An RMXP.org Romance Novel
by Jared Salvador "Despain" Torres-Hughes, Jr.
Prologue
He stood on the balcony of the high roller's suite, looking over the city. It was dawn, and the sun was beginning to paint the rooftops with a warm red glow. The light crawled up his shirtless body, exposing his perfectly-balanced form to anyone that had looked up. But nobody did. Even the mighty Las Vegas was silent now.
"Tom, come back to bed."
He turned back towards the source of the deep voice. He could see the silhouette of his lover through the thin curtains that separated the balcony from the bed room.
"I'll be right there--you don't have to get up," Tom said. He watched as the silhouette lazily slipped back onto the mattress. He knew that his lover was tired of this. All of the running, the not-knowing, the fear... But what could he do? Tom was just one man, and this was all so much bigger than him.
He leaned far over the railing, studying the abandoned expensive cars that lined the streets in front of the hotel. Two of the cars had slammed into each other at some point, and the spider-web patterns of cracks in the windshields gave Tom something to look at. He squinted his eyes, losing himself as he tried to concentrate on the details of the image that was so many stories below him. Anything to forget the pain.
Soon his eyes started to burn from the dry air. Tom closed them before looking up, scanning the cloudless sky for...what? There was nothing anymore. There were no more birds. There was no life for miles... Except for his lover.
Every morning, he woke up into a desolate world. And every morning, he regretted that one moment when he had stolen the antidote for the two of them. Would things be easier if they had just died along with everybody else? Would they be happier? Would he be happier?
But he turned back around and stepped through the silk curtains. He ran a hand over the curves of his lover's body, feeling the slight movements as he breathed slowly in his sleep. Tom crawled back into bed, and he knew that it was all worth it.
Chapter One
Two years earlier...
Two years earlier...
Tom woke up, sweat gliding down his chiseled body in beads. It was dark, and despite the violent heat within his body, he could feel a windy chill. He shivered. His eyes adjuested after a moment and he realized where he was: this was his bed room, in his home. The sound of heavy breathing grabbed his attention and pulled him back into reality. Next to him in the bed lay his partner, Derek Despain, sleeping peacefully. He looked on his other side, at the clock that flashed the time in neon numbers. 4:32 am.
This wasn't Las Vegas. This wasn't the future. There had been no virus. Tom breathed a sigh of relief and let himself fall back into the bed. He wrapped an arm over Despain before drifting into a dreamless sleep...
He woke up again when his alarm clock went off at 6 o'clock am. Despain wasn't in bed anymore; Tom knew that he had gone downstairs to prepare breakfast. The sun was streaming through the red curtains, casting a light in the bedroom that reminded Tom of his dream of the future. He threw the curtains apart and let the white light flood the room. "Not today," he thought out loud. "I can't let these dreams get to me today."
By the time Tom was dressed and ready for work, his breakfast was sitting on a plate at the kitchen table. Despain sat in his usual spot, his plate just as full as his partner's. He held a massive newspaper in front of his face, and Tom could faintly hear him reading out loud as he came down the stairs.
"Morning, hun," Tom said, sitting down at the table and picking up his fork. "This looks really good."
Despain put the newspaper aside. "Took you long enough, sleepy-head. The food was starting to get cold. And I am hungry, I hate waiting for you."
Tom swallowed a mouthful of potato. "Then don't wait for me," he said between bites. "Go ahead and have your breakfast."
"That's not polite. Besides...today is your big day."
Tom smiled across the table at him. "It is. I'm excited, and this time I am totally prepared." He tapped the gun that was holstered at his hip. "I've been practicing a lot in the past couple of weeks. I'm confident about this."
"It's a big promotion, Tom. And one that you definitely deserve. How many years on the force has it been?"
Tom looked absently out the window for a moment, trying to remember how long ago it had been when he first put on his badge. "Nearly fifteen years now, I'd say." He smiled when he looked back into Despain's face. His partner hadn't shaved in a long time, as always, and thick brown stubble covered his cheeks and chin. His hair was beginning to thin in recent years, and his belly hadn't shown any sign of halting its growth, but there was still that special charm to him that, to Tom, made him special. "And to thin, twelve of those years I've been with you."
Despain smiled, but the emotion quickly went away. He tried to hide it by picking at his breakfast.
"What is it, babe? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no--nothing like that. I've just been thinking a lot lately..."
"What is it? You know you can tell me anything."
"It's nothing. I don't want to worry you today. Tell you what--I'll make you a special dinner for when you get back, to celebrate." Tom had finished his breakfast and was standing up, picking up his plate off the table. Despain waved his hand. "No, don't worry about the dishes, I can take care of it. relax, it's your day. And have a great one, Tommy. Good luck!"
"Thanks, Des. You're always here for me when I need you." He leaned over and kissed Despain on the top of the head, in the middle of the patch where the hair was thinning and his scalp was visible. He felt his partner's hands straightening his tie before he stood up. "How do I look?"
"Like a police captain."
Full of pride, Tom stepped out of his home into the bright morning day.
