Victim of Love by Darien Cox

kidding? Even if I never got his hands on me again, I could at least have the satisfaction of looking good and feeling confident in his presence.
    We were heading down to the beach today, where the gang wanted to take advantage of some of the recreational water activities, but I was secretly planning to bail out at the last minute because I really just wanted to sit on the beach and read the book I’d brought. But even so, Beck would see me. So I’d put on my favorite swim trunks and a cool tee shirt I thought made my chest look bigger.
    And I was feeling pretty good about myself until I moved to the kitchen, and spotted the man himself, Beck, out on the patio doing pushups in nothing but a pair of shorts and running shoes.
    “Oh yeah, check out Hercules out there,” Laurie said from her spot at the counter where she sipped from a mug. “He’s already been out and run ten miles.”
    Sweaty, half dressed, hair a disheveled mess, and Beck still looked better than I did in the morning.
    I joined Kamal, Pippa, and Townsend at the table and grabbed a bagel from the tray in the center.
    “Morning, Olsen,” Pippa said.
    “Morning.”
    Pippa and Townsend looked happy again, which pleased me.
    “Hey, what are we doing for Saturday?” I asked. “Where are the fireworks gonna be?”
    “They have a big thing right here at the resort where they light them over the water,” Laurie called over. “But Kamal’s working on something cool we can do during the day first.”
    Kamal smiled at me from across the table, but said nothing. Townsend grinned as well.
    “And?” I said.
    “Someone I know usually has a big party on the fourth,” Kamal said. “He’s a good friend of my partner, James, and James is trying to arrange an invite for us. I guess he’s got a great house right on the water and his parties are famous for being a good time. I’m waiting to hear back from him.”
    “That’s good,” I said. “So why is everyone looking like the cat that ate the cream?”
    Pippa snickered. “Kamal’s friend lives in Provincetown.”
    I frowned. “Oh. That will be...nice. I guess.”
    “Come on, Olsen!” Townsend reached over and punched me in the shoulder. “Get excited. It’s P-town, the gay mecca! We gotta try and get you some action while you’re here.”
    Beck stepped in from the patio, a towel slung over his shoulder. “Who’s getting action?”
    “Hopefully Olsen,” Laurie said. “We need to get him laid. He’s on an extended dry spell.”
    I wanted to crawl under the table, rip up the flooring, and dig a hole to China.
    Beck shot me a small grin as he moved past the table. “Good luck with that. I gotta go shower.”
    Once Beck was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower running, Laurie came over and sat next to me at the table. She glanced down the hall where he’d gone, then turned to me. “Hey, don’t let my brother’s attitude get to you,” she said. “He just gets uncomfortable with the whole gay thing.”
    I nearly choked on my bagel. “He’s fine,” I said. “I haven’t noticed anything.” I had, however, noticed the tattoo on his hip again as he’d walked by, and with him out of the way, spotted an opportunity to get a little personal info. “Is your brother into knives or something?”
    Laurie took a sip of orange juice, then frowned at me. “Knives? No. Not unless they used to belong to Julius Caesar or some shit. Why?”
    “I was noticing his tattoo. Looks like knives.”
    “Ah.” She nodded. “The tattoo.” She glanced down the hall again, but I could still hear the shower. I saw a flash of pain in her eyes, her shoulders stiffening. “Those are actually letters,” she said softly. “Initials worked into a design. Beck’s friend, who died a couple years ago.”
    “Oh, wow. Okay.”
    “Yeah, they were really close. He was a total mess over it for a while.” Laurie’s eyes looked distant, strangely forlorn. She gave herself a shake, almost a shiver, and rubbed her