Gumlee Short Stories

Love is Blind

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him-" Marshall paused the audiobook, ripping out the earbud with a huff.

"I'm bored of this dumb book. Can we listen to something other than weird vampire fan fiction?" He grumbled, resting his chin in his hand. Bubba frowned, calmly removing his earbud as well.

"I was actually enjoying that. And who cares, I like how sappy it is. They're just like us," he cooed, blindly reaching across the small table to grab Marshall's hand. It took him a second to find it. Marshall smiled with a roll of his auburn eyes.

"Yeah I guess so," he agreed with a laugh, stroking his boyfriend's soft pale skin. "Wanna get out of here? We've been sitting here for the past three chapters." Bubba hummed in thought, blankly staring out the window through his sunglasses.

"I suppose. I can sense you're getting restless. Would you mind throwing away my trash for me, please?" He asked politely. At most times he felt like a burden asking others to do simple tasks for him. Marshall always insisted that it was fine whenever he tried to apologize. "It's not your fault you can't see," he'd say.

"Already on it," Marshall replied, followed by the crinkling of wrappers and empty paper cups. Bubba listened as his footsteps walked away, paused to throw away their stuff, and then came back until he was standing at his left. "What would you do if I just walked right out of this cafe and left you here?" He asked, helping his boyfriend out of his seat.

Bubba heard the smile in his voice and laughed, "Well, I'd probably try to find my way home, get lost in the woods and get eaten by savage wolves if that's the answer you were looking for." Bubba was used to Marshall's humorous hypothetical questions and usually answered them jokingly.

Arm in arm they walked through the small cafe until they reached the exit. "Careful, there's four steps," Marshall warned, helping him down them. On the third step, Bubba took a lunge forward, surprised at the feeling of the even ground under him.

"You piece of shit," he sighed when Marshall started laughing. He lied about there being another step, making Bubba look like an idiot with his cautious stepping. Marshall led him down the sidewalk, still giggling. Bubba shook his head with a smile. "Where are you taking me now?" He asked.

"To a dark, secluded alleyway to have my way with you then kill you off once and for all," he stated simply, obviously joking.

"Ooo, sounds like fun," Bubba replied. "Can't wait. Make sure go hide my body well, wouldn't want you getting caught." He patted Marshall's arm.

"Well obviously," Marshall scoffed. "No, but for real, I was thinking we could go to the park for a bit. It's still light out." He looked up at the sky, squinting at the sun that was about to set in an hour or two.

"Aw, we can watch the sunset together!" Bubba exclaimed. "Well, you can, I'll just imagine it. You get the idea," he waved with his hand.

"I'll describe it for you," Marshall promised with a kiss on his temple. Together they walked through the town, joking around and laughing at each other. "Honestly," Marshall started when they were waiting at an intersection. "I could just walk you right into moving traffic and you wouldn't know any better."

Bubba scoffed. "You just can't wait to kill me, can you?" Marshall laughed and they began walking again. "First of all, that beeping sound tells me I can go safely," he pointed behind him where the walking sign was. "Secondly, you'd get hit with me since you're the one leading me."