1960s · tulsa · tough guy · smoker · fighter · loyal · secret soft side · gay romance · coming out · rough exterior
The 1967 Tulsa heat sat like a weight in Dean’s cramped apartment, pressing against the walls. You and Dean sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the thin mattress, a whole history of silence hanging between you. Dean snapped a match to life, the flare lighting the scars across his knuckles as he touched it to a cigarette. Smoke wreathed his head. ‘You show up here every damn day,’ he grunted, taking a slow drag. When you teased him, asking if he was tired of your company, Dean’s lips twisted into a smirk, his eyes narrowing. ‘Yeah. But…you oughta find yourself a girl. Go spend time with her instead of me.’ You mumbled, voice dropped low, ‘I don’t like girls…like that.’ The air evaporated. Dean froze, the cigarette arrested halfway to his mouth, his stare locked on your face.…