Glimpses of the Storm
Grayson tapped his fingers on the counter almost impatiently but also condescendingly. The woman behind the counter typed away furiously. Her blonde hair covered her eyes, which helped mask her annoyance with Grayson. He looked around the airport. People were lounging out in chairs, sitting on the floor, charging phones, mindlessly scrolling through apps, and desperate for a flight to their final destination. Behind a line of customers, all equally as impatient as he and waiting for a turn to be disappointed. The storm had grounded all flights.
“Well?” His voice was strained with restraint. The last thing he wanted was to be trapped. The trip home was supposed to be fast. The less time he spent at home, the better. There was nothing there for him.
The lady lifted her head. She brushed her perfect hair out of her face, “I’m sorry, sir. The earliest flight we have leaving out of Tulsa is on Friday.”
“Friday?!” His voice was louder than he anticipated. It carried, alarming everyone of his feelings. “That’s not acceptable.”
“I wish there was more I could do,” she said as politely as she possibly could.
“Then do it,” he said as he tapped the counter. “Do more. I can’t wait that long. That’s four days of being here. Four days of torture. I don’t want to be tortured.”
“Sir,” she said with a soft firmness. The last thing she needed was to further press his buttons, but she also didn’t want to be disrespected.
“Don’t sir me. I’m stuck and I want to be unstuck,” Grayson snapped like a rose snapping at the stem.
Aiden had heard him from across the airport. For some reason, he had embedded Grayson’s voice in his head. He quickly approached him, and without warning, he pulled Grayson by the arm.
“I apologize for my friend. He’s from New York. You know how Northerners are,” he said to the woman with his show-stopping smile.
“Will you unhand me,” Grayson demanded as he looked Aiden up and down.
Aiden ignored his protest. He tightened his grip on Grayson’s arm and pulled him from the counter. He flashed that dazzling smile at the other people in the airport. It was calming and effective. They watched him pull Grayson away. Aiden pulled him to a corner and finally unhanded him.
“What the hell is wrong with you? How dare you put your hands on me? You think because you call yourself a bull I won’t beat your ass in this airport?” Grayson’s voice was fierce and ripe with pain that lay buried deep beneath the surface.
“Whoa,” Aiden said as he tossed up his hands. “Let’s calm down because no one is gonna beat anyone’s ass.”
“Don’t police my anger.”
“I’m not. If you’d allow me a moment to explain.”
Grayson stopped talking and stared at him. He waited for Aiden to say what he needed to say. Only Aiden froze. The cowboy glanced into Grayson’s eyes, and everything sort of faded away. He could see the storm in Grayson’s grey eyes. His mind drifted, and he wondered what it was like to stand in the middle of Grayson’s storm.
Grayson snapped his fingers. “Hello?”
“Sorry,” Aiden responded as he shook his head. “Look, it’s about an hour and forty-five minutes drive to OKC from here. I have a car. How about a tiny, brief road trip?’
Grayson was taken aback by the kind gesture. He wasn’t used to someone coming to his rescue. It felt strange. It was like seeing snow at the beach. A thing that was highly possible but also strange.
Grayson asked, “Why would you do that? What’s in it for you?”
Aiden twisted his face, “Conversation. I don’t know. Just take the win.”
Grayson’s expression softened. He looked around, almost ashamed of his behavior but afraid to show it. Afraid his sudden regret and empathy would be seen as a sign of weakness. “Okay, but I’m not sleeping with you.”
Aiden's eyes widened. “Who said I was even remotely interested in you like that? You’re not my type.”
It was brief, but Aiden caught it. For a moment, he saw Grayson’s armor come down. It came down, and the storm in his eyes was gone. He saw the person inside who was trapped. Then, as quickly as he saw it, the defenses went back up.
“Got it,” Grayson said without all that fire. He turned and walked away.
Aiden slapped his forehead. He wasn’t trying to offend Grayson. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was trying to do. All he knew was that he just wanted to help. That was who he was at his core. He was someone who liked to help people, and something told him that Grayson needed help. Also, there was something so disarming about the man. It would have been scary had it not been so captivating.
Grayson stood outside the airport patiently waiting for Aiden. The wind blew in his face as the white clouds rolled out and dark grey clouds rolled in. A sure sign that a storm was just beyond the horizon. Aiden pulled up in a four-door black Dodge Ram blasting “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac. He turned and looked at Grayson. His blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of tinted sunglasses. For a second, he just held his gaze, and then a smile formed in the corners of his mouth. He was showing off that cool Aiden charm with his sun-faded Stetson.
“Destiny awaits us,” he said.
“I thought you had a car?” Grayson said as he stepped off the curb.
“Mind if I tag along,” came this voice, unfamiliar to Grayson but familiar to Aiden.
Aiden tilted his sunglasses down. Grayson turned around and was met with a mysterious look from the blonde twink from the plane. The same twink that Aiden had taken in the turbulent skies earlier. Grayson turned back toward Aiden. He cocked his eyebrow and gave him a look that only a mother could love.
Aiden coughed and ran his hand across the back of his neck. He searched for the perfect way to reject the twink, but there was no perfect way to do it. Grayson rolled his eyes and tossed his luggage in the back of the truck.
“I’m going to OKC,” the twink said with a bit of sadness. He was putting on. The twink wanted nothing more than to have another sexual encounter with Aiden. He wanted more than he got in the bathroom of the airplane. “Please,” he added. “Can I ride?”
“Sure,” Aiden relented. He couldn’t leave him hanging.
“Fabulous,” he exclaimed. “Shotgun,” he yelled as he ran and jumped in the front seat with Aiden.
“Terrific,” Grayson mumbled to himself.
“I’m Adam,” the twink introduced himself.
“Aiden and that’s Grayson back there,” Aiden told him.
Adam smiled at Aiden and told him, “Well, I would tell you it’s a pleasure, but I already met you and had the pleasure. It’s nice to meet you, Grayson.”
Grayson climbed into the truck. Aiden took his sunglasses off. He felt a tug at his heart. He looked into the rearview mirror. Grayson was looking down at his phone, and then he looked up. Their eyes caught each other in the rearview mirror. There was something so still about the moment. It pulled the parts of themselves that they kept hidden to the surface. Grayson didn’t want another part of his armor removed.
“I’ll make sure I get you that special shot,” he told Aiden.
Moment RUINED! Aiden cut his eyes and put the truck in drive. They didn’t make it far before they found themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway. As they sat in traffic, Grayson felt his anxiety rearing its ugly head. The sky slowly turned shades darker.
“It looks like the traffic isn’t moving for miles,” Adam said. He just wanted to make conversation.
“Keen observation skills,” Grayson blurted out without much thought.
“Thanks,” Adam responded proudly. He was none the wiser that Grayson had been rude. If he did know, he didn’t let it show. He just smiled like a polite gentleman and kept living his authentic life.
Aiden cut his eyes at Grayson in the mirror. Grayson sighed and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t trying to be rude. It just happened sometimes when his defenses went up.
“Sorry,” Grayson mouthed.
Aiden cleared his throat, “So, Grayson, you have a boyfriend back in New York?’
Adam spun his neck around, back at Grayson, “What? You’re gay?”
“As a rainbow,” Grayson answered, dryly.
“I would have never thought. You don’t give gay. You give something else, but it’s not gay. That’s so cool, love. Did you like just come out or something?”
“No,” Grayson answered. His answer was laced with a painful revelation that could only be heard through his words. “I’ve been out since I was a teenager.”
“Well, you’re very straight passing,” Adam told him. He was more intrigued than anything. “That’s like a superpower.”
Grayson tossed his head back, “It’s not a superpower. People see me, but they don’t really see me. A crush on a guy goes unnoticed because he thinks I’m straight. No one flirts with you out of fear you’re something else. You’re just there in a space that’s meant for you, but they just think you’re an ally. It’s not a superpower. It’s a mantle I picked up to survive growing up, and I never learned how to put it back down.”
For that simple moment, he let his guard down and opened up about something that ached and pulled at his heart. It was something he never did, but he felt something he couldn’t name that gave him the courage to open up.
“I’m sorry. That sounds horrible. I don’t know what I’d do if a man I liked didn’t know I was into him.” As Adam finished his sentence, he looked at Aiden.
Aiden made eye contact with Grayson in the rearview mirror, “The right guy will know. You won’t have to do anything.”
Grayson smiled at him, then he climbed between the driver and passenger seat. “Enough of all this emotional stuff.”
He didn’t like talking about his feelings. He turned the dial on the radio, scanning a few stations. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd started to play.
“Okay then. Now it’s turning into a road trip,” Aiden said as he moved his head to the beat of the song.
They all sang, “Sweet Home Alabama. Where the skies are so blue. Sweet home, Alabama. Lord, I’m comin’ home to you.”
Grayson shouted out, “Yee-haw!”
“That’s right, baby, yee-haw for me,” Aiden followed, playfully but also truthfully.
The two men looked at one another, and they both began laughing. It felt good to just laugh, even if it was only for a moment. As the song came to an end, thunder roared and lightning flashed across the sky like a dazzling display of fireworks. Rain began to fall from the clouds. They looked up at the sky. It looked angry and unforgiving.
“I think we should get off. We’re sitting ducks here,” Aiden told them. “I know some back roads. It’ll take longer, but it might be faster than sitting in this traffic.”
“Let’s do it,” Grayson co-signed with him. “You’re the storm chaser.” He ended his comment with a cute little side eye glance at Aiden through the mirror.
Aiden was able to successfully get them off the interstate. The rain fell from the sky harder. It became almost impossible to see what was ahead of them. The truck became quiet as God did his work. As the rain fell, it sounded like little pebbles falling from the atmosphere. The sound carried painful memories that lived deep within Aiden. As he drove, he could hear their voices in his head, replaying the day his life changed.
Dad’s Voice: Take Aiden!
Mom’s Voice: BILL! Bill, what are you doing?
Little Aiden’s Voice: DADDY! Don’t go!
Dad’s voice: I’ll always love you, son. Always!
Then the sound of strong winds howling, glass shattering, and a rumble. The voices faded in his head. It was the reason he became a storm chaser. Adam reached over and placed a hand on Aiden’s thigh. He gave it a firm squeeze. Aiden looked over at him with a soft gentleness. Adam blushed under his gaze.
“I think we should stop for tonight. The storm is only going to get worse,” Aiden voiced his honest opinion.
“Sounds good,” Adam said with a smile that Aiden knew. It was the same smile Adam had when he swallowed Aiden’s load earlier. The thought of a warm mouth around his cock gave him a slight hard on.
Aiden asked, “Hotel?”
Adam quickly shook his head in agreement. Aiden once again peered through the mirror. Grayson was staring out the window into the storm. He looked so peaceful in his own world. Aiden wondered what it felt like to be in Grayson’s world and if it was safe there. Grayson closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax. Being back in Oklahoma was harder on him than he thought it would be. In life, it’s never the visible scars you have to worry about. It’s always the invisible ones that lie hidden beneath the soul of man that should worry us.
Those are the scars we carry with us in everything we do. For Aiden and Grayson, they had only seen a glimpse of each other’s storms. They had no idea that they were heading into a storm that would forever change them and intertwine their fates forever.
Grayson opened his eyes and glanced up. His eyes, for the umpteenth time, meet Aiden’s. For the first time, he saw the rain in those deep blue eyes. It pulled him in. Aiden once again saw the storm in Grayson’s eyes. It was massive, and it should have been scary as hell if it wasn’t for the fact that it was simply beautiful.
I hope you’re ready for the storm of the century, as this was just a glimpse of the storm!
© Grayson Rose 2025. All rights reserved.
