The Year of the Salamander - 11. Chapter 11

He walked inside the house and was almost knocked off his feet when Specter ambushed him suddenly.

“Oh...” was all he said while the dog licked and nuzzled him furiously.

“I guess Blair’s scent is okay tonight,” he thought with relief, petting the dog.

“Wow,” Desmond said without looking up. “You are home before midnight, that is...” he finally looked up and stopped talking. “Holy hell, kid, what have you done to your hair?” he asked a few seconds later.

“You don’t like it?” Sam blinked and lightly shoved Specter away.

“No, it’s not that...” Desmond got up and walked closer. “I do, actually... It’s just...” he ran his fingers through Sam’s hair. “Different,” he finished with a slight nod. “Looks good on you,” he nodded again and plopped on the couch. “Eve talked you into getting a haircut, huh?” he turned on the TV, and Sam just blinked.

“Crap!” he thought desperately. “Eve... Goddammit!” He couldn’t believe that he managed to forget about her again.

“Kinda,” he said with a sigh. “Where is Gabriel?”

“Asleep,” Desmond yawned. “I am going to bed soon myself... I promised him that I’d wait for you.”

“Asleep?” Sam frowned. “It’s not even eleven in the evening yet...”

“Uh huh,” Desmond nodded without looking at him. “He was...” he coughed. “Tired,” he finished finally.

“Have you done anything besides each other after I left?” Sam sighed and kicked off his sneakers.

“He made lunch,” Desmond grinned and turned off the TV. “Good night, kid!”

“Night, Desmond,” Sam grinned as well.

****

Next morning Sam firmly told himself that he was not going to forget about Eve today, not again. He didn’t even bother calling Blair to ask him if he could come over right now (it was eleven in the morning); he just got dressed, downed a cup of coffee, and threw a quick glance at Desmond who was reading the newspapers.

“See you tonight, kid,” the man said without even looking up. “Have fun!”

“Tell Gabriel not to wait for me in case if I...” he shrugged. “If I am late,” he finished.

Now Desmond looked at him.

“Kid,” he sighed. “Do you even know Rayhe by now?”

“Right,” Sam nodded with a crooked smile. “Well, I promise, I won’t be too late,” he said firmly.

“Uh huh,” Desmond turned his attention to the newspapers again. “Have fun,” he said again.

“Umm, Desmond...” Sam said tentatively, thinking about asking something about the Guardians. The older man looked at him with a silent question. “Will you make sure that Gabriel feeds Specter when he gets home?” he said instead, and Desmond rolled his eyes.

“Believe me,” he muttered. “That dog will make sure that Rayhe feeds him... You should’ve seen him last night... Or heard him, for that matter,” he added, finishing his coffee.

“Right...” Sam nodded, wondering how in the world he should tell Desmond about Blair in case if this turned into something serious, which he suspected (and hoped), it would. Finally, he shrugged to himself, figuring that he would deal with this later when the time came.

...He rang the doorbell twenty minutes later, and there was a voice calling from behind the door:

“It’s open! Come in!”

Sam grinned and walked inside.

“Please, don’t try opening any more cans,” he said loudly, and heard Blair snort.

“Don’t worry,” he said, appearing in the hallway. “I am not touching those damn cans. What you wanna do today?” he asked and Sam handed him the phone.

“Here,” he said. “Before I forget about it again...”

Blair blinked at that and took the phone.

“Right...” he twirled the gadget in his fingers and shoved it into a charger that was sitting on top of the small table surrounded by old newspapers. “Anyway, anything you wanna do?”

Sam shrugged silently, not sure what to say.

“Tell you what,” Blair nodded. “Do you play tennis?”

“Umm, no,” Sam said carefully.

“Wanna learn?”

“Umm, sure,” Sam said as carefully as before, and Blair nodded.

“Come on then,” he grabbed his car keys and pulled one of the small keys off the chain. “There is a neat court not too far from here, you’ll like it.”

They went outside and Sam frowned when he saw Blair shoving the key into his mailbox.

“What are you doing?” he asked with puzzlement.

“Oh,” the other man made a vague gesture in the air. “Someone is supposed to come over and drop something off,” he said lightly.

“Don’t you want to wait for them?”

“No need,” Blair said as lightly as before.

“Okay,” Sam shrugged and followed him into the car, figuring that if someone decided to rob Blair’s house, they would have to be completely out of their mind. Robbing the Fire Guardian is definitely not the most brilliant idea.

****

A couple of hours later, Sam was panting for breath while chugging down cold water. Tennis turned out to be more fun than he thought, but it was also a hell of a lot more draining as well. Blair looked as cool as ever.

“Wanna take a break?” he said after Sam put the empty bottle aside.

“Uh huh,” Sam nodded quickly.

“You learn fast, Sam,” Blair said and took the racket out of younger man’s hand. “It’s not a compliment,” he shrugged when he caught Sam’s laughing glance. “Seriously,” he nodded. “When I first started learning how to play, it took me several days to figure out how to hold the racket correctly.”

“Right,” Sam nodded and looked at his watch. “Crap...” he muttered when he realized it was 1:30.

“You in a hurry?” Blair immediately noticed his look.

“Not really...” Sam muttered, and then sighed. “Well, kinda...” He sighed again. “I need to meet someone in an hour or so...” He decided to call Eve at two and ask her if she could meet him in the same bookstore around 2:30 or so; there was no need to wait until the evening. He had no idea what he was about to tell her, but he figured that inspiration would hit him when he got there.

“Oh, I see,” Blair nodded. “So do you wanna take off then? Since your car is by my house? Or I could give you a ride...”

“No,” Sam shook his head immediately. “I don’t need a ride, thanks...” he glanced at the taller man. “The whole thing shouldn’t take too long,” he said quietly. “I could come back after I am done...” he coughed. “If you want me to,” he added quickly, cursing his damn flaming ears.

“Yes,” Blair nodded immediately without even a shadow of a smile. That was all he said, there was nothing else. Just ‘yes’ and a steady look.

“Okay,” Sam nodded, unable to look away from those light-hazel eyes.

Finally, he blinked and cleared his throat.

“Well,” he said. “Let’s go...?”

“Yeah,” Blair said almost as lightly as before.

...“Give me your phone,” Blair said when he parked next to his house, and Sam handed him the phone without asking anything.

Blair fiddled with the gadget for maybe a minute, and then he handed it back to Sam.

“I put my number in there,” he said with a very small smile. “Call me, so I’ll get yours, okay? How are the apples, by the way?”

Sam frowned at that.

“Oh,” he said finally. “Not sure. The smell was there yesterday morning, but I haven’t checked it since. I’ll check it when I get home tonight,” he nodded.

Blair laughed and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

“I am sure the smell is still there,” he said while climbing out of the car. “It shouldn’t be as strong though.”

“Well,” Sam shrugged when he climbed out as well. “Desmond will survive. I told him that next time he could refill his own damn tank.”

“Right,” Blair muttered and looked in the mailbox. “Well,” he glanced at Sam. “I’ll see you in a bit?”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded, noting that the other man didn’t have a key in his hands. He wondered briefly who was inside his house right now. Then he wondered briefly, why Blair didn’t look puzzled by the fact that whoever was inside his house hasn’t left yet. Then he wondered briefly, why he felt these weird, stabbing, strangely-angry kicks in the back of his head. Finally, he firmly told himself to knock this shit off, and call Eve already.

...“Hey, Eve?” he said ten minutes later when he was in his car. “It’s... Yeah, it’s me. Are you done with your class? Oh, cool... Hey, how far away from that bookstore are you right now...? Oh yeah? That’s great! Could you meet me there in...” he glanced at his watch. “Fifteen minutes...? Yeah, café is good. Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye,” he snapped the phone shut and looked at the front door of Blair’s house. Whoever it was that took the key out of the mailbox, was still inside. Sam bit his lower lip for a few seconds, then muttered something under his breath rather angrily, turned the key in the ignition, and threw the car into gear.

...He got to the bookstore in less than ten minutes, since he was speeding like he was trying to escape from hell and he didn’t even notice that. He couldn’t figure out his own reaction. “So what if there was someone inside his house?” he thought with a tight frown. “People visit other people, it’s normal, Sam! Sometimes, people leave their keys in their mailboxes so other people can wait for them inside... That’s what friends do, you know... Also, why are you getting so pissed off right now? This is your second time with the man... Well, third technically... Fine, third, but so what? Good God, don’t tell me you are jealous!!”

Sam frowned even tighter.

“I am not jealous...” he muttered, and when his inner voice was about to burst into sarcastic laughter, he gritted his teeth and muttered, “Shut up!” Then he angrily tore his keys out of the ignition, got out of the car, and slammed the door shut. He walked into the café entrance of the store, his hands shoved into his pockets, his forehead one pissed off frown, his jaw locked tightly.

He threw his body into one of the chairs, muttering something very softly, and slammed his elbows into the table.

“Ow!” he hissed when he managed to hit that one funny bone in his right elbow, and as a result, his entire right arm tingled with ticklish, pulsating pain. “Crap...” he muttered, rubbing his elbow. “Goddammit... Son of a...”

“You okay?” he heard a puzzled and somewhat concerned voice behind his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up.

“Oh, hey, Eve,” he muttered. “Yeah, I am okay... Hit my elbow, nothing too serious... How are you?”

“Good,” she smiled and threw her backpack on the floor next to the table. Then she sat down and stared at him with wide eyes.

“What?” he frowned.

“I love your hair,” she said sincerely, and he blinked at that. He completely forgot about his haircut.

“Right,” he hemmed and squeezed a small smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m gonna get a drink,” she got up. “Do you want anything?”

“Do they serve anything that could give me my common sense back?” he thought bitterly. “Something with ‘anti-stupid’ in the name?”

“No, I am okay,” he said with a small, tight smile. “Thanks!”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Be right back!”

She came back maybe a minute later, and this time, she wasn’t drinking coffee – she had a tall glass with sparkling water instead.

“I had way too much coffee today,” she explained when she noticed Sam’s look. “My head is literally buzzing right now.”

He hemmed at that. She sat down and slowly drank her water, studying him from behind her dark-bronze bangs.

“What’s up, Sam?” she asked finally. “You look...” she thought for a second. “Distraught,” she finished with a slight nod.

He looked at her thoughtfully, thinking that he should stop being so stupid and just spend the rest of the day with her. That would be the best medicine. He thought of their kiss on Saturday night, and almost started saying something like, ‘Let’s go back to that park,’ when suddenly, Blair’s eyes flashed bright and clear in his head. “It won’t be fair to her,” he thought hazily. “All you gonna do is use her, and it’s not fair to her...” He waited for inspiration to hit him, but nothing came.

“Eve,” he sighed finally. “There is the thing...”

She drank more water and put her palm on his hand, her fingers drawing small, absent-minded circles on his skin. He blinked when that simple act sent some strange waves through him.

“What thing?” she asked in a soft voice, her eyes locked on his.

He felt like he was being hypnotized. It felt bizarre; not bad, just bizarre. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was to sit here with her, keep getting lost in her eyes, and dissolve in her touch.

“Would you like to go somewhere?” she asked in a purring whisper, and he almost muttered ‘Yes,’ when his mind splashed with another incredibly bright image of Blair with his eyes glowing bright-yellow, flames streaming from his fingertips, ripping the night apart. That image immediately woke him up from his strange trance, and he blinked and pulled his hand away.

“Oh, God, Eve...” he closed his eyes, feeling awfully uncomfortable. Somehow, he felt as if he were leading her on, even though he knew it wasn’t the case. Finally, he sighed and opened his eyes. “Eve...” he took a deep breath. “Okay, it will probably sound stupid, or maybe it won’t I don’t know... That night, after I was coming back home from the park...” He took another deep breath. “Eve, I met someone,” he said quickly.

She blinked and drank more water.

“Whom did you meet?” she sounded genuinely puzzled.

“It doesn’t matter,” he shook his head. “That’s the thing though... That person is the only one I can think about ever since I’ve met him...”

She blinked more rapidly, and her expression became puzzled and somewhat amused, as if she couldn’t believe that something as silly as this could even happen.

“Eve...” he muttered, feeling like crap.

She blinked again and looked at him with a small smile.

“Don’t sweat it, Sam,” she laughed and waved her hand. “I mean, yeah, I liked you, I thought you were really cute but...” she shrugged and drank more water. “It’s not like I desperately fell for you,” she laughed again. “I appreciate the honesty!” she nodded. “You didn’t just disappear from the horizon or made something up... Thanks for telling the truth, Sam,” she nodded again, more seriously this time. “Hey, if you ever wanna just hang out, call me! I come to this bookstore often, so if you need a book-buddy...” she shrugged.

“Yeah...” he muttered, feeling incredibly relieved. “Definitely! I come here often as well...”

“Okay then,” she nodded firmly, and slightly pushed her chair back, ready to get up. “Really, Sam, it’s okay,” she laughed again and stretched out her hand. “Friends?”

“Friends,” he nodded with a sincere smile and grabbed her fingers.

She got up without letting go of his hand, and one of her feet got caught on the leg of the chair, it seemed.

“Oh, son of a bitch!” she shrieked with huge eyes when the chair fell down, jerking her foot, and causing her to sway that tall glass of hers around, splashing water everywhere. “Look out!”

The glass flew out of her hand and landed on the hard, uncarpeted floor, breaking into several sharp shards.

“Oh, God, I am so sorry!” She pressed her hands to her mouth, her huge eyes filling with guilt. “Did I get that water on you?”

“No,” Sam got up quickly. “No, it’s okay, don’t worry about it!”

“Let me get the glass,” she muttered, her face flushing deep-red.

“I’ll help you,” he said and kneeled next to her.

The barista ran up to them.

“Is everything okay?” she asked quickly, and then she saw the broken glass. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” she said quickly. “Don’t pick it up, I’ll get the broom!”

She ran off in a hurry, and Eve sighed and started getting up, when she slipped in the puddle of water and instinctively grabbed onto Sam’s shoulder. He was still holding one of the shards in his hand, so when she grabbed onto him, that shard immediately sank into his palm. He hissed through his clenched teeth and yanked the glass out of his hand.

“Oh, God...” Eve closed her eyes for a second. “Sam, I am... Oh, God, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he winced, getting smaller chunks of glass out of his skin. “I’ve been worse, no worries...”

“Here,” she carefully took the glass out of his fingers. “I’m gonna throw this out before you cut yourself some more...” She quickly walked towards the trashcan.

Sam intently looked at his palm, making sure he didn’t get any more glass stuck in there. He remembered Blair’s words about fast healing and sighed. “We’ll see if he was right,” he thought melancholically. “If this is gone in less than an hour...” He didn’t finish his thought because Eve and barista came back.

“I am so sorry!” Eve said in a tense voice, her eyes still huge. “God, Sam, I am so...”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned and got up. “I heal fast,” he nodded. “Really, Eve, it’s okay!”

She still looked miserable, so he laughed and patted her shoulder with his cut-free hand.

“I am okay, book-buddy!” he said with laughter. “Really!”

“Okay...” she muttered and managed a small smile. Suddenly, her phone rang and she whipped it out of her pocket and pressed it against her ear. “Yeah,” she said, and then frowned slightly. “Now? Can’t it wait until... Oh, right, the lab closes early on Mondays, I forgot... Yeah, I’ll be there in half an hour!” She snapped the phone shut and let out a deep sigh. “Sam, I gotta go...” she said with the same guilty look. “The lab...”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted her with a small nod. “Call me if you wanna hang out, okay?”

“Yeah,” she smiled tentatively. “Sorry about...”

“Go,” he waved his hand at her. “The lab closes early tonight,” he smiled at her, and she laughed with relief.

“Yeah,” she said again. “I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely,” he nodded. “Bye, Eve.”

“Bye, Sam,” she planted a very quick kiss on his cheek and rushed outside, digging in her pockets for her car keys.

Sam grabbed a couple of napkins from the table and pressed them against the cut. Then he sighed, found his own car keys, and went outside, thinking that he’d stop by Blair’s place just because he promised him earlier. He had a feeling that Blair might be busy right now. The thought made him grit his teeth again, so he firmly told himself to stop this right now, got into his car, and soon enough, he was driving down the road.