The Handsome Stranger - Part 8

Howdy folks!

The next couple of weeks will be a bit crazy for me. I'm going to Germany this morning (German sausage, anyone?) and I have surgery during the week (nothing too serious, but the recovery will be a bitch!) All stories, including this one, will continue as normal, but for the next three to four weeks, I'll be posting Monday to Friday, and taking Saturday and Sunday off. I hope everybody is okay with that, and I'll be sure to make it up to you once I'm back to 100%.

Anyway, here's the next part of The Handsome Stranger!

All characters are consenting adults (18+)

His flip flops crunched against the gravel with each step. I couldn’t help but stare at his toes, then his feet, then his hairy, muscular legs where his shorts started. I wondered what underwear he had on. Was it the ones that had been in my mouth the previous day?

“You grew up here, huh?” He said, looking around at the tall trees that flanked the dirt road into town. “Must have been fun”.

“Fun?” I scoffed, kicking a rock. “Look around, what’s fun about this?”

“How’s your hand?” He asked, catching me off guard. He seemed to enjoy doing that. In one breath, Austin spoke about one thing, and in the next, another.

“Fine, I guess” I shrugged.

“Have you learned your lesson about hitting people?”

“Have you learned yours?” I replied sharply, and even though I was a step behind, I caught sight of the curt smile on his face.

“I didn’t know you smoked” I said, as he pulled out a cigarette and slipped it between his lips.

“I don’t” he told me, and lit it.

Everything he did was hot. Every step he took. Every swing of his arms. Every deep inhale of smoke. How was it possible to make everything look good? It was so effortless, too. Like he wasn’t even trying to be perfect, he just was.

“Where did you go yesterday?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious.

“Out”.

“Out where?”

“Out here” he said, as we reached the town.

“With Celina”.

“Yes”.

“On a date?”

“Would that bother you?”

“No”.

“Are you sure?”

“No”.

Austin smiled again and flicked his cigarette away.

“Not on a date” he said, and my heart wasn’t sure whether to flutter or explode. “Not really”.

“Not really?”

“Do you like art, Cooper?” He asked, once again, catching me off guard.

“Art? What kinda’ art?”

He didn’t answer me, but continued walking toward a building that, although I’d passed thousands of times, I’d never actually paid much attention to.

It was an old building, with an old security guard at the front, and an old smell to it. I followed him inside, still holding onto the hope that the not date, not really was really not a date.

The place was empty besides the two of us, and it was only when we reached the first room that I realised that it was an art gallery. Perhaps I should have guessed.

“Is this where you’ve been coming?” I asked, cocking a brow at one of the strange paintings on the wall.

“Sometimes”.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Austin continued walking until we got to the end of the long, bare room. Every step we took, echoed around the tall ceilings, and when we reached the end, the two of us stood side by side, looking up at another strange painting.

It was just as ancient as all of the other paintings in the room. It showed some guy who was half naked, holding onto another guy who was half naked, and one of them looked like they were dying.

“The Death of Hyacinth” Austin said, and I gawped at him. How did a guy like Austin know anything about art?

“That’s Apollo” he continued, pointing to the naked dude who was holding the other naked dude. “It’s said that he accidentally killed Hyacinth in a game, and these are their last moments together”.

“Right” I replied, unsure why we were standing in an art gallery to begin with.

“Some believe that they were lovers” he continued, and my attention turned back to the painting. It did look pretty erotic, but I refused to believe that an art gallery in my very conservative town would knowingly display a gay painting.

“Why are you showing me this?” I asked.

“Do you think Apollo made a mistake?” He replied, keeping his eyes on the painting.

“I suppose so” I shrugged.

“It’s unfortunate, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“The mistake” he said, “Apollo probably regretted it for the rest of his life, but it was too late to fix it”.

“Uh… Yeah”.

“A lifetime of regret must be a terrible thing to live with” Austin continued, as I scratched my head. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Dude, why are we standing in a freaking art gallery?” I spat.

“It was too late for Apollo” he said, turning back to me and smiling. “Come on, I need cigarettes”.

The local store was owned by a man named Billy Edison, who was at least four hundred years old, and had been a sour asshole since the day the town was founded. I was pretty sure that Billy was the most hated and feared man in the whole place, so when Austin casually strolled into the tiny shop, I grabbed his arm.

“Not here” I said, as the little bell dinged overhead. “The guy who owns it is a complete fucking ass–”

“Austin!” Billy cackled from behind the counter, “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t call around today”.

My eyes bulged as Austin walked over and shook the man’s hand. Was I fucking seeing things? Billy Edison didn’t like anybody, and yet, there he was, fawning over Austin like an excited schoolgirl.

“The usual, I assume?” The old man asked, pottering over and picking up a pack of cigarettes. “I can’t thank you enough” he continued, “Mary-Beth has been on at me for months to get the damn thing fixed”.

“I hope you told her that you did it” Austin smiled, paying for his cigarettes. “I’m sure that earned you some brownie points”.

“Oh, you bet it did” Billy winked, and I felt bile rise up in my throat. “Now, you make sure to drop back in tomorrow afternoon. She’s making that apple pie that I was tellin’ you about, and you’ve just got to try some”.

“It’s a date” Austin said, and Billy huffed out a thunderous laugh as he waved Austin goodbye.

“You’ve got to be kidding me” I said, as we walked back out into the sun.

“What?”

“You must be the only person on the planet who Billy Edison actually likes”.

“What can I say?” He smirked, “I’m a likeable guy”.

He wasn’t kidding, either. As we walked through the town, at least a dozen people, mostly pretty young women, smiled and giggled as they walked by. I looked back as a small group of middle aged women whispered excitedly between themselves, and felt a spark of jealousy.

“I don’t get it” I said, as we walked back home. “I don’t get you”.

“What’s not to get?” He asked, but his smile explained that he knew exactly what I was talking about.

“You show up” I said, “you’re perfect at literally everything. Everybody likes you, but you won’t tell anybody where you were before, what you do for work, or really, anything about yourself. I just don’t get it”.

“Not everybody likes me” he said, and turned off the road, before hopping up onto a clearing in the trees.

“What are you doing?” I asked, but he didn’t answer, and I watched as he skidded down the embankment and disappeared. “Dude, what are you doing?!”

I growled to myself as I jumped up and looked down at him. He was already at the bottom, with a big grin on his face as he gestured me to follow.

“You act like a child, you know that?” I said.

“And you act like an old man” he replied, and walked off into the trees. I rolled my eyes and tripped down after him.

“What did you mean back there?” I called, as he weaved in and out of sight like an excited toddler. “When you said not everybody likes you”.

“You” he replied.

“Me? Me, what?”

“You don’t like me”.

“That’s not true”.

“Are you sure?”.

“Of course I’m sure”.

“So, you do like me?” He asked, swinging around the tree and stopping right in front of my face.

“Yes”.

“How much do you like me?”

My heart skipped a beat as he stared into my soul.

“I like you, okay?”

“Do you like like me?” He asked, as his warm breath brushed against my cheek.

“W… What if I do?”

“So, when you pushed me away in my room” he whispered, “that was a mistake?”

I almost forgot how to speak. My whole body tingled, and my breathing became laboured.

“I… I uh… I suppose it was”.

“Apollo never had the chance to fix his mistake” he said, “do you?”.