Pierced

Kyle was there. His back was to him, but Paul recognized him immediately. He was sitting at a table across from the purple-haired girl who was laughing at something he'd just said.

He felt something nudge him in his back and realized that Dale had just poked him because he was up next and hadn't noticed. He let the girl scan his card, and after picking up flatware and a napkin, he strode boldly over to where Kyle was sitting and set his tray down next to him.

"Do you mind if we join you?" he asked. Suddenly his heart was in his throat. His relationship with Kyle was too new, and he didn't know what Kyle's reaction would be to seeing him in public.

But he needn't have worried. Kyle's smile could have lit up the dark side of the moon. "Of course not. Please!"

Kyle introduced him to his friend Casey, and when Dale joined them just a moment later, Paul introduced him as well. After shooting Kyle a quick, confused look, Dale turned his attention to Casey. It was obvious from his body language that he thought she was hot.

Paul let Dale and Casey carry most of the conversation. He was too busy stuffing his face. He was acutely aware of Kyle sitting next to him, almost close enough to feel the heat from his body. He tried to keep from staring at the man, but it was difficult. He just wanted to devour him. Eight hours seemed like too long to wait to have his hands on Kyle again.

Because he was so attuned to Kyle, he noticed immediately when the young man's whole body stiffened. He glanced up at him to discover that his face was pale and his eyes were wide with fear. He started to tremble.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"It's them," Kyle whispered. "I recognize their voices. Oh God!" His trembling increased as tears sprang into his eyes. He glanced around, panicked, looking as if he were about to jump to his feet and bolt for the door.

Paul placed a calming hand on Kyle's arm while he looked over his shoulder at the table behind them where three young men had just sat down. He recognized Jimmy, Pete, and Conrad from the football team. He already knew that Conrad was loud-mouthed bigot. His opinion of Jimmy wasn't very high either: he was a brown-noser. Pete he didn't know well. He was shocked by Kyle's allegations, though—by the thought that people he knew, his teammates, could have done such a violent and despicable thing.

"Are you sure?" he asked with much more calmness than he felt.

Kyle was obviously losing control over himself. His body was vibrating with tension and he was blinking hard to keep tears from spilling down his cheeks. The look on his face was one of such blind fear that it reached into Paul and grabbed him by the intestines, twisting.

Kyle nodded. "Positive," he whispered.

A grenade of fury exploded inside of Paul. The world around him went red as his vision tunneled. He jumped to his feet, whirled around, and accosted Conrad, who was the closest and likely the ring leader of the group. Grabbing him by his shirt, he hauled him to his feet, and then threw a right hook that sent him sprawling across the table in a clatter of dishes. He didn't wait for Conrad to react but leapt on top of him, fists flying.

"What the hell, Paul!" he heard Dale cry.

Conrad finally found his arms and started to fight back. They rolled off the table onto the floor. Conrad landed on top and even though he was bigger and it hurt like hell, Paul was so angry, he barely noticed. Getting some leverage with his feet, he rolled Conrad so that he was on top again. Blood flowed from Conrad's nose but Paul didn't hesitate to punch him again as hard as he could.

He felt hands on him, trying to pull him off, heard voices around him telling him to stop. He punched Conrad again. Conrad gave up trying to fight back and pulled his hands in front of his face, trying to keep the blows from raining down on him. Paul got in two more shots before he was pulled to his feet away from Conrad. He realized that Dale had one arm and Pete had the other. They were both big guys, but they were hard-pressed to hold him as he fought to get loose.

"You fucking bigoted piece of shit," he screamed. "You're a fucking intolerant asshole, rapist, mother-fucker. I'm gonna kill you!"

"Paul!" Dale's voice was shocked.

Paul was still struggling with all his strength, and managed to pull an arm free from Dales' grip. He hauled back and socked Pete in the face with everything he had. "You're one too, aren't you, you fucker?" he screamed. Blood coursed hot through his veins. The memory of finding Kyle sobbing on the cold shower floor in the aftermath of their vicious attack fueled his rage. He wanted to see all of them lying in pieces on the ground.

"That's enough boy!" Suddenly Paul found himself in a headlock. He twisted and fought ferociously, but whoever had him from behind knew what they were doing, and he was caught fast.

He could still yell though, and yell he did. "You fucking homophobic assholes. You don't deserve to live!"

"Settle down, settle down," the authoritative voice of whoever had him in the headlock rang out.

"Why do you care?" Pete retorted. His face was red and his lip was split. "You're a fucking ass bandit too aren't you? Oh, is this your boyfriend?" he asked in asked in falsetto voice. He pointed at Kyle who was standing there wide-eyed and pale.

"Yes he is," Paul screamed. "He's my fucking boyfriend, and if you ever even look at him again I'm going shred you into little pieces and feed you to my dog!"

Suddenly the room became deathly silent. Paul registered what he'd just said. On some level he realized he'd just outed himself to a whole room of people, several of whom were on the football team with him. He thought, oh hell! I'm going to be sorry about this later, aren't I? But at that moment, he didn't care. He was proud to claim Kyle as his boyfriend.

"Dude!" That was Dale's shocked voice. He was still holding onto one of Paul's arms. Paul had stopped struggling to get away, realizing it was useless.

"He knocked out my fuckin toof!" Conrad wailed. Paul looked at him. He was still sprawled on the floor. His face was starting to puff up and blood ran liberally from his nose, drenching the front of his t-shirt. He leaned over and spat blood onto the linoleum.

"That's not all the body pieces you'll be losing, you fucking slimeball," Paul yelled. He started struggling again to get away. "If I get my hands on you again, you're going to be sorry you were ever born."

"Hey, hey!" the person who had him in a headlock shook him. "Settle down. No one is going to doing anything to anyone. You'll be lucky if you're not expelled," he added.

"Well they're going to jail for a long time," Paul yelled. "You assholes are in big trouble."

"Yeah. Let's see you prove anything, you fucking faggot," Conrad hissed.

"I think I can prove that's my Prince Albert ring you have on a chain around your neck, you pervert." This came from Kyle, and Paul's head snapped up to look at him. He was pale and tight-lipped, but his eyes were flashing. Casey had her arms around him as if she were holding him up.

The man who had Paul in a headlock shifted his grip, and suddenly Paul felt his hands being pulled back and the press of cold metal around his wrists as handcuffs snapped into place. A streak of fear ran through him followed immediately by a wave of anger at the injustice of arresting him for throwing a few punches when these three were felons.

He was about to start protesting when Kyle spoke up again. "I think you have the wrong person in cuffs," he said. His voice was clear and steady. "I'd like to press rape and assault charges against all three of these men."

There was a dramatic silence and then pandemonium broke loose. The crowd that had gathered all started talking at once, excitedly. Jimmy bolted, running for the side exit. Dale went after him and caught him before he was halfway to the door, tackling him easily to the ground. After all, Dale was a first-string tackle and Jimmy was a fourth string guard.

The man who'd had him in a headlock moved out from behind him, and Paul saw that he was campus security. He grabbed Pete by the arm and said, "Don't even think about it."

Paul glanced over his shoulder and saw that the person who had handcuffed him was a cop. He caught sight of the cop's partner, who was a stocky female with extremely short hair and an implacable expression. She snapped cuffs on Pete, then went over and cuffed Jimmy as well.

Several other security guards and two more city police arrived just then, pouring into the room like an invading army.

Paul was starting to calm down. He looked at Kyle, but the boy's attention was on Conrad who was quietly throwing up. He wasn't in any condition to run.

The dyke cop led Jimmy back over to the group. He looked like he was about to cry.

"So you're pressing charges against these men?" she asked.

One of the cops who had just arrived spoke up just then, and Paul recognized him as one who had interviewed him at the hospital. "We have an active investigation for the assault," he said. He indicated Kyle. "This young man went into the clinic immediately after it happened. It was a hate crime."

The barrel-shaped woman smiled tightly. "Some of us take hate crimes very seriously." She was still holding Jimmy, and she must have done something to him at that point, because he whimpered in pain.

"Yes, I'm filing charges," Kyle said. "I recognize all of their voices. I'm sure it was them."

"What about him?" the dyke asked, indicating Paul.

"Oh, you can let him go," Kyle said. "He's my boyfriend."

They didn't let Paul go it turns out, but as they led him away in handcuffs he could not keep the shit-eating grin off his face. Kyle had called him his boyfriend.

*****

Tammy's grin could not have been bigger as Kyle slid into the seat next to her in economics class. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "So you're gay, huh?"

Paul felt color flushing his cheeks. He was so not ready to be out yet, but out he was. He nodded. The instructor was already starting class, so luckily he didn't have to say anything else.

Tammy kept casting smug but happy glances his way as class progressed. She definitely didn't seem mad at him, which was a relief. The reactions of his friends had run the gamut from angry, to hurt, to sympathetic. One of the other guys on the football team, a huge, mild-mannered black man, had pulled him aside and confessed that he was gay too, but wasn't planning on coming out the closet. Paul had laughed at that and said, "I hadn't planned to come out of the closet either."

As soon as the professor wrapped up his lecture, Tammy turned to Paul and asked, "Can I buy you a latte? Do you have time?" And when Paul looked hesitant, she added, "Please?"

"All right. I've got a couple hours before I need to be at practice."

"Wonderful!" Tammy grinned at him brilliantly, and Paul wondered again why she was suddenly being so friendly. She had been polite but standoffish ever since their embarrassing date.

As they walked together to the café, she said, "You don't know how relieved I was when I found out you were gay."

Paul looked at her in confusion, and she laughed.

"I thought it was me. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I mean, I thought you were shy and just needed to be led, but then that didn't work at all, did it?"

Paul felt his face turning red again.

"I mean, the expression on your face when I took off my shirt!" Tammy continued, giggling. "Oh my God! It's funny now, but at the time I couldn't figure out what was so disgusting. I thought maybe you were religious or something, but we'd already talked about that so I knew you weren't a prude. I kept thinking something was wrong with me. It never occurred to me that you were gay."

"Yeah," Paul said, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I never should have asked you out."

"Why did you anyway?" She pushed through the door into the café. Paul was happy to follow her in out of the wind. The weather had suddenly turned, becoming brisk, but it was sunny and Paul hadn't thought to wear a coat.

"Uh ... I was still hoping that I was at least bi. You were my last chance to prove to myself that I liked girls. You're beautiful and smart and fun. I thought surely if I was ever going to get together with a girl, it would be you."

"Awww, that's so sweet. But obviously that didn't work."

"No, that's about the time I figured out I was definitely gay."

"Well, I'm flattered." She narrowed her eyes as if she had just thought of something. "So you weren't dating Kyle then?"

"Oh, no!" Paul was surprised by the question. "I'd never do that—ask you out if I was already dating a guy. I met him later—on the same night of our date actually."

"Oh. That's so horrible, what happened to him."

Paul definitely didn't want to talk about that. They were standing in line for a drink, and just then it was Tammy's turn to order, so Paul was able to gracefully ignore her comment.

Paul put in his order and they talked about inconsequential things while they waited for their drinks to be made, then Tammy led the way to a table in the corner.

Paul noticed several of the students around him eyeing him surreptitiously as he followed her. He still had a black eye—he hadn't even felt it when Conrad had gotten in his one lucky punch. The past few days he'd been treated as a minor celebrity by most of the other students, although a few had quietly scorned him. He hoped it would all blow over soon.

Tammy shrugged out of her purple wool coat and took a seat. Paul sat across from her.

"So, what's going to happen to those assholes who assaulted your boyfriend?" she asked, taking a sip of her caramel latte.

"They're all expelled. They were booked on assault and rape charges and subsequently released on bail."

"Do you think they'll get off?" she asked. "That would be such a miscarriage of justice if they do."

"Oh, I think that's unlikely. Once the cops had suspects, they were able to match their prints with prints on the some of the evidence. And when they got a positive match for Pete's semen, he spilled his guts, blaming Conrad as the instigator. That I don't doubt."

Tammy's eyes widened. "Wow. I can't imagine those guys thinking they could get away with it."

"They might have if Kyle didn't have such a good memory for voices. It also helped that he'd gone to the clinic and talked to the police immediately after it happened."

"And what about you? Are you being charged with anything?"

Paul took a sip of his mocha before he answered, "Conrad wanted to press assault charges against me, but the butch cop talked him out of it. I think it may have been part of a plea-bargain to reduce the charges against him. I personally would rather have faced assault charges and have them throw the book at Conrad, but I didn't get any say in it. In any case, no one's pressing charges against me, which I guess is good thing." Otherwise for sure my parents would find out that I'm gay, he added to himself.

"So you're still on the football team if you're going to practice. That's great."

"Yeah. I'm on probation and I've been suspended from playing for three games because of the fight. Coach Williams is furious with me, but you know, I think he's more upset about losing so many players from the team—Pete and Conrad are both solid players—than he is about me being gay. He told me that my sexual orientation should be no one's concern except my own, but he didn't want me to bring it into the locker room. As if!

"In some ways it's a huge relief to be out. I've spent the last five years terrified my teammates are going to find out, and now I don't have to worry about that. Everyone already knows." He let out a short wry laugh.

"So how are your teammates taking it?"

"Most of them are angry at Conrad, Pete, and Jimmy for doing something so asinine, and no one seems terribly concerned that I'm gay. If they are bigoted, they're hiding it because in the aftermath of this whole debacle, public sympathy seems to be with me and Kyle. Luckily, my roommate, Dale, doesn't seem to care one wit that I'm gay, which is a huge relief."

"Well that's good then. How's Kyle doing?" Tammy's eyes were round with sympathy.

"He's doing a lot better. I think having those guys arrested and thrown in jail did a lot to help him realize that none of this was his fault. And I've been distracting him." Paul smiled rakishly.

"Oh, you bad boy," Tammy said, slapping him on the arm. "It's going to be fun having a gay friend," she added, glancing around the room. "What do you think of that guy over there?" She pointed with her chin to a tall, broad-shoulder man with a neatly trimmed beard who was standing in line. "He's hot, huh?"

Paul blushed again. It was going to take a little while to get used to being out.

*****

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kyle asked as he angled his Prius into a parallel parking spot. "You can still change your mind."

Butterflies had set up a hatchery in Paul's belly, and they were reproducing quickly. "Yes, definitely," he said with much more conviction than he felt.

"Okay. Let's do this!"

Paul stepped out onto the street, trying not to think about his upcoming ordeal. Most of the buildings around him in Spokane's recently revitalized Riverside district were more than a hundred years old. These were interspersed with parking lots and trees and the occasional modern building. Early on Saturday afternoon, the streets were bustling with shoppers and those looking to lunch at one of the many eclectic restaurants that had sprung up in neighborhood in the past ten years.

Paul and Kyle had been officially dating for three and a half weeks. They were taking advantage of Paul's last free weekend before he was back in the game with an overnight trip to Spokane. He had promised his coach that he'd visit the gym during his week-end off and had already located one near their hotel. It was called S&H gym and it allowed walk-ins. He wondered if he could talk Kyle into going with him.

As they walked next to each other down the street, Paul grabbed Kyle's hand. What's the point in being out if I can't hold my boyfriend's hand? Kyle looked at him in surprise, but didn't pull away, instead he settled in a bit closer to him as if they were a real couple. We are a real couple, Paul reminded himself. They got a few curious glances from passersby, but no one seemed hostile.

"Do you want to grab lunch now or afterwards?" Kyle asked.

"I think I'd better wait until afterwards," Paul said. The butterflies in his stomach were flapping wildly.

Kyle grinned at him. "I can't tell you it won't hurt, 'cause I'd be lying, but it'll be worth it. Here we are. It's right here."

As Paul followed Kyle through the storefront door, the first smell that hit him was lavender. The faint hint of antiseptic underneath it, did nothing to calm his nerves. The shop was bright and clean.

The woman sitting behind the reception desk had blond hair that flowed over her shoulders in shining waves and bright pink lips. Other than her face, almost every square inch of her body that was visible was inked. She also had multiple piercings in her ears, eyebrows, and two snakebite piercings under her lips.

She was focused on the screen in front of her. Without looking up she asked, "What can I do for you boys?" Her voice was very low. She finally glanced up at them and a huge smile split her face, "Oh, hey Kyle. Good to see you back. Who's the cutie?"

"Hi Henry," Kyle responded with a big smile. "This is my boyfriend, Paul. Paul, Henry."

"It's Henrietta today, hon," she corrected him, standing up and coming out from behind the counter. She was wearing a zebra print miniskirt and six-inch spike heels which caused her to be taller even than Paul's 6'2". She shook Paul's hand, and he noticed that, although her hands were almost as large as his, she had long acrylic hot pink nails. Her grip was firm.