Page 49 of Alex
Andit does. We tap gloves and he nails me in my right eye. Taunts and jeers fillmy ears from the guys gathered around to see the fag get beat, and the switchis flipped. I land punch after punch, kick after kick, until he’s on theground, my arm locked around his neck. Distantly, I hear screaming voices, butthey’re inconsequential, a nuisance to be ignored. It isn’t until Dave andanother man are pulling me off of him, that I realize it’s over.
Staggeringto my feet, I take in the circle of astounded faces surrounding me. Someonemurmurs, “He’s a Reed brother all right. Did you see that shit?”
Ispit out my mouth guard and turn to Dave. “Gay doesn’t mean weak, you ignorantson of a bitch. Any day you want a match, you let me know.”
Nobodysays a word as I grab my stuff from the locker room and calmly walk out thefront door.
Adrenalineis pumping through my veins and I try to calm myself down as I drive back tothe safe house. Sidney and Gary are sitting in the living room when I enter andSidney’s jaw hits the ground. “What happened to you?”
“Justsparring at the gym.” Gary shoots me a questioning look, but I just nod,assuring him everything’s okay. One look in the bathroom mirror and Iunderstand their reaction. My lip is split and swollen, both of my eyes arepuffy, the right one nearly closed. Blood dots my shirt, probably from Mike’snose.
Otherthan the first punch, I don’t remember getting hit, the rage numbed me like italways does. Now that the anger and adrenaline have faded, I can feel the achein my ribs, the sting of my lip. Worth it. Totally worth it. Mason may not betoo pleased with me when I tell him, but I don’t give a shit.
Ahesitant knock on the guest room door is followed by Sidney’s voice. “Alex?”
“Inthe bathroom. Come on in.”
Hisexpression is sheepish as he hands me an ice pack. “Your eye looks pretty bad.”
“Thanks.”
Hesits on the edge of the tub while I clean and treat my wounds. “I’ve seensparring and it doesn’t look like that. What happened? Does it have anything todo with my ex?”
Shit.I should’ve realized this would freak him out. “No, nothing like that. I reallywas sparring at the gym. When a few assholes decided they didn’t want to fighta homo, I might’ve gotten carried away.”
“Ihope you kicked their asses,” he says, shaking his head.
“Onlyone of them.” I laugh. “Now I have to find a new gym.” My ribs scream at mewhen I bend to untie my shoe. “Not for a few days though.”
Masonis surprisingly supportive when I call and explain what went down. He callsback a few hours later to give me the address of another gym. Hopefully thisone won’t have a no gays policy.
“Areyou waiting on a call?” Sidney asks that evening.
Apparently,he’s noticed me obsessively checking my phone. “No, I don’t know.” I scrub myface with my palms.
“Sorry,I didn’t mean to intrude.” He redirects his gaze back to the T.V.
“No,it’s not that. I just…it’s complicated.”
“Alwaysis,” he murmurs.
“Theguy I’ve been seeing, we had a fight before I left and I haven’t heard fromhim. I’m not sure where we stand.”
Sympathyfills his face. “That sucks. Have you been together long?”
“No,but we were close friends before we got involved. Living together andeverything. He sort of freaked out and cheated the day before I left.”
Hiseyebrows jump. “Cheated? And you’re willing to forgive him?”
“Sortof cheated, I guess. He’s bi, and still coming to terms with it. I’m the firstman he’s been with. We had a deal, though. If he wanted to get with a woman,we’d do it together, or he’d at least let me know. Instead, he went out, gotdrunk, and fucked some chick at a bar. When I tried to talk to him about it, hegot defensive and acted like a dick.”
“Yousaid he freaked out. You think he was trying to prove to himself he wantswomen, not men?”
“Yes,but I also think he’s got a serious fear of commitment. He’s never been in arelationship.”
“Whew.”Sidney shakes his head. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. After the dayyou had today though, you can understand why he’s scared. Maybe he realized allthe obstacles he’ll have to face if he’s with a man.”
Nodding,I agree. “He doesn’t want to be gay or bi or whatever, but that doesn’t makehim any straighter.”
