Breakdown - 29. 27 The Path Narrows

It had been a pretty busy week for Cameron.

He had been sending off letters and collecting information on different colleges and the programs that they offered. Prices, options of night classes and correspondence were his main concerns. While the money that he had sitting in his bank account had accrued a vast quantity of interest, Cam felt an overwhelming reluctance at using all of it. The more he thought about it, the more Cam believed that the money was dirty, and using it was somehow linking him to a past that he would just rather not think about.

Cam was looking at entering the next September semester. He felt a jittery excitement; he’d never thought that something like this would have been possible. To think that a whore could get turned around and become a well-functioning member of society…

Things were Gabriel were also going well. They managed to see each other at least four times a week, mostly around Gabriel’s teaching schedule. There were intimate dinners, private walks in the park, and soft conversation over a bad movie with wine. Cam couldn’t remember the last time that he had felt so content.

Cam glanced at the clock. Gabriel was due over in about fifteen minutes. Making a quick run through the house, Cam picked up some of his stray laundry and put it back into his closet. He made up the bed (he always forgot) and took his dishes in the living room to the kitchen. Putting his hands on his slim hips, Cam nodded to himself at his cursory job well done.

Almost on cue, the buzzer for his apartment rang.

Cam pushed the button. “Hello?”

“It’s Gabriel.”

“Come on up,” Cam said with a smile. He hit the button for the lock and opened his apartment door a sliver so that Gabriel could come in when he got there. He stood on the other side of his small kitchen, trying to make himself busy with getting drinks but entirely too excited to see Gabriel as he came through the door.

Gabriel emerged with a smile. His sliver glasses glinted above eyes that were folded into a grin. He was wearing loose jeans and a light sweater. He was carrying a long, green package under one arm.

“Honey, I’m home,” Gabriel greeted.

Cam smiled and slid over to him, taking the other man into a hug. Gabriel offered him a one-armed return, mostly due to the cumbersome package tucked under his arm.

“Did you bring me a present?” Cam asked, fingers moving to the green package.

“I don’t even get a hello?” Gabriel asked his expression one of mock hurt. Cam glanced up at him, grinning. His green eyes glittered with mischief.

“You’ll get more than a hello later,” Cam replied. He leaned forward and kissed the tip of Gabriel’s nose. The teacher laughed.

He said, “You’re in a good mood tonight.” He let Cam’s slim fingers pull the green package from his arms. It was a little heavier than Cam had expected it to be. He carefully set it on the counter and went about undoing the ribbon. Gabriel stood behind him, one arm around his waist as he looked over Cam’s shoulder.

Opening the box, Cam discovered three long-stemmed roses and a bottle of wine. He looked back to Gabriel and grinned. “Flowers? For me? You’re such a gentleman.”

Gabriel laughed a little. “I know it’s a little corny… but I thought they were nice.”

Cam turned around in Gabriel’s arms and cupped his cheeks. “They’re lovely. I’m such the wine will be greatly appreciated as well.” He leaned forward and kissed Gabriel’s soft lips. Gabriel leaned forward to meet him, his arms circling around to rest against Cam’s lower back. The intensity of the kiss deepened quickly, and Cam was pressed back firmly against the counter. Gabriel’s tongue slid into his mouth, making soft, delicate strokes against Cam’s tongue.

Cam’s fingers crept up Gabriel’s chest and around his neck. His fingers slid into his soft dark hair, kneading the flesh at the back of his neck. He shifted a little, moving his rear up onto the counter so he could wrap his thighs around Gabriel’s hips.

Gabriel followed Cam’s movements, kissing up at him as the other rose above him. Gabriel’s chest pressed to Cam. Their lips parted, and Cam folded Gabriel into a breathless hug. He ran his fingers through his long hair, loving the silky feeling of it sliding between his fingers. This moment, with Gabriel between his legs and a bottle of wine pressing into his hip, was a singular perfection that Cameron was sure he would remember for the rest of his life.

“You know,” Gabriel said quietly, “If this continues, we’re not even going to drink the wine.”

Cameron laughed softly. “Let’s pour ourselves a glass, then,” he said, “And then we can say that we made a good effort at it before I let you have me.”

Gabriel squeezed Cam’s waist tightly and then pulled away. His fingers drifted along Cam’s thighs, as if he were reluctant to break their contact entirely. He gazed up at Cam, smiling softly. The blonde hopped down from the counter and took up the bottle of wine in both hands, holding the neck in a very suggestive pose.

“You’re such a tease,” Gabriel said with a scoff. He waved a hand at Cam and retreated from the kitchen. Cam’s laughter, light and airy, bubbled after him.

“You love it,” he called, before turning his attention to finding some glasses to hold the wine. Not having any wine glasses, Cam instead chose cut glass tumblers. He laughed a little at the thought of them sipping fine wine out of glass tumblers, but it was a fond, internal laugh.

He took the wine into the living room, where Gabriel had cleared back the furniture and moved the pillows to the floor. Cameron didn’t understand it, but Gabriel held certain affection for the floor. Whenever possible, the teacher would organize himself on the carpet. After a while, Cam had stopped trying to get him to sit on the couch, and just joined him on the carpet, propped up in a circle of pillows.

“Your drink, sir,” Cam said, handing him a tumbler. Cam seated himself beside Gabriel, and the two lovers leaned together and let their glasses touch.

“To us,” Gabriel said softly. “As screwed up as we both might be.” They shared a laugh at that, and tipped their glasses to their lips. The wine was cool and dry in their mouths, prickling at their tongues. Cam smiled as the first mouthful went down, pooling warmly in his belly.

“I don’t mind being screwed up,” Cam said, taking another sip of wine. “As long as I have someone screwed up with to share the title with.”

Gabriel nodded gravely. “You make me feel less messed up,” he said. When Cam made a face at him, he laughed.

“That’s not very nice,” Cam said, looking wounded.

“I’m kidding.”

“I don’t care,” Cam said. “You’re going to have to make that one up to me.”

Gabriel chuckled a little, leaning over and lightly brushing his fingers over Cameron’s lips. “I would love to make that up to you.”

They pushed their half-empty glasses of wine onto the coffee table, fingers eager for something other than cold glass. Cam slid onto his back on the floor, a soft couch cushion behind his head. Gabriel was over him, his lips, tasting of wine, on his. Cam wrapped his arms around him. He felt that soft tongue slip into him; stroke the soft insides of his mouth. Cam’s fingers pulled at Gabriel’s clothing, eager to feel the nude flesh.

Slowly, they peeled each other’s outer layers away. Cam whimpered as their mouths burned with increasing intensity, claiming each other in a sultry, undulating wave of pleasure. Flesh against flesh, Gabriel lay atop of Cam and tasted him. Cam laughed into his mouth, overwhelmed by the feeling of pleasure and comfort that he got when he was around Gabriel. It was like coming home.

Wrapped together, limbs entangled, they enjoyed each other’s mouths. There was the soft feeling of warmth with the harder, more intense promise of a careful love bite. They moved along the carpet, thrusting into each other’s flesh, neither daring to take the final step towards the joining of their bodies.

Cam tilted his head back, lounging in the familiar comfort of the other’s proximity. There were no words; they explored and touched and felt and gasped. Slippery fingers found Cam’s entrance and he gasped loudly, clutching at Gabriel’s shoulders. He spread his legs, feeling Gabriel’s hips slide between his legs. The foreplay was intense; each were covered by a fine sheet of sweat by the time Gabriel pressed his moist tip against Cam’s rear.

The act itself was sinful with desire. They kissed and smiled at each other, embracing with bodies and with sultry, bedroom gazes. Cam felt his lover deep inside of him, moving and pressing against his insides. He bucked back with vigour, urging him on. Cam’s toes curled in the air, his body arching as he found his release under the other. Gabriel’s released followed his own, his voice joining Cam’s in a chorus of pleasure.

Spent, they lay together on the carpet. Peace spread between them.

After a quick clean up with a washcloth from Cam’s bathroom, the two men sat dressed in jeans on the floor, sipping wine thoughtfully. Cam was almost going to suggest that they graduate to the bedroom for round two when the buzzer to his apartment rang.

Curious about who would be calling at such a late hour, Cam rose and clicked the button. “Hello?”

“FedEx courier service,” came the reply. “I have an important package.”

Cam frowned and looked at Gabriel, who shrugged. He clicked the button again. “I’ll be right down.” He turned to Gabriel. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Gabriel nodded.

Bare-chested, Cam ventured down the stairs to the lobby of his apartment building. Outside, standing in the small shelter of the building, was a young man dressed in a courier uniform. He was holding a small package, roughly the size of a shoebox, in his hands. Cam opened the door.

“You’re Cameron?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Cam said, hugging himself. The pimpled youth handed him the package and then handed him a clipboard with an attached pen.

“Sign at the bottom, please,” he said.

“Who’s this from?” Cam asked, signing his name, using the box to steady the clipboard.

“Don’t know, sir, that’s private,” the kid said. He took his clipboard back. “Have a good night, sir.” He turned and went back out to his truck that was idling on the street. Cam was left holding the box with his curiosity peaked. The box was incredibly light for its size. He shook it once, but it made no sound. The return address was a random box number, and the name said “Mr. Henry Ides.”

Knowing no Mr Henry Ides, Cam’s curiosity only grew. He took the box back up to his room, where Gabriel was waiting for him.

“Christmas came early this year?” he asked.

Cam shook his head and put the box on the counter. He fetched a knife from the drawer and worked the tape loose. His brow wrinkled into a frown as he opened the brown paper wrapping that was around the small box.

The box was indeed a shoebox, for Nike runners. It was black and white, looking as if it had been used in this sort of service before. The runners themselves had probably been purchased years ago. Dented and worn as it was, the innocuous box gave Cam the chills.

Gabriel rose from the couch and came to stand at Cam’s side, peering down at the box with him. Hands shaking only slightly, Cam opened the lid of the box.

Inside was a thick roll of bubble wrap that kept the little object inside from rattling around. He couldn’t see it clearly, so, with a rising sense of dread, Cam unwrapped the little object from the bubble wrap. Once free, the object bounced and skittered across the counter as if alive, the plastic casing clicking.

Cam’s blood ran cold.

A little red cell phone.