“If somebody’s causing problems,” Jem said, “we can have a word with him.”
“The show is open to the public,” Nasha said, but she didn’t have a lot of conviction in her voice.“We’re trying to create a welcoming atmosphere.”
“Throw his ass out,” the drag queen said to Jem.“You’ll see him when you walk in there—older guy, plaid shirt, smells like a whore’s armpit.”
Jem gave them a mock-salute.
“Seriously,” Nasha said, “unless he’s causing a problem, don’t bother him—”
Jem didn’t answer.He just offered his most reassuring smile—the one that occasionally gave Tean flights of panic—and eased the door shut.Then he turned to Tean and said, “Ready to kick some ass?”
“I heard that,” Nasha said inside the office.“We’re not kicking anyone’s ass.”
“She has to say that for legal reasons,” Jem said, but more quietly.
“I don’t think she’sonlysaying it for legal reasons,” Tean said.“I think she’s saying it because she doesn’t want us to do anything.”
“Her mouth says no,” Jem said.“But her eyes say yes.”
“That’s incredibly problematic.”
“Babe, we’re not talking about sex stuff.You know I love consent.This is just ass-kicking.”And without waiting for a response, Jem started down the hall.“Come on.”
Tean didn’t have much of an option except to hurry after him.
At the back of Rainbow House, a previous owner had created a large living area by knocking down walls.Part of the space was given over to a kitchen, which these days was used for snacks and activities more than for cooking meals.The rest of the room was filled with couches, loveseats, and chairs, with a massive television on the far wall.Most of the time, the seating was arranged in functional clusters so that multiple groups of teens could socialize at the same time.Tonight, however, the seating had been pushed back, and a temporary stage had been set up against the far wall.
The room was already three-quarters full.The crowd was mostly White, although Tean spotted a handful of Latine faces.And while he recognized many of the teens and tweens from previous visits to Rainbow House, the adults were, for the most part, new to him.Some of them—especially the men—wore wary, closed-off expressions.Others were more animated, talking and laughing.A few had the—by now familiar to Tean—look of parents who had been dragged to yet another event for their child, and they were already thinking about the laundry they had to do when they got home.
Daniel and his friends had taken over a sofa near the back of the room.They were piled together on it, and Tean didn’t miss the fact that Daniel had managed to end up tangled with the doe-eyed boy.Justin, he had called him.Justin also had one hand on Daniel’s thigh.High on his thigh.And lookingverycomfortable.
All of that went through Tean’s head in the first instant.
In the second, he saw the man.
The drag queen’s description had been accurate.The man had a head of thick gray hair that made Tean think of a chinchilla, and he wore a hideous plaid shirt with jeans that managed to look both expensive and ridiculous at the same time—oversized studs, flashy stitching, and a boot cut that swallowed his feet.He was pressed up against the arm of the sofa, looking down at Daniel and his friends, talking in a voice too low for Tean to hear.And Daniel was looking up at him.His cheeks held that familiar hint of pink.The way he angled his head exposed the smooth lines of his neck.He was playing with the cropped tee, teasing it up to expose more of his defined stomach.The older man said something, and Daniel laughed.
Tean opened his mouth to say something to Jem—his brain had only gotten as far asumm—when Jem said, “You motherfucking piece of shit!”
Notsaid, Tean’s brain told him a moment too late.Shouted.
And then Jem launched himself across the room.
The older man—Wendell, presumably—was starting to turn in response to Jem’s shout when Jem hit him.It was a full-body collision: Jem threw himself at the other man in a flying tackle.Even across the room, Tean heard something crunch when Jem’s shoulder connected with Wendell’s chest.Then the force of the impact sent both men crashing into the wall.The old house shook.Someone screamed.
Wendell lost his footing, and Jem followed him to the floor.Wendell was finally starting to twist and turn, to squirm out from under Jem and get away.Jem didn’t let him.He was shouting, “Motherfucker!”and “You piece of shit!”as he scrambled to stay on top of the older man.
“Hey!”a guy shouted from across the room.
“Get off him!”another man yelled.
Tean was still standing there.
Jem reared back.His face was flushed, and his hair had fallen out of its usual neat part.He looked like he was trying to catch his breath.He brought his arm back and landed a punch, and the crack of his hand against Wendell’s face echoed through the room.
“Stop!Stop!Stop!”Daniel was screaming.He’d pressed himself back into the sofa, his legs drawn up to his chest.
Finally, Tean’s brain kicked into gear.He lurched into a run.Jem drew his arm back for another punch, and Tean caught his wrist.Jem yanked, trying to free himself.
