Discreet
Packaging ~ From the Vibes Toy Box
By Chris Owen
Gallagher put the box on the coffee table and
took off his jacket. "Can I put my sidearm out of the way?"
He was already taking off his holster.
"Sure, anywhere you want." Cort looked up from dishing
out the food. "You can take it up to the bedroom."
There, that was an invitation and Gallagher had never once been
shy or coy. They'd fucked three times in the first twenty-four
hours they'd known each other and had only slowed down since
to go to work and sleep.
True to form, Gallagher didn't hesitate or even comment. He
just took his gun upstairs and came back down without it, without
his tie and without his shoes on. Cort just as casually shoved
food at him and they ate at the counter, both of them pausing
only long enough to wash the food down with beer.
"Want to talk about it?" Cort asked as he tossed out
the empty containers. He always offered, though Gallagher had
yet to take him up on it. They both tried to leave work at the
station, which was a pretty useless endeavor. Half the time
one of them got called out of bed to go to a crime scene. The
other half of the time they woke up and started messing around,
then the pagers would go off.
"Nope." Gallagher was back in the living room, the
parcel in his hands as he turned it over and over, examining
it from all angles. "Seriously, it screams discreet and
sex. You've been shopping online."
"I shop online all the time." Cort rolled his eyes
and found a knife. "Here, go for it. God, there's nothing
more nosy than a cop."
"You like my curiosity. It gets you off in many intriguing
ways and places."
Cort couldn't argue with that. Instead he leaned on the counter
and watched as Gallagher sat down and placed the box in front
of him on the coffee table. Given permission, he seemed to slow
right down, as if unsure he really should be prying into Cort's
mail.
It gave Cort a moment or two to really look at him again, post
hot meal. He did look tired, but not as flat out exhausted as
he had before supper. His p class="stdp"own eyes, his best feature, were
once more sparkling a bit instead of muted. He looked a little
like he needed sleep, but for the most part food seemed to have
revived Gallagher to the point where he was able to indulge
his admittedly nosy nature and open Cort's box.
"Get on with it," Cort teased. "It's a box. You've
studied the outside so much you can probably tell me where the
cardboard was manufactured."
Gallagher flashed him a look. "p class="stdp"own corrugated cardboard
box, bigger than a shoebox," he said in a television announcer
voice that highlighted his accent. "Addressed to Cortland
'don't joke about my name' Strang. Who is it from? We don't
know. What's in it? We're about to find out. Or Cortland Strang
might find another use for this knife and become an unpleasant
statistic."
"I think it's you who'll be the unpleasant statistic."
Cort did his best not to laugh, but Gallagher had a way of being
just bizarre enough to tickle him.
"You can say that now, but when you meet your cellmate
Big Bobby Bubba p class="stdp"own you'll change your tune." Gallagher
didn't look up again as he slid the knife along the sides of
the box and cut through all the tape. "Now. Let's see what
perversions you've been ordering, shall we?"
Cort snorted but he couldn't help moving closer. Gallagher's
build up had roused his curiosity, and he leaned over the edge
of the couch to see.
"Hey!" Gallagher slapped the lid back down. "You
just wait your turn."
"It's my mail!"
"Oh, right." Sheepishly, Gallagher opened the lid
again. "Here, you can have the packing slip."
"Thanks. You're so generous," Cort said dryly as he
took the piece of paper. "The Pleasure Chest?"
Gallagher crowed. "You did order sex toys!" Delighted,
he started pulling things out of the box. "Boring dildo,
but I'll forgive you. I don't know what this pink thing is.
Dude. You ordered sex toys!" He was thrilled, and possibly
even covetous as he pawed through the box.
Bewildered, Cort read the packing slip. Dildo. Check. Two different
things that had names he didn't understand other than the word
"vibe" and a hell of a lot of edible oils. "What
the fuck?" |
