Read The Game for Free Online

afraid if Dave finds out, he’ll…”
    Frank shook his head.
    “You really should ask him, but I’ll tell you what I know.” He stood and began to pace the floor. “Dave’s smart, clever, and athletic. He could have gone to college on a basketball scholarship, but he didn’t want to. He went to John Jay and took criminal law.” He paused. “God, he was so passionate about it. Then my cousin Joey came to visit from Boston, and that was it. Dave listened to all his stories, and it was like a blinding light went on in him.” Frank’s voice thickened with emotion and his eyes grew dreamy. “If I thought he was passionate before, he was possessed then. He wanted to be ‘super cop.’ I’d come back to the apartment and be afraid I’d find a voice message saying he’d been shot.”
    He stopped pacing and gripped his arms, hugging himself. “And he was. God, I gave the cabbie an extra fifty to cut every red light. When I got to the hospital, his folks were there and…” He clenched his hands. “The hospital wouldn’t let me in until they left.” His breath hitched as he relived that night. “When I finally got in to see him, he was exhausted and falling asleep.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I was so scared. I, I touched his cheek to see if he was still alive, and he opened his eyes and smiled at me. I lost it. I cried like an idiot. Thankfully, he had only been awake for one second. He didn’t see me break down.”
    “You’re in love with him,” Shari uttered in awe and moved over to him. Her arms went around him, and she hugged him as tightly as a five foot two female could hug a muscled six foot tall guy, and spoke, her voice muffled against him. “Does he know you’re gay?”
    “Not a clue. At least I don’t think so.” He gently disengaged from her embrace. “Marcie knows, too. She promised not to say anything.”
    “I won’t tell, either, but Frank, you can’t keep this from him. You love him. He should know. He should—” She stopped. “Why vice?”
    Frank sank back down on the trunk, his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling. “It was Joey. He was in vice and Dave thought he was a hero. You know, saving the world from pimps and pedophiles and dirty scumbags.” He raised his head, his eyes bleak. “And then, one day, Joey was dead. See, Joey thought he was a hero, too, and he took chances. Stupid chances. He interfered with a doped-up hooker and her pimp. Surprise, surprise. He was concerned about the pimp; he should have been worried about the hooker. When she saw he was getting in the way of her getting her fix, she went at him with her five-inch-high stilettos.” His bitter laughter stunned her. “Dave swore he’d continue Joey’s good work. So that’s why he went into vice, and that’s where he’s been the last five years.” He fixed her with his gaze. “I don’t have the courage to tell him I’m gay.”
    Shari kneeled down in front of him. “Thanks for talking to me. Listen, you have a lot more courage than you think to share this with me.” She stood. “I only hope I have enough.”
    She looked toward the wall that backed up against the other bedroom. The only sounds she could hear were Frank’s deep breaths and her own erratic heartbeat. Could Dave and Marcie be asleep already? Could they be…? No. No?
    “Frank, I need to talk to Dave.” She took a cleansing breath. “Do you think he and Marcie are…you know?”
    Frank’s lips curved. “Dave wouldn’t do anything without telling you.” His smile grew. “Hell, he actually asked me whether he should take a chance and get in touch with you before he called you the first time. He didn’t want to start something if I needed him to be there to talk to after my supposed engagement broke up.” He tried to laugh. “As for Marcie, well, her favorite way is a three-way, and I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.”
    Shari bent and hugged him. “Pray the next person you see is Marcie.”