The guy looked unconvinced and reached toward his back pocket, where I assumed he kept his cell. Donnie finally decided he’d been quiet enough because he lunged forward, grabbing the guy’s hand and pleaded. “Please don’t call the cops.”
This seemed to work because the guy relented and gave a little nod. He was obviously not happy, but he’d let it go.
“It’s your decision, but I hate to see anyone hurt for no good reason. It looks like your face is fine, but you really should go to the ER and have a CT for your head. You could have a concussion or bleeding that you’d never know about.”
“Hey, man, I’m cool, really. I’ve had worse, but thanks.”
Donnie looked towards me and threw out, “Hey, Ethan, thanks, man, maybe I will head to the ER and get checked. See you later.” And with that Donnie slowly limped his way down the alley holding his ribs tenderly as he made his way out onto the street.
“Wasn’t from his boyfriend and he’s not going to the ER, is he?”
“Nope and nope.”
“Well, can’t say I’m surprised. I volunteer at Mercy House, and if he needs help, he can always get help there. Can you give this to him?”
He pulled out a business card with the contact information for the LGBTG+ domestic violence center. I was impressed and frankly surprised that this obviously successful guy volunteered at the shelter.
“I’ll try to get it to him. I really don’t know that much about him though, or even how to contact him. I can ask around and see if I can find where he’s staying these days.”
I slid the card into my tight front pocket and turned back to the guy who was now standing over me. I looked at his face, but it was still dark in the alley, and I couldn’t make out his coloring or his features. I could still hear that smooth voice though, and every time he spoke, it did wicked things to my insides, and lower.
“Oh, and thanks again for your help. I would never have known half the things you checked him for.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m happy to help. It was good of you to want to help him. Most people would have walked away to avoid any trouble.”
I cringed inside because he was exactly describing my first reaction to seeing Donnie hit the ground. I was ashamed of my first reaction, but this guy didn’t need to know about that.
“Yeah, well, no one ever called me smart.” I quipped and tried to laugh it off.
“Well, be that as it may, it was good of you to help. I should get going. I’ve got a drive in the morning to get home. Nice to meet you, Ethan.” The big guy put out his hand, and I immediately put my own into his for a handshake. His grip was firm and warm, very nice. I still couldn’t get a good look at him, but I could tell so many other things about him even in the shadows. He was kind, softly spoken, smart, obviously, and gentle in opposition to his larger size. I probably felt more of an instant connection with this man than I had with all of my past lovers and pseudo boyfriends combined. And wasn’t that saying something about my dating habits? I liked what I knew about this man, and his looks didn’t even matter at this point.
“It was nice to meet you, too, uh. I don’t even know your name.” I laughed and sighed at the same time and glanced up into his face, then down where he was still clasping my hand long after the handshake had ceased.
The guy looked down at our clasped hands at the same time and gave my fingers a little squeeze.Fuck that felt nice.But, then he let go of my hand and took a small step back.
“My name is James. I’m glad I could help you tonight, Ethan. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”
And with that he turned around and walked down the alley, following the same path Donnie had gone before. He looked over his shoulder and made quick eye contact with me for a second before turning back around and disappearing into the crowded street.
I stood there in the alley for several minutes, trying to process what the fuck had just happened. It was significant. Maybe? It felt weighty and important, but I couldn’t tell why if asked. My Irish Gran had always told me to listen to the vibes whenever they made an appearance. The vibes were dancing a jig Gran would be proud of in my chest right now. I was standing there trying to decide how exactly I felt about what had happened tonight when the alley door swung open so fast, it banged against the side of the building, scaring the shit out of me and ending my weird alley self-analysis. Jensen came bursting out of the door looking seriously pissed, so I put my best smile on and walked over to meet the wrath.
“Ethan, what the fuck, honey? Your allotted fifteen-minute smoke break ended about twenty fucking minutes ago. Brody is in there working so slow you’d think he’d been given sloth DNA and my break is now, so get your tight ass in there and work so I can decompress and not give Brody an actual reason to go slow. You feel me, bitch?”
He was pissed, but he couldn’t resist my smile, so by the end of his tirade, he was smiling at me, too. “And how the hell are you still able to walk, working in those shoes? Girl, they look killer on you, but no way could I do my whole shift in those things.”
“I’m sorry, Jens, something happened, and I couldn’t get out of it. No, I’ll tell you all about it later. I need to get back in there. If you left Brody alone, God knows what he’s giving away for free by now.”
He gave me a one-finger salute, then shooed me with his hands before he took out his cell and started playing his latest word game puzzle. Yeah, Jens was annoyed, but he was still my best friend. I gave him a quick hug and had to chase his cheek for a kiss before heading back inside. Brody was indeed giving away shots for free to some biker looking daddies who were asking him when he got off work. Fuck me. This night couldn’t end fast enough. And as of this minute, I was officially smoke-free.
