Page 97 of Hidden Desires
Yeah, that would be nice. He wouldn’t mind it if Noah took notice. But so far, Noah had been obsessed with this new girlfrom Minnesota. Just because she had light-brown hair and aqua-blue eyes, you would think she was a mermaid with the way Noah talked about her.
Whatever. He would find his own man. One who would be crazy obsessed over him.
“Nice ass shake, queer,” some bafoon said as he and his two buddies walked past where Ace and Noah were chilling. “I can see your tampon string hangin’ out yer shorts.”
Ace jerked to a stop and stared at the country redneck as he continued to laugh as he passed.
“What did you say, asshole?” Ace asked, taking a few steps forward like he was going to beat up the guy.
In actuality, Ace was a scrawny teen. He was slim, awkward, and had barely any muscle. He didn’t need strength. He had his wits and a lethal tongue that could make any grown man cry or a hardened criminal suicidal.
The leader of the group stopped and turned back to stare down Ace. “I called you a faggot, homo. What are you going to do about it?”
Ace took another step forward, then stopped when he realized that the other two guys were rolling up their sleeves.
Unleashing his venomous tongue on one person might work, but fending off three men with nothing but your words was a battle no one could win.
“Ace, don’t. Just come sit back down and forget about these guys,” Noah tried. He was sitting on his heels, looking like he might dash off at the first sight of danger.
Ace stared at all three men and hated himself. If he weren’t so weak, he could punch these guys in the face and regain some of his dignity. But if he took these guys on now, they would pummel his ass into the ground, and his ego would be no better off than it was right at that moment.
Tears threatened to attack his face.
“What did you call my little bro?” a familiar voice snarled from just behind Ace.
The three guys looked up at the six-foot-four wall of muscle and swallowed hard.
“Umm, nothing. We were just passin’ by,” Mr. Loudmouth said with a stumble in his voice.
“No. You called my little bro a faggot and a homo. How about you come here, and we’ll see who is a faggot and a homo?” Marcus snarled, placing his hand on Ace’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“Umm, no. It’s okay, dude. No harm.”
“Caden, grab the guy,” Marcus ordered. Caden and Chester materialized out of nowhere.
Cade grabbed Mr. Loudmouth by the arm as his two friends took off like bats out of hell.
“No. Please,” the man begged, looking from Marcus to Caden and then back to Marcus.
“Marcus, seriously. It’s alright. It’s no big deal,” Ace muttered, afraid of making the situation worse.
But it was a big deal. The man had made him feel small. Like just because he liked dance music and shaking his ass, he was not the same as other people.
Ace knew that he was different, but he didn’t realize what being different would mean for him as he grew up.
“No, Ace. It is a big deal. I’m about to teach this boy some manners.” Marcus clenched his fists as he walked up to the man being held by Caden and pulled back his fist.
Ace watched as Marcus beat the man for the next five minutes. His actions were rough and violent, and yet, somehow, sweet and endearing—at least to Ace. The dude receiving the massive beating was only seeing the rough and violent part of the act.
“If I ever hear you call my little bro a faggot or a homo again, I’ll cut off your fuckin’ balls,” Marcus threatened, taking a step back and waiting for the man’s response.
The man simply nodded as he stared at the ground, tears welling up in his eyes.
Ace kind of felt bad for the guy, but he brought it on himself. No one had the right to make someone else feel small and insignificant. If they did, they deserved what they got.
“Come,” Marcus said, picking up Ace’s radio and throwing his arm over his younger brother’s shoulders.
They walked back toward their house in silence.
