All Wrong for Each Other

"Listen, I think you should start coming to my house instead of meeting me here," Caelen stated.

"No, I already told you, it's not safe to be seen with me. If I showed up at your house on a regular basis..."

"What?" Caelen asked curiously. Then he snorted in amusement and shook his head. "It doesn't really matter. Let trouble follow you! I'm a police officer and I can take care of myself!"

"You're WHAT?!?!" Vin blurted out in shock, sitting up and scrambling out of bed. "FUCK!!!" He roared as he grabbed his pants, falling onto his ass on the floor as he pulled them on. Then he leapt back to his feet and grabbed his shirt before stomping out of the room and slamming the door on his way out.

"Well..." Caelen murmured as he watched his lover run away. "That's a bad sign..." He scratched an itch on the back of his neck as he waited to see if Vin would come back, but it soon became apparent that he wouldn't. Sliding out of bed, he located his phone and sat on the bed as he typed up a text to Vin.

What the hell, Vincenzo? Are you a bank robber or something? Text me when you pull your head out of your ass and stop acting like a child!

Then he tossed his phone aside and ran a hand through his still damp brown hair. "It's not MY fault if you don't like cops," he muttered as if he was talking to Vin. "YOU'RE the one who refused to let me talk about myself."

Sighing, he lay down and grabbed a pillow. He was suddenly way too depressed to go home. Especially since his younger brother was currently living with him while going to college, and he really didn't want to have to answer questions about why he came home when he usually spent the night out. Or actually, talk at all.

Extremely morose, he pressed his face into the pillow he was hugging to his chest and waited for the stinging in his eyes to stop. If he was lucky, he might even get some sleep. No wait, if he was actually lucky, Vin would come back and explain himself.

***

"Hey Boss, you're back early," a lackey greeted him.

Vin stopped short and glared at him. "I feel like beating the shit outta someone; you volunteering?"

"Oh hell no!" The lackey blurted out as he backed away, his hands up to prove that he had no ill intentions.

A man emerged from a room off to the left. "Hey son - whoa! You look like shit! What's the matter? Did the whore stand you up?"

Vin wrinkled his nose in distaste but didn't say anything. In order to keep his dad and bodyguards off his back, he had claimed to be hiring prostitutes to meet him at a hotel, but even so, he hated when they unknowingly called Caelen a whore. Not wanting to explain what actually happened, he simply glared and grumbled: "Something like that."

"Ah," his dad murmured in understanding. "Well, just go visit your women and make them comfort you until you feel better."

"Yeah no. I'm so pissed at the moment that I don't think I could get it up."

"That sounds serious, Vince," his dad said in concern. "Are you so backed up that a whore standing you up affects you this badly?"

Rather than answer, his glare got darker, making his muddy green eyes look more brown than green at the moment.

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, his dad was tempted to laugh. "Well, if you're going to look like you want to murder someone, one of our clubs is behind with their protection money, and I was just about to send a few of the boys over to collect it. Why don't you go with them and beat up whoever you want?"

"Yeah, I could go for that," Vin agreed, his expression softening a hair or two.

"And then when you're done with that, you and the boys could always go grab that disrespectful whore and drag her back here to work her over until you're satisfied."

Vin wrinkled his nose again. "Christ dad! That's a bit harsh, don't you think?!"

His dad shrugged. "Whatever. While you're out, I'm actually headed off to my mistress' house, so - not that I think she will - but if your mom asks where I am, tell her I'm tagging along - no wait, tell her I have to oversee a body dump. She never wants to question that too deeply."

"Sure thing dad," he agreed because he was dead certain that his mother had stopped caring about his father's other women a long time ago. She put all her time and energy into running a soup kitchen for the local homeless population and seemed quite content to only play the happy wife when her husband wanted to dote on her. It was an odd marriage that worked well for both of them.

Rolling out his shoulders in anticipation, Vin turned to the lackeys that had gathered around behind him. "Just give me a couple minutes to change."

"Sure thing, Boss! We'll go wait outside so we can smoke!" One of them informed him. He gestured permission even as he walked away.

About an hour and a half later, his fists were covered in the blood of others and he finally felt calm again. Even better, the club had actually paid up before it escalated to violence, and so, this was blood from genuine enemies in the form of a small gang that was trying to encroach on their territory, and so, was fair game. One might even say that it was his duty to beat them up and teach them a lesson.

All in all, when he flung himself onto his bed for the night, he was in a much better mood than he had been. Still, he wasn't exactly happy. He was straight up depressed and probably would be for the foreseeable future. Sighing, he grabbed his burner phone and read Caelen's message. After a moment, he replied.

I need to think about a LOT of things, so I don't think I'll be contacting you for a while. Sorry.

***

It was morning before Caelen noticed he had a text. He hadn't exactly slept, but he had fallen into a zombie-like, almost meditative state in which he was awake but out of it. A swat team could have burst into the room and taken him into custody, and he's not certain he'd have noticed.

After reading the text, he responded with: Yeah, I have a lot to think about as well...

So, think he did. For the next two months, he thought about all possibilities and came to the conclusion that there really was only one explanation for Vin's behavior. He was a criminal. And probably not a simple car thief or convenience store robber, but... something worse.

Sighing for probably the millionth time, he tugged on his sweaty brown hair and considered ripping it all out just to feel something other than depression. It was one of his days off, and since those used to be reserved for Vin, he couldn't help but dwell on the man. Honestly, he couldn't take this anymore!

Marching to the privacy of his bedroom - in case his brother came home unexpectedly - he slammed the door shut and flopped onto his bed. Then he fished his phone out of his pocket and squeezed it in his fist for a moment. Eventually, he stopped fighting a war in his head and sent a text.

I get it, you're a criminal. I've thought long and hard about it and decided that I just don't care. The two of us never talked about anything anyway, so why change something that was working? We're sex friends who only meet up when we want to get each other off, so let's keep doing that.

After he sent that, he rubbed his finger across a tickly itch on the left corner of his nose. Then he pouted for a second. With a sigh, he gave in and added: I miss you.

***

That was the thing that crumbled all of Vin's defenses. He slumped into the chair next to his bed and held his head in his hands. If Caelen had stopped with his proposition to resume their previous hookups, he probably would have ignored him, but Goddamnit! He missed that gorgeous bastard too, and he didn't have it in him to resist such a heartfelt message.

With a sigh, he grabbed his actual phone that he used for everything other than communicating with Caelen. Tapping an icon, he waited. A moment later, his dad picked up.

"Yeah?" He asked curiously.

"Dad... how many men do you have following me?" Vin asked in a tone of utter resignation.

His dad huffed a laugh. "Actually, ever since I discovered the joy of tracking apps, I only have men follow you if I think you're going to be in danger. The rest of the time, I let you decide when you need to bring men with you for safety and protection. If it came down to it, I could use the tracking app to send men after you to rescue you or just back you up."

Vin sat up straight in surprise. "I didn't know that. I really thought you had men following me constantly - ever since that incident when I was a kid."

"Yeah, well, you were too young to protect yourself back then, so I HAD to have men follow you everywhere," his dad stated. "But you took martial arts classes and became a black belt, so I'm pretty sure you can take care of yourself. ... Why are we even having this conversation?"

Vin sighed as if he'd just been defeated. "It's just that I want to be able to know when someone is following me, if they're one of our guys or someone else's."

"Wait, has someone been following you?"

"Not so much following me as I've noticed a lot of eyes watch me wherever I go," Vin admitted. "I assumed that they kept their distance because they could see my bodyguards following me, but if I don't actually have followers, I have to wonder what's keeping them from trying something."

"Ha!" His dad laughed dryly. "You're experiencing a luxury I had to fight tooth and nail for! Our organization is big enough now to be one of the major players in this state. If anyone from a lesser organization tried anything, they'd have to deal with the full force of our men retaliating."

"So... you're saying I don't have to be quite as cautious as I have been?" Vin wondered hopefully.

"Well, I don't know about that," his dad prevaricated. "I think it's more like so long as you stay cautious, you won't have to worry about anything less than an official declaration of war."

"Does that mean you've dismissed the bodyguards protecting your mistress?" Vin asked, trying to gauge the level of danger he should be prepared for.

"Not a chance! After your mother stopped making my other women disappear, I still had them kidnapped, used, or disappeared by other organizations that wanted to crush or threaten me. I don't care if we're almost untouchable at the moment, I'm not taking any chances! ... Wait, are you wondering if you can dismiss the guards at your women's house?"

"Nah, I still have the occasional nightmare from when I was taken, and I don't want to risk that for my women or kids. I just... I have someone that I can't make live with the rest of them. I'm trying to figure out how to balance safety with freedom," Vin slightly explained.

"If you can't make her live with your other women and you can't assign men to guard her, then you have to make damn sure that you never go near her when you are being followed or have eyes on you. It's not worth the risk," his dad advised.

"I know," Vin lamented with a heavy sigh.

His dad harrumphed a laugh. "You must like this one. It's the first time you've ever moped around the house when not out making money. And come to think of it, you've been staying home more often than not lately. I understand not overseeing the porn production company, and collecting money from clubs and people who are behind on their loan payments can get so tedious that it's really best left to the grunts, but you normally love the group scams where you sell nonexistent or worthless shit to groups of people who come listen to your presentations in hotel meeting rooms, and you haven't been doing that lately."

"Huh..." Vin uttered in surprise. "You're... right... I DO love that, but I just haven't been in the mood lately. It requires a silver tongue and a sharp wit, and I'm really not in the mood to talk at all lately."

"Oh..." his dad droned in enlightenment. "I see. You had an argument with your new woman about bodyguards and protection and she refused. No wonder you've been moping! You can't see her if she's not safe!"

"Uh... something like that..." Vin murmured evasively. "Listen, I'm feeling a little better, so I'm going to let you go now."

"Okay, glad you're feeling better," his dad informed him cheerfully. "I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks dad," Vin murmured, finding it almost hilarious that his father was a hardened criminal in every sense of the word but had such a big soft spot for his only son. Only child, actually, as he'd never really wanted kids, and so, had gotten snipped while Vin was still in the womb.

Growing up, Vin had been given everything he ever wanted. He'd quickly become an utterly spoiled brat; a little tyrant who thought the entire world revolved around him. Until the day he was kidnapped and tortured until his father managed to rescue him. It had taken months or maybe even years to recover, and when he finally did, he was a rather hard and determined person himself. Still in the beginning stages of puberty and already a little adult willing to learn everything there was to know about his 'family business.' As much as it grieved them to know the cause of it, his parents and grandparents were all so proud of him becoming a capable man before their very eyes.

Which naturally led to him getting even more than everything he could ever possibly want or need, but that no longer mattered to him. He had a job to do and he was going to do it to the best of his abilities. Plus, he was bound and determined to learn how to protect himself. When the day came for him to take over for his father, he wanted every man in their organization to know for a fact that he was a capable and reliable leader.

Which meant that he REALLY should do the smart thing and cut all ties with Caelen once and for all. Call him a gangster; call him a mobster; call him part of the mafia - the description didn't really matter. He was definitely a criminal, and if the police ever caught him, he'd probably go to prison for the rest of his life. Thus, seeing a cop was seriously the worst idea in the entire history of bad ideas.

But...

He picked up the burner phone he used only for contacting Caelen. Those words burned across his eyes all over again. I miss you.

Groaning and tempted to order some of his lackeys to come and beat some sense into him, he tapped on the only icon - which was labeled Booty Call, just in case anyone found his burner phone and tried to use it against him. After a couple of heart pounding seconds, the call connected.

"I miss you too," Vin admitted. "Do you work tonight?"

"No," Caelen replied softly, his voice likely to crack if he used it at a normal volume.

"I'll go to the usual hotel and rent a room. Once I get there, I'll text you the room number, but I'll still leave a key at the front desk for you. If I suspect anyone has followed me, I won't text you. If YOU suspect anyone is watching you, wander up and down the halls and ride the elevator to all the floors until you are CERTAIN no one is watching you, and then come to the room. If you can't agree to that, then don't bother coming," Vin ordered in no uncertain terms.

"Do we really have to be that careful?" Caelen asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes," Vin confirmed in a steely tone.

"Alright," Caelen softly agreed.

"Good," Vin stated, feeling inexplicably nervous now. "See you soon."

"See you..."

Hanging up, Vin forced himself not to rush. Now more than ever, he needed to be as vigilant as possible. If a rival wanted to find a weakness to use against him, this would definitely lead to Caelen being taken. Worse! If word got out that he was regularly meeting up with a cop, his OWN organization could turn on him!

"This is seriously the worst idea..." he muttered under his breath as he got into his car. Not his flashy Gemera, but his nondescript gray Chrysler Sebring. To add to it's lack of appeal, it was probably at least a dozen years old and a little beaten up by this point. It really wasn't the sort of car someone like him would drive if he had a choice, except that was exactly what he needed at the moment.

Taking it slow and going out of his way to make sure no one was following him, he eventually arrived at his destination. The same woman as always greeted him with a smile. Before he even asked, she slid a pair of key cards across the counter.

"I have a single King with a jacuzzi available at the moment."

With a tiny smile, he took the cards and made note of the room number written on the Post-it note. He'd always insisted that she never say it out loud, just in case someone loitering in the lobby was watching him, but it was helpful for a different reason as well. She slid an envelope across the counter, which he took and stuffed the key with the note inside. After sealing it shut, he wrote Caelen's name across it. Then he slid it back to her with a respectful nod.

"Thank you and enjoy your stay," she bade with a friendly smile.

Without a word, he went to the seventh floor and walked up and down the hall until he was certain there was no one around to watch him go into his room. Then he texted just one thing to Caelen: 707

Around 45 minutes later, the door opened, letting light from the hallway into the completely dark room. Once the door was shut and the light turned on, Vin threw his arms around Caelen and held him tight. Without a word, Caelen wrapped his arms around Vin's back and returned the embrace.

It was at least five minutes, and maybe even closer to ten, before they had their fill of holding each other. Caelen's hesitant kiss was the spark that started a wildfire that could not be controlled until it consumed everything in its path. They threw off all their clothes and jumped into bed.

"Inside me NOW!" Vin insisted, on his hands and knees with his ass pressed against Caelen's abdomen. He'd had plenty of time while waiting to prepare himself far more than necessary.

"Yes!" Caelen cried out, also not wanting to wait a single second more. He pressed into Vin and gasped as the pleasure felt like a punch to the gut. "Fuck!"

Rather than verbally urge Caelen to pound him, Vin simply rocked his body. Neither had the patience to wait for their orgasms, and so, slammed against each other almost violently. It barely took two minutes for a sensation like electricity to run up and down Vin's spine, making his toes curl and his back arch uncontrollably. He cried out as white strings flew across the bed. This triggered Caelen, who dug his fingers into Vin's hips and groaned as he pumped him full.

"Fuck..." they both exhaled reverently as they collapsed onto the bed.

When he could move again, Caelen pulled Vin into his arms and held him tight again. "Can we please talk now?"

Vin buried his face into Caelen's neck - not surprised when Caelen nibbled on his earrings - and sighed in defeat. "Yes. Just... I can't answer too many questions."

"I tried looking you up to see exactly what I was dealing with, but you don't seem to have a criminal record, but you ACT like you have a really bad criminal record," Caelen informed him.

"That's because my dad... He's, um... a leader. You can call it whatever you want, but he calls it an organization, and he's one of the major players in the state. When he was fighting his way to the top, anyone close to him was used against him, so once he got to a point where he could protect us better, he always made damn sure that I never got noticed by the cops. If a cop was spotted anywhere near my general vicinity, I'd be rushed away. Thus I haven't been caught for anything."

"But you've done things?" Caelen pressed.

"Yes, but don't bother asking what," Vin replied firmly.