Phoenix (4 page)

“Hey, Dominic,” Blake grunted as he pulled himself up

off the wall. He wasn’t sure why he tried to be pleasant to

Ethan’s roommate, because he was never nice to him.

“Hey yourself, girlyboy,” Dominic shot back, and Blake

glared at him as he straightened his shirt, the very barest

strap of his binder flashing as he did so. “Oh, what’s that?”

“Nothing,” Blake said, smoothing his shirt out and

crossing his arms over his chest. “None of your fucking

business.”

“A normal guy would’ve said it was an undershirt,
freak
,”

Dominic spat at him, and Blake’s eyes narrowed as he shook

his head.

“Call me a freak all you want,” he shot back, but that was

about the moment Dominic put his hand on Blake’s shoulder

and pushed him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground

again. He fell hard with a grunt and looked up with a look

that was a mix of hurt and pissed off. He glanced over to see

that Ethan was being held back by one of Dominic’s little

buddies, and that just made him even angrier.

“Dominic, would you fucking back off?” came a booming

shout from behind the other man, and he watched big hands

grasp at Dominic and push him out of the way before

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Phoenix

holding his hand out to help Blake to his feet.

Riley was different than the rest of the football team—he

was a frat boy, but he was actually quite nice. Blake didn’t

understand why such a great guy hung out with a bunch of

assholes who didn’t give two shits about him.

“Are you okay?” Riley asked, and Blake just gave a tight

smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks. Just keep your alpha pup on a

leash next time,” Blake said with a scoff, and Riley laughed,

clapping him on the shoulder.

“I’ll try. It’s hard when he chews through the leash

though,” Riley joked back at him, and Blake just smiled

awkwardly, looking at him intently for a moment as the

other frat boys dragged Dominic away kicking and

screaming.

“Why do you hang with them anyway?” he asked in a

quiet voice, feeling Ethan’s arms wind around his bicep

protectively.

Riley just shrugged. “I only do during school and football

practice so they don’t whine about me abandoning the team

or whatever. I normally stay at home and read when they’re

out partying, but shh, I’ve got a reputation to maintain so

keep that to yourselves,” he said, poking at Blake’s shoulder.

“Anyway, I’ll see you in Bio. I gotta do some diffusing.”

Blake smiled a bit and nodded. “All right, see you,” he

said, watching as Riley weaved his way through the crowd.

“Fuckin’ asshole,” Ethan muttered, and Blake looked at

him. Ethan was looking at him intently, frowning as he

rubbed his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just glad Riley stepped in when he did or

Dominic’d have a broken nose,” Blake muttered, deflecting

and changing the subject with a lighter tone before Ethan

could protest or try and talk to him more about it. “Come on,

let’s get to the cafe. I’m starving.”

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Joey James Hook

hat the fuck is your problem, man?” Riley snapped

“W as he fell back in line with a bunch of other frat

boys. He was seething on the inside—Dominic always

fucked with Blake, no matter what. He wasn’t sure why the

guy had it in for him, but he sure seemed to like messing

with him and just generally making his life hell.

Riley was fucking sick of it.

“Oh, so you’re taking her side?” Dominic sneered, and

Riley gritted his teeth. Rage like nothing else flooded

through his entire body and he clenched his fists, biceps

bulging enough for a couple of the other guys to make loud

oooh
sounds and back away from them.

“His,” he growled dangerously, “and if you call him a girl

one more time you’re gonna have a hell of a black eye.”

“Oh okay, so you’re delusional like she is and think she’s

a guy, too,” Dominic replied in a flippant tone, rolling his

eyes and pushing past Riley unsuccessfully because Riley

grabbed onto his wrist and squeezed it hard. Dominic

scoffed and glared at him. “Let go of me. I’ve read her

records, I know her fuckin’
name
, dude,” he snapped,

tugging at his arm.

“Yeah, I do think he’s a guy, actually.” Riley’s final

syllable was hard, like the crack of a whip. He cocked an

eyebrow and tilted his head at Dominic. He wasn’t letting

go. “Does that glare actually get people to quail in front of

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Phoenix

you and back off?” he spat, a smirk curling onto his lips as

he felt the tingle of rage infusing his body.

“Yes, usually,” Dominic replied, and Riley barked a hard

laugh in his face, blood boiling and he was beginning to lose

all rational thought. He felt like he was losing his mind, but

he really wasn’t.

“Well you’ve got another thing comin’, you arrogant

prick,” was his simple, harsh retort.

Riley wasn’t sure who threw the first punch or who

launched himself at whom first, but all he knew was that his

fist collided with Dominic’s cheek and Dominic’s fist

crashed with his jaw. It knocked Riley back a little as he

heard a low cry from Dominic. He shook his head to clear it

and then tackled Dominic right into the wall with a grunt.

A surge of satisfaction made him stronger as he elbowed

Dominic in the stomach, hearing him groan in pain as he

collapsed against the wall. Riley backed off, wiping a trickle

of blood from his lips and panting hard. They stared each

other down for a few tense moments, ignoring the chants of

fight fight fight!
from around them. It all melded into Riley’s

heartbeat after a second.

Dominic yelled, probably a curse but it was so incoherent,

and sprang up off the wall, pushing Riley into the opposite

side of the hall, slamming him into a door. He grunted and

arched his back as a doorknob nailed him in the back but he

breathed around the pain and punched Dominic square in

the nose to get him off him.

Dominic fell back onto the ground, clutching his nose in

defeat. Riley stood shakily, wincing at the shock of pain that

licked up his back, but he was sickly pleased when blood

started seeping from between Dominic’s fingers. He hated

losing his temper, but liked it when people got what they

deserved.

Dominic tried to stand but stumbled into a wall, knocking

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Joey James Hook

his head hard on the corner. There was a collective
oooh

sound from bystanders, but despite a slight flicker of

concern, he didn’t pay any attention. Dominic collapsed on

their center, pawing at his shirt gracelessly and smearing

blood all over it. The guy made a face of disgust and

shrugged him off to the wide receiver, who looked

bewildered and lost as to what to do with him.

“Fucking deserved it,” he spat, turning and beginning to

push his way through the congregation, most of whom were

so shocked they didn’t move or speak at all. They were too

busy staring at Dominic kneeling on the floor and stumbling

all over his team like the loser that he was.

Their fallen fucking hero, Riley thought bitterly.

He wasn’t watching where he was walking at all, as

seemed to be a trend today, and slammed hard into someone

else, a full-body slam where their chests connected and not

their shoulders. The momentum knocked the other man flat

on his ass with a surprised grunt. Riley he stumbled back,

looking down at the ground, where his unfortunate collision

partner was currently sitting.

A dark-haired man was scrambling to get up off the floor,

and bright blue eyes nailed him with a curious, open

expression. Riley raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you

all right?”

The man laughed good-naturedly and nodded. “Yeah, I

take tumbles like that all the time, no big deal,” he replied

with a nod, but then his eyebrows rose as his eyes roved

over his face. “Are
you
okay, is the question?”

Riley laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck

with his unhurt hand. “Yeah, I’m good. Just got in a fight is

all,” he explained.

“Well, way to go! Would hate to see what the other guy

looks like,” the man said, nudging him with his hand

playfully before clearing his throat and holding it out rather

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Phoenix

more professionally than before. “I’m Devon, by the way.”

Riley gave a dimpled smile and took the offered hand in a

firm grip, replying simply, “Riley.”

“Nice to meet you, Riley,” Devon said with a nod, a grin

spreading across his face as he took his hand back and

rocked back on his heels. “So, um, I’m new here.”

“Oh, are you? Well, welcome,” Riley said in a

good-natured tone. “So are you looking for somewhere in

particular and that’s why you said that?”

Devon laughed sheepishly and nodded in thanks. “You

are very perceptive. Yes, I am so fucking lost. I don’t know

what building ASP is, and I’ve been wandering buildings for

like half an hour trying to find this fucking classroom,” he

explained.

Riley smirked. “Well, for one, you’re definitely in the

wrong building. For two, that building is all the way across

campus, so if you have class in any less than ten minutes,

you’re fucked,” he explained.

“It’s fine, my class started half an hour ago, I’m already

late as shit,” Devon laughed, running his hand through his

wild hair. “I’m not too worried really. Just as long as I find

the fuckin’ place for next time.”

“Well, come on, and I’ll show you where it is,” Riley

offered after letting out a chuckle of pure amusement,

nudging Devon with his shoulder before leading him down

the hall and down the stairs toward the Aspen building.

* * * *

As much as Blake liked spending time in class, what he

cherished most were the times when he and Ethan could just

hang out in their dorms, do homework, watch a movie,

whatever. He loved it, because it reminded him of quiet

nights in high school when everyone else was out partying

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Joey James Hook

or doing drugs.

Currently, their books were stacked on Ethan’s desk and

they were both lying on the floor in front of a small TV.

Blake was stretched out in front of Ethan, his head resting on

his stomach as Ethan played with his hair idly.

They were both in jeans and hoodies with their shoes still

on, because they didn’t normally bother turning on the heat.

Ethan’s hoodie was Blake’s from a few years back, worn and

grey from how much use it got. Blake’s was a zip-up hoodie

with silver filigree spreading over the chest and down the

stomach—he’d made it himself, painstakingly placing down

all the silvery metallic fabric back during his freshman year

of college.

“This is a weird movie,” Blake mused, looking up

through his lashes, kicking his head back so that he could

see Ethan clearly. He frowned, even though he was well

aware that the expression would look backward to his best

friend and it’d look like a smile. “I don’t even know what’s

going on.”

Ethan just shrugged nonchalantly, moving his small

fingers through the two-toned strands, paying idle but

special attention to the pink strands that he idly noted

needed to be re-dyed. “I dunno, just the first one I picked.

Besides, Donnie Darko’s a classic,” he said, and Blake just

chuckled, shaking his head and settling back down to watch

it.

“Still a weird movie,” he mumbled, but he shifted so that

he could get comfortable, slinging his free arm behind him

over Ethan’s hip, keeping him close as he rested pretty much

completely against him, relaxing and letting the tension that

had been building in his body release.

He always enjoyed the closeness he and Ethan shared. He

was the person Blake could always go to without fear of

being judged because Ethan had already seen him at his

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Phoenix

absolute worst. He’d walked in on his one and only suicide

attempt, the scars from which were effectively tattooed over.

He still saw that terrified concern in Ethan’s face. He’d

evened out and finally started testosterone therapy, finally