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

He remembered those boys who rode their motorcycles in the rain. A slip away from now to eternity. He’d lost one once. Oil built up on the road after long drought. Thunderclouds spat on asphalt just enough to bead the grease as slick as ice. Though beautiful, that boy had never seen it in himself. His spirit froze, afraid to love, to be.


Time enough before the drop. No rush to stop. Speed lifted his spirits. He needed that. Relief. Keep going.


The cliff pulled up sixty miles per hour on the gravel road. He broke. Wheels slid. The Diavel spun around, and the back tire touched the drop-off’s edge. He turned and looked down at what might have been. Rockslides and broken bottles.


He wouldn’t go this way. Too brave for that. He would meet it face to face in its home on the ropes. Then he would be free.


Chapter 72