Page 6 of Shifting Years (Whispering Hills #5)

I sipped a mint-lemon drink in a well-lit, mostly empty bar.

The lighting alone made it different from my first one.

No shadows, sticky floor, or watchful eyes.

This place didn't reek of danger. Instead of throbbing music and tight-packed bodies, there was open space, cool air, and faint jazz trickling from unseen speakers.

It didn't feel like a place to hook up. It felt like a place to think and talk to two friendly men who had already introduced themselves.

A man in his forties who seemed European and maybe Jewish stared down with a slight smile. David's black hair, parted down the middle, hung past his ears. He held it back with a white cloth headband.

I had forgotten to ask the bartender at the other bar what cocktail she made. This mix wasn't what I expected, but still enjoyable.

"You like, yes?" he said with an accent that now hinted at French. There was no way I'd guess his nationality.

His lover was Abraham, a Black man with a dark-grey tank top and a leather biker cap. A white towel lay across his right shoulder. Both were slender with lean muscles. I guessed Abraham as a forty-year-old too.

On the bar, behind liquor bottles, sat a black-and-white photo that couldn't be more than five years ago. The photograph featured a white wedding cake with two plastic groom toppers. "You're married ?"

"Well," said David with a sly grin, "we can't make it official at city hall, but yes, in our hearts, we're married where it matters."

Abraham draped his arms over David, and his fingers tickled his lover's nipples.

"My love," whispered David with a laugh. "We have company!" Light and dark skin pressed, reminding me of a Yin and Yang symbol painted on a VW bus I rode in earlier.

"Yeah," said Abraham with a rich baritone, "but it's nice to not have to hide." He gestured to me. "Don't worry. He's a good kid."

I imagined they could be together in a gay bar, but maybe not.

David's expression turned serious, sensing my thoughts. "Yes, it's very sad. I have to say he's my tenant and this I do not like."

"Sorry."

David's semi-French accent grew stronger. "There is good. We have a door leading to my place."

"Sometimes I take the back way." His lover leered with a lingering smile.

David stared back with a mock open-mouth look.

They were unusual and not because of the color combination. I enjoyed what happened in the bar with Todd, but I wanted a taste of this life. A husband sounded so nice. "How long have you two been together?"

Abraham spoke first. "Unofficially, fifteen years."

His husband gestured to the photo. "We decided to make it official five years ago, or as much as we could."

"So, this life is possible." I pointed to them both.

I told them about Todd, and I left out the more descriptive details. They stared with no judgment. The sly smiles suggested they had similar experiences.

I described Todd's muscles, lean fit body, serious expression, and haircut that might as well have been shaven. A few times I added 'attractive' and 'really hot.' I had his ID, giving me a photo and proof he lied about his name.

"Oh, he's cute!" said David, and Abraham agreed.

"Yeah, and I don't know anything about him," I said.

Abraham lifted his leather cap, running a hand over his short black hair. "Your young man looks like one of those ROTC people. You know the ones in the army?"

Yeah, he does. It might be a problem. I held the driver's license next to me. "So what do you think? Could we be a couple?"

"Here's the thing." Abraham folded his arms over his tight grey tank top. "Ain't nobody going to give you what you want, so you have to take it." He pointed out to no one, but the entire world. "You think people out there like the idea of two men together. Especially us?"

A recent Supreme Court case allowed interracial marriage, but only between men and women. Even in their… our community, they had to hide or maybe they didn't. The wedding photo could be in their apartments instead, but it was here, on display behind liquor bottles.

"I think I want to take the chance, but how? Do I just go and say hi, then ask him on a movie date?"

"Well, no." David's forehead wrinkled under his cloth headband. "That's a good way to get beaten up, so please do not do." His friendly smile disappeared. "You have to decide when to hide and when to not be…" He pointed to his semi-secret husband. "What is the expression?"

"In your face," said Abraham. "It's enough for people to know, but they don't really know, you dig? Get up in what they think is their business, and well…"

David motioned to me for a hug. "Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry to see it on your face. You discover what you are and—"

"—the world hates us?" I finished.

"No," shouted David. "I don't like that word. I never want to hear it again. Ever!"

A knot formed in my chest. It was nineteen sixty-nine and twenty-five years ago, the Nazis were in power. David's vague European features and muddled French accent suggested a terrible history.

Abraham pulled him toward his chest while they both breathed hard. I was an intruder in their moment but leaving would be rude. A minute passed as I quietly sipped the citrusy drink.

David waved his hand over his face, transforming from haunted to a warm smile. "One day, we'll be out and proud."

"Out and proud," I said like a television jingle.

He bowed his head in thanks. "Go and find your man. Say you wanted to return his wallet."

"It's obvious you want to see this kid," said Abraham. "Otherwise, you can just throw the wallet in a mailbox."

A driver's license laid on the bar top from the man I couldn't stop thinking about. "He looks like a policeman or cadet."

David murmured in wonder. "How long did he stay in your mouth?"

"At least a minute," I said with pride.

"He moan?" asked Abraham.

"Oh yeah! He grabbed my hair and rocked back and forth." My pants grew tighter. What if he came? Were you supposed to spit or swallow? I think I know. He gave it to me, and I couldn't treat it like it was garbage.

Did I build this up too much? He was my first sexual experience and Bobby's cousin used to say, 'Don't fall in love with the first girl you screw.' Todd wasn't a girl, but the same logic might apply.

"Can a cop be gay?" I asked both men.

"Oh," said David. "Absolutely! We get all kinds, like army men, construction workers, and bikers of course. So many bikers! Even sailors with their adorable white hats."

"There was a hippie guy with feathers from Arizona," said Abraham. "So yeah, all types." He studied my face. "He didn't pull out, so he must like you, at least a little."

The license showed a grim face, but an oh-so-cute man. Throwing his ID into a mailbox meant I'd never see him, and I'd eventually forget his image.

"He may not want you to see him," said David softly. "I want you to have someone, but this young man may want a straight life even if he's not."

"People come here," said Abraham. "They like gay cock or pussy, but don't want a reminder when the sun comes up. They tell themselves it's the whiskey or they were tricked."

He had a point. Todd said he wasn't gay, and he mentioned marriage. Although, I was in a bar filled with jeering men and loud music, so maybe I hadn't heard him right.

"I'll go." I raised my shoulders. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Oh," said David before shaking his head. "Never ask such a question."

***

"This feels like the part in the movie where the old police officer says he's about to retire or someone shows a photo of a loved one. Then they die."

"Hey," I said. "Don't talk about people dying. There's power in words."

"Sorry sir, but you're both here, so it's obvious it didn't happen."

The so-young Omega was right, but there were different deaths. Todd could tell him about that.

"So something happened," said Kim. "Let me guess, you went over there to return the wallet.

The minute you saw each other, it was Brokeback Mountain .

You threw yourselves at one another, getting hotter by the moment, and oblivious to the world.

One thing led to another, then Todd's father discovered you making out while—"

"Okay," I said with a smile. "You watch too many movies."

His face fell. "That's what Jack says."

"I'm sorry. It was just an expression and helping pups like you is our duty, but we're not perfect." He nodded but without commitment. Against all odds, I told him something his Alpha said. In his young mind, it was gospel because another shifter said it too.

Todd slapped my butt, telling me it's his turn.

"Actually," said my Alpha, "it was a bit of a calm before the storm.

Something was coming like us learning about the magical world and our first experience with Disbelief.

Words have power like Mike said, and I had a loaded gun. It fired right into someone's head."

***