Playing a show on Valentine’s Day, Razor isn’t looking for anything more than a one night stand when he cruises the crowd during the show. When he hits the alleyway to meet up with a promising pretty boy, what finds him instead leaves Razor badly wanting an encore. Too bad he has no idea who the man was.
Kiss Me Quick is a collection of short and sweet stories from authors familiar and new, celebrating the season of love. Come and enjoy these tales of misunderstandings, lonely singles, pining lovers, and so much more! Because if there is one thing that is never in doubt, it’s that LT3 knows the way to your heart, and these stories are a straight shot.
Razor's Cut
By Xara X. Xanakas
Published by Less Than Three Press LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.
Edited by Samantha M. Derr
Cover designed by Megan Derr
This book is a work of fiction and as such all characters and situations are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.
First Edition February 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Author
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 9781620041307
To Piper and Poppy.
Giving in to your magic has made me better than I ever imagined I could be.
Razor's Cut
Kiss Me Quick
Xara X. Xanakas
Razor took the stage with the usual fanfare. The crowd was going wild, and the firing strobe lights threatened to send unsuspecting fans into a fit. He drank it all in: the noise, the flash, the sticky footprints left from years of alcohol spilled on the elevated platform where they played. The management at The Loaded Snail put more effort into keeping the drinks watered down and the cover charge up than to making the performers comfortable.
Razor's boots clicked along the floor as he strutted over to pick up his axe. He slipped the studded leather strap over his shoulder and picked out the first strands of their opening number. He stood there alone, his back to the audience, and let their applause wash over him.
He let the strains of his guitar float away, and right on cue, the lights went dark. He could make out Samson sitting at the drum kit behind him. Samson nodded, counting out the beat, and it was on. Showtime.
Torr took the mic and started belting out the lyrics and working the crowd into a frenzy. Razor played along as he scanned the crowd looking for 'the one'. The one for tonight, at least. There was always one. And since it was Valentine's Day, the place was packed with people looking for love. Razor didn't give a shit about any of that. All Razor was for looking was a quick tug and rub. Anything to get off was fine by him.
The lost yuppie, out of his element. Almost every night, Razor could find a group of them in the club. They would stumble in, looking for shelter from the cold or intrigued by the sign out front. Sometimes they would turn right back around and go to one of the "nice" bars along Rush Street. Chain places where the yuppies could laugh over high-priced cocktails and lukewarm appetizers.
Sometimes they stayed, lured in by their music. The Evil Psycho Gods didn't sound like much on the poster, but they rocked the house. They knew each other so well they hardly even bothered with practice. They'd get together to work up a new song, but mostly they just went with the flow. And that was fine with Razor.
They were just getting into their death metal version of Kumbaya when Razor spotted him. Clean cut, collar popped up on his polo shirt, his Dockers pressed to a sharp crease down the front of the leg. Razor knew the kind well. He'd been one of them, way back during that disastrous first year of college. He snorted. His only year of college, that is. There was no way his father was going to pay for a second year after the showing Razor had put on his freshman year.