Unknown Number Read online

  The kid was in awe over almost everything. His eyes were wide and lit up as a shark floated alongside the tunnel, so close that you could see the scales near its eye. Cavan was like a child in a sugar-factory, however Lucas found his curiosity endearing. Plus he, himself, did enjoy reading the placards and learning about strange and exotic fish that had been caught in various tropical regions.

  Stepping into a large, cavernous room that had been decorated to look like a coral reef, Lucas and Cavan look a seat on the steps leading up to the oceanic tank. Kids skittered through, shouting in amazement as their parents settled down to rest for a few minutes. Lucas watched as they ran up to the glass, their mouths hanging open wide as they watched the large fish swim idly around through the brightly coloured tank.

  "Are you enjoying yourself?" Cavan asked, his attention finally drawn away from the fish.

  Lucas raised his eyebrows at the anxious tone in the younger man's voice, but smiled nonetheless. "I was wary at first, but yes. I'm really enjoying myself." He frowned for a moment, "Why do you ask?"

  "I guess you're harder to read than I thought," Cavan shrugged, his face still downcast. "I was worried that this was too childish for you."

  Lucas chuckled and stroked a hand over Cavan's shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze. "This has been fun. I like learning new things, and I've never really paid much attention to aquatic life. You don't need to worry. I’m just happy to spend the day with you."

  Cavan turned to him with a timid smile. "So … I did okay?"

  "Yes, kid, you did okay."

  Cavan let his shoulders relax. It was like his insides had finally unwound and relaxed. He hadn't realised how anxious he'd been the entire time. He'd watched the shorter man reading the placards intently. He'd chewed on his lip as Lucas's deadpan expression drank in the bright blue tanks, the large fish and sharks swarming around their tanks, including the open sting-ray nursery tank. He had been anxious as Lucas crouched down and leaned close to the glass, watching as the sting-rays drifted through the clear water.

  Lucas nudged his leg.

  Cavan looked up, his eyebrows raised, as he watched the older man smirk down at him from his higher ledge. Those glasses really did look good on him. He bit his tongue to stop himself from blurting out something stupid and cheesy. Arthur told him it was one of his many flaws when getting to know people. Cavan wanted Lucas to see the real him but he didn't want to appear too immature or dumb to the older man.

  "Should we make a move?" Lucas asked, glancing briefly at his watch. They'd been in the aquarium for just over two hours. The time had flown by.

  "We can try but we might get mobbed by all those kids," Cavan grinned.

  Lucas grunted quietly before standing up and dusting his trousers down. Cavan followed suit. They wore their way throughout, following the exit signs and passing by the small 'touch-tank'. Cavan had convinced Lucas to hold a starfish and he had nearly wet himself at Lucas's expression.

  Entering the gift-shop, Cavan made a bee-line for the counter to see their photo from earlier whilst Lucas was left to sweep his gaze over the aisles filled with bric-a-brac swarming with children. He sneered a little but kept to the quieter sections of the shop, his feet guiding him over towards the little plush sea creatures.

  Would it be too presumptuous to get something for Cavan?

  Was he over-thinking the importance of a stuffed dolphin?

  Studying to pass his teaching exams didn't seem nearly as hard in comparison to choosing a plushie. Eventually, he settled on grabbing a small, soft sting-ray. He managed to have it paid and bagged-up before Cavan caught up with him, waving the plastic wallet with their photos inside.

  "Jeez how many did you get?" Lucas frowned, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through the numerous prints in various sizes.

  "Well, I thought that you might want some too. They were also able to put the photo in a magnet."

  Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "You are far too excited for magnets."

  Cavan shrugged and slipped the folder back into its bag. "Okay I'm starved! Do you want to go for something to eat?" Lucas's gut grumbled in response and Cavan chuckled. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

  "Did you have anywhere in mind?" the older man asked as they stepped out into the overcast daylight.

  "You can pick if you like," Cavan offered, coming to a stop off to the side. Together, they leaned side-by-side on the railing overlooking the Thames. "Since I brought you to the aquarium."

  "Give me a moment and I'll see what's around here," Lucas said, whipping out his phone. Scrolling through the available links on his phone, he finally found a couple of viable places. Leaning over, he let Cavan look at the screen. "See anything there you like?"

  Cavan pushed through the options with his finger, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. Lucas watched him, perhaps a little too intently. The kid caught him staring and winked at him. Winked! "This place looks good enough," Cavan finally said.

  Lucas nodded. "And –it's only a fifteen minute walk away."

  "Let's go!"

  The Chinese restaurant was filled with the usual décor with torrent of red and gold embroidered wall hangings and slat blinds helping to hide the bland street just beyond the windows. The low lights and rich aromas mingled in the air and made Cavan's stomach growl loudly as they were seated. The waitress who seated them, slid two menus onto the table and took their drink order before promptly strutting off towards the kitchen.

  "Well that was quick," Lucas remarked drily as he slithered out of his jacket and gently combed his fingers through his hair.

  Cavan bit his lip and followed suit. It was fairly warm in the restaurant. He took the photos back out and placed them on the tabletop. Leaning on his hand, he stared down at the largest print and smiled sweetly. "I'm definitely going to get this framed," he said.

  "Won't that alert your parents to my existence?" Lucas quipped.

  "To be honest you don't even look thirty-four."

  "Are you telling me you would lie to your parents about my age?"

  "I guess not," Cavan mumbled. "It's just been such a great day so far and I want to remember it."

  "You always have the magnet."

  "True but it's so small!" the brunette moaned. "I have to squint to see your grumpy face."

  "I wasn't grumpy," Lucas protested.

  "I'm saying that's how you looked," Cavan grinned. "It's okay, though. I think it's cute."

  Lucas peered up at him over the rim of his glasses and smiled. "You're lucky you're pretty handsome otherwise I'd swat the crap out of you."

  "I have a newfound sympathy for your poor friends."

  "They deserve it," Lucas stated.

  "Oh, I don't doubt that! At least Sophie and Arthur don't harass me for information like your friends do."

  "Whereas in my case, I already have thirteen messages. Ten are from Eleanor."

  Cavan laughed. He looked so beautiful when he laughed. "Wow I don't know if I'd be able to handle her."

  "Count your blessings that may not happen for a while."

  "Ashamed of me?" Cavan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  Lucas rolled his eyes. This time he did swat Cavan upside the head. "Quiet, brat. You don't want to meet that lot. They'd devour you like a pack of wolves."

  "I would honestly go through all of them if it meant I got to have some candid photos of you."

  "And with that, you've just shot yourself in the foot at ever meeting my friends or coming to my place."

  Cavan’s mouth dropped open as he spluttered. "What? No! I was kidding!"

  "You wCavan't," Lucas deadpanned, leaning over the table on crossed arms. "But it's okay. I know how to threaten my friends."

  "Don't you mean handle them?"

  Lucas blinked up at the brunette. "That's what I said."

  Their food came quickly. Cavan was grateful the plates had come with regular cutlery, although Lucas went straight for the chopsticks in the paper wrapping. Cavan watched, fork aloft, as L
ucas snapped the chopsticks apart, rubbed them together and swiftly started mixing his food together. As he was raising the chopsticks to his lips, he paused when he felt the weight of Cavan’s gaze on him.

  "What?" he asked.

  "I'm just –don't really know many people who bother with chopsticks."

  Lucas let his mouth form a smirk. "You'd be surprised at what I can do with sticks."

  Cavan choked a little. "Wow that was so awful but … fuck!" Lucas had to bite back a smile as Cavan drank some Sprite and cleared his throat. Once relaxed, he cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, Lucas … Now that I know you're not an eighty-year-old lesbian, can you tell me something more about yourself?"

  "You can ask me whatever you like, kid."

  "Well, what's your last name?"

  "Trunell."

  Cavan furrowed his brows. "Lucas Trunell?"

  The older man nodded. "And you are …?"

  "Cavan Geisler."

  "Wow. Very German."

  "I did say I was!" Cavan grinned. "So, what made you want to go into teaching?"

  "Honestly?" Cavan nodded, encouraging the older man to continue. "Well, it first crossed my mind when I was in recovery from being shot. Between the initial trauma therapy and physiotherapy, I had a lot of time to think.

  "I decided that I was done doing what everyone else told me to do. I'd had enough of it. Doing what other people had wanted me to do had landed me in a hospital after getting shot three times. It hadn't done me any favours. So, when my therapist came in after the third month of recovery and asked where I wanted to go from there, I told her I had no idea. She encouraged me to think of myself as a role-model. It took me a while to get what she meant. To little kids I was like a super-hero, but to anyone older than nine, I was an actual hero. It freaked me out."

  "I can imagine that," Cavan murmured after a moment. "Obviously, I don't know what you went through but I can only imagine how alien that must have felt to you."

  "It did," Lucas agreed. "I was suddenly a role-model for something inane that hundreds of men were still going through. That hundreds of men are still dying through. It didn't feel as though I'd earned it."

  "And teaching did?"

  "Of course. Every kid had that one teacher that's tough and encourages them to push themselves. I knew how to do that, so I figured doing it for young kids was the only beneficial thing I could do as a career."

  Cavan felt his heart swell. He could see in the older man's grey eyes that he was passionate about his job. He believed in his cause and he truly wanted to aid young minds to be the best they could be. There had only been two teachers in Cavan’s life that had left any good imprints on his mind. If Lucas could be that to even a quarter of his students, then not all hope was lost for the younger generations.

  "What about you?" Lucas asked.

  "Huh?"

  "What do think you want to do as a career?"

  "Honestly? I don't have a definitive career-set in mind."

  "Even in your last year of Uni?"

  Cavan flushed and ducked his head. "I know it sounds really shitty but …it's hard to find a specific job that would suit me. I do enjoy my sports medicine lectures though."

  Lucas gave a sympathetic look. "It's okay. I never thought I'd go into teaching. It took me a while to land on my feet after the fact, so it's not the worst thing in the world if you don't know what you want to do right this second."

  "Sophie knows though," the young man groaned, raking a hand through his hair. "She's got her whole life planned out."

  "Some people are like that," Lucas stated. "My commanding officer had always loved the military; his family had been military for generations."

  Cavan bit his lip and looked grateful over at the older man. "I … Wanted to ask a follow-up question but … I don't really want you to swat me again."

  "Go ahead."

  "Are you sure? It's sort of … personal."

  "It's fine, Cavan."

  "I just don't want you to –"

  "Cavan," Lucas cut across him, a stern look in his eyes. "Just ask your question."

  The young brunette frowned before looking down at his half-eaten meal. He fiddled with his fork, his expression betraying just how anxious he felt. Lucas felt a little guilty for sounding so harsh before he set his chopsticks to one side and reached out to wrap his fingers around Cavan’s forearm. He was warm and tense.

  "Sorry, I don't mean to come off as harsh," he said softly. "It's usually how I keep people at arm’s length."

  Cavan shook his head and feigned a smile. "It's okay. I just –don't want to trigger an even harsher reaction that's all."

  Lucas didn't remove his hand. In fact, he brought it into the middle of the table and squeezed Cavan's hand without breaking eye-contact. "Ask."

  Swallowing thickly, the young man focused on the gorgeous teacher in front of him holding his hand. It was momentarily mind-blowing. His stomach flipped as he squeezed back a little. "I just … wanted to ask you," he drew in a deep breath and averted his gaze. "What was it like? Getting shot at?"

  Lucas felt a muscle in his jaw tick.

  For a moment, Cavan worried that he had over-stepped the line.

  Squeezing Cavan's hand tighter, Lucas maintained eye-contact. Without flinching he spoke; "It was the single most horrifying moment of my life. It hurts of course it does, but it's almost like the pain is dull –happening to someone else. Then your body succumbs to shock. I tried to stay focused on what was happening but obviously blood-loss makes that hard."

  "Oh God …" Cavan breathed, his eyes wide.

  "However, without going into shock all that's left behind is the pain. It's overwhelming, unbearable. It's like being burned from the inside and crushed from the outside. However, finding a place for cover, to keep myself alive to get to my squad was all that kept me going."

  Cavan didn't realise he'd been holding his breath until he choked. "I can't imagine how that feels."

  "It's a hole ripped right through you. In my case, three. Massive internal bleeding. I've never had to control pain before that moment, and I've tried to remain in control ever since."

  Before he could say anything else, Cavan had gotten out of his seat and settled down next to Lucas. Before the older man could question what was happening, he found himself enveloped in the younger man's arms. He stiffened; Cavan’s chest was warm and solid, his arms firm and comfortable as he gently stroked Lucas's back. It took a while for the older man to relax into the touch, but once he did it was almost too easy.

  "Cavan …" he breathed.

  "Sorry," the kid pulled back, concern swimming in those bright green eyes. "I just –the thought of you going through that, so far from your family, alone and bleeding-out … that's the most heart-breaking thing I've ever heard!"

  "It's okay, brat," Lucas said. "I survived."

  Cavan looked down at him with an expression that stunned the older man. It was serious and concerned all at the same time. "You're an amazing man, Lucas. Never doubt yourself for a moment, okay?"

  "Listen kid –"