Shanna woke up. Delirious, she looked around and noticed lights, monitors, and other medical equipment that filled the intensive care unit where she lay. Then she saw Kyle’s face. He held her hand, faithfully keeping vigil by her side as she recovered. He took her hand and raised it to his mouth, giving her a kiss. “Hi Shanna,” he said. Shanna was confused, having no memory of the events that led her to his place. All she remembered was being in that dark alley, turning a trick with a band of six gangsters who took turns fucking her. She remembered taking a single hit from a crystal meth pipe and then… nothing. “What happened?” she asked. “Where am I?” “You blacked out,” he said. “After you took the hit, I started walking toward the gangsters you were partying with. They ran off and left you for dead. I guess they thought I was a cop. Then, I brought you here. You’ve been in a coma for three weeks.” “Holy shit!” Shanna said. “I gotta go. I’ve got rent to pay. I’ve got…” “No, you don’t,” Kyle said. “You don’t have a place to rent anymore. Your landlord evicted you.” “Oh my God,” Shanna sighed. “Don’t worry, babe,” He said, kissing her hand once again. “We’ll get through this. First, I’ve got to get you home.” Shanna smiled. “You stayed,” she said. “They told me you checked out at the hotel.” “I knew you were in trouble,” he said. “And I couldn’t leave you like that.” At that moment, the doctor walked into the room. “Good morning, Shanna,” she said. “She just woke up about five minutes ago,” Kyle said. The doctor walked over to Shanna with a thermometer and blood pressure cuff to test her vitals. “I see that,” she said. “Could you excuse us for a minute?” “Sure,” Kyle said, as he got up and left the room. Shanna was alone with her doctor. “You’ve got one hell of a man there,” she said. “To be honest,” Shanna said. “I’m a little surprised.” The doctor finished taking Shanna’s vitals. “Your vitals are normal,” she said. “That’s good,” Shanna said. “When can I go home?” “We’re going to keep you over night for observation,” the doctor said. “And Shanna, given your history of prostitution, we tested you for STDs.” “Am I okay?” Shanna asked. “You’re fine,” the doctor said with a smile. “But it might be a good time for a lifestyle change. This was a really close call. If it hadn’t been for your boyfriend, God knows what would have happened.” Suddenly, the phone rang. “I’ll leave you alone,” the doctor said as she left. “Hello?” Shanna answered. “Shanna,” Monica said. “How you doing, girl?” “I’ve been better.” “Kyle told me everything. Prostitution? What’s up with that?” “I just got a little desperate. But I’m fine now and I’ll be glad to get home.” “Girl, if I had known you were hustling your ass on the streets, I would have grabbed you by the hair and walked you all the way home if I had to.” “That’s why I didn’t want anyone to know. Especially you.” “Well, you get some rest, girl. I can’t wait to see you.” With that, Shanna hung up. Outside the intensive care unit, Kyle conversed with the doctor. “Shanna should be able to go home tomorrow,” the doctor said. “That’s great,” Kyle said with a smile. “She has no idea how lucky she is to have such a great guy like you by her side,” the doctor said. “She doesn’t know that you’ve spent the last three weeks sleeping in a broom closet here in the hospital. And she doesn’t know that for the last 20 days, you’ve done nothing but sit in that room and wait for her to wake up.” “She doesn’t Magosa Escort need to know that,” Kyle said. **** The next morning, Shanna was discharged. She sat in a wheelchair as Kyle put all of her belongings into a suitcase. She had received many balloons and cards during her ordeal in the hospital. “This one’s from your dad,” Kyle said. “Get well, baby girl,” he said, reading the card. “We have a lot to talk about when you get home.” “I’m not exactly looking forward to that conversation,” Shanna said. When Kyle finished packing up her stuff, he handed her the suitcase and wheeled her out the door. Moments later, they were outdoors. It was the first time Shanna had seen daylight in weeks. Then, they arrived at Kyle’s truck. Shanna took note of the garbage bags in the bed. “What’s in those trash bags?” she asked. “That’s all your things from your apartment,” he said. “Kyle!” she said. “Garbage bags?” “Your landlord was going to throw them away,” he said. Kyle opened the door for Shanna, who got into the truck. He walked the wheelchair back into the hospital, before returning to drive her home. They drove through New York City before reaching the Lincoln Tunnel. Then, they crossed into New Jersey and headed south. Shanna’s months-long ordeal was now over. As New York faded into the rear view mirror, Shanna contemplated. Just four months before, she drove the other direction hoping to fulfil her dreams. She immediately got a place, a dream job, and was beginning to lay down roots in what might as well have been a new world. How could everything have gone so wrong? It started when she began her quest for completion, which meant sexual reassignment surgery. From there, it spiraled downward and finally it became dangerous, even life-threatening. She was eternally grateful to Kyle for coming to her rescue. But the issue remained: she was still a girl with a penis. And that issue still needed resolution. It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. For Shanna, the root of these issues began, ironically, with Kyle. She had opened up to him, shared her insecurities and vulnerabilities with him, and made love with him. Then, he abandoned her. He stopped taking her phone calls. And he even went as far as blocking her phone number. And then, out of the blue, he suddenly reappeared in her life. “So what made you change your mind?” Shanna asked. Kyle knew the question would come up. In fact, he had been preparing for this for weeks. “Well, I could tell you that I realized how stupid and juvenile I was,” he said. “And that would be true. But I’m sure that won’t be a satisfying answer.” Shanna smiled. “No,” she said. “You have to understand how I was raised,” he said. “My dad spent most of his life in the closet. He married my mom and they had this weird marriage where he would choose men to fuck my mom while he watched. My mom, of course, chose women to fuck my dad while she watched. “When my dad chose men for my mom, it was because he wanted to see them in action. And it was the only way he knew how to deal with his repressed gay feelings. Mom mostly went along with it, but they never had a truly loving and intimate relationship. I guess I was afraid that maybe because I enjoyed myself so much with you that I had repressed gay feelings. And I didn’t think it would be fair to you to put you through what my dad put my mom through.” “Do you have repressed gay feelings?” Shanna asked. “No, not at all,” Kıbrıs Escort Kyle said. “Guys don’t turn me on in the least. But ever since my dad and Jimmy got together, I’ve seen how happy they are, how well they get along. They’re both in their fifties and they’ve waited their whole life for each other. And what I learned was that even though I don’t have any attraction to guys, there would be nothing wrong with it if I did.” “Makes sense,” Shanna said. “Plus the fact that I had only been clean for a couple weeks when we met,” Kyle continued. “I wasn’t totally honest with you before. I wasn’t sure I could stay clean and I didn’t want to drag you down with me if I started using again.” “But you’re clean now?” Shanna asked, as Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a can of Copenhagen. “Totally,” Kyle said confidently, while placing a dip in his mouth. “Okay let me rephrase that. I’m clean of illicit substances. But my reckless drug-abusing youth is the reason why Monica hates me so much and why I’m sure she’s probably warned you about me.” Shanna laughed. “She calls you Kyle the Pile,” she said. Kyle laughed. “Ouch,” he said. “That’s vicious.” “I hope you don’t expect me to kiss you,” she said. They drove for most of the day before pulling into a gas station in the middle of West Virginia. It was a very familiar place for Shanna.. “Of all the places to get gas, why here?” she asked. “It’s about halfway,” Kyle answered. “It’s cheap.” Shanna laughed. “What?” Kyle asked. “Nothing,” she answered with a laugh. “I don’t want to get into it.” After gassing up, Kyle and Shanna continued on to Tennessee. **** Kyle pulled up to the home of Shanna’s parents late in the evening. He got out, opened the door to let Shanna out, and then lifted two of the heavy garbage bags in the bed over his shoulders. Shanna’s father, Ron, came out to greet them. Ron threw his arms around his daughter. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Ron said. “Good to see you, Daddy,” Shanna said. The three of them went inside. Kyle set the garbage bags down before walking over to shake Ron’s hand. “Thank you so much for getting my daughter out of that mess,” he said to Kyle. Kyle unloaded the rest of Shanna’s belongings and then prepared to go home for the night. Shanna followed him to his truck to say goodbye. “I’ll never forget what you did for me, Kyle,” she said. Kyle kissed her before getting into his truck. “Call me, okay?” he said. “I will,” she answered. **** Shanna spent the following day cleaning the house and doing chores. Her father gave her very strict rules and responsibilities if she was going to live at home without having a job Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it. It was Monica, who threw her arms around Shanna. “Girl, I’m so happy to see you!” Monica said. “Come on in,” Shanna said. “So, tell me,” Monica said. “What’s up with you and Kyle?” “I spent the last four months in hell,” Shanna said. “I took up prostitution and almost got into drugs. I lost my job for doing my boss’s wife for money and I was nearly homeless. And your first question to me is about Kyle.” “Shanna, I’m sorry,” Monica said. “I didn’t mean it like that.” “Yeah you did,” Shanna said. “It’s okay.” This was an unusually tense moment between the two. A number of things went through Shanna’s mind. For one, Monica, as a complete woman, would never have any appreciation for what Shanna went through in New York and what Lefkoşa Escort she was essentially continuing here with her father, and why she was willing to throw out all of her self-respect to achieve what Monica took for granted. Secondly, it was not lost on Shanna that it was Kyle, not Monica, who drove several hundred miles to New York to track her down and rescue her from a nightmare. It was Kyle, not Monica, who kept a vigil with her as she lay in a coma for three weeks. “No, it’s not okay,” Monica conceded. “I’m just really happy you’re back home and you’re safe. And I don’t ever want hear that you’re selling your ass pussy for money. Do you hear me?” “I promise, no more hustling,” Shanna said with a smile. “But I really need to get back to getting dinner ready for Daddy. I’ll call you sometime and we can hang out.” “I’d like that,” Monica said, before turning to leave. *** Meanwhile, at the Conner residence… Kyle sat at the dinner table with his father, Ryan, as well as Ryan’s partner, Jimmy. “Dad,” Kyle said. “I was thinking maybe Shanna could stay here with us.” Ryan and Jimmy looked at each other for a moment. “I don’t have a problem with that,” Ryan said, turning back to Jimmy. “Do you?” “Not at all,” Jimmy said. “So when do we get to meet this lucky girl?” “One step at a time,” Kyle said. “I still have to talk her into it.” **** A few days later… Ryan stepped out of the shower, followed by Jimmy. Ryan walked over to the bathroom sink and prepared to shave. Jimmy walked up behind him and gave him a kiss. “I think you’d look really hot with a beard,” he said, running his hands along Ryan’s five-o-clock shadow. Ryan turned around and smiled. “Maybe next week,” he said, before kissing Jimmy. Jimmy threw on a towel and walked into the bedroom to get dressed. He opened the dresser drawer and found an old picture of Allison. He walked back into the bathroom. “Ryan, what’s this?” he asked. “An old high school picture of Allison,” he said. “I didn’t even realize I had that. You can tear it up and throw it away if you want to.” But Jimmy handed Ryan the photo. “I’d rather you did,” he said. Ryan smiled. “A little jealous, are we?” he said, taking the photo and tearing it up. “Just a bad reminder of how I helplessly watched you and her drool all over each other as teens,” Jimmy said. “Well, those days are over, babe,” Ryan said. “I’m all yours now.” With that, Ryan flushed the torn pieces of the picture down the toilet. “So you’re really okay with this young lady my son’s bringing home?” Ryan asked. “Yeah,” Jimmy said. “This house could use a woman’s touch.” Then he walked up behind Ryan while he shaved, to whisper in Ryan’s ear. “Just not Allison’s,” he said, kissing his lover. The two heard the front door open. Ryan finished shaving and the two got dressed. Then, they went out to meet Kyle and Shanna. “Dad, Jimmy,” Kyle said, setting down a bag and putting his arm around Shanna. “I’d like you to meet Shanna.” Ryan walked over and gave Shanna a hug. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Shanna,” he said. “If you can’t repeat it, then it’s probably true,” Shanna said. Jimmy then gave Shanna a hug. “Welcome to the family,” he said. “This is a big house. So, which room do you want me to take?” Shanna asked. Kyle was puzzled. “I guess I thought you’d be sharing my room,” he said. “Unless you had other plans.” Shanna blushed. “No, that works for me,” she said. Kyle led Shanna up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom, where they set down the garbage bags full of Shanna’s belongings. “So this is my room…sorry, our room,” Kyle said. Shanna took a look around. Kyle was certainly not the housekeeping type: clothes were strewn everywhere. The closet doors would not close due to all of the junk piled up inside.