Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Showdown
Iwasn’t prepared. There was no warning, and now I’m choking on scalding hot coffee, trying not to die from embarrassment.
My face is definitely bright red, which I can thankfully attribute to the sudden coughing fit and not the unexpected remark my boyfriend made to my friends about getting laid this weekend.
Even so, I might actually be departing this life.
It started innocently enough. The guys and I were hanging around before work, chatting about what we had done over the weekend.
Marcus took all five of his kids to the zoo, Eric and Liz watched a movie, and Ben and Laura worked on their raised-bed vegetable garden.
My weekend was boring, obviously. Totally not one of the best of my entire life. Nothing noteworthy to see here.
But then Luke strolled in, disheveled and half-asleep, like he hadn’t woken up in enough time to do anything fancy with his slightly rumpled hair, and it went downhill fast.
My hickey is on full display above his collar for the whole world to see, and I had to take a sip of coffee just to stop myself from smiling like an idiot when I noticed it.
I thought he would have covered it up to avoid the stares or awkward conversation, but the fact that he wanted to show it off—even in a shop full of bigots—makes my insides melt, a strange possessive feeling washing over me.
It’s like I’ve staked my claim, and now everyone can see that he’s taken. Honestly, it’s kind of a turn-on.
“Well, well, well,” Marcus had crooned as soon as he saw him, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Looks like someone got lucky this weekend, didn’t he?”
Then Luke ran a hand through his hair, kind of bashful but definitely more proud, and responded with the most unexpected line I could have imagined. “Mhm. Best dicking down of my life.”
And there it was. I couldn’t believe the audacity. The gall. The disrespect. How dare Luke say something so funny and out of pocket without warning me?
When I say the gasp I gasped was not conducive to the coffee I was drinking at that moment, it wouldn’t come as a shock.
Now I’m choking and sputtering like a total idiot, but at least it’s hiding my blush.
I hope I played it off like I was genuinely shocked to hear the statement and not like I had something to do with it. Lord, have mercy.
I can feel someone helpfully patting my back, trying to get me to breathe again.
“I’m okay,” I cough out, holding up my hand with teary eyes and burning lungs. When I turn my head to see that it’s Luke, I almost wish I did die from choking as I catch the mischievous grin on his face. The fucker. He’s clearly enjoying this.
“Sorry, did that offend your delicate sensibilities?” he teases, and if I could kiss that stupid smirk off of his face right now, I would.
“I’d say fuck you, but it looks like somebody already did,” I retort, and everyone loses it. Luke and I share a look, and I enjoy the gleam in his eye. Okay, maybe this is a little fun.
But the happy moment doesn’t last.
While we’re standing around, Frank suddenly comes up behind us with his little posse, making a show of wanting to get by on the path.
Rather than taking a few steps to the right like a normal person would have, he barrels through the middle of our group instead, breaking us up forcefully like the prick he is.
He brushes his shoulder against Luke the hardest, the movement blatantly aggressive, and Luke stumbles backward from the unexpected force.
“What the fuck, Frank?” he instantly snaps, glaring down at the weasel. Frank’s not a small guy, but he’s almost a foot shorter than Luke. It doesn’t seem to intimidate him in the slightest.
“Watch it, fag,” Frank barks back, puffing out his chest and making a show like he wants to swing a fist. Luke unconsciously flinches, looking more pissed at the involuntary reaction than fearful. It sends my blood boiling.
“Frank,” I growl, trying to step in, but Luke quickly holds up his hand, keeping me from moving forward.
“Loving the guard dog energy—” he smirks at me, then turns his head and cuts his eyes up and down Frank’s entire body with a single arched brow and a devastating look of contempt. “But he’s not worth the air he breathes.”
Ben and Eric let out startled laughs and little “ohhhs” like they’ve just witnessed a brutal smackdown, and even I can’t help but grin at Frank’s reaction. His face goes rigid, and he glares at Luke with open hatred.
“I didn’t know you were the girlfriend in the relationship, Shaw.” Frank folds his arms across his chest, emphasizing how his biceps flex with the motion—like he’s trying to prove how strong he is. “Where’s your frilly dress to go along with that nail polish, princess?”
Now, Frank’s goons—Nick and Henry—let out snickering laughter, and suddenly, I feel like we’re back in high school, gathering to watch a fight in the parking lot after class.
Luke’s expression flattens, and he rolls his eyes, curling his fingers up to admire the shiny black lacquer he’s still wearing from our date.
“Still can’t be bothered to come up with unique insults, I see.
I’m more offended that you seem to have stopped trying.
Did you run out of targets to practice on while I was gone?
Or do people still react to this weak material here? ”
Frank seems a little stumped for the first time in the conversation, like he wasn’t expecting Luke to clap back so effortlessly. Luke recognizes it, too. His lips curl into a gloating smile as he folds his arms across his chest, the motion more bored than intimidating.
“You know, I feel sorry for you,” Luke continues. “If something as simple as a man with painted nails can piss you off so much, your life must be really sad. Or maybe it’s something else that’s making you angry, Frank. Jealousy, perhaps?”
“Fuck off,” Frank suddenly snaps, more aggressively than necessary for the simple barb, his cheeks going crimson as a vein pops on his forehead. It’s almost like Luke touched a raw nerve, poking too closely at an open wound.
There’s quite a dramatic implication floating in the air with Frank’s unexpected reaction, and I can feel the shock reflected on my face as I grapple with it.
“Yeah. Jealousy sounds right.” Luke gives Frank that little devilish smile I’ve seen him do so often when he’s going to be a dick on purpose, and now I’m even more curious about where this is going.
“I mean, for a man who claims to hate gay people as much as you do, it’s pathetic how infatuated you are with their sex lives.
But we both know it’s more than that, don’t we? ”
Frank reacts faster than anyone registers, shoving Luke backward with blind fury.
Luke comes crashing against my chest, slamming against me with enough force that I’m sure he’d have been knocked flat on his ass if I hadn’t been there.
It knocks me back a step, even though I’m built like a brick wall.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” Luke shouts at Frank, enunciating every word. His face twists into a mask of pure anger. I’ve never seen him so incensed, and I instantly grab hold of his arm to keep him back when it seems like he intends to pounce on Frank; consequences be damned.
“Or what?” Frank snickers, getting right into Luke’s face once he sees how he’s being restrained. “You’ll sic your boyfriend on me?” Frank nods at me with the word, and I freeze. I can feel Luke’s body go rigid in my grasp.
There’s no way Frank actually knows about us.
We’ve been overly cautious about doing anything romantic or too touchy at work, and Frank can’t have found out about our trip to Detroit over the weekend…
right? There’s no way he knows the truth and is just throwing out what he thinks to be a demoralizing taunt.
But as I study Frank’s face, something in his expression makes me wary. It’s more than just a sinister insult thrown at random. When his eyes meet mine, I can see the unmistakable sign of gloating. The kind of look that screams, ‘I know something.’
My face flushes against my control, but I try to keep my expression unreadable. I won’t give Frank the satisfaction of a reaction, even if I am slightly panicking now. Do the others suspect that he might be telling the truth? I’m terrified to check, especially if doing so might give me away.
Did I really just get outed by Frank on a Monday morning? My heart is racing, my chest going tight. I think I’m going to be sick.
Luke shifts in my grasp, snapping me back to the present, and I realize my grip on his arm is too tight, hurting him.
I instantly relax my hand, but don’t let go, fearing what might happen if I do.
Glancing at his face, I’m shocked to see his expression is dark.
If flames could shoot out of his eyes, I’m positive Frank would be charred to a crisp at the level of anger radiating off him. It’s a little terrifying to witness.
Frank has the audacity to look triumphant. Like he knows he’s won.
“All right, Frank, really? That’s enough,” Marcus suddenly interjects, stepping forward. “Leave him alone.”
“No one asked you, Hoffman.” Frank turns his attention to Marcus, making him flinch with a single look.
Still, Marcus doesn’t back down. “Your bully tactics might have been impressive in high school, but it’s a little pathetic that you’re still using them when you’re in your thirties. Don’t you think it’s time to grow up?”
Frank opens his mouth to reply, but Luke interrupts him before he can get a word out.
“Careful, Frank,” he says stiffly, his piercing gaze unwavering as he locks eyes with the other man. His expression carries a deadly promise. “Push me too far and see how unhinged I’m willing to become. It won’t be me who gets hurt in the end. Not this time.”