by Brandon Witt
Vahin bugged his eyes out as Marlon’s voice trailed off. “Andrew didn’t what?”
Marlon hesitated longer, thoughts playing across his face so quickly Vahin couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“What is it, Marlon?”
“This is a gray area.” He sighed. “Actually, no, it isn’t. I shouldn’t be talking about any of this with you, with anyone. And if I didn’t know Andrew did this because of me, I wouldn’t even dream of it, not even with you.”
Not even with you. Like Vahin had already crossed, truly crossed, into a special category that received special treatment in Marlon’s world. The words eased Vahin’s worry and made him really look at Marlon again, beyond his handsome face and the potential help he offered. Though it had been a matter of days—stress-filled days—he knew Marlon had crossed that line within him as well. Vahin inspected his emotions a split second, judged them to be genuine, then spoke as he laid down the silverware and placed his hand over Marlon’s forearm.
“I’m not going to repeat what you tell me, even to Steven and the others, if you don’t want me to. But you also don’t have to tell me anything at all. That’s not why you’re here. That’s not why I want you here. It’s not why I want to cook for you or have you in my bed.”
“I know that. I wasn’t trying to imply—”
“I know,” Vahin cut him off.
Marlon studied him for a moment, then smiled softly. He covered Vahin’s hand with his own, his palm cold from the beer bottle. Their gazes held. Unspoken promises—promises that were coming too soon but were there nonetheless—were made. Finally Marlon broke their stare and cleared his throat.
“It’s in our favor that Andrew didn’t have any sanction to conduct a sting on you or Mary’s. There’s a lot of ties that protect Andrew, however. The chief isn’t sure if those ties will protect him this time, or if the tickets against you and Mary’s will be upheld. Andrew’s involvement could help or hurt their validity. It depends on which judge gets them. If they even get that far.”
Vahin tried to follow Marlon’s meaning, and thought he did, for the most part. “So you think there’s a chance that it all might go away?”
Marlon nodded slowly. “Yeah. There’s that chance. And I think it’s a chance I’d even put money on, but it’s not a sure thing.”
“Okay. Well….” Vahin wiped his hands over his thighs, though there was nothing to get off. He wanted to ask a billion more questions. To get Marlon to make promises that were beyond his ability to make. “Well, I guess that means I have to wait and see.”
“Yeah.” Marlon didn’t finish until Vahin met his eyes. “We have to wait and see. You’re not in this alone.”
Though Vahin knew it would be his future affected most by the outcome, he really didn’t feel alone. He felt less alone than he had in years, even with all the love from Mary’s. He turned away, swiping quickly at his eyes and grabbed potholders before opening the oven. “Dinner’s ready.”
Marlon had taken his first bite of food and let out a nearly orgasmic groan that didn’t seem faked before Vahin realized how self-absorbed he’d been. “Oh, shit, Marlon. I wasn’t even thinking. I’m so sorry.”
Marlon cocked an eyebrow, his mouth full.
“Today was your first day back after being outed to everyone. Are you okay?”
Marlon finished chewing. “It was a little tense, to say the least, but nobody said anything. Which I kinda wish they would’ve, just to get it over with. But I didn’t say anything either. I spent most of the day with Andrew, anyway. And what was even stranger is he didn’t mention you once. I thought it was going to be an entire day of gloating and backhanded statements to try to get a reaction. But nothing.”
“Really?” Vahin wasn’t sure what to make of it but didn’t have long to consider before Marlon set down his fork.
“Oh! I forgot.” He popped up out of his seat and went over to his discarded jacket and began digging through the pockets. “I stopped by a place before coming here.”
“Well, I hope it wasn’t to get dessert if you stuffed it in your pocket.”
Marlon grinned at him. “Well, kinda.” He pulled a black plastic bag out of his pocket, then emptied the contents into his hand before holding it up.
“What the—” The furry purple item took a moment to register, and then Vahin burst out with a laugh. “No way!”
That hesitant expression crossed Marlon’s face again, the one that seemed so out of place. “Well, you’ve been asking to, so….”
“Marlon, you fucking have a pair of handcuffs with you all the time. You didn’t need to go buy a pair. Especially that kind.”
“I can’t make myself use the real ones. They’re for work, and it seems….” His words faded off, and he glanced toward the fuzzy handcuffs, then grinned at Vahin. “What? You don’t like them? They had pink ones, if you’d rather me take them back and get those.”
God, the man was adorable. Hot as fuck, but adorable. “No, purple will do just fine.”
After dinner and after clothes had been discarded, Vahin lay on the bed as Marlon straddled him. He fastened one of the fuzzy links to the bedpost and then gripped Vahin’s wrist and pulled it toward the cuffs.
As much as Vahin had wanted this, something in his guts twisted, and he could feel Andrew’s fingers digging into his elbow. He pulled his wrist free.
“You okay?” Marlon looked down at him, concern in his voice.
Vahin felt so stupid; this was fun. It was sexy. He wanted nothing more than to be under Marlon’s complete control. He met Marlon’s gaze. “Sorry. Can we wait on those? Maybe when my brush with the law is over?”
Marlon’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh God. I didn’t even think. I’m so sorry. I—”
Vahin cut him off by using his free hand to press against Marlon’s ass and shove Marlon’s crotch into Vahin’s face. Tilting his head up, he engulfed Marlon’s cock in his mouth, not taking his eyes from Marlon’s.
“Oh fuck, yes.” Marlon moaned, released the handcuffs, gripped the headboard, and pushed himself farther into Vahin’s mouth.
The cuffs hung on the bedpost the rest of the night, making muffled thuds occasionally, but completely forgotten.
CHAPTER NINE
Marlon Barton
Four days of near perfection. It was almost like being back with Sam, except with no humor or easy camaraderie. Definitely no friendship. Still, the past shifts with Andrew had been better than Marlon had thought possible.
There’d been no double-meaning insults or borderline racist comments. He treated the people they stopped with respectful, if somewhat dismissive, behavior. Andrew hadn’t even insulted Marlon’s driving. Exactly like he’d been the day after seeing Marlon and Vahin together.
It was weird, and it made Marlon nervous.
Marlon was sure the case against Vahin and Mary’s would be dropped, more confident than he’d let on to Vahin, just in case the worst happened. Maybe Andrew believed the same as well and was trying to smooth things over in advance.
Whatever Andrew’s reason, it was driving Marlon crazy. Bad enough that none of his fellow officers had so much as mentioned his outing. Most were giving him a wider berth than normal, and a couple had cuffed him on the shoulder or back in what Marlon took to be a supportive acknowledgment. But he’d been prepared for all-out war with Andrew, to have each shift be nothing more than constant arguing, maybe even culminating in Andrew finally losing his shit and doing something to get dismissed over.
By six that evening, Marlon pulled their cruiser into the gated police station parking lot, claimed their normal spot, and told himself to bite his tongue. Instead, he pulled the keys from the ignition and turned to Andrew. “How did you know Vahin worked at Mary’s?”
Andrew had already opened the door and had one foot out of the car. He paused midmotion, long enough it was clear he was debating whether to do this or not. In a matter of moments, he pulled his foot back in, shut the door, and leaned back in hi
s seat. He turned to Marlon with an innocent expression and cocked his brow.
Marlon waited for a response, but Andrew gave none.
“So, what? You’re going to pretend you didn’t go after Vahin because of me?”
Andrew’s gaze flicked to Marlon’s chest.
Of course. In a smooth, irritated motion, Marlon unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He unfastened his body camera and bulletproof vest, and made a show of placing them on the hood of the car. He finished it off by pulling out his badge and tossing it on top of the pile before getting back in and shutting the door with a slam. “Better?”
Andrew’s lips curved into a partial grin, suddenly looking more like himself. “I didn’t ask you to do that. I’m not worried about being recorded.”
That’s a first. Marlon was able to keep the thought to himself, knowing it wouldn’t help to start off with sarcasm. He tried again. “How did you know Vahin was at Mary’s?”
Andrew considered things for so long Marlon decided he was going to play it all off as happenstance. He didn’t. “After I saw you on Santa Fe, my date got a craving for dessert, so we went to D Bar. It was amazing.”
Marlon waited, then grew impatient. “What does that have to do with it?”
Andrew shrugged. “Well, she wasn’t quite ready, needed to let dinner settle or something, so I drove around. D Bar is on 19th, so I just hopped on over to 17th, and while we were seeing all the changes to the neighborhood, I noticed your car parked by the burger place.”
Like he didn’t have the fucking name memorized. Marlon gritted his teeth but forced his tone to be as calm as he could make it. “So you followed me to—” Andrew opened his mouth to speak, but Marlon changed tactics. “You drove around before dessert and saw my car at Mary’s. That doesn’t explain how you knew about Vahin being their bartender.”
He gave an exaggerated eye roll. “There’s a little thing called the Internet, Marlon. I know you’re older than me, but surely you’ve heard of it. Your… friend serving drinks is one of the main pictures on the restaurant’s home page. It seemed like he’d had a hard time finding a shirt big enough for him that day, or one with sleeves.”
“I bet you hated looking at that.” The instant the words were out, Marlon mentally kicked himself.
Andrew’s tone shifted from taunting to angry in an instant. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Marlon should’ve gotten out of the car and walked away. Should’ve played it cool and given an answer that would’ve de-escalated the moment. Should’ve done a million things that wouldn’t run the risk of aggravating the situation before there was a conclusion to the whole ordeal. Should’ve… but the buildup of anticipation of the past four days crashed down over him.
“It means that because you couldn’t handle your feelings as you looked at Vahin, you decided to try to ruin him. Or is it me you want? What was harder for you? That you wanna get naked with a guy, or that the men you’re attracted to have a shit ton more melanin than they’re supposed to?”
There was a flash of fear—that would’ve confirmed Marlon’s suspicions if he’d not been certain about it for a long time. The fear only lasted a heartbeat before igniting an inferno of rage. “I’m not a fucking faggot. Not like you.” Andrew’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, and he moved his hand toward the handle of his gun.
Marlon reared back in his seat, nearly reaching for his own, then forced himself to wait. “Andrew, stop. I’m sorry.”
Andrew had unclipped the handle with his thumb and had begun to pull it out. He paused at Marlon’s words, his eyes growing large. He didn’t draw his hand away, but he didn’t pull the gun out any farther.
Marlon held up his hands. “I was wrong. Sorry. I was talking shit.” He stared into Andrew’s blue eyes and saw raw fury and fear. And though he was close to hating the man, Marlon actually felt a sliver of pity for him.
There was no way for him to get to his gun before Andrew pulled his.
He spoke again. “Sorry, really. I’ll never say that again.”
Andrew’s voice trembled as did his hand as he slid the gun back into position. “Because it’s fucking shit.”
Marlon nodded. “Yeah. I was just being a bitch.” There was a large part of him that raged against lowering himself in front of Andrew, but to do anything else was pointless and would end in more conflict.
They stared at each other, Marlon keeping his hands raised, Andrew lifting his from the gun. Finally he reached for the door handle. “If I hear you spreading shit, I swear to—”
“You won’t.”
Andrew pushed open the door. “Hope you enjoyed being a cop, faggot. That’s all about to end.” He slid out, slammed the door, and was gone.
Marlon watched him in the rearview as he disappeared into the station, ready to duck down and pull his gun should Andrew turn around.
God, he’d been an idiot. The chief might actually take his badge when Marlon told him about confronting Andrew, about provoking him with the gay shit. He sat there for another fifteen minutes, trying to get his nerves to return to normal and to lessen the chance he’d run into Andrew on the way in. He for sure didn’t want Andrew to see him going to the chief’s office.
An image flashed through his mind of Andrew walking in, his gun fully drawn, and opening fire on him talking to the chief.
Actually there was no need to talk to the chief that very moment. What was the point? What good would come of it? Neither of them had fully pulled their guns or made actual threats. It had been nothing more than name-calling and one man’s word against the other.
Finally he got out of the car, gathered his stuff off the hood, and went in. He’d apparently waited long enough for Andrew to leave, or maybe he was in the chief’s office, though Marlon doubted it. He couldn’t picture Andrew coming close to alluding to someone calling him gay.
As he was leaving the station, Marlon realized he would have to talk to the chief. There would have to be a partner change after this. No way could he or Andrew work together any longer.
Guilt tugged at him, both for putting his chief in a situation that would ripple through the station and, more so, could cause Andrew’s behavior to escalate.
Marlon wasn’t surprised to get Vahin’s answering text stating he was at Mary’s. As he walked into the restaurant, Marlon prayed he hadn’t done something to make Vahin’s situation worse. Vahin had gone to an informal interview at a construction company the day before. While the idea of Vahin hot and sweaty wearing a tool belt was appealing, Marlon ached over hearing the defeat in Vahin’s voice as he said they’d told him that he’d be able to start early the next week. It had almost been enough for Marlon to offer to cover a couple months of Vahin’s rent just so they could see how it all played out, not that it would take that long. The only thing that stopped him was knowing Vahin would feel even more like a failure at such a suggestion.
Marlon spotted Vahin sitting at the bar talking to the other bartender and the younger drag queen—Ariel, that was her name. Like he’d ever be able to forget. He wouldn’t be able to walk by a mermaid display without blushing for the rest of his life.
Marlon pressed up against Vahin and kissed his cheek before Vahin noticed he’d arrived.
Vahin jumped, then kissed Marlon full on the mouth before pulling back and smiling. “Look at you, with the public display of affection.”
Marlon shrugged, though he was shocked. He hadn’t even thought twice about it. “No one left to hide from.”
“You okay with that, or does it freak you out?”
“Actually….” How had he not thought of this, even with all that was going on? “You know, it feels pretty amazing.”
“Good.” Vahin smiled again, but Marlon realized it wasn’t his normal carefree grin. Not that anything about Vahin had been carefree over the past several days, but still.
“What’s wrong?”
Vahin turned back toward his friends. “You mind?”
Arie
l shook her head.
He addressed Marlon again, keeping his voice relatively low. “Ariel stepped out front a bit ago and got harassed by a couple of guys walking by.”
Marlon looked over Vahin’s shoulder and met Ariel’s light green eyes; small trails of mascara were smeared on her cheeks. She met his gaze, then glanced away. He focused back on Vahin. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, just some verbal shit. Might have gotten physical, but a couple on the patio yelled at the guys, and they took off.”
“Fuck.” Marlon started to address Ariel, then thought better of it. “I can take her statement, if she wants.”
Vahin shook his head. “Nah. Nothing actually happened, and I think that would freak Ariel out more than do anything useful.”
“You sure she’s okay?”
“As good as she can be. I’m getting so tired of this shit. This neighborhood keeps getting ritzier and ritzier, and crap like this still happens.”
Marlon thought back to the conversation he’d had with Andrew the other day. “I know. But it’s not only here. Better here than some neighborhoods right now, trust me. With all the political shit going on, the bigots are riled up.”
“Yeah, well, it’s getting old.” Vahin sighed, then grimaced. “I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t wanna hang out at Mary’s again, but do you mind if we stay for Ariel’s show and make sure she gets out of here afterward before we keep our plans? ManDonna’s not here. Her son has an engagement party tonight, and this is Ariel’s first show alone.”
As much as it surprised him, Marlon didn’t especially feel up to getting Vahin naked at the moment. He felt a little dirty from the blowup with Andrew. Distraction sounded perfect, even if it came in the form of another drag show. “That sounds kinda fun, actually. And I’m starving.”
Vahin waggled his brows playfully. “Really? Are you starting to like drag now, or are you hoping to get pulled up on stage again? Maybe you got a taste of stardom the other night with everyone yelling when your shirt came off.”
