Josh, a lonely trapeze artist, thinks he’s cursed. It’s an old family superstition. He can’t have sex on a day he flies or he’ll fall. Maybe that’s why he’s never had a steady boyfriend, though sometimes he dreams of one. In his show, a strange melody plays in the background. It follows him and surfaces from time to time on the street. When Josh’s uncle hears about the music, he tells his nephew to bring the old ring, passed down from generations since the time of the curse. Steve is a realtor who always reaches his goals, in sales or otherwise, and he moonlights as a dancer in an all-male review on The Strip. All his friends his age are married, and his best friend’s wife Genie wants to see him hitched, too. He’s a little bit challenged in the relationship department, though. He has some growing up to do, or maybe it’s his problem in bed, where he’s somewhat one-sided. Steve and Josh meet one crazy night when Josh breaks all the rules used to protect him from the curse. After that, he runs. If it wasn’t for Genie’s matchmaking, Josh and Steve might never see each other again. Though not yet ready for a boyfriend, Josh does need a realtor. What a good way for he and Steve to get to know each other, while Josh works up the courage to tell Steve about the curse. Still unaware of Josh’s problem, Steve falls in love with him. When Steve finds out about the curse thing, it’s a big disappointment, but he wants Josh anyway. There’s no doubt Josh is worth the wait. Maybe the curse isn’t real after all. Can lonely Josh overcome his fear of it? Can horndog Steve handle a curse? Is the answer in the ancient ring?

The Curse of Flight

On the way to the ladder, Josh took in Steve’s solemn expression and gave him a reassuring smile. There wasn’t anything to worry about, though it occurred to Josh the ladder rose forty feet, and the safety harness was at the top. He should be concerned, maybe, but he’d never heard of anyone falling on ascent. Nonetheless, he took care with every step and with each grip all the way up.


On the platform, he put on the harness, pulled the safety rope out of the way behind him, and waved at Dan to begin. The music pulsed. Trapeze in hand, he swung up to the top of the arc and back again.


Suspended from a mechanism overhead, the platform where he’d started lowered five feet. Josh could reach it now when he let loose of the bar and flew. Before that time came, he performed all the poses, stood on the trapeze, sat on it, hung by a knee, then two.


Chapter 64