Smoky Mountain Dreams by Leta Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

under
his breath. He took out the brown eyeliner. He didn’t wear much, but it helped
his green eyes pop under the lights if he lined them just a little.
    In the corner of his reflection, Christopher could see the
group of male ice dancers vying for a position in the mirror on the other side
of the room. Their tight asses and firm legs were all wrapped up in spandex.
They’d been imported from New York or Europe for the seasonal ice show, and
most of them were bigger princesses than any of the girls when it came to
looking their best and showing off their bodies.
    “Makes you wanna start a diet, doesn’t it?” Shannon said.
His sometime singing partner showed up beside him in the reflection. She leaned
forward to rub her pinky finger over her lipsticked lips, and then flaw-checked
her dark skin. She slid her fingers through her newly straightened hair and
nodded happily at herself. He’d preferred her afro, but Shannon was convinced
she’d get more solo parts if she ditched the “African-American aesthetic.”
Christopher not only didn’t know exactly what that meant, but he didn’t like
the implication either. Still, it obviously wasn’t his place to question her
logic.
    “Doesn’t it?” she asked again.
    “What? My face?” Christopher asked. He didn’t have chiseled
cheek bones, but his face was attractive enough, in his opinion. It was
oval-going-on-heart-shaped, according to his stylist, and he had good lips and
nice, clear eyes. Still, he braced himself to be offended.
    “No. Those guys. Look at them preening and waving their
skinny little bodies around like your Granny’s best handkerchief, all
daintiness and fairy dust.”
    “They’re not dainty. They’re athletes. And they use up a lot
of calories, so of course they’re thin.” Christopher shrugged. “I don’t see the
appeal, though.”
    Shannon rolled her eyes. “They aren’t your type, I know that already. You like a man’s man. But you were looking at them
with those big eyes you get when you see something you want. Explain that.”
    The truth was, he sometimes wondered if he should go on a diet or do something .
He wasn’t fat by far. He had a slim enough body, but he wasn’t built or
muscular. And he never would be. He’d developed an extreme aversion to gyms
when he was in high school. No matter how hard he’d tried, he hadn’t been able
to not see the hot guys in his class curling and
tensing as they lifted barbells, or threw basketballs, or jogged around the
track. And being unable to keep himself from springing a boner during P.E.
class had ensured his life was a terrifying hell every day of the school year.
Gyms still made him feel like he might have actual PTSD from it all.
    “It was nothing.”
    “Right. Nothing at all.” Shannon rolled her eyes. “I’ll own
it. They make me wish I was six inches shorter and looked half as graceful as
they do in a leotard.”
    Shannon wasn’t a small woman. She was taller than him,
almost six-one to his five-nine, and her voice was even bigger than she was. He
was glad they were in different shows this season so he wouldn’t have to try to
keep up with her. It always left his vocal chords feeling tired and raw.
    “Fine, I guess they make me feel that way too,” he admitted.
And maybe if he was more like that kind of gay, Jesse
would’ve said yes to coffee. Maybe he liked his men pretty.
    You don’t even know if he likes men at
all, Christopher! Horses. Carts. What have I told you about how they work,
young man? There’s a natural order to things, and you’re breaking it. And it ain’t
because you’re gay!
    “Shut it, Gran,” Christopher muttered.
    “‘Scuse me?” Shannon sounded a little offended.
    “Just talking to myself. Ignore me. I’m crazy today. That’s
all.”
    “Ah. Thanks for the warning. Don’t worry about it—we all get
that way,” Shannon said. “Speaking of crazy, Drew and I are having a party up
at the cabin on Halloween. Consider yourself invited.