Russian Roulette: Flashbacks [male x male]

Ch. 42: Make me

Then

The warm breeze made the curtains lift and fall like a ghostly dancer, twirling to the symphony of summer outside the windows. Different birds chirped and sang their multitude of tunes, like nature's own choir, the buzzing of bees, flies, ladybugs, and other insects created the vibrational hum of a string section, and the soft ruffling of the leaves in the wind served as a subtle percussion to bind it all together.

Beautiful and calming at first, but slowly it had turned monotone.

Jace looked around the ensuite rooms; they had everything. It was a bachelor and man-child dream playground. Gareth had offered him every luxury. Soft, royal blue carpets on parquet floors, comfy couches in a dove-grey fabric. Office space with brand new tech, dining area for his guests, and an entertainment center to end all entertainment centers. It had a massive flat-screen TV, X-box, PlayStation, DVD and Blu-Ray player, and a bookcase filled with movies and games to choose from.

It was every guy's wish for a man cave, except for the lacking pool table and karaoke system. A direct line went to the kitchen where he could act like the king of room service.

The luxury was not unappreciated.

But a gilded cage was still a cage.

Leaving the enormous king-sized bed where he had rested and read a magazine, Jace put out his cigarette, tossed the magazine, and went to pour himself a cup of coffee. The bed was wonderful, and it was big enough for both him and Phoenix, if that had been a possibility at the mansion. The around-the-clock protection team outside his door effectively put a stop to any nightly visits. And even Phoenix was not adventurous enough to climb up the house and do a balcony entrance for a booty call.

Swirling the dark liquid in the cup, because he was bored out of his skull, he stared at the whirlpool and waited for something to happen.

Anything.

He would gladly settle for anything from an earthquake to an ice cream truck barging through the wall. It could be something smaller, a phone call from Chess or one of the guys logging on to play a game with him. He was willing to go magical, if possible. Like a chocolate goldfish appearing in his coffee, or a troupe of leprechauns dancing Riverdance on the parquet floor to disturb everybody, that would be a hoot. He was not picky about it.

Just fucking something.

"Jaaaaacey-booooy!"

Ok, anything but that...

The sound carried from the corridor outside the room, and just a few moments later, Jace nearly dropped his cup from the door, slamming open and almost going off its hinges in the process. He put the cup down because he would wear his coffee not long after if he had not foreseen what was about to happen.

Tana whirled in, dressed in something-or-other that looked like a tunic and MC Hammer pants in colors that Jace believed were the colors sent to the corner by regular colors for being offensive. Her once brown curls looked newly dyed at the tips in turquoise. They had not been the last time Jace had seen her.

Admittedly, that was a while ago, with everything that had happened.

Bubbling with her usual joy, Tana bounded toward him and jumped up at him like that first popcorn popping in a pot. He knew it would come and still, it came as a surprise.

"Jacey!"

"What are you doing here, you crazy girl?" Jace grabbed her in time to slow the impact, and she weighed next to nothing, making it easy for him to turn the tackle attempt into a hug. He was happy he had put the cup down; some people were too predictable.