A very special thank-you to Dee for her fine beta’ing and to Myst for all her help, including the ‘storm’ plot.
Chandi grimaced when Eric laughingly called out ‘Checkmate’ once again. He sat back in a huff and watched as the older man began setting the chess pieces in place on the board with obvious plans of playing another game.
“I would think you’d be better off practising with someone who is better at this than I am, Eric,” Chandi complained. “How do you expect to enhance your skills before the tournament if your opponent’s ability isn’t as advanced as yours?”
Eric grinned a bit at Chandi’s complaint. “I love playing against you. You come up with good moves; you just don’t know how to put them together yet in order to win a game against me. You give me the unexpected,” he added seriously. “As for practicing before the tournament, you know I play online and against the computer. It helps me to concentrate on improving and honing my skills. Do you like playing with me? Does it frustrate you that you lose against me? If so, we can stop,” Eric suggested with a concerned look on his face.
“I am not at all frustrated. I enjoy playing with you. And of course many other games come to mind,” Chandi smirked, his meaning obvious. “I’ve heard Lucas plays a mean game of chess and so does that new guy at the post office. His name is Travis, in case you’re interested.”
“I’m sure other games come to mind,” Eric laughed. “And I’ll be glad to play them with you when we’re done with this next game, I promise. As for Lucas and Travis, maybe we can have them and their partners come over for a barbeque and work in a game of chess. But really, you’re the only one I’m interested in playing against regularly. Besides, the game is good for you. It exercises your mind in a totally different way and gets you to stop thinking about work.”
“I guess that’s true enough.” Chandi amicably went along with his partner’s observation. “But regardless of how good the exercise is, this is the last game tonight. However, I do like the idea of having a barbeque as it may be the last one of the season with it being mid-November. Maybe Stewart will treat us by bringing dessert. Travis’ partner is the new music teacher at the high school. His name is Callum and he has a neat English accent. I’ve only met him once, but he seems a nice bloke. At least that’s what Travis calls him.”
Chandi closely studied the board and then moved one of his pawns two spaces. “So the tournament is in just two weeks, right?”
“Yes, in two weeks and I’m looking forward to it. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a tournament and they’re a lot of fun. As for the barbeque, why not check and see if everyone is free sometime next week. Let’s not ask Stewart to bring dessert.” Eric laughed at Chandi’s shocked expression. “It’s not that I don’t like his desserts. I love them. But after making breads, cakes and what-all every day, I’m sure the last thing he wants to do is make one more for a party. We’ll handle everything,” he added with a grin. “And if only one couple is free, we’ll have it after the tournament. What do you think?”
“Sounds good to me, but I hadn’t planned on asking anyone to bring anything. I just thought Stewart might, that’s all. I’ll make a couple of calls tomorrow and see who is or isn’t available.” Chandi grinned as he made another strategic move that caused Eric to eye him suspiciously.
Looking at the board, Eric tried to suppress a grin. He knew what Chandi was up to. “Well, that was an interesting move,” he commented. “You wouldn’t be trying to end this game fast so we could start another ‘game’, would you?”
He knocked over Chandi’s King and before his Brat could say a word, grabbed the younger man and deeply kissed him. Eric then swatted him lightly. “I’ll lock up, and when I get upstairs I expect to find a willing partner in bed. Whatcha think; any hope of that?”
“Yabetcha!” Chandi was up and running practically before the words had left his mouth. He laughed all the way up the stairs, leaving a trail of clothing in his wake. Hauling down the blankets, he threw himself onto the bed and waited impatiently for his lover to join him.
“What the heck took you so long?” he demanded the second Eric walked into the room. He reached down and began to stroke his semi-erect penis. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Eric’s provocative leer provided further stimulation for Chandi, if the sight of his growing arousal was anything to go by. As did Eric’s rapid stripping of his clothes, followed by his pouncing on the younger man.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Wish I was making the trip with you,” Chandi murmured as he placed extra changes of underwear in Eric’s suitcase. “But the timing is off with me having to work the whole week.” He was going in to work late in order to help Eric with the last of his packing and see him off.
“It’s a four-day tournament, Chandi. You’ll be joining me for the final day and we’ll be staying for two more when it’s over, then we’ll be driving home together. That will give us lots of time to sightsee if we’re so inclined.”
“Looking forward to it,” Chandi grinned as he tossed his partner’s shaving kit across the room. “Good catch! Do you have everything you’re going to need?”
“Because of your help, I don’t think anything has been forgotten,” Eric laughed as he pushed down on the over-flowing piece of luggage. He barely managed to get it closed.
“Here, let me carry that downstairs to the car for you. Can’t have you straining yourself and missing the tourney now, can we?” Chandi teased as he pretended to struggle under the weight of his burden.
Eric rolled his eyes as he grabbed up the smaller bag and followed his partner out of the room.
Slamming down the trunk of the car, Eric turned to Chandi and took him into his arms for a goodbye kiss. “I’ll see you in three and a half days, sweetheart. We both have copies of each others timetables and I will be waiting for you at the Calgary airport Friday evening when your flight gets in.”
“Yeah, but those are going to be really long days from now until then,” Chandi groaned against Eric’s neck. Although slightly saddened by the thought, he did manage to lift his head and put on his brightest smile. “Have a safe drive and call me when you get in checked-in to your hotel room. I’ll be at the station most the day but if not, you can get me on my cell.”
“You can count on my calling you, babe. I’ll be anxious to hear your voice after driving alone for so long. I should have just enough time before getting ready to attend the meet-and-greet banquet. Tomorrow morning the first round begins and I’ll need to be well rested in order to make a good showing.”
“You’ll do great,” Chandi assured him. “I imagine Lucas and Travis coming over to challenge you during the past week, has finely tuned your game.”
“Their visits certainly helped, as did the many suggestions they had to offer. I’m happy just to have this fabulous opportunity to play such a large number of highly skilled players. I relish the thought of being pushed to my limit and with luck, beyond.”
One final kiss, that was hard to break away from, and Eric was on his way. Chandi stood in the driveway and watched until the car was out of sight. Then he ran back into the house to get ready for his day.
True to his word, Eric called later that afternoon. He had arrived safely and was more than satisfied with his room. He promised to call again before going to bed and did so. He even talked his lonely partner through some phone sex.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next three days seemed to whirl by; or so it was for Eric. Chandi found them exceedingly long even though he was kept busy at work and found plenty to do at home in the evenings, but Eric calling him in the morning and again at bedtime over the next two days certainly helped.
Chandi had been thrilled to learn of Eric’s success in making it through not only the preliminaries on Wednesday, but also the first and second rounds on Thursday. By Friday the field had narrowed significantly with Eric still holding his own.
Unfortunately, Friday also brought some very unwelcomed news. Eric managed to reach Chandi just as the police chief was leaving the station for a four-day leave.
“We’ve been hit by a heavy snowstorm, Chandi,” Eric informed his unhappy lover. “All flights in and out of Calgary have been grounded with further announcements in the morning. You’re going to have to stay put until the weather clears.”
“Guess we have no control over this, Eric,” Chandi worked at keeping up a brave front, though he couldn’t quite keep the disappointment out of his voice. He knew both of them were equally disheartened by not being able to see each other tonight as originally planned. “I’ll call the airport first thing tomorrow. I won’t even wait for the sun to come up and I’ll get the first available flight. Hey, what’s one more night, right?”
Eric appreciated his Brat’s calm approach, knowing just how much it was costing the younger man. Chandi hadn’t always been able to handle disappointment in such a restrained manner. Eric felt an overwhelming sense of pride and vowed to make it up to his partner if at all possible.
Unfortunately, the news wasn’t any better on Saturday morning. The airport was still snowed and according to reports on various radio and TV stations, it was going to take at least another twenty-four hours for the airlines to take care of the back-log of passengers.
Chandi wasn’t willing to delay his departure any longer,, even though Eric had told him to stay put. After all, it was clear in his neck of the woods, so he set off by car to meet up with his stranded partner. Chandi determined that by the time he reached Calgary, the worst of the storm would be over as would the tournament. He deliberately neglected to mention his plans to Eric as he was excited about surprising the older man.
Several hours later, Chandi was mentally kicking himself and wishing he had put more thought into his impromptu motor trip. The drive that in favourable conditions could take well under six hours, was now over twelve and he still had a couple of hours ahead of him.
On route through Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks there had been light snow flurries, otherwise the weather had been good. However, the snow began to get heavier after he crossed the border into Alberta. In the past, Chandi had often driven through much worse, so he wasn’t willing to consider returning home.
By the time he got to Banff, Chandi was beginning to rethink his decision to make this trip. The drive south from Lake Louise was done at a snail’s pace. A ways outside of Canmore, he almost struck another vehicle. This actually turned out to be very fortunate for the occupants of older car, as it was stalled and slowly being buried by the snow. Chandi proved to be their rescuer when he helped shove the car off to the side of the road and gave the young family a lift to their destination in Cochrane.
Stubbornly continuing on his journey regardless of the peril involved, Chandi set out once again on the Trans-Canada highway. Dusk had long ago fallen and visibility was non-existent, but after rationalizing that he was less than forty miles from Eric’s hotel, Chandi pushed onward. The windshield wipers were barely able to move fresh snow off the windows as the storm intensified. Distance was covered in feet rather than in miles. As a law enforcement officer, Chandi knew in his heart that he should never have been on the road in these dangerous conditions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Eric had tried several times between games to reach his partner. Mid-afternoon, he finally spoke to Travis who was apparently caring for Chandi’s dog, Lady, while Chandi was away.
Travis readily filled Eric in on the details, bringing the uninformed man up to snuff on Chandi’s plans; when he left and his targeted arrival time, which was already long overdue by several hours.
Eric slammed his fist against the wall when the implications of his Brat’s actions hit home. “I told him to stay put,” he growled as he began to pace. Eventually facing up to his inability to focus on another game, Eric reported to the judges and reluctantly settled for fourth place by giving up his chance to play for third.
Returning to his room, Eric slumped down into the large armchair by the window to sit in the growing darkness and pray for Chandi’s safety. His emotions ran the gamut between devastating fear for his partner’s life and barely controllable anger at his Brat’s recklessness.
His stomach was churning with anxiety as the LED on the clock by his bedside flipped to eight PM. It had been hours since he had heard any sound at all. Much of the hotel had been vacated when players no longer in the running checked out early in order to avoid the fast approaching storm. He jerked upright when he picked up on almost noiseless footsteps coming to a stop right outside his room.
He was on his feet and yanking open the door in a heartbeat. On the other side stood Chandi with his arm raised to knock. Eric pulled the younger man into his arms, profusely grateful at having him safe and sound. All questions were put on hold for the moment.
Chandi had gotten a good look at his lover’s face in the short space of time before burying his own in Eric’s shoulder. Seeing the deep lines of worry and the drawn expression, only added to the remorse he now felt at having acted so rashly.
“I guess you somehow found out I was on my way, huh? I’m sorry for causing you unnecessary stress, Eric. I had really planned on being here so much earlier and surprising you.” Chandi pushed back to remove his heavy jacket and step out of his boots.
“Oh, I got a surprise all right; just not a very pleasant one. After trying numerous times to contact you, it was a surprise to hear someone answer our home phone with the words ‘Powell/Sanford Residence’. Seems Travis had dropped by to check on Lady and answered the ring out of habit. Of course, learning of your whereabouts was the unpleasant part.”
“I was just missing you so much and really didn’t think I’d have so much trouble getting here, Eric. Honest, I didn’t. On one hand though, it was a good thing I did make the trip because I ended up saving a stranded family.”
“Humph, saving someone from their own foolhardiness but being foolhardy yourself doesn’t in anyway excuse you for disobeying.” By this time, Eric was pacing the floor. “So many things could have gone wrong.” He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head in disbelief. “You could still be out there somewhere in that blizzard, and all because you couldn’t wait an extra couple of days.” Eric stopped and pointed his hand at the window; a window they couldn’t even see out of because of the blinding snow.
“I said I was sorry for upsetting you, Eric. But I’m not sorry I came unless you’re gonna stay mad at me.” Chandi held out a hand as if to mollify his Top. “There’s no law against driving in hazardous conditions, you know.” He hoped a bit of kidding might lighten the atmosphere.
Eric stared opened-mouthed at Chandi for a full minute before replying to his Brat’s preposterous statement. “Maybe there should be. In the meantime, you and I have a rule about endangering yourself outside of the line of duty.” Eric had lowered his voice and was speaking as calmly as possible, given the circumstances. “Isn’t that right, Chandi?”
The other man’s deep sigh could be heard across the room. “Yes, we do.” All bravado quickly faded as the tension caused by the lengthy, and at times very nerve-racking drive resurfaced and brought with it an overwhelming feeling of self-reproach; self-reproach for impulsively taking an unreasonable chance, putting himself in harm’s way, terrifying both himself and his partner.
Chandi turned sad, shame-filled eyes to Eric and shrugged his shoulders to indicate his inability to make things right again. It was when the boundaries, set up to relieve Chandi of the day-to-day responsibilities and stresses of his job, had been crossed that the younger man expected his partner to step up to the plate and take over.
It was this need in his Brat that enabled Eric to do so and to do it very well. Seeing Chandi’s heart-felt regret made Eric wish that after a four day separation the first thing he was going to do to his lover, didn’t have to be to spank him. But Eric also knew if Chandi was not made to answer for his poor choices, neither of them would find the harmony they both prized in their relationship.
“It’s a good thing we have most of this floor to ourselves so we don’t have to be overly worried about anyone overhearing something we’d rather they didn’t,” Eric commented while maintaining a stern façade. Picking up the remote control, he clicked on the TV and turned up the volume before taking Chandi’s hand and leading him over to the foot of the queen-size bed. Then taking a seat, he efficiently set about lowering his Brat’s jeans and boxers to his knees, and with a sudden jerk, promptly had him face-down over a pair of hard thighs.
Chandi grunted at the swiftness in which he found himself in this position and gasped at the unexpectedness of the first very painful swat on his bare bottom. Eric had a hard hand, well calloused from the hours spent sanding furniture, and he certainly knew how to make the most of the strength he put behind it. The spankings he administered always hurt….a lot.
Eric kept up a steady barrage of painful spanks, watching as the skin became much darker and listening as the muffled cries increased in volume. As soon as he realized his Brat had given in to the punishment, he brought the spanking to an end with a short flurry of swats to the underside of each brown cheek. Next, he began the slow process of calming the chastened man and letting him know he was forgiven and just how much he was loved.
“We-we’re good now?” Chandi hitched sometime later as he lay in his lover’s arms. He had complacently gone along with the removal of his jeans and boxers which were tangled around his ankles. And again when Eric moved them further up onto the big bed where they nestled together and Eric’s soothing words flowed over him. The hand that had amply abused his rear-end was now rubbing comforting circles on his back.
“We’re always good, babe,” Eric assured his Brat and kissed the tightly braided hair. He softly chuckled when their stomachs simultaneously reminded them they were empty. “How about I order room service instead of attending the awards dinner downstairs? I’d prefer this more private setting where we can spend the evening catching up on each others’ news. The weather should clear by the time we get up in the morning but in the meantime we can make the most of our being storm-stayed.” Seeing a bit of a shadow pass over Chandi’s face, Eric immediately expressed his concern, “What’s wrong, honey?”
“I just put two and two together. Did worrying about me interfere with your games today?”
“Somewhat, but don’t fret over it.” Eric quickly worked at setting Chandi’s mind at ease. “I am extremely happy about finishing in fourth place. I was up against some pretty stiff competition and never expected to get as far as I did.”
“So you were able to stay focused enough to play until you were eliminated?”
“Well, not quite. I forfeited my last game. But it was my choice to do so, Chandi. It wasn't yours, so I do not want you beating yourself up over it. Understand?” Eric smiled and kissed the lips pouting somewhat dubiously. “The way I look at it, there’ll still be something more for me to work towards at the next tournament. That is much better than trying to beat perfection, now isn’t it?”
“I guess,” Chandi slowly answered, not fully convinced. “Any chance that forfeiting is easier to take than out and out losing?”
“Some,” Eric laughed and cajoled his partially naked Brat off the bed to slip on a pair of flannel sleep pants while he ordered their supper.
The End
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