Page 6 of Angel

“Yeah, I know. It’s just…” He shrugs and picks at a loose thread on his jeans. There are traces of color on his fingernails, like he tried to remove nail polish but couldn’t get it all off. “Things are always weird with my parents.”

I shift, angling myself toward him a little more. I don’t like how subdued he’s suddenly become. I want to see that smile of his again. “What do you mean?”

He doesn’t answer for a moment, instead peeking up at me through his lashes. My breath hitches in my chest, and the fluttering in my stomach intensifies. Why is he looking at me like that? Why does it make me feel so funny? Why do I like it so much?

Ricky drops his gaze and I remind myself to draw in a lungful of air. My heart is hammering against my ribs. My hands are curled into fists on my thighs.

“I look like this.” He uses his free hand to gesture to himself, like he’s presenting himself to me.

I take in the stray strands of hair framing his face, the little pout of his bottom lip, the proud way he holds himself tall.

“My parents don’t understand why and I don’t know how to explain it to them. So we all just pretend there’s nothing wrong, even though we all know there definitely is.” He drops his hand in his lap and his shoulders slump a bit in defeat. “It’s fine.”

Except it doesn’t sound fine at all. It sounds kind of sad.

I don’t know what to say. “Sorry” is so empty and meaningless that it’d almost be offensive if I said it. Obviously, I have no idea what it’s like to be in his shoes. I’ve always blended in more than I stood out. But there’s something about the way he said “fine” that reaches into me and tugs—hard.

Ricky waves his hand in the air, as if to shoo away the sadness that’s creeped in around us. “Anyway, enough about me and my daddy issues. What about you? Why are you up here?” He gives me a light poke in the arm.

The spot tingles, even though the touch was barely there. I curl my fists a little tighter so I don’t reach up to trace it with my fingers.

Why am I up here? Heck if I know. “I, um, it was, uh, I just needed a break from… you know.”

Ricky’s eyes dance with laughter as I stammer my way through my incoherent non-answer. My ears are burning so hot, I’m gonna need to dunk my head in a bucket of cold water. Ugh, what’s happening to me? I drop my face into my hand, trying to hide the unexpected, inexplainable reactions I’m having.

“God, you’re adorable,” he says softly. “A giant teddy bear.”

The comment makes me blush harder. Whyyy? This is so embarrassing.

Delicate yet strong fingers land on my wrist, and Ricky gently pulls my hand away. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be shy around me. This is a no-judgment zone.”

I believe him.

With my friends and family in the neighborhood, they’ll invite me into their house if I show up out of the blue. They’ll drop everything to help me with anything. But being a part of the community comes with certain requirements. It comes with a price.

I’ve always paid it, but Ricky hasn’t.

He’s an outsider. He’s not bound by expectations or rules. He doesn’t fit into a box and doesn’t care what other people think. He doesn’t have any strings attached.

Not like me.

That must be freeing.

CHAPTER

THREE

RHYS

I remember Angel from back in the day. Well, sort of. I remember his name and how much it doesn’t match what he looks like. If anything, he’s the opposite of angelic.

The thick, dark hair on his head matches his full, lush beard, which matches the soft carpet of fur on his forearms. I’d bet my favorite pair of heels that his chest and stomach and legs are covered the same way too. He’s wider than he is tall, with broad shoulders and a belly I really want to tickle. His hands are meaty and rough, decorated with scars from nicks and cuts.

I can’t help cradling one of them in my own. His palm is nearly the size of my entire hand, and his pinky is just as thick as my thumb. There’s a smattering of hair across the back of his knuckles.

I should let go, but god, I really don’t want to. He’s so fucking adorable with his blushing and stammering. This big guy should be the most intimidating person at the party, but he’s just a squishy teddy bear. Exactly my type of bear.

Ngh. I respectfully set his hand on his thigh again… with one last pet on the back—sue me, I’m only human.

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