Eagle spoke softly, “Kemo, how much do you weigh?”
Adam hesitated. He didn’t want to have this conversation, but he was too sick and tired to fight Eagle anymore. “135 lbs.”
Eagle sat up and straddled Adam, gathering him into his arms. “Jesus, Adam, you’re 6 feet tall. You need to see a doctor.”
Adam sighed, leaning into Eagle’s embrace. “I have an appointment tomorrow morning. Surprising how quickly they’ll get you in if you tell them you’ve lost 40 lbs. in two months.”
Eagle leaned his head against Adam’s. “Please don’t die, Kemo.”
Adam began to cry. When the tears started, he couldn’t seem to stop them. “I don’t want to die, Tonto. Really I don’t. I eat constantly, but I keep losing.”
“Move in with me tonight, Adam. I’ll be here for you. I’ll take care of you. I’ll go see the doctor with you because I love you and want to show you I won’t walk away.”
“I’m alright on my own.”
“No, you’re not, besides I’m on medical leave because of this damned concussion. I want to be there for you.”
Adam shook his head. “It’s a waste of time, Tonto. I already know what’s wrong.”
“No, you don’t, Kemo. It could be a lot of things, not necessarily AIDS. We’ll take care of it, together.”
Adam felt his body start to give into the exhaustion that was getting worse and worse. He didn’t want to argue with his husband and so he tried a different tactic. “I hate cum drying on my skin. Take a shower with me.” Part of his request was from a desire to be clean and part of it was to have someone there in case he passed out. Adam stood and grabbed his shirt. “Great, Eagle. Now what am I supposed to wear?”
“Jeans, a black tee and throw on your suit jacket. You will look marvelous, darling.” Eagle teased.
Adam looked down, “Have they found Michael or Rico yet?”
“No. We’ve got a BOLO out. Every cop in this state, hell in all of the surrounding states, are looking for them.” Eagle groaned. “Shelby gave me explicit orders not to go after them or get involved with the investigation. I’m too emotionally compromised and he’s afraid of what I’d do to the little bastard if I found him. If I try, he’ll fire me and charge me with interfering in a police investigation. There’s nothing I can do except wait here with you.”
Adam smiled as he turned toward the bathroom.
“Will you move back in, Adam?”
“Yes.” He’d been expecting the question and knew Eagle needed an answer. His worry over Michael making his husband tense.
“Tonight?”
“Yes.” Adam changed the subject again, “Listen, I’m supposed to meet Michelle and Angela for late lunch. They want to talk to me about something. I’m sure it’s about my HIV status, but who knows”
“Uh, Kemo, I think I should go with you. There’s something else….”
“I know, they’re a couple. Michelle told me.”
“Good, but….”
Adam motioned for Eagle to follow, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
Eagle groaned and closed his eyes. His fingers reached up pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Do you have a headache?”
“Yes.” Eagle sighed, “And I think it’s about to get a whole lot worse.”
Adam frowned, “No more sex, Tonto. We’re running out of time, but you can scrub my back if you want.” Eagle followed his husband into the shower, unfortunately, the no sex proclamation didn’t work as well as Adam intended.
Thirty minutes they were on their way to his fourth wife’s old house.
*****
It took a half hour for the appraisal and signing of the paperwork to sell Claire’s house.
“I estimate the house will bring $2.5 million with the current market, Adam, but if you want a quick sale, we could ask $2.4 million.”
“That’s fine, Leo. I just want to sell it.”
“It’s a lovely place, Adam. Don’t you and Eagle want to live here? It’s larger and closer to everything.”
“No. We’ve discussed it and I’m letting this house go. I’m happier at the mountain house with Eagle.”
They started toward the door. Eagle stood outside and waited for the two men to reappear. “Oh, Adam! I almost forgot.” Leo laughed, “At my age, it’s a life hazard. Do you want to sell your grandmother’s house as well? I’ve had a few inquiries.”
Adam smiled. He could listen to Leo and his very cultured British accent all day. Something that was a rare sound in the Southwest desert. “I’m not ready to let it go just yet. I need to clear it out and have it appraised for current market value.”
“Well, I could help with the evaluation, darling.”
Adam’s smile broadened. If someone on the telephone only heard Leo’s voice, they’d picture a slight man or an effeminate man, but Leo Kramer was tall and very solidly built with an uncut, ten inch dick. Adam knew this first hand after a brief affair ten years prior. The man was former British military. It was rumored by some that Leo was a former SAS officer. Definitely someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. Adam knew from personal experience, Leo liked to work out to keep his fit body in great shape. His gray hair was trimmed to perfection to match his elegant and expensive looking clothes. Adam had a lot of respect for this man in more ways than one. “Alright, when I’m ready, I’ll call you.”
The older man started to walk away, then stopped as Adam grabbed his arm. “Leo?” Adam spoke softly, leading Leo away from the front door. “I want you to know. Whatever you get for this house and Grammie’s in the future, I’m giving to Eagle, so do the best you can.”
Leo looked toward the door at the end of the foyer with a smile, “He’s a lucky man. Wish I could find someone like you, but ....”
Adam frowned, “But, what?”
Leo shook his head and sighed, “I like my men a bit younger than you, I’m afraid, and the fact that I’m an older Queen who’s HIV positive, well, you know, it sort of takes you out of the running.”
“Really? You know, I have someone I want you to meet. Maybe we could all have dinner one night.”
Leo looked over his glasses at his longtime friend. “A blind date?”
“Not exactly.”
“Oh well, whatever. I’m so sex starved lately I don’t care if he’s one legged and he is actually blind.” Leo laughed. “Hopefully, you can get him to show up.”
Adam chuckled, “I’ll make sure he does.”
Epilogue
Eagle Woodard turned his body ever so slightly so he could get a good look at his husband as he drove his new Cadillac SUV. They had passed their two year anniversary and number three looked very likely now. They’d had a rough start with their intimate relationship after they decided to get back together again. The good news was that things seemed to be calming down and so far, nothing in their lives was boring.
Eagle studied the changes in his lover that had happened over the past six months. The four inch scar at the base of his throat sadly blended with all the others on his body. The verdict had been stage 3 Follicular thyroid cancer, but this type of cancer had a low recurrence rate and Adam had passed his six month scans without signs of returning cancer.
After surgery and treatment, Adam started to gain weight. Now tipping the scales at 180 lbs., he was solid muscle. When the doctor released him after the surgery, he started running and working out on a daily basis. Every morning at five am, rain or shine, Adam woke, stuck on an old pair of running shorts. Bare chested and earbuds in place, he headed out down their twisting driveway, the start of his five mile jog. The last mile being the steep grade back up to the house. He’d jog to the kitchen, drink two glasses of water and a protein shake, then grab his gym bag to head for a workout.
Eagle smiled as he remembered the bet he lost. Challenging Adam to press 270 lbs. If Adam showed he could press that much weight, he promised him a blowjob in the locker room, if not, Eagle would have that pleasure. He still remembered t
he red face of the guy who walked in, getting an eyeful of Eagle on his knees with Adam’s cock in his mouth. They got a stern warning from the club owner for that one.
Adam had kept his hair short. More times than not, he wore a ball cap pulled down with Hugo Boss aviator-style sunglasses covering his eyes. Adam’s psychotherapist claimed it was a physical manifestation of her client’s remaining need to distance himself from a world he felt uncomfortable in. Lately, he gravitated toward a black, fitted tee shirt and designer jeans with handmade cowboy boots completing the look. An Armani sports coat was added when he wanted to dress up a bit. It was a compromise for him. Adam Coulter-Woodard, as he was now legally known, was a wealthy man and he didn’t feel the need to prove himself worthy of that wealth anymore.
He was shaving most days now as he ignored the stares he still occasionally got from rude people. The scar on his handsome face was fading, but in the right light it was still there. A beautiful phoenix rising from the ashes tattoo done in reds and golds with blue accents now covered most of his back and right shoulder. Other tattoos formed almost a full sleeve on the right arm that told his story. Each bit of ink meant something to him. The left arm was a work in progress. A semicolon placed prominently at the tail of his most noticeable track mark on his left forearm told its own story. Adam Coulter-Woodard was a survivor. Despite cancer, sex abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and depression, the man was still here and his story continued. At two years in NA and AA, he was still clean and sober which was definitely a miracle for Adam.
Eagle looked down at their intertwined fingers resting atop the leather console in Adam’s new SUV. The skin was warm and dry. He showed no signs of anxiety over what they were about to do. Adam’s left hand rested confidently on the steering wheel, his now ever present wedding ring glistened in the sunlight.
Eagle saw Adam glance quickly at him and he smiled.
“What?”
Eagle looked as innocent as possible, but he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Adam began to look more than a little worried.
Eagle rolled his lips in, his grin threatening to break into a laugh.
“There’s dried cum on my face, isn’t there, you bastard.” Taking his hand from Eagle’s, Adam started to wipe at his cheek as he tried to drive.
Eagle took pity on his husband. Licking his thumb, he rubbed it over the non-existent spot of cum on Adam’s face.
“You were going to let me walk into the clinic with cum on my face, weren’t you? Bastard!”
“It’s what I love about you, Adam, you’re messy when you suck my cock, but Kemo, I’m not complaining.” Eagle paused, shifting his focus to look out of the window. They were almost to the LGBTQ health clinic. Today was the day they’d decided to see what their HIV status was officially. They both assumed they were positive due to their history. Eagle stopped using condoms with Adam. He had explained he didn’t see the point and after a bit of sometimes heated discussion, Adam conceded.
Rick Kessler was joining them. He’d gotten a call from the Center informing him that a past, anonymous sexual contact had tested positive so he had asked for their support when he went to get tested. A year ago, they would have told Kessler he was on his own, but the younger man was beginning to show signs of changing his ways.
Everything had changed for Rick as well. His interference had cut the legal line too close on the Greybill case. He’d been given the choice of resigning and keeping his benefits or getting fired and losing it all. Being a prudent man, Rick had resigned, though much to his surprise, Eagle had recommended him for an opening in Homicide at the APD as his partner. Ted Borkowski and Helen Bradley had already accepted positions with the APD. They were putting the band back together, so to speak.
Rick and Adam had come to a truce in the interceding months. Much to Eagle’s amazement, the two men had actually started hanging out and having lunch together from time to time. Adam blamed Eagle’s lack of appreciation of men’s haute couture as the reason he wasn’t invited. In this, Adam had been right.
Eagle’s thoughts drifted to Michael. Their son and Rico Sanchez never resurfaced. It was as if they’d become ghosts. The trail of the two men dried up about a week after Nelson Greybill was arrested. He knew Greybill had more information than he was releasing about his son’s disappearance, but there was nothing he could do. He’d tried tracking them himself, but his searches all turned up frustratingly empty handed. Whoever was helping Rico was good at making them stay invisible.
As they pulled up, Rick was standing near the clinic’s entrance and he waved to them.
“Are you ready for this, Kemo?”
Adam looked at his husband and smiled gently. “I must accept the things I cannot change and this, Tonto, is one of them.” He took Eagle’s hand, raised it, and kissed the back of it. “Thank you for being here. Thank you for sticking by me and with me. I will love you, Eagle Woodard, for the rest of my life, however long or short it may be. I will love you until I breathe my last breath. I will love you, Tonto, forever.”
“I will love you, too, Kemo. Even after what we find out today. I am with you, forever.” Eagle leaned in and kissed Adam softly on the lips. They leaned back, their eyes sealing their pledge as they exited the car to meet up with Rick Kessler.
The End
About the Author
My mother now regrets her fateful words she offered the day I came home from our small town library in Palm Springs, California (yes, I’m a Cali girl) complaining that there were no more books to read. “Then why don’t you write some.”
My father never saw his old Remington portable until I entered college and they gifted me an IBM Selectric. By then I had produced at least two dozen unpublishable novels which make me cringe when I read them today.
I found inspiration in innumerable odd jobs (from migrant work as a Date palm pollinator to the person who cleans the washing machines at the launderette to professional Dominatrix) for stories. After a stint in Rehab for Alcohol and Heroin abuse (so when I write those scenes, I know what I’m talking about), I cleaned up and have stayed that way for 29 years. (Me and Sir Elton, LOL). My gypsy lifestyle gave me a unique perspective on the different people who inhabited the Washington, Oregon, Arizona, California, and New Mexico areas where I have lived.
After 3 very bad marriages to men, I finally figured out what was wrong and fell in love with a woman when I lived in Portland, OR 23 years ago. We’ve been married since 2008 (yes it was legal in California at that time). We now live in Asheville, NC and love the people in this liberal and accepting corner of the mountains of North Carolina.
To learn all about my upcoming releases, news, and specials, please follow or like me at any of the following links!
Website: www.mjcalabrese.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormjcalabrese/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/calabrese_mj
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mj.calabrese/
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/m-j-calabrese
Amazon: www.amazon.com/M-J-Calabrese/e/B082VDNB6T/
Queeromance Ink: www.quaaromanceink.com/author/mj_calabrese
Also from M.J. Calabrese
Warrior’s Way
Coulter & Woodard 1
Can’t Let Go
Songs of Love 1
COMING SOON!
For Your Entertainment
Songs of Love 2
Nightway Chant
Coulter & Woodard 3
Mountainway Chant Page 19
