Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

“You really need to say something to him.”

Hobbs’s reply was a lazy shrug of the shoulders, but Dex wasn’t buying it.

“Come on, man. It’s bugging the hell out of you knowing he’s making out with another dude. The guy just admitted he’s in love with you, and all you’ve got is a shrug?”

When Hobbs refused to look him in the eye, acting like he didn’t care, Dex decided it was time Hobbs snapped out of his moping and pulled his shit together before he lost Calvin for good.

“I know you kissed him back.” Dex watched Hobbs’s eyebrows shoot up near his hairline. He turned in his seat toward Dex and jabbed a finger at his discarded earpiece.

“Yeah, he told me. About what happened at the Fourth of July party, how things changed. I get the feeling you’re not big on change.”

With a dejected pout, Hobbs shook his head.

Dex could understand. Hobbs struggled every day with his selective mutism and anxiety. It was rough on the guy. Dex couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for him, being unable to speak no matter how much he wanted to. Hobbs was also a tiger Therian and a Defense agent. There were expectations, and falling short of those types of expectations was never easy for anyone, much less someone who was in a position where confidence was a requirement. Hobbs could be as intimidating as Ash or Sloane, but the problem started when the time came to deal with people. If there was one guy who understood, who’d been there from the beginning, it was Calvin. The same guy Hobbs was pushing away with his inability to accept change.

“How long do you expect to keep him waiting? Have you addressed it at all?”

Hobbs shook his head and turned around.

“You know, for a big, scary-ass Therian, you can be such a child.”

Hobbs gaped at him. He pointed to himself in question.

“Yes, you.”

With lips pressed thin, Hobbs poked Dex in the chest.

“Ow.” Dex rubbed the sore spot. “I’m not childish.” That earned him a scoff. “Either way, we’re talking about you, not me.”

With a roll of his eyes, Hobbs turned around again. Well, that had gone well. Dex lowered the volume on his earpiece. He really didn’t need to hear what was going on, especially since it was starting to sound too much like a porno without all the cursing and begging.

Dex checked his watch some time later, finding it was nearly four in the morning. Fuck. What the hell was Calvin doing in there? Then again, it was probably best he didn’t know. Hobbs was looking like one wrong move could send him into feral territory. His jaw was clenched so tight he was ready to break something, and his pupils were dilated. Despite being in his Human form, he resembled a tiger ready to pounce and tear the shit out of whatever he could get his claws on. Dex checked his earpiece. It was quiet. A series of soft knocks on the door told him why. Hobbs shot to his feet so quick his chair almost toppled over. He opened the back door and pulled a startled-looking Calvin in before shutting the door and looming over his friend.

“What happened?” Hobbs growled.

Calvin’s eyebrows shot up before his expression darkened. He looked pissed. “What do you think happened?”

This had the makings of turning ugly. Dex sat quietly. Should he try to contain the situation? Anger flashed in Hobbs’s green eyes, and Dex decided it was best he let them work it out. Hopefully it wouldn’t lead to something he couldn’t handle on his own. Calvin he could restrain, but Hobbs? It would be like the time he’d tried to jump on the merry-go-round at the park while it was going full speed. He’d ended up flying across the yard and losing a tooth.

“What, Ethan? Did I let him fuck me? Did I fuck him? What if I did? It’s not like you have a say in the matter. You don’t get to be pissed off.”

“Stop,” Hobbs snapped.

“Or what? For fuck’s sake, make up your mind. You either want me or you don’t. Whatever you decide, we’ll still be friends, but stop dicking me around. I can’t take it anymore.” He stepped away from Hobbs and removed Dex’s jacket to hand it over to him, followed by a piece of paper. “The church Collins goes to. He attends early-morning Mass every Saturday. Let me know what our next move is. I’m out of here. I need to go get a drink or get laid or something.” Calvin headed for the door when Hobbs pushed him against the side of the van.

“What the fuck, Ethan?”

Dex couldn’t agree more. What the—Oh.

Hobbs grabbed Calvin by the waist, hoisted him up, and pushed him up against the van’s wall, pinning him there with his body as he took hold of Calvin’s face and kissed him. It took Calvin all of two seconds to catch on, and when he did, he threw his arms around Hobbs’s neck and eagerly returned his partner’s searing kiss. Years of pent-up sexual frustration seemed to be let loose. The two went at it like nobody was watching. Except someone was watching. Dex was watching.

Should he remind them he was still here? Should he have brought some popcorn? Should he turn away? Dex sat there for a moment too stunned to do anything but watch. He wasn’t exactly turned off either. Did it make him a perv? It was like watching porn. Two hot dudes going at it. He felt kind of guilty, but had trouble looking away. Who in their right mind wouldn’t find this hot? Damn, he was starting to sound like Austen. Calvin and Hobbs were in their own world, oblivious to anyone or anything else around them, swept up by the fierce emotions which had undoubtedly been driving them to the brink. Their movements grew frantic and desperate. Calvin threw his head back with a gasp for breath as Hobbs moved his lips onto his partner’s neck.

“Oh God, Ethan.” He dug his fingers into Hobbs’s cropped hair, and the two started rutting up against each other, their breaths growing heavy. Hobbs let out a low feral growl, his hand going to Calvin’s crotch where he massaged his partner before pulling down the zipper of Calvin’s jeans. Oh shit. They were going to whip them out.

“Please, Ethan. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this. I want you so bad.”

Calvin’s pained words snapped Dex out of it.