The Intersection of Purgatory and Paradise (4 page)

“Yes, it is. This whole thing freaked him out enough Nate told his dad everything as soon as he got home yesterday. And he identified the other kid, too. His name’s Jeff Lowe. Marshall’s kid is really upset about it, but Marshall….”

“What did Marshall have to say?”

Daniels shifted uncomfortably. “He said he didn’t see how it was a big deal, especially if Hayes wasn’t hurt bad enough to report it.”

Doug picked up the typed transcript of the statement Brittney had given when she’d brought in the security footage. Christopher had needed ten stitches. Doug had finished fourteen hours on duty before going home last night, and he’d found Christopher asleep in bed, dead to the world. Doug had been so worn out, he’d fallen into bed as soon as he’d gotten out of his suit. Christopher was warm and solid beside him, but that was all Doug had noticed. “Marshall doesn’t think it’s a big deal?”

“He says the Lowe kid thought the rock missed,” Daniels shook his head slowly. “He said it was just a joke.”

“Lowe….” Doug had heard the name before, but he couldn’t place it.

“They’re both supposed to be on the varsity football team this year,” Daniels explained, obviously trying to nudge him toward something.

“I know Marshall’s kid is the team quarterback. That’s all he’s talked about for months. What position does Lowe play?”

“Wide receiver. Both of them are looking at scholarships this year if they can stay on the team.”

“And somehow, charging him with assault will get him kicked off the team?”

“He’s already gotten suspended for beating up a cheerleader on the bus last January. Marshall said if he gets in trouble again, he’s done.”

“What? What kind of sick fuck beats up a cheerleader?”

“You didn’t hear about that?”

Doug shrugged. “I thought a couple of the players beat up another guy.”

Daniels broke into a surprising grin. “The cheerleader was a guy. I guess they can’t find girls strong enough for some of the throws and stuff. But they divide up the boys and girls on the bus, and he was stuck with the football players. The kid dropped out afterward and left town.”

That was surprising. “He’s just gone?”

“I heard he tried to kill himself,” Daniels said. “But I can’t say for sure. Either way, I’m going after Lowe this time. Last time, he was a minor and no one would talk—not even the victim. This time, he’s legally an adult, and I’ve got the little punk on video. I’d like Hayes’s statement to go with it.”

“If he told Brittney he doesn’t want to report it, I doubt I’ll be able to change his mind.”

“No? How many more people do you think Marshall’s willing to let this kid hurt if it means his son has a shot at a football scholarship?”

“I’m sure he isn’t thinking about it like that,” Doug lied.

“Uh-huh. Get Hayes to come in and give a statement. Try, at least.”

Doug sighed. “I’ll see if I can talk him into it.”

Daniels stared at him for a long moment. “Think you can manage it before you leave?”

“Does this mean I actually get a vacation?” Usually time off required at least a week’s notice.

“Yes. I’ve got the PTO form on my desk. Anniversary? Or just that shit from last year? You didn’t fill in the ‘Reason for request’ field.”

Doug sat back and sighed. “Both, maybe. I guess it’s our anniversary, but it’s also his birthday, and….” He shook his head miserably. “Hell, the only thing I like to do on the anniversary of my mom’s death is drink until I black out. I… I saw Christopher deal with his brother’s death, but it’s still hard for him.” He could only shake his head.

“Yeah, that was fucked up. You’ve got two weeks, starting Sunday. But get him to come in and give a statement first.”

C
HRISTOPHER
WAS
already in bed when Doug got home. Doug stripped off his clothes and slipped in beside him, running his hands over Christopher’s bare back and shoulders. He encountered nothing but bare skin all the way to Christopher’s ass. Christopher groaned and shifted from his stomach to his side. Doug leaned close and kissed his jaw, working his way over the rough stubble to his chin before planting a soft kiss on his lips.

Christopher groaned and moved closer. “Welcome home,” he whispered.

“How’s—” Doug swallowed the question he was about to ask when Christopher peeled down Doug’s briefs and wrapped his long fingers around Doug’s cock, stroking the flared tip. “What about your—”

Christopher silenced him with another kiss, deeper and more demanding.

Christopher shoved him down into the mattress and rolled on top of him, straddling Doug’s hips. He trailed a few sloppy kisses down his jaw, then lunged toward the nightstand and the lube. Christopher sat back and squeezed the lube into his hand, then dipped it behind him to stretch himself.

Doug chuckled and reached for the lamp on the bedside table. Christopher was too heavy, though, and he couldn’t quite reach. “You know how much I love to watch you do that. Turn on the light?”

“Doesn’t take much work anymore,” Christopher whispered.

Since Doug couldn’t reach the lamp, he grabbed Christopher’s bobbing cock instead. “Can I watch? Please?”

Christopher dove for the lamp, then moved back over Doug’s hips again.

Doug stroked Christopher’s cock and urged him to sit up a few inches, his gaze automatically drawn toward the crevice where three of Christopher’s fingers were playing.

Christopher let his head fall back. “I love your hands.”

Doug pumped him quickly, squeezing the flared head before he stroked all the way down to Christopher’s pubic hair, just the way Christopher liked it.

“I love every part of you,” Christopher said, snapping his gaze back to Doug. He reached for the lube again and slicked Doug’s cock.

“Slow down,” Doug whispered. He tugged on Christopher’s balls gently, then reached back farther, grazing his hand over Christopher’s and guiding their fingers inside the heat of his body together. Christopher rocked his hips against their entwined fingers, trying to find just the right angle.

“Not enough,” he gasped, pulling his fingers out. “I need you.”

“Anything you want,” Doug said. “Anything you need.”

Christopher slipped Doug’s hand out, lined himself up with a practiced ease, and impaled himself in one wet drop.

When Christopher landed on his lap, he felt his balls scrape against the tight ring of muscle in Christopher’s ass. Doug felt like he was finally home. With Christopher, he’d found a place where he could simply be, where the rest of the world faded into oblivion and there was nothing left but them. Where there were no nightmares or guilt haunting him, where he didn’t have to analyze the simmering hatred behind every stranger’s eyes, never sure if he was seeing something real or a reflection of the chaos lurking inside him.

He wrapped one hand around Christopher’s hip and began to pulse up into him, as desperate to feel tied to Christopher as he was to get off.

Doug tried to keep pumping Christopher’s cock, but he rose and drove back down onto him so hard, Doug had trouble thinking straight, much less maintaining any kind of rhythm. Christopher’s skin became slick with sweat under his hands, their moisture making them slap together. Each slap was punctuated by Christopher’s rapid, shallow panting.

When he felt his orgasm coiling in his gut, Doug licked his palm and focused all of his attention on the head of Christopher’s cock, stroking him so fast the muscles in his arm burned. It took all his discipline to keep moving as the tightness in his gut sank all the way to his balls before he exploded deep inside his lover. He squeezed Christopher in time with each of the aftershocks that shot through him, dragging out the hand job as each shiver traveled down his legs all the way to his toes. Christopher curled over, splattering all over Doug’s stomach before collapsing against him.

“Love you,” Christopher whispered, slipping off him.

Doug tugged him close. “Love you too.” He eased Christopher down beside him. “How’s your head?”

Christopher’s sedate smile vanished for a moment.

Doug traced feathery circles on Christopher’s shoulder. “I saw the video.”

“Video?”

“There’s a security camera mounted over the door of the coroner’s office.”

Christopher shoved himself up onto his forearms. “What? Why the hell is there a security camera there? Who’s going to steal a corpse?”

“I’ve got no idea. Maybe they’re worried about angry families,” Doug guessed. “You can stop trying to avoid the question. Is your head okay?”

Christopher pressed his lips into a thin line, pouting.

“Is it?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

“Did you get an X-ray? A CT scan?”

“Yes. No concussion, no fractures, just a bump and some stitches. I’ve done worse to myself falling during a run.”

“So you weren’t planning on telling me about it?”

“Uh…. No.”

Doug gaped at him. “Why the hell not?”

Christopher lifted one shoulder in a lopsided shrug. “There was no point.”

“How do you figure?”

“Things are already awkward for you at work. If I told you about it, you’d want to deal with it. Arresting those kids would make everybody assume you’re retaliating and abusing your authority.”

“It’s assault. It’s on video. No one could—” But Doug knew he was right. Everyone knew it. “Sheriff Daniels plans on arresting them. Brittney went straight to him with the security footage.”

“It’s not going to look any more objective coming from her instead of me,” Christopher said.

“I don’t care about how it looks.”

Christopher opened his mouth to argue, but the sound died before ever touching his lips. He gave Doug a sheepish grin, then leaned down and kissed him softly. “It doesn’t really matter now, if the sheriff’s determined to arrest them regardless. For now, can we just leave all that in town? Just be
us
out here?”

“Just being us out here is my favorite part of coming home,” Doug whispered.

Christopher scooted down into the crook of Doug’s arm and tried to pull the blanket up over them.

“Hey!” Doug caught the covers before the fabric landed in the puddle on his stomach.

“Hey what? I like you all messy.”

Doug dropped the blanket into the sticky cum and kissed Christopher’s temple. No matter how annoying it was to pry the dried fabric off and wash everything in the morning, the sex that followed when Christopher woke up covered in dried cum was totally worth it. And since Doug had tomorrow morning off, he’d have time to hang around and enjoy it. “Whatever you want.”

C
HRISTOPHER
WASN
’
T
in bed when Doug woke up. He wasn’t in the bathroom, where Doug pulled on a pair of sweatpants, or downstairs in the kitchen either. There was half a pot of coffee left, and a cup was already set out for him. A subtle warmth filled him at the sight of the mug. It was so domestic, so normal, and so much more than he’d ever thought he could have. It was more than he deserved.

There was a loud thump outside. Doug strolled through the living room, which hadn’t changed at all since his mother had lost her battle with cancer three years earlier. He tended to live his life between the garage where he left his weight bench, the kitchen, and the bedroom. He couldn’t bring himself to sit on one of the old floral couches for more than a minute, as if just being in the same space his parents and grandparents had spent their lives was somehow disrespectful. He would never be the straight, conservative rancher his father had hoped he’d become. He’d never figure out the wife and grandchildren his mother had always hoped he’d add to their family.

For the millionth time, Doug wished he would have come out to his mother before she died, told her there was a reason he would never live up to her expectations of him.

The door swung open on quiet, oiled hinges, and Christopher strolled in dressed in a crisp pair of slacks and a cream shirt.

Doug grabbed Christopher’s hip and tugged him close, kissing him. “Morning,” he said, smiling.

Christopher kissed him, but he didn’t smile.

“What’s up?” Doug asked, nodding at Christopher’s clothes. “You going for another job interview this morning? Or did you hear back about the substitute job?”

Christopher huffed. “Yeah, right. They told me they went with someone else. Then reposted the job.”

Doug felt Christopher shudder and pulled him close.

“No one in this area is going to hire me to work with kids,” Christopher said bitterly. “Or to do anything else.”

Doug wrapped his arms around Christopher, stifling the uncertainty he felt when Christopher didn’t return the embrace. “It’ll be all right. I make enough.”

“Money-wise, it’s okay. That’s the only way I’m actually okay.”

Doug cupped Christopher’s jaw. “I figured today was going to suck. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to do something to celebrate, or… well, just let it pass.”

Christopher closed his eyes and leaned into Doug’s touch. “I want to sleep. I want to sleep through today, and sleep through tomorrow, and never wake up. But I can’t, because Delgado decided to schedule his fucking wedding for Sunday.”

Doug stroked his thumb over Christopher’s smooth cheek. Wedding? Was that why Christopher wanted to go to San Diego? “You don’t have to go,” Doug said. “I can’t say I know how you feel right now, but…. You don’t have to go celebrate anything. Not if you feel like….” He shook his head, desperate to find words that could tell Christopher how much of his world pivoted around the relationship they’d fallen into over the last year. Even thinking about losing Christopher made him feel broken.

“You think I want to feel like this? I can’t stay here right now,” Christopher whispered. “I can’t. And, honestly, I can’t think of anything that might help me get my mind off it better than seeing Ray Delgado’s version of an Italian wedding.”

“Italian?”

“His fiancé, Belkamp, is apparently Italian. His mom’s even ordered something vegan in case you can make it.”