Embracing His Syn (6 page)

“
I mentioned to you before
you left last week that I wanted to continue with my degree in
automotive mechanics. It’s still my dream to own my own shop.” Furi
lowered his voice and tried to speak only to his husband, since his
bastard brother-in-law was still smirking at him. “You know I
promised my father I’d do that ... have my own shop one day. Just
like him.”

Patrick tossed the
pamphlet on the table like it had shit on it. “How would you pay
for something like that, huh? Those schools cost a
fortune.”

Furi ran his hand
nervously over the tattoo of his father’s Harley on his forearm and
cleared his throat. “I was hoping you’d lend me the money and then
when I start working, I’d pay you back … every dollar,” he added
for good measure. No one knew, especially his husband, that Furi’s
father had named him beneficiary of a life insurance policy, along
with a will telling him to ‘live his dream’. Furi had
eighty-thousand dollars safely hidden away in an account in his
best friend’s name. However, after doing a million different
calculations, the money wasn’t enough for his schooling and
start-up money to open a shop.

“
Yeah that’s not gonna
happen, slacker,” Brenden sneered.

“
Shut the fuck up and mind
your own business, Bren.” Before Furi could put up any kind of
guard, Brenden had his hands around his throat and shoved him until
his back slammed into the stainless steel refrigerator.

“
You think you can talk to
me that way, you little shit?” Brenden snarled, spittle flying from
his mouth. His hands twisting and burning the skin around Furi’s
neck.

“
Get off me,” Furi gasped,
trying unsuccessfully to pry the thick fingers off. His husband and
brother-in-law had both been linebackers in college. Neither minded
using their brawn and strength on him, and often.

Brenden brought his knee
up fast, kneeing him so hard in the groin Furi thought death would
be better than the pain. Brenden stepped back and let Furi drop to
the hard granite floor, slapping him hard in the back of the head
before strolling off as if he owned the world. Furi couldn’t hear
what the hell his husband was saying because his ears were ringing
and his eyes were so filled with tears he thought best to just keep
them shut.

“
Patrick,” Furi groaned,
clutching at his balls, knowing nothing would stop the
throbbing.

“
Don’t talk like a big boy
if you don’t have the balls to back it up, darlin,” his husband
said nonchalantly.

What the fuck?

“
He has no right to put
his damn hands on me, Pat. What the hell? He also has no say in our
marriage.” Furi’s voice was strained as he made his way up off the
floor with no assistance from his husband.

“
Blood’s thicker than
water, twerp.” Brenden shrugged and pushed Furi out the way so he
could get a beer from the fridge.

“
So I’m water, Pat?” Furi
stared at his husband of two years and realized at that moment he
didn’t stand a chance. It was bad enough when Patrick began taking
jabs at him a year ago, each time swearing it’d be the last. But
now his brother was having a go at him too. Well fuck. He’d die
before he spent the rest of his life like this. Furi was
twenty-eight years old. He had a lot of years ahead of him. If he
got out in time.

Furi opened his eyes,
trying to ward off the bad memories and stepped out of the shower,
twisting the towel tight around his narrow waist.
What the fuck am I going to do?
Furi had to admit that the money sounded great.
He could really use that cash to pay for his books and tools for
the semester. But damnit. “I can’t do a chick,” he whispered,
shaking his head sadly. He’d tell them tomorrow that his answer is
still no.

Furious woke up a few minutes early to
shave his pubic hair. He was told ladies like a full, clear view of
the package. All it did for him was make him itchy as fuck two days
later. People probably thought he had crabs with the way he
scratched sometimes. He dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt
covered with black skulls. What he wore really didn’t matter, since
he was only going to take it off.

Furi spent an extra five minutes to
ensure his school uniform and recent project were safely inside his
backpack with the disk for his presentation.

Furi’s passion was bikes, but he loved
cars too. Unfortunately, when he’d fled Charlotte and landed in
Atlanta he didn’t think about them not having a great motorcycle
mechanic school. Georgia Piedmont Tech was well known for its
automotive technology program and Furi had eagerly enrolled as soon
as his name change was official.

Furi checked that the bolt on his
front door was secured and jogged up the couple stairs to the
sidewalk. He saw his landlady, Ms. Jones, was bent over the small
flower garden and Furi called to her when he jogged past. She waved
a small, weathered hand at him, smiling sweetly. He made a mental
note to cut the grass for her this weekend. She must’ve breezed in
after he'd fallen asleep last night, probably just to check on
things. He hoped she’d be going back to her daughter’s
house.

Furi just made the number six bus
before it pulled up. He settled in for the hour and a half bus ride
to Peachtree City. Sure, if he had a car the trip would be half
that time, but Furi had a plan and it required his and Doug’s
entire savings to bring it to fruition.

“
Hey there stud, I figured
you’d be taking the bus and thought I’d give you a ride to the
studio.”

Furi was grinning ear to ear as he
took his ear buds out and threw his arms around his best friend. If
they were both filming on the same day, then Doug usually met him
at the bus stop in his brand new Kia Sportage SUV so he didn’t have
to walk the last couple of miles to the studio.

Furi gently placed his book bag in the
backseat and climbed in the front, quickly fastening his belt while
looking horrified at the noise coming from the speakers. The music
and bass pounding through the speakers were deafening. “What the
fuck are you listening to, Doug?”

Doug looked at him, his hazel eyes
sparkling with amusement. “What? You don’t like rap? Oh come on.
Everyone knows who this is. He’s won like a ton of awards. Ice
Cube!”

“
Well those lyrics sound
lukewarm. Please turn it off, or at least down.”

“
This the thanks I get for
saving you from hoofing it another two miles.”

“
I’d rather walk in a
G-string and flip flops with a Chihuahua nipping at my ankles than
listen to this shit for even one mile.” Furi laughed.

Doug ejected the compact disc, mellow
rock now filling the small space. “Better?”

“
Very much.”

“
So I hear you’re going
the distance today?” Doug raised his eyebrow at Furi. “They changed
your solo to you fucking Sasha Pain. Bro, why didn’t you tell
me?”

“
What the fuck? Who said
that?” Furi gritted his teeth.

“
She’s been posting shit
all over Facebook. Since you’re not on social media to refute it,
everyone’s going crazy about it.” Doug pulled into one of the few
empty spaces in the parking lot.

Furi looked around at all the
vehicles. “Damn, there’s a lot of shoots today.”

“
Actually, no there
aren't. Everyone’s here to watch you.” Doug rubbed his hand over
the smooth caramel skin on his cheeks, licking his pinky and
slicking down his dark eyebrows. He was biracial and his skin was
beautifully tan and flawless, his soft hair had a little length to
spike up wildly. He opened the door and looked over the hood at
Furi as they both got out.

“
You don’t want to do it,
do you?” Doug looked as pained as Furi felt. “I knew something was
off about it.”

“
I never said I’d do it,
man. I can’t fuck no female, Doug. Oh god. Especially not Sasha.
Damnit!” Furi ran his hand through his hair and pulled the length
at the bottom. “Fuck!” he yelled.

He realized now that he should have
responded to the email last night. Mack must’ve thought his silence
meant he agreed to do it. Now everyone was here to watch him bang
one of the skankiest women Furi had ever met. This woman’s life
revolved around fucking. If she wasn’t doing it on screen then she
was doing it in someone’s car, at a club, in the break room, on the
beach, where-the-fuck-ever. Furi wanted to throw up.

“
Hey, Furious. Breathe,
man. Shit.” Doug’s strong, calloused hand was squeezing his
shoulder as he leaned against the car.

Furi’s world was spinning, like he was
on a ride from hell at an amusement park and the operator – in this
case, Mack – wouldn’t let him off.

“
It’s not worth this. Not
worth your mental health, dude. You look like you’re about two
seconds from going ape shit. You’re not obligated to do this ya
know. Your agreement was solos, so that’s what you stick to, okay?
He can’t force you.”

“
I know,” Furi whispered.
“But I sure as fuck can use the money, man. I still need books and
tools for this semester. I refuse to use my savings. I graduate
after this semester, and we are this fucking close to opening the
shop, Doug. A few weeks, tops and we’ll be fuckin’ open for
business.”

Doug had a rich girlfriend who
showered him with expensive gifts, but she never gave him cash. Not
to mention that the cars and condo were all in her name. He still
had to work for his money. Doug already had a mechanic’s
certification and worked full-time at a Chevy dealer, but he’d
always wanted his own shop, specializing in restoring classics. He
did porn shoots to help them reach their financial goal faster and
Furi loved his best friend’s dedication.

“
Buddy, take the money out
of your savings and buy your school stuff. I’ll pick up a few extra
scenes this month to cover it.”

“
I can’t ask you to do
that, Doug. That isn’t right. Fifty/fifty all the way, remember?”
Doug pulled him into an embrace. “You’re not asking. I’m offering.
Besides it’s just fucking. Two or three extra scenes ain’t
nothing.” Doug pulled back and held on to Furi’s neck, looking into
his eyes. “Especially if it means saving my best friend’s
sanity.”

Furi hugged him back hard.
No one had ever sacrificed anything for him. Not since his father
was alive. Now he had a real friend willing to fuck strangers on
screen, just so he didn’t have to.
Well
hell.
“I love you, man. Damnit. Thank you,
Doug.”

“
I know you do, you
sensitive little girl. Gotta keep that virtue of yours intact.”
Doug’s soft laugh blew Furi’s hair as they stood that way a little
longer. “I love you too, man.”

They parted and turned in opposite
directions as both men discreetly wiped at their eyes.

“
Let’s go tell these sex
fiends that they can take their popcorn and goobers and go the fuck
home, the show is cancelled.” Doug hooked his arm around Furi’s
neck and pulled him through the parking lot and into the small
building.