Warning: the following story contains graphic descriptions of male/male sex between consenting adults. If that sort of thing bothers you, or you are a minor, or it is illegal for you to read this type of content under the laws of your area, don’t read any further.

This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people or events is purely coincidental.

Setting: Sacramento, California, 2002.

Chapter 19.

Boy how I hated waiting for Saturday. I wanted to spend every minute of every day with Robby. I wanted to hold him in my arms and make love to him again and again and again.

Work on Friday passed with agonizing slowness, and with no work to do on Saturday, the day passed even slower. I sent him emails professing my love. Robby did the same, but included provocative pictures with his, the tease.

I was ready to go hours before the party. Of course I wore the sleeveless shirt and boxer shorts Robby had picked out for me at Abercrombie & Fitch. I picked out a pair of cargo pants that were a little loose. They would show a little of the boxers. I may as well show them off if Robby made me buy them. I don’t really go for the pants-hanging-off-the-hips look much. These weren’t nearly as low as the pants Max always seemed to wear whenever I saw him.

I called my parents, just to say hi. My mother went on and on about another PFLAG meeting she’d gone to.

“There’s lots of homosexual men around, Kevin,” she said. “More than I ever guessed. And they’re not all effeminate either.”

This, apparently, was a revelation to her.

“I know, mom,” I said.

I didn’t really know all that many gay people, but really, the only overtly effeminate one I could think of was Jeremy.

“I’m learning so much at these meetings, Kevin. I’m sorry about the way I behaved when you told me.”

My mother was becoming a convert, that was for sure. She was developing an almost born-again like zeal.

“It’s okay, mom. We survived it.”

“Do you think I should talk to Robby’s mother? Maybe I could see if I could interest her in a PFLAG meeting. I could volunteer to go with her if that would make her feel better.”

“Uh, I don’t think so, mom. Robby’s parents aren’t as, um, open to new ideas as you are. I think it’s better to let Robby decide when to tell them.”

“Oh, of course,” she said, retreating a little. “But you tell him I’d be happy to talk to them if he wants.”

“Sure mom. I’ll tell him.”

So far, Robby had been too scared to even let me near his parents. I couldn’t envision a situation where both of our parents got together for a friendly chat.

“How’s Dave?” I asked.

David is my oldest brother. He hadn’t been thrilled when I came out to him.

“He’ll come around, honey. Don’t you worry. I’m trying to get him to go to a PFLAG meeting. Kathy says she wouldn’t mind going, but they’d have to get a sitter if they both wanted to go. Maybe next week, she says.”

Kathy was David’s wife. My mother was trying to recruit everywhere. It made me cringe a little, but I guess it was better than the alternative. With any luck, she’d calm down some after her initial period of fervor.

“I’m glad you like the meetings, mom.”

“You and Robby could come with us some time, if you want. I’m sure the group would love to meet you two.”

“Maybe sometime,” I said, noncommittally. “Right now we don’t get to spend much time together.”

“I understand.”

I wasn’t sure that she did, but I wasn’t about to tell her that I’d rather have sex with Robby than take him to a PFLAG meeting with her. Some things are best left unsaid. I eventually managed to steer the conversation in another, less embarrassing direction. We chatted a little longer, then said our goodbyes.

Finally, finally, Robby showed up. I buzzed him through the door downstairs, and then darted to my door, only to wait impatiently for him to come up. I swept the door open before his knuckles connected a second time on the door when he knocked. I tried to pretend that I wasn’t anxious to see him, but it was useless. He grinned at me, seeing right through me.

“Come on in,” I said, still trying to be casual.

He followed me into the living room. I spun in a small circle.

“This look okay?” I asked.

It was a sincere question. I was fully aware that I lacked a fashion sense.

“You look great,” said Robby. “They’ll all want you for themselves.”

“Yeah, right,” I said.

Robby, of course, looked fantastic. His lithe form squeezed into his tight black leather pants that drove me wild. His hair was perfect.

I pulled him to me and kissed him hard. He responded in kind. I squeezed his ass through his tight pants and ground our hips together. After a minute he pushed away just a little.

“Last time you started this you creamed your shorts,” said Robby.

“It’s totally your fault.”

“Yeah?”

“Cause you’re so fuckin sexy,” I said with a lascivious grin. Then I looked him in the eye. “And cause I’m so in love with you.”

“God you’re a sap,” said Robby. But he settled in against me and rested his head on my shoulder.

“I know. But being apart so much makes me crazy. Sometimes when I see you… I, I just feel overwhelmed.”

I hugged him close, now feeling more emotional than horny. He hugged me back with equal intensity, and that was about the best feeling of all just then.

After a deep passionate kiss and a long loving hug, I felt like I could go out without attacking him first.

We arrived at Jeremy’s, and as before, he was waiting for us at the door and took Robby’s keys. He playfully pinched my ass and winked as we passed.

“Good to see you two again,” he said, before turning to the next people coming up the walkway.

We went up to the top floor again, and Robby deposited our six-pack at the bar. The experience for me was quite different than the first time. Before, this had all been completely new to me. The people, the scene, the dancing. I didn’t know anyone else, and really only barely knew Robby. Now I felt like we had a real relationship going. I no longer feared the dance floor; I was actually looking forward to dancing again. I recognized a few faces from the last time we’d been here.

We circulated a little, both of us with a beer. This time I wasn’t simply a date. Robby introduced me as his boyfriend to people, and I just beamed happily. He frequently stroked my arm or twined his fingers in mine. I loved the contact, and was also glad that Robby felt comfortable being affectionate with me in front of his friends.

I saw Jeremy come upstairs. Robby was talking to a guy who seemed disinterested in me, so I drifted over to chat with Jeremy.

“You must be really nice or the greatest lay in Sacramento,” said Jeremy. I arched an eyebrow at him in question. “I’ve never seen him go out with anyone this long before.” He looked pointedly at my crotch. “You packin’ something in there I don’t know about?”

“I’m in love with him,” I said, looking over at Robby. “I doubt I’m that great a lay, but we make each other happy.”

“Mmm, hmm. I bet.”

I dragged my eyes away from Robby and turned back to Jeremy.

“You know,” he said, “you’re going to make a lot of people jealous.”

“How’s that?”

“Some of these guys have been trying to get into Robby’s pants for ages. Imagining you two having sex together is giving me hot flashes.” He fanned his face dramatically with his hand.

“It isn’t all about sex,” I said. “We’re gonna move in together in a couple months.”

“No shit? Wow. Like settle down for real? White picket fence and everything? I really am jealous now.”

“Just sharing an apartment. As soon as we can afford to.”

“I gotta find me a real man that’ll move in with me.” His expression changed and he stopped acting like a queen for a moment. “I really am happy for you guys. You take good care of each other.”

Jeremy gave my arm a squeeze and moved off to circulate with his other guests. I turned and watched Robby. He had drifted farther away. With more people arriving and in the dim light, I didn’t see him right away. He was chatting with someone else, a half smile on his face. One hand held his beer, and his other drifted around aimlessly at his side. He turned from his friend. He seemed to be looking for something he’d lost. I gave him a little wave, and his eyes locked with mine. His smile broadened and his eyes lit up. It was me he’d lost. It made me feel good to know that I could make him happy like that.

I smiled at Robby and started to slowly make my way in his direction. I was interrupted when I felt a pair of large arms circle me from behind, and I was lifted off the ground. I felt a second of panic until I realized it was Nirasha,

“What you doin’ all the way over here? Yo boyfriend over there,” she said, carrying me toward Robby.

I laughed. “Hey Nirasha. I was just waiting for you to get here so we can dance.”

“You don’t need me to dance.”

“Sure we do. I don’t want to look like a scared straight boy.”

We were nearing Robby by now, and he was laughing at us. Nirasha plopped me back on my feet and gave me a shove toward him. I stumbled forward and made a dramatic show of grabbing on to Robby to keep from falling. I left my arms around him, of course.

“I seen the way you two dance,” Nirasha said. “I don’t think you need to worry about looking like no straight boy.”

I turned to Robby. “I told her I was waiting for her to get here so we could dance.”

The guys he’d been talking to moved off.

“Cool,” said Robby. “Let’s dance then.”

I disentangled myself from Robby, and he held my hand as we walked over to the dance area. We started to dance, and I intentionally danced really stiff, like I had never danced before.

“Lordy,” laughed Nirasha. “You really do need me to dance.”

She lifted her arms high and twirled her immense body around. She started dancing in huge exaggerated movements. A couple of guys dancing nearby moved a little farther away, fearing for their safety. We all laughed.

“Oh, yeah,” I said in my best dumb blond imitation. “That’s how you do it.” I started to dance like she’d shown me the last time, quickly falling in to a natural rhythm. “Where would we be without you?”

“Prolly at home in bed doing nasty boy things to each other,” she laughed.

“That comes later,” said Robby, humping his hips suggestively in my direction.

“T.M.I., T.M.I.,” said Nirasha, holding her hands over her ears and rolling her eyes. Too much information.

We danced for a long time. The upbeat music and being with Robby and Nirasha made me feel really happy, and the tempo had sort of a hypnotic effect after a while. I kind of got into a zone. The movement felt good, and I just kept dancing and dancing. I don’t even remember doing it, but at some point both Robby and I took our shirts off.

I know I’m in pretty good shape because of my work, but I was surprised that Nirasha could keep up. She’s so heavy, I thought she would just collapse or something. We were all in grove, I guess, because none of us stopped for over an hour.

It was a slow song that finally jarred me out of my dance trance. I looked at Robby. His chest was heaving and his skin glistened with sweat. I resisted the urge to lick him. His eyes were bright, and I smiled at him.

“Wow,” I said.

Most of the people dancing started to wander off, but Robby grabbed my hand. He pulled me to him.

“Slow dance with me, Stud Boy,” he said.

“Okay,” I said. I’d never slow danced before, but I wasn’t about to say no.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and awkwardly tried to move without stepping on him. I was as stiff as when I had tried to dance for the first time when we were at Jeremy’s before. I heard Nirasha’s quiet deep laugh.

“I gotta show you every thing, don’t I?” she said.

I turned to her and smiled.

“Help me, oh great goddess of gay dancing.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Well, stop movin’ yo feet for a minute.” I did as she asked. “Now close yo eyes and relax, just like when we started before. Yeah. I know you like holdin’ on to him like that. That be why they make slow dances.”

I was not about to deny that I liked holding on to Robby. We were both hot and sweaty, but I loved the feel of his bare skin pressed against my chest.

“Now, pretend you in the ocean. The current pushin’ you one way and another. You can’t stop a ocean current, so you just got to go with it. Now hold yo feet still and just sway the way I push you, and then sway back.”

I felt her gently push against my shoulder, and I leaned into Robby. We swayed that way, and then back. She nudged Robby then, and we swayed again in another direction.

“That’s it. Nice and slow and easy. Don’t jerk. Just sway to the music.”

She was nudging us to the slow beat of the song. Soon I fell into a new rhythm as we gently moved together.

“Okay, you gettin’ it. Now you can try movin’ yo feet.”

She backed off and Robby and I started to dance again. This time it wasn’t so awkward. We moved together relatively gracefully.

“That’s beautiful. My work here is done. I gonna go get a beer.”

I paid no attention as she walked off. I held Robby closer and kissed his neck as we continued to slow dance.

“I love you,” I whispered in his ear.

He turned his head to look at me. His eyes shined, and he pulled me into a kiss. Despite my growing arousal, we continued to dance as we kissed. My tongue actually moved to the music as I explored his mouth. I ran my hands up and down the bare skin of his back. My cock was getting hard, and I could feel Robby’s big tool growing and pressing against me too.

We continued to kiss deeply and hold each other as we swayed gently against each other. I didn’t even notice when the music stopped.

“Jesus Christ. You could at least, like, do that in a dark corner or something.”

I broke from Robby’s lips and turned. It was Max. The tall skinny Asian was smiling at us. I looked around and several other people were staring at us too. I guess we were making a minor scene.

“Don’t you have any, like, sense of discretion at all?” Max asked. He started to giggle.

Robby blushed deeply, and I looked down. Even in the dimly lit room, it would be obvious to anyone that was looking that we were both totally hard, especially Robby’s big cock in his tight leather pants. The music started again, this time to a techno beat. Max grabbed us and dragged us away.

“So, guys, what up?” he asked, glancing purposefully at our bulging crotches.

“Enough already,” I said. I shoved him into Robby.

“Get off me, you perv,” said Robby, shoving him back at me.

Max laughed and leapt away from us a step. He was, yet again, wearing loose pants that somehow defied gravity by just barely clinging to his skinny hips.

“Perv? I’m not the one that was totally molesting some guy in the middle of a crowded room.”

“You’re just jealous cuz I found someone to love,” said Robby, pulling me to him.

I gladly let him. I put my arm around his shoulder. I had a momentary fantasy of shoving my other hand down his pants to grope him. I’m not really that much of an exhibitionist though, so I settled for kissing his cheek. It struck me that we must look an interesting pair, my deeply tanned skin next to Robby’s creamy pale skin.

“Of course I’m jealous,” said Max. “Everyone here who doesn’t already have a boyfriend is jealous.”

“Nirasha doesn’t have a boyfriend,” I pointed out. “I don’t think she’s jealous.”

“I don’t think Alex is jealous,” said Robby, nodding to my left.

Max and I both turned to look. Across the room, I could see Alex glaring at us.

“Ouch,” said Max. “That is not a happy puppy.”

“Let’s go get a beer,” said Robby, turning his back on the guy who dislocated his shoulder.

I could feel him getting tense. I squeezed his shoulder as we walked.

“Don’t let him get to you,” I said. “We’re having a good time. I love you. We had a nice dance. And I love you. You’re surrounded by friends. It’s not like he’s gonna bother you here. Oh, and did I tell you I love you?”

I could feel him relax again. He smiled at me.

“Yeah, I think you mentioned that. I love you too, you know.”

I could tell by the way he said it that it was still a struggle for him to say he loved me. I squeezed him once more and released him as we arrived at the bar. Max pulled three beers out and handed one to each of us.

“Enough of that lovey gushy crap,” he said. “I’m gonna puke.”

“How can you be so anti-romantic?” Robby asked.

“I’ll be plenty romantic when I find me a boyfriend. Until then, stop flaunting in front of the rest of us single guys.” He made an exaggerated kissy face.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you’re single,” I said.

I took Robby and dramatically swept him back over my arm and bent over to give him a big sloppy kiss. Robby spoiled the moment by cracking up laughing.

“Ack! Ack! Two boys kissing each other!” said Max in mock horror. “Eeeew!”

Robby released himself from my grasp. “I gotta go pee. I’ll be back in a minute.” He set his beer on the bar and walked off.

Max watched him go, and then turned to me. “So, Kevin. Is he really that big? And don’t tell me you two haven’t slept together yet like you did last time you were here.”

“He’s big enough,” I said evasively. I remembered when Robby had finally been on top, and how enormous he felt inside me. I felt a warm flush just thinking about it.

“I want details. How does it feel to take that whopper?”

“Who said I’m the bottom?”

“You mean Robby’s a bottom? That almost seems a waste.”

“Who said he’s always on the bottom?” I said.

“You’re not gonna tell me shit, are you?”

I grinned a Cheshire grin at him. Max sighed and took a swig of his beer.

“I really am jealous, you know,” he said seriously. “I’ve had the hots for him for a long time. He’s nice. He so fuckin’ cute. I’d let him do me, even if he wasn’t hung like a horse.”

“He’s not that big,” I said, in near perfect imitation of Robby’s line.

Max laughed. “Yeah, right. No one’s gonna believe that after your little performance out there.”

I blushed. I hadn’t really meant to put on a display like that. I sort of regretted getting carried away.

“Maybe he don’t go for Asians,” said Max.

“Maybe he isn’t interested in guys who are obsessed about the size of his dick.”

“That’d be half the guys in this room,” he joked.

I thought it ironic that I ended up with Robby, and I really didn’t care that much about his size. I mean, sure, it was impressive to look at. But I couldn’t deep throat it, and we had to be pretty damned careful when I was the bottom. I imagined if Robby wasn’t a slow and considerate lover, it could be quite painful.

Max sighed. “What can I say? I’m a size queen.”

“There’s always Alex,” I suggested.

“Noooo thank you.” Max held his hands up protectively. “I like ’em big, not mean. I don’t need that kind of abuse. I’d rather get between you two. We could make a Max sandwich.”

“I don’t think I want anything between us. Or anyone. I’m pretty much liking the arrangement we have right now.”

“I can see that. But I can’t help myself. I had to ask.”

Max was strange that way. He was so forward, yet inoffensive. And I hardly knew him. I would have been pretty angry if anyone else had asked. As it was, I just shook my head and smiled at his audacity.

“You two are really in love, aren’t you?” Max asked.

I shrugged. “I’m no expert, but I think so. It feels like the real thing to me.”

“Well, if I’m gonna find someone to fall in love with, I better go mingle with the rest of the poor single guys. Later dude.”

“See ya, Max”

He wandered off. I finished my beer and looked around. I didn’t see Robby anywhere. It seemed like a long time since he’d wandered off to use the bathroom. I decided to see if I could find him. I chastised myself for being too possessive, but went anyway. Besides, I needed to pee by then myself.

When I got to the four small bathrooms, I found that the door to the far one was ajar. I heard someone say “Mmph”. It didn’t sound like a happy mmph, so, curious, I took a peak.

“What the fuck!” I yelled.

Alex had Robby pinned up against the wall. He had his knee pushed between Robby’s legs, forcing them apart, and was kissing him brutally. Robby was struggling, but couldn’t get any leverage, and Alex outweighed him by probably almost a third.

At my interruption, Alex casually stepped back, letting Robby drop to the floor. Robby scrambled away from him and struggled to stand up. He tried to brace himself on the toilet-paper holder, but it wouldn’t support his weight, and it broke off, sending Robby sprawling to the floor again.

“ I saw you two out there,” Alex said to me. “I thought I’d remind your little whore what a kiss was really like.”

I was blinded by rage, but was so stunned I merely stood there while Alex stepped past me. He smiled at me smugly. I wanted to crush his face into the ground to wipe that smile away.

“You asshole!” Robby screamed.

He threw the roll of toilet paper at Alex, and it bounced harmlessly off his shoulder. Alex laughed derisively and flipped us off as he walked away. I was torn. I wanted to kill Alex; rip him to shreds. I wanted to comfort Robby, who was near tears.

Robby won out. Or maybe indecision did, since Alex walked away. I finally broke out of my paralysis and stepped into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind me.

“Robby? Are you okay?”

I bent to help him up. He was crying now.

“I’m gonna kill that motherfucker if he hurt you,” I declared. This, despite the fact that I’d never actually thrown a real punch in my life before.

Robby sniffed. “I just banged my elbow on the floor when I fell.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I guess. He didn’t really hurt me. He’s just such an asshole.”

Robby leaned against my chest and started to cry harder.

“I tried to push him off me.”

“I know you did.” I held Robby and sat down on the closed toilet lid, pulling him on to my lap.

“I’m such a pansy,” he sniffled “I can’t believe I threw a roll of toilet paper at him.”

“Hey now. Stop that. You did what you could. It’s not your fault he’s an asshole. I just stood there like a dumb ox and let him walk past me.”

There was a pounding on the door.

“You guys okay in there?”

It was Max. Robby had stopped crying, so I lifted him up and stood. Max pounded again, this time a little more frantically.

“I’m gonna let him know you’re not hurt, okay? Otherwise he’s going to break the door down.”

Robby nodded, but turned away. I don’t think he wanted Max to see him. I stepped over and opened the door a few inches. Max stood there, holding the roll of toilet paper in his hand. He may act like a shallow gay boi sometimes, but he wore a look of genuine concern. Across the room, I could see Nirasha arguing with Alex, and Jeremy was stuck in the middle. I couldn’t hear them, but it didn’t look pretty.

“What up?” Max asked.

“He’s not hurt. Just give us a few minutes, okay?” I grabbed the roll of toilet paper from him. “Thanks.”

“Uh, sure.”

I closed the door on him. I’m sure he had more questions, but I was more concerned with Robby at the moment. I turned to him, and he still had his back to me.

“I’m not a whore,” he said in a quiet voice. He hugged himself in a way that looked like he was suddenly ashamed of his naked upper half.

I turned and opened the door again. Max was standing exactly where I left him.

“Uh, could you see if you can find our shirts? They’re somewhere over by the dance floor.”

I closed the door without waiting for an answer. Unsure of exactly what I should do, I touched Robby gently on the shoulder. He turned to me and leaned in. He still covered himself with his arms. I held him very gently.

“He just said that to be mean,” I said.

I slowly stroked my hands up and down his back, and I kissed his hair. Eventually he opened his arms and wrapped them around me. He sniffled again. I held him tighter and rocked a little. He shuddered. I started to sway gently.

“Slow dance with me, Robby. Do like Nirasha said. Like ocean currents.”

We gently swayed together. I could feel him calming, relaxing, coming back to himself. I thought loving thoughts, and hoped that he felt it. We continued to sway in our silent dance until we heard pounding on the door.

I released Robby and opened the door slightly. It was Max, holding five or six tee shirts.

“I’m pretty sure this one’s Robby’s,” he said. “You already had your shirt off when I got here, so I didn’t know which one was yours.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, dude.” I took Robby’s shirt and picked out mine.

“You sure you guys are okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “You could do me a favor and throw that fucker down the stairs or something. Maybe pee in his beer.”

“He might like that.”

I shook my head, grinning. “What’re you gonna do with those shirts?”

“I think I’ll hold auditions to see who claims them. I’ll have to carefully inspect every bare chest here.” He held the shirts to his face and inhaled deeply. He picked out one shirt. “I want the guy that goes with this one. He smells nice.”

I chuckled again. “Go on. Have fun. We’ll be fine”

I closed the door on him and turned to Robby. He was a minor sight. His chest was flushed and his eyes were red from crying. He was rubbing his banged elbow. His lip was slightly swollen from where Alex was mashing on it. Seeing that started getting me all angry again, but I stuffed it. I didn’t think me getting pissed off was going to help Robby.

“Want your shirt?” I asked holding it out for him.

He took it and held it against his elbow.

“Wanna dance with me some more?” I asked.

He gave me a shy grin and nodded.

There were three other bathrooms, so I was in no hurry to leave. I took Robby in my arms and we started to sway again. He softly hummed the melody from the slow dance we had danced before. We moved tenderly together.

I knew he was feeling better when a few minutes later I could feel the bulge in his pants growing against my leg and I felt his hand slide down my back and inside the band of my boxers. I looked him in the eyes and smiled. They weren’t so puffy now.

We stopped swaying and I kissed him very very gently on his lips. He responded by dipping his hand lower inside my boxers to cup my ass. His other hand started to rub my chest.

I moaned and separated slightly. My dick was responding.

“Okay, I think we’re through in here,” I said. “You ready to leave?” He gave me a questioning look. “I’d rather continue this back at my apartment.” I smiled at him and brushed a finger across his nipple.

“Yeah. Let’s get outa here. Take me home, you stud.”

We put our tee shirts on then. It gave me a minute to let my dick settle down. Robby checked himself in the mirror. His lip was still slightly swollen, but there were no other outward signs that anything had happened. Finally, I opened the door and we walked out.

Nirasha and Jeremy were waiting for us by the stairs. We walked over to them.

“He said he didn’t do anything wrong. Just gave you a friendly kiss,” said Jeremy. “I knew that was bullshit. I told him to leave.”

“I told that muthu fucker that if I ever saw him again at one of Jeremy’s parties, I squash ’im like a fuckin’ bug.” Nirasha looked pretty angry, and I suspected you didn’t want to make Nirasha angry.

Robby sucked on his lip.

“I’m okay,” said Robby. “He’s an asshole, but he didn’t really hurt me.” Robby took my hand. “We’re gonna take off now.”

“Thanks for the lesson, dance goddess,” I said.

Nirasha’s face brightened and she gave me a crushing hug. Then she turned to Robby and swallowed him in her arms in a considerably more gentle embrace.

“You call me if you need anything,” she said.

“We will.”

Robby pulled me quickly down the stairs. “I wanna get out of here,” he said. “That was totally embarrassing.”

“I think most of them are going to remember seeing us dancing together, not you throwing toilet paper at Alex.”

“Yeah, probably so. But that was embarrassing too. I totally had a hardon.”

“Hehehe. Yeah. You’d have to wear way looser pants if you didn’t want anyone to notice.”

“I was just getting into dancing with you. I wasn’t paying any attention to anything else.”

“Me too.”

We were out the door and walking to the van. I thought Alex was long gone, and was startled when he stepped out on to the sidewalk in front of us.

“Get a clue,” said Robby. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

“You know, you’d probably have better luck if you tried kissing guys who actually like you,” I said.

“I do whatever I want with whoever I want,” said Alex. “Your little whore here likes it that way.”

He reached for Robby. Robby batted his hand away and spit in Alex’s face. Alex was so surprised he flinched back. Robby turned his back and walked around to the driver’s side of the van.

I watched as Alex’s expression changed from shock and surprise to rage and spittle dribbled down his face. I stepped between Alex and the van. I’m not much of a fighter, but I’m bigger than Robby. I tried to look as tough and intimidating as I could, even though I was terrified of what might happen if Alex actually took a swing at me.

“Looks to me that he don’t like it that way so much,” I said. I scowled at him, hoping I looked mean and nasty. “This seems like a good time for you to go bother someone else. I think we’re through here tonight.”

Alex glared at me. I could tell he was trying to decide whether or not to pound me into the dirt. I glared right back, knowing full well that if I showed any weakness at this point, he’d mangle me. Much to my relief, he backed down.

“I’m not through with you yet, you little bastard!” Alex yelled past me at Robby in the van. Robby ignored him and started the engine. “You either,” he glared at me.

I decided this was a good time to stay quiet. Alex turned and stalked off. When he was out of sight I took a deep breath and got in the van.

“He might have beat the shit out of me,” I said.

I was slightly annoyed that Robby had left me out there by my self. He held out his cell phone. I could see ‘911’ was keyed in, just waiting for him to press send. My annoyance left me. That was quick thinking.

“He’s lucky you were standing between us,” said Robby. “I was tempted to drive right over the curb and run him down with the van.”

I looked at Robby, surprised. Then I burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you spit in his face.”

I leaned over to him and we clung together as we both laughed and laughed until the stress drained out of me. I finally sat back up.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” I said.

Robby put the van in gear and we drove back to my apartment.

(To be continued.)

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