Blindspot (Daydream, Colorado Book 1)

by A. M. Rose

  “Do you want them to know?” he asked on a whisper as he pushed all those messy feelings aside.

  Drew’s doe eyes blinked in surprise. “You… you didn’t tell them?”

  “It’s not mine to tell,” Mason said simply as the moment stretched between them.

  “And we’re not gonna pry,” Sage said, breaking the spell and Mason drew back quickly, face hot. “If you don’t want us to know, we’re good talking about literally anything else.”

  “I’m okay with them knowing,” Drew said after a brief look between them all.

  A quick privacy spell later, for the second time that day Mason launched into a very abbreviated version of what Drew’s brother did to him. But even the PG version shocked Sage to the core. Even Ben, who couldn’t quite grasp just how deprived what happened to him was, looked sick to his stomach by the end of Mason’s story.

  “But… that’s so horrible!” Sage exclaimed, tips of his fingers covering his lips. Mason gave his best friend a small smile, grateful to have him in their corner.

  “And you can’t talk about it… at all?” Ben asked.

  Drew shook his head.

  “That kind of magic can’t be allowed in Daydream,” Sage said, now visibly upset, color blooming in his cheeks. “How the hell did nobody notice?”

  “Apparently, the same spell that prevents him from talking about it, prevents the magic from being detected. It all hurts Drew,” Mason explained, chest tight with the thought of Drew being hurt by the fact he was making him try and get to the bottom of what was going on. What if the only way to find out what was happening to him was to put him in even more pain?

  “Can we do anything to help?” Sage asked eagerly, and Mason felt warm when Drew exchanged a friendly smile with his best friend.

  “We have Darian, Malachi and Nick trying to find the answers. We just came from there,” Mason explained, and Sage’s face fell a little. Mason knew he hated knowing someone needed something and not being able to help.

  “So, you’re just hanging around until then?” Ben asked.

  Drew shrugged, picking at the napkin on the table. “Yeah... I guess I am.”

  He was going for nonchalant, but Mason had been there, he’d seen the way Drew had lit up at the prospect of finally being free of this curse.

  Ben cleared his throat. “Well… maybe if you have time, we can get a beer together? Discuss non-magic things these two wouldn’t understand,” he joked with a nudge to his boyfriend, trying to lighten the mood.

  Drew cracked a smile, and Mason felt a pang go through his stomach at the sudden idea that Drew could embed himself so deeply into his life. It was a stark contradiction to his feelings just moments ago. He had been the one to invite him in, and rationally, he knew he did it because he wanted to... but it didn't make it any less scary.

  He caught Sage’s eye and shook his head at the concerned look there.

  “I’d like that,” Drew said, shyly pleased.

  Mason couldn’t tell him not to. He couldn’t.

  “It can be like a support group… Non-magics Anonymous,” Ben cracked again, and Sage and Drew laughed.

  “NA?” Sage asked, amused.

  “I can’t discuss it with you babe, you aren’t part of the group,” Ben told him seriously.

  “This is magic-ist,” Sage declared, crossing his arms and pouting.

  As they began squabbling, Mason felt Drew turn to him, and he met his eyes after a second of hesitation.

  “Is this okay?” Drew asked in a quiet undertone, his eyes were sincere as they peered between his own.

  Mason swallowed.

  This was the first day of them trying to be friends, and they seemed to fluctuate between easy banter and awkward stumbling over words at lightspeed. Drew, his friend, gave way to Drew, the man he loved, with a single look, and he didn’t know if he’d be able to switch it off. If this didn’t work… if being around Drew hurt too much…

  No.

  He didn’t want to be responsible for Drew being alone again.

  “It’s fine,” he said. At Drew’s skeptical look, he rolled his eyes. “Really. Ben doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with people outside of Daydream, the rules you know… but you’re about as perfect as it gets. You come from here, but you’ve… lived out there.”

  He hated how he stumbled over saying that. He had no idea about Drew’s life outside of their history. Drew hadn’t offered any information, and Mason hadn’t asked.

  Did he have friends he was missing? A boyfriend?

  Both thoughts made him feel slightly sick. Especially when he remembered the night they spent together. So he chose not to ask.

  Drew smiled at him, happy and wide. “Thanks.”

  “You don’t have to thank me,” he denied, facing back towards the front.

  He heard the whisper of, “I do,” but the waiter arriving with their food made it easier to pretend he didn't hear it.

  They tucked into their meals, talking between bites and doing their best to keep a light and happy feeling between them going.

  Mason had done his best to avoid direct contact with Drew as much as possible in that time, even though it felt like their hands and arms were drawn together like magnets. Each touch made his heart stutter and his resolve weaken. As their plates were being whisked away, he felt Drew’s foot brush against his under the table, and he didn’t know whether it was intentional or not. He didn’t move at first, feeling guilty and weak for enjoying the contact, until their desserts were brought out, and he shifted away.

  Mason eyed Drew as he finally bit into his pie, catching the sight of Sage sitting at the edge of his seat.

  "Mmmmm...." Drew moaned, and Mason shared a wide-eyed look with Ben, scuffing the toes of his boot against Drew's. The man looked up, cheeks puffed with pie, and it took him a moment to realize that Mason's laser glare meant something.

  "Wha..." he asked, and then realization dawned on his face.

  "How's the pie, Drew?" Sage asked, and Mason could hear straight-through that honey-sweet voice.

  "Good... bit low on filling," he said carefully, and Mason breathed out as Sage's face stretched into a wide smile.

  "You should try mine sometime," the baker chirped, satisfied. Drew nodded, looking to Mason who gave him a sneaky wink for a job well done.

  With the buffer of Sage and Ben in place, Mason had the thought that maybe, this time around, they could do this without breaking each other.

  It was tiring trying to be out of his parent’s house for that many hours out of the day. He had been here for over four days now, and the only reprieve he’d had was when they were at work. It made him feel like a kid again, planning things around when they were out of the house and when they would be back.

  He didn’t have their schedules down to science, however.

  He had decided to head back a little early that day, extremities frozen, ready to warm up in the shower and get ready to meet Ben that night. The thought made his steps peppier. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone out for drinks that wasn’t work related in some capacity. He couldn’t remember the last time he was invited out, period.

  The thought made him slow on his way up the stairs to the shower.

  Had it really been that long?

  He shook his head and pushed the thought aside. He didn’t want to concentrate on anything negative. Ever since that private investigator found him, he had been stuck inside the prison in his head, tied down by memories and regrets and pain. He wanted to forget, for at least a night, the mess that was his life.

  He spent a little extra time in the shower savoring the warmth before hopping out in search of an outfit. He didn’t have a lot of nice clothes, his small duffel he’d brought with him didn’t provide a lot of options on purpose. He was supposed to be long gone by now. It was lucky he had a lot of vacation days saved up because he was eating his way through them while waiting for word from Malachi.

  He picked out his black turtleneck and s
ome jeans. It wasn’t exciting, but he thought it was reasonable enough to show his face in a bar in.

  He was dressed and considering his hair in the mirror when his phone chimed. Drew raced for it and blushed at his own reaction. Why was he this excited? It was nothing to the rush he got when Mason texted him… but it still caused a reaction in him.

  Am I this starved for social interaction?

  “Stop thinking, brain,” he scolded himself, concentrating on the message in front of him.

  Ben: Leaving now. 10 mins!

  Drew sent a thumbs up in response and finished styling his hair away from his face. He exited his bedroom, heading downstairs for some water to settle his nerves. Seeing his mother in her work uniform waiting at the bottom nearly made him trip and stumble.

  “I thought you had a shift?” he squeaked, righting himself and finishing his descent awkwardly.

  “I was able to finish early,” she replied, eyes scanning over him head to toe. “You’re going out again?”

  Drew nodded as he slipped around her.

  “I heard around town that you and Mason were hanging out again,” she said, following him towards the kitchen. “Is that who you’re going out with tonight?”

  Drew paused as he was reaching for the fridge. “No.”

  “Oh,” she said softly.

  Drew shut his eyes. “Can we… not do this again…”

  “I’m trying, Drew,” she cajoled, and he could hear her heart in her throat.

  The guilt was threatening to eat him alive. As much as he resented them… he didn’t want to be the cause of their unhappiness. Yet… where did that leave his feelings? Such warring emotions left him stretched in the middle, about to tear in two.

  “You keep trying to pretend like everything is normal, it hasn’t been for a long time,” Drew said bluntly, finally looking at her.

  Her mouth downturned. “Because you won’t talk to us! What else am I supposed to do, Drew? Tell me and I’ll do it.”

  “I don’t have the answer to that,” Drew said truthfully.

  His phone chimed with another text, probably informing him Ben was parked outside. Forgetting the drink, he doubled back to the hall and grabbed his coat. “I’ll be back late, don’t wait up.”

  “Have fun,” she murmured, like she always used to send him off.

  He closed the door behind him and sighed out a puff of frosty air into the night, turning his focus to the black pickup parked on the curb.

  He hopped inside tentatively, meeting Ben’s immediate smile with a shy one of his own.

  “Ready?” Ben chirped to him.

  The handyman was dressed in a plaid flannel under a fleece lined denim jacket and jeans. Drew immediately relaxed.

  He nodded, pulling the door closed behind him and appreciating the heater Ben had running full blast. “Sure.”

  Ben looked him over for a second. “Everything alright?”

  “Nothing a drink won’t fix.”

  He laughed. “Amen to that, it’s been a long week! Let’s get going then.”

  “Where are we headed?” Drew asked. He hadn’t enquired much about the details when Ben texted him on that very Wednesday they had brunch and invited him to go out that Friday. He was so eager he had simply said yes and let the man choose the specifics. He was now wondering how desperate that made him seem.

  “Black Feather. Know it?”

  Drew shook his head.

  “It’s a nice place, serves a bunch of stuff. But most importantly, I can park at the bakery, and we can walk there,” he informed him.

  Drew laughed.

  Black Feather was in the center of town, as most things were. Drew couldn’t remember ever frequenting it or what used to be in its place, but it seemed to be pretty popular given the crowd he could see through the window. It was a mixture of both young and old.

  The inside reminded him of a sports bar, only without the massive screens faced in every conceivable direction. Instead, there was a live band playing… live as in the instruments were plucking out their own tunes in the corner where they were propped up. There were a bunch of tables and chairs with menus propped on top and many were gathered around them with pitchers of bright cocktails, or jugs of beer shared between them.

  “There’s a couple of seats at the bar,” Ben said, pointing at the two barstools that had a greenish hue hovering above them, indicating they weren't taken by someone else yet.

  Drew followed close to him, marveling at the amount of people who stopped to greet the handyman, or throw him a wave or a smile. The only thing he got were sidelong looks and whispers behind hands.

  They secured seats on the stools, and Drew breathed out a sigh of relief, running hands over the smooth, yet slightly sticky wooden surface of the bar.

  Ben smiled in sympathy, shucking his jacket and hanging it on the stool. “Small towns, right? Can make you feel like some sort of celebrity the way everyone stares.”

  “Or a pariah,” Drew mumbled.

  “They’ll get bored quickly. And hey, now there’s two of us, there’s even less attention on you,” Ben joked.

  Drew shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling. Ben was a great guy. “I’m ready for that drink,” he said decisively.

  “Me too.”

  The bartender that strolled over was dressed in a low-cut v neck shirt and skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees. He was in his early twenties and looked artfully from under his fringe with dark eyes. Drew had never seen him before.

  “Ben! No Sage tonight?” he greeted.

  “Not tonight, just out with a new friend for a couple. Drew, this is Crowe,” he introduced.

  “Nice to meet you,” Drew said politely.

  “The pleasure is all mine,” Crowe returned with a wink. He leant forward, arms braced wide. “I know what this one likes…” He cocked his head towards Ben. “… but what’s your poison, handsome?”

  Drew blinked. “Uh… vodka, soda.”

  Crowe looked him over for a second before he said, “Coming right up,” and started to prepare them.

  Ben snorted and Drew turned to him in question.

  “Nothing,” Ben said innocently.

  Drew turned back to Crowe who had just tapped the top of a lime with his pointer finger. It fell into four exact pieces. With the other hand he twisted the cap off of Ben’s beer. Drew was unsure if he used magic for that or was just that skilled. He worked with efficiency, a flair to his actions that was interesting to watch.

  Eventually they had their drinks, and Crowe was leaving them with a smile to serve someone else down the other end of the bar.

  “So,” Ben started, taking a pull from his beer. “Born and raised in Daydream, left at…?”

  “Straight for the hard questions?” Drew asked with a tilt to his brow.

  Ben shook his head. “Not really. All I know about you is things other people have told me, I’d like to get to know you myself. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

  “Does this go both ways?” he asked, stalling for time.

  Ben laughed. “Sure thing. I’m an open book, turn away.”

  Drew sighed. “Twenty. I was twenty.”

  “Where did you head out to? Daydream is pretty far out of the way,” Ben said.

  “San Francisco.”

  “No shit? That far away?”

  Drew nodded, sipping at his own drink for the first time. He scrunched his nose and glanced fleetingly at the bartender who was busy cleaning a few glasses at the end of the bar, directing the cloth to each one with a lazy flick of a finger. He’d mistakenly poured him a double.

  He concentrated back on Ben who was still looking at him with friendly interest. “I didn’t want to find myself in another town. A city seemed like as good a place as any to get lost in. People in cities don’t care if you’re new, or greet you on the street, or know every little thing about your life.”

  Ben shrugged and tipped his bottle towards him. “I suppose it depends. I had
some pretty nosy neighbors in Kansas City.”

  Drew snorted a laugh and took another sip, getting used to the stronger taste.

  “So, you got to San Fran and just… started over?”

  “I had a little money saved up, slept in my car until I found a job as a waiter and got enough to start paying rent on my first place,” Drew recounted, remembering those days of heavy anxiety and regret. He was an adult then at twenty, but he had felt like a runaway teenager without a plan.

  “Do you still wait tables?”

  Drew blinked and looked up at Ben. “Oh… uh, I actually work in accounting.”

  “Accounting?” He sounded surprised.

  “It pays really well. Numbers are pretty much universal, and it was one of the only classes in school where I felt a little normal. I enjoy it,” he added on, unsure why he felt he needed to defend it.

  Ben held his hands up. “I’m sure it’s great. You just didn’t strike me as the type, that’s all.”

  Drew gave him a confused look.

  “Maybe I’ve just watched too many movies,” Ben dismissed, taking another gulp. “You said you enjoy it?”

  “Sure. The pay is more than I could have hoped for and the benefits are good. I really lucked into it, not many people wanna take a chance on a kid from a nowhere place that nobody has heard of. I can afford a small apartment close to the bay,” he explained.

  Ben nodded along, before downing the rest of his beer. “You want another?”

  Drew looked down to his own half full glass. He didn’t want to refuse; Ben had been more than nice to him. “Sure.”

  He downed the rest of it in one go, wincing at the burn. Maybe he should have gone for a beer too. Ben was trying to flag down the bartender, and he looked down that way and caught eyes with him. The man smiled and began walking past a woman with her money out to stand directly in front of him.

  “What can I get you? Same again?” he asked readily, already pulling the empties towards himself. He didn’t look at Ben, and Drew shoot a look at the handyman who was smirking to himself. He motioned him to go ahead.