Desperate Lovers by Adam Carpenter (good beach reads TXT) 📕

Marc’s show is coming up and I expect to see all of you there. Who knows, it could be an interesting evening. You never know who else may show up. But for now, 115

Edgar and Jack, Dane and Sawyer, Aaron and Paolo, excellent work.

I think we are that much closer to stopping Danvers Converse and his team from taking our homes from us. Wonderland Palaces, my ass.”

“I’ll take your ass,” said a new voice to the mix.

Parker realized it was his own. Somehow he’d made his way forward, out of the brush and into the moonlight, as it shimmered down on the water of the pool, illuminating the faces of all of his new neighbors.

“What the hell...” Aaron said, standing up. “Who the hell invited you?”

“No one, of course. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Eldon

Court is inclusive of all the gays…except me, right? Because you think I’m siding with Danvers Converse. Look, I know stuff and I can help…”

“Yeah, you can help get in my lover’s pants, right, it’s what you do, seduce anything you can, look at you now, barely dressed…” Aaron said.

“Woof woof,” said Dane, who was shot down by Sawyer.

Aaron continued, “Parker, the moment you arrived here on Eldon

Court there’s been nothing but trouble. Danvers might try and hurt us from afar, but you’re right here in our midst, spying on us, learning as much as you can to report back. So do that, tell Danvers we know everything he’s up to, and we know how to stop him. Tell him to go fuck himself…and by the way, you can go fuck yourself too.”

Parker stared at the seven men before him. Blank expressions, arms folded across their chests, they were as welcoming as an alligator in a swamp; they looked ready to chomp, drag him under, and reduce him to a memory. He took a step forward in an effort to calm the flaring emotions, but what he saw next halted his next move. Aaron had somehow produced a gun, and it was heavy in his hand.

“Shit…”

“Aaron, put that away…”

“Are you crazy…”

“Where did you get that…”

Parker could see that the barrage of questions had no impact on

Aaron, his gaze focused solely ahead…on Parker himself. So Parker gently put his hands up as he backed away, saying, “There’s no need for violence, I only came by to help…but you guys, you’ve already made up your mind about me. I’ll go. But not without leaving you with a warning.”

“A gun pointed at you, and you want to issue a warning?” Paolo said. “Parker, do us all a favor and just leave.”

“Troy Saunders is dead,” Parker said. “He died ten years ago in the house we know as Number Two—my home now. That’s who died, a young boy at the hand of his father’s gay lover. Converse killed him and Saunders went nuts. Troy was the legal heir, but with his death the house falls to me, and I’m telling you this—I’m going nowhere.”

“If Troy is dead,” Aaron said, “then who was that young man at Converse’s mansion in Carmel? From what Dane and Sawyer learned, he’s not only alive and well, but he’s a fashion photographer and apparently a porn lover—unless his signing onto Straight to Bed porn services is just a front for Danvers and his sexual perversions.”

“No,” Parker said, “it can’t be. They told me he was dead…Eldon

Court was mine…”

“Who told you? Danvers Converse? Why would he cop to murder, there’s no statute of limitations. They lied to you, Parker,” Rich said, stepping forward, stepping between Parker and Aaron, stepping between him and the gun. “Go, Parker. You’re only making things worse.”

Parker finally did as he was asked, and as he retreated through the darkness to Number Two, slamming the door behind him, confusion ripped through his system. Angrily, he grabbed hold of a glass vase and threw it against the wall. Flowers fell to the carpeted floor as droplets of water slid down the walls. He cried out with pain, with frustration, his voice shattering against the walls, almost like a primal scream let loose from years of pent-up rage. Still, the embedded blood stains of yesteryear remained as a taunting reminder that nothing could erase the truth of what had happened here ten years ago.

Dropping to the floor a crumpled mess, Parker cried, “They lied to me, everyone did. My whole life has been nothing but a lie.”

The night of Marc Anderson’s gallery show was upon them, and

Marc was a nervous wreck, that much Rich could figure out. Running around like a banshee, tossing on one outfit after another, never satisfied, Rich just shrugged when his lover asked for opinion after opinion, never satisfied with the answer given. Rich wasn’t even sure Marc had heard him. He was lost in his own world. So he stayed out it.

Finally, Marc was happy with his outfit of jeans and a white button down shirt, a black blazer, all solids so as not to detract from the wondrous colors of his artwork, so he could “blend into the background,” was how he put it, and at last he was out the door to help with final preparations. Rich said he would see him there, and even then he wasn’t sure Marc had heard him.

“Hey, Marc,” Rich called out.

Marc suddenly stopped short on the porch, turning around.

“Hey,” Rich said again, approaching his lover with determination.

He planted a deep kiss on his lips, lingering just long enough to feel his cock start to harden. Damn, but he loved this man so much, no matter how many times they’d fucked, they’d gone to sleep and awakened together, he’d never known a deeper expression of love between two people. “Good luck tonight.” He paused, his throat thick with emotion.

“Know that I love you. I’m glad we got everything settled between us.”

“I love you, too, Rich, more than you know,” Marc said. “God, you’re acting weird. I’ll see you in an hour. We’ll celebrate.” Another kiss and then Marc was gone, soon cruising down Eldon Court, the taillights of his car disappearing around the bend. Rich felt