Page 78 of Refraction

19

“Tuck?”

It was daylight when Calvin woke up. He sat up in bed and looked around the room, blinking the sleep from his eyes and breathing.

He looked around the room and laughed softly, realizing he and Tucker had been so focused he hadn’t gotten to see any of it before he’d fallen asleep. The room was gorgeous. All the heavy furniture, the natural light from tall doors that led out to the porch, the enormous bed he was sitting in the middle of—all of it suited his tiger of a lover so well.

His suitcase was sitting at the foot of the bed with a couple of towels on top of it, and he nodded, scooting out of bed to go clean up. He showered and shaved in a bathroom that felt like a palace, and dug out a pair of denim shorts and a white T-shirt, grinning when he noticed that the bagels were missing from his bag.

He headed out onto the porch after slipping on some flip-flops, just to take in the view and feel the warm air. It was hot, no joke, but it felt good for a few minutes. When he’d had enough, he headed back through the bedroom to either find Tucker or get lost trying.

The house was fascinating—weird mazes of walls that seemed to be built randomly and that opened up into random rooms. There was a TV here, a library there, a queen bed. As he wandered, he caught sight of a swimming pool, a hot tub, and a very naked Tucker in the sun, spattered with paint.

He stood there a minute, watching Tucker and admiring all that tan skin, thanking his lucky stars again for whoever sent him that beautiful bronze god. When watching started to feel more like he was stalking, he made his way along the edge of the pool toward his lover. “I guess I’m a little overdressed.”

Tucker blinked up, bright eyes shocked for a second, and then he got a wondering smile, this blinding, happy grin. “Hey, honey! How did you sleep?”

Tucker’s energy was contagious, and Calvin gave his lover a big, wide grin. “Great. Awesome. Better than I have since we… uh. Sorry. In a really long time. I feel great.” He did. He was relieved to see more of the man he was when Tucker had been in New York, smiling back at him in the bathroom mirror this morning. He scooted Tucker’s knees over and sat with him, feeling the sun warm his skin through his shirt.

Tucker seemed happy to sit there with him, soaking in the rays, quiet and still.

“You’ve been working?” A question that didn’t need an answer, given the paint all over that gorgeous tan, but he asked anyway. He hadn’t seen anything hanging up around the house on his way out here, so he assumed they must be in a studio in some part of the house he hadn’t found yet. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to get back to the bedroom anymore after winding his way around all the weird walls and corners.

“Yeah. I worked last night. I kept the door open so I could see if the lights came on, but you were tired.”

“I was beat. Where were you working? There are so many rooms I’m surprised I found you. I never saw your studio. What are all the walls for?”

“I don’t know. They amused me, I think. I like the corners. I get bored sometimes and build things.” Tucker shrugged, then stretched. “I haven’t spent a lot of time in the house so far. I’ve been out here or working.”

Calvin threaded his fingers between Tucker’s, wondering how lonely a man had to be to start building random walls in his house. It was good that he was here. He’d shut his mouth and open his eyes, and see what he could learn. He’d be careful with his questions so he didn’t make Tucker feel self-conscious in his own home. He’d do his best to just fit in.

Ha. That was going to be pretty difficult. He’d never tried to fit in anywhere in his whole life. In fact, he usually made it a point to stand out.

“We can play hide-and-seek sometime. Naked. Winner gets to choose which room they want a blowjob in.”

Tucker’s laugh made a whole bunch of black birds fly up into the air. “I think that sounds like a fabulous idea. There’s a room in the back of the house that is a maze. It was supposed to have a big quilting machine in it, but she never managed to decide on which one she wanted.”

“Watch me get lost in it. I’m terrible with that stuff. I don’t think I could get back to the bedroom right now.”

“I’ll grab a Sharpie and draw arrows.” Tucker would too. Fancy arrows leading his way.

He just laughed. “Don’t. Getting lost and finding my way out seems like part of the point somehow. Will you show me what you’ve been working on?”

“It’s not you. I promise. I didn’t draw you.” Tucker took his hand. “It’s not good stuff. It’s not for anyone to see.”

What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Tucker had made it pretty clear he was going to paint whatever he had to, so he’d assumed Tucker had a closet full of paintings and sketches of him hidden in the house. He didn’t plan on looking for it, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think they weren’t somewhere.

Not wanting to show him the work, though? That wasn’t like him. “I’m not just anyone, tiger.”

“No, you’re most certainly not. You’re… special to me. You want a cup of coffee? I have hot and cold both.”

“Ice coffee sounds perfect, please.” So that was a distraction, but he’d let Tucker get away with it for now. Have some coffee, try another way. “Did you plug in my phone someplace? I didn’t see it in the bedroom.”

“In the kitchen.” Tucker stood, then jumped into the pool and swam the length before popping out and grabbing a towel. “Oh. Better. I was warm.”

Jesus. He tried not to stare, but watching all those muscles working in Tucker’s back kind of rocked his world for a minute. He started to say something but didn’t, figuring for now it would just be his own little secret.

Don’t make him feel self-conscious. Don’t make him change his routine. Fit in.

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