Dinner is Prompt-ly at Eight - 15. Key Largo - Prompt #386

Prompt #386 - Key Largo

Use the following words in a story – angry teenager, a bright pink balloon, an elephant, a pie, and a note.

Donnie fiddled with the temperature knob, but to no avail. The rental car’s air conditioning system refused to turn on. Instead hot, steamy air poured from the vents making the inside of the vehicle even more humid and uncomfortable. The man rolled down the window hoping for some relief though the air coming in was almost as hot.

He looked over at Fahd sleeping with his head against the car door. The Middle Eastern man looked so comfortable curled up with his mouth dropped open. Donnie couldn’t help but smile at the other man’s gently softened features and scruffy cheeks. Even after 27 hours of driving and riding in the car, Fahd looked devastatingly handsome. Donnie thought after that little stop, the man was even more attractive.

Donnie shook that thought from his head. He concentrated on the road and the sights around him. He was getting tired of the monotonous road and the exotic scenery. They were almost to the Keys. Thank God.

When they’d first driven into the Everglades, Donnie had been drinking in the sights of the sawgrass, the palmettos, and the huge trees wearing Spanish moss like huge shawls. It was an unusual feeling and new. Now all he could see were palm trees everywhere. The beaches were in the distance across the Intercoastal waterway and industrial parks surrounded them in this last stretch before getting into the southern tip of Florida.

Fahd promised him refuge at his parents’. They had a bed and breakfast on Key Largo that was teeming with tourists. At first Donnie raged at him like an angry teenager, vowing to escape the car and return to Minnesota. As time passed, he began to see the wisdom of escaping from a life trapped in fear and the constant threat of impending doom. It was all because of Fahd’s gentle reassurances and patience.

The man was so insistent, methodically explaining how this was their only option. It was only in the lush tropics they could both live openly among the throngs of people while their enemies looked for them in vain. A swarthy man with his pale white lover would be common enough on the island. It was their best hope for a life together.

A life together was exactly what Donnie wanted, now. They’d stopped in Tennessee to eat and rest. Fahd and Donnie rented a tacky motel room for a few hours that night to stretch out. The events played out in Donnie’s head like it had only been minutes ago.

He could still smell the dank, fetid smell coming from carpet when they stepped into the room. Fahd turned on the light and they looked around the space. It was very sparsely decorated with a painting of a couple of swans swimming on a tranquil lake in the woods and one of a cartoon elephant who was dressed absurdly in a pink tutu.

The bedspread was even more ridiculous. It was blue and adorned with bunches of bright pink balloons scattered all over it. The effect was garish and almost gave the room a maniacal appearance.

Fahd had touched Donnie turning him around. He whispered something soothing and with the sound of his voice, Donnie had melted into a sobbing fool. The swarthy man pulled him close and held him tightly. It was like Fahd was lending him strength or even hope.

Donnie remembered he could feel a sense of awareness and energy filling him up. He looked up into Fahd’s eyes and saw heaven. There was such concern and care gleaming from the man. Donnie opened his mouth and somehow their lips met, again.

When they kissed before, it had been relief and unrequited lust. Now the emotions were quite different. There was a deeper feeling of trust and belonging. Donnie wanted Fahd on him, in him, around him and it could never be enough. Fahd seemed to have the same impression ripping the other man’s clothes off him and tossing them aside. Their tongues couldn’t get deep enough. Their skin wasn’t rubbing together as vigorously as it needed to. Donnie now knew what insatiable meant. He was feeling it.

It ended too quickly.

So they did it again. This time more slowly but with no less passion. Donnie recalled hearing someone yell from the next room to shut up. He only then realized he’d been calling out Fahd’s name and begging for more. Fahd fell on him and they slept for a couple of hours.

Everything had changed now. Donnie was ready to give up everything to have Fahd. He gave up the Donnie Malone who let things happen to him. He was now the man who would build a life with the man he loved. It had been in that smelly, nasty motel room when he realized his life until then had been a passive endeavor. Now he was excited for the future.

“What’re you thinking about?” Fahd asked, flexing his arms out in front of him. He had a small grin on his face.

“I was thinking about you,” Donnie said, smirking at him. “About you and our new life.”

“Oh yeah?” Fahd said. “I was dreaming about last night.”

Donnie shook his head and grinned at that. “It was a good night.”

Fahd touched the other man’s thigh. “Maybe we should stop before we get to my parents. You get pretty loud.” Donnie could hear the teasing in his voice.

“It’s not my fault,” he said. “You made me scream.”

“Yeah, I did,” Fahd said. “Let’s do that again.”

Donnie felt his cheeks brighten considerably. “You’re terrible,” he said. He noticed he didn’t say no either.

When they got to Homestead, Fahd had Donnie turn into a Gateway Shell gas station. The two men got out of the car and stretched. “It’s only about thirty miles to the island. Then only a couple to my parents’ place,” Fahd said. “I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

“Won’t they be upset we’re on the run?” Donnie asked. “What if they show up and try to kill us?”

“They’ll never know where we are,” Fahd said, pulling on the other man’s arm to get him closer. “We’ll be safe. Don’t worry.”

“But your parents will…” Donnie stammered.

“My parents were chased from Iraq after my dad worked as an interpreter and guide for the military. They won’t bat an eye,” Fahd said, embracing the other man. Donnie felt safe in his arms. His panic ebbed.

“Let’s get some drinks and I’ll drive the rest of the way,” Fahd whispered in his ear. Donnie felt like he was already home.

As they drove out of the parking lot of the gas station, a news bulletin came on the radio piped into the store.

“Federal officials have taken Donald C. Malone into custody. Malone, founder of API Systems, has been charged with four counts of homicide and six counts of conspiracy to commit murder. His estranged wife, a department store heiress, was found dead in her home in Duluth weeks ago. The case had come to a standstill when another man was found with the dead woman. Charges have been filed and Malone will be indicted tomorrow.”

******

Donnie looked around the empty kitchen in wonder. It was outfitted with some pretty nice equipment with a commercial dishwasher, a small deep fat fryer, and even a slicer was on the counter near the sink. “This is your parents’ house?”

“It’s a B&B silly,” Fahd said rubbing his chin. “Mom cooks breakfast and sometimes dinners for guests in here.”

“There’s a note,” Donnie said, pointing to a slip of paper on the counter. Fahd walked over and picked it up. “What does it say?”

Fahd began reading it.

“Ibn,

We got your call. Make yourself at home. We only have one guest right now since there’s a hurricane warning. Whatever you do, don’t disturb him. He’s in the room at the end of the hall upstairs. We’ll be back by eight tonight. There’s a key lime pie in the fridge for you guys. Enjoy it.

Love,

Mama and Baba”