Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 13:29:31 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: The Year of the Salamander, chapter 11

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All the resemblances are completely
coincidental. All the characters, situations, and everything else in the
story is owned by myself beloved. Contains descriptive sexual scenes between
males. If you are not supposed to read it, do not read it! Feel free to
e-mail me.

   This is a sequel to Specter'
Gamble<http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/specters-gamble/>.
You don't have to read the first one in order to get this one, but it would
make it easier to understand the characters in this story.



- XI -



            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 immediately. "Holy
hell, kid, what have you done to your hair?"

   "You don't like it?" Sam blinked and shoved Specter away lightly.

   "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 to himself that he is *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 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 turns into something serious, which he suspected
(and hoped), it would. Finally, he shrugged to himself, figuring that he
will deal with this later when the time comes.

   ...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, which 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 must 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 eyes. "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 the inspiration would hit him
when he gets 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 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 can refill his own damn tank."

   "Right," Blair muttered and looked in the mailbox. "Well," he glanced at
Sam. "I'll see you in a few?"

   "Yeah," Sam nodded, noting that the other man didn't have a key in his
hands. He wondered briefly who it was inside his house right now. Then he
wondered briefly, why Blair didn't look puzzled by the fact that whoever it
was inside his house hasn't left yet. Then he wondered briefly, why he feels
these weird, stabbing, 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 that 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 the other people can wait for them inside... That's what
friends do, you know... Also, why do you even get 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 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 drank her water slowly, 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 just stop being so
stupid and spend the rest of the day with her. That would be the best
medicine. He thought of their kiss on Saturday night, and he 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 the 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 just sit here with her, keep
getting lost in her eyes, and dissolve himself in her touch.

   "Would you like to go somewhere?" she asked in a purring whisper, and he
almost muttered `Yes,' when his mind splashed 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 was 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've 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 pushed her chair back slightly, 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 flashing 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 sunk 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 the smaller chunks of the 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 looked at his palm intently, 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.