. There was a bit of a theme. The menu was a veritable showcase of local agriculture. Grass fed beef. Farm fresh produce.

  “Um, they have chicken stuffed with aged Goodman Dairy gouda and wild mushroom sauce. That sounds good.”

  “Hm, that sounds interesting, except the mushrooms. Pork tenderloin with fried risotto balls sounds good to me. I like to order things it would be a pain to make in Vanessa’s kitchen.”

  “I mean, most things fall under that category,” I teased, “the van is cozier than I expected, but a gourmet kitchen it is not.”

  “It’s lucky I have you around to negotiate with the Goodmans. I’m counting on you to get us fed a nice dinner on location from now on.”

  “I like Lara and Jane. They’ve shown us such kind hospitality. I guess it isn’t always like that?”

  “It depends. Some sites I visit have sat abandoned for years. Or they aren’t residential so the owner or property manager isn’t always available, or invested in the show.”

  Our server returned to take our orders and drop off Daniel’s blueberry lemonade. She refilled my water. Then left us again.

  “Oh, speaking of locations, have we settled on where we’re filming next?” I asked. “Last week I reached out to some property owners with lakeshore camps for the site we discussed in Maine. I’m still tracking down more than an address for the old schoolhouse in Ohio. Not sure if I’ll get a reply, but I sent an inquiry letter about filming. I used Kay’s house as the return address, so if they get back to us via snail mail she’ll forward it.”

  “Good thinking. The lake would be nice. Mid-September into October is peak season for foliage. I bet we’ll get some killer shots of the leaves turning before moving on to the October site.”

  “Hauntoween. What’s the big plan for that this year?”

  “See, when you say stuff like that it makes me realize you are a true Hauntastic Haunts fan. It’s weird in a good way. Most people IRL don’t understand how important my work is to me.”

  “I get it. I like what you’re doing with the show. So. Hauntoween?”

  “You think you get insider information just because you’re dating a star now?” Daniel teased.

  “That’s exactly what I think, yeah. Or do I only get the NDA worthy deets in the pillow talk after I sleep with you?”

  Daniel did a spit take, “I wouldn’t expect—”

  “Relax, Daniel. It was a joke. I want to sleep with you because you’re sexy as fuck, not to manipulate you into telling me stuff about work.”

  “Yeah. Gah, don’t joke like that, please? I’m still not convinced this isn’t a terrible idea. You’re my employee.”

  “Only when I’m on the clock. After hours we’re just two guys who work together. Equals.”

  “Yeah. Okay. New rule, let’s not talk about work on dates.”

  “Deal.”

  “Tell me what you do for fun.”

  “I like to do those adult coloring books, it’s cathartic. And I could work on them while I was taking calls sometimes since I was on the late shift.”

  “Nice. Did you bring any with you?”

  “Yeah, and a set of pencils.”

  “Do you draw anything original, or just color?”

  “Just color, I’m not an artist or anything. But I enjoy filling in the patterns. It added a touch of brightness to my cubicle. And to my bunk now.”

  “Show me later?”

  “Sure, I mean, like I said, it’s nothing fancy. I can take them down if we’re removing the partition.”

  “You don’t have to. Keep them up if it makes you happy, it’s your space too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “For sure.”

  Our food arrived and our conversation focused on the meal in front of us for a time. When we finished eating, I was more than ready to move somewhere more private.

  The server tried to urge us to end our date with dessert and coffee but we locked eyes and came to the same conclusion. The only dessert we needed was back in the van.

  Daniel settled up, and I made a mental note to get the check next time.

  I might not be certain how to handle the disparity in our positions, but I was certain I wanted another date with him. He made me feel comfortable. Seen and heard in a way I hadn’t been before with anyone outside my family.

  “You know what’s cool about Vanessa?” I asked as we returned to the parking lot behind the bistro.

  “What?”

  “We’re already home, and I really want to kiss you,” I slid the door to the back open. I climbed inside first, then turned back to take his crutches so he could join me.

  “Is that so?” Daniel smirked. He was right in my personal space, the two of us pressed together in the confines of the van.

  “Yeah,” my voice came out as a breathy rasp when Daniel reached around me to slide the door shut behind us. I was grateful he’d had the foresight to draw the blackout curtain across the front of the van earlier. It granted us privacy.

  I kissed him. He tasted sweet and tart, like the lemonade he’d been drinking. I got swept away in the intoxicating feel of his lips on mine, the pulsing ache in my groin an answering hardness to the bulge pressing against my h
ip.

  Daniel held my shoulders, using me to help him balance while my hands sought his ass, pulling him snug against my body. It was a very nice ass. Firm and round, with just enough padding for comfort.

  Yeah, that was enough kissing. I wanted more. I pulled back, Daniel showed his displeasure with a needy moan.

  “I want to suck you off,” I said, nudging him backward.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, lose the pants and get comfortable.”

  THIRTY-THREE

  Dan

  I was more than happy to accommodate Chad’s request. It was just unfortunate that his orders were easier spoken than accomplished. I ended up braced against the shower door frame with my pants tangled around my cast.

  Hot as it was to have Chad on his knees in front of me, I’d have preferred for him to be doing something other than wrestling with my pants.

  He took care not to hurt me, and by the time he’d freed me we were both laughing at the absurdity of it all. I half expected him to call the whole thing off. Levity had taken the edge off my arousal.

  The mood between us no longer supercharged with sexual tension. So it took me a little by surprise when Chad finished freeing me and got right back down to business. Or pleasure as the case may be.

  “Take that, pants! You have been defeated,” he lobbed the offending garments into the shower stall to deal with later. “Now, I’ve got plans for you,” he said, addressing my cock as he took me in hand and licked a wide stripe over the head.

  “Do you now?” I asked. His firm grip and playful interest had my erection making a quick recovery. I shivered when he blew over the wet streak he’d left, the sensation intense and leaving me unsure of whether I liked it.

  “Hold on,” Chad warned. I gripped the door frame harder. My knees almost buckled when Chad took the entire length of my dick into his mouth and swallowed around me.