“It was going to happen sooner or later. You know what they say, go big or go home.”
“So we’re going to give this a try again?”
“That is my intention.”
He looked at me and took my hand. “I went out to Tripler at lunch, and my dad and I had a talk,” he said. “I think it was the first time in a long time that we actually communicated, you know? Not him lecturing and me arguing. We talked. I was pretty surprised to hear that stuff my mom said last night.”
He looked out toward Diamond Head. “He said that I was a lot more like him than either of us wanted to admit. He did go nuts when he thought my mom wouldn’t marry him. And he recognized I was doing the same thing, and he just wanted to make things easier for me.”
“He cares about you.”
“I know. Like your folks care about you.” He smiled. “I was jealous, you know? Seeing you with your parents. How much they love you and accept you. I didn’t think I had that.” He squeezed my hand. “But now I know that I do. And knowing that, I can get on with things. I’m sure I’m still going to have some issues. But you can help me out.”
“It is handy having somebody around who’s been through it before.”
“So we’re back on? Together?”
“Just try and get rid of me.” We leaned across and kissed, and then I yawned.
He said, “Am I boring you?” But then he yawned himself.
I stood up. “What do you say we go to bed?” I asked.
“Those are words I hope I never get tired of hearing,” he said, standing up beside me.
We stood together for a moment, staring out at Diamond Head. In the distance we could hear car horns, late-night revelers on Kalakaua, a far-off siren. I was in the city I called home, within sight and sound of the ocean. My family and friends were safe out there in the darkness, and the man I loved was beside me.
It didn’t get better than that.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NEIL PLAKCY is the author of Mahu, Mahu Surfer, Mahu Fire, Mahu Vice, Mahu Men, and Mahu Blood about openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka. His other books are Three Wrong Turns in the Desert, Dancing with the Tide, The Outhouse Gang, In Dog We Trust, Invasion of the Blatnicks, and GayLife.com. He edited Paws & Reflect:A Special Bond Between Man and Dog and the gay erotic anthologies Hard Hats, Surfer Boys and Skater Boys. His website is www.mahubooks.com.
TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
ABC Store: ABC Stores
Barbie: Mattel, Inc.
Big Wave Pale Ales: Kona Brewery LLC
BlackBerry: Research in Motion Limited
BMW: BMW of North America LLC
Bulgari: Bulgari Group
Cadillac SUV: General Motors LLC
Ceftriaxone: Hoffman-La Roche
Chrysler LeBaron: Daimlerchrysler Corporation
Crime Stoppers: Crime Stoppers USA
Crown Vic: Ford Motor Company
Denny’s: DFO, Inc.
Disney: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Doogie Howser: 20th Century Fox Television and Steven Bochco Productions
Fedex: FedEx
Foodland: Foodland Super Market, Ltd.
Harley-Davidson VRSCDX: H-D Michigan, LLC
Hawaiian Heritage: Royal Hawaiian Jewelry
Hawaiian Humane Society: Hawaiian Humane Society
Hilo Hattie’s: Pomare Inc.
I Love Lucy: Desilu Productions
Iditarod : Iditarod Trail Committee, Inc.
Jeep Wrangler: Chrysler Group LLC
KINE, Hawaiian 105: Cox Media Group
Lexus: Toyota Motor Company
Longboard Lagers: Kona Brewery LLC
Mehana Volcano Red Ale: Hawai ‘i Nui Brewing/Mehana Brewing Company
Mercedes: DaimlerChrysler
People: Time Inc.
ProLiant DL380 G5 Server: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Rolex: Rolex Watch USA, Inc.
Stanford: Stanford University
Star Wars: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Styrofoam: The Dow Chemical Company
Toyota: Toyota Motor Company
Toyota Highlander: Toyota Motor Company
UH: University of Hawaii
UPS: United Parcel Service of America, Inc.
Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Ward Warehouse: The Howard Hughes Corporation
Yahoo: Yahoo! Inc.
Zippy’s: Zippy’s Inc.
MLR AUTHORS
Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!
Derek Adams
M. Jules Aedin
Maura Anderson
Victor J. Banis
Jeanne Barrack
Laura Baumbach
Alex Beecroft
Sarah Black
Ally Blue
J.P. Bowie
Barry Brennessel
Michael Breyette
Nowell Briscoe
P.A. Brown
Brenda Bryce
Jade Buchanan
James Buchanan
Charlie Cochrane
Karenna Colcroft
Jamie Craig
Kirby Crow
Dick D.
Ethan Day
Diana DeRicc
Jason Edding
Theo Fenraven
Angela Fiddler
Dakota Flint
S.J. Frost
Kimberly Gardner
Storm Grant
Amber Green
LB Gregg
Drewey Wayne Gunn
Kaje Harper
Jan Irving
David Juhren
Samantha Kane
Kiernan Kelly
M. King
Matthew Lang
J.L. Langley
Josh Lanyon
Anna Lee
Elizabeth Lister
Clare London
William Maltese
Gary Martine
Z.A. Maxfield
Timothy McGivney
Lloyd A. Meeker
Patric Michael
AKM Miles
Reiko Morgan
Jet Mykles
William Neale
Willa Okati
L. Picaro
Neil S. Plakcy
Jordan Castillo Price
Luisa Prieto
Rick R. Reed
A.M. Riley
George Seaton
Jardonn Smith
Caro Soles
JoAnne Soper-Cook
Richard Stevenson
Liz Strange
Marshall Thornton
Lex Valentine
Maggie Veness
Haley Walsh
Missy Welsh
Stevie Woods
Lance Zarimba
THE TREVOR PROJECT
The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost or alone call The Trevor Helpline. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.
The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386
On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT
Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence
Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.
GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901
On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/
THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/
GLAAD en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php
SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).The SLDN provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by DADT and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal DADT and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of DADT.
SLDN Call: (202) 328-3244
PO Box 65301 or (202) 328-FAIR
Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: sldn@sldn.org
On the Web: http://sldn.org/
THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER
The GLBT National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The GLBT National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the GLBT community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The GLBT National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.
National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)
National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)
On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/
e-mail: info@glbtnationalhelpcenter.org
If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:
US LOCAL GLBT COLLEGE CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS
http://dv-8.com/resources/us/local/campus.html
GLBT Scholarship Resources http://tinyurl.com/6fx9v6
Syracuse University http://lgbt.syr.edu/
Texas A&M http://glbt.tamu.edu/
Tulane University http://www.oma.tulane.edu/LGBT/Default.htm
University of Alaska http://www.uaf.edu/agla/
University of California, Davis http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/
University of California, San Francisco http://lgbt.ucsf.edu/
University of Colorado http://www.colorado.edu/glbtrc/
University of Florida http://www.dso.ufl.edu/multicultural/lgbt/
University of Hawaiÿi, Mānoa http://manoa.hawaii.edu/lgbt/
University of Utah http://www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/
University of Virginia http://www.virginia.edu/deanofstudents/lgbt/
Vanderbilt University http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lgbtqi/