Radical Honesty
Word Count: ~ 1.600
Summary: "So tell me, Eli," Cal said, "do you want to have sex with me?"
Characters: Cal Lightman, Eli Loker, Gillian Foster
Pairing: Cal/Eli
Rating: R
Setting: pre-series
Warnings: Sexual situations
Author's Note: Prequel to my story Lie To Yourself, but can be read without knowing it. Written for a 5_prompts table and prompt #4 – If you want to kill some time.
Disclaimer: I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show Lie To Me and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.
xxx
If there was one thing, Cal had always been proud of, it was his instinct. He could see when someone was talented. That's why it hadn't been his decision to hire Eli Loker, it had mainly been Gillian's.
"He's got no talent. He lacks instinct," Cal told her after Loker had shown up in the office yet again, asking for a job and finally succeeding in catching Gillian's attention.
"But he's determined," Gillian answered. "He went to every single one of your lectures and he paid attention. He wants this job. He can do this."
"Not even the best scientific mind can replace instinct."
As usual, Gillian had turned her sweetest smile on him and he'd agreed to give Loker a chance.
The lad had been trouble from day one. Even though Gillian had been right – he was good, bloody brilliant even for someone who'd learned what they did out of books –, he was also a challenge. He questioned Cal, all the time, as if he wanted to prove to to him that he could be just as good ... or even better. Cal would have thought that Loker was an arrogant twat, if he didn't get a glimpse at insecurity and the desperate need to impress every once in a while. And he saw something else, too, whenever he was interacting with Loker: excitement. The sexual kind. And wasn't that interesting?
Not that Cal minded. Eli was a cute young man; dark locks, slim waist, long legs and wonderful blue eyes in a boyish face. But Gillian would disapprove and Cal hated Gillian disapproving. Then again, no one would have to know.
Cal sighed and leaned back in his office chair, his feet on the table. Maybe that was the root of Loker's authority problems. Maybe Loker wanted his attention and that was why he was making things difficult. Cal grinned. It would only be fair to let him know that the trouble he went to was appreciated.
xxx
He lured Loker into a trap. It was easy, really. He made sure that Emily stayed at a friend's house for the weekend and invited Loker to his place, telling him that he was interested to hear how Radical Honesty worked out for him. Gillian, though, overheard Cal's invitation and confronted him in his office, wearing the cute frown she got whenever she disapproved.
"What?" Cal asked. "You wanted me to give him a chance. So I invited him over for some bonding."
Gillian ducked her head, turning her face away for a moment – disbelief – and then crossed her arms in a posture of defensiveness. "To your house? That's not exactly professional."
He just looked at her, not intending to answer.
Her lips narrowed, then she frowned for a second, before she carefully applied a neutral mask, hiding away all the signs of jealousy he had just seen flicker across her face. She shook her head. "Just don't get into trouble," she whispered.
"Me? Never."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut.
Cal chuckled. "I'll be fine. Go on home, don't worry about me."
She hesitated. "I'm not worried about you."
Cal made a shooing motion with his hands. "Alec's waiting."
A smile bloomed on her face and this time, it was Cal's turn to feel jealous, but he hid it. He'd promised himself to never think about it again. Gillian wasn't Zoe, who he'd loved dearly until they realized that they were nothing but strangers living under the same roof anymore. She wasn't like Loker, who was a mere distraction – a way to kill some time.
Gillian was dangerous, because she knew him.
He looked after her while she headed for the door and sighed deeply.
And she stood by him even though she did.
xxx
Cal poured a glass of coke for Loker – dear Lord, he was too young for him, really! – and brought it into the living room where Eli was looking at his DVD collection. Cal watched him for a moment. The good thing about Loker was that he was as honest with his words as he was with his body language. And what Cal saw here – Eli's hands clasped behind his back, the way he ran them through his hair every now and again – spoke of apprehension and insecurity. As eager as he'd been when accapting the invitation … now he was nervous beyond reason.
Eli turned around to him and he gave a small smile. Cal answered with one of his own and sauntered closer. "Anything you like?"
Eli took the glass and answered, "No. I hate most of them." He sipped the coke and looked around. "A beautiful home, but you should really paint the walls. It's been a while."
Cal sank into his couch and clasped his hands behind his head, crossing his ankles. He noticed Eli's eyes on him, evaluating the body language quickly and – Cal was sure – coming to the right conclusion: Cal held he reigns in this conversation. He raised his eyebrows. "Radical Honesty is working out for you, then?"
"More or less; a guy in a bar beat me up last week."
"Did you hit on his girlfriend?"
"On the contrary. He caught me looking and when I told him that I liked her friend better, he took that as an insult."
Cal laughed. "But you intend to continue with the experiment?"
"It's really become more of a lifestyle for me."
"That's really good. Impressive even," Cal said. Eli smiled, clearly pleased. "So tell me, Eli," Cal said, "do you want to have sex with me?"
He'd expected a certain reaction and Eli didn't disappoint: He froze, then his eyes flickered away and he licked his lips. There was a lot of discomfort showing up in his body language but it wasn't the kind of discomfort and awkwardness that a sexual harassed person exhibited. It was the kind of awkwardness that being found out caused.
Eli cleared his throat and set his glass down on the coffee table, struggling with himself. Radical Honesty or a lie … admit to something that he seemed to think was embarrassing or betray his lifestyle. Cal let him have the time to decide. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands.
Finally, Eli looked at him. "Yes."
"Interesting," Cal said. He leaned back in his chair. "I would have pegged you for someone who'd back down. I'm impressed, Loker."
Eli swallowed and though he tried to keep his eyes on Cal's, he didn't quite succeed – shame.
Cal wasn't done pushing yet. "Are you gay or bisexual?"
Eli crossed his arms.
Cal raised his eyebrows – challenging him. If Eli wasn't strong enough to live through this conversation without betraying his ideals, then he wasn't worth Cal's time.
Eli cleared his throat. "Bisexual."
"In theory?"
"What?" The question was honest, lacking any sign of put-upon confusion.
Cal leaned back in his seat, tilting his head. "I guess you've been with girls. Ever been with a man? Or are you just coming out?"
"I had some girlfriends and I had a male lover at university."
"That's an interesting choice of words there. 'Lover'." He got up and slowly walked towards Eli. "You call the girls 'girlfriends', but the guy – he was a 'lover'." Eli opened his mouth, but Cal held up a hand. "No, let me be the Sherlock Holmes in this." He grinned. "'Lover' as opposed to 'boyfriend' could imply that he was older than you are and probably married or liaised."
"It's just a word." A nervous chuckle, the eyebrows raised and his breathing slightly elevated.
Cal put his hands on his hips. "Loker, are you lying to me?"
Eli's eyes widened. "No!"
"Side-stepping the truth maybe?"
Eli swallowed and didn't answer.
Cal grinned. "So, was he?"
"What?"
"Older than you are."
Eli stared at him for a long moment. Cal realized now that there was one important thing when talking to him about intimate matters: Eli needed time. Patience. Intimacy scared him for some reason. Interesting. Eli took a deep breath. "My professor."
"How long?"
"Half a year."
"Did he come on to you or was it the other way around?"
"Why all these questions?" Eli asked angrily. "That's my personal business and it's of no interest to you."
"It is if I want to know how you prefer this to go."
Eli tilted his head, staring at Cal for a long moment, then he straightened, squared his shoulders and asked, "Do you want to have sex with me?"
Cal smirked. "It's either that or a pointless case of sexual harassment."
"You could just be testing me."
"Do you always do that?"
"What?" Eli asked, confused.
"React."
Cal watched Eli bite down an answer.
"You do, don't you? Always having to have the last word. I wonder how that applies to the bedroom."
"Why don't you find out?" Eli asked and Cal admired him for the speed with which he'd managed to adapt to an uncomfortable situation and take at least part of the control back.
He grinned. "Yes," he said, stepping closer to Eli. "Why don't I?"
END
03/13