Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
I was able to pin him down, moving so that I sat on top of him with my entire weight, knee down into his chest. That was when I felt someone grab my shirt from behind and pull me back.
“What the hell is going on here?” It was the bouncer, Ray.
“This guy was bothering those two.” I pointed at the two boys, their jaws dropped. “They were just kissing and he decided to be a homophobic asshole about it.”
Ray turned on the lumpy bag of steroids. “Oh hell no. You better get off this street before I get the cops out here.”
That got the man’s attention. I could see he was battling his irrational anger with the logical desire to stay out of jail. I wanted to take a step back just in case he ended up self-destructing; that was how intensely red his face had gotten.
Those eyes of his… I wasn’t sure if it was the steroids or if it was actual burning hatred, but they pierced right through me. It felt like the guy had reached through the air with a blade and stabbed it in my chest.
The fuck…
And then he shook his head, punched a light pole, and yelped like a little puppy when Karma decided to have her way with him and break a few bones in his knuckles. He grabbed his hand, visibly worked to hold back the tears, turned, and crossed the street, cursing up a storm as he left.
“The hospital’s the other way, dumbass!” I called after him. He tried sticking up a middle finger, but the pain must have been too intense. I heard another yelp, making the smile on my face even bigger.
“All right, everyone okay here? I’ve got to get back to the door.”
I looked to the two guys. They nodded, and Ray left, taking his post again.
“Thank you, really. That was crazy. You totally didn’t need to.”
“Yeah, for real. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem.” I stood a few feet from them, but I could feel their gratitude as though it were a solid force coming off them. They were young, handsome, and both had full futures ahead of them. From the way they held each other, I could tell this wasn’t a passionate one-night stand for them. These two were a unit, taking on life with the other’s hand in theirs. It was a nice refresher that relationships like theirs existed. I had been so closed off to the idea for so long, I had almost forgotten what it looked like.
“Do you, like, want a drink or something?” the one with the thick-rimmed glasses asked. “We were headed home but if you—”
“Don’t worry about it. You two get home. Relax for the rest of the night. Hold each other and kiss all the fuck you want.”
The one with the curly strawberry-blond hair broke into an almost birdlike laugh. “That sounds like a good plan to me,” he said, his partner smiling alongside him, their fingers locked together. It tugged at something inside me and sent dust flying up all around my chest cavity. My heart hadn’t been moved by much lately, but these two were doing it.
“Do you need me to walk you guys home, or are you getting a car?”
“Oh, that’s okay,” strawberry curls said. “We’re at the hotel right down the street. Thanks though. Really. My name’s Scott and this is Shamir, by the way. We’re visiting from Utah.”
They weren’t even from here. These poor guys were most likely escaping whatever shitty nine-to-five they had with a hot and sexy vacation to South Beach, one of the most popular gay destinations in the world. They probably never even imagined something like this happening to them, especially not here. “Nice to meet you two. My name’s Gabriel, but all my friends call me Fox. And listen, try not to let this ruin your trip, all right? Miami’s a beautiful city, and you’ll have an incredible time. I’m sorry this happened tonight.”
“We fly back tomorrow, but we did have a really amazing time. We won’t let this ruin it.” Shamir looked into his boyfriend’s eyes. Their love radiated out from a quick kiss that followed. “Good night, Fox.”
“Night, boys.”
And with that, the two were crossing the street, heading toward the nearby hotel. I could see the valet from where we stood, and the pumped-up dickhead was nowhere in sight.
I stood on the corner and made sure they reached the hotel safely. They held hands the entire way, with Shamir leaning his head on Scott a couple of times as they walked, passing underneath streetlights that painted long shadows behind them.
Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Not because of the case, or the adrenaline, or the bathroom stall blowjob.
None of those things kept me awake as much as the image of those two guys walking away from me, love radiating from them even after their harrowing ordeal. A love that was strong and undeniable and palpable to anyone around.