Birth of a Dark Nation by Rashid Darden Read Free Book Online Page A

have central air,
man. I've got to leave one of my units on while I'm out just to
make sure shit doesn't literally melt in this heat."
    I opened my door and the heat from the living
room hit us.
    "And this is clearly not the room where I
keep the air on," I joked. He paused and looked around my space. It
wasn't anything to write home about. I'd guess that the 42-inch
flat screen television was the most interesting thing in the room.
I really needed to invest in some curtains, as the metal
blinds—even when closed—were doing nothing to keep the heat out.
Nor were the hardwood floors.
    To my surprise, he wasn't interested in the
TV, or my CD collection, or even my DVDs, which had their own small
shelving system. Instead, he made a beeline to the small, framed
photos on my wall. He inspected each one carefully.
    "This yo fam?" he asked.
    "Yup, I can point them out later. Let me show
you the bathroom now and get that shower going."
    I led him down the hallway toward my room but
stopped short at the linen closet. I grabbed spare towels and
washcloths and held on to them. I then turned the corner and
entered my bathroom, turning on the light and ensuring that there
was enough soap and shampoo there for him.
    "I think you got everything now," I said,
turning to leave. He grabbed my arm.
    I turned back around.
    "What's up?"
    "I don't have everything I need," he
said.
    "Oh," I said softly. He pulled me close to
him and looked down at my body, still caked with blood-red body
paint and stained with sweat. Neither of us had put our shirts back
on.
    "You look so fuckin' good," he said.
    "Thank you. Your body is amazing."
    "Thank you." He grabbed my face, closed his
eyes, and kissed me on the lips.
    I held him at his sides and kissed him back.
I felt like a brittle doll made out of clay. Our bodies rubbing
against each other through the dried body paint felt unnatural.
    "I'll start your shower," I said. I let him
go and turned on the hot water, then the cold, then the
showerhead.
    "Thank you," he said. I turned my head as he
began to take off his shorts. I began to wash my hands (which I
should have done before touching the clean towels-dummy) and I
looked at myself in the mirror. I was a fright. Too bad we didn't
take any pictures.
    "Justin."
    "Yeah?"
    "Whatchu waitin' for?"
    I looked at Dante, who had stepped into the
shower and had leaned back to look at me through the side of the
curtain.
    "I'm not waiting for anything," I said. I was
confused by his comment.
    "Then why you not in here with me?"
    "You want me to shower with you?"
    "Yeah…please."
    "Aight," I said, nodding. I slowly dropped my
shorts to the floor next to his and climbed in behind him in the
shower. I couldn't help it—seeing his thin, narrow body in the
shower directly in front of mine gave me an instant erection. The
red paint rolled off his body under the force of the water, leaving
behind dark, brown, and wet muscle.
    He backed up onto me, rubbing his ass on my
erection. I hugged him from behind and rested my chin on his
shoulder, next to his still-red dreadlocks. I didn't realize until
that moment that I was actually taller than him. I was taller and I
was bigger. The entire time, I had the physical advantage against
him. For what reason would I have to be remotely intimidated by
him, as I often felt?
    I knew why. His personality was six feet
tall. His masculine aggressiveness commanded a room, or a park, or
whatever space he inhabited at that moment. Whatever he even
remotely suggested felt like a demand to me. And I was totally
smitten by him.
    He grinded his ass on my erection and asked
me if I liked it. I did. I told him so. He grinded on me harder. My
arms embraced him from behind and traveled down his torso. I cupped
his erection and was pleasantly surprised at its length and its
girth.
    "Justin," he moaned.
    "Yeah," I whispered in his ear.
    "Can you help me wash this red shit out of my
hair?"
    "No doubt," I said. I grabbed the shampoo
from the caddy in my