Caleb

[nola_northstar]

Seth might spend too much time at Phoenix Effect looking at men. But if you looked at it another way, he was an excellent patron of local business. He was stopping by the coffee shop every day now, in late afternoons and early evenings, sipping smoothies and looking at the other customers.

On this particular afternoon, he was awarded by a very particular gift. When the man turned to face Seth’s vague direction, he raised his drink in a wave and a salute, giving him a smile. It was the kind of flirting someone could ignore if they were straight or married or busy, but it was clear enough, he figured, to capture any interested parties.

Comments

[nola_havok]

Scottie was at a friend's house and it was too far to be worth going home between dropping her off and picking her up, a total waste of rare free time. Phoenix Effect was relatively close, though, so Caleb decided to drop in and actually enjoy some coffee and quiet time where he literally had nothing better to do than scroll through the journals on his phone.

Coffee in hand, Caleb turned to find someplace to sit. Instead he found a man subtly trying to get his attention. An attractive man. An attractive man who happened to be Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar. Caleb was confused on so many levels. But he was also curious on all of those levels, so he headed in that direction, stopping by the other man's table. "Hi."

[nola_northstar]

Oh, this was a fun round of Seth’s usual game. He smiled at the man, gestured for him to sit. “Care to join me?”

[nola_havok]

"Sure." He sat down and while he wasn't wary, it was also probably clear that he was unused to this. Caleb didn't spend a lot of time socializing just with other adults, unfortunately. He also wasn't sure if Jean-Paul recognized him as Alex or not.

[nola_northstar]

“I’m Seth. You’re handsome,” he said, by way of introduction. “Nice to meet you.”

[nola_havok]

"Caleb. Thank you, so are you." He was surprised and off-balance, but that didn't stop his small--if somewhat perplexed--smile.

[nola_northstar]

“What brings you here? Tell me about yourself. You have a very attractive smile.” Seth was in his element here.

[nola_havok]

"A caffeine addiction and needing someplace to kill a couple hours, mostly," he answered, leaning his forearms on the table and taking a sip of his cold brew. "What do you want to know?"

[nola_northstar]

Seth grinned. “So many things. Are you single? What do you do? Do you know how good you look in this outfit?”

[nola_havok]

Caleb's smile widened, and if his cheeks went a little pink, well, he wasn't trying to hide anything. "I'm very single. I work construction. And if that's true I'll have to keep it in mind for next time I need to look good."

[nola_northstar]

“So you’re strong. I like a strong man. Did you expect to find yourself on a date today?” Yes, this did just become a date.

[nola_havok]

"I one thousand percent did not expect to end up on a date today," Caleb laughed softly.

[nola_northstar]

“This really is your lucky day. What’s it like working construction? Do you ever get to have fun, and if so, what do you do for it?”

[nola_havok]

"It's good. It's hard work and it sucks getting up before the sun is up in the winter because I'm only a morning person if I have sun shining directly into my eyes, apparently." His affinity for the sun made a lot more sense since he'd remembered being Alex. "But it's...productive, I guess is a good word for it. You can see the progress and not feel like you're just running on the same hamster wheel every day. I very rarely have fun, but when I do I play touch football in the park or get tricked into being on a date with a hot guy in a coffee shop." It was the opposite of a complaint.

[nola_northstar]

“I’m never a morning person,” Seth said, thoroughly enjoying the conversation. “Not even seasonally. What do you build? Homes? Buildings? Other things? I also never play touch football, but I do get gorgeous men on dates, so all isn’t lost. I’m going to kiss him later, too, so I’m having a great day.”

[nola_havok]

"Mostly homes and small businesses, occasionally interior work for bigger buildings. I mostly do framing, insulation, drywall, that kind of thing. What do you do?" This was so surreal, but for once it was in a good way. Who knew being flirted with by Jean-Paul Beaubier was exactly what he needed right now? (Jean-Paul would probably say that was obvious, if he were aware, which Caleb was now reasonably sure he wasn't.)

[nola_northstar]

“You’re an essential part of the process. You make things with your own hands.” That was impressive. Seth enjoyed thinking Caleb’s hands. “I’m an actor. I am a cog in a wheel of making entertainment, which is much less impressive than creating structures, but I do what I can.” Obviously, Seth still thought acting was impressive.

[nola_havok]

"I have a very hard time imagining you as any sort of cog. Maybe the one turning the crank."

[nola_northstar]

“Is that an invitation?” Seth asked, smiling suggestively.

[nola_havok]

"That...wasn't what I meant," he managed to reply with minimal spluttering. Which wasn't a no, either.

[nola_northstar]

“That isn’t a no,” Seth pointed out, wrapping his ankle around Caleb’s.

[nola_havok]

Hoo boy. "I am very, very out of practice at this--" If he could ever have been considered in practice. "--but I find it very hard to say no to you, and right now I'm really okay with that."

[nola_northstar]

“I’m sure you still have a move or two in your somewhere. Maybe it’s muscle memory. You’ll remember when we get back to my place, which I suggest we do now.” Well, why not? Caleb was hot, Seth was hot, afternoon hookups were excellent.

[nola_havok]

Was he really going to do this? "Only one way to find out." Yeah, he really was.

[nola_northstar]

Well, Seth knew when to get to his feet. “I don’t live far from here,” he told Caleb, running a hand down the side of his face.

[nola_havok]

He didn't know if he was more touch-starved than he'd realized, or if it was just Seth, but that hand on his face was hotter than it had any right to be. "Yeah, good." Caleb was highly motivated to follow.