The Gibson Pack

Chapter 8 (Mature 18+)

[--Sep. 2004--]

A bass guitar solo filled the Charger as Dakota drifted between daydreaming and dozing, with his arms folded under his head, in the back seat. He might have been out of a girlfriend, but he really did love just chilling out in his car. Nate wasn't allowed anywhere near it when he was in a mood and not listening, but at least some of the time, Dakota could let both of his nephews sit in it and listen to the radio with him. Neither seemed to mind his taste in music, and Kaiden even mentioned wanting to learn to play the guitar last week.

A knock on the passenger side window jolted him out of his thoughts and into a seated position. He climbed into the front and turned the keys, shutting off his car before getting out.

"Phone call for ya, Doc," Slade said, pointing a thumb towards the trailer.

Dakota's brow creased as he trotted inside, figuring it might have been a call from their parents. They did that pretty frequently. Well, their mom did at least. He was pretty sure she'd had homesickness ever since they'd bought that house out in Colorado somewhere to retire to. Once an alpha stepped down, that was it. They could no longer be within the ranks of the pack. Dakota still wasn't sure why that was, but it just was.

"Hello?" he said, holding the receiver up to his ear while trying to hold the cord out of Nate's reach.

"Be at my place in an hour," Travis's voice was practically unreadable as he gave the command and then hung up.

Dakota was admittedly curious. Usually, Travis at least gave him a chance to get more details when he invited him over, but the command had been so abrupt that it kinda made Dakota nervous that something was wrong. Though what, he couldn't imagine... at least not that Travis would call him for. He couldn't think of anything he'd personally fucked up recently.

"I'll be back soon," Dakota said as he ruffled Kaid's long, dark hair on his way out the door. If he left now, he'd get there early, which was probably better than getting there later, since Slade had to work tonight.

When Dakota got there, Travis met him at the door and looked deceptively casual. He was in nothing but a pair of grey sweat pants and invited Dakota in as he usually did. But the house was unusually quiet, absent of Rose and the twins, and Dakota was pretty sure that her car was gone.

"Do you want anything?" Travis's question echoed through the air, contested only by the sound of the football game coming from the TV in the living room.

"Coffee, if you have some already made," Dakota said, following Travis. "Just water, otherwise. Rose take the kids somewhere?" he wondered as he tried to keep his eyes off Travis's naked top half. Travis had acted like nothing had happened between them after their little hook-up in the shower last year. He'd snapped right back to just being a friend and a mentor, and an alpha.

It made sense to Dakota. Their sex drives had been running high, and Travis had a family and a marriage... the whole thing wouldn't have sat well with the pack... the two of them being involved... Understanding, unfortunately, hadn't made it hurt any less. And knowing that it wasn't meant to be hadn't stopped him from pining over the sexy, successful, twenty-six, now twenty-seven-year-old, since then. Even while he'd been dating Mari it was nearly impossible to keep his thoughts from straying to Travis.

"Carnival. Slade said he was taking you and your cousins tomorrow, but it's supposed to be a surprise, so you didn't hear that from me." Travis said as he opened the fridge. "We have a bottle of iced vanilla mocha," he said, looking back over his shoulder.

Dakota smirked. "Hear what?" he asked as he held his hand out for the iced coffee.

Travis grinned as he handed the bottle to him and took a beer for himself, closing the door with his elbow and heading back towards the living room. He sprawled out on the couch easily taking up about half without even trying and setting the drink down on the coffee table.