Page 28 of Nightcrawler
“Back off, rough trade! I have mace!” He held up a can and I would have laughed at his description of me if I hadn’t seen the chemical weapon pointed directly at my face. I stopped in my tracks just before I got to Raven’s side. He looked slightly less steady than he should, and I felt the overwhelming urge to go help him.
I held up both hands. “Easy does it, there,” I said calmly.
“Ned!” Raven screamed for the third time. “Miguel is myfriend!Put that shit down!”
The skinny little twink’s hand shook and I was half sure he was about to spray me and half sure it was going to go off by accident…if he ever figured out how it worked.
“I’m his friend, Ned,” I said sarcastically.
He glared at me and lifted the can higher. “You’re making him say you’re his friend because you have nefarious designs on his person!”
I let out a surprising bark of laughter as Raven stepped between us and took the mace out of Ned’s hand.
“Nefarious designs on his person?” I asked, laughing. “How many episodes ofAdam-12did you watch today?”
“You’re…you’re an unkind beast!” he shouted, face reddening.
“And you’re drama with a capital D, hotpants.”
“Ned, stop this right now. This is Miguel. He really is a friend, and he really means you no harm,” Raven explained. He twisted around to look at me and I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes. “And you need to stop too. You’re just making things worse.”
I snorted. “Tell your boyfriend there that he’d better never point his mace or anything else harmful in my direction again or I’ll end him.”
“That’s it!” Ned shrieked, waving a pointy finger at me. “He threatened me! He threatened me with bodily harm, Raven.” He produced a phone from somewhere and swiped it. “I’m calling 911 so the police will arrest you!”
Raven yanked the phone out of his hand before he could make the call. “Knock it off and come in the house.” He turned to look at me, desperation and pleading all over his face as he lowered his voice. “Come on inside before one of my neighbors reallydoescall the cops.”
“Is that okay with you, fancy pants, or do I scare you too much?” I curled my fingers into claws to show him. I was almost having too much fun with this tool. I hated being judged and nothing bugged me more than being stereotyped as something I wasn’t.
“Come on,” Raven said, waiting for Ned to lead the way up the walk to the front door. He followed behind and I couldn’t stop myself from watching Raven’s cute bubble butt as I did as he asked.
The inside of his house was a throwback to 1950s elegance. With period furnishings and a wide-open, single-story living room and windows spanning the back of the house, it was breathtaking. The views looked out onto the Los Angeles skyline with downtown high rises clustered in the distance. Sun lit up the living and dining rooms and the dark hardwood floors were covered with rugs, making the entire house seem inviting. The walls in the foyer were covered with a wallpaper which appeared to be made of some sort of grass or shredded bamboo giving the house an Asian feel.
One entire wall in the living room was painted with an Asian-inspired mural reminding me of a hotel I’d stayed in while on leave in Hawaii. Samurai warriors on steeds carried katanas and short swords tucked into their belts as they rode over the rice paddies with a skyline of snow-topped mountains in the background. Twisted, black tree branches were covered with pale pink cherry blossoms falling to a carpet of pink. As I got closer, I realized that there was a sheen to the entire wall. It wasn’t a painting at all, and instead, sheets of delicate and probably silk wallpaper. It was so beautiful, it belonged in a museum, not a home.
“How’s she doing?” Raven asked and my attention was drawn to the two men standing several feet from me. Raven wasn’t looking at his boyfriend but instead, down the hall.
“Go see for yourself. She missed you,” Ned said, shrugging. “You think she doesn’t know when you don’t come home?” He turned to give me a withering look. I ignored it. He’d hated me on sight and no wonder. As far as I knew, Ned thought his boyfriend had been out with me all night.
“I called her.” Raven turned to look at me. “I need to go check on my grandmother, Miguel.”
I thought he needed to sit down but if he needed to check on his grandmother, I wasn’t going to argue. I nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
Raven seemed to think about that for a second before gesturing to me. “Come and meet her. I bet she’ll love you.”
“Raven! What are you saying?” Ned shouted, stomping his foot. “This…this…person, shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near her. She’s frail.”
Raven rounded on him, glaring. “First of all, lower your damned voice. This is her house, and I don’t want her to hear anyshouting. Secondly, I live here with her and because of that, you have no business telling me who I can introduce her to. You’ve been a good caregiver to her, Ned, but that doesn’t mean you can run my life.” He shook his head. “Don’t forget yourself.”
“Fine,” Ned huffed, bowing at the waist. “I forget myself,master.” When he straightened, he sent me a glare so murderous, I would have burst into flames if he’d had his way. “It’s time for her tea and her meds anyway…if I still have a job that is.”
“You still have a job,” Raven replied.
Ned gave a sharp nod and without another word, he spun on his heel and swished away, headed in the other direction. I had no doubt he was headed to a kitchen at the other end of the house. If he wasn’t such a snotty little bitch, I would have laughed. I turned back to Raven who was rolling his eyes. The last ten minutes were the most entertaining of my life. I had to admit to feeling relief in finding out that indeed, Ned was only a caregiver or a nurse of some sort. I didn’t really know why thinking, even for a brief few minutes, that he was more to Raven, had hurt.
The memory of the kisses we’d shared was a reminder that I was lying to myself.
I followed Raven to the end of the hall where light spilled from a doorway. He stopped, peering into the room. As his face lit up with an expression of sheer love and devotion, he smiled.