2016 Top Ten Gay Romance

by Snyder, J. M. ; Black, Becky; Creech, T. A.

  “What the fuck! You worthless piece of shit! I have known you were cheating on me for months. I just never thought it was with HIM!” Rachel picked up a wrench laying on top of a tool box and flung it in Mark’s general direction. It hit the wall behind him as she stomped away.

  Mark had tilted his head back the moment she started yelling but he was still on his knees in front of Scott.

  “Fuck…” Scott muttered and hastily dragged his pants back up and zipped his fly. He was buckling his belt as Mark got to his feet.

  “I thought she was going to be gone all afternoon,” Mark said, still feeling half paralyzed by being caught that way with Scott.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you…out here in the garage…shit, shit, shit.” Scott looked upset and embarrassed. “She’s never gonna forgive you is she?”

  “I…somehow I doubt it. Things have been total crap between her and me for months. It’s probably why I did…” Mark trailed off. He and Scott had been a thing for years now. Why the hell had he thought he’d never get caught? Because his affair was with a guy? He leaned against the Charger, arms crossed, head down, feeling guilty, angry, and weirdly free all at the same time.

  “Maybe I should go,” Scott said.

  Mark merely nodded, not sure what to do next.

  * * * *

  Scott: 3 Days Later

  After watching Rachel drive a van away from Mark’s house, Scott pulled his car into a spot along the front lawn and walked up onto the porch. He knocked on the front door. A couple of minutes passed before the door opened. Mark looked exhausted and more stressed than Scott had seen in years.

  “I thought maybe I saw your car drive by as I was helping Rachel load the moving van,” Mark said, beckoning Scott inside.

  “It seemed like it might be the better part of valor not to show up while she was still here.”

  “Probably a wise maneuver.”

  Scott wandered into the mostly empty den. “She took a lot.”

  “It was easier than fighting about it. I don’t hate her, even though she’s furious. It’s just…it was already falling apart.” Mark leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking down at the floor.

  “Been there, done that.” Scott pulled Mark into a hug and held him. “No more. No more wives. We both proved that all we really manage to do is fuck it up. From now on, if you want company, or a booty call or just someone to have dinner with, call me. What the two of us do in private is nobody’s business but ours.”

  “Scott…I…”

  “No. Promise me. I will be your dirty secret or your roommate or your partner, whatever you want.” Scott pressed him back against the wall, blocking him in with a hand on either side of him. “I love you.”

  The expression on Mark’s face was raw pain with a dose of fear thrown in. He swallowed hard and whispered, “I promise.”

  Scott kissed him long and soft. “Still got a bed left?”

  That brought a guilty little smile to Mark’s lips. “Yeah.”

  * * * *

  Scott: 2011

  Swinging by his ex’s house to pick up his daughter for the weekend, Scott stood on the front porch and knocked. He heard a shout to come on in from Lynn. He let himself in and walked through the den toward the kitchen.

  “She is not ready. I told her you were coming at six, and here it is quarter past and she hasn’t managed to pick out which clothes she’s taking over to your house for the weekend. Lord, I thought it was bad when she was three and refused to wear shoes for a week.” Lynn rolled her eyes.

  “Think she’s planning on bringing shoes today?” Scott teased.

  “It could be three pair or just those weird purple high top sneakers. I have no idea.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I promised I’d drop off a socket wrench I’d borrowed from Mark.”

  Lynn tilted her head and gave him a long studied look. “You two need to stop pretending and just come out of the closet together.”

  “Lynn, it’s not…”

  “I was married to you for fourteen years. I know love when I see it. We had it for some years. For a while I thought it was like you had a brother but eventually I figured out the rest.”

  Scott heaved a deep breath. “Is that why you asked for a divorce?”

  “Honestly, no. I didn’t really mind splitting your affection with him. He understands you in ways I just don’t. Maybe it’s the cop thing, maybe it’s just being a man. Can I ask you though, was there ever anyone else but him?”

  It was a deeply brutal question but he knew he owed her a truthful answer. “No. I looked at a few other guys but never touched anyone but him. It was only him. It’s the same thing for Mark. He cared about Janet and later Rachel but I’m the only…it’s just us.”

  “I kind of thought maybe so. For years I’d notice the way you looked at him. It wasn’t until I paid attention to the way he touches you, that casual unconscious care that you only get from intimacy. Both of you look a whole lot happier now that neither of you is married.”

  Scott shrugged guiltily. He heard the thunder of teenage footsteps on the stairs and turned to face the hallway.

  Kari came tromping into the kitchen, over stuffed backpack in one hand, cell phone and earbuds in the other. “Okay, Dad. I’m ready.”

  “I’ll drop her off about seven on Sunday night,” Scott said to Lynn.

  “Okay, make sure she does her English homework over the weekend,” Lynn replied.

  * * * *

  Scott: 2013

  There are phone calls you expect and ones that shake you to the core. Scott was sitting at his desk in the precinct, typing a report, when his cell phone rang.

  “Hedrich,” he answered.

  “I’m trying to contact a Scott Hedrich,” said a female voice.

  “That would be me. Detective Scott Hedrich, Metro Police Department.”

  “This is Sibley Memorial Hospital. Your name is listed as next of kin on Mark Stenner’s paperwork. I am correct in assuming he is someone you know?”

  “Yes,” Scott said warily. “He’s my best friend. Is he okay?”

  “He’s had a heart attack and is currently in the emergency room being assessed.”

  Scott thought he was going to hyperventilate. “But he’s still alive…?”

  “Yes. The information I was given is incomplete, all I know is he’s being evaluated now.”

  “I’ll be there in twenty to thirty minutes.” Scott was heading for the captain’s office to tell him he was going to be gone, probably for the rest of the day, maybe longer.

  It took a minute or so to explain the situation to the captain and then head straight for his car. Scott slapped the bubble light on his roof. It wasn’t really authorized but fuck it, Mark was in the hospital, maybe dying.

  When he got to the hospital, Scott was led back to a cubicle by a nurse. Mark lay in a hospital bed, numerous wires leading from his chest, oxygen tube under his nose, IV line in his arm. He looked pale and scared, not words Scott usually associated with the love of his life. Mark looked up as Scott came in and stretched out a hand toward him.

  Scott took Mark’s hand and squeezed it, then raised it to his lips and kissed Mark’s fingers. “They called me. Oh Jesus God, are you okay? How bad? Are they running tests? What the fuck happened?”

  Mark hung on to Scott’s hand. “I was at work, getting ready to do an interrogation. I started having trouble breathing. It didn’t really hurt that bad, I just couldn’t catch my breath, and then I got dizzy and was sweating like it was a hundred degrees. Somebody called an ambulance. The paramedics gave me nitroglycerin. It gave me a headache and then I wondered if I was having a stroke but she said the headache was a common thing for a lot of people.”

  “Was it really a heart attack?”

  “The doctor said so. I guess they can tell from the EKG or something. They said they’re going to send me for an ango-something. That’s supposed to fix it or stop or I don’t know.”

  “Ang
iogram I’m guessing. Don’t you remember when Captain Fitzgerald had one?” Scott noticed Mark was still clinging to his hand. He reached up with his opposite hand and touched Mark’s face. “Whatever you need from me, I’m here for you.”

  “I love you,” Mark blurted out. “I need you to know that. I mean I know I said it once or twice when we were in bed but…”

  Scott leaned over the railing and kissed him, slowly, softly. “I know. I love you, too.”

  A nurse came into the cubicle. “Mr. Stenner, I’m here to take you to the cath-lab. Let me see your bracelet. Are you family?” She asked Scott.

  “Best friend, I have medical power of attorney if you need me to sign something,” Scott answered. “Shit, I always thought we’d done that in case you got shot on the job.”

  “I think I’d rather have been shot,” Mark said.

  “We’ll take care of you, Mr. Stenner.” She began to kick the brakes loose on the gurney.

  “Can I go with him?” Scott asked.

  “No, I’m sorry. Try not to worry, this should take less than an hour.” The nurse patted Scott on the shoulder and pushed the gurney out of the cubicle. “We’ll be taking him up to a room when it’s done. He’ll probably be a little dopey when we’re done. We’ll be giving him a sedative. You can stay in the waiting room and someone will come get you once he’s in his room.”

  Scott stood watching them leave and reluctantly shuffled out into the waiting room. For several minutes, he was motionless, hands jammed in his pockets. Finally he sat on one of the hard plastic chairs along the wall. Staring blindly at the TV mounted on the wall, he worried, an aching knot in his gut. He couldn’t lose Mark like this. Tears slid down his cheeks and he angrily wiped them away.

  The nurse had been close in her estimate. It only took about an hour for Mark to be settled in a room.

  “The doctor will be by to see you in a few minutes,” the nurse said as she walked out.

  Scott leaned over the railing of the gurney. Mark was lying essentially flat. “What did they do?”

  Mark blinked up at Scott. “Something was blocked. I heard them say they unblocked and put in a gadget to make sure it stays open.” His words were slightly slurred.

  Scott took his hand. “Okay, I guess that sounds promising.”

  A man in a traditional lab coat came into the cubicle. “I’m Dr. Winthrop. You are?”

  “Scott Hedrich. I’m a close friend of Mark’s. I’m the one with medical power of attorney.” It seemed important to make sure everyone knew that. He wasn’t family, and he wasn’t…a spouse. He felt like he needed to justify his right to be there.

  “I understand. Let me explain what we did. One of his coronary arteries was blocked. This is responsible for his heart attack, but he’s lucky. The damage seems to be minor. I threaded a catheter up to his heart and cleared the blockage. I put in a stent to make sure the artery stays open.”

  “What now?” Scott asked.

  “We’re going to put him on some magnesium sulfate for the next hour or so to help the heart recover as much as it can. He’ll need to stay in the hospital for two to three days so that we can monitor him. Afterward it’s all about medication and lifestyle changes to keep him healthy. Giving up the cigarette habit is a key component to that,” the doctor finished.

  “Can I continue to stay with him for a while?”

  “Yes, that’s fine. Anything to reduce his stress is a good thing.”

  * * * *

  Mark: 2014

  Looking at his watch, Mark realized he was at least five minutes late to the Georgetown restaurant. He hurried down the sidewalk and as he approached the door, he saw Scott leaning against the wall outside.

  “Am I that late?” Mark asked. He’d had a meeting with a client, who wanted him to work on a 1970 MG B. Trying to turn a side line business of custom car restoration into a full time job was more complicated than he thought it would be.

  “Nope. They’re just busy. I put my name in for a table but it’s probably going to be at least twenty minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  Scott reached out and took Mark’s hand, weaving their fingers together.

  “We’re in public,” Mark said. He had the reflex urge to pull his hand away.

  “I know, and we said we were going to stop lying to the rest of the world,” Scott replied. Scott pulled Mark closer and slid an arm around him. Legs spread slightly, Mark’s feet between his, Scott looked up slightly and kissed him. Mark almost panicked. Scott murmured, “Relax. I love you and I want everyone to know.”

  Mark drew an uneven breath and slowly let himself lean into the kiss. He could do this. He could kiss the person he loved in public where someone else would see. The warmth of Scott’s body against his legs and chest contrasted welcomingly with the chill of the fall air, and he put both arms around his partner.

  It took another twenty minutes before the restaurant had a table ready. They were given a secluded table. Something about the location and the way Scott looked at him prickled at Mark’s senses. He might be officially retired from the police force, but once a cop, always a cop. “Spit it out,” Mark prompted.

  Scott gave him a glare. “I guess you’ve known me too damn long.”

  “Yep.”

  Scott reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled something out, setting it on the table. “Marry me.”

  Mark stared at the pair of gold rings laying on the table cloth, mouth open, astonished. “I thought we…” was all he could get out.

  “We each promised to never marry another woman. We never said anything about each other,” Scott said softly.

  Mark’s stomach did a flip flop. Scott was proposing. How had he never seen that coming?

  “I love you. I have loved you for more than twenty years. Back when we were in the academy, the idea of the two of us spending our lives together was basically close to impossible. It’s legal now. Mark Stenner, will you marry me, please.”

  Swallowing hard, Mark said, “Yes.”

  * * * *

  2015

  “Two minutes until show time,” Kari said. She stood on her toes and kissed her father’s cheek. “Go collect Uncle Mark. You two are supposed to walk down the aisle together.”

  Scott nervously exited the room and went into the side garden where he suspected Mark was hiding. He found Mark there, elbows leaned against a decorative metal railing that ran along a pathway. “Are you ready?”

  Mark turned to face him. “What if we screw this up? I mean…I never got it right before, and things have been really good between us the past year or so.”

  “We will not screw it up. I’ve come to the conclusion this was always meant to be. Everything else was a misfire.” He took Mark’s hand in his own. “I have not come this far to lose you now.” He laid his hand on Mark’s cheek, rubbing his thumb along his partner’s mouth. “Nerves are not allowed. Come, we have a wedding to attend.” He took hold of Mark’s hand and they walked around the building to the opposite garden where the chairs were set up.

  Together they walked down the aisle and stopped in front of the justice of the peace. The ceremony began with a brief greeting and prayer. Scott cast a surreptitious glance at his daughter, who smiled back at him.

  “With this ring, I thee wed,” Scott said. He repeated the rest of the vows as prompted by the justice of the peace and he slid the ring onto Mark’s finger.

  “By the power invested in me by the state of Maryland, I pronounce you married,” said the official.

  Scott gazed into Mark’s gray eyes.

  “I love you,” Mark whispered. He put his hands on either side of Scott’s face and kissed him. “This one is the last one. You and me forever.”

  THE END

  First and Goal by Terry O’Reilly

  To John and his love of sports.

  “With one second left on the clock, the Hounds call time out. What play do you think they’ll call, Jim?” the play-by-play announcer asked.

&n
bsp; Darrin Houghton ran his hands through his hair and sat on the edge of the couch. Dolly, his tri-colored, basset hound puppy sat next to him. She stared at the TV screen, shifting from one paw to the other, and whined as if she understood what was going on.

  “Well, Ted, the Hounds are on the twenty-seven yard line. A field goal will do them no good, they’re down by four. They need a touchdown. They haven’t gotten the running game going at all, so my guess is it’s got to be a pass,” Jim, the play analyst replied. “They’ve got two pro-bowl receivers in Benson and Hill. They’ll probably go with one of them.”

  “Right, Jim. Here they come. The Hounds have an empty backfield, with two receivers wide right, and two wide left.”

  Darrin crossed his fingers and muttered, “Come on, come on.”

  Dolly stood up, her tail thumping the back of the couch.

  “Here’s the snap…and there’s a penalty flag,” the announcer said.

  The referee ran up, consulted with his fellow officials, then faced the camera and, rotating his fists around one another, called out, “Prior to the snap, False start, number eighty-eight, offense. Five yard penalty. Repeat fourth down.”

  Darrin clasped his head with both hands and stood up. “Brad! No! Brad!” he groaned.

  Dolly lay down, head between her paws.

  “That backs them up to the thirty-two. Here they come up to the line. This time they have three receivers left and the tight end, number eighty-eight, Grabosky, out to the right.”

  Darrin started pacing, rubbing his hands together. Dolly watched him, her head following his every move, her long ears swaying with the motion.

  “There’s the snap. None of the receivers are open. The quarterback is scrambling. Looks like Thomas is going to be sacked. That’ll be the game.”

  “Shit!” Darrin shouted.

  Dolly stood, threw her head back, and gave a deep basset bay.

  “Wait, he dumps it off on a screen to Grabosky. The pass is complete. Grabosky takes off. He breaks a tackle, and another one.”

  “Go Brad!” Darrin yelled, jumping up and down.