Excitement filled the streets.  You could almost feel it, like a tangible entity touching every last nerve in the body.  It was Pride Week in the Pitts, and every out and proud GLBTQ! in the community was ready to celebrate.  That included the Liberty Avenue Gang in full.  Brian felt especially blessed to be alive to enjoy another Pride Parade and all its accompanying festivities.  Only one thing was different this time around from all the other ones he had attended… he was going to this parade with someone special as his date.  Or rather, as his boyfriend, as he was now known to claim when he thought no one was paying attention.  This would be Justin’s first Pride Parade, and Brian was eager to share the experience with him.  He had always been a tiny bit cynical about the whole thing, despite participating every year, but not this time.  Not only was he proud of who he was, which had never really been a problem, but he was also proud of his community as a whole.  That was due in a large part because of the way they had shown so much support during his ordeal after the bashing.  He also felt that Justin had a lot to do with his tempered cynicism about a lot of things, including this special event.

Justin sat on the front stoop of a building, nestled close to Brian.  They watched as throngs of people lined the sides of the street where the parade was just coming into view.  Justin had never seen so much color and creativity in one place before.  Male, female, young, and old were decked out in everything from simple street wear to feathers, fringes, and sparkles, not to mention the almost naked.  Justin tried to act nonchalant, as if this was old hat for him, but he was in awe and couldn’t disguise it.  Brian smiled inwardly, knowing how Justin was feeling.  He clearly remembered the first time he attended a Pride Parade.  He had snuck out of his house while still in high school and along with Michael had joined the crowds enjoying the colorful parade.  He wasn’t quite as jaded then as he became soon after, so he had also been in awe of all the goings on at that time.  Right now, he was simply happy that Justin was obviously enjoying being a part of this rite of passage for their community. 

Several floats had already passed by, along with a group of female bikers that included Mel, with Lindsay holding tight around her waist.  That’s when they heard the familiar sound of their names being called.  Seconds later, they saw Emmett, Ted, and Vic pushing their way through the crowd to reach them on the stoop.  The trio stopped in front of the couple, all wearing curious grins that looked far from innocent.  They each bent down to give a quick peck to the tops of Brian and Justin’s heads.

“Okay, boys, what’s that look for?  You three are obviously up to something”, Brian questioned.

Emmett giggled like a little girl.  “Just wait.  You’ll soon see,” he laughed.

Brian didn’t have time for their tomfoolery.  He was too busy pointing out the things he thought Justin would love the most about the parade.  Some gaily dressed men on stilts passed by.  Next came a float sponsored by their favorite dance club, Babylon.  There were a dozen men, with only tiny tight-fitting gold and silver bathing trunks on and nothing else, who gyrated on top of the float to loud club music.  The foursome recognized the men as go-go dancers from the club.  The crowd lining the streets hooted and hollered their approval at the display.  Surprisingly, next came a large group of men on horseback wearing cowboy outfits, as if they had come out of Central Casting for a Western movie. 

Suddenly, Emmett jumped up and started laughing.  “Hey, here they come,” he shouted. 

Brian and Justin stood up and peered into the street, trying to see over the bodies of the horses and riders to see what Emmett was so excited about.  Suddenly, they recognized the long sign being held high by marchers that proclaimed they were from the PFLAG group.  And right in the front of the marchers with the sign was the familiar faces of two PFLAG mothers, Debbie and Jennifer, marching hand in hand.  Then, out of nowhere, a rather good-looking young woman in a bright sparkly purple dress and gold lamé shawl stepped up to join the ladies.  They could see Debbie turning to the young woman and telling her something, then pausing to do a double-take.  In that instant, Emmet shouted, “You go, girl!” as they came closer.  It was then that Justin recognized Michael under all the makeup.  He laughed out loud and turned to Brian.

“Don’t you recognize who that is walking with Debbie and Mom?”

Brian, who was more interested in the handsome studs on horseback, hadn’t paid that much attention to the older folks marching for PFLAG.  He now checked out the figure of the girl walking next to Debbie.  That’s when he too recognized his lifelong friend.  He almost choked.

“What the Hell?”

Emmett, who heard him, bent down and explained.

“Don’t worry, Brian, Michael isn’t turning into a drag queen.  We just talked him into wearing Lady Godiva’s outfit to honor her after her passing.  You know, she was the heart and soul of our parade, because she had attended every single one of them since the very first official one was held.  She had picked out that outfit herself and it seemed a shame not to use it.”

“Well fuck, it looks like Debbie’s proud of her boy,” Brian answered.  “Hey, Justin, why don’t you go down there and show your mother how proud you are to be a queer too.  Don’t worry, I’ll be here waiting for you at the end of the day.  I’ll meet you at Woody’s later.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.  It’s your first Pride Parade, and Jenn’s first one too.  You should be together.  And later tonight, we’ll have a little celebration of pride all our own, if you’re up for it and not too worn out from marching.”

“Oh, I’ll be up for it,” Justin laughed.  He gave Brian a crushing hug and kiss that made plenty of promises for the coming night, before scampering off to join his mother.  Jennifer showed her pride in her son when she saw him hurrying over to join her, as they passed the stoop where Brian sat watching the action.  Both mothers and sons continued down the street, heads held high.  Both women not only loved their sons, but they wouldn’t have wanted them to be anything other than their true selves.  Both sons not only loved their mothers, but they knew how lucky they were to have them in their lives.  Pride was exactly what all of them were feeling on this beautiful afternoon.

******************************************

Chris Hobbs was seeing red, but he stifled his feelings with gargantuan effort.  This was no time for him to reveal what he was thinking, not while being surrounded by the hundreds of deviant queers everywhere the eye could see.  He wouldn’t have taken a step within a mile of this whole perverted thing if it hadn’t been important to keep an eye on Kinney and his butt-buddy, Taylor.  It didn’t take a fag to know that this day was important to them, and the chances were more than certain that Kinney and Taylor would end the night together at Kinney’s apartment.  At least, that was what Hobbs was praying for.  As he watched, his hat pulled down low over his brow to conceal his identity, the Pride Parade continued to flow smoothly down the street.  He had managed to get a spot to stand almost directly across from the stoop that his prey was sitting on.  He witnessed a lot of the interactions between the two men, including the others who had joined them, which Hobbs knew were close friends of the couple.  At first his heart skipped a beat, thinking that the friends might join Kinney and Taylor at the apartment when they all left the party.  But he would have to take a chance that this was something that wouldn’t happen.  After all, his plans were set, and tonight was THE night.  The court case was just too close to delay his revenge any longer.

**********************************************

Pride Day was all and more that Justin had hoped for.  But now it was time for Pride Night to kick into action.  Brian had promised him a night he would never forget, and Brian always kept his promises.  Almost all the hetero onlookers had departed, including parents and loved ones of the GLBTQ! community.  Justin had to admit that he felt enormous pride in the way his mother had participated.  He knew she had been nervous about his being gay in the beginning, but her support was now unwavering.  He would never forget how she hugged him goodbye earlier, then whispered in his ear how very proud she was of him.  But now was the time to think only about the night’s festivities. 

The whole gang made their way through the remaining crowds to their favorite bar, Woody’s.  The place was chock full of every kind of gay known to man.  There were big beautiful bears, hairy from head to toe, older men for the most part.  There were the jocks who could easily pass for straight if and when they wanted to.  There were the circuit boys, muscular, and often totally self-involved or drug addled.  There were the queens, who couldn’t disguise their orientation no matter what, and more often than not they didn’t wish to.  They were usually quite proud of their flamboyance.  And of course, there were their alter egos, the drag queens.  Unlike the queens, they preferred dressing up as women, and often looked better than many of that gender.  Then there were the twinks.  They were the young ones just learning what being gay was all about, and on the lookout for someone willing to teach them.  If they were extremely lucky, they would find the right one just as Justin had.  Then there were the power gays, men who fit in anywhere and usually had the best careers, with plenty of money to indulge themselves.  Finally, there were the gays who defied any particular category.  They all mixed and mingled as one big happy family on a night like this.

At first, Justin found it amusing that so many young men kept approaching Brian, obviously flirting outrageously in hopes of making a hook-up.  Brian seemed to take it in stride, neither encouraging nor discouraging them fully.  But unlike previous Pride afterparties, the one thing he didn’t do was go off with any of his admirers.  It was clear that he enjoyed their attention, but his eyes were fixed on Justin.  He even showed slight signs of jealousy himself (although he would have denied it loudly and firmly), whenever any older man approached Justin with similar intent to those coming on to Brian.  He need not have worried.  Justin had eyes for Brian only.  The couple chatted with friends and caught up with the latest gossip.  Later, as the festivities were winding down and closing time was fast approaching, the crowd began spilling out into the streets.  Music blared from a loud speaker set up outside.  Folks began pairing off, dancing to the rhythm of the music.  Brian grabbed Justin by the hand and led him out into the street.  The two clung together as their bodies swayed to the beat.  Kisses were exchanged intermittently, as thoughts of another important dance flooded their memories.  The night had, indeed, been magic, but it wasn’t over yet.

Brian pulled Justin close again and whispered in his ear, “I’m ready to go home.  You with me?”

“Yes!  We’ve taken our pride to the streets.  Now it’s time for us to take it to…”

“The sheets?” Brian laughed.

“Lead on,” Justin requested.

The couple left the few remaining stragglers, who were not ready to call it a night, and made their way to Brian’s jeep.  As they climbed into his vehicle, they both looked forward with eagerness to the end of the night.  Somehow, they felt it was going to be a night they would never forget.

******************************************************

Chris Hobbs shrunk back against the wall of the building, making sure to be hidden as much as humanly possible.  He knew his two friends were doing the same in other parts of the apartment house parking lot, but he couldn’t see them.  That was a good thing.  Earlier that night, they had knocked out one of the two night lights set up in the parking lot so that visibility would be lessened without arousing suspicion.  The only thing that pissed him off was that a couple of his friends, who had promised to help him in the beginning, had backed out at the last minute.  They hadn’t even had the guts to face him, but simply made excuses in a text message instead.  After cursing them out as the cowards they were, he told the others that they would be enough to accomplish what was needed.  He hoped he was right.

The hour was growing late.  The three men, dressed in all black with dark ski masks perched on top of their heads, were growing increasingly impatient.  Just as their nerves were about to completely unravel, the sound of a car could be heard turning into the narrow driveway leading to the parking lot.  Bodies tensed up, fingers grasping tight to tire irons and a gun.  Just then, Brian’s car could be seen at the entrance to the lot.  He maneuvered his vehicle into its assigned spot, turned off the engine, and sat back with a sigh.  It had been a wonderful day and evening.  Now he was happy to be home, especially with Justin sitting beside him, looking good enough to eat… and Brian was ready to take in as much of his lover as he could on this special night. 

Brian turned to Justin.  “You must be exhausted.  It’s been one hell of a day.  So, young man, what did you think of your very first Pride Parade?”

Justin leaned over and laid his head on Brian’s shoulder.  He looked up at the man he had loved for over a year, and gave him his best signature smile.

“It was more than I had ever imagined… but being with you was definitely the best part.  It wasn’t that long ago that I thought we would never have a night like this together.”  His face suddenly clouded over.

“But they didn’t win, Sunshine.  The homophobic bastards of this world can beat us, but they can’t break us.”

The shadow vanished from Justin’s face.  Brian brought his hand to the back of Justin’s head and pulled him in for a tender kiss.  Their mouths locked together, tongues joined as the kiss deepened.  They were out of breath when they finally parted.

“Enough of this,” Brian whispered breathlessly.  “I want all of you, in my arms, in my bed.  I fully intend to ravish you this entire night,” Brian promised. 

Justin caught his breath and nodded his head.  The couple got out of the car simultaneously.  Brian clicked the locks on and walked around to join Justin.  He threw his arm around the young man, and the two of them began moving towards the back entrance to the apartment building.  They were so wrapped up in each other with thoughts of what the night had to offer, that they failed to notice several shadows moving in close behind them from nearby hiding places.  They had just reached the door, Brian’s key at the ready, when Brian suddenly felt something moving behind him.  He started to turn, when the couple heard a deep raspy voice coming at them from out of the darkness.

“Don’t turn around,” it ordered.  “We have guns trained on the back of your heads.  One false move and you won’t live to see tomorrow.  If you cooperate, you won’t get hurt.  We’re just here to rob you.  Now, carefully unlock the door and lead us to your apartment.”

Brian’s sense of self-preservation, and desperate need to protect Justin, kicked in.  If all they wanted was to rob him, he wouldn’t stop them.  He couldn’t be certain the one man was alone, but he wasn’t going to take a chance that the man was lying.  He would do what he was told for now, buying time in hopes of finding a way out of the dangerous situation.  There had been robberies in this neighborhood before with no casualties.  He had even been robbed once before.  Hopefully this would end well for them this time too, and all he would lose was some property that could easily be replaced.

To be continued………