I Got You | A Gay Romance: A Boyfriend for Rent Book | Gay For You (28 page)

Steve’s eyes wavered in shock as if every word Jake said had disrobed him completely naked in front of the entire world. The crowd’s jaws dropped.

With that, Jake turned around. Proud of himself for taking the higher road, knowing he and Alberto had greater courage than Steve could ever have because they dared to be themselves. They dared to go out in the world, holding their heads up high because they knew who they were and that was something people like Steve could and would never do.

He was proud of himself until Steve swept his foot under him and Jake landed hard on the marble floor.

His body twisted when he crash-landed. As the crowd roared with laughter, Jake knew two things: one, the fall had just broken something, maybe his arm, maybe his shoulder.

And two, he was going to Kick. That. Motherfucker’s. Ass. Once. And. For. All.

He took his jacket off and tossed it to the side. His wrist hurt and he couldn’t do much with it. He locked eyes with Steve who high-fived the crowd.

“Steve.”

“What?” Steve asked, turning around and that’s when Jake gave him a left hook in his jaw.

The impact was hard, and by the look on Steve’s face, he didn’t see that one coming. The bully’s jaw clenched, his nose flared as he charged toward him. Jake twisted his body, grabbing hold of Steve by the waist and body slamming him hard on the floor just like Benjamin had trained him.

“Uuugh,” Steve groaned.

But Jake wasn’t done yet. He hovered over Steve, gave him two more jabs then, elbowed him square in the nose. Blood gushed as it broke, but Jake didn’t care. He’d tried to take the high road, but this motherfucker didn’t want to play it smart so now he was going to teach him a lesson.

“Now, I tried to be responsible with you,” Jake said, slamming his fist to his nose again. “I tried to be calm, rational, like a gentleman. But some motherfuckers, just. won’t. shut. the. fuck. up!”

And with every syllable, he hit him hard. He hit him for his best friend, he hit him for himself, he hit him for every gay, lesbian, and transgendered person who’d ever been gay bashed, who’d ever been treated less than human. He hit him for anyone who’d ever been bullied by a coward who wouldn’t let them be who they really are. Jake was born for this moment and he’d be their warrior.

Steve covered his face with his hands. “Stop, please stop.”

“Stop? No, motherfucker, no. Did you stop when my best friend begged for his life? Did you stop when you treated us like shit and left us out there in the middle of nowhere to die?”

“No,” Steve begged.

“Stevey! Admit it, Stevey! Admit you gay bashed us and left us out there. Now!” He threatened another blow to his nose, but the bully whimpered.

“I did it. We all did it. Fuck, okay? Stop!” Steve said, soaked in his own spit and blood. He reeked of a cowardice, shameful, spineless pig.

“You got that?” Jake turned to someone videotaping the whole fight. If he needed evidence to put the asshole in prison, that would be it.

Jake could have finished him off with one more blow, but he held his fist in the air, shaking in rage. That’s when he let the man go. He’d made his point. He shoved Steve’s head down.

“Fuck you, Steve.”

He got up, grabbing his jacket and as he did, Steve leapt up trying to go for him.

Jake spun around and gave him a Superman kick, square in the chest. The impact torpedoed him into a row of lockers and knocking him the fuck out, cold.

That’s when Jake heard the first round of applause. His best friend Alberto, stepped out of the crowd, his eyes watering with emotion.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

Jake nodded and wiped his brow. He told himself he hadn’t done anything anyone else would have done for their best friend, but there was a lot more to it than that. Benjamin had trained with him everyday seven days a week to get him ready for this moment. He believed in him when no one else had, when he hadn’t even believed in himself. He saw the warrior inside of him that was too ashamed to fight.

He looked at the hot mess bully lying on the ground, his so-called friends backed away scared as Jake glared them down.

“One second,” Alberto said, shuffling with his bag close to Steve. He whipped out his spray can of glitter and spray-painted the word “ASSHOLE” from head to toe. “Fuck you.”

Jake just smiled and put his arm around Alberto as they broke through the applauding crowd. He couldn’t have been happier. He’d finally redeemed himself for not being able to stand up for his best friend. He’d finally believed in himself enough to fulfill his destiny and put this bully in his place. He took a deep breath, draping the jacket over his shoulder as they walked down the hall together. He only wished Benjamin was here to see how much a difference his training had made in his life.

CHAPTER 46

They walked down the hall to catch their breath and collect their thoughts. Adrenaline ran through Jake as he still couldn’t believe what had just happened.

"Is your arm alright?” Alberto asked. It did hurt like hell, but it was worth it.

“I’m cool,” Jake said, squeezing it only to wince. It wasn’t broken, he’d checked it, but he’d have to take care of it later.

“Damn," Alberto said with a smile.

"What?"

"How did you ...?"

A smile spread across Jake’s face. He figured he’d ask. The Jake Alberto had known before couldn’t stand the sight of blood and thought boxing and martial arts were too violent.

"Someone taught me."

"Someone? Or someone?" Alberto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Someone," Jake’s look and tone told his best friend everything he needed to know.

Alberto bit the inside of his cheek and paced the floor as if he had a lot on his mind. "Wow. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. You and me, we've been best friends a long time. We've never held anything back from each other but ... shit, this is really hard."

Jake shrugged. "Tell me."

"There's someone I've had my eye on for a long time, someone who ..."

Jake’s heart pounded. This was one of the hardest things he had to say to anyone. He didn’t want to hurt his feelings. How could he put this delicately? He knew what it was like to wear his heart on his sleeve. "Alberto, I know. There was a time I had a crush on you too, but I think it's best that we just remain friends. I mean, I love you I do, but just not in that way."

"Not you, bitch," Alberto said.

"What?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled. Come to think of it, Jake had never seen his best friend this nervous before. Alberto’s eyes stared at the floor. "I mean, you're cool and all, but you're like a sister to me. You're not the one I've had my eye on. It's ... he didn't tell you?"

"Who?"

He cleared his throat, his eyes meeting, Jake’s. "Your dad, Jake."

"What?" Jake scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. He didn’t get it. What was he saying?

"He didn't tell you that him and I have been ... seeing each other for years?"

What the fuck? Seeing each other? His best friend and his dad? Wait.
His dad was gay or bi or ... whatever? This couldn’t be true. He paced back and forth, trying to get a grip on the information.

"Fuck, no." Jake said, shocked. His mind went a million directions. Was he dreaming?

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just … we both, your dad and I, decided that it'd be best to take one thing at a time and then when it was time to talk to you about it, we would. I guess now is as good of a time as any."

It was like he got hit in the head with a semi.

"I had no idea."

He truly didn’t. His whole world was upside down. The man who he knew as his father, he didn’t know at all. The man who’d made snide comments about gays and lesbians when Jake was a boy, was into men too? It was Classic Psychology 101 when he thought about it really. People often criticize what they fear the most and what they fear the most is oftentimes most like them.

Alberto squeezed his arm. "I didn't mean to keep it from you—"

"No, it's ... it actually explains a lot of things and I don't feel bad about it at all. Shocked? Yes. Blown away? Yes. But bad? Not at all. It's going to take a lot of time to process, but if you two are happy that's all that matters."

Alberto hugged him tight. Jake couldn’t imagine what he must have felt like to keep that secret all these years. Then again, yes he had. "It happened the last few years when I ran into him in Portland. I mean we’d always sort of looked at each other.”

Seeing his dad in that light completely changed everything he thought about him. At the same time, it also explained a lot. That must have been what his dad started to tell him in the truck before they ran into that redneck asshole.

“You probably don’t want to know all the details-”

Jake chuckled. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. “No, I’ll pass.”

Alberto breathed a sigh of relief and met Jake’s eyes. “Thank you. I needed to have your blessing. I needed to hear that."

"Jake," a deep voice said behind them. Jake turned to see Benjamin standing right there. He wore a sports coat, starch white open shirt, black belt and matching shoes. His blond hair was slicked back to the side as if he walked right out of GQ magazine. He took Jake’s breath away. He knew his boyfriend was handsome, but this took it to a whole other level.

Alberto had a smirk on his face. "I'm guessing this is him ... that someone?"

"Yep," Jake said, his eyes on his man. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. And the man gave him a warm smile. No words were necessary.

"Damn. You did good, real good. We'll catch up later," Alberto said, leaving the two of them alone in the hall.

CHAPTER 47

Jake was frozen in place. That arm of his was throbbing, but he’d tough it out. This moment was more important.

Benjamin stepped toward him, his smile wide. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Jake answered. He couldn’t even pretend he wasn’t happy to see him.

"Your sister, our sister said I could find you here,” Benjamin said.

"Yeah?" Jake had done whatever he could to avoid her, and not even think about her since what happened.

"Yep, we had a nice long talk," he said. "Squared a lot of things away. I also spoke with our dad."

"Wow. What did he ...?"

"We have a long way to go, but ... it's a beginning."

"I've got some things to talk to him about too."

Benjamin approached him, straightening out his tie. "You've got blood on your collar. What’s wrong with your arm? Why are you holding it like that?”

“I’m fine. I’ll check it out later.”

Benjamin took it lovingly in his hands examining it. “Did I tell you I was a paramedic in the army?”

“Is there anything you can’t do?” Jake teased, not able to hide his smile any longer. The feel of his man’s touch was everything to him.

“Anything I should know about that happened while I was gone?"

Jake smiled with pride. "I kicked his ass."

"Figured that," Benjamin smiled with pride.

"What are you doing here? I thought—"

"I was halfway there on the road, when I turned around. I couldn't imagine leaving without my baby. You see, every step I take, every thought I have, every decision I make, it all comes back to you. If I was going to take that risk, if I was going to put my life on the line, it was worth it. I can't live without you Jake. I need you in my life. I—"

"Stop," Jake said, his eyes watering. "Just shut up and kiss me."

And Benjamin did, like he never did before. His lips devoured Jake’s like a starving man, teasing his tongue, pressing his body against him.
Fuck, it felt great.
That man knew how to kiss. The warmth of his body, the scent of him felt like home, like he was back where he belonged. “I was dying without you, Jake. I couldn’t even breathe I was so worried about you. But you did it, you stood up to that fucking asshole and now you made him respect you. Everything will change now, you’ll see.”

Jake smiled at the thought. He knew one thing, he no longer wanted to impress the fraternity anymore. Their approval meant nothing to him.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jake said.

“Not yet,” Benjamin said. “There’s one more thing we have to do.”

“What’s that?”

“One dance?”

Jake smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“What about your arm?”

Jake smiled. He felt like a prince. Benjamin always made him feel that way. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been wanting this my whole life.”