Chapter Fifteen

A few weeks later, Evrain was leaning against the kitchen counter scooping cereal into his mouth. Dominic appeared at the bottom of the stairs wearing hole-free jeans and a moss-green shirt that made his pale blue eyes stand out even more than usual.

“You look edible,” Evrain said around a mouthful of granola.

“Thanks. I think. Are you still okay to drop me in the city? I haven’t done any shopping for Christmas and it’s only a few days away now.”

“I’m done. Got my last gift yesterday,” Evrain said, feeling smug.

“That’s because you’re in Portland most days with easy access to all the stores. I’m up to my knees in muck and unless you want your gift from the general store in town, I need a ride.”

“You can buy me lunch. Pete wants to see you so I thought we could all grab a bite together.”

“Sure. Then if I’m done shopping, I’ll go catch a movie. I can’t remember the last time we saw a film and there’s bound to be some kind of superhero flick on as the schools are out.”

“You just want to ogle men in spandex. I’m jealous. I’d bunk off but I have a big project due in before the holidays and I don’t want to have to work during my vacation time.”

“Listen to you, you’re starting to sound like an American.”

Evrain grimaced. “Say it’s not so.”

Dominic grinned, shrugging into his coat. He bent to lace his boots. “I hope the sidewalks are clear. I hate slithering around.”

“The pavements have been pretty good. No fresh snowfall for a couple of days has helped and roads in the city are fine now. It’s a shame because I’d prefer to be snowed in with you. I can think of plenty of ways to keep warm.” On the rug. In front of the fire.

“I’ll bet you can. Did Shadow have her breakfast?”

“Yes. Spent about ten seconds outside doing her business then shot upstairs. She’s in our bed where no doubt her lazy behind will stay for the rest of the day.”

“I’m coming back as a pampered cat,” Dominic said. “Right. I’m ready. Shall we go?”

“Okay.” Evrain got into his outdoor gear. “Ready.” In the depths of winter the main disadvantage of living at Hornbeam Cottage was the quarter mile trek along the path to the closest spot they could park their cars. The frigid air prickled against Evrain’s skin, his breath clouding every time he exhaled. He didn’t mind the cold. The Scottish winters of his youth had been no picnic and he far preferred the process of warming up than attempting to cool down when it was hot. He dug his hands deep into his pockets, wishing he’d remembered his gloves. He warmed in an instant when Dominic linked their arms.

“I love it when it’s crisp and cold. Everything’s so much sharper and it smells fresh.”

Evrain looked anew at the trees, every twig and leaf edged with crystals. The entire world sparkled.

“It’s beautiful.” He could visualize new artwork for the campaign he was working on. It would mean starting again but he knew it would be better than his current effort. “Damn it.”

“Damn, it’s beautiful?” Dominic bumped hips with him.

“No…well, yes. You’ve given me a new idea for something I’m working on and it’ll mean starting over. Pete’s gonna kill me.”

“How, with a Sharpie to the eye?”

“Probably with bad coffee.” They reached the car and Evrain got behind the wheel. “Where do you want me to drop you?”

“Somewhere I can shop in the warm.” Dominic relaxed into his seat. “Though I don’t just want chain stores, so that might be impossible. How about you drop me in Sellwood so I can explore the antique shops then I’ll head for Washington Square.”

“Nothing will be open in Sellwood yet. It’s too early.”

“I’ll find a coffee shop and hang out for a while.”

“Okay. Come by the office when you’re done.”

Traffic was mercifully light. Evrain dropped Dominic outside a coffee shop before heading into the city. Despite the detour he was in the office by eight and spent a happy hour sketching his new design ideas before Pete arrived around nine. The morning flew by with Pete feeding into the new design ideas with enthusiasm, despite Evrain’s misgivings about his reaction.

At two they stood back from the board, hands on hips, mirroring each other’s stance.

“It’s good.” Evrain tilted his head for a different angle. “Crystal dust will make it great.”

“It’s brilliant. I fully intend to take fifty percent of the credit.” Pete gave Evrain a hefty pat on the back.

“You bought decent coffee—you’re entitled.”

“Cool.” Pete’s stomach rumbled. “Where’s that hotty of yours? I need sustenance.”

“Don’t call him a hotty, Pete.”

“But he is hot. I’m simply stating the truth. No fake news here.”

“He is, but no one is allowed to think that but me.” Evrain pinned Pete with a stare promising physical damage if Pete didn’t retract his statement.

“Everyone thinks he’s hot, Ev. Male, female, animal, mineral, vegetable…it’s unavoidable.”

“Pete…” Evrain’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He answered the call with a smile. “Hi, love, you just saved a life.”

“What did Pete do?”

Evrain laughed at Dominic’s insight. “Failed to connect brain to mouth as usual.”

“I’m in the lobby. Am I too late to entice you out for lunch?”

“Not at all. Pete’s about to start eating the furniture so your timing is perfect. Give us five minutes and we’ll be with you.” He ended the call. “You say one word to offend him and I will end you.” Evrain gave Pete a smack to the back of the head.

“Hey, that’s colleague abuse! Fine…I’ll buy you both lunch to make up for lusting after your boyfriend. Let’s go to that place on the river Dominic likes, then we don’t have to drive. We can even sit outside, ’cause they have huge patio heaters.”

“You may have just redeemed yourself with that idea.” Evrain grabbed his coat and followed Pete, who was already on his way to the elevator.

When Evrain set eyes on Dominic in the lobby, his entire body temperature rose by a few degrees. Dominic was flushed, his cheeks and nose pink from the cold. His hair was wind-tousled, tucked into the turned-up collar of his overcoat, and his feet were surrounded by bags. Three paces and Evrain was able to draw Dominic into his arms for a welcoming kiss.

“Holy shit, you two are hot. I should sell tickets.” Pete fanned himself. “Hey, Dominic.”

“Hey, Pete.” Dominic waggled his fingers in greeting.

“Do you have a death wish?” Evrain glared at his friend. “I swear I will…”

“Take me for food. That’s what you’re going to do.” Dominic hooked his arm into Evrain’s.

“Pete’s paying for lunch. We’re gonna walk over to Pier 13 on the waterfront.”

“I love their burgers!”

“And I want hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. It’s Pete’s buck so I’m going all out. You can leave your shopping behind the reception desk.” Evrain attempted to peek into a bag but Dominic whisked them away from under his nose to stash behind reception.

With Pete grumbling alongside them, they made the short walk to the restaurant. Many of the outside tables were taken but Pete, moving with a speed Evrain had never witnessed before, snagged a great spot when a family got up to leave.

“Check out the menu and I’ll go order at the bar,” Pete said. “I know what I’m having.”

“Cheese and chili burger with all the fixings, curly fries on the side,” Evrain and Dominic chorused together.

“So sue me for choosing the best thing on the menu.” Pete licked his lips.

“Chicken fillet burger for me,” Dominic said. “With a side salad. Can we get some nachos to share while we’re waiting?”

“Good plan. I’ll have the house special, Pete,” Evrain said. “Garlic wedges. And don’t forget my hot chocolate.”

“I’ll have one of those too, thanks, Pete,” Dominic added to the order.

“Did you just bat your lashes at him?” Evrain accused Dominic. “Do not encourage him.”

“Pete’s fun. I like him and so do you.”

“He wants you.”

“You think that about every man I’ve ever met, and most of the women.”

Evrain glanced around the surrounding tables. Several people were casting covetous looks at Dominic. “That’s because it’s true.”

“Have you ever considered that it might be you they’re looking at?” Dominic grabbed for the napkins as a sudden gust of wind picked them up and shook the umbrellas providing some shelter from the elements. “Calm down!”

“Hey, look!” a woman at the next table shouted. “There’s a tidal bore coming down the river.”

Dominic watched, open mouthed, as a ridge of water swept along the river, lifting boats and creating a wash along the banks. “It’s not a bore,” he whispered. “It’s going the wrong way.”

“Must be a flash flood,” Evrain said. “Heavy rain in the mountains, no doubt.” He affected innocence, not easy considering the knowing look Dominic sent his way. “I don’t like people eyeing you like you’re a juicy steak ready to be eaten.”

“That doesn’t mean you should get excited. I don’t see them, I see you. Only you.”

“Sorry?”

“You don’t look sorry. You look far too pleased with yourself.”

“Got them watching something else, didn’t I?”

“Gregory will have your hide.”

“What Gregory doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“He’ll have felt the surge, won’t he?”

“He’ll just think I’m being good. Practicing like I’m supposed to.”

“I’m not gonna win this, am I?”

“Nope.” Evrain leaned back in his chair. “And I’ll be reminding you again who you belong to when we get home tonight.” Dominic’s blush made him smile.

“What did I miss?” Pete asked, returning to the table with a tray of mugs. He dished out hot chocolate. “Someone came inside shouting about a wave on the river.”

“It was a bit of a surge is all,” Evrain said. “Flash flood.”

“I miss all the good stuff.” Pete took his seat. “That kind of shit can make you a YouTube gazillionaire if you catch it on film. Food will be about fifteen minutes. The kitchen’s rammed.” He took a huge slurp of his chocolate. “Wow, that’s good.”

Evrain shrugged out of his coat. The patio heaters were blasting warm air and his recent exertions had already warmed him up.

“So when are the three of us gonna have a night on the town?” Pete asked. “I need to get laid and you two are a honeypot for all the buzzy gay bees. One or two might want to pollenate me when they realize you two are off limits. We can even go to a den of kink if you want to.”

“Den of kink?” Evrain spluttered into his chocolate. “You want to find yourself a nice, strict Dom to make you behave, Pete? Or perhaps a sweet sub to worship your comic collection?”

“Funny. Hey, what’s that?” The wail of sirens broke through the chatter, heading their way. They all turned so that they could see the nearest road, which led to a bridge across the river.

“Police,” Evrain guessed.

A black sedan with tinted windows came into view, weaving erratically through the traffic, closely followed by a Portland PD patrol car. Brakes squealed as vehicles attempted to get out of the way.

“Crap, he’s going way too fast. There’s a work crew on the road before the bridge…” Pete stood to get a better look along with most of the rest of the restaurant’s clientele. “Shit…the safety barriers along the bank are down where they’re working.”

There were gasps and screams as, just before it reached the bridge, the sedan hit a ramp, clipped the road crew’s barricade then somersaulted into the river. The patrol car swerved violently, avoided the road workers by inches but caught a curb then rolled over and over before following the sedan off the edge.

“Fuck!” Pete craned his neck for a better view. “We should go help.” Four more police cars arrived on the scene and a crowd gathered on the riverbank.

“We’d just get in the way,” Dominic said.

“Stay between me and everyone else,” Evrain said, grabbing Dominic’s hand. He focused, gathering air and dragging it beneath the surface of the river. The Columbus was huge and powerful—the water didn’t want to cooperate, churning, flowing fast, dragging at the invading machinery. Evrain sought the metal, surrounding what he hoped was both vehicles with pockets of air, forcing the water out. He gripped Dominic’s hand, the direct connection between them helping him channel. Holding the shape of the air below the water took immense effort but he could think of no other way to help. One metal mass began to rise. Evrain drew more air into the bubble, encouraging it to move, and the cop car popped to the surface. He slowed the current, fighting the river’s will. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the chill.

“The cops are out, swimming against the current,” Dominic said. “There’s a rescue boat heading their way.”

Twisting his free hand into a new shape, Evrain let go of one air bubble and focused on bringing the other car to the surface. He was exhausted and had to reduce the amount of air around the vehicle. Bubbles exploded on the surface of the water.

“I can’t hold it much longer.” In desperation, he channeled harder. Next to him, Dominic tensed.

“River police have arrived. There are divers getting into the water, Ev. Not much longer.” Dominic kept his voice low. His calm soothed Evrain’s panic. Then he lost it. His hold on the elements slipped and the air pocket fragmented into thousands of tiny bubbles. The water flow increased. He sagged into the nearest chair, his vision gone.

“They got them,” Dominic cried. “Two men. They’re both in the boat. So are the cops.”

Evrain took long, deep breaths. He felt like he’d run a marathon or three and every muscle he possessed ached. Something wet dribbled from his nose.

“You’re bleeding!” Dominic pressed a wad of paper napkins to Evrain’s face.

“Can’t see,” Evrain mumbled. A glass touched his lips and he took a long swallow of water. Slowly his vision changed from black to red to white then cleared. He wiped his nose, hiding the bloody paper in his fist. Dominic came to sit next to him. “It’s over. Everyone got out of the water. I don’t know what you did, but it worked.”

“Good. That’s good. Did anyone notice?”

“No. Too busy rubbernecking the action. You’re very pale.”

“Has my nose stopped bleeding?”

“Looks like it.” At that moment, a server showed up with their food, which brought Pete back to the table.

“That was some excitement, huh?” He shoved his sandwich into his mouth. “If they’d gone off the bridge the drop would have killed them. They were lucky air pockets formed when they went in as well or they’d all be fish food.”

“Is that what happened?” Dominic asked, pushing Evrain’s plate toward him.

“Must have been. One car floated up and then you could see the air from the other one coming up in bubbles. Water was churning. Wow, it was like something out of an action movie. All we need now is for Bruce Willis to show up.”

Evrain mustered a brief laugh. He chewed his food, savoring every mouthful as his energy returned enough that he felt less like an extra from The Walking Dead. He got through lunch on a combination of willpower, bluff and Dominic’s unstinting support as he kept Pete engaged in conversation.

Evrain’s burger could have been compressed sawdust, but the hot chocolate nudged his taste buds back to life. By the time they were done eating, it was almost three-thirty and Evrain had no intention of going back to work, even though he felt a lot better. He and Pete agreed to call it a day so after retrieving Dominic’s shopping from the office, they all scuttled down the back stairs to the underground parking lot.

“I feel like a naughty schoolboy playing hooky,” Pete said.

“We’ve done enough overtime to merit an early afternoon every now and again,” Evrain said. “I feel no guilt.”

“Promise me we’ll get together for a smexy night out soon.”

“Smexy? No. Just for using that word we aren’t going anywhere with your sorry ass.”

“Aw, come on, Evrain. You know you want to.”

“We’ll sort something out,” Dominic placated him, brushing off Evrain’s protests. “He’ll plague you until you agree anyway.”

“I will.” Pete grinned. “You should always listen to Dominic. He’s cleverer than you and far sweeter.” He ran to his car.

“You best run… Shit, I’m too tired to chase him.” Evrain leaned against his car. “You’ll have to drive, love.”

“No, really? You’re dead on your feet.” Dominic waved to Pete as he drove toward the exit. “Get in the car. Home, bath and bed is what your future holds.”

“Has potential,” Evrain murmured. The car journey would be long enough for him to recover. Once they got going he slipped into a doze, his head filled with the ways in which Dominic would make him feel all better.