Page 66 of Seth
The car pulled to a stop,raising a cascade of water into the air. Seth opened the door and stepped into the rain. Water filled his eyes. He tried to blink it off, but new torrents soaked him through. The three-story buildings loomed in the night, every window dark, and even the streetlights stood turned off. Seth wondered if the storm de-energized this part of the city as his headlights seemed to be the only source of light.
The lightning blazed, blue sparks reflecting in every drop of water.
“You really came?” A voice drifting from behind made Seth spin. His shoes soaked through as he stepped into a puddle. Sitting on the porch of an old building, knees to his chest, Ignaz looked like a wet sparrow. With a cowlick on a side, he stared at Seth, bewildered. “Why?”
Instead of answering, Seth twitched his head toward the car. When the boy didn’t move, he came closer and offered his hand. Shaky fingers hesitantly covered his palm, Ignaz got to his feet. His t-shirt clung to his torso like a second skin. He licked his bluish lips, and Seth, having no hope to outvoice the storm, once again lifted his chin toward the car.
Ignaz nodded, splashing through the puddles, not caring about his cheap running shoes getting wet, or maybe they have already been soaked through so wetness didn’t bother him anymore. When he got in the car, Seth took the driver’s seat and turned on the heater. He sped through the night, wanting to get home as soon as possible.
* * *
Using the smart homeapp,Seth turned on the lights in the garage and stepped out of the car. He heard the soft exhale of the shutter rolling down, but didn’t turn around. During the drive, they didn’t exchange a word, still with every passing second Seth’s thoughts, one by one, left Gustavo and concentrated on Ignaz. His awareness of the boy returned, making him notice small tremors rushing through his limbs, his hastened breathing, and low chattering of his teeth.
“Undress here. I’ll load the washer.” Grabbing a bamboo basket from a shelf, Seth placed it on the car hood and tugged off his shirt without unbuttoning it. Not looking at his companion, he tossed the shirt into the basket. “You can use the shower here or go upstairs.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ignaz’s gaze following the light movement of his chin and how the boy nodded. His hesitant fingers fumbled over the hem of his shirt, and Seth wondered where this shyness came from. Not long ago, he bent over the spanking horse, shamelessly pushing his ass back.
To distract himself and give Ignaz space, he turned away, fingers struggling with his now useless belt with only one dagger remaining. His injured palm, stiff and tight, refused to bend.Gustavo was right; with a hand like this, I won’t be able to do anything for at least a couple of weeks.
Using his right hand only, he unfastened his jeans, then stepped out of his shoes. He hooked his thumbs into his waistband, but wet denim stuck to his legs and refused to let go.
“Seth…”
“Hm?”
“Thank you…”
Seth whirled. For a moment, he peered into the bottomless pools of Ignaz’s eyes, then nodded.
Under his gaze, Ignaz paled. “What’s with your eyes?”
Seth blinked before dragging his attention to a round mirror facing the garage entrance. From it, his reflection glared at him with one eye bloodshot, the other reddened too but without signs of subconjunctival bleeding. Now, more than ever, he resembled the dying god from his dreams.
“An allergy, probably,” he lied, still staring in the mirror.
Behind him, Ignaz parted his lips as if he wanted to say something, but he quickly changed his mind, dropped his chin, and hurried to the shower.
Seth’s heart thundered in his chest. His whole being protested against letting Ignaz out of sight. He wanted to follow the boy and lock his embrace around his slender form. Instead, he forced his attention to his jeans. He snaked his palms between the denim and his skin and applied more pressure. The fabric gave in, moved lower. He pushed harder, and a few bubbles on his palm burst.
Fuck…Releasing a sigh of irritation, he tried again, using only his right hand. The fabric scraped his left hip, skin reddening as he finally tore the jeans down.
The sound of running water drifted from behind. Tossing his jeans into the basket, Seth went to the laundry room and loaded the washing machine. He rarely used it, preferring to send clothes for dry cleaning, but he didn’t want to leave a wet mess behind.
When he returned to the garage, Ignaz was already out and wrapped in a terry-cloth towel. Fingers fumbling with the fabric, he didn’t meet Seth’s eyes.
“Order food if you’re hungry or go upstairs. Spare clothes are in the wardrobe.” Seth said as he passed him on his way to the shower. He pulled the glass door open and stepped in, then turned the water on. The energizing streams hit his head, quieting his thoughts and the distancing footfalls of bare feet.
When Seth broughthot tea upstairs, Ignaz was already in bed. With the duvet tugged over his head, he lay on his side and didn’t stir even when Seth called his name. The cup clanged against the nightstand as he set it down. After waiting a second longer, Seth left the room. The door softly slid into the frame as he ambled into the master bathroom.
Bronze fittings and the black stone contrasted with the golden glass of the shelves. He pulled the white box with a red cross on a side from out of the closet and carried it to the bedroom. Behind the panoramic window, the dawn broke, and the first stripe of pink rippled over the horizon, separating the sleeping earth and the gloomy sky. Seth didn’t turn the light on, hoping that the first sun rays would be enough for him to treat his minor injury.
He perched on the corner of the bed, flipped the lead of the first aid box open, and grabbed the ointment. Squeezing the cap between his teeth, he tried to unscrew it, but his teeth only slipped over the soft plastic, leaving deep grooves over the ridges.
The bedroom door creaked open.
“Seth? Are you sleeping yet? Mind if I turn on the light?”
Before Seth managed to reply, the yellow light blazed through the room, illuminating black wood. The red and golden glass adornments sparkled. Seth turned his head and zeroed in on the slender frame of Ignaz, dressed in the same linen clothes Seth wore. His light eyebrows squished together as he stared at the first aid box and Seth’s palm.
