Dragons

by Jaycee Edward

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2015 Jaycee Edward

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-289-6

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Melissa Hosack

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  In a classic case of “funny how things work,” this story came to life because Allison Hickman made a pair of sparkly bookends for a fundraiser. They weren’t dragons, but they indirectly led me to write this, so this is for you, Allison.

  DRAGONS

  Romance on the Go TM

  Jaycee Edward

  Copyright © 2015

  Chapter One

  The teenage boy sitting in the ugly vinyl chairs against the far wall drew Will’s attention. He’d seen him here before. Same boy, same chair. The radiation department waiting room was always full on Saturday mornings - the only morning Will volunteered - but the boy seemed out of place, too young to be here. Will pushed the gift cart on his way to the elevators that would take him to the Palliative Care wing, which is where he was supposed to be today. He’d started volunteering here when in he was in high school to fulfill their community service requirement, but liked it enough to stay on through four years of college. With graduation looming, Will made a mental note to talk to the hospital about adding a few more hours to his schedule. He’d have more free time now - at least until he found a full-time job. He punched the ‘up’ button and waited for the next car to arrive.

  His gaze rested on the boy again. The kid looked old enough to drive. That must be it. He probably drew the short straw and got stuck driving Grandma or Grandpa to their radiation treatments. Will nodded to himself, pacified with his conclusion and determined to block out the alternate reason someone so young would be here week after week. He backed his cart into the elevator and hit the button for the fifth floor, smiling at the woman in teal green scrubs who shifted to make room for him and his cart. As the door began to close, the boy looked up and the fear on his young face shattered the happy ending Will had constructed for him.

  “Wait!” His hand shot out to hold the door, but he couldn’t reach. The woman grabbed it for him and the door rolled back open. Will shot her an appreciative glance. “Thanks.” He pushed the cart back into the waiting room.

  Once there, he stood, frozen in place. A few people looked at him expectantly. What was it he planned on doing, anyway? The boy looked his way and their eyes met. Something reached right into Will’s soul and squeezed until it hurt, but he gathered himself despite it and pushed the cart until he was standing in front of the dark-haired teenager.

  “Hi.” Will smiled at him.

  “Um. Hi…?”

  The boy practically cowered in his chair, looking at Will with suspicion. Okay, this is awkward. It probably did look kind of creepy from the kid’s point of view. Will had made a bee-line right for him.

  “Uh, would you like something from the gift cart? Magazine? Deck of cards?” He grabbed a stuffed purple dragon and waggled it, grinning. “Dragon?”

  The kid didn’t crack. With the same, sad expression, he shook his head. “No. Thanks.” He bent his head and diverted his entire focus to the invisible spot on the leg of his black jeans he picked and rubbed at with his finger.

  Normally, Will would be feeling pretty stupid about now, but, something about this kid… He sat in the chair next to him. The kid cringed and leaned away, looking sideways at Will. Will held back a laugh. He probably had no idea his body language was screaming: “Dude! WTF?”

  Or… maybe he did. Huh.

  Will was undeterred.

  “My name’s Will. I volunteer here. Just on Saturday, though, because I don’t have class on Saturday. What’s your name?”

  “Josiah.”

  “Wow. That’s… biblical.” Will chuckled and the kid just scowled more. “So, do people call you Joey?”

  “No.” He shot a nervous glance at the registration desk. “My mom doesn’t like it. She hates nicknames.”

  “Oh.”

  Will looked at the prim woman standing at the desk, chatting to the secretary.

  “That her?”

  “Yeah.”

  Will studied the short, mousy, brown-haired woman but, other than the frail bone structure, he couldn’t see any resemblance to the beautiful boy sitting next to him. Josiah had ink-black hair and big, dark eyes set into the palest, most porcelain skin he’d ever seen. He was striking - more pretty than handsome. Even curled in on himself as he was, Will could tell Josiah was tall and lean.

  The woman turned and headed their way. Josiah retracted even more, like one of those gray bugs that curl up the moment anything comes near.

  “You’re next, sweetheart. They overbooked or something,” she said.

  Will swallowed. Shit. He is the patient. Damn.

  Josiah nodded but didn’t look up. His mom looked questioningly at Will. He leapt to his feet.

  “Hi. I’m… I’m Will. A volunteer here. I, uh… I just came over to see if your son wanted something from the gift cart.” He grabbed the purple dragon and handed it to Josiah, tapping it against his arm to get his attention. Josiah took it, but shook his head and handed it back.

  “But… but I don’t want…”

  Will cut him off mid-sentence. “Compliments of the hospital.” Their eyes met and in that moment, Will wanted nothing more than to hit rewind, make Mom go away, and get to know this kid and his story, but real life had no such button. “You take care, Joey, okay?”

  This time, as the elevator door closed, he saw Josiah look at the stupid stuffed dragon and smile.

  Chapter Two

  Josiah wondered if he’d see Will today. He’d actually looked forward to coming and that was definitely a first. He received a treatment every third day, but it’d been three weeks since one fell on a Saturday. Three weeks since he’d seen Will. It sucked to have testicular cancer; he was only fifteen years old. Well, sixteen, now, and already fucking deformed. He’d never even “been” with anybody, and now… now they’d taken one testicle, and were zapping the hell out of the other. Who could possibly want a freak like him? Definitely not someone perfect like Will. He was so handsome - big and strong and healthy.

  “Joey!”

  Will’s cheerful greeting bounced across the waiting room. Josiah’s heart leapt at the same time his mom’s head popped up from a few rows over. She’d heard it, he could tell, but his mom was way too proper to ever correct a stranger. She scowled, but returned to her conversation with one of the patients they’d gotten to know. They saw the same people at every single appointment and his mom had befriended most of them. Josiah didn’t want to know them. They all had one thing in common, and he had no desire to discuss it with them or anyone else.

  Will parked his cart across the room and headed his way.

  He ducked his head, too shy to meet the older boy’s gaze, but grinned like a fool at hearing the nickname roll off Will’s tongue. It was rebellious, like they shared a secret. Something more personal than the stuffed purple dragon that’d barely left Josiah’s side and even now was tucked in the backpack at his feet.

  “How’re you doin’, kid?”

  “F-fine.” Josiah scowled, both at the term and at himself. He’d never stuttered in his life.

  “I’ve got a few minutes. If you want to t
alk, that is. If you don’t, that’s okay, too. I just wanted to say, ‘hey’.”

  “No! I mean, yes!” Josiah felt the heat as the blood rushed to his face. “Yeah, talking’s okay.” He looked over toward his mom, to make sure she wasn’t rushing over in an overprotective frenzy or something equally as humiliating. Just as he figured, she was watching him with a concerned look. Joey grimaced, but Will… Will smiled and waved at her. She smiled weakly in return and, apparently reassured Josiah was ‘safe,’ returned to her conversation. Josiah gaped at Will in awe. It was as if he’d just slayed Josiah’s own personal dragon.

  “What?” Will laughed. “She just wants to make sure you’re okay. She’s a mom. She can’t help it.”

  Josiah rolled his eyes.

  “Plus, she’s probably worried about you, you know?”

  Josiah shrugged. “I guess.” He didn’t want to talk about that.

  “So, how old are you, Joey?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “Got a girlfriend?”

  “No.”

  Will grinned. “Boyfriend?”

  Josiah’s mouth dropped open and he looked around frantically. “No!” He hissed.

  To his mortification, Will just laughed and held his hands out. “Okay! Okay! Chill!”

  Josiah glanced around again, but still, no one paid them any attention. He eyeballed Will. “Do you?”

  “Do I what?”

  “Have a girlfriend?” That’s not what he really wanted to know. Don’t be stupid. Even if he does swing that way, he’s gorgeous. He’d never be interested in someone like you.

  “Nope.”

  He braved meeting Will’s eyes and the challenge in them was clearly taunting him, daring him to ask…

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No. Not right now, anyway.” One corner of his mouth quirked up.

  Josiah lowered his voice and ducked his head conspiratorially. “You’re gay?”

  “Yes,” Will whispered back and laughed before whispering again. “And I know you are too, so you don’t have to pretend around me, okay?”

  Josiah was stunned. How did he know? No one knew. Not even his few friends. “How… did you know?”

  “Because when I asked if you had a…” He ducked, looking over both shoulders like a spy in a bad B-movie and whispered, “boyfriend” —he sat back up and spoke in a normal tone— “you looked around to see if anyone was listening. A straight person wouldn’t do that. They’d laugh, or get pissed at me, or punch me, but their first reaction wouldn’t be to see if their mom had overheard.”

  Chapter Three

  Five Years Later

  Will looked around at the shirtless men and those in leather and felt completely out of place in his conservative button-down and jeans. For some reason, when a friend suggested he check this place out, Will assumed it was one of the newer, trendy gay clubs. The guy was straight and probably had no clue all gay bars were not created equal.

  Will would rather be out with his straight friends right now. That was the problem though. They were his ‘comfort zone’ - why he was alone. When he went out with them, he’d get hit on a few times, word would spread he played for the other team, and the rest of the night he’d be free to drink and dance - no strings attached. But, tonight, he wanted strings.

  Well, maybe not strings, but some kind of connection. He yearned for someone to share his life with - or at least his day - maybe over dinner or snuggled together on the sofa. Will had lots of friends, but recently he’d been craving a deeper connection - and not just sexual, either. He wanted the security of a committed relationship. He’d tried the online thing, but it kind of intimidated him. Not that the club scene frightened him any less, but Will considered himself a pretty good judge of character, and, at least in a club, you could look a man in the eye.

  He walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. While he waited, he turned and leaned against the bar. Instantly, hungry eyes raked over him as if he wore a blinking neon sign: Desperate gay man. Desperate gay man. Desperate gay man.

  Before anyone could approach, he turned back with the hopes of maybe engaging the bartender in some normal conversation. God, it’d been so long since he’d been to one of these places, and even then, it’d been with a group of friends. He’d never come alone. He was out of his element. The bartender slid his drink to him and immediately moved on to someone else. So much for that idea. Will took a sip of his Maker’s Mark Manhattan and scanned the crowd. The driving beat of the music provided a perfect humping cadence for the men on the dance floor.

  Everywhere he looked, men were grinding against each other in a primal rhythm. Will sighed. This wasn’t for him, no matter how lonely he was. He’d just decided to finish his drink and leave when his eyes collided with a pair of violet ones at the end of the bar.

  The eyes were a different color, contacts no doubt, but Will would recognize Josiah anywhere. He’d looked for him every Saturday after that second time, but he must’ve finished his treatments because he never ran into him again. He’d haunted him ever since. That’d been how long? Four or five years ago?

  He was taller - well, maybe not. Will realized he’d never seen him standing. He was still waif-thin and pale. Dressed head to toe in black leather, his dark hair fell in a swoosh, like the Nike logo, partially cloaking those arresting purple eyes. Just like the first time, Will felt a pull, a need to go to him, but this time there was a much more ‘adult’ feeling to the attraction. He swiped his drink off the bar and pushed his way through the throng of sweaty, testosterone-fueled men.

  Violet, kohl-lined eyes followed his every step, but never warmed with recognition. When he finally reached him, he had to look up and shout to be heard.

  “It’s Joey, right?”

  For an unbearably awkward moment, Will thought he’d been mistaken, until the shyest smile he’d ever seen cracked that pretty, porcelain face.

  Chapter Four

  Joey liked to people-watch. Most nights, the men left him to it, ignoring him, except for the few who’d garnered the courage over the years to speak to the freak at the end of the bar. Those men found out how big a freak Joey really was, but once they were drunk enough, they didn’t seem to care and Joey relished the moments of human contact.

  His heart did a stutter-step the moment Will walked in the door. Long, stylish, brown waves replaced the crew cut Joey remembered, but otherwise, he hadn’t changed. Amidst a sea of leather, excessive hair gel, and clearly-exposed nipple piercings, Will stood out in his crisp, white shirt like an awkward angel. He put his hand over his stomach to calm the butterflies that stirred at the prospect of, not only seeing him again, but getting to watch Will interact with other men. He settled in and signaled the bartender to refill his Coke.

  He watched Will make his way to the bar and cursed that he couldn’t hear his voice as he placed his drink order. Joey watched Will scan the room. The loud, driving beat of the music covered his gasp as the beautiful green irises swept over him like a lighthouse beacon before continuing across the room. He sunk into the shadows and wished he had the courage to approach Will. He knew the moment Will made the decision to leave, sighing and draining his drink. The instant their eyes met, Joey felt it; the electricity shot through him, making every cell crackle and spark. On the outside, though, he was a master at hiding his emotions. Until, that is, the man of his dreams fought his way through the crowd to get to him and spoke his name.

  “It’s Joey, right?”

  He smiled, but before he could answer, Carl, one of the few men that occasionally gave Joey some attention, elbowed between them. “Hey, kid. Wanna’ go upstairs?” Joey cringed at the stink of his beer breath and the feel of his crotch grinding against his leather-clad leg. Joey pulled his head back in distaste as Carl pawed his face.

  “N-not tonight, Carl, okay?”

  “Aw, come on, kid! It’s been awhile.”

  Under any other circumstances, Joey would’ve taken him up on it. Carl was usually pretty decent to h
im - one of the better ones - and Joey had been so lonely. But somehow, with Will standing there, it felt all wrong.

  “Hey, buddy,” Will interjected. “He said ‘not tonight’, okay? He’s an old friend of mine and we have some catching up to do, so why don’t you let me buy you a beer and you let him hang with me tonight. Deal?”

  “Add a shot of Jack and you’ve got yourself a deal,” Carl said.

  Joey swallowed and averted his eyes, but his heart did a little jig. Will slayed the dragon again. He tried not to think about the fact that Carl gave him up for the price of a beer and a shot. Will handled his end of the bargain with the bartender and Carl blended back into the crowd without so much as a parting word for Joey.

  He realized Will was talking to him. He couldn’t hear and shook his head to indicate as much.

  “…someplace quiet!”

  Joey nodded and grabbed Will’s arm, leading him around the bar and down the dark hallway, past the restrooms, past the utility rooms and storage areas. At the end of the hall the music had faded to a muffled thump. He stopped and opened the plain black door at the end of the dark, narrow hall. As he climbed the stairs, he turned to see if Will was still following, but he had stopped and now stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up at him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “My place,” Joey said, and continued up the dark staircase.

  Chapter Five

  Will followed Joey up the stairs. Joey reached the top and disappeared into the dark. A moment later, Will heard a click and everything was bathed in a soft, yellow light. Not that there was much there to be bathed. Will tried to keep the look of disgust from his face as his eyes scanned the room. The entire apartment was one, large, open area, with “rooms” only designated by the type of furniture occupying the space. A counter ran the length of the far wall and appeared to house a sink. At least it wasn’t full of dishes, as Will expected. A dorm-sized fridge sat on the floor beneath it and cupboards above. Will didn’t see a stove - only an electric hotplate with a very questionable cord. His optimistic take on ‘no dishes’ was squashed by the realization Joey probably had no food. A ratty, old sofa faced a small TV teetering on top of stacked, wooden wine crates. The same, overturned crates served as occasional tables throughout the apartment. A beat-up dresser missing almost all its knobs was shoved against the wall closest to Will. Every drawer was open at least an inch. Will’s OCD reared its ugly head, but he resisted the urge to close each one, assuming Joey purposely left them that way so he could get them open.