It’s time for Tuesday Tales!
Today we have an excerpt from School and Rock, Arizona Raptors #5, written with RJ Scott!
Do bear in mind that these snippets are unedited so please be kind if you find any mistakes.
This story may have gay erotic scenes, strong social issues addressed and mature language. If those things offend now is the time to move onto another Tuesday Tales blog. Thanks for stopping by!
I spun from the piano and bobbed my head. They’d go think about it and come back with a fat no I was sure of that. Which pissed me off but made me sad all at once. Whatever. I walked them back outside. Things were strained. They ate a ton of buffet food then left; the scene not quite chaotic enough for them. Feeling weirdly out of place and lonely at my own party, I moved through the halls of my home, climbing the stairs to spend some time with Maddy. She was my joy in a bottle. I knew the band didn’t get it, or refused to, but I wasn’t the same Colorado Penn. Madeline had changed me.
When I reached her door Joe was exiting. I pulled back and he gasped.
“Sorry,” I whispered as he closed the door behind himself.
“Dude, whistle next time,” he teased. The hallway was dark, lit with a small nightlight that threw odd shapes of light up and down the corridor.
“Funny manny. Did I miss book and kissy time?” I ran my fingers over the doorframe of my daughter’s room.
“Yes, I’m sorry. She was really cranky after visiting with all the Raptors so we did an early bottle and book.” He leaned against Madeline’s door, searching my face. “You look…off. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine.” I walked off, entered my room, and let my kimono slide down off my arms to puddle to the floor. The voices of my teammates wafted up into my room.
I heard him walk up beside me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” The moon was a fat ball of white in the dark night sky.
“This is going to sound stupid, and I’m not ripping off Eric Clapton, but have you ever been happily strolling along the road of life and see a crossroads up ahead and not know which road to take?”
****
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Flossie Benton Rogers says
The mood you created here is complex and so real. I love how the moon is a “fat ball of white.”
Jean C. Joachim says
Me, too. That line, “the moon is a fat ball of white” is brilliant. The mood you created feels lonely, just like the word prompt. Great scene.
Susanne Matthews says
Fantastic scene, setting the mood for his introspection. Well done.
Tricia says
I love that he knows Maddy changed his life but I’m so sad for him that he feels so lost between worlds. Great job conveying that emotion!