Phoenix (24 page)

steadier than anyone Blake had ever seen, and a shock of

wild, black hair, his movie-star good looks at odds with his

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Phoenix

profession. “You ready for your pre-operation checkup,

Blake?”

“Absolutely,” Blake said with a nod, lacing his fingers

with Ethan’s and smiling at both Riley and Devon. “You

guys can come in, too, if you want to.”

“I think you’ve got it covered from here,” Riley said in a

fond voice, holding onto Devon’s hand lightly.

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna go home and crash since Ethan’s

here,” Devon added, and Blake laughed a little.

“All right, guys. I’ll see you later, all right? Have a safe

flight, Devon, and good luck with your family, Riles,” Blake

said, clapping his hand onto each of their shoulders and

getting the same movement back in return.

“Actually, I’m going home with Devon instead. But good

luck yourself, man,” Riley said, and Devon echoed him.

“Thanks, guys. Later,” Blake replied, smiling and bidding

them goodbye. He watched them as they walked out of the

building hand in hand, and he was glad that they’d solved

whatever had been between them.

“Ready, babe?” Ethan prompted in a gentle voice, and

Blake nodded, leading Ethan into the exam room with a

confidence that hadn’t been there before. The doctor smiled

at him.

Oddly enough, despite everything that was going on in

his head and in his life, he felt a sense of happiness that lit

him up as Dr. La Brea put him under the anesthesia.

Nothing could
really
bring him down, not when he was

lucky enough to have his boyfriend, friends and family on

his side.

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Joey James Hook

t was six weeks after Blake’s surgery, and school was out

I for the summer. Blake had aced his semester, thankfully,

and it was time to try and relax. Or, in Blake’s case, get a job.

He didn’t necessarily
need
it, but he wanted one anyway.

He relished this job search because it was so nice to be

able to introduce himself as Blake Weber and not get

doubtful looks as he said he was male. His identification had

a male marker, his middle name was male, and had a body

to go with the gender, too.

The first few weeks, he was nervous to take off his shirt

because of the scars, but as it healed, the scars became less

garish. Sure, they were still there, but he was thankful that

his chest hadn’t been bigger because they were small

incisions only he could see.

After a productive day of searching for a job, he came

back to the apartment he and Ethan were sharing over the

summer.

“How’d it go?” Ethan asked, looking up from a book.

Blake smiled a bit and settled next to him. “I’m assuming it

went well?”

“I guess. I just get this rush when people don’t question

me anymore,” Blake explained with a slight laugh, feeling

sheepish but oddly liberated at the same time. It was a great

feeling. “That sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“Well, I’m glad, baby,” Ethan said, cupping the back of

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Phoenix

Blake’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “You wanna go

down to the pool with me for a bit? It’s fuckin’ hot.”

Blake laughed a little. Never in a million years would he

have agreed to go down to the pool before his surgery, but

this time he grasped onto his boyfriend’s hand and replied

with an emphatic, “Absolutely. Come on.”

Oh, how things had changed.

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About the Author

Joey James Hook is a twenty-four-year old man who lives in

Canoga Park, California. Among his favorite things to do are

reading, writing, watching TV, eating ice cream, and

listening to loud music.

He attended three and a half years of schooling at

Western Nevada College.

He says that if he doesn’t write at least something every

day, he would go insane. His passions aside from writing

are eating, music—particularly going to shows and rocking

out—and going to the beach. His biggest inspirations are the

bands Burn Halo, Eighteen Visions, Atreyu, Bleeding

Through, Papa Roach, Asking Alexandria, A Skylit Drive

and, more than any other, Avenged Sevenfold.