All The Ways We Touch [MxM]

fourteen - change pt. one

Jamison locked the door of the station and stepped outside, going to the edge of the woods to smoke while he waited for Elliot. The day had been long and tiring but he was buzzing with energy as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

Within a minute Elliot pulled up, parking at the first pump. It was just the same as the first time he saw him, and he stayed in the shadows, replaying it through his mind as he thought about how, in a moment just the same as that one, his life had been changed. No, change wasn't strong enough; it had been dramatically altered. In seconds, the course of his life had been transformed into something else entirely. A foreign dream he'd yet to wake up from. He still didn't recognize it and had yet to try to reconcile all of the new feelings that Elliot had inspired. As the saying goes, hope's a dangerous thing.

Parking, Elliot looked at the dark building and then opened the door, getting out. When he saw the smoke wafting from the spot where he'd introduced everyone to Jamison prior to going to the beach, he smiled and leaned against the back of his car, his arms folded across his chest. Why Jamison was hiding from him in the shadows wasn't a question he bothered to ask himself; it would've been stranger to see him trying to stand boldly in the light. Until Jamison shed his secrets, he didn't expect him to embrace the brightness.

"This is exactly how I saw you when you showed up," he called, continuing to smoke. In that position, Elliot looked so cool and he wondered how he'd look in a leather jacket. It'd assuredly look good on him, as he expected most anything would. If his leather jacket would've fit him, he'd have loved to see it but knew that with Elliot's broad shoulders, it'd be futile to try. "I was standing here and you parked there and then popped out of the car with a laugh and that big, goofy grin on your face."

Elliot slowly crossed the parking lot. With his observant nature, it wasn't surprising to hear that Jamison had been watching him, but it made his heart flutter knowing that he'd memorized all the details of their first meeting. "What'd you think when you saw me?"

"That I hoped you wouldn't recognize me," he admitted. Now he couldn't imagine hoping to go unnoticed by Elliot. All he wanted was to be bathed in the warmth of his gaze, to hear his melodic laugh, and to see the dazzling smile that reminded him of sunshine. "How stupid of me."

As he stopped across from Jamison, he nodded. "I'm glad you agree," he teased, plucking Jamison's cigarette from his mouth. With his gaze locked on him, he took a long drag, curious to see how he'd react. While repulsion and disgust were certainly on the table, he just had a feeling that Jamison wouldn't find it so bad.

Time stopped as he stared up at him. The move was so effortlessly cool that it cleared his mind of any of his previous thoughts; the only stimulus was his feelings and senses. The lamp was positioned behind Elliot, giving him a bursting halo. Maybe he was right to want to be deified; even in the awful buttery yellow light, he looked like a saint. If he could look so godly in a creepy gas station parking lot, who was he to deny him the honor? "You smell like warm brown sugar," he murmured after a moment, taken aback at the scent somehow overcoming that of the cigarette.

"Do you like it?"

"I think it's my favorite scent in the entire world." Completely entranced by the fragrance of his specialty shampoo and conditioner, Jamison blinked slowly and took a deep breath, his stomach clenching.

After Vera and Jack left, Elliot went upstairs and took a shower. While he knew nothing would happen between them, what was so wrong with being fresh? Clearly, it had been a good idea.

"Lucky us," he said, gently blowing the smoke into Jamison's face as he offered the cigarette back to him. He'd seemed stunned by the gesture which was understandable; Elliot would've felt the same way had he been on the receiving end. It was impulsive and could've easily made Jamison feel uncomfortable but the way he froze didn't seem like he was anything but enchanted.