The Phone Call

The Phone Call
Copyright 2000 Kai
Revised 2005 Kaiiz

Chapter 7


Alton\'s POV

The next time I opened the door, there was Alan standing there smiling sheepishly at me. I returned the smile and quietly regarded him. He was as he always was, every blond strand of hair in place, perfect skin lightly tanned, not even a wrinkle on the expensive tailored suit that he wore. Any other time this sight would have made my heart flutter and head light, but not tonight as my heart now yearned for the attentions of another man.

I stood to the side and allowed him in. He lightly pressed a kiss on my cheek as he passed by. As he seated himself, he focused his attention on the orchids that were still lying on the table. \"What are these?\" he asked.

\"Oh those, just something a friend brought by to cheer me up with.\" I seated myself onto the other end of the sofa and stared at the pink flowers, wondering where Nathan had taken off.

\"Did you sleep well last night?\"

I blinked. I didn\'t expect to hear such a ridiculous question and annoyingly turned to look at Alan. But instead of making some sarcastic remark, I instantly softened my expression when I saw the concern and sincerity on his face. \"There was a bit of tossing and turning involved, and not the good kind,\" I lightly joked.

The blond lightened up at my change in mood and grinned. Then we both simultaneously broke out into a fit of giggles like young schoolboys, eventually with small tears in our eyes. When we finally calmed down enough to hold a proper conversation, Alan turned to me with a more sober expression on his face and asked, \"Would you mind telling me what happened here in the last several days while I was away?\"

So I told him my story. It was cinematography to watch his fleeting emotions as I talked. Disbelief and awe for the time when I tried to have phone sex with him, disapproval and perhaps a little anger upon finding out how Nathan had deceived me, empathy and caring when I finally broke into tears as I told him that I had fallen in love with the fireman. Alan took me in his arms and calmly held me, brushing my hair with his fingers and soothingly rubbing my back with his other hand.

When I had finally reduced myself down to the odd sniffling, I pulled back and smiled gratefully at him. Gently, he reached out and brushed a lingering tear off my cheek with his thumb. \"Oh Alton,\" he sighed with a wistful note, \"If only things had turned out differently between us. I will always treasure the times we\'ve had together and will always love you.\" At my look of shock, he put a finger to my lips before I could say anything. He continued, \"Of course, it\'s not the same kind of love I would share with a soul mate, but rather the sort that I share with family and those who are closest to my heart.\"

He pulled me back to him in another embrace and I let him. Quietly, we sat like that for a moment, our arms together with his chin upon my head to which I laid on his shoulder. \"What are you going to do about him?\" Alan quietly asked.

\"Nathan? I have no idea. I think he\'s pissed at me. He was here when you called earlier.\" Alan pulled away from me and stared, his handsome face etched with worry.

\"He was? Why on earth didn\'t you tell me then? Tell me to take a hike or something? I could have waited.\"

\"No, I needed to make sure that our relationship had come to a close before I could begin a new one. I didn\'t want to jump head in if I was still wondering what could\'ve been between you and I.\"

Alan shook his head in awe at me. \"Alt, you\'re amazing, you know that right? I hope this Nathan is worthy of someone as incredible as you.\"

I blushed at the compliment that I wasn\'t used to receiving. \"Well, er... thank you, Alan.\"

\"I hope he knows what a lucky man he is.\" Then a slight frown marred the perfect face, \"And if he doesn\'t realise what a wonderful man he has in front of him then he never deserved such happiness to begin with.\"

\"Alan, I love you too.\" He grinned at me, his teeth white and even.

\"Well, I better be going now and let you find him. I need to get ready for another trip out of town anyway.\" He got up and started to brush his clothes into some order.

\"Oh no, I got tear stains all over your jacket!\" I bit my lip guiltily as he studied the damage.

He waved his hand at me, looking at me like I was being silly. \"Alt, it\'s nothing a trip to the dry-cleaners won\'t fix.\" Then he bent over and kissed me lightly on the cheek again before heading to the door. \"No need to walk me out. I will give you a call after I get back and I want a full report on how things will be with you, yes?\"

I grinned at him again and nodded my affirmation. Pleased, he closed the door behind him and I was left alone by myself again.

>>>>> Nathan\'s POV

\"McCrae! Office! NOW!!\" The sound of a slamming door shortly followed the demanding order and a silent blanket of tension filled the station. Nobody made eye contact with me as I stood up from the clock radio that I was currently trying to fix, since it was me that broke it initially in a temper fit.

I opened the door and quietly closed it behind me, waiting for more orders from my currently irate Captain.

\"Sit down, McCrae.\" I went for the seat and did as told. The older man glared down at me and began to pace. \"You\'ve been acting like a caged animal these last few days, always moody and snapping at anyone who comes near you. You\'re quick to irritate, you\'re withdrawn from the others, and things are being broken left and right.\"

\"It\'s just a few plates, the clock and a hole in the wall, Sir.\" I grimaced as my right hand still throbbed painfully underneath the bandages.

\"Shut the fuck up, I\'m not done speaking to you yet!\" The pacing stopped as the other man focused a more intense glare at me. Once he was satisfied that he would be hearing no more lip out of me, he continued on with his tirade. \"As fire-fighters we are dealing with life and death situations. When we are inside that inferno and face to face with the beast we need to be able to depend and trust each other in order to survive. I don\'t want my men out there if they are unsure of each other.\" He stopped in front of his desk, placed both his hands on top of the table\'s surface, and leaned towards me to build up the intimidation factor. \"Now, do you want to tell me why half my men act like they\'re walking on eggshells around you?\"

I clenched my jaw for a bit as I considered my response.

\"No.\"

\"Do I need to put you on a week\'s leave of absence?\"

\"Sir, you know that threats don\'t work on me.\"

The Captain suddenly looked tired and straightened his back. \"Nathan, give me a break here, as one friend to another.\"

I sighed. I knew that what I had to say would never leave these four walls. I valued Sam\'s trust and respected his word. \"I\'m in love with a married man.\"

His eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. \"Is this about that Alton guy?\"

\"Yeah.\" I rubbed my hands over my face and through my hair. \"It\'s been almost a week since I last saw him. I royally fucked things up and lost any chance there was between us. He\'s probably laughing about me right now with his lover,\" I bitterly spat. But even as I said those words I knew deep down that Alton would never do something so hurtful as that.

Sam remained quiet and waited for me to finish. His face was blank, no judgement, no scorn, and most of all no pity.

\"I told him that I loved him while he was waiting for his boyfriend to come over. Of course, that was after he found out that I had been deceiving him about who I really was and admitting that it was me he had phone sex with. Oh God Sam, what was I thinking? Who tells someone that they love him when they were going to be seeing their lover within that same hour? What was I expecting? That maybe he would say that he loved me back? Fuck, this thing called love bites the big one.\"

\"Nathan, you don\'t know how it is yet. Give him some time to sort things through. It\'s only been a week. Hell, he may just be as confused as you for all we know, and if he isn\'t then it was never meant to be and you\'ll just have to find a way to deal with it.\" Sam said it like he saw it, without the sugar coating. I shrugged at him, wishing that it were really as simple as that. \"Son,\" Sam began, \"You\'re really no good to me tonight, why don\'t you just go home and call it a day? I\'ll see you here bright and early tomorrow as it is.\" I nodded and knew that the dismissal wasn\'t really a choice.

On my way out of the station I ran into Shawn.

\"Hey man, everything okay?\" he asked. He was concerned but still made sure to keep his distance, his eyes somewhat wary as he regarded me.

\"Yeah, everything\'s good. I\'m just gonna go home and take it easy for the night. I\'ll see you tomorrow morning.\"

\"Cool,\" he nodded at me and let me go. When I was almost out the door, he called me again. I turned back to him to see what he wanted. He trotted over to where I was standing and he gave me a concerned look. \"Dude, you sure everything\'s okay?\" I nodded. \"Alright, but are YOU feeling right lately?\"

Giving him a wry smile, I shrugged. \"Well, I haven\'t been in the best of moods lately. It\'s just something I have to work out.\"

He nodded again, looking at me thoughtfully. Then he did something that I would not have expected in a million years. Eyes wide in shock, I stared at him speechless.

Frowning and somewhat blushing, Shawn became defensive. \"What?\"

\"Dude, did you just hug me?\" Albeit it was an awkward and clumsy one.

\"So?\" I continued to stare at him in silence, waiting for a more mature answer out of him. \"Well,\" he began uneasily, the squirming starting to set in, \"you looked like you really needed one.\" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and almost puffed himself up, a cocky gleam reappearing in his eyes, \"And besides, I\'m secure enough in my manhood to be giving another guy a hug.\"

\"True enough,\" I agreed. Then with a smile and a parting wave, I left the station and got into my jeep. Sitting in it in silence, I stared around my surroundings inside the vehicle and noticed that it had become rather messy in the last few days. An empty Pepsi bottle and a take-out coffee container sat in the cup-holders, a scrunched up McDonald\'s bag in the backseat, right alongside its KFC\'s counterpart. On the passenger floor sat more empty pop cans and water bottles. Sheesh, I really had let myself go. And as I started up the ignition, I knew that I was heading home to a larger version of this mess back at my apartment.

I promised myself that I was going to clean it up on my next day off, but then again it\'s not like I had anyone to impress at the moment. At a red light, I just happened to stop beside a playground. I looked over and watched as parents pushed their children on the swings, made sure they didn\'t fall off the seesaws, and overlooked the castle making. Then I did a double take when I recognised one of the adults helping a little boy across the jungle bars. It was the crazy hair that caught my eye actually.

I watched in somewhat of a daze as Alton smiled and laughed with Mike as the young boy kicked his legs in the air, swinging the short limbs to and fro. Alton was wearing khakis and a light sweater in a deep green colour, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows so that Mike wouldn\'t accidentally scuff them with dirt. God he looked good. I started to envision myself in that little scene, right alongside Alton with my arms around his waist and him holding the blond boy in his arms, the three of us laughing. Or perhaps a boy of our own? One that we could adopt?

The sudden blare of a car horn violently pulled me back into reality. When I looked up I saw that the light had turned green and the car that was in front of me before was now several metres ahead. Quickly, I pushed on the gas pedal, hoping to speed out of there before the loud noise brought Alton\'s attention towards me. \'Snap out of it, McCrae!’ I scolded myself. ‘He\'s involved with another man and you\'re thinking about having a family with him? How fucked up is that?\'

The rest of the drive home was no picnic either as images of Alton in the arms another man, the faceless character presumably Alan according to my subconscious, kept taunting me. I never knew my imagination could be so creative. Various flashes of Alton haunted me... him with his head thrown back and body arched in ecstasy, him spreading his legs out willingly for another, him with his face in an expression of rapture as hands that were not my own began to caress his body. It was killing me; I was a man with a desperately severe case of love sickness.

It surprised me how I was able to get myself home in one piece. Actually, once I opened the door to my place and had a good look inside, I almost wished that I wasn\'t there. The mess was incredible... but I was past the point of caring. I decided to head straight to bed and sleep this whole night away. And as I made my way through the piles of newspaper and dirty dishes, I began to strip myself naked and added the discarded articles of clothing to the ground along with the rest of the old laundry.

I slid in between the blanket and sheets and dropped my head to the pillow. Then trying with all my might, I willed myself to sleep, but it proved to be quite impossible. My tired body was willing, but my mind was racing a mile a minute. Without the distractions of driving now, I was able to conjure up sounds and sensations to add to the erotic images of Alton in my head. I developed an instant erection, which was driving me nuts. It appeared that sleep was not forecasted for anywhere in the near future, so with a sigh of frustration, I pulled myself out of bed and went into the bathroom in hopes that a quick wank in the shower would be the answer.

>>>>> Alton\'s POV

Curiously I had looked up towards the direction of where I heard the car horn and my heart started to race when I saw a familiar dusty looking grey Cherokee pulling through the intersection. I was willing to bet that it was Nathan\'s. Had he seen me in the playground? Was he in turmoil like I was? The need to see him, to be touched by him, was overwhelming. But I was too afraid that I had waited too long to try and contact him again, and feared that he no longer was interested or cared.

\"Uncle Alt? Were you listening to me?\" the six year old demanded. I snapped my attention back towards the young blond in my arms, who I was helping back down to the ground.

\"Oh, I\'m sorry Mikey. I was thinking of something else for a minute there. What did you say?\" I politely asked. I had to bite the inside of my cheek as the boy rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, as if wondering what he was going to do with me.

\"I was saying,\" he began to speak slowly as if I was a child younger than he, \"that maybe we should go visit the fire hall and see if Nathan is working today.\"

My heart skipped a beat and a breath got caught in my throat. \"Why?\" I managed to choke out.

\"I like him. He\'ll let me put on his fireman\'s hat again and I want to sit in the trucks.\"

\"Mike, I\'m sure the firemen have more important things to do than cater to a little boy. And besides, I don\'t think that Nathan is working.\"

The six year old began to pout and whine. \"Why not? You don\'t know if he\'s there or not. Please please pleeease Uncle Alton? I really want to go see the fire trucks. And \'sides, I don\'t have anything to say tomorrow in show and tell!\"

Now it was my turn at rolling my eyes. I can\'t believe what a sucker I am for this kid. I\'m fairly confident he knows that he\'s got me wrapped around his finger pretty well. \"Alright alright. We\'ll go but don\'t whine if it turns out that Nathan\'s not there okay? Absolutely no more fussing for the rest of the day, understood?\"

\"Yes!\" the boy exclaimed and pulled on my hand towards the direction of the location in mind. \"I promise that I\'ll be good all day!\"

By the time we made our way to the fire hall, it was nearly impossible to calm Mike down. He was jumping excitedly like a Mexican jumping bean. There were a couple of firemen milling around the outside of the station and I recognised one of the guys that helped save that kitten that fateful day when I had first laid eyes on Nathan.

\"Excuse me,\" I asked, firming my hold on Mike\'s hand in an effort to calm him some more, \"Can you tell me if Nathan\'s on duty tonight?\"

The man grinned at me in recognition. \"Hey, you\'re that professor friend of Nathan\'s. Alton right? Sorry man, he left here about half an hour ago, you just missed him. My name\'s Shawn by the way.\" I took the hand he offered and he noticed Mike who had suddenly gone quiet and started to sulk. \"Little dude, why the long face?\" he asked the six year old.

Mike shrugged in a lost boy kind of manner. \"I was hoping that Nathan was here so that I could wear his hat and sit in the trucks.\"

\"What makes you say that you can\'t? I\'m just as nice as Nathan is. Tell you what, why don\'t you hop onto my back?\" Shawn squatted down and turned his back towards Mike. Magically the pouting disappeared and was replaced by joyful glee. Mike dropped my hand like yesterday\'s news and, without any hesitation at all, climbed onto the large fireman in a piggyback ride. Shawn straightened up and started to bounce their way towards the large fire engines, stopping momentarily by the racks that held their uniform. He grabbed a helmet off the top shelf and handed it behind him to Mike. It took two small hands to get a grasp of the object and once placed on his head, you weren\'t able to see the upper half of Mike\'s facial expression.

There was more giggling as the ride continued towards the trucks. Once Mike was deposited behind a wheel and made sure that he was able to entertain himself, Shawn walked over to where I stood and smiled. \"So, you\'re the one responsible for Nathan\'s lousy mood lately.\" This took me aback and I stared at him in shock, not quite sure of what to say or do. He grinned at me and shook his head. \"No no, I don\'t mean to alarm you like that. It\'s just kinda cool seeing someone like Nathan get worked up over another person. He\'s usually so mellow and rarely anything fazes him. He’s acting like a boy who\'s not getting what he wants. You must be some guy to have such an effect on him.\"

I blushed, still unsure of what to say. The other man was starting to look at me with some sort of awe and it was beginning to make me feel uneasy. Thankfully, Mike took that moment to demand my attention.

\"Uncle Alton! Are you watching me?\" We both turned towards the boy that was frantically turning the wheel from one side to the other. We went to stand by him and watched him in amusement.

\"Can you even see over the wheel Mikey?\" I asked.

\"Of course I can Uncle Alt! Now watch me drive to the scene of the fire.\"

After spending a few more minutes indulging the young one, I turned to Shawn and asked, \"I don\'t suppose it\'s possible for me to get a hold of Nathan\'s phone number?\"

He thought for a minute and then shrugged. \"Sure, why not. Maybe you can talk him back to his normal self.\" He went inside the building and after a couple minutes came back to hand me a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled onto it.

\"Thank you,\" I said.

He waved at it, \"Don\'t worry about it man. Just work your magic on him again alright?\" I blushed some more when he threw a wink my way.

\"Hey Mikey,\" I jerked my head back at him, signaling that it was time for us to go.

\"Aww, do we have to go now?\" he pouted. But he still obediently let go of the wheel and turned towards me with his arms out. I reached in and pulled him out, helping him to the ground.

\"Sorry buddy,\" Shawn said to him, taking the helmet off. \"There\'s always next time, feel free to drop by again.\" Mike smiled at him, consoled by the invitation. They waved at each other before Mike started to pull on my hand towards the direction of his house.

\"Wait till the kids at school hear about what I got to do today, Uncle Alt. Boy they\'re going to be so jealous of me. Yesterday Trevor brought in a toy truck to school, one that he got for his birthday, but I got to sit in a real truck. And not even a regular truck but a fire truck! Next time we should take pictures, okay Uncle Alt?\" he stared up at me, a serious look on his face. I grinned at him and nodded in agreement.

Dianne met us at the door and smiled as Mike ran up to her, who started to spill everything about what he did to her in one excited babble. She wasn\'t able to get much of a word into the conversation. Instead, she nodded and made sounds of interest when necessary.

\"Thanks for looking after Mikey again,\" she finally said to me when Mike ran into the house to call his friends from school. She leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek. \"Would you stay for dinner?\"

\"No, not tonight but thanks. I have some stuff I need to mark and look over. Tell Mark I\'ll see him bright and early on Monday.\" I turned to leave and quietly began to walk the eight blocks home. I contemplated about what I was going to say to Nathan and how I was going to let him know how I felt about him. An idea suddenly came to mind and I hurried the rest of the way home, knowing that I had a lot of things to do first before I was able to execute the plan.

>>>>> TBC...

Feedback appreciated as always :) A big thank you to everyone that left a review... you\'re all awesome people!

Next chapter we\'ll get to see how it all goes down! Conclusion and epilogue up next!