Redemption's A Bitch - 12. Shaking Hips

“We get to go in the car!” Bailey clapped his hands, and then glanced around to make sure no one had seen him get overexcited, “can I sit in the front?”

“I’m gonna sit in the front!” Katy stuck her tongue out at her brother, “I’m the eldest.”

“Actually, none of you are sitting in the front,” Kieran finished setting up Benji’s booster seat in the back of the Ferrari and smiled, “it’s already occupied.”

After that it was a mad scramble for the kids to get into the car as quickly as possible, with much clamouring to greet Robin, who smiled and asked them all about their last day of school. Kieran examined the seatbelts, made sure everyone’s book bags were safely stowed in the trunk, and shut the doors while checking that each had their fingers well out of the way, before sliding into the driver’s seat.

“I told you the Ferrari could take five,” Kieran grinned, “I do own practical vehicles too.”

“Only you would consider a blood red Ferrari with a V-twelve engine practical, Kier.” Robin arched an eyebrow, “shall we go?”

Kieran laughed, pushed the start button, and let the engine roar happily. People on the street and at the school gates jumped and stared at the over-powered car. Kieran had bought it once it became obvious to him that you could not put three small children in the back of a truck which had been modified for dogs. The Ferrari had been the fastest and most practical car that he could buy, so Kieran had bought one. Shastan had asked him why he hadn’t just had something specially made and shipped in from Singapore, to which Kieran had shaken his head and sighed. He was not the sort of person who wanted a limited edition gold plated Mercedes; there was a level of too much ostentation.

“So, who has summer homework?”

“Aww, Uncle Tristan!” Katy crossed her arms over her chest. “No one wants to do homework in the summer.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have to do it.”

“She’s just sulking ‘cause she doesn’t wanna do a fossil project,” Bailey chipped in, “she thinks they’re boring.”

“Fossils are not boring,” Robin twisted round in his seat, “creatures preserved in stone for thousands of years? So not boring!” Robin was grinning, and Kieran had to concentrate on looking at the road ahead as he spoke. “There are huge fossilised ammonites on the beach not far from the city. You should go see them as part of your project.”

“Will you take us Robin?” Katy asked her voice full of sudden wonder that another adult knew strange and useful things and wanted to help her. “Please?”

“If it’s alright with your mother,” he looked sideways at Kieran and brushed his knuckles on the gear stick briefly, “and if your Uncle Tristan will come too.”

They rented the end lane for two games and set up the barriers so that everyone had a chance of scoring on each throw. Kieran helped Benji with his throws, using the smaller, lighter balls which the young boy could handle. Katy was resolute that she was going to do it all herself, but after Robin hit a strike right after Bailey, she was all smiles and swinging skirts to get his help. Kieran plied the kids with slush puppies and change for the Smarties machines, bought a pepperoni pizza and texted Callé to let her know they wouldn’t need a proper tea. Every time he dared to look over at Robin, the boy was smiling, but looking the other way. Kieran couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he was missing meeting the little Sparrow’s gaze by a moment each time.

“Time for air hockey?” Kieran jumped up from the little seat at the control console with the print out of their game. Bailey had won overall, but only because Kieran and Robin had thrown their last shots. Kieran gave each of them enough tickets to amuse them in the arcade for half an hour, made sure that Benji was being watched by both his siblings, and placed a row of tokens on the edge of the air hockey table.

“Seriously?” Robin grinned at him. “I had half expected that you were joking about your love of this game,” he picked up the puck on his end of the table and placed it in the centre as the air began to flow, “let’s see what you’ve got.”

Kieran let him have one clean shot, and then he played like he drove. He was a racer, his reactions were lightning fast, and no two ounce plastic disc floating on a cushion of air was going to beat him. Within minutes they were both laughing, shouting at each other and the game incoherently. Robin’s reach was less, because he was tall, but not as lofty as Kieran, and the long haired man dominated the table. The racket of the puck bouncing off the sides and the whirr of the fans filled the arcade, battling with the flashing lights, gun shots and music. Kieran won, but Robin didn’t let him.

“Do you always play so hard?” Robin staggered down from where the table sat, now occupied by a pair of teenagers on its little dais. He was sweating, because despite air conditioning the game had made their hearts race, and pulled up the hem of his t-shirt to wipe his forehead. Kieran, green gaze fixed on the taut muscles of his exposed abdomen, failed to answer. “Kieran?”

“Huh? Er, yeah…” Kieran blinked hard a couple of times and looked away. It wouldn’t do to be nursing a semi when the kids came back demanding hugs. “You want a coke or something?”

“Sure.”

Kieran felt himself watched as he walked away. The kids found him at the drinks counter and he got them a small ice cream each and they all bounced on the balls of their feet from the sugar high as they went to fetch Robin. By the time Kieran and Robin had corralled them to the car they were all droopy with sudden heat and tiredness. Kieran kept the engine low on the drive back, and used the opportunity to re-join his conversation with Robin.

“Yes, I always play that hard,” Kieran changed gears smoothly, “and I drive the same, but you know that already.”

“That picture of you,” Robin referred to the image of Kieran on the Honda from the raceway, knee down, curved under the bubble of the windshield, his long braid like a snake behind him, “is that really real?”

“Yeah. We had a good day.”

“Do you miss it?”

Kieran glanced across at him. So many people had asked him that question, in all sorts of vocal tones, and there was Robin, sitting half curled up in the plush leather interior of the Ferrari, his ordinarily curly hair pushed back from his forehead and his skin flush from their air hockey battle. He asked the question without any intonation, almost as though he did not expect an answer. In Kieran’s mind he saw the last corner of the TT track where he’d lost the battle with MARS, the smash that had come so close to costing him his life, and at the same time he saw the chequered flag at the track day, a win that meant nothing and everything. He could race if he wanted to, and Kieran wanted to.

“Every day.”

But he wouldn’t. It had nearly been the death of him, the end of the Tristan line, and he had promised Shastan that he wouldn’t race again. Track days and mucking about were sort of dangerous, but not as dangerous: and now it was all he had.

*

Callé was at home, and while she and Robin shook hands and talked about how they knew him, Kieran got the kids inside, changed out of their school uniforms and washed up before returning downstairs. They lined up, Katy in a yellow sun-dress, Bailey in a t-shirt and pressed jeans, Benji in a little checked shirt and corduroy shorts with turn ups, and beamed at their mother.

“Oh my god! So perfectly turned out! It’s a miracle!” Callé kissed them each in turn, and then hugged Kieran hard. “I don’t know what we’d do without you. Maybe next year we’ll have to take you on holiday with us.”

“I’m not that good Callé.”

“Oh hush Tristan,” Callé turned to Robin, “you look after this one. He puts himself down too much.”

“Don’t worry,” Robin grinned, “I will.”

Kieran was worried that Robin would smile at the garden gate, turn and announce he would get a train or a bus home. Even after spending the whole afternoon with him, Kieran wasn’t ready to let him go.

“Come dancing with me.”

“What?” Kieran had spoken in such a rush that Robin stared at him, perplexed.

“Please, would you like to come out dancing with me?” Kieran bit his lip in trepidation. After what had happened last time, he could well imagine this would break the soft space they had occupied since that moment in the garden, where Robin had kissed him and his heart had tried to fly up out of his chest. Neither of them had spoken about what had come before.

“Yeah, alright.”

“Really?” Kieran had been expecting to have to persuade him, to beg almost, but Robin just smiled again.

“Really. Do I need to go home and get changed first?” Robin plucked at the hem of his sweaty t-shirt. “I do, I can smell me.”

“You smell good.”

“You’re weird.” Robin punched his bicep playfully. “I don’t suppose you have anything I can wear?”

There were a few hours to kill before it would be any reasonable time to actually go out, but after Kieran showed Robin to one of the guest rooms and left a large pile of clothes for his selection on the bed, he found that there was a lot still to do. The dogs were happy to see him, and Kieran took them into the garden to bark and muck around until the sun started to sink down. After the dogs ate, Kieran took a lengthy shower; blow dried his hair and combed it until it shone. He put it into two even plaits, and chose an outfit based on his usual method of grabbing two items from the wardrobe and slinging his favourite leather jacket over his shoulder.

“Hey Kier.” Shastan was in the little sitting room, alone. “You look good.” Kieran ran his hand down the fine silk of his shirt front with a smile. The fabric was incredibly thin, and emphasised his sharply delineated muscles beautifully. “You going out?”

“Yeah.”

“Kieran? Are you blushing?”

“No!”

Shastan shook his head with a knowing smile.

“Sure.” He paused, looking over Kieran’s shoulder, “oh, hey Robin.”

Kieran spun round. Robin was wearing his own jeans, but he was freshly showered, his blond hair curling at the ends, and wearing a skinny fit sky-blue t-shirt with a graphic sunset print superimposed with a racer on a slick Ducati bike that hadn’t fit Kieran properly since he was about nineteen. He looked like a casual surfer straight from a San Francisco beach. Kieran felt all his blood rush directly to either end of his torso, and took a moment to be thankful that with his dark complexion it was hard to tell when he was blushing.

“Bye Shas.”

“You’re going with him?”

Robin grinned, thumbs hooked into his belt loops.

“Looks that way.”

An hour later Kieran glanced up through his lashes to see Robin hold that same pose for three seconds as the beat dropped, before his eyes flashed ice cold blue in the strobe lights. Robin spun in a tight circle, a move favoured by ballet dancers and street punks, step-slid closer on one foot and breathed a smile onto Kieran’s flushed skin before he swivelled his hips away. Kieran was very self-aware of the fact he could dance, move like the music was being played through his body, but Robin danced like he was the music, as though his steps dictated the beat that swayed everyone in the room, and Kieran was hooked.

Kieran turned to keep the boy in his field of vision, and as the song ended, the little Sparrow touched his waist, the contact drew all Kieran’s attention until he forgot to breathe, and then Robin panted;

“Water,” in his ear, and spun away. Kieran was helpless but to follow.

The bar was packed, but Kieran could easily see over the heads of others standing three deep, and Ralph waved back when Kieran held up two fingers. Robin grabbed one bottle from Kieran's hand as soon as he had it, and Kieran watched the boy gulp it down. He was fascinated by the way Robin’s throat moved when he swallowed, and Kieran felt the edges of his mind go sort of pink and fuzzy with familiar lust.

“Hey Tristan Toyne.”

“Ash-lay.” Kieran nodded tightly. He didn’t want to be distracted from watching Robin, catching his eyes and being on the receiving end of that soft and happy smile. “You remember Robin.”

“Little Sparrow, back again for second helpings?” Ash-lay ran his eyes all over Robin’s sweaty torso; his borrowed shirt was practically translucent. “You’re brave.”

Kieran glared at him, but Ash-lay ploughed on regardless.

“You should know, Tristan Toyne never does anybody twice. You’d be better trying your luck with someone more appreciative.”

“I’m good thanks.” Robin drained the last of his water, and reached past Ash-lay for Kieran’s hand. “Come sit with me.”

They took a small corner table, and Robin lay back against the wall, picked up the collar of his shirt and blew down his chest.

“God, it’s hot.” Robin smiled at him over the table, and Kieran leant closer. “Is it me, or are people watching us?”

“Yes.” Kieran glanced around The Waterfront, the room full of pulsing lights and writhing bodies. “People are watching: mostly me.”

“Are you actually famous?” Robin arched an eyebrow, “why are people staring at you?”

Before Kieran had a chance to answer, a boy passed by their table. It was a deliberate bid for attention, the set of his shoulders, the way his eyes flashed and flirted. Kieran didn’t know him, but he recognised the boy in the general sense. The kid spun as he passed by, keeping eye contact for as long as possible before the crowd cut him off.

“Who was that?”

“No idea.”

“Really?” Robin seemed sceptical, glancing back to catch a glimpse of the boy who had flirted. “Is it unusual for you to actually be here with someone?”

Kieran grit his teeth quickly. He hated to admit his faults, but he already had an unfortunate history of not being fully truthful with the beautiful boy sitting across the table.

“Yes. I don’t come here with… people. Dates.” The amount Kieran left unsaid hung over the table like a cloud.

“Kieran?” Robin’s voice was low, but happy. “Take me somewhere where there aren’t twelve other guys trying to flirt with you. I’m not really into people trying to steal my date.”

“It’s a date now?” Kieran grinned cockily. Robin smiled, reached over the table and took the end of Kieran’s braid, rubbing the silky tip between fingers and thumb.

“It might be. So where are you taking me?”

They walked through the narrow alleyways of town together, not quite touching, but never more than a few inches apart, and since it was already late, Kieran went into one of the only places he never normally had an excuse to go. Robin looked at him sceptically as he took a seat at the scarred Formica table, but he didn’t say anything. Kieran ordered them each the all-night breakfast, two teas and a cola a piece. The girl behind the counter didn’t know his name.

“And I had to pay cash.”

“Do you not pay for things either?” Robin clinked their cola bottles together before taking a swig. “No wonder you’re so rich.”

“I have stuff on account. Like a tab at the bar, sort of all over the city.” Kieran shrugged like it was normal. “You’re an amazing dancer Sparrow.”

“Thanks. I had lessons when I was at school. You’d never believe that Becca used to be really into her theatre either right?”

“See? And I never figured you for the performing arts type either.” Kieran was forced to lean back from his companion as their food arrived. “Guess we both have surprises.”

Robin looked like he was about to ask something, and Kieran could feel the questions, all the stuff that had remained unsaid in the car, about racing, and the bikes, and the crash, but he didn’t say anything. Instead Robin picked up a rasher of crispy streaky bacon and bit it.

“Mmm, bacon…”

“Bacon should be a religion.”

“Oh, so true.”

Robin told him a story of how someone he had been at college with had been ‘cured’ of their vegetarianism one hung-over Sunday morning by the aroma of bacon. He asked Kieran about his degree, where he’d gone, how it found it. Kieran had bought Inu and Suk in the summer between first and second year, so his time had been largely divided between university and training, and he’d still been racing at that point. Robin couldn’t work out how one person could do so much at once.

“I have my ways.”

“No one can manage all that.” Robin frowned.

“I just didn’t used to sleep so much. Also, I had my university course pretty much on tap whenever I wanted it. Three large dogs and penchant for very fast motorbikes does not exactly lend itself well to campus life.”

“I wouldn’t know, I’m staying at home remember? Renting somewhere in the city when my parents are only half an hour away isn’t economically viable.” Robin smiled in a depreciating sort of manner. “I stay with friends a lot, except not so much now, The Wedding has gotten in the way.”

“You want dessert?” Kieran smiled. Every single sweet that had come out of the kitchen had whipped cream on, and Kieran really liked the idea of watching Robin licking his fingers.

“It’s three am.” Robin looked at him like he was insane.

“Never too early for dessert.”

“OK, but I’m buying.”

“Sparrow…”

“Nuh-uh. C’mon, what d’ya want?”

Kieran watched the boy as he walked away, and he couldn’t help but stare at the shape of him at the counter: long legs, one foot crossed behind the other, looking sleek and sexy as he chatted to the server. He looked untouchable. Kieran couldn’t wait for the chance to kiss him again. Every time he thought of Robin’s lips he was transported right back to that moment, standing in the garden with his heart full, and his pulse thundering in his ears. Since then, Robin hadn’t tried to be any closer to him than usual, and while the texture of his skin, his hand on Kieran’s waist or covering his knuckles as he drove, was wonderful, Kieran burned to be with him. He hated the truth, even just in his own head, but he’d not gone this long without sex since he was sixteen, and not tried this hard for anything in his life, ever. But Kieran knew that what he felt for Robin was more than simply desire or obsession, and when the little Sparrow slid back into the seat opposite with a happy smile, Kieran couldn’t physically look anywhere else.

“So where do you work on your architecture designs?”

“I have a drawing space in my room,” Robin shrugged, “but if I wanna use a light box or work on scale plans I have to go to uni. It’s alright.”

“Ever built anything?”

Kieran grinned salaciously as the desserts arrived; both pieces of pie and cheesecake with the traditional squirt of whipped cream. Robin arched an eyebrow, swiped at the cream with his spoon and reached out to paint it on Kieran’s nose. Kieran was quicker, caught his wrist midway across the table, and licked the spoon clean without breaking eye contact.

“Well?”

“Just models. Kieran, I’m a student still, we don’t build actual hotels, houses and office blocks.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not as easy as that.” Robin shook his head. “Life’s not a fairy tale Kier. I’ll be thirty before I actually get anything made. Even then I doubt it’ll be the kind of place I actually want. It’s not as simple as that.”

“Sure it is.” Kieran smiled. “Sun’s coming up. You wanna watch the dawn with me?”

Kieran doubted he would ever forget the next half hour. Robin standing on the seafront, silhouetted against the indigo sea and sky, the line of orange fire separating the two. The wind picked up as the dawn rose, making Robin’s shirt hem flap. Kieran loosened his braids and his hair curled in strange glyphs in the air behind him. Robin turned and laughed breathlessly, picking Kieran’s mane out of the sky, drawing him inexorably closer. Kieran shut his eyes against the first blaze of the sun over the watery horizon. Robin took the moment to take his jaw and press their lips together. He tasted of the cheesecake and cherry compote, his lips on Kieran’s were all he could think about, and when they broke apart, Robin’s arms were round his neck, their chests pressed tight together. Kieran couldn’t help the soft chuckle that rose in his throat.

“Was it worth it?” Robin asked softly. Kieran frowned. “Long time to wait for a kiss, was it worth it?”

Kieran answered him with his lips.