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Eli was nervously staring at his boss’s front door. Night had already fallen, and the streetlights barely reached the pathway he was standing on. He had not moved close enough yet for the porch light to come on. It was a nice door, he decided, he could be looking at it all night long if he so wanted to.
Steeling himself, he took another step forward; so far, he had taken about ten steps in the last 15 minutes. He had to get this conversation over with now before he talked himself into postponing it again, as he had so many times over the last few days. There were lights on inside, so his boss was home. Emily was not home, as Cal had mentioned that morning that she was staying over at her mom’s this week.
Step by step, he slowly walked forward until he was within reach of the doorbell. He pushed it quickly before he could convince himself, again, to turn back and go home. Cursing himself, he felt so pathetic. There was still time to quickly run away before Cal reached the front door. Closing his eyes tightly in annoyance, he stayed where he was. Why was he doing this to himself? His stomach clenched from all the stress he was feeling, and for a second, he thought he might get sick.
‘Throwing up on your boss’s front porch is bad business, Eli’ he thought sternly to himself as he tried to push the feeling down by carefully breathing in the fresh outside air. It took a while before Cal opened the door, and by then Eli was feeling a bit woozy from the stress of it all. He might have also been holding his breath, he could not remember.
“What are you doing here then?” Cal’s voice startled him back to the present. The man stood in the door opening curiously looking at him. He was still wearing his clothes from earlier today, Eli noticed. He had lost the jacket and rolled the sleeves up, but it was still that same dark blue coloured shirt.
“I was- “Eli stammered. “I was hoping I could talk to you?”
Cal studied him for a second and Eli could already feel his body react to the scrutiny. He was doomed and he had not even gone inside yet. He was certain his cheeks were reddening just the tiniest bit from having Cal’s full attention on himself. Hopefully, the darkness outside covered that for him but he did not hold much hope for that to be true.
“In you go then,” Cal said before turning around and walking back to his living room. Eli scrambled to get inside, close the door softly, and follow where Cal had gone.
Eli walked into the living room, surprised at the cozy and welcoming atmosphere it held. “Want something to drink?” he heard from the room next over.
“No, I don’t intend to stay long.” Eli answered. Besides, he would be tempted to drink some courage, and getting drunk or even a little bit tipsy right now would be a horrible idea. And his stomach was still trying to pull itself into knots, so it might not be a smart idea to drink anything anyway.
“Oh?” Cal stuck his head through the open door of what Eli assumed would be the kitchen. Cal walked back into the living room carrying two glasses and a bottle of wine. “You sure?” He put everything on the coffee table.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Eli answered before taking a seat on the couch. Cal slouched down on the armchair right next to it.
“What did you want to talk about?” Cal asked him, tilting his head in question.
“I uhm- “Eli closed his eyes. Fuck, he could do this! “I came to tender my resignation, effective immediately.” He quickly spat the words out before he could once again fail his own expectations of going through with it. His words echoed just a bit too loudly in his own ears. He could mentally hit himself over it, even to his own ears that sounded way off to his normal speech.
Cal didn’t react, just looked at him for a good solid minute. Eli mentally counted the soft tick-tocks from the wall clock. “Why is that?” came the expected question.
Eli had prepared himself for this. He hadn’t had a good start to this conversation so far and he hoped he could still sound somewhat convincing. Taking a deep breath, he answered “I learned a lot at your company and I’m grateful for the chances I’ve gotten. I just feel like I’m ready to move on to other challenges. I’m also barely scraping by and with other jobs I might have a better chance of growth in both position and salary.”
“Now that might be good reasons why you should actually leave the company but that isn’t all there is to it” Cal vaguely motioned to Eli’s face “I don’t buy it.” He put his fist against his own mouth and leaned on the armrest. “What’s really going on Loker?”
Eli didn’t think Cal could look any more focused than he was right now. He wasn’t sure what to answer and so remained silent, his eyes drifting down so he could stare at the ground instead of his boss’s face.
“Interesting” Cal followed up “what are you feeling ashamed of then?”
Eli panicked; this wasn’t the way this conversation was supposed to go. “That’s all there is to it doctor Lightman.” He stood up quickly “I do wish you all the best with the company and please give my sincerest best to the rest of the group.” He turned to leave.
“No, no, no” Cal reacted, suddenly sitting up straight from his slouch. “Sit back down, you’re not leaving until you’ve given me the full truth of what’s going on here.”
Eli couldn’t stop himself from turning back towards Cal when he spoke. Cowering under his intense gaze he sat back down, shoulders hunched, and eyes focused on the carpet between his feet.
“You like this job too much, and if it was just about money, you’d have brought it up with Gillian if not with me.”
Eli shifted uncomfortably.
“What’s going on Loker?” his boss was all seriousness now. “Are you in trouble? Is someone blackmailing you?”
“No Cal, this is my decision.” Eli did not look up from the floor.
“Now why don’t I believe that? Are you resigning because you want to or because you feel you have to?”
“Because I want to, can I just leave now?” Eli made another attempt to get up from the couch again.
“No. Sit down.” Eli sat back down, not having fully stood up yet.
“Why do you feel like you have to resign? Did you do something illegal?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just personal.” Eli replied. “I shouldn’t be staying here, I should go, I’m going.” He didn’t move however, Cal’s gaze still pinning him to his spot on the couch. Eli could feel himself shiver slightly. It wasn’t that he was cold but the mental stress of not wanting to have this conversation was getting to him.
Cal did not immediately answer, he did however open the bottle of red, filled both glasses and pushed one in Eli’s hands.
“You’re here resigning while you don’t want to. You could have just walked out the door at any point in this conversation because once resigned I have no say in what you do anymore. But you stay because I told you to, which tells me that you don’t actually want to leave at all.”
Eli sighed softly. Why did he ever think this would have ended well? He took a polite sip, before holding the glass in his lap. His stomach didn’t rebel yet, lucky him.
Cal continued: “Then there is the fact that you come all the way to my private home to do so. You’re avoiding your colleagues, but I don’t think this has anything to do with them. You’re resigning because of something to do with me.”
Eli felt his own involuntary flinch with that last statement. Busted.
“Oh, so it does have to do with me” Cal casually sipped his wine, eyes still studying Eli.
Eli set the glass back on the table. “You’re right, I’m no longer your employee, I’m going.” This time he did manage to get up from the couch and take a couple of steps towards the front door.
Cal caught up by the time he’d reached the doorway towards the entrance hall. He startled when he felt himself being pulled by his arm, and before he knew it, he had his back against the wall and Cal crowding him in, forearm keeping his chest pinned in place.
He felt his body react, fuck. Surprised by the sudden move, he found himself looking into Cal’s eyes. Having the older man so close to him felt like too much and Eli quickly averted his eyes.
“Now that is an interesting reaction” Cal said, obviously having noticed how his pupils just dilated before he’d had the chance to hide. “Sit back down on the couch.” Cal walked back towards his armchair, certain that Eli would follow.
Defeated, Eli followed and sat back down on the couch. He was so screwed.
“Look” Cal started and Eli was surprised to hear his soothing voice, the one he used to calm people down. And oh god, he’d just become one of those people. While he never thought he’d be in this position that his own boss would have to work his ways on him, he couldn’t deny the comfort it offered. Eli felt himself relax a little bit.
Cal continued “there’s obviously something going on that I have completely missed while we were working together. You’re a good employee, I like working with you. If it’s about the money I can just give you a raise. I’ll probably still give you a raise, but you’ve got to tell me what that whole reaction was about”.
Eli closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. Letting out a sigh he said “Cal, I can’t” and hunched in on himself. This was the reason he dreaded having this conversation with his boss. There was no hiding possible with the man.
The older man moved to sit beside him. Suddenly Eli had another thigh pressed against his own and he only had to lean sideways an inch or so to rest against Cal’s upper body beneath the arm he’d slung over the back of the couch. He froze.
He should have moved over, created more space between them, but Cal’s body heat was enticing him to remain put, he took it as the quiet support it was probably meant as. So, Eli stayed where he was, eyes averted so he didn’t have to look his boss in the eyes. From this close he wasn’t sure if he could keep his body reacting more than it already had. The situation was quickly starting to become way too much and while his earlier stress was somewhat ebbing away with the gentle manner that Cal was treating him, he started feeling nervous for entirely different reasons.
Who was he even trying to fool anymore. He’d betray his own secrets no matter how hard he’d try to hide. Toeing his shoes off he pulled his feet on the couch and wrapped his arms around his knees.
“So, you’re attracted to me, is that it?” Cal casually asked.
“That’s not- “.
“You got aroused when I put you against the wall just now. So, is it me, or is it what I did?” Cal’s tone was gentle as he interrupted.
Eli refused to answer but he knew Cal could feel him stiffening up from so close.
“So, is it one or the other, or both?”
Eli turned his head away, ashamed. A gentle hand firmly grasped his chin however and turned his face back towards Cal. “Don’t hide from me”. Eli still kept his eyes averted.
“Cal-” Eli trailed off, what was he even going to say anymore?
“The whole conversation here tonight will remain between us. I won’t tell anyone what it is that’s been bothering you. Alright love?” Eli wasn’t sure if the endearment slipped out by accident or not. He couldn’t tell if his boss was lying to him, he’d never had a good read on the man, but he did feel trustworthy. He had to be trustworthy, or Eli would never forgive himself for what was undoubtedly going to follow.
“I – “. Eli wasn’t sure where to begin. How does one even explain these things to their boss? He took a deep breath to compose himself. The truth had been eating at him for a while and maybe, just maybe, Cal would let him go if he knew. “I resigned because I’ve been getting aroused at wildly inappropriate times, and I felt it best to distance myself from the situation.”
“Elaborate.”
Eli risked a quick glance at his boss’s face, he couldn’t find anything but the gentle encouragement and curiosity he’d been projecting since leading him back to the couch.
“I may have a thing for power displays” Eli admitted quietly.
When there was no physical reaction he could feel, he risked another glance at Cal’s face. The raised eyebrow and cocked head pushed him to keep going. He didn’t notice any disgust or anger, but he might have missed the initial reaction. So far, Cal just remained a solid warmth right next to him and Eli trusted that more than his own inability to read the man’s expressions.
“I’ve always admired you greatly, that’s never been a secret. I believe the others called it puppy love?” Eli could see a pleased smile tugging at Cal’s lips. “I’ve admired your knowledge, the sheer competence you portray and perhaps even the bit of arrogance colouring your words and actions. Recently however, I’ve been getting hard from watching your power displays. Of you running circles around people you know can’t afford to react. Of you commanding the room in about any situation you step into. Of you faking anger or violence when trying to get someone to talk” Eli closed his eyes, ashamed of himself. “And I don’t know what to do with this” he finished feeling quite miserable about himself, he sounded like it too. He hugged his knees even tighter, hiding his face against them.
Cal studied him carefully and considering he was still right next to him Eli felt he probably wouldn’t be getting chased out of the house.
“You didn’t leave a resignation letter at the office, did you?” he was eventually asked.
“No?” Eli asked more than said out of surprise.
“Good, you’re not resigning.”
“What? But Cal-. “
“You heard me, got anything to say to that?”
Eli hesitated. “No” he answered after a short pause, resigned to his fate.
“I understand that something has to change for you to feel comfortable” Call continued. “we’ll start with the raise; I’ll talk it over with Gill next week.”
“Okay?” Eli had no clue where this was going.
“Now, I cannot leave you out of my cases, I do need your eyes on the room and I’m not changing the way I do things. Are you opposed to me helping you out in another way?”
Eli just stared at him. What?
“I see you’re not opposed, good.”
Cal moved quickly, the arm he’d had slung over the back of the couch now reached out to grab a hold of Eli’s hair, firmly but not painfully. His other hand grabbed both of Eli’s wrists and held them tightly while he leaned in to kiss him.
With the sudden firm hold Eli froze but soon enough melted into the kiss. Opening his mouth after a short tug on his hair made it so much better. Cal’s tongue in his mouth felt like something he had been sorely missing before.
Cal kept him grounded. He pulled a little against the hold on his hands but found out he couldn’t easily pull free. Eli moaned at the feeling, Cal’s strength only making him feel more aroused.
Closing his eyes, he prayed that this very moment could just go on forever. He could hear himself whine when Cal eventually pulled away from his lips, his hands however stayed firmly in place.
“Do you want to have sex with me?” Cal asked straightforward. “Oh, yes you do” he grinned, answering his own question when he saw Eli’s expression.
Eli felt himself going hazy. This was definitely not the way he’d expected the evening to go at all. He wasn’t certain what was going on anymore. Bu wherever Cal was leading this, he’d be sure to follow as long as the man kept kissing him.
Cal leaned back and released the hold on his wrists, Eli found he missed it immediately. The hand in his hair released its hold but started gently scratching. The gentle feeling made him want to melt all over again and he could feel the last tension in his body ebbing away.
Eli tucked his legs beneath himself and turned more towards Cal, who seemed entirely unaffected by the whole earthshattering kiss. Eli’s gaze darted to Cal’s eyes and then down to his lips. Should he risk going in for a kiss himself?
“Go on, ask your question.”
“Huh?” Eli looked back up into Cal’s eyes.
“You look pretty confused right now. So, ask your question.” A smile tugged at Cal’s lips.
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re aroused by my power displays, and I can’t deny that I enjoy putting them on. We can’t honestly deal with that at the office so we can deal with it in private. You enjoyed me forcefully taking the lead, you definitely want to have sex with me. So, there you go.”
Eli blushed from having it laid out so plainly, as if this was an everyday thing.
“I didn’t think-. “Eli trailed off, he wasn’t sure what he was thinking anymore.
“It’s alright, love.” Cal assured him.
“it’s humiliating for you to know exactly what I want; how can I know that you even want this and aren’t just humouring me?”
“I’m pretty good at knowing what I want, and I don’t read people I work with, you know that.”
“Then what was all this about?” Eli blinked.
“Well,” Cal grinned, “you resigned and as such gave up that privacy.”
“Right, but I’m rehired now, yes?” Eli looked up at Cal, pulling a very slight pouty lip.
“Yeah” Cal laughed “you’re rehired.”
“So, you’ll stop reading me?”
“Nah, you just got a whole lot more interesting, I promise I’ll keep it at home though.”
“Liar” Eli smiled. “You deflected my question though; how do I know that this is even something you want? What is even on the table here?”
Cal didn’t reply but just grabbed the hand closest to him and pulled it down into his own lap. Feeling the hardness there Eli made a shocked little sound.
“That answer enough for you?” Cal raised his eyebrows looking at Eli and released his hand.
Eli was too stunned to give much of a reaction.
In the end, he didn’t have to give one. “We do have to have a talk about this” Cal shifted closer, carefully keeping his eyes on Eli’s face.
“Yeah?” Eli asked, licking his lips nervously.
Cal’s gaze dipped down to watch his lips “yeah” he agreed before pushing forward and forcing Eli to lie flat on his back. He let up just enough that Eli could get his legs in a more comfortable position and moved back in for a kiss.
Eli’s hands found their way around Cal’s neck and then he proceeded to lose himself in the wet heat of Cal’s mouth.
“But later” Cal whispered against his lips in between kisses before leaning back down to kiss him some more. Eli moaned as he could feel Cal’s full weight pin him against the couch.
He bucked up into the solid man above him, trying to get some friction to get off.
One of Cal’s hands snuck down his chest to start undoing the buttons, keeping him distracted with heated kisses while he managed to get Eli out of his clothing.
Trailing down small little strokes down his chest, Cal was soon scratching softly through the hairs at his happy trail. He did have to react quickly when Eli’s hands snuck down to the bottom of his own shirt to pull it up.
“Na-ah love, arms around my neck, and he pulled Eli’s hands right back to where he wanted them.
Eli moaned as he tightened his hold around Cal, heat pooled low in his belly at the thought of him being naked while Cal stayed clothed.
“Caaaaal” he whined as the man in question started laying kisses up and down his neck, occasionally kissing him on the lips.
“Yeah love?” the man whispered against his throat.
“Please” Eli begged as he tried to buck up more into the heat above him.
“Please what?” Eli could feel the grin against his skin.
“I … I need …” Eli wasn’t completely sure what he needed. He was feeling too hot, his heart was racing and everywhere Cal touched felt like liquid fire.
“I’ve got you” Cal grabbed both of his hands again and pushed them above his head against the armrest. “Keep them there.” He sat up and made quick work of undoing Eli’s pants and pulling them down to his knees together with his underwear.
Eli could feel himself blushing as he was bared to the other’s eyes. The cool air didn’t bother him so much as his own dick was freed. He was hot and he needed Cal to do something about it.
Undoing his own pants Cal pulled himself out and moved back on top, using his legs to keep Eli from moving his lower body.
“Caaaal” Eli whined his name again when he found he had no leverage to push up anymore. The man had to know he needed more than this. While he needed to be touched, he also revelled in the feeling of being made to wait, even if a little bit. He had no power here and it turned him on like he’d never been before.
Cal pulled his arms back down around his neck. “I’ve got you” he whispered against Eli’s lips before capturing them both in another longwinded kiss. He let his eyes slip closed as he lost himself into the hold of the older man.
Their tongues were leisurely getting to know each other when Cal finally pushed down. They both moaned at the feeling when their dicks finally touched, and Cal quickly moved a hand down to hold them together.
Eli could do nothing more than hold on tight and submit to Cal’s rhythm. With a broken sound Eli eventually pushed up against him as much as he could and came. His come sticking to his belly and to Cal’s shirt. He couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it when he blissfully relaxed into the couch.
Cal followed a few thrusts later, eyes focused on Eli’s face. He slid a little to the side so he could lie down as well but still keep most of his weight off the other. Breathing heavily Eli moved in for a kiss and smiled when he was granted one without any hesitation.
Cal recovered first and gently cupping Eli’s face he softly stroked along his cheek. He could feel his own face soften as he looked at Eli slowly calming down.
When Eli felt like he had himself back under control he turned his face to look at Cal. Feeling content he let his face relax into a smile. Cal pecked him on the lips and slid off the couch to stand up. The older man pulled his shirt over his head and Eli grinned at finally seeing his boss shirtless. The man was handsome, and he couldn’t believe his luck that he got to have this now.
Not wanting to move yet Eli watched with half lidded eyes how Cal balled up the shirt and disappeared into the kitchen. When he came back out his own stomach was clean, and he was carrying a wet cloth he used to clean Eli up. When Cal cleaned his dick gently, he could feel himself twitch, but for now he wasn’t up for a second round.
Eli couldn’t be bothered to move, and he just remained halfway unclothed on the couch watching Cal do his things and putting away the cloth.
“You good?” Cal asked when he once again returned from the kitchen and sat down besides Eli. His hands gently started tracing lines over Eli’s chest. It felt a bit uncertain as if Cal was afraid he’d be rejected now.
“Yeah” Eli bent down to pull his own pants back up. Buttoning them he didn’t make any motion to look for his shirt.
“Come on” Call smiled at him, “you’re sleeping with me tonight.”
Eli let himself be pulled up from the couch and led upstairs towards Cal’s bedroom.
Where Cal would go, he would follow.
He was alright with that.