Life For Rent

Chapter 4 : Decisions

"Oh no you don't." Callen muttered to himself as he took off running after their suspect. A nod to Sam acknowledged that the other man was going to go around back in an effort to trap their suspect between them. The wild man running in front of him knocked over some trash cans to block Callen's way. He expertly avoided them. Callen kept running, full speed, after their suspect and a block and a half later was never so happy to see Sam.

"Freeze!" His partner shouted, gun pointed at the other man. The suspect came to a halt before looking around, trying to find another escape route. Callen came up behind him, gun out, blocking any further thoughts of evasion. "Let's go." Sam said harshly while cuffing the guy. "You good, G?" Sam asked as they started to walk back to Sam's car.

"Oh yeah." Callen answered, catching his breath. "A foot chase was definitely on my to-do list for the day."

Sam laughed. "Well, we'll bring this guy back and let Kensi have a crack at him."

"You don't trust me to do it?" Callen asked with false hurt.

"I thought you had that date tonight, G." Sam looked over at him and wiggled his eyebrows. "With that special someone."

"Will you give it a rest already? I'm not telling you who it is."

Callen could finally see Sam's car in the distance and inwardly cheered. While running after a suspect was all well and good, Callen had found it was often harder to get said suspect all the way back to the car. They tended to try and escape somehow or to go limp so their captors would be stuck lugging them back.

"At least tell me this: is she hot?"

Callen laughed. "What if I tell you this instead? She's a he."

Sam glanced at him. "No shit, dog?"

"You're a fucking fag?" Their suspect spat out.

Sam jostled the man making him lose his grip. "Shut up." He ordered. Sam shot Callen a look that said he would be receiving more questions later.

"Might I suggest the dark blue shirt with those jeans, Mr. Callen?" A voice offered from behind.

Callen turned to find Hetty standing behind him as he looked over his wardrobe choice. "The dark blue?"

"Yes." She reached out to grab the mentioned article of clothing. "It brings out your eyes."

Callen definitely did not blush. "Oh, uh, thanks, Hetty."

"Big night tonight, Mr. Callen?" She asked as Callen collected the shirt heading into the changing room.

"Why would you say that?" He pulled the curtain closed behind him.

"You're usually not so meticulous about the clothes you select." She explained.

"What, I can't just take a sudden interest in looking good?" Callen asked.

"You can." Hetty assured him. "But you don't." Callen stripped off his shirt, replacing it with the button down. His fingers skimmed over his scars as he briefly wondered what Jared would think of them. He sighed as he buttoned the shirt up. "Well?" Hetty asked. "How does it look?"

"Like a shirt." Callen offered.

"Well come out here so I can see it." She ordered. Callen pushed the curtain open and stepped out. She let out a low whistle. "Looking good, Mr. Callen."

"Thanks, Hetty."

"Now where are you taking this young lady of yours?" She demanded as Callen shoved his wallet into his pocket and searched around for his keys. Hetty held a jacket out for him.

Callen hesitated. Telling Sam he was seeing a guy was one thing, telling Hetty…"Nowhere, I'm going to their place." In fact, he was going to be late if he didn't leave in the next five minutes. Jared's apartment was surprisingly close to LA headquarters and a bit farther from the restaurant that the slightly younger man worked at then Callen would have expected. Although he really couldn't blame the other man, the apartments nearby were generally quieter and the area was a little nicer.

"I see." She said, disapproval clear in her tone. "At least take some flowers, Mr. Callen."

"Flowers?" Callen blanched. "Um, I think I'm good as it is, Hetty, thanks."

"G!" Callen looked up to see Sam coming down the stairs, heading for him. "You out for the night?" Sam asked as he came up to where Callen was standing.

"I have my cell, call if you need me."

"Are you kidding, man? Who knows how long it's been since you've been laid. I'll call the newbie."

"You sure?"

"Definitely, G. Go have some fun." Sam said with a light shove. He was taking this whole date with a guy thing remarkably well especially for an ex-Navy Seal.

"So tell me about this guy. What do you know? What does he do? Are you sure he is who he says he is?" Sam asked as he cornered G in the break room. "And how long have you been seeing him?"

Callen laughed. "I've only met him a couple times, but he seems cool. He's a chef at that dating restaurant you like."

"Le Bon Choix?"

"Yeah."

"And you're sure he's not a spy or some shit like that? You can never be too careful, G."

"Relax, Sam. I already ran a background check; he's clean."

His partner did not look pacified at that information. "And just how long have you been seeing guys, G?"

Callen looked at Sam. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"You know I just worry about you, kid."

"First of all, we're the same age." Callen began. "So stop calling me kid." Sam just looked at him. "Second of all, it's not like we're getting married. He's making me dinner that didn't come from a fast food place and from there we'll see where it goes." Sam kept staring. "Fine. I've dated a couple guys in the past, here and there, but nothing serious. I still like the ladies as much as the next guy."

"Well, be careful. If he tries anything you know I've got your back." Sam said seriously.

"I know." And Callen did know.

"Have fun, Mr. Callen!" Hetty called after him as he made his way towards the exit.

"But not too much fun!" Sam added after her.

Callen snorted and offered them both a wave as he made his way out to his car. He input Jared's address into his GPS and took off down the road.

It was 21:03 when Callen arrived. He was three minutes late, but what can you do? Driving in LA was unpredictable at the best of times. Callen took a deep breath before knocking on the blue door of Jared's apartment.

"One second!" He heard from inside. A moment later the door opened and Jared stood there, white apron on over his clothes, bandana covering his hair. He looked hot and a whiff of whatever he was cooking hit Callen's nose and it smelt good. "Hey, G." He greeted, stepping back into the room allowing Callen to enter. "Glad you found the place."

Callen smiled at him. "Wasn't too hard to find."

Jared laughed as he shut the door. "Well that's good to hear. Come on in, although shoes off if you would." He gestured to a small shoe rack by the door. "I'm in the middle of making dinner."

"It smells good." Callen offered as he toed off his shoes. He hung his jacket on a knob above the shoe rack. He followed Jared back into his apartment and took a seat on a stool at the counter where he could watch Jared cook.

While the younger man went back to cooking, Callen took some time to look around. The place was very clean, not a lot of knick-knacks laying about. Most of the furniture was neutral in color; some version of tan, brown or off-white. The walls were a cream color and the place was lit warmly. There was a long counter dividing the kitchen and the living room. The living room had a sofa and a recliner with a small coffee table in front of both. There was a flat screen television mounted on the wall and a warm wooden cabinet to the left of that which probably held movies and such. Against the other wall was a stereo and Callen noted the speakers at the top of the corners of the room. Next to the kitchen, separated by a small wall that housed cabinets and the fridge was the dining area. The table was glass and seated four comfortably. There were a few pictures on the wall, mainly surfing related with only a couple containing people. There was a small hallway that led presumably to Jared's bedroom and his bathroom.

"Like it?" Jared asked with an easy smile when Callen turned back to face him. He placed a glass of red wine in front of Callen.

"It's nice." Callen offered, reaching for the glass.

"My friend, Lindsey, decorated it. All I had before was a couch and a tv sitting on a pile of cook books. After about four months of me living like that she decided she couldn't take it anymore and hired some painters and pretty much stole my credit card to buy the rest of the stuff."

Callen swallowed some wine. "Sounds like some friend."

"She is." Jared answered easily. "I've known her since I was four. She lived a block down from me in San Diego. Linds moved to LA last year for her job but we never lost touch."

Callen wondered what it was like to know someone for so much of their life. He'd known Gibbs for almost ten years and Sam for close to three. But that wasn't even close to the thirty-one years that Jared had known Lindsey. "Must be nice to know someone for so long."

"It is and it isn't." Jared offered as he pushed something around in a pan with a spatula. "She's my best friend, but sometimes having someone know so much about you can be disconcerting." A timer went off and Jared grabbed a potholder to pull something out of the oven. "I hope you like steak."

Callen smiled. "Love it."

Jared washed their empty dinner plates as he loaded them into the dishwasher. "Room for dessert?" He asked G.

The other man groaned lightly. "I don't think I've eaten this much… ever."

"Well it's certainly time to start." Jared told him with a grin as he rinsed a wine glass. "It's in the fridge, top shelf. There's aluminum foil--" G pulled out the right dish. "Can you set it on the counter for me?"

"Sure." His date set the white chocolate mousse down.

"There's also a small white bowl on the seco--" G had that in hand too. G was certainly one of the better dates he'd had. He'd loved the food, kept up conversation on a variety of topics, was polite and oh yeah, hot. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Jared finished up with their dinnerware and washed his hands. When he finished he grabbed two small bowls from the cupboard and set them down on the counter next to the two dishes that G had pulled out for him. G was still standing behind the counter and Jared felt a flush of lust roll through him as their bodies touched. He swallowed as he pulled out a large spoon. Jared scooped the mousse into two bowls and dropped some of the raspberries in the other bowl on top. He grabbed two spoons and stuck them in. "Want any whipped cream?"

G shook his head as he stuck a spoonful of the mousse into his mouth. "This is great."

Jared grinned. "Well, all I really knew that you liked was white chocolate."

"And like it I do." G agreed as he grabbed one of the bowls. He had already taken a few bites by the time Jared sat down next to him on the couch. Jared soon discovered that he was much more interested in watching G devour the dessert than in eating his own dessert. The older man honestly seemed to like the sweet from the way he was going at it. Eventually G noticed and he flushed lightly as he slowed down. "Sorry."

Jared chuckled. "No, it's nice to see someone enjoy it so much. I usually don't get to watch people eat the food I make."

"Well it's great food."

"Thanks." Jared accepted the compliment. "So you're a dessert fan then?" Jared would have to remember that for, hopefully, future dates.

A weird look crossed over G's face that Jared couldn't interpret. "I guess." G said quietly. He set the rest of his mousse down on the coffee table and his whole position screamed uncomfortable.

Jared frowned, he hadn't thought he'd asked an offensive question. "G, I--"

"Sorry." G said softly. "Yeah, I-I like dessert."

"I'll remember that." Jared promised, filing G's reaction away for later.

"Well, I should-I should get going." G said, standing up.

Jared stood up next to him. "Or you can stay." He suggested gently.

G seemed to be thinking the offer over and Jared hoped he would accept. He had a feeling that if G left now he wouldn't come back. The older man smiled. "Okay, yeah. I can stay."