“Could you please wait at the end of the line? Someone will be with you shortly,” she said, and Beast straightened his back, grabbing Laurent’s hand without even looking his way.
“Come.”
Laurent squeezed it back, and they went where they were asked to. A sinking feeling had Beast already regretful about the idea of coming here. People were such shits. Couldn’t he go to a water park with his boyfriend on his fucking birthday? But if he blew up about it, he’d surely get arrested, and that would be even worse for Laurent.
They stood by the railing at the end of the line, and it didn’t take long for a flustered manager to arrive. He was an older man with a gray combover and a bit of a pot belly. He was sweating profusely into his blue button-up shirt.
“Good afternoon, I heard there was a problem.”
Laurent spread one arm to the side, not letting go of Beast’s hand. “I have enough money, and the lady wouldn’t sell us tickets.”
Beast cleared his throat, briefly glancing at the way their fingers interlaced, and he felt a warmth spreading through his chest at the sight. “It’s such a nice day. We wanted to have a day out at the waterpark. I used to come here a lot when I was younger,” he said with a pleasant smile. There was still hope as long as they remained polite.
The manager licked his lips, staring at the multitude of tattoos visible on Beast’s uncovered skin. “I’m sorry, but we do not allow tattoos depicting religiously divisive material, or swear words,” he said in the end.
Laurent stood on his toes, as if he craved to seem taller. “Oh, no, you don’t understand. Kai thought about that. He brought his wetsuit, and we will not cause any trouble, sir, I assure you.”
The manager shifted his weight, watching them for a prolonged moment. “Does it cover your neck?”
Beast swallowed, imagining the red devil tattooed over his throat move. “No,” he said in the end. “But I’m sure no one will notice. It—”
“What about the tattoos on your face? People associate those with gangs, and I can’t afford to have customers worry for their children,” the manager said, seemingly emboldened by Beast’s calm demeanor.
“It’s just book quotes.”
“Doesn’t matter. This is my final decision. I’m sorry.”
Laurent pulled his hand out of Beast’s grip and stepped forward as if he could possibly intimidate anyone with his height and cute face. “This is beyond unreasonable. We are just trying to have a good time. It’s Kai’s birthday celebration. Can one exception not be made?”
“That is not an option.”
The man’s frown was telling Beast they should back off, or they’d have security on their backs. Regardless of whether they liked being rejected or not, the park was a private enterprise, and this allowed them set their own rules.
Laurent raised his hands up. “You, sir, are a disgrace! You cannot even recognize the literary treasure on this man’s face. I presume you do not know Latin, do you? The children at this park should consider themselves lucky, were they to come into contact with such profound words. You would not find them in Spongebob, I assure you!”
Beast frowned, wondering where Laurent picked up the kid’s cartoons from, but the overwhelming feeling of pride quickly replaced any other emotion as he gently pulled Laurent back. “It’s fine. Let’s just go somewhere else,” he said.
Laurent was breathing hard, and his whole body spoke of tension. “It is not fine, but we will take our business elsewhere!”
The loss of fifty bucks fell on deaf ears. The manager rolled his eyes and walked off, leaving Laurent as shaken as if the water park were the gates to Heaven and he’d been denied entry.
Beast pulled on his hand, leading them away from the entrance and the line of people ogling the commotion. Beast’s life was no reality show. And yet, he’d closed so many doors when he chose to cover the burn scars with tattoos. He’d done it in anger and despair, but now that he had to live with everything that choice brought upon him, he was left to wonder what could have been. If it weren’t for the tattoos, he’d still have people staring at him, but he could take Laurent anywhere he wanted, not be unwelcomed pretty much everywhere.
Laurent took a deep, shaky breath when they reached the parking lot, and he rubbed his eyes with his forearm. Was he… crying over this?
Beast stood still, watching Laurent as shame curled in his stomach and choked at his throat. “I’m sorry. I was young and stupid, okay? I can’t get rid of them. Sorry it spoiled your fun. Maybe someone else could take you another day?”
“No! I wanted to go today!” Laurent sniffed, and squeezed Beast’s hands when they got to the motorbike. Beast wasn’t sure if his actions were bratty, or erratic. “It doesn’t matter. I would never change a thing about your ink unless you wanted to. It speaks about your soul.”