Card Shark: Defining the Gray

Part 2

by Dash

Peddling into the secure parking garage I yawned, thankful that the day was finally over. It had been a quiet day, as Tuesdays often were, and I had spent most of it in my office doing paperwork. The administrative side of my job had increased steadily, which both pleased me and bored me to tears. My schedule was starting to follow a more traditional schedule and the only time I was actually working on the weekends now was if we were short staffed or if the casino and town were particularly busy. But Vegas was slow right now, time of the season and the economic situation having double the impact. As a result, it was just after 6pm and I was home for the evening. Carefully pulling my bike into the spot next to my car, I was pleased to see that Charlie’s car – meaning Charlie himself – was already safely where it belonged. Touching the hood, I was surprised that it was cold. Unlike me, he drove to work every day, a 20 minute trip to one of the nearby neighborhoods and an anonymous office park that housed his foundation. Maybe, like my day, it had been slow at the office and he had cut out early.

Like most people, I knew he had mixed feelings about going to work every day. The structure and routine were very beneficial and he actually enjoyed his work but at the same time, it did get old. But he knew how important it was, knew I wouldn’t put up with him not doing something productive during the day and also knew that he too would get bored by not working. That still didn’t stop him from cutting out early whenever he felt he could justify it to himself.

The condo smelled amazing as I opened the front door and was greeted with the smell of sausage and garlic. “Hey,” I called as I shut the door behind me and flipped the deadbolt. Dropping my keys onto the hall table as I toed off my shoes, I padded down the hall. “Smells good in here - thanks for getting it started.” Both of us enjoyed cooking and making up a menu for the week and grocery shopping together was our traditional Sunday morning activity. I could hear water running and the bedroom door was shut. That should have raised some question in my mind, I knew Charlie – the love of my life, would never hurt a fly, totally faithful and devoted – but also one of the most wanted criminals in Las Vegas, and I should have immediately asked what was going on. But, I didn’t. Instead, I blindly opened the door and began to undress with the thought of joining him in the shower playing through my mind. The bathroom door was open just a bit and I could hear him in there.

“I’ll be out in a second, Joe!” he called over the water.

“Don’t rush on my account,” I said with a smile, the idea of quick shower sex growing in appeal every moment. “How about some company?”

A long moment later, I heard the water shut off, “As tempting as that sounds honey, I’ve been in here so long, the water’s getting cool and I’m getting wrinkled.” I heard the shower door open as he added, “Maybe you can go check on the sausages for me? I don’t want them to get burnt and I’m starting to smell them even in here.”

That should have been Red Flag number two. Unless he was sick, Charlie had never turned down sex since we had been together. To say we had a good sex life would be like saying Einstein was smart. It was something we both had enjoyed when we were single and now that we were together, the pleasure had just increased. I wouldn’t say it ever took the place of more traditional couple bonding and conversations but---more-- enhanced them. Fighting became a lot less stressful when you knew that you’d be making up in bed or on the living room floor or the couch or the kitchen counter or the dining room table or several times outside on the balcony off the bedroom. Leaving for work and being separated for twelve hours a day became less wistful when you were fully satisfied from early morning activities. Many times, it also served to strengthen the secondary relationship we had together where Charlie willingly, most of the times happily, submitted to me and lived within the rules we came up with and I enforced.

Unfortunately, none of that was on my mind and instead, now changed into sweat pants and a t-shirt, I dutifully went into the kitchen to check on the cooking sausages.

He appeared five minutes later with damp hair and dressed in long, baggy shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. Coming up behind me at the stove, he wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed, reaching up to kiss my neck and check. “Hi honey,” he whispered. “God I missed you, how was your day?”

I felt his head rest on my shoulder and his warm breath sigh against my skin and smiled, reaching out and squeezing his hands clasped around my waist. “It was fine, kind of boring but this is much better.” I stirred the sauce and felt him relax against me, still holding on tight. “How was yours? Did you get home early?”

He sighed again and kissed my shoulder before letting go and standing up straight. “It was OK. I had a lunch thing to do and that was long. Food was questionable, crappy dessert – something with fruit, if you can believe they would even call that dessert - and boring speeches.”

Turning around, I smiled, “Was the food really that bad or just to you?”

He grinned and gave me a small shrug. “I don’t know but I wasn’t touching it. It was deli and ¼” His voice trailed off as he shuddered at the horror of eating deli meat that he hadn’t picked out or carefully inspected for quality and numerous other criteria before he’d even taste it. “I stopped at McDonalds on my way back but then ended up running into an old friend and didn’t make it back to the office. I was busy with him until 3ish and then just came home.”

Behind me, I heard him getting into the cupboard and the tinkle of ice and water hitting the glass. A moment later, I turned around as I heard him mutter “Shit”.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking at him standing there. He looked tense and had a funny expression on his face but I couldn’t read it. Looking at him for a second, I asked, “Problems?”

He shook his head and took a sip of water casually. “No, just cold. Hit my teeth wrong or something.”

The words came out strangely but I couldn’t put my finger on what the issue was. “OK.” Then smiling to break the strange air that suddenly had filled the kitchen, I nodded toward his glass. “Thanks for offering Charlie, I’d love a glass of water too while I slave over a hot stove to cook us dinner.”

He laughed, the weird mood gone as quickly as it had come as he countered, “That I started for us.” Still, he got another glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water and ice before handing it to me with a kiss, darting away as I made a grab for him to pull him closer and claim more than a quick peck on the cheek.

As he leaned back against the counter, the evening that had started so strangely settled back into its normal routine of chatting about people we both knew, what was going on in the world and how our days had gone.

Coming into the living room after dinner, I was surprised to see him sitting on the love seat, feet on the cushion, flipping through a magazine. I couldn’t remember the last time he sat on the love seat instead of the couch with me. Mentally shaking my head, I inwardly wondered if I could or should say something. Had I done something to piss him off? He wasn’t acting like it and we had certainly gotten along this morning. But now, he acted like he didn’t want to be around me. He had fled the dining room as soon as dinner was over, making some excuse about the bathroom and was gone for at least ten minutes and was now camped out for an evening five feet away from me, clearly taking up the whole space. It was such a strange situation, I honestly wasn’t sure what was going on. How exactly do you comment on your lover not wanting to have quicky sex in the shower, even though the water was getting cool, not wanting to make out while making dinner and now daring to sit on a piece of furniture different than you, without sounding either paranoid or possessive in a bad way? I should have gone with my gut and confronted him, but instead I went the casual route.

“So what do you want to watch?” I asked, sitting on the couch and picking up the remote. The TV clicked on to the start of the 7:30 local news, leading with a story about a shooting at a local casino.

“Oh!” Charlie said excitedly, “turn it to Channel 13!”

“Just a second, I want to hear this. Which casino?” The news reporter was standing in the parking lot, a dark looming shape behind her as she discussed what was thought to be an attempted car jacking that turned into a gun battle as both the victim and the perpetrators opened fire on each other. The victim had been shot but was recovering in the local hospital and the police were still looking for the would-be hijackers.

“Oh, it wasn’t anything big,” Charlie said dismissively, “Some place way outside town, it was in the parking lot, not inside. I heard about it driving home this afternoon. Can we please watch Jeopardy? The news is depressing.”

Like in the kitchen earlier, I felt a strange note of tension in his voice, a weird feeling in the air, for a minute and glanced at him.

Catching me looking at him, he gave me a cocky grin. “Unless of course you’re afraid of getting beaten .. again .. by me.”

I shook my head, flipping the tv from the news to the game show as he laughed and the tension once again left the room.

It was a strange evening; on the surface everything was fine, but my gut kept telling me something was off. We chatted, joked, laughed like normal but Charlie seemed just a bit off. His laugh was a little delayed and if I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, I’d catch him with his head leaning against the love seat back. Maybe he was simply tired or not feeling 100%, a headache or something, and that was it. Just an off evening but nothing Wrong and nothing I could really talk to him about.

Two hours later, half way through a show, Charlie suddenly stood up, “I’m really tired. You can finish watching but I think I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed.”

As he passed, I reached out and snagged him, pulling him closer as I leaned up, eying him. “Are you OK? You’ve been quiet all evening?”

He smiled and nodded, leaning down to kiss me quickly. “I’m good, Joe. Just tired or something, it was a long day.”

Eying him, not letting go of his hand, I studied him for another long moment. “You know, if there’s anything wrong, anything I’ve done or haven’t done, we can talk about it. Right? I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken.”

Charlie smiled again, “I swear, it’s not you, it’s me.” His smile turned into a grin, “Since you seem concerned, maybe the classic break up line isn’t the best to use right now but I promise. I’m just tired and sore and it’s just been a long day.” Pulling his hand free, he added, “Come to bed when you’re done watching TV, I’m just going to read for a bit.”

Watching him walk into the bedroom, I turned back to the tv for just a minute before the little voice in my head finally spoke loud enough to catch my attention. Something was wrong, maybe not with Us but Charlie wasn’t acting like himself. He had a bad cold two months prior and hadn’t acted like this. It was time to stop doubting myself, acting passive and get to the bottom of what was going on. Even if there wasn’t anything in particular, we didn’t have the kind of relationship where we went to bed separately, each keeping a polite distance from each other.

I could hear the shower running went I stepped into the bedroom and wasn’t surprised to see the bathroom door shut. Silently walking over, I opened it without knocking and saw him standing there, naked, examining his left arm in the mirror, bandages wadded up on the sink.

His eyes met mine in the mirror and he smiled, “Before you get upset, let me explain.”

My voice froze for a second before I said coolly, “In order for that to happen, you should have explained about three hours ago.” Walking into the bathroom, I gently took his arm as he started to pull away. Swatting him quickly with my other free hand against his bare butt, I said sharply, “Stop and let me look.”

“Joe ¼”

“Stop,” I ordered again, looking at his arm. “You had your chance to explain and you decided not to take advantage of it so now you get to stand here quietly and answer my questions.”

“Can I at least put some clothes on?” he asked.

“No.” Looking closely at his arm, I could see an angry red crease about four inches long, slightly bleeding in some places, several butterfly steri-strips holding some of the deeper areas together. The singed skin and shape clearly indicated that red hot metal had met flesh.

“Joe¼”

I swatted him again, making him jump. “I said quietly, Charlie and I mean it.”

“I was just going to ask about the water!” he protested, his voice rising in indignant defense.

I looked up at him. “Do you honestly think that the shower is top on my priority list right now?”

“Well, we are suppose to conserve ¼” His voice trailed off into a resentful sulk.

Talking him carefully by the other arm, I walked us out of the bathroom. “Corner,” I said simply, nodding in the direction of the room’s corner we kept clear specifically for this purpose. Typically, all discipline happened in the spare bedroom but in the early days of our relationship, I found that it was best to be prepared when dealing with Charlie. As a result, every one of our rooms except the kitchen had an empty corner, the furniture carefully arranged for direct access without it being too obvious. Letting go of his arm, I swatted him again adding, “Now, please.”

He turned and looked at me. “Can I at least explain?”

“You have ten seconds to face the corner or I’ll turn you over my lap right now and paddle you,” I said angrily. “We’ve been together all evening and you somehow managed to forget that you’d been shot.” I took a deep breath as I heard my voice quaver slightly over the last word. “I am correct, right? That’s a bullet graze?”

“Just a graze, not shot,” he countered.

“Ten seconds, Charlie. I suggest you move quickly,” I said, closing my eyes for the briefest second before nodding toward the corner.

“Can I at least put on clothes?”

“Eight seconds.”

Sitting on the bed, I took several deep breaths to try to regain my composure. I had shut off the shower and gotten a glass of water and was slowly sipping at it, careful not to spill any as my hand shook slightly. Still sitting on the edge of the bed, I studied his posture. As was typical, he had all but stomped into the corner, standing rigid, arms defiantly folded but now, ten minutes later, had started to relax into the punishment. “All right, let’s start at the beginning please,” I said calmly.

He turned around. “Joe ¼”

“Turn back around, I can hear you just fine with you facing the corner as you answer my questions,” I said sharply. He knew better and making him explain while still in the corner was nothing new. It allowed me to pace the conversation with him only speaking when spoken to.

“Fine,” he shot back, turning around, arms once again folded against his chest.

I was up in a second and to him in three steps. Landing two quick, sharp swats on his butt, I rested my hand on his skin as I leaned in. “I suggest that you drop the attitude now or this evening will go much worse for you. Is that understood?” As he nodded, I rubbed his butt again and stepped back, returning to my seat on the bed. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

He took a deep breath before saying, “First off, I didn’t lie to you. I might not have told you everything but I want it on the record that I didn’t lie to you.” Glancing over his shoulder for a quick second, he flashed me a small smile.

That smile was exactly why we tended to have these conversations with him in the corner. I don’t know if it was some special skill or part of whatever allowed him to literally disappear or what, but it took all of my concentration not to soften. As it was, I felt myself smile slightly back at him. “All right,” I said. “You didn’t lie exactly with words, just through omission.”

“So, I told you that lunch sucked, right?” He paused, waiting for me to answer, hopefully for a dialogue that he could use, but I was on to that trick and remained quiet. When I didn’t say anything, he continued, “And so I knew that there was a McDonalds in the old Snake Eyes casino that wasn’t too far for me. I really don’t know that area well so it’s not like I had a lot of other options, you know?”

“That would be the Snake Eyes casino that’s always on the verge of being shut down by NGC and on the news monthly for the typical mixed bag of drug busts, bodies, fights and prostitute sting operations?”

Charlie glanced over his shoulder again and smiled. “Oh good, so you know where it is and you know that there’s like nothing even near it.”

Vowing to keep my mouth shut, I motioned for him to turn back around and continue.

“So, because there’s nothing near it and I was starving and I know how you feel about skipping lunch and me not eating, I thought it would be OK. It’s McDonalds, it was the middle of the day and I swear, I was just going in to get some food.” He laughed slightly, “Trust me, I never even looked at those crooked tables. They’ve got tricks that put my actions to shame. Did I ever tell you ....”

“I’m not interested,” I said firmly, cutting him off.

“OK, I was just explaining how I was just going in for food and nothing else,” he said in a hurt tone. “So I eat and read in the restaurant, never even going anywhere else I swear. As I’m getting ready to leave, I’m out in the parking deck and out of nowhere, this guy drives up in this way too tripped out Cadillac convertible, music blasting, wheels doing that stupid spinning thing, I swear he even had neon board lights going on. What he was doing in that sort of place, I’m sure we can both imagine and out of nowhere, two other guys leap out of this scuzzy looking panel van and rush the car. They draw guns, I drop behind some poor Camry, just trying to get out of the way and then all hell breaks loose.”

Despite my resolve to be firm, I stood up and moved toward him, turning him around and pulling him close. I felt him melt into me, head resting on my shoulder as his arms wrapped around my waist. My own arms went around him, holding him close, one hand resting on his butt, the other on the small of his back.

“I’m not sure exactly what happened but as I was moving away, I don’t know if a bullet came through the car or just ricocheted off or what but one grazed me.” He took a deep breath, “I was so scared, I was afraid to look until I was in my car and out of there. I could feel it bleeding some but knew the bone wasn’t broken so I didn’t think I had actually been shot, I thought maybe just glass or something.”

Taking a deep breath, I steeled my resolve and kissed him gently. Patting his butt, I let go and turned him back into the corner. “So then what happened?” I didn’t want to totally cave and start coddling him but at the same time, didn’t want to be as far away as the bed any longer.

He shrugged, “I took off my shirt, saw it was only a bad scratch, stopped at the drug store and came home to patch myself up.” Glancing at me, he gave me a small smile. “Well, I threw up too as I was driving away but that was just nerves I think and I got my head out the door so the car’s fine.” His smile widened as he composed himself. “In fact, I checked and I didn’t even get any blood on the upholstery. I am out of napkins though in the car and will have to stock back up next time I go through a drive-through.”

I looked at him for a long minute before asking, “But why didn’t you tell me, Charlie?”

Sighing, he shrugged. “I don’t know.” He turned slightly and made the smallest movement toward me and I caved, opening my arms back up and allowing him to fold himself back into me. “I didn’t want you to worry or be upset.” He gave a short laugh. “I didn’t want to get in trouble for being in a scuzzy casino like that even though I was doing nothing but eating. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it because it scared me but I was fine. I’ve taken care of myself for plenty of years without you and I’m perfectly capable of doing it even though we’re together. I wanted to handle it myself, not have you charge in and save me.”

“That’s not what would have happened,” I countered quickly but we both knew it was a lie. If Charlie had called me, I would have beaten him home.

He laughed, squeezing me tight. “Yeah, honey, if you say so.”

I held him and thought about the next step. Part of me – a big part of me – still wanted to turn him over my lap and paddle him for numerous offenses. Keeping something like this from me, being in a scuzzy casino, acting like this was no big deal when it clearly was, to impress in a very direct way just how big of a deal I thought this was. But another part of me knew that it wouldn’t do any good. I could paddle him, I could make him cry and be sorry but it wouldn’t change the action and I doubt it would make him think the next time he got into some sort of crisis. Only time and slowly changing old habits would do that and even then, I wasn’t holding my breath. Charlie was smart, supremely confident in his own abilities to handle situations and able enough to pull off pretty much anything he needed to. The truth was, he didn’t need me to bail him out of a crisis. Instead, I would need to be content to be around for the story and explanation afterwards.

He cleared his throat softly, shifting against my hand that still rested on his bare butt. “So ... where do we go from here?”

“Are you asking if I’m going to spank you?”

“Or paddle but if you’re debating between the two, I’ve always found the intimacy of your hand comforting ¼ so to speak,” he said with a small laugh.

I shook my head, “No, but that’s not to say I remotely approve of you not telling me. Is that clear? From now on, this sort of story is the first thing out of your mouth when I walk through the door.”

He pulled back and grinned, “Can I say Hi first or ..”

The rest of his words were cut off as I swatted him hard. “Is that clear?”

“Yes and I know and I’m sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t tell you and then didn’t know how to tell you and then it just ... I’ll just say it next time.”

I nodded, “Good because while stripping you down every day when I get home or making you walk around naked sounds very appealing ¼”

Charlie laughed, “Hey, now that’s an idea ... kinky and will probably up the heating cost but ¼”

I cut him off again and shook my head, “It would be easier if we save that for fun and I can trust you to tell me next time.”

“I will. Promise.”

I reluctantly let him go, “Get ready for bed, it’s late and we still have this matter to put behind us. Take a shower if you want and I’ll help you redress your arm.”

He hesitated, “What are you going to do? I promised that I’d tell you next time.”

“Charlie, really, do you think that questioning what I’m telling you to do is the smartest course of action right now? I’m sick of arguing with you, I’m tired of telling you things multiple times tonight. Go take a shower and get ready for bed.”

He bolted for the bathroom.

Both nightstand lights were on, casting the bed in soft light in the otherwise dark room. The covers were pooled at the bottom of the bed as Charlie lay on his stomach, squirming slightly under my gaze. His hands were at his side, legs spread wide and a fresh bandage secure on his arm.

“Please,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“One of the things that drew you to me was my ability to see you,” I said softly, looking at him as my hand drifted down his back to his butt. “You want to be with someone who can see you, right?”

He smiled and tried to laugh as his blush spread up his cheeks, “Yeah but this is sort of a bit much.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I said softly, patting his butt. “On your back, please. Pull your legs up and hold them out.”

The blush on his face deepened as he dutifully rolled over and his legs were pulled up and spread, fully exposing himself, waiting for me to enter him. “This isn’t fair.”

I grinned at him, “Well, considering what you’ve been hiding, is it any wonder I want to examine every part of you?” Leaning down, I kissed him deeply, thrusting my tongue fully inside his mouth as my fingers kept up the same rhythm inside him for several long moments before pulling back, leaving Charlie breathlessly quiet. “You’re mine, Charlie, all of you, what happens to you, is my business. What you look like is my business, every part of you is mine to examine and touch and look at as much as I want.” Moving my fingers again, causing him to squirm and whimper, I smiled. This lesson would be much more enjoyable and educational on who was in charge than simply spanking him.

The End.