Ricochet (47 page)

trying to get comfortable.

Rick made another attempt at cooking

breakfast while Matt squeezed some oranges. He

was surprised when Rick's stab at breakfast turned

out to be a delicious Spanish omelet.

"You can cook!" It came out almost like an

accusation.

"I can." Rick grinned at him around a

mouthful of food.

"I always noticed - whenever we were at a

cast meal, or one of those fuck-awful functions like

up-fronts - that you actually know about wines and

food, and what kind of wine goes with what food

and stuff like that."

Rick shrugged. "Yeah, well, my dad might

have been a crappy parent, by and large, but there

were some skills he drummed into me."

"You want to talk about him? You dropped

some pretty interesting hints about him last week."

Rick didn't even look up at him. "No."

"Do you have another parent?" Matt asked

curiously. "You never talk about another dad or a

mom."

"I have a mom," Rick said shortly.

"Tell me about her."

"Sure - and do you want to talk about your

mom too, while we're at it? You being temple born

is 'pretty interesting' too," Rick shot back.

Matt gazed at him steadily, trying to get the

measure of this new Rick. Old Rick would have

thought of some stupid deflection to change the

subject, but new Rick, it appeared, was less

benign - and yet also more honest. "No," he

replied. "I don't want to talk about my mom."

"Then let's agree - no more talking about any

of that shit. Today is about us, and as it's the only

day we're going to have, let's enjoy it."

After breakfast, Rick pushed his plate away

and suggested a ride into the hills on his bike. "I

won't freak you out with my driving skills this

time, I promise," he said with a wink.

"You sure? It was scary as hell last time,"

Matt said dubiously.

"And exciting too." Rick gave a knowing grin.

"You loved it."

"I did." Matt grinned back at him. "I guess it

kind of sums up how I feel around you. The bike

rides, the spankings, sex, acting opposite you on

set, life in general…"

"Scary and exciting?"

"Yup! I feel like the ball in a pinball machine

around you, always bouncing off the walls."

"Aw, but your life would be so boring

without me. You need someone to shake you up."

"And you need someone to calm you down!"

They were silent for a moment, gazing at each

other across the table. Then Rick cleared his throat

and got up and began tidying away the dirty plates,

and the moment passed.

The hills were beautiful. Matt was surprised

to find how much he loved riding on the back of

Rick's bike, with his arms wrapped around Rick's

body and his face pressed into Rick's leather

jacket. It was a lovely spring day, the sky was blue

overhead and everything was green around them.

Rick took them up high into the hills, and they got

off the bike to enjoy the view.

"This is my favorite place," Rick said,

perching on a rocky ledge. "I love it up here. When

I was a kid, I used to drive my beat-up old bike up

here - I never dreamed I'd come back on a Harley

one day."

Matt tried to imagine a gangly, teenage Rick.

"What were you like back then?"

"I was a little shit. You're lucky you didn't

know me then, Matt."

Matt gazed at him thoughtfully. "Do I know

you now?"

"Right now, today - yes." Rick put an arm

around him and pulled him in close.

"It's beautiful here. Serene." Matt looked

down on the world, far below. He was surprised

that a party animal like Rick came to a place like

this to find peace. "Nobody could feel anxious

about anything up here," Matt murmured.

Rick smiled. "I knew you'd like it." They

were silent for a moment. "You shouldn't be afraid

of it, you know," Rick said suddenly.

Matt glanced at him sideways, frowning.

"Afraid of what?"

"Your submission. It's beautiful. The way you

struggle with it and then surrender - any dom

would love that. You don't have to be perfect and

go straight down on command. I know you think

you do, but to be honest, that's kind of boring."

"Really?" Matt relaxed against his shoulder.

"My first dom went ballistic and said I was a sorry

excuse for a sub, and the others were all either

angry or disappointed."

"Then they're idiots. Where's the challenge in

taking down a sub who can take themselves

down?" Rick shrugged. "With you, it's hard earned.

You fought me, and you fought yourself, but I won.

That sense of surrender, when it came, was…" He

paused, and Matt was surprised to see the naked

emotion in his eyes. Rick, who was so rarely

serious about anything, seemed to be deadly

serious about this. "Touching," Rick said.

"Touching, humbling and such a turn on. It felt

incredible - as a dom, it was the most amazing

experience, to know I'd done this for you, and that

you responded like that to me when nobody else

had been able to take you there."

"Supposing nobody else will be able to take

me there again?" Matt asked. "Nobody but you."

"It's flattering, but I figure you just needed to

be shown the way. Now you'll have more

confidence because you know you can do it - you

need to trust that." Rick bent his head and dropped

a kiss on Matt's hair. "Thanks for letting me be the

one who took you there and showed you how to

fly, Matty."

"No - thank you." Matt looked up, and Rick

looked down at his mouth and moved closer. Matt

moved his head hungrily toward him… and Rick

cleared his throat and turned away.

"We should be getting back," he said.

When they got home, Rick showed him

around the rest of his house. Matt had never been

in the gym before, but he wasn't surprised by all

the shiny equipment - Rick seemed to have filled

his house with the most expensive stuff he could

buy.

"So - I'm impressed by how toned you are.

Can you show me how to do that yoga stuff?" Rick

asked, standing on a mat, facing a wall full of

mirrors.

"Really? After all the teasing you've given me

about that?" Matt planted both his fists on his hips

and glared at him.

"I like teasing you. It makes you smile and

most of the time you're pretty serious, Matt."

Matt was startled. "I never realized you

noticed stuff like that."

"Well, you notice the wines I'm drinking so

turnaround is fair play." Rick grinned at him.

"C'mon - show me how it's done!"

Rick was a more eager and receptive student

than Matt would have thought possible from his

behavior on set. The restless clown was gone and

a calmer, shrewder man stood in his place. Rick

seemed genuinely interested in learning and picked

up the various poses quickly. As Matt stood behind

him, his arm crossed over Rick's body, showing

him one of the poses, he suddenly caught sight of

them both in the mirror opposite and stopped.

"What is it?" Rick asked.

"Reverse déjà vu?" Matt gestured with his

head at the mirror.

Last night, Rick had stood behind him like

this and made him look at himself in the mirror

during key moments in his submission; now Matt

was the one standing behind Rick and this time he

was the guide, and Rick was the student.

Their reflections gazed back silently,

watching them. Last night, the playroom mirror had

shown Matt a reflection of his true self and today

he thought he saw a glimpse of Rick's true self

reflected back too.

"Someone walk over your grave?" Rick

asked.

"No - but maybe over yours." Matt pulled

away. "It's getting late. I'm tired."

Rick turned, looking worried. "You okay? I

was pretty tough on you at times last night. You

hurting anywhere?"

Matt stretched and grinned as a dozen

different aches made themselves known. "Hell yes!

Everywhere! But it feels fantastic."

"Then stay for pizza. We could watch TV; you

can go home after that."

Matt nodded. He didn't want to leave yet - he

was enjoying himself too much.

The pizza arrived, and they took it into the

living room with a bowl of popcorn and a couple

of bottles of Coke and sat on the sofa.

"You were right about the coming down

thing," Matt said as they ate. "I hadn't realized how

important it is. I felt kind of floaty and lost this

morning. Now, I feel more like myself again -

more grounded."

"Subspace can be addictive. I would love to

take a sub down and keep them there for days -

weeks even. Just to see if I can do it," Rick said

speculatively.

"You'd have to be a really skilled dom to do

that," Matt pointed out.

"I could do it!"

"I know you could." Matt grinned at him. "So

why don't you? You've had enough subs. Even in

the two years I've known you, you've had more

subs than I can count, and you know how good I am

at counting." He gave a self-deprecating grin.

"Oh yeah." Rick grinned back at him around a

mouthful of pizza.

"Why don't you do it then? You'd love it - you

know you would. I saw that in you last night, Rick.

What is it you're so afraid of? That you might end

up caring for the sub if you let them get too close?

That it'd feel too much like commitment? Is that

it?"

Rick shrugged. "It's more complicated than

that, Matty."

"Last night, you helped me," Matt said

quietly. "Let me help you now, with this."

Rick shook his head. "I don't need any help.

Look, I'm having a good time with you, Matty. Let's

not get bogged down with all this shit. Let's enjoy

ourselves before you have to leave. Shall we

watch some TV?" He picked up the remote and

turned on the TV.

"What's on?" Matt finished his pizza and sat

back with a sigh. Rick didn't owe him any

explanations, but he hoped his friend would open

up to him at some point.

Rick scrolled through the listings. "Well,

they're showing
The Life-Bond
again."

"For the millionth time! That's such a crappy

movie."

"Crappy? It's fantastic!" Rick poked him in

the ribs, and Matt laughed and batted him away.

The Life-Bond
was a ridiculously romantic

movie about a couple going through the life-

bonding ritual, creating an unbreakable emotional

connection between them. The movie explored the

sub's terminal illness and the dom's decision to

life-bond with her anyway, even knowing that

when she died, he would too.

Matt rolled his eyes. "It's melodramatic shit."

"But that's why we love it! When the sub turns

to the dom and says:
I can't let you do this! I can't

let you give up your life for me!
"

"And he replies:
Without you I have no life,
"

Matt proclaimed, striking a pose. "
You are my life!

Damn, that dialogue is bad."

"But that's why it's so great!" Rick laughed.

"It's a cheesy classic! C'mon - don't pretend you

haven't watched it late one night with tears

streaming down your face. Everyone has - at least

once."

Matt made a face. "Oh, okay, maybe once; but

I just don't get life-bonding. It doesn't make sense

to me."

"Yeah, I can't imagine how it must feel to be

linked to someone forever, able to feel their pain

and pleasure, and knowing that if they die you die,

and vice versa."

"I've never really understood how it works or

why anyone would want to be in that kind of

relationship." Matt shuddered. "Medical science

still can't explain it, so it seems like some kind of

voodoo for me. It'd freak me out."

"I guess that not many couples are compatible

enough to form the bond, so it's a puzzle to us

ordinary folk," Rick said thoughtfully. "But the

mystery fascinates me. I love all that shit, even if I

don't get it."

"I don't think either of us is in the mood for

The Life-Bond
, so what else have you got taped?"