Read Online Mark Me by Shawn Bailey - Free Book Online

and I’ve moved most of the heavy stuff already.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yes,” Eli said. He hadn’t told them where his apartment was located. He’d planned to. Now he didn’t think it was such a good idea since Dimitri had promised to come over for sleepovers when he could.
    Trey and Justin joined them and before long they were all hot and sweaty from the game. Eli removed his shirt to cool off.
    “Ooh, what is that?” Henry asked, pointing to Eli’s chest. “It looks like a passion mark.”
    That got Trey and Justin’s attention. They walked their nosey butts over to examine him.
    “No wonder we haven’t seen him in awhile,” Trey said. “He’s been humping some chick.”
    Holly walked over with a can of soda. “What are you three staring at?”
    Eli tried to get his shirt on.
    “Eli’s sporting a big purple passion mark,” Trey told her.
    “What? Where?” Holly asked.
    “On his chest,” Justin said.
    “You guys are ridiculous,” Eli said, pulling his shirt down. “It’s nothing.”
    “Do you have a girlfriend?” Holly asked.
    “No,” Eli said. He’d just blown any chance to be with Holly now.
    “A boyfriend?” Trey teased.
    Eli glared at him but didn’t answer.
    Mr. Marshall called them over for burgers, ending the conversation.
    Trey smirked at him.
    Eli just rolled his eyes and followed his other friends over to the picnic table. His cell phone rang about two hours later after they had eaten and were lounging around the pool. It was Dimitri. “Hello?”
    “Hello, gorgeous. What are you doing?”
    “I’m visiting a friend,” Eli replied. “His parents invited me over to a barbecue.”
    “His?” Dimitri asked.
    “My friend Justin.”
    “Oh, the one with the skull and crossbones tattoo.”
    “Yes.”
    “Are you going to be there long?”
    “No,” Eli said, realizing that his friends were eavesdropping on his conversation.
    “Is the bed set up at your new place?”
    “Yes.”
    “And are the parents still out of town?”
    “Yes.” He smiled. Dimitri was so silly.
    “I’ll meet you there around seven. I’m bringing dinner.”
    “Great,” Eli said. “See you then.”
    “He’s making a date,” Henry said.
    Eli disconnected the call. “No, I’m joining a friend for violin practice.”
    “That geek, Randall?” Trey asked.
    Eli sighed. Trey leaving for the Marine Corps couldn’t have happened at a better time.

    * * * *

    Dimitri looked around the area as he got out of his car. Eli’s new apartment was about three blocks from the university, in a quaint, old New Orleans neighborhood. The building appeared to be a newly constructed model, surrounded by lush landscaping and crape myrtle trees. He walked up to the white, wrought iron gate and pressed the button.
    “Yes?”
    “It’s me, gorgeous.” Just the sound of Eli’s voice made his heart flutter.
    “Apartment 3B,” Eli told him.
    He heard a buzzer and then a click. Dimitri opened the gate and stepped into a courtyard. “Wow, this is nice.” He’d always wanted a garden. He remembered his grandmother having one when he was a child. He spent hours out in the yard of her Treme Street home, helping her pull weeds and water flowers. On other days, he’d mowed her lawn while she sat in a swing and watched him. His reward for doing a good job would be a glass of mint tea or a punch-flavored frozen cup. Those were some of his fondest memories, and he remembered thinking he’d love to share such experiences with his kids. Dimitri sighed. So never going to happen .
    He took the elevator up to the third floor and searched for apartment 3B. He found Eli leaning in the door waiting for him, looking angelical, wearing a white T-shirt and matching shorts.
    Dimitri etched the delightful sight into his memory. Being in love made even the smallest things pleasurable.
    “Please remove your shoes.”
    Dimitri looked down. First he noticed ten perfect toes, and then two shapely calves, followed by light