Excerpt: alienated

Seth was working in Marco’s Tavern that night. He did that from time to time, he’d take his laptop and papers to the pub. He found it quite enjoyable to work in a place where other people were winding down and relaxing by drinking and playing pools or darts and flirting after a long hard day of work. Marco’s Tavern itself was quite nice. It was not overtly crowded and the atmosphere mellow, enhanced by soft instrumental music at the background. Marco seemed to always have one table at the corner for him so he could work without too many distractions. Marco also had his drink delivered to him without being asked. And he could smoke here, while in the laboratory, he had to go to the rooftop or the back yard to smoke, which was irritatingly inconvenient.

“There’s someone outside wants to see you,” the waitress in short black leather skirt and extra tight cream sweater informed him. Her name, as printed on her badge, was Trully.

Seth looked up from his laptop screen although his fingers kept on typing. He had to lift his chin up because his glasses had slid down the bridge of his nose. He smiled at the waitress. She was cute and she always had that pretty pink blush on her face whenever Seth smiled at her.

“Tell him to come inside,” Seth said.

“I’ve done that; however, he is in uniform, he said he is not allowed to enter a place like this when he is uniform,” Trully said.

Seth furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t know there’s such a rule,” he said. He knew. He never exercised it. “What’s his rank?”

“Cadet… I think.”

Seth shrugged. “Well, okay. It’s not like I have other choice, is it? Could you stay here for a while and watch my stuff?”

“I…,” Trully looked truly surprise at the request.

“Please?” Seth flashed her his one hundred thousand watt extra-blinding smile that never failed to get him what he wanted.

Trully nodded, and Seth got up and headed to the door.

Well, no one would have any idea to disturb him or steal anything from him; at least, no one in Marco’s Tavern. Everybody knew who he was, and if there were first time visitors, they would usually tilt their heads with questioning looks on their faces, but they left him alone, just as he liked it.
As he exited the tavern, he found that it had been raining very hard outside. Still, it did not seem to stop people from visiting the clubs and pubs in that particular area. There was a cadet outside, just as Trully told him, he was wearing raincoat which did not seem to do much in keeping him dry. He had that kind of face that made rainy days seem like heaven on Earth. Seth smiled contentedly.

“Colonel,” the cadet saluted, his expression straight and serious; however, Seth noticed that the cadet had really, really pretty lips that seemed to beg to be devoured all night long until next Wednesday.

“Oh please drop the formality,” said Seth as he pushed his hands into his jeans pocket. “What’s your name?” He couldn’t see his name tag as it was hidden beneath the raincoat.

“Callen Dome, Sir. Sir…”

“You should just come inside; it’s cold here and you’re drenched,” Seth cut off Callen’s words. Personally, he had no complaint about the ‘drenched’ part.

“I can’t, Sir. It’s against the rules.”

“Well, somebody have to look at the rules again and fix it.”

“I’m just doing my job, Sir.”

“Don’t we all?” Seth gave Callen a sad smile. He really liked how Callen managed to keep his expression straight and serious. “But you must be cold. What about the teahouse there?” He jerked his head to the right. He did not particularly remember if there was a teahouse somewhere in that area.

“I… I have to go. I was only instructed to deliver this envelop to you, Sir,” Callen finally fished out an envelope from the breast-pocket his shirt beneath the raincoat. It had the Army Headquarter’s logo printed on it. He handed it to Seth.

“Do you have a curfew?” asked Seth, accepting the envelope. He did not even look at it.

“No, Sir, but I’m on night duty,” answered Callen. He started to look worry. “I have to go now, Sir. Good night.” He saluted again.

“In that case, could you give me a lift back home?” Seth asked, pocketing the envelope without any intention to open it at all.

Callen looked taken aback by that request that he actually looked at Seth. He had a pair of eyes in pretty deep blue color.

“Or do I have to call your superior to ask?” Seth pushed forward.

“No, Sir, that won’t be necessary,” Callen lowered his eyes. “By all means, I would be honored to give you a lift back home.”

“Thanks. I’ll just get my stuff,” said Seth.

His apartment was only two blocks away from Marco’s Tavern and that was just another reason why he liked Marco’s Tavern. It only took him fifteen minutes to walk vice versa. It only took two minutes in Callen’s army jeep to get there.

“Would you like to come up and have a cup of tea?” asked Seth as Callen pulled up in front of the lobby. A doorman held the car door open for him.

“Thanks but no thanks, Sir, I have to go back,” answered Called.

“Who’s your superior?” asked Seth again.

“Lt. Fletcher Drake, Sir.”

“Well, I’m a Colonel, and yet you kept on refusing my order. Now, get out of the car and come with me to the apartment to have a cup of hot tea. You’re freezing, you won’t make it back to the base like that,” Seth said with a smile, holding back from adding ‘or else’ at the end of his words. He then got out the car, carrying his laptop and bag. “Cadet Dome will come up with me, would you please park his car?” he asked the doorman.

“Certainly, Sir,” the doorman nodded, although he looked concerned at having to drive and park an army jeep.

Seth waited patiently as he watched Callen reluctantly get out of the jeep. Callen had taken the raincoat off, and Seth had to admire his well-built body, clad in dark-green army uniform, complete with laced-up boots. Callen had exceptionally fine ass and Seth could not wait to feel them.

“Where did you come from, Callen?” asked Seth as they rode the elevator up to level fifty. “And please call me Seth.”

“Calamity Falls, Sss… Sir,” Callen answered, avoiding Seth. Seth decided that he really, really liked Callen and he would love to see Callen’s face when he woke up every morning.

“Does Nidji Hover still make the potteries herself?” asked Seth casually.

He had been to Calamity Falls when he needed to run tests on a woman that had lived for more than one hundred years without a single wrinkle on her skin. Nidji Hover loved to make mugs and vases and bowls from clay and mud and Seth bought everything she had in her workshop when he wrapped up the tests. Nidji Hover was thrilled. She was even more thrilled when people from the packing company Seth hired came and packed up the potteries very, very carefully, wrapping them in papers and papers and more papers, put them into wooden crates and loaded them to a chartered plane. She came with Seth to the small airport to see the plane. Seth used the potteries as Thanksgiving gifts for his family. The expressions on his family members’ face, especially his mother and his grandmother, when they saw a pretty roughly made potteries inside the beautifully wrapped boxes were just priceless, more valuable than the cost of the potteries, the packing, the chartered plane and the expensive boxes and wrapping papers.

Seth wished he met Callen then.

“She… she died two years ago,” Callen said.

Good thing they had completed the tests one year before. The cosmetic company who gave the job now was netting profits from their latest excessively priced anti-aging products based on the result of the tests.

Once they were inside his apartment, Seth put his laptop and bag on the dining table, then he went to boil water in a glass kettle. He wanted to laugh to see Callen just stood near the dining table, looking lost in the luxurious apartment.

“What would you like?” he put the crystal jar where he kept packets of a wide selection of tea on the dining table. “I have mint tea, fruit-flavoured tea, black tea, green tea, jasmine tea, Darjeeling, Oolong…”

“Green tea would be fine,” Callen said quietly.

Seth pulled out a packet of Japanese green tea. “Have you ever been to Japan, Callen?” Seth asked as he took two Japanese style cups from the shelves.

“No.”

“The best time to go to Japan is when the cherry-blossoms bloom. It indicates the start of Spring and people will go out and have picnics under the cheery-blossoms tree. Although, yeah, we have cherry-blossoms here; however they don’t look as magical as they are in Japan,” Seth tore off the packet and poured the tea powder into one cup, then he took a packet of mint tea to put into another cup.

“I heard it’s like that.”

“Japanese people, they like competitions,” Seth rambled on as he began pouring hot water into the cups. “They always have competitions, mostly eating competitions. Once a year, in winter, they hold this competition to determine the strongest and bravest man on Earth. It is a crazy competition and it ranges from sleeping in the same cage with a tiger, eating extra hot noodle soup and being locked in a very cold room, the walls are padded with ice slabs and the rooms are built on the snow, and you have to watch a girl in bikini soaked in a nicely looking hot tub while you have to survive.”

Callen laughed. He had two dimples on his cheeks when he laughed. He looked exceptionally adorable.

“That’s crazy. Only the craziest wins, I think,” he said as he accepted the tea cup from Seth.

“I won it five years ago,” Seth remarked, making Callen chuckle. Seth grinned. “It’s not as bad as it looks, though.”

Callen did not say anything. He sipped his tea carefully, savouring the warmth and the taste. His cheeks slowly changed color to subtle pink.

Seth shifted closer to him. Time to collect his prey.

Callen looked up, sensing Seth get very close to him. He did not step back, though, and that was a good sign for Seth.

“I… I have to go,” Callen whispered, putting the cup back on the table.

Seth smiled softly. He lifted his hands and reached for Callen’s cheeks. He could feel Callen’s blood, tiny veins throbbing under his touch. He could feel heat rising on Callen’s body.

“You’re staying,” he said firmly. “It’s an order.”

Then he leaned forward and devoured the lips that had made him stir below his navel from the first time he saw them.