Hi again. So this is what I worked on today. I'm busy with my other story (Holiday Cup Of Joe) so I've not had a lot of writing time. I am also putting together outlines for two other stories I want to write next. Yes... one of them is for my Alien books. I plan to play with that after I finish this. To those of your waiting for that, thank you for hanging in here with me.
Be well,
~M. From C.M. Moore
*Chapter 9*
(Clay)
As far as Clay was concerned, Brice was damn obstinate. The grader's stubborn and pig-headed nature was probably how he survived getting shot and tossed into a mass grave. Even if Clay could appreciate Brice's determined side, right now, all he wanted was for the man to surrender. He knew Brice was going crazy without him, but he still hadn't come around. Clay knew Brice had to be going insane because he was too. He fluffed his pillow and stared at the bunk bed above him. If Clay jerked off in the toilet stall one more time, his dick was going to fall off. He needed Brice.
Sighing, Clay wondered how long before Brice faced his fears. That's all this was—fear of heartbreak, fear of the uncontrollable bond. Clay had been terrified of how big this connection was... at first. But now, the link was comforting and stable, like a tree with deep roots. Clay would admit that the tie moved a little fast, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. There was no reason to fight it. He and Brice would be great together. No phenomenal. They just needed to get past a few pesky problems.
"Claymore? Are you listening?" Abdul asked. "At all?"
Clay glanced over at Janis and Abdul. Maybe there were more than a few pesky problems, but none of that mattered. Brice and Clay would get together.
Rolling over on his mattress, Clay tried to concentrate on his best friend. Abdul sat on the floor between his bunk bed and Clay's. Janis sat cross-legged in front of the blueprints of the headquarters building. Abdul unrolled drawings that outlined the entrances that surrounded the complex. He pointed at the entry point where people had to get screened for Snow Flu before admittance into the compound.
"I'm listening." Clay slipped off his bed and knelt next to the markers of where the cameras were located. He glanced down at his watch. It was almost two in the morning.
"We need to wrap this up," Janis said as she unscrewed the battery compartment of her flashlight. "The recruits will be returning from their mock night mission soon."
"And you need to head up to Gears' lab." Abdul handed Janis what appeared to be sketches of chemical compositions and breakdowns of an organic substance. Clay thought they could be types of poison. She folded the sheet and tucked it into her flashlight before returning the cap.
"Do you have the layout with the trainer's rooms?" Clay asked as Janis rose. "I want to see the hallway."
Abdul shuffled the illustrations.
"Number six has the one that shows where all the camera's lens point. That one also shows the spot where Nancy has adjusted the angle to hide half the trainer's hall." Janis leaned against the bedpost. "Is that the time?" She tapped her watch. "I've got to go."
"It's almost 2 a.m." Abdul noted. "Can you get it all done before everyone gets back?"
"Yeah." Janis nodded. "And if I get caught, I'll say I'm hiding there smoking in the lab."
"Watch your six." Abdul tossed Janis a pack of matches. As soon as she walked out of the room, his best friend stared at him.
Clay ignored the intense look and instead scanned the trainer's hallway and quarters. Brice's room was the last on the floor on the right side. His quarters were as far away from the elevator as possible. He checked the camera's positions. If Clay wanted to sneak into Brice's bedroom, he would have to cover his face. If the man weren't going to come to him, Clay would see the mulish grader and tell Brice he was a stubborn ass. After that, Clay would get on his knees and beg.
"Clay? Earth to Wicks." Abdul waved a hand over where he'd indicated the maintenance room on the map. "What's going on?"
Glancing up, Clay sighed. There was no point in hiding this from Abdul. Even if he tried, eventually, his friend would figure it out. Clay and Abdul had been together for far too long.
"I'm in love." Clay leaned his head back on the mattress. He decided to tell it like it was —no point in sugar-coating the truth.
"Is that all?" Abdul snorted as he started to roll up the documents. "You had me nervous there for a second."
"What does that mean?" Clay picked up his head as his eyes narrowed.
"Talk to me when you decide to do something more than kissing. Then I'll worry." Abdul grabbed another blueprint.
"I mean it, Abdul. I'm in love." Clay didn't have the words to explain this feeling. It was more than love, but what did someone call that?
"I know you, Clay. I even dated you when I was young and dumb. Your idea of love is talking a big game. You say all the things you're supposed to, but in the end, you're scared of intimacy. I don't even know if it's fear as much as repulsion and dread." Abdul stopped rolling the drawings and tipped his head to the side as if he was thinking much too hard about Clay's sex life.
"I don't know what you mean," Clay muttered the lie. Unfortunately, he knew precisely what Abdul was saying. Being called corpse-cock on more than one occasion was enough of a reminder.
"I'll tell you what I mean." Abdul tossed down his papers. "You treat sex like a horrible chore you're trying to get out of." He held up one finger. "You won't touch anyone's genitals, man or woman. You won't even look at a penis or a vagina. It's like it's the sun, and you can't look right at it." He held up two fingers. "And you won't even hold someone's hand without them pleading with you." Abdul held up three fingers. "After you do touch someone, you wipe your palm like they're made of mold. I think you're more friendly fighting an opponent then you are in the bedroom." Abdul waved four fingers before he picked up his pencil. "When you were dating Denise, you even told me you'd try to get out of kissing her. You used your gift on her to escape."
"This is different." Yes, Abdul had an accurate description of all his past relationships, but his sexual side wasn't dormant with Brice. Now his sexual side was alive and kicking. He wanted it all with the instructor. Clay needed to touch him and kiss him and talk to him. If he had to, Clay would crawl over broken glass to have a second with his grader. He could stare at Brice's penis all day long.
"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but you have to excuse my skepticism. You and I dated for what? A year?"
"Ten months," Clay mumbled. He knew what Abdul was going to say. The boyfriend-situation had been a disaster. The only thing Clay was happy about was that they'd salvaged their friendship after everything went down the shitter.
"And other than kissing and holding my hand once, all you ever did was complain. You hated sucking dick. You walked out on me when we tried. You didn't want me anywhere near your ass hole. You walked out that time too." Abdul picked up the designs again. "When you fucked me," Abdul's voice lowered. "I could tell how much you hated it. You went soft halfway through. If I remember correctly, you weren't even into me going down on you." Abdul shook his head. "I should take away your man card for that. What man doesn't want his penis sucked on?"
"Can we forget I said anything?" Clay held up his hands.
"The one time I was licking you, and you fell asleep during it. Gavin told me you did that to him as well."
"I was tired," Clay said weakly. Now that he'd been with Brice, Clay had a new perspective on sex and closeness with another person. If Brice were licking him, it wouldn't matter if the room was on fire. Clay would beg to have the man finish.
"You were tired both times?"
"Forget I said anything. I don't need to be called corpse-cock again" Clay reached for the plans and started unrolling them. "Let's talk about this instead."
"Too late now." Abdul tugged the blueprints from his fingers. "Let's pretend that I believe that you're in love." He nodded. "Tell me what in love looks like because Janis and Gavin and Denise all said that you were just as bored with them. I know it's not a woman or man thing."
