The Fire Went Wild (Home is a Fire Book 2) Read online

  The Fire Went Wild

  Copyright © 2015 Jordan Nasser

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-10: 0986404721

  ISBN-13: 9780986404726

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015952945

  XXVII Media, Maryville, TN

  To all the people I wanted to kiss.

  Contents

  1 Me, Tarzan

  2 Whispers In The Wind

  3 Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here

  4 Caught Out There

  5 The Belle Of The Ball

  6 CCCP

  7 Low Tea

  8 Lana Banana

  9 Love All

  10 Here’s Johnny

  11 Belle, The Beast

  12 The Bongo Room

  13 The Fire Went Wild

  14 The Walcotts

  15 The First Supper

  16 Can I Have A Pony?

  17 No More Secrets

  18 (Don’t) Fight The Power

  19 Once More, With Feeling

  20 Duke

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  1

  ME, TARZAN

  “I’m pretty sure it’s Tarzan’s fault.”

  “Huh?” Luke’s voice was muffled, his head was turned away and face down in the pillow next to mine. I was on my back with his strong left arm lying across my chest, pulling me close to him. I had been awake for a few minutes, but I liked to lie there looking at the ceiling, enjoying the few moments I took each morning to silently thank the universe before he woke up. He knew I watched him while he slept, but instead of thinking it was weird or strange or even cute, he didn’t think of it at all. Luke just “was,” while I put all of my efforts into overthinking and over analyzing. But that’s just another reason why I loved him. In the end, it was our differences that had helped to pull us together.

  “Tarzan,” I said, a bit louder and clearer. “That’s why I’m gay.”

  “Babe… what are you talking about?” He lifted his head from the pillow, turned to face me, then let it fall back down, his eyes barely open. It was the first day of a brand new year, and we had partied hard the night before at our favorite bar, the Firelight, with our friends Bammy, Kit and Tommy. Bammy brought along a new guy she had been dating named Michael. Kit and Shawn were there, and Tommy had Meredith by his side. It felt good. For the first time in a very long time, we were all “coupled” and everyone seemed to get along great. We stayed until well past 3:00 in the morning before we took a taxi home, but no matter what time I went to sleep, drunk or sober, I was always up by 9:00 the next morning. They say you start to wake up earlier and earlier as you age, but I’m not looking forward to waking up before the roosters.

  “There was this Tarzan movie,” I continued, “when I was a kid. Tarzan, the Ape Man, with Bo Derek. One night my dad and I had stayed up late playing a board game, Monopoly or Payday I think, and it came on cable. This was before my parents split up. Mom had long since taken her bubble bath and gone to bed. I guess my dad thought I was old enough, so he let me stay up and watch it with him. Bo’s ‘Jane’ character pretty much spent the whole movie topless, but prepubescent me kept hoping that Tarzan’s loincloth would flip up with the wind, or get torn off while he was wrestling with some huge jungle animal. I kept trying fruitlessly to catch a peek where there was no peek to catch. It was obviously a movie for men who loved women, but I couldn’t have cared less about Bo’s tits. The hormones surging through my body were preoccupied and mesmerized by Tarzan’s rippling muscles, strong thighs and huge pecs, glistening with sweat. I felt lightheaded, to tell you the truth. I wanted him to come ‘protect’ me and keep me safe, even though I wasn’t really sure I understood what I was asking for.”

  Luke was fully awake now, lying on his side, his crooked arm supporting his head and his blue eyes looking into mine. His mouth was bent into a slight curve and he was breathing softly, as if he was thinking far more than he was going to let me know with words. Before I could start speaking again, he surprised me and jumped out from under the covers. He straddled my body, grabbed both my hands and held my arms forcefully against the pillow behind my head. He leered at me wickedly as I let out a little gasp of delight, my eyebrows (among other things) rising to meet him.

  “Me, Tarzan,” he grunted, hovering above me, naked, as he slowly descended to kiss me on the lips, lightly at first, and then with increased passion and force. “You’re mine.”

  “Holy shit, babe,” I said, after our little romp, “that was amazing. I need to tell you my Tarzan stories more often.”

  “I’m just doing my best to keep you happy,” he said, grinning. “I don’t want to lose you, again.”

  “No chance of that,” I assured him. “I promise.”

  Luke planted a kiss on my forehead and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “I don’t know how you can live on six hours of sleep. Shower?”

  “I’ll be there in a minute, babe,” I said. “You take some private time.” And he was off.

  I heard the shower turn on and I took another moment to stare at the ceiling and wonder how all of this happened. The last few weeks had been crazy, and even though we were totally on track now, the turmoil that led us to this point had definitely taken its emotional toll.

  When I left New York, I wasn’t just leaving my boyfriend David; I was trying to leave behind the me I had become after twelve years of struggling in and navigating around the city. It changes a person, and not always for the better. I had hoped that moving back to the South to my hometown of Parkville, Tennessee would help me find the “real me” again, or at least the me I wanted to be. What I didn’t expect to happen, however, was Luke.

  My friend Bammy is now the vice principal at our old high school and she helped me get a job there as a theatre teacher, but running into Luke Walcott, the high school football coach, was a shock that I wasn’t prepared for. He was both my childhood enemy and object of lust, all rolled into one. Talk about a love/hate relationship. But Luke’s good heart and charming personality eventually won me over, and enemies became friends, and eventually lovers. He wasn’t prepared to come out, though, and I pushed too hard, too fast, and everything fell apart. When my ex-fiancé David reappeared from New York City, I was confused all over again, and it was simply too easy to fall back into my old ways. David was my old habit, and a bad one, at that.

  I almost fell for him all over again, and just before I was ready to say goodbye to Parkville, Luke, my job and my friends, I found out that David had been cheating on me all along with our mutual friend, Marcos.

  Thankfully, Luke was still there. And here, with me now. We’d acquired a few bumps and bruises along the way, and we still had a lot to learn about each other, but I was committed to doing everything necessary to make sure that that man stayed right next to me. For good.

  “Hey!” he called out from the shower. “Are you joining me in here or are you already tired of seeing me naked?”

  “You’re kidding, right? On my way, Coach!”

  Luke and I were not in the best of shape after all that cheap champagne we had downed the night before. And what’s the best way to cure a hangover, besides not drinking in the first place? Hair of the dog! Since it was the weekend, we decided to head downtown for brunch and a few more adult beverages at Saul’s Sushi.

  “How y’all doing today?” the hostess asked when we arrived. “Did y’all have a good New Year’s?”

  “We did,” I answered, smiling. “Hanging with friends at the Firelight. We just need some recovery food, now.”

  “Well, we’ll take care of y’all, sure enough. Just the two of you? D
id y’all leave your girlfriends at home?” she asked. She chewed her gum and took a glance round the room, looking for an empty table.

  I looked at Luke, unsure of what to say. I had spent so many of my early years covering for situations like these that it used to be second nature to make up a quick lie. But after twelve years of living in New York, I wasn’t used to playing that game anymore. In that split second before I could even formulate the words, Luke beat me to it and spoke up.

  “Nope. Just the two of us. No girlfriends. He’s my boyfriend, actually,” and he nodded his head in my direction. “Cute, isn’t he?”

  The hostess cocked her head and looked at us both, slowing down her gum chewing to a snail’s pace. “Oh. Geez,” she muttered. Her face fell, but she quickly recovered. “Sorry. Y’all don’t seem… I mean.” She smiled, slightly uncomfortable. “Yes. He is cute.” She bobbed her head and smiled affirmatively and started chewing at a normal speed, again.

  With that she grabbed two menus, turned on her heels and directed us towards a two top along the right side wall. My heart began to pound a little faster as Luke reached down and held my hand in his. Did he really just do that?

  “Here you go,” and she handed us our menus. “Your waitress will be right over to get y’all some drinks and take your order. Oh. And by the way. Y’all make a cute couple. Happy New Year!” She half whispered that last part before she winked, spun around and headed back to her hostess stand.

  “Well, I’ll be, Luke Walcott. You do surprise me.” He was still holding my hand across the table.

  He pulled his hand back, removed his baseball cap and set it on the table. “Always happy to keep you on your toes, Derek,” he said.

  “You know, not everyone is going to be as accepting as her, right?” I said.

  “I guess we’ll just deal with it as it comes,” he said, simple as that. “Now can we eat? I’m starving.”

  We ordered two bowls of matzah ball egg drop soup, some lox rolls and the corned beef egg rolls, as well as a pot of green tea. We devoured everything as soon as it arrived, plus an extra order of steamed brisket dumplings. Within minutes, those hangovers were yesterday’s news.

  “I don’t wanna go back to school,” I mumbled, petulantly. I put my chopsticks down and nodded for the waitress that it was okay to clear the table.

  “Well, I’m ready to get back,” Luke said. “Now that football season is over I can devote myself full time to the track team.” I could see the excitement in his face. I have a sportsman on my hands, for sure.

  “And I have to get a play together for the theatre arts club. Something non-musical, for the straight actors.”

  “Straight actors?” He looked at me quizzically. “You separate them by sexuality? In high school?”

  “No! It’s an expression. A term!” After he pointed it out, it did seem strange. “The ‘straight’ actors or dancers have one less talent than the hyphenate actor-dancers or the ‘triple threat’ actor-dancer-singers,” I explained. “Anyway, I just need to pick a play. I’m thinking something from Tennessee Williams. I have to do my part for ‘The Liberal Gay Agenda,’ otherwise they’ll revoke my membership card.”

  “Cool.” He ignored my comment, as he often did when I veered “too gay,” then clapped his hands together, signaling that he was ready to get going. “Waddya say we go home and crawl under the covers and watch some old movies for inspiration?”

  “I like the sound of that,” I said, smiling. We paid our bill, left the waitress a nice tip and stood up.

  “Thanks, boys,” the hostess said as we walked out. “Y’all have a good day. Happy New Year!”

  Luke stepped towards the curb to the Jeep and unlocked the passenger door for me. Always the gentleman. “Hey, isn’t that Tommy?” he said, looking up the street.

  Tommy and Meredith were walking slowly down the sidewalk towards us, holding hands. They looked up and waved, smiling.

  “Oh, man, did we miss you guys?” Tommy asked, reaching over to give me a one armed hug. “We didn’t want to interrupt your first New Year’s Day together. Kit and Shawn are on their way to meet us for brunch.”

  “Get the brisket dumplings,” said Luke, patting his full stomach. “Awesome.”

  “Will do.” Tommy smiled. “Meredith and I are going over to the art gallery to check things out later, if you want to meet up?”

  Meredith owned an art gallery and performance space downtown, not far from Saul’s and only a short walk from Tommy’s place. I’d say it was just a matter of time before they made it official and she moved in.

  “It’s getting to be a little more work than I intended,” she said, hands stuffed in her green wool coat to keep them warm. “I’m gonna need to find some extra help soon. We were just going to brainstorm ideas with Kit and Shawn.”

  “Oh, cool,” I said. “Kit’s the most creative woman I know. I’m sure she’ll come up with something. We’re just heading home. Black and white movies and a lazy day cuddle on the couch. Maybe a grilled cheese sandwich. We’ll catch y’all later, though? Enjoy your brunch! And thanks for last night! We had a great time.”

  We hugged our goodbyes and hopped into the car. Luke pulled away from the curb and started heading towards his house.

  “Oof. I’m stuffed,” I said. “I’m ready to pass out on the couch.”

  “Really?” He smiled at me, and I could see the mischief in his eyes. “I was thinking about what you said this morning. You know, I have an old pair of running shorts I could tear up. Maybe they could pass as a loincloth? That is, if you’re interested?”

  It’s a good thing it was cold and the windows were up, because the Tarzan yell that came out of his mouth next would have startled any drivers passing by.

  Me? I loved it. Bring it on, Tarzan!

  2

  WHISPERS IN THE WIND

  Christmas break was over before we knew it. Luke and I had been pretty much inseparable since we reconnected, so I thought I should spend a bit of quality time with Mom and Uncle Barry before the first day of school. I didn’t want them to think I was ignoring them.

  “Honey?” Mom called up the stairs to me as I was running around, trying to get ready for my first day. I’d spent so little time at home, lately, that being in my old room was actually kind of fun. I was running through my typical “what do I wear?” challenge, with different outfits laid out on the bed.

  “Are you eating breakfast with us?” she asked. “Barry wants egg whites. Any requests from you?”

  “Anything!” I yelled back. “Be down in a minute!”

  I went for the standard Southern conservative uniform: chinos and a button down, but instead of loafers I reached for my beat up checkerboard Vans. Always the rebel.

  Mom was in the kitchen in her familiar pink bathrobe making egg white omelettes. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, grabbed the two finished plates, added a few slices of cantaloupe to each and walked into the dining room with them. Barry was already sitting at the table in his dressing gown, reading the Parkville Post and drinking his coffee.

  “Good morning, Uncle Barry,” I said, as I set the breakfast plate before him.

  He put his paper down and pushed his reading glasses further up his nose. “Hello, Dolly. How’d you sleep?” he asked, then leaned in and followed up in a whispered voice. “You haven’t been home in forever, so I assume things are going well with your beau?” He winked at me, and I just nodded.

  “All good,” I answered, smiling. “What’s up with the egg whites? You’re a grits and bacon kind of guy.”

  “Sequins, darling. They magnify everything. I’m about to pop out of my favorite frock if I don’t get this ass under control. I can’t take the seams out any further. It’s egg whites, cottage cheese and low carbs for the foreseeable future.”

  “And no alcohol, of course,” I said, mockingly, as I picked up my fork.

  “I’m trying to lose weight, not kill myself, Derek. No need for extremes.”

  Mom walked in with
her plate and sat down. “What are y’all gabbing about? Anything in the paper?”

  “Oh, just Mayor Tazewell at it, again,” said Barry, changing the subject. He and Mom never talked about their private lives out loud. I still wasn’t even sure what she knew about her own brother’s other world, actually. “It seems the warning bells from the volunteer fire brigade woke him up at 3am. It was a false alarm, so he’s trying to pass some ridiculous sound ordinance. That dog won’t hunt. Pass that coffee, will ya, Audrey?”

  “Isn’t he a member of the Bears’ Club?” I asked my uncle.

  All I received in the way of a response was an extremely arched eyebrow. Don’t ask, don’t tell, right Derek? I should know better by now.

  The Bears’ Club was Parkville’s oldest and most exclusive gentlemen’s club, but I had recently discovered it was a haven for closeted homosexuals, cross dressers and the straight men who enjoyed their company. Uncle Barry was The Supreme Grizzly and star drag performer, also known as “Beret.”

  Mom handed me the coffee pot and I refilled Barry’s cup while we continued eating and catching up. I wasn’t nervous about starting the new semester, but I just wanted to get going, so I ate fast, cleared my plate and grabbed my bag.

  “Have a good day, honey!” Mom yelled after me.

  “Break a leg!” said Barry.

  We’d had a mild winter, and there wasn’t any snow to speak of, but it was a cold morning. I started up my trusty old car, Willie Nelson, nicknamed after the infamous “Honk if you love Willie Nelson” bumper sticker that Mom had placed there years ago. I set the radio to the local pop station to wake me up, and we were on the road again.

  “Happy New Year, Miss Mabel. How was your holiday?” I asked as I walked into the first floor office of Parkville High School.

  “You mean my Christmas?” she answered. “All you ‘politically correct’ bozos are afraid to say that word, isn’t that right, Derek Walter?”

  I just laughed to myself. Miss Mabel had been around for so long that things just went her way and no other. No one else had a fighting chance.