Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LEAF
“God, this is nice. Thanks for inviting me over,” I tell Dex as I take a seat on his back porch. His condo overlooks a small pond with ducks and everything. I close my eyes and sip on the cucumber water Dex shoved in my hand.
“Well, you kinda just showed up, but yeah,” Dex says with a laugh, and I peek an eye open at him. He looks a little rumpled, like he threw on clothes or maybe had a wild night of sex, but I can’t tell. Last night was a blur, and I don’t remember much about it.
Maybe Dex went home with someone. Maybe that someone is here.
God, what a way to distract me. I’m a nosy bitch on the best of days.
“Thom and Robbie weren’t answering, and Otto told me to go away because Salem was helping him with an aggressive hive, so here I am. I just needed to get away.”
“Well, you’re welcome anytime, just more of a heads-up would be nice.”
“Well, welcome to old-school Deaf. And I’m channeling that today. But honestly, do you want me to go? If you have someone upstairs…”
His cheeks flush, and he swallows. “No. Why would you think that?”
I open my other eye and roll them. “You looked thoroughly fucked is why. Please give me any gossip to distract from the human tooth we found in my serial killer aunt’s backyard.”
Dex freezes, his eyes widening slightly. “What the fuck? A human tooth?”
“Yeah. I thought it was Michael’s, but it’s not a groundhog’s.”
“Shit,” he says, taking a seat and eyeing me. “You okay? You want to run that stress off.”
“God no,” I say, taking another sip of my cucumber water. “I would rather die.”
Dex lets out a small laugh. “Right, well…” His eyes flit to the inside of his condo, and he clears his throat. “Hold on.”
I close my eyes, trying to relax and listen to the birds and not think about bodies under the house I’ve been living in, but then I hear a small crash behind me and turn to see Dex bending down to grab something that fell.
And that’s when I see it. Or rather, him.
Roman.
Our eyes meet, and he ducks down behind the kitchen counter, breathing heavily.
My gaze swivels to Dex, and I arch an eyebrow. His cheeks darken, and he shrugs. Like he’s just as confused as I am.
Well, well, well.
I set my cucumber water down and stand up, needing to get the details. Because listen, it’s Deaf culture. There are no secrets. I move to where Roman is crouched down behind the counter, and Dex lets out a small laugh.
‘Do-do?’ I ask, my eyebrows elevated.
Roman sighs and stands up, his face flushed and his hair a little wild. And if I look really close, I can see his lips are slightly bruised and puffy.
Oh my, what happened here last night? I don’t bother asking because if I know Roman, I know he’s not going to tell me.
‘Don’t know,’ he replies. ‘Woke up here confused.’
Dex rolls his eyes, having caught some of that, but because I need some drama in my life other than Michael and human teeth, I make sure to interpret that.
Dex eyes Roman, and Roman expertly avoids his gaze.
‘Well, you’re here. Might as well join me and Dex for breakfast,’ I say and sign at the same time.
Roman scowls. ‘No, I’m going home.’ He touches his lips and peers at Dex, who is watching him intently.
‘Sure?’ Dex asks, and Roman slaps his hand angrily.
‘Yes. Sure. Need go.’ He steps around Dex and rushes to the door, letting himself out with a slam.
Only he must have forgotten something because the door opens a minute later while I’m laughing uncontrollably at Dex and whatever shit he seems to have gotten into with Roman.
Roman stalks back in, his nostrils flaring, his cheeks dark red. ‘Forgot phone.’
Dex hands it to him, and Roman swipes it from his hand, but as he does, something starts to play on the screen. I don’t see it, but I hear it. Choking sounds, gurgling, moans. I recognize it almost immediately, and it doesn’t take a very active imagination to picture someone choking on a dick.
I gasp and throw a hand over my mouth.
Roman glares at me. ‘What?’
‘Phone. Can hear blowjob.’ That sign is basically just the actual act of giving head, and Roman stares down at his phone screen and quickly turns it off.
‘Fuck you,’ he signs, shoving his middle finger toward Dex.
Dex is deadpan when he replies, ‘You asked me to film.’
Roman’s eyes widen, and he storms out of the apartment, the door rattling from the slam he gives it.
“Kinky,” I say, and Dex blushes.
“Yeah, well, can we not talk about it?”
“I mean, I’d love to talk about it. I thought you weren’t into guys.”
He shrugs and then pulls out a protein shake from the fridge. “Didn’t think so either, but last night, I got a little curious.”
“Jesus,” I say with a small laugh. “Curious with Roman?”
He shrugs and takes a long swig of his shake. “I don’t know. I mean, the dude is always giving me shit, then he turns up at the club with us, and after a few drinks, he won’t leave me alone. I figured what the hell.”
What the hell is a good word for it. Roman has made it obvious Dex gives him a boner, but the man is not quiet about his rules for fucking and dating.
“So, did you two—”
“Mm, no. I’m done talking about Roman. How about we talk about the tooth and your serial killer aunt?”
“Oh god, please no. I think that subject is giving me a stress ulcer.” I grimace because it’s half-true, and he sighs and takes pity on me.
“Alright. Come on. Let’s go sit outside and watch the geese. Sometimes they chase the joggers into the lake, and it’s fucking hilarious.”
“Oh, that sounds delightful. Is that why you bought this place? To watch the carnage?”
“Hey, I need something to do with my afternoons,” he says as we lower ourselves into the chairs and prop our feet up. I sip on my cucumber water, and Dex finishes off his shake.
It gets easy after that. Relaxing in a way I don’t expect. We talk about everything except Roman and my aunt Lynda. He tells me about the gym, a few classes he’s running, and how his ASL lessons are going.
“I’ve never been good with languages. Not like Thom.
Give me complicated accounting concepts, and I’m a whiz, but sometimes in class, it feels like my hands were put on backward.
And there are so many things I want to know now so I can talk with the people already in my life, but Denver says we’re nowhere near that type of conversation. ”
I feel for him. I really do. Too many people walk into ASL class thinking that there’s going to be one sign for every word. That it’s going to be an even exchange between ASL and English, so all they’re going to have to do is memorize signs, and they’ll be golden.
I’ve seen the way hearing people’s eyes glaze over when Deaf people start talking about culture or history or why the language is the way it is.
And the number of times I’ve had to interpret the question, ‘Don’t you think sign language should be universal?
’ makes me want to throw myself into the sun.
But Dex isn’t like that. He seems genuinely determined to learn, and genuinely frustrated with what he’s not getting. So as much as I hate it, I want to help.
“Well, I’ve got nothing to do right now,” I tell him. “I can teach you some things.”
His eyes glint with something like joy, and he leans forward. ‘You sure?’ he signs.
I nod my fist. ‘Yes.’
And of course, all of the words he wants to know veer toward things like good boy, so pretty, and harder. I probably should make him wait, pay his dues in class before he can learn to dirty talk someone—oh, who am I kidding. I know he wants to dirty talk Roman.
I can’t help but think someone like Dex will be good for Roman. And fuck, I want to see this unfold just for the drama of it all.
I’m halfway through showing Dex how to properly tell someone—Roman—how to get down on their knees when my phone buzzes.
Thom: We’re here. Robbie is not thrilled about being dragged out of the house. Be nice to him.
Me: I’m always nice.
I set my phone down and smile at Dex. “Your brother and Robbie are here. Want to go for a walk and see if we can get the geese to chase your brother into the lake?”
Dex bursts into laughter. “Fuck yeah.”
The sliding back door opens a few minutes later, and Thom walks in, looking brighter and more refreshed than any man has any right to be. Robbie, on the other hand, looks as ragged as I do.
I cast him a sympathetic smile, and his lips twitch like he’s trying for one but fails. He’s listing into Thom’s side, and his boyfriend quickly puts an arm around him to help prop him up.
‘Come on,’ Dex says after waving his hand to get Robbie’s attention. Robbie’s eyes look slightly crossed, but he manages to fix his gaze on Dex anyway. ‘We need walk. Get TOXINS outside body.’
Robbie looks like he wants to do a murder, especially when Thom looks overly excited about the prospect of doing even more workouts. Before Robbie can blow a gasket, I wave him over.
‘We can walk slow together. Let these two power walk without us.’
‘I swear to god,’ Robbie signs, ‘if they break out in a sprint, I will sit down and protest.’
I grin and nod and wave the two brothers ahead of us as they open Dex’s back gate and start toward the walking path. We trail behind, the morning cool and quiet, Robbie the best company for a man who has a hangover.
Thom and Dex don’t exactly sprint, but they’re walking just short of a jog, and I see geese off in the distance. I can’t help but smirk to myself as we duck under a couple of low-hanging willows.
I wave at Robbie once Thom and Dex aren’t looking back at us. ‘I have a secret.’
Robbie’s eyebrows rise. ‘What? Tell me. Need distraction from this torture.’
I grin and sign as small as I can. ‘I think Dex and Roman are fucking.’
Robbie trips over a root, and I catch him. Thom must hear the noise that comes out of Robbie’s throat because he rushes to his boyfriend and immediately begins to fuss.
‘Are you okay? You need to stop?’