A Man of Unusual Talent

A Man of Unusual Talent "How Can A Man Get Lost Twice in One Day" Chapter 6

How can a man get lost twice in one day?"

The movie was just as awesome as he'd thought it would be. Unfortunately, eight-year old chaperones were also a lot more distraction than he'd planned. But Mat did get to hear CC laugh... and once CC accidentally clutched his leg in a moment of high tension... and it was extremely gratifying to hear the low, suppressed moan and know that it had more to do with him than Chris Hemsworth.

"That was great!" Stanley and Conrad bounced around. "Can we go back in? I wanna see it again!"

"Nope. Sorry boys. But Stanley's mom will be here in a few minutes and you can ask her." Mat ruthlessly threw his sister-in-law under the bus, and met CC's eyes with an apologetic grin. Dillon's wife was a great gal, but Mat had had enough of babysitting.

"So... we're done babysitting then?" CC's tone was tinged with regret, which encouraged Mat to make his next suggestion.

"The movie's done, but... I'm still in the mood for saving the world." He ducked his head and peeked up under his lashes to judge CC's response. His date's eyes were starry.. his lips moist.

"Oh?" CC blushed charmingly. "I..."

"I have thirty superhero movies..."

"Thirty?" CC gifted him with that sexy laugh again, and Mat smiled his most charming smile.

"And I've dvr'ed everything from Smallville to Agent Carter." He coaxed.

"Wow. So... you're a geek, through and through?"

"A geek with a fifty-two inch tv and enough men in tights movies to extend this date for as long as..."

"Hi! Mat!" Mathilde popped up between him and CC, pert and pretty with her blonde hair and blue eyes. He'd always sort of kind of in a way regretted that Dillon had met her first. "Sorry I'm late. Dillon..."

Mat held out a hand to CC, who stepped around her to take it. "Mathilde, this is CC. CC this is Mathilde. Sorry sweetie but we've got a date with Captain America and the boys have a special request to make of you."

He tugged on CC's hand and led him into the parking lot, stifling guilt over the boys' pleas to see The Avengers again, right now. At the third row of cars, with three more to go before he reached his own vehicle, CC stopped walking, and Mat found himself jerking to a halt. He stopped and turned to CC.

"What? I thought we had plans?"

CC nodded. "Yes, but I have my car, over there."

"Mine's closer." Mat pointed out reasonably.

"But I'm going to need my car, to get home."

"I can take you home." The odor of marshmallows was growing stronger, which reminded Mat... "Did you get the car fixed up inside? Was it hard to clean out all those burnt marshmallows?"

CC's face turned a dark pink, and he ducked his head, obviously embarrassed. "Yeah. I got it cleaned out," His nose wrinkled a little, "It smells a bit still though."

"All the more reason to take my car," Mat tried on his best smile, though even he was beginning to feel like he was pushing way too hard over something trivial.

"Uhm," CC fluttered a bit... waving his hands in the air, or rather... kind of flapping them. "I'd rather take my car, if you don't mind."

Deciding that giving in was the best option, before CC freaked out and decided to go straight home, and because his own behavior was freaking him out a little too, Mat nodded graciously. "Okay. Let me walk you to your car, and then I can give you directions to my place and ..." He forced himself to shut up as he realized he was babbling.

The walk to CC's car was awkward, and Mat blamed that primarily on his own fear of opening his mouth and babbling again, but in part he felt a lot of tension from CC, and it worried him enough that when they reached the grey Jetta he put a hand on the door handle and held it shut for a second. "CC..."

"Mat."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"That's what I was going to say to you." CC tucked his hands in the pockets of his slightly too tight jeans, and Mat swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what changed, but... " He charged on. "I really want you to come over but not if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I'm not uncomfortable." CC insisted. "I... How do I get there from here?"

He didn't sound all that sincere, but Mat was willing to take it. "I live off Goldcamp. The third left, green house with white porch, big elm tree in the front yard."

CC's lips moved as he repeated the directions. "Got it. I'll see you there in just a few minutes." He stared pointedly at Mat's hand on the car.

"CC." To hell with it. Mat leaned forward, and before CC could take evasive action or protest, Mat brushed a kiss over the lips that had tempted him all afternoon. When CC didn't jerk away, he deepened the kiss just a fraction, slid his tongue over CC's lips, between them, sipping. Tasting. Pleased to note that he tasted as sweet as he smelled.

Mat broke off the kiss, looked down at CC. "Drive carefully."

He turned back to his car, aware that his fingers trembled and his heart pounded with excitement. "Get a grip, Giraud. It was just a simple kiss." But no matter how many times he repeated it, his body wasn't buying the line.

***

"How many times can a man get lost in one day?" CC had already called Mat once, shortly after leaving the movie theater. He'd driven around the block, pulled into an empty church parking lot and broken down. As a result, he now sat waist deep in a pile of marshmallows. Calling Mat and telling him he'd gotten lost had seemed like the logical solution, but now...

Glancing nervously around the parking lot, he opened the door, cringing as an avalanche of white puffs spilled out into the parking lot.

"Fuck." He eyed the mess in the parking lot in despair. No hope for it. He'd have to call Mat back and make some excuse. His cell buzzed as the thought crossed his mind and he cringed. Show time. "Mat! Hi. How are you?"

"Confused." Mat replied dryly. "CC, where are you? I'll drive over and you can follow me home."

The mountain of marshmallows in his car taunted him. The tingle in his fingertips warned that this might not be the end of the episode. "No! Don't do that. I'm close. I'll be right there. Go ahead and pick a movie. I swear... I'll be there in just a few minutes."

He thumbed the phone off as Mat started to speak again and turned to the sweet mess. "Okay. You know what would be an awesome counterpart to manifesting marshmallows? Complimentary ability to vanish them." He didn't waste time trying to wish them away though. Experience had taught him that wasn't happening. A black plastic trash bag and a scooper and the sweat of his own brow, that's all he had to work with.

So he set his lips in a grim line and went to work scooping out as many as he could and then locking the bag in the trunk. It took longer than a few minutes, and his ears burned the whole time. Humiliation soaked through him as the minutes passed, and his certainty that Mat was going to be angry grew.

"Now what?" CC chewed his lip. He'd finally cleaned out enough of the front of the car that he could drive, but which direction should he take? Home or Mat's?

Beep. Beep.

He jerked. "Argh! If it weren't for bad luck..." He let his voice trail off as Mat pulled into the parking lot.

Knowing what was coming, CC hefted the bag and tossed it into the trunk of his car. Mat rolled down the window, leaned out and said, "Hey. You uh... need a hand?"