BEAST

  She decided that tonight she would get some more practice deep-throating him.

  ~***~

  Christopher didn’t know how he’d gone all of these years without the joy of sex. Now the least little thing made him hard and horny. Once Ashleigh reached under the sink for the dish soap and her gorgeous ass seemed to call to him and he wanted to slip her pants down and slam into her hard and fast.

  But that wasn’t the only way he liked it. He liked pushing into her softly as she begged him for more. He loved being with her and not just sexually. He enjoyed holding her in his arms while she fell asleep. He loved watching her on the treadmill as she found a pace that suited her. He loved the way she watched him as if there was nothing wrong with him.

  But he worried, too. And maybe that was the nature of love. He worried about her health. He worried that her ex might try to come back into her life, he worried about them being out in the open and how the constant looks might affect her, he worried about meeting her family—because she had already met his twice and she had made no more mention of him meeting hers…but more than anything he worried about the lie.

  ~***~

  Friday came and Christopher knew that he should be nervous because Lance and Kendra were bringing their significant others. But Christopher was just excited that Ashleigh would finally get to see him perform on stage. He sang for her almost every night but he really liked karaoke night and he looked forward to sharing it with her.

  They met the others at the Mad Crabb. He had advised Ashleigh to tell her friends not to go in without him and so they all met up in the parking lot behind the old building. Jeffery; Kendra’s husband was a big man and so was Rick, both having experience in professional football. But when they saw the big white man stepping out of his truck, even they were in awe. He was bigger than them and more cut.

  Rick began to roll his head and flex his shoulders and Lance nudged him discreetly with his hip. Rick looked down at the smaller man and grinned. Yeah, Rick wasn’t used to being the small man in the crowd. He’d been forewarned about Christopher’s looks but didn’t see anything about his face that affected him. He’d smashed guys in the face and seen them look worse than that. He was more concerned about how much the man bench pressed.

  They shook hands and Rick greeted Ashleigh again, surprised at how different she looked from the first time that he had seen her. If only he knew that he was partially responsible for her new weight loss.

  Rick was asking Christopher if he had played any sports when Jeffery and Kendra reached them. Jeffery shook his hand and eyed him in appreciation of his physical size. Jeffery didn’t think in terms of beauty; only in the context of what it would be like to go up against him on the field. Christopher wasn’t a guy that he wanted to go head on against, that was for sure.

  “Nice to meet you.” He gave Ashleigh a brief hug in awe at her weight loss but knowing that he shouldn’t mention it or it would be misconstrued as him saying that she was fat. Jeffery knew all of the pitfalls in giving a woman compliments and mentioning weight was strictly off limits.

  Christopher moved his guitar case to his left hand and placed his arm around Ashleigh. “Let’s head in. The bar is kind of redneck. There’s nothing classy about it. But they’re good folks and the live band and karaoke is pretty entertaining.”

  “Karaoke?” Rick said warily.

  “Don’t worry, Big guy,” Lance said while giving him a quick hug. “We won’t force the world to hear you sing.” Rick grinned and placed his hand on his lover’s shoulders as they headed to the bar but he removed it a moment later and Lance felt slightly sad at the loss of contact. They couldn’t be affectionate in public the way that Kendra and Jeffery could, or even the way that Christopher and Ashleigh could, especially not in Covington Kentucky when it wasn’t just race but also the added issue of homosexuality.

  The little bar was obviously popular because through the large picture window could be seen a nice sized crowd. A band was playing a rendition of Sweet Home Alabama.

  Kendra mentally squared her shoulders. She didn’t think there was any way in hell that she would have fun here but the point was not for fun, the point was to get to know her best friend’s boyfriend and to stop being so judgmental…which meant not making fun of the fifty year old lady wearing a mini skirt and tank top…

  The bouncer greeted Christopher enthusiastically, before he cut through the happy, dancing, drinking crowd and led the small group to a table that wasn’t littered with too many empty beer bottles. Several of the regulars slapped his back in greeting and a waitress came by to quickly clean up and take their drink order.

  “Hey Chris.” She said with a curious grin. “You having a beer?”

  “Hey Myrna. Yep. This is Ashleigh, my girlfriend.” He made quick introductions of the other people at the table while Myrna scrutinized the pretty black girl. She was happy to see that he had someone. She had thought that he was a loner due to his scary face. The owner of the bar had even approached him to be a bouncer but he’d declined stating that he couldn’t, he might hurt someone too badly. It was obvious that he was a real nice guy.

  At first Christopher worried that Ashleigh’s friends wouldn’t like the place but after several beers and laughing at the expense of drunken karaoke performers, they warmed up and got comfortable. Jeffery and Rick mentioned football training camp and wanted to know what The Marine Corps workout was like. Christopher described it and everyone at the table was in disbelief. Christopher talked about going down to Georgetown as a kid to watch training camp and Rick quickly invited them all down this year to watch the team.

  Christopher gave Ashleigh a look that said he was interested. She beamed at the idea of taking a weekend trip with him.

  “Yeah, thanks a lot, Rick. We’d love to come down and watch.” She said.

  “That is if he doesn’t keel over from heat stroke.” Lance said with a severe expression on his face.

  “Baby,” Rick said earnestly, “there have been a lot of changes since Korey Stringer’s death. I promise you that I will be alright.”

  “Hmph.” Was his short response, because it wasn’t just that. He wouldn’t be able to go down and hang out like all of the other player’s significant others. Rick wasn’t ‘out’. Lance was going to have to stay hidden away in a hotel. And when they played he wouldn’t be able to be VIP…Not that he was looking for that. But he wanted to be able to cheer his man in open just like any other person.

  Kendra and Ashleigh picked up on Lance’s mood and Ashleigh felt ashamed that she had been so wrapped up in her own troubles that she had not considered Lance’s. Ashleigh saw Rick reach under the table and grip Lance’s hand in his and Lance’s expression relaxed.

  They called Christopher’s name to perform and Ashleigh became anxious. He had let the small group select the song that he would do and though he’d had to decline Lance’s suggestion of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s I Like Big Butts, they had made good recommendations.

  Ashleigh quickly rubbed his back as he headed for the stage. Several of the regulars called out his name as he sat down on the stool and began to strum. Lance whistled shrilly through his fingers and Christopher blushed but grinned happily. He took a deep breath and began to sing Ordinary People by John Legend.

  There was not a peep to be heard. All conversation stopped in the bar which hadn’t been the case with the other karaoke singers—even the good ones. But Christopher’s voice and style was captivating. The soft crooning was a contradiction to his appearance. One would never suspect that such a big strong man would have such a gentle and beautiful singing voice. When he finally stopped strumming and singing there was a prolonged silence and then simultaneously everyone began to applaud. He stood shyly and nodded.

  When he returned to his table he was surprised to see everyone there standing and clapping loudly. He was used to people’s happy response to his performances but he’d never had people waiting at his table to give him slaps on the back--and from his own girl…a
sweet kiss. He decided that he liked having friends.

  They stayed longer than he ever had before. Normally he was home by midnight. He’d perform his two songs, have a beer, sit and watch for a while nursing club sodas and then head home. But tonight they stayed until closing. Ashleigh drank two beers which is one more than she would normally have and was feeling very ‘relaxed’. The same with Lance and poor Kendra was stuck with iced tea due to her delicate condition. Her two friends still managed to cajole her into getting up on stage and making a huge mess of Single Ladies by Beyonce. Of course Lance took the lead; looking very Kurt from GLEE!

  They were no worse than any of the other drunk performers and actually got nice applause. Jeffery and Rick couldn’t be convinced to go up and perform, however, since they were the designated drivers they weren’t drunk, either, which was a very good excuse.

  At last call they all walked out of the bar, happy and promising to get together again before training camp.

  “Wait here.” Jeffery said to Kendra. “I’ll bring the car around.”

  “We may as well wait together.” Lance said. “You guys are the designated drivers anyways.”

  “True.” Rick said and the three huge men left their dates at the sidewalk in front of the bar while they went around back to retrieve the cars.

  Kendra squeezed Ashleigh’s hand. “I like him! He’s a wonderful man.” Her eyes were bright and Ashleigh beamed. “He’s so in love with you, Ashleigh. His eyes light up when he’s looking at you. He listens to every syllable that comes out of your mouth. He is entirely focused on you even when he’s talking to everyone else.”

  Lance nodded in agreement. “But I see the same thing with you. When he sings your expression changes and it’s almost like there is no one else in the world.”

  Ashleigh had a thoughtful smile. She was about to speak when something made a loud thunk sound and Lance grabbed his face and went down to his knees.

  “GET OUT OF HERE FAGGOT!”

  There was a group of four or five young white men across the street. One of them had thrown a rock at Lance and it had hit him in the face! Kendra quickly went down to her own knees to check him. Ashleigh was staring in disbelief at the laughing men. One of them glared at Ashleigh and flexed his wiry muscles.

  “What the fuck are you looking at, Nigger?!”

  Ashleigh’s mouth dropped in shock. Lance shook Kendra loose and stood up quickly. Blood was streaming down his face but he pushed the girls behind him.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He screamed. “You could have hit these ladies and one of them is pregnant!”

  “I’m going to hit you, faggot.” The leader said. He looked mean and full of hate even though he couldn’t have been twenty-five years old. The rest of them trailed behind him as he crossed the street towards them and Ashleigh gripped Lance’s arm and then she pushed Kendra behind her. Things were about to happen fast and she didn’t want Kendra hurt.

  The sound of several car doors slamming could be heard and one guy very nearly got run over by Rick. He stopped his car with a screech of tires and didn’t even bother to shut the door. The rednecks took in the two big black guys that were heading for them and the one huge white guy with the scary face, and it dawned on them that they had selected the wrong three people to harass tonight.

  They held up their hands trying to plead innocent but the sight of Lance’s bloody face said otherwise. Rick’s eyes were red like demon eyes as he went barreling at the leader. He caught him at a dead run right in his middle.

  Jeffery looked like a crazed bull as his nose flared while he breathed in ragged breaths. With lightening speed that seemed unnatural from such a big man he caught one of the men that thought he could run past. He slammed a big ham sized fist right into the side of the man’s head…and he was out cold.

  Christopher’s face was like a mask. His eyes had gone dark, his expression was drawn in rage. He had one man by the back of the neck and the other by his upper arm. They looked like two children that had misbehaved in school instead of two grown men caught in the middle of committing a hate crime.

  He slammed them into each other and Ashleigh grimaced at the sound of bones snapping. The men began screaming and crying. Christopher did it again. One was knocked out the other was holding his broken nose and teeth and moaning in agony.

  He dropped the men quickly when he saw that Rick was slamming his fist repeatedly into the face of the leader who was now unconscious. Lance was hanging on his lover’s arm, trying to pull him back but Rick neither felt him nor heard his cries to stop. Jeffery and Christopher rushed forward and grabbed the enraged football player, pulling him away from the battered, limp form of a man that would probably never be recognized again…if he lived. It took Lance throwing his arms around Rick’s neck and holding on to him for the large man to finally snap out of it.

  Rick gasped when he realized that Lance was hugging him and trembling. He blinked at the sight of his hurt lover. “Oh god, baby. Oh god, you’re bleeding. Let me see, baby! Are you okay?” Lance was trying to tell him that he was okay and Myrna burst from the bar where everyone was gathered at the picture window watching what had just transpired. She grabbed Christopher’s arm.

  “You and your friends got to get out of here now, Chris! The cops are on their way!”

  Christopher was frowning. “I’m not going to run away. We did nothing wrong.”

  “You said you can’t fight because you’re a Marine.” Myrna said quickly. “Your hands, aren’t they considered weapons?”

  Christopher paled.

  “We got to get out of here.” Lance said in a shaky voice. “We can’t have this in the papers…” The Bengals already had a bad rep without something like this appearing in the papers.

  The bartender came out then. “Get your friends out of here Chris. Leave this no-account trash for the cops to deal with. They probably got warrants anyhow and have been nothing but trouble around the neighborhood. You get your people home before the cops cause you trouble.”

  Jeffery had a protective arm around his wife and was already leading her to their car. Ashleigh had sobered completely and was already giving Rick instructions to get Lance to the Emergency room. They were all going to meet at the ER and there was no longer any doubt of sticking around. Lance was hurt. They had to go.

  As they drove to the hospital Ashleigh could see that Christopher was upset. His muscles seemed to bunch and he was glaring at the road. She reached over and placed her hand on the white knuckled grip that he had on the steering wheel and he took a deep breath and looked at her. She was surprised at the depth of pain she saw in his eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, Ashleigh.”

  She shook her head in confusion. “Why?”

  “I should have been there. I should have never left you alone.” Anger seemed to take over his expression. “I heard what that guy called you. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to do to him what Rick did.”

  “Baby, it’s not your fault-”

  “Nobody is ever going to use that word against you while I’m around. EVER!”

  She saw the muscles clenching in his jaw as he glared at the road again, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Ever.” He said more to himself. “Not against my woman, not against our children, not against our friends.”

  Ashleigh stared at him.

  His woman, his children, his friends.

  She gently pulled his hand from the steering wheel and when he released his strangle hold on it she kissed his knuckles hearing a slow breath release from his body.

  “I wasn’t scared because I knew you’d come back. I knew that everything was going to be alright, Christopher, because you were coming back.”

  Christopher bit his lip. He was a Marine…and more than that, he fought terrorism. He loved his job, he loved the reason he did his job. But what if…one day he wasn’t able to come back?

  ~***~

  Sunday they went to Christopher’s parent’s house and she noted that
he was still subdued. She didn’t want him to feel so bad about Lance, or bringing them to a redneck bar, or whatever it was that was causing him anguish. Lance was going to be perfectly okay, despite having a slight concussion. And no one blamed him one bit.

  Alma had indeed apologized for her actions, under her brother’s watchful eyes and then she had retreated to the kitchen…and had basically not acknowledged her since. They still didn’t let her help in the kitchen, regulating her out to join Christopher and the other men. They treated her well and she was happy that at least Christopher had a family, although she didn’t necessarily feel included. Her father and mother were divorced. Mama had moved to Tennessee and her father was remarried and living in Florida. She had two sisters who were just a phone call away...which was the best way to keep it.

  As they lay in bed Sunday night, Ashleigh ran a soothing hand over his brow. Christopher closed his eyes but turned his face towards her. She traced his brow and then down his nose where a lot of the damage to his face was centered. Christopher had no bridge and therefore had a concaved look. Her fingers moved over his lips where scars created raised lines…perfect for exploring with the tip of her tongue.