Kismet (3 page)

“Cal, it’s me, Tucker. From the coffee shop?” Tucker tried for a smile, but it felt weak on his lips.

Cal nodded with a quick jerk of his chin and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Oh, I remember you just fine,” he said. “You were the guy I gave my number to and never heard from again.”

A heaviness settled into the pit of Tucker’s stomach, and he swallowed thickly. There really wasn’t much of this day that was going right, was there? “My phone,” he tried explaining, but Cal was already brushing by him on his way to his broken-down vehicle.

“What exactly happened?” Cal asked in a clipped tone, bending forward to look under the front fender.

Tucker wasn’t sure if he was referring to the day at the airport or his car, and so he stayed quiet, willing his heart to stop squeezing so painfully in his chest. Cal straightened after a moment and looked at Tucker, one dark eyebrow arched in question.

“Did you notice if it was making any funny noises? Leaking any fluids?”

Tucker was so confused for a moment by the questions that he just stared at him.

“Your car, Tuck,” Cal finally said. “Is there somethin’ wrong with it? I didn’t just get called out here in the middle of the damn night on New Year’s Eve for nothing, did I?”

Tucker blinked, rapidly coming back to himself, and shook his head. “I don’t know what happened,” he said. “A picture of a battery came up on the dash just before the damn thing died. I’ve never had a problem with it before.”

Cal nodded, dodging eye contact. “Sounds like the alternator might’ve gone out.” He turned to go back to his tow truck, trudging heavily through the rapidly thickening snow.

Tucker could suddenly take no more of the rift widening between them, not after wishing
months
for this chance. He settled his hand on Cal’s shoulder as he passed by him, needing to explain what happened. When he had dreamt of seeing Cal again, it was nothing like this. It was far less tension and hostility and much more heat and skin-to-skin contact.

“Wait a minute,” Tucker started to say.

Cal stilled under Tucker’s touch but he did not turn around. “If you really didn’t want to talk to me again,” he said, a chill colder than the winter air slipping through each drawled syllable, “you should have just told me right off the damn bat instead of wasting my time.”

Tucker flinched inwardly at Cal’s words, and he dropped his hand to his side. But he did not back down. He would not throw away this chance meeting, this bizarre design of fate, after spending the last three months wishing for this exact moment. He took a deep breath and moved to stand right in front of Cal.

“Will you please just listen to me?” Tucker begged. He waited until Cal’s wary gaze connected with his before continuing, “I would’ve called you if I could have. I swear.”

Cal huffed out a humorless laugh and glanced to the side, trying to turn away, but Tucker brought an unsteady hand up, cupping Cal’s jaw to gently bring his gaze back.

The rasp of stubble under Tucker’s palm and the warmth from Cal’s cheek seeping into his skin sent an electric bolt of desire skipping straight down to his cock, and his whole body tightened in response. He saw Cal’s eyes flare with a heated intensity, and he knew then Cal had felt the spark too.

Letting his hand linger against Cal’s jaw for another moment, Tucker said, “It was all a stupid accident. I tripped because I’m a clumsy fucking idiot and broke my phone. Losing your number was the last thing I ever wanted.”

Cal was quiet for one long, breathless moment, his eyes searching Tucker’s face. Snow continued to fall around them sparsely, settling on the ground in silent, pristine layers. Letting his hand slip away from Cal’s cheek, Tucker stood with his heart thudding away like a damn jackhammer in his chest, waiting on tenterhooks for Cal to either turn him away or embrace him. He hoped with everything he had it was the latter.

But then Cal did turn away, and Tucker felt like his world was crumbling out from under him. This really was shaping up to be the worst New Year’s Eve ever.

A sick feeling settled low in Tucker’s stomach, and he watched helplessly as Cal brushed by him without another word or glance his way. He stomped through the snow toward Tucker’s dead SUV, sending up thick puffs of white flakes with each step, then flung the driver’s side door open and engaged the emergency brake before walking back to his tow truck with long, purposeful strides. Tucker jogged to catch up with him, but was left standing on the soft shoulder when Cal swung himself up into his truck and eased it ahead of Tucker’s vehicle on the mountain road.

Gathering his coat tighter around himself to ward off a blast of frosty air, Tucker watched Cal maneuver the tow truck to a precise alignment. He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat, wondering how this had fallen apart so spectacularly. Cal was hurt, he could see that much, but wasn’t the fact they had been brought together in such a wildly coincidental way enough to overshadow the pain they had both been through these last three months?

Cal hopped from his truck cab after he brought down the mechanical flatbed, and Tucker’s eyes followed his rigid movements as he went about the task of chaining the dead vehicle to the tow. Maybe he hadn’t explained himself well enough. Maybe Cal really
didn’t
believe the reason he never called was because of his own damn clumsiness.

With the SUV now making its slow journey up Cal’s truck bed with the help of an overly noisy winch and Cal watching the progress with a hard-set expression and his arms crossed over his chest, Tucker stepped forward, fighting back the apprehension churning sourly in his gut.

“Can we just talk about what happened?” Tucker asked.

Cal snorted and looked away with a roll of his eyes. “It’s pretty clear to me what happened, Tuck. You lost my number, you deleted it, you forgot about it, whatever…. Call it what you want. But we both know that I was really only a way for you to pass the time.”

Tucker paled at Cal’s words and he nearly shrunk back. Was that really what Cal had thought this entire time? That the connection they shared in that coffee shop meant nothing to him? Taking a deep breath, Tucker suddenly squared his shoulders and straightened his back. If he only knew one thing, it was that he had to fix this.

“Cal, that is not it at all.” He reached a hand out toward him, willing him to just
understand
.

Blue fire flashed in Cal’s eyes and he took an immediate step back, brushing Tucker’s hand away with a dismissive flick of his wrist. “Do you know how hard I fell for you, Tuck? Do you really? When I never heard back from you that first day, I checked all the news websites I could find, I even called the damn airport, worried as fuckin’ hell that maybe your plane had crashed. And when I finally realized that you
were
still out there somewhere and just didn’t want to have anything to do with me, well….” He let his words fall away and swallowed visibly before continuing, breaking Tucker’s heart as he did, “Well, there’s only so much battering a man’s pride can take.”

Silence fell between them, punctuated only by the harsh breaths drawn by them both. Tucker was finally the one to break the wordless and tense quiet. He stepped forward slowly, bringing his hand up again to settle it on Cal’s shoulder, squeezing tenderly when Cal tried to shift away.

“Please believe me when I tell you, Cal, that I have spent the better part of three months searching for you.” He paused and saw a tic bunch at the back of Cal’s jaw. “There was nothing I wanted more than to see you again.
Nothing
.”

Cal gave no response, only stood there as an indescribable flurry of emotions flashed across his face. And after a near eternity, Tucker suddenly found himself being jerked forward by Cal’s hand on the back of his elbow. He sucked in a sharp breath and just barely righted himself without smashing into Cal. Mere inches separated them.

Cal stared down at him with eyes that were almost iridescent in the moonlight. “And you just expect me to believe that?” he demanded.

Tucker’s heart gave a sharp kick against his ribcage, but he stood his ground. “Yes.”

And then after a beat, a lopsided smile very, very slowly edged its way across Cal’s mouth, and he tilted his head closer. His warm breath ghosted across Tucker’s skin when he spoke, sending tremors wracking through his entire body. “Good,” he whispered, “’Cause I do believe it.”

And then Tucker was being pulled up tight against Cal’s chest. He didn’t have a chance to even let out a grunt of surprise before plush lips, pliant and soft, were pressing hard against his own. The taste of peppermint and coffee, a heady and strange combination, flooded Tucker’s mouth when he eagerly opened for the tentative thrust of Cal’s tongue.

Hands scrabbling for the back of Cal’s jacket, Tucker grasped fistfuls of the rough material and held on tight. The rich spice of Cal’s aftershave mingling with the deep pine scent of the forest surrounding him left Tucker feeling lightheaded. He sank forward, farther into Cal’s arms and kiss, feeling the solid resistance of his chest pushing back against him.

Desire, immediate and demanding, screamed through Tucker’s veins, and he felt the stirrings of an erection pressing against the inside of his jeans. He rolled his hips forward against Cal, desperately seeking friction, and moaned when he felt the stiff nudge of Cal’s own hardened cock jabbing against his thigh.

Cal ate up the sound that slipped from Tucker’s mouth with a rapacious fervor like a starving man being offered a banquet, and Tucker suddenly felt Cal tangle his large, work-rough hands up in his hair, tugging his head back. He complied with the silent request, curving his neck and letting his mouth fall open even more. Cal took full advantage, sweeping his tongue in deep and plunging it against Tucker’s in a slippery, frenetic slide that was more perfect that he could have ever dreamed.

Tucker’s cock, aching and full, twitched in the tight confines of his jeans, and he rolled his hips forward again. He was finally reunited with Cal, wrapped up in his strong embrace like he had longed for, but it still wasn’t enough. He needed to feel him closer, feel him
deeper
, and they could not exactly accommodate that demand where they stood; the middle of a wintery and snow-covered forest floor wasn’t what Tucker envisioned when he had fantasized about this moment over and over again. A bed was not a strict requirement, of course—Tucker was far from being picky—but getting frostbite in places he could only imagine was not something he wanted to experience in his lifetime.

Pulling back from Cal’s mouth took more effort than he thought it would, and when Tucker finally tore his lips away, he was breathless and panting. He glanced up to Cal, delighted to see him looking as blissed-out as he himself felt. His dark hair was mussed from where Tucker’s fingers had somehow managed to find their way into the thick locks, and his lips were swollen and sinfully kiss-bruised. He was a gorgeous, disheveled mess, and Tucker had to work hard to restrain himself from going in for another taste.

Cal rasped out a hoarse chuckle after a moment and brought a hand up to brush away a few powdery clumps of snow from Tucker’s tousled bangs. His callused fingers slipped down the side of Tucker’s face, and he paused to drag the pad of his thumb over the heated blush burning across Tucker’s cheek.

“We should get your car back to my shop and get us out of the snow,” Cal said, an undeniably wicked gleam sparking in his eyes. “I’m pretty sure I won’t have her up and running tonight, though. You got someplace to stay?”

Shivering, and not just from the cold, Tucker looked up at Cal. He was momentarily struck speechless by the hint of deep navy blue settling in Cal’s black hair from the soft play of silvery moonbeams through the boughs of the pine trees. For one fleeting instant, Cal’s eyes were nearly the same exact color as his hair.

“Tuck?” Cal asked, a sideways grin curving at his mouth as he waved a hand in front of Tucker’s dazed face.

“Hmm?”

Cal grinned broadly then. “Your car, kid. We gotta do something with it.”

“Oh. Right.” Tucker coughed to clear his throat, then glanced to the roadside where Cal’s tow truck sat, engine still running. He nodded in the direction of the cabin where he was going to be staying for the New Year’s party. “I rented out a place with a few friends just for tonight, but at this point, I’m not sure I’ll even make it up there by midnight.” He swung his gaze back to Cal. “Got any ideas?”

Cal pursed his lips, seemingly deep in thought. “I think I’ve got just the place,” he said after a moment, turning to his truck and waving Tucker over.

Arousal crested over Tucker again in a heady wave, and he eagerly followed. He settled himself in the passenger seat, breathing in Cal’s scent that seemed to surround him in the cab while Cal checked over all the rigging for the flatbed.

It wasn’t long until Cal was hoisting himself into the truck to sit beside Tucker on the long bench seat. Tucker immediately moved closer to his side as Cal put the big rumbling vehicle into drive, turning toward him to rub his palm over Cal’s thigh and drag his nose up the side of his neck.

A groan reverberated out of Cal’s chest and he slammed the truck back into park. He shifted in his seat to meet him head-on, framing his face with his large hands, his mouth desperate and hungry against Tucker’s.

Pulse thundering in his ears and lungs burning for oxygen, Tucker pulled a knee up and folded it under himself so he was almost kneeling on the seat. He leaned forward without breaking the contact of their lips, plunging one hand into Cal’s thick hair while he found his way down between Cal’s legs with the other. After so many months apart, Tucker found he was physically unable to keep his hands off him.

Cal breathed a hoarse moan into Tucker’s open mouth and spread his knees wide under Tucker’s touch when he palmed him roughly through his jeans. The man was as rock hard as Tucker was himself, and his own poor, neglected cock gave an envious jolt at the attention he was giving Cal.

He shifted forward on the seat and pressed his straining erection against the side of Cal’s thigh, finding a little relief for the aching pressure building so rapidly in his gut. Heavy bliss flooded through his veins in a pounding wave from the desperately needed friction, but it wasn’t enough, not nearly. He needed to be closer to Cal,
much
closer, and without the barrier of their clothes getting in the way.