Page 41 of The Rising Tide
“Well, yeah. See, Dad has three wives and a couple of other women, and each one of them was… well, prolific. Kayleigh and I have twenty-four siblings and half-siblings between us. And Alistair was the leader of the compound, but there were at least six other wizards there, and their women and their children and….” Lucky shuddered. “But Dad’s the most powerful, and he’s had a couple of third sons. My half brother Macklin was supposed to be the kind of wizard that comes along once in a generation or so—the third of a third of a third. It was a big deal.”
Lucky wrinkled his nose. “Was? What happened?”
Scout gave a soft snort of humor. “Well, Macklin submitted all his test scores to local colleges by computer, won a fuckton of scholarships and grants, disappeared from the compound on his eighteenth birthday without even a ‘See ya, bitches!’ and went on to live a really awesome life. He tried sending us letters—he was close with Josue, our half brother, and I used to worship him. Alistair apparently kept his letters from us, and Josue, who’s not a great wizard but is so good with human business dealings that the compound can’t afford to lose him, got mad enough to force Alistair to let him keep in touch.” Lucky wasn’t sure if Scout was aware of the rather sweet wonder that crossed his face when he spoke next. “So like I told you. Alistair banished me, and Josue made sure I had money and a phone and Macklin’s number. And I was so frantic about leaving Kayleigh behind that the trick I couldn’t do—the one that got me banished in the first place—was the first thing I did to get her back.” He grinned. “She jumped through that portal so fast it was like, ‘Hug Scout! See the way out! Get the hell out of there!’ No holding back for Kayleigh, right?”
Lucky thought of Scout’s irrepressible sister and had to agree. “So you guys had the big house, the compound and everything, and servants?”
“Well, servants and women,” Scout said grimly. “Which sounds terrible because it is. The wives and sisters kept house, basically, for all the men. I’ve read up on cults, and you know? This was the real thing. The only difference is that the male oppressors reallydidhave supernatural powers, instead of just pretending to like they do if you’renota wizard.”
“Yikes.” Lucky stared at him again, leaning into Scout’s touch.
“Yeah.” Scout pushed up off the bed and brushed his lips across Lucky’s before falling back against the pillows. “It was like, Kayleigh and I readvoraciouslybefore we got out. We sort of knew how the world should be, and we knewthatwas not it. We’ve made some missteps since we got out. I had this notion that I could wash dishes in diners as we crossed country, and boy, did Macklin’s friends set me right onthatone. But mostly, we’ve enjoyed ourselves, you know?”
Lucky nodded, his lips tingling from the simple brush of Scout’s mouth against his. “Uhm,” he said, feeling dumb. “I-I mean, I know I had to stay hidden, but I had opportunities, right?”
Scout nodded. “Yeah.”
“I was waiting for someone who… who made me feel safe. Made me feel like I was real. And important. And you tick those boxes.”
Scout’s grin was a tiny bit wicked. “So very glad to hear it,” he said, looking sideways in apparent embarrassment. He met Lucky’s eyes again after a moment. “I didn’t have anyone specific in mind. I think some guys were interested before you. You keep saying so, Kayleigh said so, and she’s really good at blowing off interest inher, so I think she probably knows. But you. You caught my attention. It was just… I saw you and thought, ‘Yes! He’s what I wanted and didn’t know it!’” Scout’s face fell. “Except you got scared, I guess.”
Lucky nodded. “And all those weeks of being afraid to talk to you, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I watched every performance.”
Scout buried his face in the pillow. “I was so bad at first!”
“Good God, were you,” Lucky agreed fervently. “And I don’t get it now. I mean, you areactually magicand you couldn’t pull off a magic trick to save your life!”
Scout appeared to think about it. “It’s just… for the show, it’s all about the illusion, right? The magic I’ve got, but thatbeliefthat gets other people to believe what I tell them—that’s what I seemed to be missing. Although….” He wrinkled his nose and held out his hand. “The magic is so-so at best. I mean, Ididget kicked out of the compound for being a so-so wizard.”
Lucky snorted. “I’d listen to Kayleigh on that score if I were you. I think you got kicked out because your old man’s an asshole. I think the only thing that’s wrong with your magic is you don’t have a mean bone in your body. Sounds like your old man was the kind of guy who wouldtellthe magic what to do. You’re the kind of guy who wouldaskit to do something for you. I mean, that thing you did with the balls—that didn’t look like small potatoes to me!”
Scout gave a halfhearted shrug and yawned. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, his eyelids fluttering. “I’m not sure why I’m so….”
And then he snored.
Lucky laughed softly and stood, kissing his forehead before moving to his refrigerator and deciding on Tater Tot hash for dinner. He set the pan to heat with the oil in it and dumped the small bag of Tater Tots into it before adding the chopped-up remains of the last brisket he’d cooked. After putting a lid on that, he checked to make sure Scout was still asleep before grabbing some clothes and making off for the small bathroom cubicle, which was right behind the bed.
The place was barely big enough to change in before getting into the shower, but Lucky still managed, going for a quick rinse off to get rid of some of the coffeehouse from his hair and hands. He liked his job, sure—but he didn’t want it clinging to his skin when he woke Scout up for dinner. He dressed in pajama pants and a sweatshirt, because Scout and Kayleigh’s place wasn’t the only place it could get cold.
He emerged just when the Tots were getting crispy on one side. Flip everything over, add a few eggs, grab some fruit on the side to keep ya regular, and voilà. Dinner was served. He plated everything up and set the plates on the bedstand before moving one of his two stuffed chairs close enough to use the bedstand as a table too and turning on the TV. He was about fifteen minutes intoThe Incredibleswhen Scout yawned, stretched. and then sat up in bed and reached for the food. For a few moments they ate in silence, and then Scout set down his plate.
“That was really good,” he said softly. “What are we watching?”
Lucky looked over his shoulder and grinned. “The Incredibles.It’s about a family with superpowers.”
Scout was staring at the television set, as joyful as a child. “That’s amazing. I… a happy family. I, uh….” He bit his lip shyly. “I, uhm, was sort of promised cuddles.”
Lucky couldn’t stop smiling. “Let me pick up the plates, okay?”
When he’d situated the dinner dishes, he crawled into the bed behind Scout, pleased beyond anything he’d ever imagined. With a little plumping of the pillows, he was raised up enough to see over Scout’s head, and he could hold that lean dancer’s body close to his own and stroke a slow hand along the tight muscles of Scout’s chest and stomach.
For a little while, he was content with a lazy caress over Scout’s T-shirt, but when Scout made a greedy little whimper and wriggled back against him, Lucky took a liberty and snuck his hand underneath the soft fabric.
Scout sighed luxuriously, and Lucky leaned over to chuckle in his ear. “You know, Scout, I think it’s a good thing you found me. You’re easy. You should know that.”
Scout gave a low chuckle and pushed into Lucky’s caressing hand. “So you’re going to protect me from myself?” he asked.
Lucky found he was shifting his hips, grinding up against Scout’s backside through Scout’s underwear and his own pajama pants. “No,” he whispered. “I’m gonna take advantage of ya, but I’m gonna do it with love.”
