Night Flyer Page 7

  “Are you sure I won’t smell up your bed?”

  With a big sigh, Gabe pulled back, and said, “Have you still got that in your craw? Deuce, for God’s sake you misunderstood, and my big, stupid mouth, well I can’t control it sometimes. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.” Gabe was silent a moment, and then he continued. “Damn, I’m gettin’ so fuckin’ hard just being near you like this. How about it? Give me a little ass, huh?”

  “You think just because you saved my life, I’ll be grateful?”

  “Well, why not?”

  Before Deuce could answer him, he felt Gabe push him around the corner and begin pulling at his clothes while he stood motionless. Gabe’s brutish movements made him feel like so much meat, causing a spear of anger shoot up inside him. He wanted Gabe, of course he did. The scent of Gabe’s earthy cologne curled into Deuce’s lungs, compromising his breathing. His body distantly registered the fact that his big hands were touching him all over, his fingers burning into the skin of his shoulders and brushing his chest through a light feathering of chest hair. Unbidden lust shot through his midsection, reminding Deuce how long it had been since he’d been close to Gabe, but somehow it wasn’t right.

  “Let go of me,” Deuce whispered through gritted teeth, pulling free of his grasp.

  He stood there looking at the superhero, but instead of a frown of disappointment on his face he saw his lips quirk into a mocking half-smile.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Gabe hesitated a moment, and then said, “Oh, I see. You think that withholding sex from me is going to fix whatever it is that’s wrong between us.” He turned away, and laced his fingers through his hair. “Come on, Deuce, you’re acting like some woman now.”

  “That’s the part I’m playing, isn’t it? The woman?”

  “That’s insane,” Gabe said as he turned back around. “You’re not playing any stupid part. Hell, if you’re playing any part at all it’s the part of my sex partner, my friend, my lover.” He hesitated as he looked at Deuce. “What the hell is bothering you? Is it all this mess in the tabloids? Hell, forget them. Besides, it has nothing to do with us.” When a blast of music came from a club somewhere close, he smiled as he extended his arms out to Deuce. “How about a dance?”

  “Are you nuts? Two men dancing? Here? In an alley?”

  Not listening, Gabe put his arms around Deuce, and whispered, “Come on.”

  “You don’t want to dance. I know what you’ve got on your mind. You think—”

  “Be quiet,” Gabe whispered seductively.

  Offering no resistance, Deuce let Gabe lead him as they lightly swayed in place to the music. It was a romantic song, and it was absolutely doing it for him, especially since one of Gabe’s hands was on his ass pulling his hips close. Deuce could feel his cock so god-awful hard, and as it pressed against his own, he could feel a thrill beginning in his groin, and working up into his stomach, and wrapping itself around his heart. Oh, God, he wanted Gabe. He wanted to grab him, and fuck the hell out of him, but since he was still hurting from the things Gabe had said to him the last time, he was playing hard to get. But, hell, he could stand only so much. When he felt Gabe’s lips cover his, Deuce sucked at Gabe’s mouth while his hands kneaded and tugged, pressed and stroked his body until he was in a frenzy of lusty need.

  “Please,” Deuce begged, knowing he couldn’t stand much more of this foreplay.

  Gabe stopped moving, and as he looked into Deuce’s eyes, he said, “Do you mean it? There’s no stopping this time, Deuce. You give, or I’m out of here.”

  Deuce couldn’t speak, so in answer to his question, he reached down, dug into his pants, cupped Gabe’s cock and balls, and began to jerk him off.

  *

  “Ohhh, God,” Gabe moaned as one sensation upon another roiled in his groin and stiffened his cock. An inferno was erupting inside him, so intense it felt like his brain was liquefied. He couldn’t think, all he could do was feel, and couldn’t get his clothes off fast enough.

  With his clothes scattered on the ground, they wilted to the ground where Deuce gripped his cock even harder, his fingers curling around the thickening length. He gave it a few jerks, and then his fingers unfurled when he dropped his hand to his side.

  “Hurry!” Gabe cried out. “Oh, God, hurry!”

  Deuce opened Gabe’s legs wide and crawled up between them.

  “Dear God!” Gabe cried out when Deuce lunged forward and sucked Gabe’s balls into his mouth without warning. Gabe jerked his hips. His rigid cock bobbed, the purple veins stark, almost an artistic tapestry against his ruddy dick. Deuce’s tongue dipped beneath and between, circling at the base of Gabe’s cock. “I-I c-can’t wait much longer,” Gabe said. “I’m going to come.”

  *

  “Not yet,” Deuce whispered, and looked up.

  In the slowly drifting mist he fell in love all over again. It was as if his heart had fallen at Gabe’s feet, and the long, cold flame that had gone out before now flamed bright and hot within Deuce’s soul. He saw Gabe look down at him. It was the face he fell in love with, the eyes, the hair, the beautifully shaped lips that quirked when a pleasant thought crossed his mind.

  Deuce couldn’t hold it back any longer. All his love came flowing out, and nothing in the past seemed to matter anymore. With that in mind, he began to slowly crawl up his body and kiss him, losing himself in his scent and the soft wet touch of his lips. Their kiss deepened as the flame of passion that had gone cold in Deuce earlier enflamed itself once again and consumed him.

  And then came the damning words, “No…it’s no good. I-I can’t…”

  The low whimper struck Deuce like lightning and brought him crashing back to earth. He broke from Gabe. Tears, unbidden and unwanted began to swell up in his eyes as he saw Gabe sit up, and look at him with a serious look on his face. “What the hell…I thought…Gabe, who the hell can stop at a time like this? What’s the problem?”

  “Deuce…I…we need to talk.”

  *

  A tub of cold water couldn’t have worked any better at putting out the flames of desire between the two men who were now scrambling around like two juveniles who had been caught with their pants down. After Gabe brushed the last of the dirt and debris off his clothes, he turned to go, and said, “Uh…you know…maybe another time.”

  “You bastard!” Deuce shouted.

  Gabe turned back. “Look, you didn’t want to do this anyway, so if you don’t mind I’ll just get out of here.”

  “Oh, but I do mind.”

  “Look, what the hell do you want from me? You tell me not to touch you, and then you almost rape me. You’re too damned wishy-washy. I never know what you’re going to do from one minute to the next.”

  “So you’re brushing me off? What about you? I’ve never seen anyone who could turn their feelings off and on like a kitchen faucet before. One minute you’re on, the next off.”

  “Hey, it ain’t that easy, you know. There’s a reason.”

  “Look, you said we needed to talk, so talk.”

  “Just…talk, huh? All right, here’s the truth. I’m a friggin’ freak of nature. Got that? You’re better off just forgetting about me.”

  “There’s more to the story than that, so what is it?”

  Gabe stumbled around for a few minutes, and then walked over to an orange crate, sat down on it, and bowed his head sadly as if he were looking at the ground. “I went to the doctor the other day, and he…well he sort of gave me some bad news.”

  It felt like a million cold, icy feet made their way up Deuce’s spine. “What was it? Surely it’s not…I mean, it’s not…”

  “No, it’s not that. I’ll probably live to be a hundred, but it seems that my super powers are dwindling.”

  “Super powers? You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

  Gabe looked up at Deuce. “Haven’t you even noticed that I can do a few things a normal man can’t?”

  “Well…sure
, I know all about the Night Flyer, but I only saw you in action twice. I mean, I’ve heard things, but tonight when you seemed to change into…and the way you moved…damn, I couldn’t keep my…” Suddenly Deuce’s eyes widened when he remembered his fall into the ocean and felt someone’s hands on him, and the wind in his face. He could have sworn they were flying, but thought he’d dreamed it. “The river…oh, my God, that was you?”

  “Of course. I’m the one that fished you out of the river and took you to Sacred Heart.”

  “I never knew how I made it there, and of course Father Joseph didn’t know. He just told me I was dripping wet when he found me on the stoop. I couldn’t tell him much either, only a little about the accident, so I wasn’t much help. Hell, I was out the whole time, so…how would I know anything?”

  “It was just as well you were.”

  “To be out like a light?”

  “Well, sure. If you’d been awake you would’ve…I just don’t want any big deal made over me. I do what I have to do to get the job done. This is a gift that was given to me by God, and for me to get any kind of glory for it just isn’t right.”

  “So, tonight when you moved like lightning…and you even…hell, you caught bullets in your hand…that’s the gift you’re talking about, right?”

  “Yeah. Well, it’ll all be gone soon.”

  “What? What do you mean, it’ll all be gone soon?”

  “That’s what the doc said.”

  “The one that said you’d live to be a hundred?”

  “Those were my words, not his.”

  “I’m a little confused about this…gift.”

  Gabe combed his fingers through his hair, obviously trying to figure out just how he was going to explain all this to Deuce. He hesitated a moment, got up from the orange crate, and paced for a few minutes. “It all started when I was struck by lightning…”

  Chapter 6

  “THERE had always been something about storms that intrigued me, even as a child, but that night when the lightning hit me, I thought my so-called love affair with the elements was over. As it turned out, it gave me a defense against the bullies and sort of a short-term realization of a dream I’ve had since I was a kid.”

  “That’s an amazing story, but you said it would be gone soon. Why?”

  “Well…the way I understand it is, the body goes through changes. Have you ever heard of Cellular Regeneration?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “During our lifetime our body constantly regenerates itself. Old skin falls off, and is replaced by new skin. As my body sheds the old skin, it sheds the powers I was given. The bottom line is, a man’s body undergoes a constant regeneration, and in something like seven to ten years it’s gone through the complete cycle and starts all over again.” He snickered, and hung his head. “I don’t expect you to understand. To tell you the truth, it’s all gibberish to me too, but that’s kind of a rough explanation as to why I can’t stay like I am. By the time it’s over I’ll be…normal again, I guess.”

  “Why didn’t you want to tell me this?”

  “Well,” Gabe began, smoothing back his hair in frustration. “I guess I thought you wouldn’t want me anymore if I couldn’t…if I was like everyone else.”

  “Why not?”

  “I was a sort of nerdy guy. When this change occurred my whole body, my personality, and everything about me changed. Suddenly I was a hero type. When I was a kid I dreamed of being a superhero, and when it came true, I just…I don’t know…that’s how I was when we got together, and now that it’s going away, you might…not…”

  Deuce looked up into the sky. “You can’t never tell, maybe another bolt of lightning will hit you again.”

  Gabe looked over at him and snickered. “Yeah, maybe it will.”

  “What about the shirt thing? How did that happen?”

  “You mean when I rip my shirt open?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gabe chuckled. “That’s just one of the quirks, like electricity coming out of my fingertips, and the flying. I found out about that one night when some gay bashers had me cornered in an alleyway with rocks in their hands. At one point I reached up to take my shirt off, and since I didn’t have the time to fool with buttons and such I just grabbed the damn thing and ripped it back. Well, when I did I felt a sudden energy fill me up. I didn’t know it at the time but I was being infused with a superhuman power. I’ll never forget that feeling of being able to do anything I wanted. It was the first time I felt it.”

  “So it’s kind of like a trigger that sets it all off.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Well, what about in between the times when your shirt comes off?”

  “You mean when I’m in my normal state?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I’m still different to a certain degree. Stronger, bigger, because the change is still part of me, but when it all goes away I’m afraid I’ll be just like I was before.”

  “Is that so bad?”

  “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to tell me.”

  Deuce was quiet for a moment, and then looked up at Gabe, and said, “I guess since you’ve spilled your guts to me, I’ll have to do the same.”

  “Really?” Gabe said, with a concerned look on his face. “What is it?”

  “I’m no longer a priest at Sacred Heart.”

  “Oh, my God. What happened?”

  “Well, you know about the big hullabaloo this stupid tabloid is making about me. I tried to deal with it, I really did, but it was no use. I lost my flock, and then when I got propositioned in the confessional, I knew it was over. Even though the Bishop told me to ride it out, I was convinced by that time that I should have never been a priest in the first place. I was in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing, and I needed to make things right, so I submitted a letter of resignation.”

  “Is that the way you do it? Just…resign?”

  “It’s the way I did it, but as a result I might be branded radical and undisciplined, and thrown out.”

  “But they can’t do that, can they? I mean, you quit, right?”

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. It’ll go on my record. That might worry me if I intended to stay in the church, but since I don’t it’s just an empty threat.”

  “That’s tough,” Gabe said.

  “So now you don’t have to worry that you’re breaking one of God’s laws by making love to me.” He looked at Gabe, his gaze trying to penetrate his thoughts. “That is if your feelings about me haven’t changed.”

  Gabe smiled a slow smile. “Not a chance.”

  “Let’s get out of this alley,” Deuce whispered. “We can go to my place if you want.”

  “I don’t care where we go as long as we’re together.”

  As they left the alleyway amid the dirty steam that rose eerily from the gutters, love blinded them from seeing the madcap city falling apart all around them. If they’d had eyes for something besides each other, they might have noticed the parade of cars that honked insanely and an angry driver that flipped a finger at the other drivers. They also might have noticed the muggers that flashed guns and threats, and taxi’s that looked as if they were doing a show on ice when their cars did a dangerous slip and slide around corners and down crowded streets. They might have also noticed robbers with guns waving as they ran out of stores with the owners chasing them, and looters who took advantage of every situation, not to mention unrest in the form of riots in every neighborhood. With all this going on, someone might have wondered where the superhero was—but this was one night that the Night Flyer had other plans.

  Once they made it to Deuce’s apartment, Gabe began looking around. In the kitchen he saw one can of beans, a wedge of cheese, and a few grapes, and turned to look at Deuce.

  “My God, man, is this all you eat?”

  “I go out most of the time.”

  Gabe looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and th
en said, “Why don’t you give me a little sample of your card playing?”

  “Why would you want me to do that?”

  “A way of getting to know you, I guess. You were a gambler, weren’t you? What do you do now to make money? Whatever it is it’s not very profitable. Your food supply worries me, frankly.”

  “Sit down, sucker,” Deuce said with a knowing smile on his face.

  Without saying anything, Deuce grabbed a deck of cards, made a few sleight of hand gestures, and won a hand before Gabe even knew they were playing. Deuce looked at him, and said, “You owe me a hundred dollars.”

  When Gabe saw the way Deuce was looking at him, he felt his heart leap, his pulse pound, and the lust in him going crazy. “I guess you’ll just have to take it out in…other ways.”

  “I guess something could be arranged,” Deuce said, his words taking on a seductive sound.

  Deuce got up from the table and slowly came around it. He stood behind Gabe and allowed his rough fingers to glide down Gabe’s arm in a light stroke.

  “I see. A broken arm, a leg. Is that the way you collect?”

  Deuce leaned down, his tongue even with his ear when he began his naughty play. He heard Gabe gasp, and stiffen.

  When the special warmth flooded Deuce’s body, his heart pounded, and his cock throbbed. He moaned a low sound, craving, wanting, starving, and not realizing how badly until that moment in time.

  Just then Gabe turned quickly so Deuce’s tongue would touch his lips. His lids closed as if they suddenly became heavy, and he opened his mouth in invitation for Deuce to continue.

  Gabe stood then while Deuce’s gentle hands were still roaming up his bare arms until his palms stopped at his shoulder. Deuce’s fingertips lightly scratched the sides of his throat while Gabe’s hand found the denim of Deuce’s jeans waist and grabbed it in an effort to keep from melting to the floor. His other hand was grasping the table in a knuckled grip when a strong tongue circled his lips with rumbles and purrs. If he’d forgotten how to kiss, Deuce was well versed to reinstruct him, to refresh his memory. Heat danced along Gabe’s spine. Lust gnawed at him, pooling low in his belly, sinking into his balls. Waves of raw desire were rolling over him. And then Deuce went a little further, cupping Gabe’s nape to play with his hair, threading his fingers through the strands reaching for Gabe’s collar. Shivers cascaded down his back from the playful caresses. Their hearts beat as one, bringing them closer and closer until Deuce covered him, snug against Gabe’s frame with the table behind him. Solid muscles and a rock-hard cock pressed into him. Before Gabe sank too deep in the lust-filled daze, he jerked Deuce’s hip tight into his groin, grinding in a hard, circular motion. Deuce groaned, a shudder echoing down his body right after.