Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Darcy loved waking up with Charma in bed with him. Okay, he loved going to bed with Charma too. And sure, it was only their second night together—and Charma wasn’t even officially moved in yet as he’d just asked him yesterday—but still, this was really amazing and he hoped it never got old.
He opened his eyes and found Charma was awake, too, staring right at him, smiling.
“Hey,” Charma said.
“Hey yourself.”
Charma wiggled, closing the distance between them, and Darcy gasped a little as their morning hard-ons bumped. Oh, that was good. This made really amazing even better. And even better than that when Charma wrapped a hand around both their cocks and stroked.
Whimpering softly, Darcy slid his hand around the back of Charma’s head and brought their mouths together. The kiss ramped everything up even more and Darcy knew this was never going to get old.
They kept kissing, sucking on each other’s lips and tongues, as Charma continued pumping them together.
The glide of velvety hot skin against velvety hot skin was so much better than when he jacked off on his own.
So much better that it wasn’t going to take very long at all.
Darcy could already feel his orgasm building in his balls, making them heavy.
The small of his back tingled, too, and it got hard to breathe.
Breaking the kiss, he panted and managed to push out a “soon” as a warning that he was close.
“Good,” Charma muttered back, hand tightening, making Darcy’s eyes roll back in his head. He managed to mash their lips back together again at the same time that Charma slid his thumb across the tops of their cocks and boom, that was it.
Darcy came with a cry, hips snapping, pushing him harder into Charma. His spunk spilled over Charma’s hand and against their bellies, and it wasn’t long after before Charma came too, adding more heat to the mess between them.
He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Charma’s, panting. Charma was fairly breathless too, hand slowing and stopping but not letting go. It felt good, cozy and warm and just right. Darcy smiled and his eyes drifted open, to find Charma once again staring right at him.
“Good morning,” he said this time.
“Good morning yourself.” Charma laughed, that tinkling sound warming Darcy’s belly like it always seemed to.
He grabbed his phone to check the time. Just after eight—they had the whole day still. Cool.
“Did you want to go to your place after we get breakfast and pick up the clothes and stuff you need. We could figure out what furniture will fit and stuff, too.”
“The place came furnished so really, it’s just my clothes and a few personal items. We could probably get it done in a couple trips. Bring the necessary stuff today and then make another trip or two as needed.”
“Or we could splurge and get an Uber, bring it all in one go,” he suggested. That wouldn’t be too expensive and it would save them lugging stuff over from Charma’s to his place.
“That might be the way to go. I’ve got enough to cover it, even if we have to get some more groceries this week as I’m going to be here for every meal now.”
“We’ll get it all figured out.” Darcy had a little bit in savings. He’d rather not touch that, but if they could walk to Charma’s in less than a half hour, an Uber couldn’t be that expensive, he was sure. “So breakfast and then getting your stuff to move you in here. It’s a plan.”
“I like a plan, though I’m also good with spontaneous stuff too.”
“We can leave the rest of the day as spontaneous. Although I was thinking we could head to the beach and see if we can’t find your clothes and stuff.”
“That’s not a bad idea. You could show me your spot, too.”
“I’d like that.” He gave Charma a quick kiss, then scrambled out of bed. “I get the bathroom first!”
Charma thought it had been a little sad, gathering all his things and putting them into garbage bags.
He’d only needed two, plus his backpack for his electronics so they wouldn’t get bumped.
That was all he had to his name. Of course, none of the furniture here was special so it didn’t matter that it wasn’t his.
And Darcy didn’t have room for him to bring in a bunch of stuff anyway, so no harm, no foul.
They’d ubered back from his place to Darcy’s, and he’d dropped it all inside so they could head over to the beach right away. He could put everything away later.
And now they were at the beach, checking out the area where he’d been sunbathing. He’d really liked the flip-flops he’d been wearing, so he hoped they found at least those. They were not having much luck, though.
“How about we ask the lifeguard if there’s a lost and found?” Darcy suggested.
“Yeah, I’d like to do at least that before giving up on my stuff.” The beach towel had been this wonderful enormous rainbow one that two could lie on that he’d brought from home and there were, of course, his flip-flops.
There was a lifeguard hut not too far down the beach, and they were lucky—there was a lifeguard on duty.
“Hey there. You don’t happen to have a lost and found, do you?” Charma asked.
“We sure do. You’d be surprised the stuff that gets left behind.
” The lifeguard pointed back the way they’d come.
“It’s at the main building back about a mile that way.
Anything found on the beach at the end of the day winds up there, so as long as you haven’t only just lost what you’re looking for… ”
“Nope, this was a couple days ago.”
“Then if it wasn’t taken by anyone else, it should be there. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” He and Darcy headed off in the direction the lifeguard had pointed.
“I’m going to walk in the water.” Darcy slipped off his sandals and made his way to where the waves were lapping at the beach.
Charma did the same and they wandered along in companionable silence, the breeze off the ocean a nice counter to the sun beating down on them.
Darcy pointed at a two-story structure up ahead, just off the beach. “There it is, not too much farther.”
“Cool. How far is it to your spot?”
“Well, we have to go back the way we came, but only maybe another ten minutes past the lifeguard hut. And we can walk in the water most of the way before it starts getting rocky.”
“Cool.”
They made their way into the Lifeguard and Beach Safety Center and went up to the counter.
“I lost a few things here the other day and was wondering if I could take a look at the lost and found,” Charma said.
“Sure, what did you lose?”
“Beach towel, shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.”
The girl behind the counter laughed. “What, did you go home in your swimsuit?”
“Something like that.” He and Darcy shared a glance and a grin.
“If it was recently, it should be in the big box over by the vending machine. Anything older than a week or so gets moved into the back.”
“Thanks.”
He and Darcy went over to the box, and he saw the corner of his rainbow towel immediately.
He grabbed it with a whoop, pulling it out from under the various other items on top of it.
Darcy laughed at him but accepted the towel, and he went digging for the rest of his stuff.
It was all there, his shorts, his T-shirt and his favorite flip-flops, which he immediately traded out for the sandals he’d been wearing. He wriggled his toes, so pleased.
“We should put everything in the middle of the towels and knot it so it’s a bag,” Darcy suggested.
“Good idea!” It probably would have been smart to bring a bag with them as they’d come specifically to look for his stuff, but it hadn’t occurred to either of them. “I’m really glad I got this stuff back. Especially the towel and my flips.”
“I should have known the towel would be rainbow.” Darcy piled everything, including his discarded sandals, into the center of the towel and tied the opposite corners together so it made a fairly good bag.
“It’s not just rainbow—it’s big enough for two people to lie on together.”
“Well maybe we’ll have to try it out and sun a little,” Darcy suggested. “And this time if you shift without realizing it, I’ll be there to keep the assholes at bay.”
“Yeah.” He bumped their shoulders together. “I’d like that. My basking time was cut short last time.”
“But if it hadn’t been, we might not have met, and that would suck.”
“I love that you’re an ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ kind of guy.”
Darcy shrugged. “I don’t know if I really am—not always, I don’t think. But I can see the good result that came out of you nearly losing your tail.”
Charma arranged the makeshift towel bag on his shoulder, and they headed back down the beach, Darcy slipping his hand into Charma’s.
It seemed like a dream, walking hand in hand along the beach with his boyfriend.
No, with the guy he lived with. The guy he shared a bed with.
Charma was feeling pretty damned lucky at the moment.
His mom had always claimed their kind lived a charmed life, and today he certainly believed it.
Darcy lay on his back next to Charma, listening to the waves hitting the shore and looking up at the sky.
They’d been lying together for a couple of hours, fingers twined together as they basked in the sun.
The breeze off the ocean kept things from getting too hot and Darcy couldn’t remember a time he felt more relaxed and at ease.
His little bit of beach wasn’t private, of course, but with the rocky outcroppings all around it, most people avoided it. So while a few people had wandered by, they pretty much had the little sandy bit to themselves.
“You haven’t shifted yet,” Darcy noted. And they’d been basking pretty hard.
Charma squeezed his fingers. “You’re keeping me in my human body, despite the epic basking weather.”
“Do you have to shift?” Darcy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Can you stay as a human forever or do you need to spend a certain amount of time as a chameleon? It’s not rude of me to ask, is it?” He hoped it wasn’t. He didn’t want to be rude; he was just curious.
“If you were a stranger or just an acquaintance, it would be rude, but you’re neither of those and any questions are fair game. Hell, we’re getting to know each other better, right? I’m assuming I can ask you anything I want, too.”
“Totally.”
“Perfect. And to answer your question—yes, I can stay as a human forever if I want. There isn’t any sort of need to shift.
But I like getting my chameleon on now and then, and it’s eager to come out and play.
Which as you know is why you found me on the beach in risk of losing my tail.
The conditions were just right and boom!
Chameleon. It’s safest to shift at the compound. ”
“Well, you can be your chameleon anytime you want at home. It’s a safe space.”
Charm kissed his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s your home too now, after all.”
“Yeah, I like how that sounds—my old place didn’t feel like home so much as just a place to stay, you know?”
“Yeah, it took a while for my place to feel like home. It’s the longest I’ve ever stayed anywhere, though, and that makes all the difference. Of course, having you move in is going to make it seem even more like home.”
Charma squeezed his hand again. “You’re sweet.”
He snorted. He wasn’t sure about that. Still, he knew Charma had meant it as a compliment, so he took it as one. “Thanks.”
“Did you want to shift now and bask?” Darcy asked. “If you did it while no one is near, nobody would know.”
Charma shook his head. “I can’t hold your hand if I’m a chameleon.”
That made Darcy warm all through, and he rested his head against Charma’s shoulder.
They fell silent again, lying together and enjoying the beach. It was comfortable and companionable and felt special, to get this time to just be with each other without anything having to happen except time passing.
It was Charma’s stomach growling very loudly that interrupted the moment.
Eyes wide, Darcy turned to look at Charma who had the same look on his face, and they both burst out laughing.
“Sounds like I need to take you home and feed you.”
“It does sound that way, doesn’t it?” Charma shook his head. “I guess it’s been longer than I thought since we’ve had breakfast.”
“Yeah. Hey, if you’re hungry, like you are now, and don’t have access to food, can you shift into your chameleon so you don’t need to eat so much?”
“I can, but the minute I shift back, I’m going to be hungry again. Besides, do you know what chameleons eat?”
Darcy thought about it, but he honestly didn’t know. “Are they vegetarian?” And wouldn’t that be weird, because he knew Charma ate meat.
“Nope, not even close.”
“Oh, then I guess I don’t know.”
“Crickets. Spiders. Roaches. Meal worms. Worms, Darcy. Chameleons eat worms. Which, if you’re not a shifting chameleon I’m sure is perfectly wonderful.
But a shifting chameleon? We are aware of what we’re eating, and worms and spiders and other bugs are not so appealing.
I mean, if I have to, I’ll eat them, but I really don’t want the memory of how they feel in my mouth when I shift back to my human self.
So I would much rather be a little hungry than to shift and eat whatever bugs I come across. ”
Darcy almost asked what meal worms tasted like but changed his mind. Honestly, he didn’t need to know.
He stood and held a hand out to help Charma up. Then he grabbed the towel and shook the sand off before Charma put his clothes in the middle of it again and tied it back up to carry everything home.
He glanced at his watch. “Damn, no wonder your stomach was protesting—it’s almost three. Did you want to have burgers when we get home, and then if we’re hungry later on, we can snack?”
“That sounds good. You know that’s one of my favorite things about not living at the compound. When I’m hungry, I eat. If I just want junk food for supper, there’s no one to tell me I can’t do that. If I want to have dessert first, I totally can without anyone being scandalized.”
“Do people really get scandalized if you eat dessert first?”
“My mom does. She has very firm ideas about food. She will always try to feed you, but proper meals, and sweets definitely come after the non-sweets. And junk food has no place in her kitchen.”
“I would miss junk food.”
“Yeah, me too. I had a stash in my bedside table drawer from the time I was about six.”
“Six!”
“Yeah. Granny used to sneak me candies and chocolates and I’d stash them in my drawer and eat them slowly.”
“I love that! We should have a snack cupboard. Keep it stocked with our favorites.”
“That would be fun.”
Darcy pointed to an ice cream stand at the edge of the beach. “You want to start with dessert today?”
Charma bounced and nodded. “I do! My treat.”
Darcy wasn’t going to say no to that.