Hale grabbed Justin’s hand as they came together behind the truck, reaching up with his free hand and pulling the garage door down. Enclosed in darkness, Justin couldn’t see Hale’s face. He couldn’t see anything.
Then Hale’s strong arms closed around him. Justin leaned into him. Hale nuzzled his cheek, the scruff catching Justin’s own lighter growth. In the darkness, Hale’s lips moved along Justin’s jaw and found his mouth.
The kiss was soft at first, but quickly turned desperate. It ended with both of them face-to-face, breathing heavily. Hale’s thumb stroked Justin’s jaw tenderly, his other hand angling Justin’s head down from behind.
Justin didn’t want to lose this. “I feel like I’m saying good-bye,” he said, his voice soft.
“No, not good-bye,” Hale insisted. “I’ll meet you here on Thursday after work. I gotta pick up my paycheck, right? We’ll do something. I’ll have found somewhere by then. I promise.”
Justin nodded into Hale, but he needed more than Hale’s words. A lot more. Justin spun him, pushing Hale up against the garage door and kissing him urgently. Hale relaxed, turning soft in his arms. Justin wanted this moment to last, but of course it wouldn’t.
“God, I love it when you take control,” Hale said after several minutes had lessened the intensity of the kiss. “More than any words you could say, it lets me know that you….”
“That I what?”
Hale laughed a little. “I don’t know. Wishful thinking, maybe, but I like it.”
“Don’t mistake my silence for something it’s not,” Justin urged. What had Hale been about to say? “I’m sorry if things were a little weird in the truck, but I can’t shake this bad feeling I have. I don’t know where it’s coming from.”
“I do,” said Hale. “Your friend died. We have people watching us. Your handler’s an asshole. You and I are not supposed to be together, and yet here we are. It puts a lot on a man’s mind.”
“Yeah.” Hale really did seem to get him.
“I’ve been thinking about it too, almost nonstop,” Hale said. Hale’s lips brushed Justin’s as he talked. Though Justin couldn’t see him, the closeness of their conversation was more comforting than any look could be. “Even though we haven’t solved anything yet, we are far better off than we ever were before. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because now we have each other. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I promise you—the first thing I’m going to do is find a way to take you from your handler.”
Hale pulled down on Justin’s head, and now it was Hale who kissed him, invading Justin’s mouth with his tongue. Hale flipped Justin around, pushing him against the wall, leaning into him. Their cocks, hard yet again, pressed between their bodies. The sadness from before abated swiftly, replaced by desire and a sense of safety. More than that, a sense of hope.
Hale growled into his mouth, the sound greedy and forceful before he pulled away.
“I swear it, Justin. That man’s gone, and soon. Because from now on, you belong to me.”
Hale stepped away as Justin tried to catch his breath. The garage door began to rise, letting in the natural light of the night outside. Hale walked his bike over to Justin and got on but didn’t put on his helmet.
He leaned in for a kiss and Justin met him eagerly, but this time the kiss was soft and tender. Hale pulled away all too soon.
In the darkness, Justin could see Hale’s intense eyes, the look on his face that was desire mixed with sadness, the clench of Hale’s jaw that told Justin he was biting back words. Justin’s heart hammered. Hale wanted to say something….
Instead, Hale kissed him one last time before putting on his helmet.
“Thursday.” He started the bike.
“Thursday,” agreed Justin. Then Hale was gone, riding out of the garage and into the night. The sound of the motor gradually died, only to be replaced by the rapid beating of Justin’s heart.
I think I love you too, he thought.
*End, Opening Round*
Round Two Will Begin after a Short Timeout
BRADLEY LLOYD is a Chicago-born author who studied Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was raised in a conservative religious household but became aware of his sexuality at a very young age—about the same age he learned of his ancestry to Hans Christian Andersen. Inspired by this knowledge, writing became an outlet that helped him cope with inner conflicts and bullying.
Of course, he was no angel and occasionally used his storytelling powers for evil. He once convinced the neighborhood children that gnomes had been real before all being turned into lawn ornaments.
Later, these experiences lead him to work with middle-school students. Now a teacher in the inner city, he shares his love of writing with a captive audience of kids, who are thrilled with true(ish) tales of their haunted school building.
Interestingly, his favorite UFC fighter and former world champion was a student at his school, and when Brad is not reading or writing, you might find him hosting the next UFC pay-per-view event party. His dreams of becoming an ultimate fighter are realized vicariously through his stories and video games.
Brad is happily married to a wonderful husband. Their tenth anniversary was also the day same-sex marriage became legal, and they were couple number seven at the courthouse.
You can read more of Brad’s (free) tales on his website BradleyLloyd.com, check him out on Medium, follow IMBradleyLloyd on Facebook and Twitter, or e-mail him directly at [email protected]
By Bradley Lloyd
Shadow Fray
Published by DSP PUBLICATIONS
www.dsppublications.com
Published by
DSP PUBLICATIONS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dsppublications.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Shadow Fray
© 2017 Bradley Lloyd.
Cover Art
© 2017 Anna Sikorska.
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact DSP Publications, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dsppublications.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63533-359-6
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63533-360-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017900387
Published May 2017
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Shadow Fray Page 31