Page 102 - Some Dance to Remember

72 Jack Fritscher

Valencia Street broke their silent Attitude to say hello to Kick who trained
only with Ryan.
“You’re my coach, Ry,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to compete. I can’t
do it alone. We’ll win together.”
Kick promised Ryan they would always go for the best in life. Quality
was Kick’s code word. His expectations of life, and he had the gifts that
proved his expectations were correct, meant nothing less than the best of
everything. He had built his body more with visualizations than he had
with weights. Ryan saw it happen the nights of their musclesex before the
mirror. Kick was living proof of the power of positive thinking.
“Ry,” Kick said, “I really meant what I said. You can have anything
you want, you know.”
“I want a body like yours.” Ryan teased him.
“I want a head like yours.” Kick played back.
“I’ll settle for your body.”
“I’ll settle for your head.”
“You don’t care if I’m not a bodybuilder.”
“You don’t care if I’m not as smart as you.”
“I’m not smart. I’m only clever.”
“Whatever you say, coach. But I wouldn’t have chased you if you
weren’t the damndest package I ever did see.”
“I’d never have been caught if you weren’t on top of all those goddam
muscles. Nothing’s worse than beef with more pump than soul.”
“God!” Kick laughed. “How’d we get so perfect!”
“Funny, how in a way,” Ryan said, “we both had to get around each
other’s bodies in order to get inside our heads.”
“Funny, isn’t it,” Kick said. “Funny and fine.”
Their first New Year’s Eve together was private. They skipped the
big disco party at Trocadero Transfer and bowed out of the private party
tossed by the best of the A-gay muscle crowd. Instead, they had driven,
three blocks from the corner of Market and Castro, halfway up the moun-
tain path of Corona Heights. Kick parked the Vette and they hiked the
steep trail to the craggy top. The City was alive below them. They stood
holding each other, watching the fireworks flash and boom through the
soft gauze of fog hanging motionless over the City.
“You’re the best man I ever met,” Kick said.
Ryan was held tight by the man he was sure had fallen to Earth. If
ever Ryan were to be rescued from the thick air of this strange planet, if
ever they were to be beamed back up to wherever Kick had come from,
Ryan knew that the rocky outcropping of Corona Heights was the pickup

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