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Cale loves his Aunt Maddie. Like, a lot.
Aunt Maddie gave Cale his first toy truck, his precious Milli Vanilli record that he used to play every morning before school (shut up) and his first box of condoms (don’t even ask why). She was also the one who went out of her way to win a copy of the White Album signed by all four Beatles in an auction when she went on one of her European backpacking trips back when Cale was eight. She had wild red hair and a really dirty mouth and she really made Cale laugh until his stomach hurt (after which his mom lectured Aunt Maddie about making Cale sick). Cale treasured those memories as some of the fondest from his childhood because he was weird like that.
All of which could explain the blind devotion that he seemed to have to her, even if she was now a 50- year-old music teacher with gray hair travelling across the country as a consultant for high school music programs. She still gave awesome gifts, like that body pillow that Cale loved within an inch of his life and just recently, a trip to Cancun.
Which, in retrospect, was not a good gift to accept considering that she was now holding it over his head so he would get on the bus, go to a town an hour away from the city and meet this person that he absolutely needs to meet if he wants to live the rest of his life happy and all that crap.
He hated being set up on blind dates but he couldn't very well say no to Aunt Maddie and so he got on the bus, turning on his iPod and basically setting himself up for an hour’s worth of traffic. He got a seat near the back of the bus so he could nap because Andrew was tinkering with his guitar all night and their apartment had really thin walls. There was really no point in confronting Andrew about it because then he would just be setting himself up for a pretentious rant about jazz that was sure to make his head ache.
Cale seriously contemplated whether this no-roommate-confrontation stance should be thrown out the window when he woke up four hours later, the bus driver gently nudging his shoulder. He bolted upright and hurried off the bus, his eyes still hazy from sleep. As soon as he was standing on the sidewalk, the bus pulled away from the curb and there he was, standing in the middle of nowhere in the afternoon sun, his jacket in his left hand. He walked over to the bench a few feet away and behind it stood the bus stop directory. It said that he was in Greenville, the end of the route and a couple of hours away from where he was supposed to have lunch with Aunt Maddie and his date in Rusty Falls.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Cale thought about the ways that Aunt Maddie was going to send him into guilt trip mode because of this disaster, which will definitely start off with her telling his mom that being in the city made Cale forgetful of his family. He definitely didn’t want that to happen because then he would have to defend himself against a baseless accusation.
A phone call explaining his situation was totally the logical thing to do. Maybe Aunt Maddie was still in Rusty Falls and they could catch up for dinner.
He quickly went through the pockets of his jacket and saw that his phone wasn’t there. Well, his phone and the rest of his things.
He sat on the bench, beads of sweat forming on his forehead while he went through the jacket’s pockets. Nothing. No bus card, no phone, no money and no keys. They probably slipped out of the pockets when he took the jacket off and slept.
He was so fucked.
He quickly stood on top of the bench and looked around. All he saw were random trees and the endless paved road. There was a cow, a fucking cow in the distance and a cluster of buildings that was so far away that it might take him forever to reach it if he walked.
I can hitchhike and maybe go to the police to call Andrew and Aunt Maddie, he quickly thought, wiping his brow and rubbing the back of his head where it had started to pound.
He sat back on the bench, looking down the road and waiting for someone who could help him get to the center of town. Ten, fifteen minutes passed but there was still no one. His white shirt was soaked in sweat; he could even feel the heat of the sidewalk seeping through the soles of his sneakers. His throat was parched and he imagined himself looking like a newly-steamed crab after this ordeal was over. The situation really kind of sucked.
Methods of torturing Andrew were already running through his heat-soaked brain when he heard a vehicle approaching. He quickly stood and looked down the road, noticing that a bus was slowly coming toward the bus stop. He felt deflated knowing that the bus would stop where he was and not go directly into town so he just went back and walked over to a tree a few feet behind the stop. At least it would be cooler there and well, from the looks of it, it was going to take a decade before anyone who was going to town would pass by.
The bus stopped and Cale noted that a lone figure got out. Cale’s heart started to beat really fast because holy crap, what was Kris Allen doing in this god-forsaken place?
Cale unconsciously hid his body behind the tree as he looked at Kris sitting on the bench. It had been a week since their encounter in the dark alley behind the bar and they had not seen each other since. Cale was beyond embarrassed because he just lost control that night, pounding Kris into the sticky brick wall, completely oblivious of the rain. Kris was also into it, gasping and moaning and oh so greedy… and OK, it was totally inappropriate that Cale was getting hard while stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Andrew was really nice about the whole thing and did not ask Cale about Kris at all. Not even when Cale disappeared with Kris right after they got off the stage after performing. Not even when he left the club without saying goodbye. Not even when he got home and saw Cale sitting in the middle of the kitchen, staring into space, his shirt wet and clinging to his body, his lips bruised and swollen, his eyes looking glazed in his fucked-out stage. Especially not when Cale refused to play in Seth’s place two nights after that night he had with Kris.
It’s not that Cale didn’t like Kris. He was so into the guy. He was funny, sexy, talented and so obviously into Cale and the stuff that happened that night could probably be explained by that. But Cale wasn’t the type to have sex in a dark alley. He was not the type to pull his pants up seconds after coming and leave the person he’d been with with a kiss and nothing else. He was not the type to leave without bringing home a promise of at least a second date. He was just not that guy.
And so he figured that walking away from Kris Allen half-hard was definitely a good idea even if it went against what he usually believed when it came to these things. The guy made him reckless and so crazy that he couldn't think. If he went and pursued Kris, he would just stare at that pretty mouth whether it was talking about the Beatles or sucking his cock. It was bound to be an unhealthy relationship and Cale didn't have time for that.
That was why he stayed behind the tree and stared at Kris’s back, revelling at the way the sunlight was hitting his brown hair. Kris’s green shirt was clinging to his shoulders and Cale absently thought that he must have been sweaty too. He was still daydreaming about this possibility when Kris stood up and looked behind him, his eyes squinting against the harsh afternoon light.
Cale gasped and face-palmed when he realized that he had. He quickly hid himself behind the tree and when he chanced a peek, Kris was already walking towards it. Cale was panicking because the tree was standing alone in the field and if he ran, Kris would definitely see him escaping like a crazy person. So he just stood there, cursing his luck and hoping against hope that Kris would either just turn back or wouldn't look behind the thick trunk of the tree.
Cale heard Kris’s light steps from the other side of the tree and he just stood there, his heart beating, his breathing shallow. He pressed his back closer to the trunk and as he did, he stepped on a small pile of leaves that made a noise that at that moment sounded to Cale as if it were a siren.
“Hey, anybody there?” Kris said and Cale was left with no option but to sag his shoulders and come out from behind the tree.
Kris looked surprised for a moment, his mouth hanging open, and Cale caught himself staring again.
Cale was the one who spoke first. “Kris! What are you doing here?” He tried to sound surprised and hoped that he did it convincingly.
Kris’s face broke into a wide smile. “Cale! Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here, man.”
He stood there taking in Cale’s face and his eyes went down to where Cale’s shirt was clinging to his chest and let’s just say that if Kris looked a little lower than that, he would have seen what Cale was really feeling.
Cale cleared his throat and smiled. He couldn’t help it, Kris seemed sincerely happy to see him. “So, ummm, far from home?”
Kris nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was in a neighboring town and since I had the afternoon off, I decided to take the bus to good old Greenville.” At Cale’s inquiring look, he laughed. “I went on a road trip when I was 18 and discovered the best dumpling place in the state in this town.”
“You came here for dumplings?”
“Well yeah. Those dumplings are special, man. Wait until you try them.”
They stood there grinning at each other, taking in each other’s faces. Cale realized that somehow, without the alcohol and the smoky air of the bar, Kris looked like a different person. He was still sexy and pretty and all of those things but he also looked like a kid, excited at the prospect of having the perfect dumpling.
“What about you? Why are you here?” Kris looked at Cale’s face.
Cale groaned and began telling Kris about the sad, sorry tale that had befallen his poor self. Kris looked sympathetic and made sympathetic noises at the right moments and Cale caught himself pouting and woah, that was so not cool.
“So yeah, poor me,” he finished lamely and discreetly looked at the road, trying to avoid the look on Kris’s face.
“It’s a good thing you caught me then,” Kris said and winked when Cale turned to look at him.
Cale must have blushed and he wanted to kill himself but he was saved by the sound of an oncoming vehicle that made Kris look the other way. They started to run towards the sidewalk and minutes later, they were in the back of a pick-up truck going to the town center.
The noisy rumble of the truck made conversation impossible so Cale was reduced to sneaking sideway glances at Kris who was sitting there with his eyes closed, the wind blowing the tufts of his hair into every direction, totally looking like a puppy on his first ride out.
After about half an hour, Cale and Kris were standing outside a beat-up one-storey building. It must have been a house in the past but it currently had a table full of fruits and vegetables beside the door. There were also mouth-watering smells coming from the inside and Cale was suddenly reminded of the fact that he had missed lunch.
“Welcome to Lao’s Dimsum Palace,” Kris said grandly, beaming up at him.
He followed Kris inside. There were about 4 tables and a stack of chairs by the counter. No one was there except for an elderly Chinese woman who stood behind the high counter. She scowled when she saw Kris.
“Mrs. Lao, you’re looking mighty lovely today.” Kris didn’t seem to mind that the old woman was definitely not happy to see him.
“Go away. No dimsum,” she answered in accented English and Cale wanted to pick Kris up and run away right there and then, grumbling stomach and all.
Kris pouted. “Awww, Mrs. Lao, don’t be like that. You know how much I love your dimsum.” He nodded towards Cale. “See, I even brought a friend.”
Mrs. Lao’s turned her sharp eyes to where Cale was standing and glared. Cale swallowed thickly and whispered, “ummm, Kris, maybe we should go.”
Kris shook his head to say no, looking unfazed. “Well, I can smell the turnip cakes from here. I really miss the spring rolls too.”
“Not for you,” Mrs. Lao said curtly and went back into the kitchen, leaving Kris and Cale standing there.
Cale must have looked scared because Kris touched his arm and said, “don’t worry, she’s always like that. She turns me away every time I’m here.”
“Why do you keep coming back then?”
“Dude, they have the best chicken feet in the world.”
Kris and Cale earned that dimsum. They really, really did.
After all, they did steal Mr. Lao’s guitar from where it was hidden behind the box which acted as a makeshift table at one corner of the shop. Which they used to sing outside the store, asking people to come in, Kris making up crazy lyrics like, “Oh, the lao siew pau is ka-pow…IS KA-POW!” and generally making utter fools of themselves, dancing and singing while people threw coins at the old soup can they set at Cale’s feet.
They had been singing for about 10 minutes when Mrs. Lao came out, a broom in her hand, ready to chase them away but Kris just kept on singing what he affectionately named “O Shrimp of Dumpling Yore” and ran inside the dimsum place after grabbing the guitar from Cale.
Mrs. Lao followed Kris inside, shaking her head as if she had gone through this before. Cale slowly walked behind the old woman, on guard in case she swung the broom at him.
Kris was standing by the counter with a big smile on his face, the guitar on top of the table in front of him. Mrs. Lao was still shaking her head as she went back to the kitchen, re-emerging seconds later with a bag full of food packets. She handed the bag to Kris who gave her the guitar in return.
Then Kris did the impossible and ducked his head to give Mrs. Lao a quick peck on the cheek which sent them running again because she started seriously chasing them with the broom.
They were pretty lucky though, because the pick-up truck they got a ride from earlier was passing by and it skidded to a halt after Cale hailed it. He jumped in the back, landing face first and he quickly scrambled up to reached out to Kris, who of course handed him the bag of dimsum first. Kris then jumped in next to him.
The pick-up truck sped away and Kris waved to Mrs. Lao who was standing in front of her shop, swinging the broom threateningly into the air.
That was how they ended up sitting under the tree behind the bus stop, Kris licking his fingers after finishing his fifth chicken feet.
Cale was trying hard not to look at the way that Kris was sucking on his fingers (he might have thought that Kris was doing it on purpose, the little tease) so he just said, “What was that all about?”
Kris grinned at him. “Wasn’t it fun? It’s like a ritual. I think Mrs. Lao gets a kick out of it. She’s such a sweetheart.”
Cale’s face must have looked like he thought Kris was on drugs because he laughed and said, “Mr. Lao and I were friends when I was in college and we visited them weekly. She always chased us with the broom whenever we made up some crazy song. He died two years ago though.” Kris’s face softened as he smiled. “I think she misses him.”
Cale just smiled back because what was he going to say to that?
He suddenly blurted out, “I can’t believe how much you love chicken feet. They look gross.”
Kris just chuckled and bit on the piece of chicken he was eating, his eyes twinkling.
They continued eating in silence, the darkness slowly descending upon them. Cale thought about how Kris was right and Mrs. Lao definitely made the best dimsum. He also thought about how this horrible day had turned itself around and became one of the best he'd had in a long, long time.
They sat there, staring as the sky changed colors, talking about Andrew being a music snob and how Cale wanted to own his own record store when he got older and why Kris felt like travelling was the only way that one could get to know oneself. There was also a discussion about what the best Beatles song was (Let It Be and Helter Skelter) and whether Blue from Blue’s Clues was a chick or a dude. (Definitely a chick.)
After talking about their favourite cartoons as kids, Cale suddenly blurted out, “I’m sorry about that night at the bar, Kris. I’m not really that big of a jerk. I know I should have called you but...”
“… you were embarrassed,” Kris finished for him. He smiled as he looked at Cale’s contrite face. “It’s totally cool, man. I mean, it’s not like I’m totally into that kind of thing. I don’t really do that. I’m not much of a slut… I think.” He followed this with a convincingly rueful smile and Cale couldn't help but laugh.
“But still, I’m sorry,” Cale said, reaching out to briefly touch Kris’s arm.
Kris’s smile lit up his face and he leaned forward to kiss Cale briefly. “Don’t worry about it.”
They sat there staring and smiling at each other, and Cale didn’t want to be anywhere else with anyone else.
It was really starting to get late and Kris told Cale that the last bus going to the city would get there in maybe 3 minutes so they got up and slowly walked to the bench to wait for it. It was really dark by then, the bus stop barely lit by the lamp post beside it.
Cale kept glancing sideways at Kris who had his eyes closed, his face a shadow in the middle of that quiet night. Maybe it was the way that Kris ate his chicken feet or the way he smiled when he talked about Mr. and Mrs. Lao but Cale felt like that night they shared in the dark alley didn’t really matter at all, not in the way his heart was beating fast right now and definitely not in the way he was clenching his hands to keep from touching and feeling that small smile that was playing on Kris’s lips.
The sound of the coming bus made Cale turn his head away from staring at Kris. It was a good thing too because Kris stood up, flattening his hair that was standing on end.
“Hey man, take out the soup can money,” Kris nudged Cale’s knee. “You’re going to have to pay your own way.”
Cale grinned and took out the $3. 50 from the pocket of his jacket. “I don’t know if this will be enough.”
Kris frowned and said, “listen, I will not be mean and leave you sitting out here so I’ll pay your ticket but you have to pay me back.”
When Cale started to protest, Kris held his hand up. “Man, I looked for our food. I can’t be giving you everything. That is so unhealthy.”
Kris was smirking as he said it and Cale laughed out loud while rolling his eyes. “What happened to giving with an open heart? Geez.”
The bus stopped in front of them and Kris paid for their tickets. There was no one on the bus except for an old man sitting behind the driver. Cale followed Kris to the back of the bus where the overhead light was flickering and the windows were open.
Kris gave Cale the window seat because they'd get to Kris’s stop first. Cale thought it was extremely considerate because he really did want to take a nap as the events of the day had caught up with him and he felt exhausted. He was pretty sure Kris would wake him up before he got off so oversleeping would not be a problem.
They talked some more about Kris’s job as a sound engineer in a small studio downtown and Cale’s substitute teaching gig and their families back home. As coincidences go, it was pretty amazing that they were both from Arkansas -- Cale from the northern part, Kris from central. They were on the road for maybe an hour and a half when Cale’s yawns came at closer intervals and he felt his eyes drooping. He was on that lazy, trippy state between being awake and asleep when he felt a hand crawl up his crotch.
Cale moaned softly, convinced that he was dreaming. He slowly moved his hips in time to meet the light pressure coming from the hand above his now fully-hard cock. When the hand slowly pulled his zipper down, Cale’s eyes opened with a start.
He turned to his left and Kris was staring at the front of the bus, as if he was not fondling Cale senseless at that very moment. Cale struggled briefly and took off his jacket, putting it over his lap. He saw Kris’s mouth curve in a small smile as he did this.
Kris’s hand was inside Cale’s boxers and was pulling out his cock, swiftly stripping it, his thumb lightly grazing the precome gathering at the tip. Cale looked outside the window, the warm night air brushing his face. His breath hitched and he didn’t know where to put his hands so he just put one on top of the jacket on his lap, catching Kris’s which was moving beneath it.
Cale felt like the seconds were lasting forever and his legs were spread artlessly, his hips bucking away from the uncomfortable cushion of the bus seats. He turned his head away from the window and saw Kris staring at him, pretty mouth slightly open, breath coming in soft gasps. His tongue was caught between his teeth, the tip peeking out and Cale wanted nothing but to kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.
A tingling sensation was rising up from Cale’s thighs going to his crotch and he closed his eyes, biting his lip to keep the moans from coming out. He didn’t think that Kris would take the jacket off his lap and when the gust of wind hit his cock, he was coming just like that, his gasps and scream silenced by Kris’s tongue plunging into his mouth.
They continued kissing, from dirty and all–tongue into a softer, sweeter rhythm as Cale came down from his orgasm. Kris was licking into his mouth lazily and when they broke apart, Cale almost got hard again when Kris licked and sucked his come- slicked fingers.
“Definitely better than chicken feet,” he mumbled and Cale just laughed into Kris’s neck which he was biting lightly.
Kris opened his bag and took out some Wet Wipes to clean themselves up, which was a good idea since well, to put it mildly, Cale was basically just a puddle of goo at that moment. All wiped and zipped up , he slowly reached over to Kris when he saw the slight bulge at his crotch but Kris just held his hand and entwined their fingers together.
“You just paid back your ticket, man.” At Cale’s confused look, his eyes twinkled and he whispered, “I like seeing your face as you come.”
Cale moaned softly and he would have given Kris a blowjob on a public bus but Kris just held his hand tightly and kissed his lips lightly. “This is us cuddling a week later. Don’t want you to go all crazy on me again.”
They looked at each other and Cale knew that he must have looked like a lovesick fool on that bus in the middle of nowhere with the flickering light, his shirt stained with dimsum sauce, his credit cards lost into oblivion and Aunt Maddie’s wrath about to kill him with guilt once she got hold of him.
But he didn’t care because that night, Cale and Kris got off at the same bus stop after having the best dimsum in the world.
Well, Cale also fell in love that day, but who's counting, right?