Page 75 of Concluded
“Do you want to go now?”Dee asked after Achilles hung up.
“No.It’s a long drive.”He gave a small smile.“And Jerry bought food for us.Let’s wait until morning.”
That was good news.Not just because Dee was tired, but because it meant a little more time spent with Achilles—and a little more delay before leaping into the lions’ den.“I’ll make us some dinner.”
“Really?”
“I’m capable of cooking.”
Achilles shook his head.“It’s just nice, that’s all.”He flopped down on the couch and poked at his phone for a moment before making a sour face and tossing it aside.
In the kitchen, Dee found the ingredients for a feast: a couple of enormous steaks, the fixings for a pair of loaded baked potatoes, a green salad, some seeded rolls, and two pints of fancy ice cream.The quantities likely reflected the oversize appetites of two oversize guys rather than what Dee and, likely, Achilles were accustomed to, but he was definitely not going to complain.In fact, he caught himself whistling while he prepped.
What would it be like to live a cozy domestic life with a partner?He’d never pictured that for himself.Not because he didn’t want it, but because he assumed he would never have access to an existence like that.Now, though, playing at it for an evening, he could almost picture it.The irony, of course, was that now a tranquil little partnership was equally out of reach because he and Achilles likely wouldn’t survive much longer.
But… wow.They had been able to spend a few days together.They’d had a lot of great sex.They’d proclaimed their love.Dee had discovered a comfortable space with another person, like finding an oasis in the desert.And along the way, he’d seen so many wonders and met beings he’d only read about in stories.Hell, he’d learned that he himself was one of those beings.
Oh.And at least fairly recently, his mother had still been alive.He didn’t quite know how he felt about that.Best not to think about it right now.
They demolished their dinners as if they hadn’t eaten in days, then sat beside each other on the couch, lazily noshing melting ice cream straight out of the carton.This house didn’t have a TV, and neither of them had any desire to pick up a phone.They didn’t even talk all that much.For the most part, they simplywere, which turned out to be surprisingly pleasant.Dee didn’t know what was going on in Achilles’ mind, but his own was sort of blurry, one thought easily flowing into the next like chalk drawings in the rain.
They went to bed early.Not surprisingly, it was a big bed, taking up almost all of the bedroom.Maybe the mattress was firmer than ideal, but that hardly mattered.Not with Achilles spooned against Dee’s back, smelling like soap and steak, the bristles of his beard tickling Dee’s nape.
“You’ve introduced me to some pretty weird people lately,” Dee said.
“True.”
“But lots of these weird people… they’ve found someone to love.For a really long time, in some cases.”
“Also true.”
Dee thought for a moment.“And some of them… they’re good guys, but they have some significant, um, character challenges.”
When Achilles laughed, his breaths were warm against Dee’s skin.“You could put it that way.”
“It’s hopeful, though, isn’t it?That very imperfect people can still find True Love, capital letters and all.”
“It is.”Achilles snuggled impossibly closer.
They didn’t have sex that night, but they both slept soundly.
* * *
They leftbefore dawn in the borrowed Jeep, which bounced around as if it had no shocks and gobbled gas at an alarming rate.Still, it was a vast improvement over traveling by wish.Achilles took the first shift driving, swearing as he laboriously kept under the speed limit.“Usually I drive as fast as I want, and if I get pulled over, I just flash my Bureau badge.”
“You don’t even have a license on you now.”
Dee wondered what would happen if they did get pulled over.Neither of them carried any ID.And if the cops were in cahoots with the opposition, Dee and Achilles might very well find themselves deported.Or worse.
Instead of dwelling on these gloomy thoughts, Dee played with the radio.The mountainous terrain meant that stations faded in and out, and neither of them wanted to listen to anything religious or anything that covered current news, so finding something suitable was a challenge.When Dee managed to tune in a station playing old pop music, Achilles held up a hand.“Let’s listen to this for a while.”
“Whitney Houston?I wouldn’t have guessed she was your jam.”
“Not really.But my parents used to play top-40s radio at their shop.I think they thought it would help appeal to younger customers.It didn’t, but it was sort of the soundtrack of my childhood.”
Dee kept the station on until it faded away near the Oregon border.
* * *
