Tell Me It's Real(91)

He laughed, but he didn’t sound like he thought it was funny. “Didn’t say you were. Though I’d appreciate it if you didn’t hit him with your car again.”

“I didn’t—” It was no use. Forever I would be defined as that guy. “Fine. I won’t ever hit him with my car again. Next time I want to get his attention, I’ll ask him for it.”

“Vince isn’t smart,” he said suddenly. “Not like I am and not like I’m assuming you are.”

This caused unbidden fury to roil through me. “He’s perfectly smart,” I growled at him. “You better not be calling him an idiot.”

Darren seemed amused as he held up his hands to placate me. “I’m not,” he said. “I’m just saying… he doesn’t think like most people. He needs to have people watch out for him, otherwise he ends up getting hurt. He hasn’t had that a lot in his life.”

“And you’re saying you think I’m going to hurt him? No offense, but you don’t know me and I’d really like to tell you to go fuck yourself.” And, um. I’d really like to take that back but I’m trying to be intimidating here. So, sorry. Didn’t really mean it.

“You’ve got some balls, don’t you?” I couldn’t tell if that impressed him or pissed him off.

“Last time I checked.”

“What do you want from him?”

This baffled me. “What? What are you talking about? I don’t want anything from him. He’s the one that came after me.”

“If you don’t want anything, then why are you here?”

This pissed me off even more. I was tired of getting questioned. I was tired of doubting myself. But you know what? Out of all of it, I was tired of having it sound like I wasn’t good enough, like I didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as the homo jock royalty, that I didn’t deserve to have Vince come after me like he did. I’d had enough.

“Look,” I said with a scowl. “You don’t know me. I sure as shit don’t know you. But I do know I don’t have to explain a goddamn thing to you. So you can stand there and look all badass and like a big, fat fucking jerk, but you’re not going to chase me away. I’m sorry if you want to fuck him, but you can’t because he’s mine. He picked me, and sure as shit, I’m not going to back down just because you’re having this little bitch fit of yours. Go bench press a llama, you fucking ’roid queen, and stop being an asshole.” I quickly reviewed my words and thought it went quite well (except for the llama thing. And the part where I insulted him. And the part where I sounded slightly douchey).

His eyes went comically wide. “Do you talk to Vince like that?” he asked.

“He was annoying for a little bit,” I admitted. “I thought he was trying to play a joke on me by asking me out so much.”

Darren shook his head. “Vince doesn’t do shit like that, Paul.”

“Well, I know that now.” And I did. For the most part.

“Look, I don’t think you understand. Vince doesn’t pursue anyone. Usually, it’s all these shitty fucking guys trying to get up on his nuts for a good fuck, then dropping him as soon as they’re done using him. He tries not to get his hopes up anytime someone new comes along, but he keeps getting shat on, and I fucking hate it. They like how he looks, they like how his body moves, but they don’t like it when he talks because of the dumb shit he says.”

“I like it when he talks,” I said. Which was weird, because I didn’t know when that started happening.

“Good, because you’re the first thing he’s been excited about for a long time,” Darren says. “And I have no problem telling you that if you fuck this up, I will break you in half.”

“Really?” I asked as I caught him glancing over at Helena again. “You do that and I won’t introduce you to a certain drag queen you seem to be eyeing.”

He stiffened. “Go fuck yourself,” he rumbled at me, not meeting my eyes.

Oh, Sandy’s going to shit himself silly. “I don’t want to hurt him,” I said seriously. “I promise you that. But….”

“But what?”

I shook my head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters. You wouldn’t have said it if it didn’t. Don’t be a dick, Paul. What is it?”

I hesitated. “You’ve known Vince a long time?”

He eyed me warily. “You could say that.”

I wanted to know what he meant, but didn’t ask. “You know his… parents?”