Free Dirty Laundry by Rhys Ford Page B

custody of the bed when we weren’t in it. The front part of the cinder block studio was dedicated to Jae’s photography, and a U of light boxes and low tables took up much of the area. A smaller space in the back of the rectangle was cordoned off by tall bookcases, and a pressure rod hung with glittering plastic beads served as a door between the bedroom space and Jae’s working area. He rarely slept there, using a queen mattress set we’d plopped directly on the floor as someplace to take a nap while he waited for something to process.
    His kitchen area was a long counter against the wall facing the alley, with a microwave, hot plate, and a double-wide industrial sink. The current owner left the concrete floor as he’d found it, sealing it with a thick urethane. The place was a dismal gray, even illuminated by the soft white lights Jae installed everywhere and the thin sunlight struggling through the high windows, but it was his, and Jae wasn’t going to give it up so he could set up house with me.
    I still had his cat, and my bed was more comfortable, so I figured I had enough incentive for him to come sleep with me every night. So far, it seemed to be working.
    The smell of popcorn came from the microwave, and Jae stood with his back to me, shaking the popped kernels into a bowl. A red and gray striped beanie was pulled down over his head, and an oversized Oakland Raiders shirt hung from his slender shoulders, probably stolen from my dresser. I lost a lot of clothes to Jae-Min, but I liked seeing them on him.
    He said it was like wearing me around him. I couldn’t imagine anything that could make me happier… except maybe having him wrapped around me and screaming my name.
    I came up behind him, staying as quiet as I could. Intent on the popcorn, he’d not heard me come in, and I thought I’d surprise him. I wrapped my arms around his chest, pulled him against me, and raked my teeth up the side of his neck in a biting kiss.
    “Hey, Jae baby,” I murmured. “I have missed you so fucking much today, it hurts. Let’s go home so we can try to break another bed.”
    Several things happened at once, nearly too quickly for me to wrap my tiny little brain around them, but my dick sure as hell felt the fist slamming up into it, and then my ear sang from a follow-up blow.
    A high-pitched screaming took up residence in my rattled hearing, and I blinked furiously, trying to wipe away the sight of Jae’s face on the young woman in front of me. A popcorn bowl flew at my head, too quick for me to duck. It was a thick Fiesta ware mixing bowl Jae’d bought at a garage sale, and it thunked my forehead hard enough for me to see stars. Holding my hands up in surrender, I stepped back quickly to get away.
    That apparently wasn’t good enough, because what little Jae had for dishes came flying at me in a hail of vengeance.
    Dodging ceramics and utensils didn’t stop my brain from short-circuiting. My Jae wasn’t actually Jae. And she had breasts, round, soft curves I’d pressed up against my arms when I’d hugged her from behind.
    I was ducking away from a coffee cup when Jae came running from the back room. He let the mug fly past us both but stood in front of me to ward off anything else she decided to throw. They both stood a few feet from each other, screaming loudly in a fast Korean I had not a snowflake’s chance in hell of understanding, but the one thing I did see was the color drain from Jae-Min’s face when she spat at my feet.
    There are times in life when a person can only stand still and let the raging rivers pour over them. This was one of those times for me. Jae would have had to be blind to miss the evidence of my rubbing up against the young woman who looked so much like him. Her neck boasted a red scrape from my teeth and the shallow scruff of my unshaven jaw. It was obscene to see an intimate visual of what I’d meant to do to my lover marbling the skin of a woman.
    She was only a few inches shorter