Page 54 of Romeo vs Romeo

By the time I was ready to cross the street and meet Mama Viv, I only had one more call to make. And Layla was ready. She was already on her way to the office this morning, and she was prepared to postpone her meetings in favor of Neon Nights. She agreed that the only thing we could do now was make a peaceful stand against Harold Langley and his aggressive strategy to take our bar away from us. “If there’s enough of us, we will be noticed. And if we are noticed, it will force someone’s hand to act sooner. Landmark’s not out of the question yet, Roman.” And with that, Layla said she would stop by the office for a briefing and join us at the bar.

I walked out of the building and nearly collided with Everett, who was standing in front of the door with an exhausted look on his face.

“Rome,” he whispered, taking a step toward me and merging our bodies in a tight, warm hug that sent away the chill of the morning.

“How are you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Won’t they look for you?” I asked. Everett was supposed to be working, no matter how loosely that term was defined in his case. I put a hand on his cheek and gazed into his eyes.

“What’s the point?” he asked. “Today’s the day I lose my parents.”

“Baby,” I whispered.

He blinked fast and shook his head. “I’d rather wait for him here than come with his group.”

“Maybe you won’t have to get involved,” I said, thinking about what Layla had told me. “Maybe…”

Everett stopped me with a kiss. It was a blazing collision of two souls that erased whatever rambling thoughts had been swirling around my head. And when he pulled back, licking hislips, he shared a small smile. “Whatever happens, I’m not hiding you any longer.”

We crossed the street together and walked into Neon Nights, where all the lights were on and the staff stood around nervously. Tristan and Cedric were with Bradley at the bar, Mama Viv paced, and a couple of servers sat around a table, drumming their fingers against the surface.

After a round of greetings, we put our heads together and decided on the course of action.

“What matters the most is that nobody breaks off and does something stupid,” I underlined. “The cops are going to be here, so let’s not give them a reason to see us as a threat. We need media attention on this, and Rafael is calling his contacts as we speak. This has to be an act of bravery and defiance, or it’ll crumble. And whatever you do, Mama Viv, do not let Harold Langley bully you into signing anything.”

“He won’t need anyone’s signature,” Everett said dryly. “I believe that Jacobs manipulated the eminent domain. All they really need is to scare us into leaving the bar.”

My fists closed tightly. “They’ll have to carry us out.”

The look on Everett’s face told me that it was precisely what they meant to do. The cops would be presented with sufficiently manipulated documents proving the force of sale, and they would have no choice but to remove the trespassers.

I went on to describe the battle formation. We would fill up the bar with supporters and create a line of defense before it.

As the minutes and hours passed, a small group turned into a crowd. And when I thought that the hundred or so people I had been hoping for turned into three times as many, it was hard not to feel some silly, misguided optimism.

“If all else fails, between the three hundred of us, we’ll be able to eat the bulldozers,” I told our intimate group in Mama Viv’s sitting room.

And just then, commotion alerted me that they were coming.

When Luke, Rafael, Cedric, Tristan, and Mama Viv left the sitting room to stand in front of the bar, leading a line of defenders with them, I lingered upstairs with Everett. He seemed dazed, burdened beyond imagination, and worn to tatters.

It broke my heart to see him like this.

For all the misfortunes of reality, he was still their son. He still needed to come out to them and be met with dismissal and bigotry. And I hated everything about this.

“Stay here,” I told him. “You don’t need to do it like this.”

But his shrug only repeated the same sentiment as earlier. What was the difference?

The distant roar of bulldozers grew louder, and the chatter downstairs matched it. I needed to be outside, and leaving Everett alone was the hardest choice I had to make. I wanted to hold him in my arms and promise that everything would be fine.

“Let me speak to him first,” I proposed instead. “If he changes his mind, you won’t have to come out like this. You can do it when you’re ready.”

Everett smiled gratefully, his eyes warm. He walked slowly across the room toward me. “I can’t believe I tried to resist you, Roman,” he said in a sweet, deep voice. “The last cry, the final prayer, the attempt to resist you and prove to myself that I was not gay…” He shook his head. “You…you are the best goddamn thing that ever happened to me.”

I took his hands, and we neared one another until only inches of empty space remained between us. Everett leaned in, his nose almost touching mine. “No,” I said. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

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