Birth of a Dark Nation Read Online Free Page A

eyes is when you saw
that I had pornos."
    My dark skin blushed.
    "But that don't mean nothing. Now I know you.
And now I'll speak. And I hope you do the same."
    I nodded and extended my hand to him. He
smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth contrasting sharply with his
deep brown skin.
    "I'll do that. Thanks for coming by, Dante,"
I said.
    "My pleasure," he said, firmly shaking my
hand and then walking away. His jean shorts sagged slightly and his
blue boxer shorts peeked out. I stared at him through the glass
door until he disappeared around the corner.
    Steve walked up next to me.
    "Uh…so… Dante, huh?" he asked.
    "I mean, whatever. He's cute," I said,
avoiding Steve's gaze.
    "He aight," Steve said.
    "I mean yeah, he's not like super fine or
anything."
    "You like him."
    "No I don't."
    "Yesssss yoooooou doooooo."
    "I don't know him. I only just found out his
name."
    "Nigga, you are about to skip down the street
singing show tunes, I can see it in your eyes."
    "Shut up."
    "Just be careful. This dude is a corner boy.
If he'll sell bootlegs to a stranger, you know he's reckless. You
got too much to lose messin' around with a boy like that."
    "Dude, I don't like him."
    "Okay man. I gotcha."
    Steve walked back to his desk while I walked
upstairs to my office. I sat down in my chair, adjusted the back,
and reclined. As I stared at the ceiling, I made an admission to
myself.
    Fuck. I am attracted to this dude.
     

 
June
    Even though I hadn't had a panic attack since
the night of the happy hour, I decided to drive to and from work
every day afterward. And on each day, I noticed Dante. He wasn't
always just posted up at the corner. Sometimes he'd be walking to
the Dollar General or the carryout. Sometimes he'd be waiting at
the bus stop to head to parts unknown. And, of course, there were
the days that he'd be sitting out in the shade of the Masonic hall,
selling his bootleg movies and music.
    What he said had resonated with me. I was
usually too wrapped up in my own thoughts to notice anything going
on around me. I didn't used to be that way, but the past few years
at Magdalene House seemed to suck the life right out of me. I'd
become reclusive and detached from social life. The few friends I
had from college were scattered across the country and I hadn't
managed to make new ones. In fact, I wasn't even sure how to make
friends outside of work.
    I knew my mom was worried about me. I made
sure I spoke to her every Sunday night, after dinner and before 60
Minutes. She and my dad were enjoying the retired life but always
made sure I was doing okay.
    They knew I was gay. They were fine with it.
My four older siblings had already begun to give them
grandchildren, so nobody was upset that I probably wouldn't. At
least not the old fashioned way.
    I never caused my family any problems.
Syracuse was a breeze for me. And nobody so much as batted an
eyelash when I left Hamilton, New York, to come down to DC to work.
I was responsible. I was good .
    My mom worried if my goodness prevented me
from taking romantic risks. She loved me and wanted me to be happy,
but she didn't quite understand just how hard it was to meet
quality guys, even in a city as gay and as black as DC. Men didn't
seem to get me. They didn't seem to be attracted to me. So, I
suppose I made the decision to stop being hurt and start focusing
on me. My career. My small little corner of this world.
    I knew my mom wanted more for me, but as long
as I stayed out of trouble, there wasn't much she could do to make
me want more for myself than I already had.
    At least I had a job and a handsome guy to
look forward to seeing a few days out of the week, even if it was
just a wave in the air across Rhode Island Avenue.
    I didn't know him. I didn't even have his
phone number. But it was nice to meet somebody new.
    As I sat down for our semi-regular staff
meeting, I positioned myself at the far end of the room so I could
see out the window.
    "New seat?" Steve asked. I smirked. He