David thought about it, added another measure to each glass, and held one out to Christian. The blond looked at the glass as though he’d never seen one before, requiring David to give it a slight shake for emphasis. Christian took it, looked down at it again, and then took a drink. David smiled when Christian’s eyes widened, staring at the glass with wonder.
“Good?” David asked.
“What the hell is it?”
“Whiskey?”
Christian looked up, wide-eyed still. “I hate whiskey.”
David snorted, setting the bottle down and taking up his own glass. “No, you hate cheap whiskey. I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s disliked this. Which is good, because it’s a few hundred dollars a bottle.”
Christian looked at his glass, blanching. “Jesus. You’re telling me I’m drinking more than my lunch cost?”
“Probably.”
“God, it’s good, though.”
David nodded, taking his seat. “Be careful, it will sneak up on you if you’re not too careful.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
They settled into silence, both of them staring at their glasses. David evaluated his thoughts and found that he wasn’t as angry as he might have been. Christian had been ready to shrink into himself and disappear, and David didn’t think that was just because he’d been caught. The last thing David wanted to do was to punish Christian over what amounted to an accident.
“You’re being threatened?” Christian finally asked.
David looked up, sighing. “Yes.”
“By who?”
Well, the cat was already halfway out of the bag as it was, there didn’t seem to be much harm in letting it out the rest of the way. That and perhaps Christian might be able to give him an idea of what David could do. Another perspective might be able to help him, even if it was just to pick a dollar amount and hope that it was enough.
“A former lover of mine.”
Christian winced. “I thought that was the case. The guy in the video?”
“Yes.”
“I take it things didn’t end well, huh?”
David shook his head. “That’s the problem, I thought it had ended perfectly amicably. It was...never meant to be serious.”
Christian smiled softly. “So, a fuck buddy.”
David wrinkled his nose. “For lack of a better word, yes, I suppose.”
Christian covered his mouth, prompting David to ask what was wrong.
“It’s just, you were willing to sleep with the guy, have pretty much a sexual relationship, and let him film it, but you’re being stuffy about calling him a fuck buddy.”
“I just don’t like the term.”
“I can see that.”
David frowned. “And in my defense, he had assured me that he’d deleted it well before we ever ended things.”
Christian shook his head. “Take it from me, most people? They’re not going to delete something like that. They’ll generally keep it for their own...uses later. Though I don’t like the idea that some of them are keeping it for something like this.”
David cocked his head. “Have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Kept something like that?”
“A sex tape?”
David shrugged. “From one of your previous...uh, lovers.”
Christian grinned. “I’ve never made a sex tape with any of my boyfriends, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Well, it certainly covered everything David had been asking. In truth, David had never been particularly sure of where Christian leaned. He’d certainly suspected that the man was into other men, but there had been no obvious clues. Christian had always kept any private information about his dating life utterly non-existent in the office, and David couldn’t recall any time he had ever seen the man looking at anyone with interest.
“Why not?” David asked.
Christian shrugged. “I’ve never trusted anyone enough to take that kind of film of me, and I’ve never wanted to do it with anyone before, either. Not that it couldn’t be fun, because I’m sure it could be.”
“Right up until they come back around and blackmail you for money.”
“Oh, Jesus. Of course, it’s money.”
David couldn’t help his laugh. “I had much the same thought when he told me.”
“So, who’s ‘he’? Like, his name.”
“His name is Ethan. I met him at a cocktail bar a handful of months back.”
Christian cocked his head, hand sliding to his pant’s pocket. “Which one?”
“Diamond Den.”
Christian nodded. “I know who you’re talking about.”
David straightened. “A friend of yours?”
Christian shook his head. “No, but he’s on one of those dating apps. Has his name up and lists himself as working there. I’ve seen him online quite a bit. Didn’t know you went for the younger ones, General.”
David wrinkled his nose again. “And you weren’t supposed to know about that. As a matter of fact, no one was supposed to know about that save for the few people I enjoyed some private time with.”
“Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a little.”
“I know, but I’m having a hard time finding the lighter side of things at the moment.”
“Yeah, I can understand that.”
David watched Christian as he mulled over the information. He couldn’t help but wonder, considering what he’d just confirmed about Christian’s tastes, if the younger man had got some enjoyment out of the video. David wasn’t exactly thrilled that someone else was in on the entire disaster, but he’d be lying if he said that some part of him, a decidedly horny part no less, wanted to know what Christian thought of what he’d seen.
And what it would have looked like if Christian had been the one holding the camera that night.
Stirring, David shifted in his seat. “In any case. He contacted me the other day through that message and apparently had it set up to alert him when the email was opened. He then decided to call me and let me know what he wanted.”
“How much?”
David shook his head. “Ethan has decided to play games with this whole thing. Rather than just tell me what he wants, he’s making me decide how much ‘my career is worth’ before he’ll drop the whole thing.”
“Wow, that’s...evil.”
“Yes, apparently, he likes to play with his food.”
“Have you considered going to the police? Blackmail is pretty illegal.”
David sighed, draining the last of the whiskey before continuing. “I had actually, as I’m sure anyone who’s being blackmailed would consider. The problem is, it wouldn’t stop him from simply releasing the video onto the internet anyway. At that point, what would he have to lose?”
Christian fiddled with his glass. “I mean...would it be that bad? We’re well past the point of anyone caring about the whole being with other guys thing, right?”
David smiled ruefully. “If it was just a matter of my being with another man, it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. That it was not only that but with someone who was nineteen at the time and allowed it to be filmed…well.”
“There are people who get with people who are eighteen, what does it matter?”
“To you and me, nothing. But to Command? It wouldn’t ‘look good’ if a high ranking general was having random flings with men who are younger than them by more than half. It wouldn’t necessarily ruin my reputation, but it would certainly look bad, and I imagine I would find myself quietly, slowly, but inevitably, brought down from my position and filed off somewhere else.”
Christian frowned. “You’re telling me that just because you’re with another guy, a young guy, you’d be shoved into a corner to be forgotten about?”
“If it were a relationship, and not a casual relationship of a strictly sexual nature, one that allowed for filming, probably not. I would be spoken of, but considering this is behavior that would be considered unbecoming of
a man of my station, I would find myself in a lot of trouble, albeit the hidden kind.”
Christian snorted. “How stupid.”
“That’s just how it goes.”
“So now you’re stuck either letting this happen and letting him get whatever money you can come up with or letting him risk everything you’ve worked for?”
“That more or less sums up my problem, yes.”
Christian huffed. “Well, that explains why you’ve been in such a mood.”
David frowned. “A mood? Yes, I imagine I have been. This has been weighing on my mind quite heavily.”
“I like you better when you’re trying not to laugh at my smart ass jokes.”
“And I prefer trying not to laugh at your jokes.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Now there was the question. David had been thinking long and hard about what amount of money would satisfy Ethan and guarantee an end to the entire thing. He still had another day and a half to really give the dollar amount some thought, but he could feel time ticking away rapidly.
David laughed humorlessly. “How much do you think would be a good amount of money to offer him? I don’t want to lose my entire savings over this, but I don’t want to risk insulting him either.”
Christian snorted. “It sounds to me like he could use a bit of insulting.”
“Yes, but I won’t be the one to do it.”
“No, I bet you wouldn’t.”
“So, now that you know everything I know, what would you offer?”
“If I had my way, you wouldn’t pay a cent,” Christian grumbled.
“Trust me, if I could think of a way that would get me out of this mess without ruining everything, I’d take it in a heartbeat. But considering he doesn’t seem all that willing to negotiate outside of his demands, talking to him isn’t an option.”
Christian cocked his head thoughtfully. “True. I imagine you’re the last person he’s going to want to deal with.”
“Hell, he’s so paranoid about what I could do. He thinks I could just...summon up someone to get access to his information and that they could get into his online storage and take the file off.”
Christian frowned. “It is possible.”
“You know how?”
“Uh, no, not personally. I’m good with computers, but not that good. I just have...uh, friends.”
“Friends who can hack into other people’s computers.”
“Look, some people in the foster system don’t come out law-abiding people like me. I’m not saying they’ve told me what they do, but I can kind of guess.”
“And since you don’t have any proof…”
“Then, I actually don’t know anything, right.”
“That’s fair.”
Christian pulled his phone out, looking at the screen. “If he doesn’t have it stored digitally, he just...has it on a computer?”
“Yes. He said he’d put it on a thumb drive.”
“And how do you know he won’t just keep a copy to come around again?”
David sighed, heart sinking. “I don’t.”
Christian frowned thoughtfully, opening up something on his phone and flipping around for a moment. David watched him, wondering what the younger man could be doing as he watched Christian start typing. The phone buzzed a moment later, bringing a smirk to Christian’s face.
David eyed him warily. “What?”
“I have an idea, that’s what.”
David would usually be pleased to hear Christian had an idea. Considering the circumstances, however, he could feel himself growing a little cautious. Christian was a good man, and far more mature at twenty-five than David could ever remember himself being. That did not, however, prevent Christian from being a little impulsive.
“And does this idea involve something foolish that could make this situation worse?” David asked.
Christian looked up, thoughtful. “Well...no, I don’t think it would make it worse. I’m pretty sure it’s completely safe for you.”
“Okay, and are you planning on sharing your idea?”
“Mm, no.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Christian laughed, standing up. “Because if I told you, my plan probably wouldn’t work out that well. So here’s the thing, I’m going to take the rest of the night off, and all of tomorrow. When are you supposed to contact him?”
“He’s going to call me Monday afternoon.”
“Good, that works perfectly then. Don’t bother responding to anything he sends, and I’ll see you Monday morning,” Christian said, making for the door.
David stood up, holding a hand out. “Now, hold on a minute.”
Christian turned, winking. “Look, you trust me, right?”
“With a lot of things, yes, but this is a very different set of circumstances.”
Christian smiled gently. “Look, I know this is a...well, a fucked up situation. And I know I’m probably not the first person you would have turned to for help with this, but I promise you, I have a great idea, and I know what I’m doing. And even if it doesn’t work, I’ll make sure that it doesn’t make things worse, okay?”
There was a note of pleading in Christian’s voice, and David felt his protest die in his throat. Everything he’d said was true, but David still couldn’t help the apprehension as he nodded, sitting down to let Christian leave the office without further protest.
Damn him for being a sucker for a cute face.
Christian
The bar wasn’t terribly busy on a Sunday night, and Christian wasn’t sure he should consider it a blessing or a curse. It certainly made it easy to look around the crowd as he walked through the second set of double doors. The bar, equipped with only one bartender, stood before him with a line of stools on each side of it. To Christian’s right was a dance floor, which he noted had two slightly raised platforms with dance poles sticking out of them. There wasn’t a single person on the dance floor, let alone on the poles, he noticed with faint amusement.
To the left was a line of booths and tables that lined the dance floor. A couple of the booths were occupied, filled with couples or trios already, so he turned his attention away. Christian checked his messages again, confirming he was in the right place. The sign had said Coco’s outside, though Christian thought that was a pretty energetic name for a place that had maybe a dozen people in it.
Rereading the message, he looked up to find that there was, in fact, another area behind the bar. Waving to the frowning bartender, he mounted the set of steps up to the semi-enclosed space. There was only one person sitting at one of the booths up there, and he matched the picture Christian had been looking at on the dating app.
“Ethan?” Christian asked hesitantly as he approached the man.
“That’s me,” Ethan said with a grin.
Christian had to give General Winter that much, Ethan was a good looking man. He was a couple inches shorter than Christian, which would have made him over half a foot shorter than the general. Ethan’s hair and eyes were both light brown, which, with his tanned skin, made him look like a native of the tropical climate. He was on the slight side, but it was obvious he didn’t neglect his body, as the arms showing through the muscle shirt were well-toned and obviously cared for. His features were slightly angular, giving the man what Christian believed was referred to as ‘elfin’ features. There was a gracefulness to him, and that was made more apparent as he got up from the booth to greet Christian.
Christian chuckled. “I guess I should have known. There’s not exactly a whole lot of people in here at the moment, wouldn’t have been too hard to find you.”
“Well, and I hope my pictures managed to do me some justice,” Ethan said.
Christian grinned at the subtle show of confidence. “Alright, well, you have me there.”
Ethan gestured toward the bar. “You want something to drink?”
“Hm, I don’t know what they have he
re.”
“Not a whole lot, or rather, not that great. But I like meeting people here since it’s quiet.”
“I suppose we could have a drink or two,” Christian said.
Ethan chuckled. “In a rush to get out of here?”
Christian shrugged, putting on a mock air of coyness. “I guess you could say I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far.”
“Man, I must be charming as hell if I managed to convince you to leave just by seeing me,” Ethan said.
Christian chuckled, giving the man a wink. “Sure, charming, we’ll go with that.”
“Okay, fine, I look good then.”
Christian laughed, following the other man to the bar as they ordered their drinks. It was the first time in quite a few months Christian had tried going out for drinks with someone. Then again, ‘going out for drinks’ on dating apps was generally just code for ‘get a drink or two and go back to someone’s house to get laid’ too. It was precisely the sort of setup he wanted when he’d found Ethan on the dating app the night before and struck up a conversation. After some brief wrangling, he’d managed to secure a meetup and an agreement that if things went well, they’d go back to Ethan’s place.
Normally Christian was always a little nervous on a first meet, never knowing what to expect. Yet as he chatted idly with Ethan as they waited for Christian’s beer, and Ethan’s chocolate martini, he felt not a trace of nervousness. He honestly would have thought that meeting Ethan under false pretenses would have made his nerves worse than usual, but it had the opposite effect. Knowing that the night was not going to end with him in Ethan’s bed was a plus.
And that choice of a chocolate martini on the other man’s part certainly made him feel better.
“So, you work at the base?” Ethan said as they moved back to the booth.
At My General’s Command Page 7