"Mmm-hmm. I see how it is. Scooby-Doo bullshit."
"I promise," Jack said, raising one hand and placing the other on his heart. "This is me, D. Youknowthe real me. No skeletons... no closets."
Demarco gave him just a tad more exaggerated scrutiny, then spoke. "So, what is she then—gay family?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, both. When I came here I was eighteen. I had a blow out with my Dad and left Boston. I had very little money, and nowhere to stay. I had always heard that there was security in a government job and, naive kid that I was, I thought—where better to work for the government than DC? So, I hopped a train. When I got here, the shelters were full. But outside one of them, I met Rachel. She worked for the DC Center at the time, and she took me in—to her home, D...her own home. She now runs Rainbow Harbor, a gay youth shelter on 14th."
Demarco was surprised to discover how similar their arrivals in DC had been. But Jack had sought opportunity. Opportunity hadfoundDemarco... and he had embraced it with desperate ambition, leading him to where he was today.
Jack continued, "I would like to introduce you two. I want you to meet mysurrogatemom, and see what she does for this city. Maybe you could see yourself doing something similar. The way you looked at that kid, D—if circumstances had been different—I think you would have dodged all that traffic to get to him before he left with that asshole."
"You're more of a superhero than I am, Jack."
"But you could be, D. You could help Rachel get LGBT youth off the streets... give them shelter... help them findmorereputablesources of income."
He braced himself for retaliation, but Demarco was now lost in thought. He stared ahead, seeing something that wasn't in the room. "You know, that kid reminded me of a guy I used to know, a long time ago. His name was Kenny."
"Yeah?"
"He was a friend when I first came here. He helped show me the ropes."
"What happened to him?"
"He got killed. Stabbed by a trick in a hotel room."
"I'm sorry," Jack said.
"We were young... hustling. But Kenny and me—we had goals. We wanted more... to make a living, to rise above and get out of the gutter. With others, it was just the usual bullshit... drugs... crime... you know?"
Jack said nothing.
"...long time ago."
"You could help others, D. You could help them avoid thebullshit. You may think you have no other skills Demarco, but you know the street—you came from it. You recognized it when we were just sitting out there. What if you could help kids like that? What if you could guide them in directions that weren't available to you?"
Demarco stared at Jack for a long time. Jack watched the glaze in Demarco's eyes shimmer from reverie to focus. "You really are a good guy. Aren't you?"
"I protect people. Is that what you're asking?"
"Maybe... and sometimes... rescue them?"
The statement was a little too profound. It made Jack uncomfortable. He sat down on the bed again. "I don't know about that. It won't pay much. But it would be a decent living, and you would be helping people too—protecting them...rescuingthem. With our salaries combined, we could make a decent life."
Demarco cocked his head. "Jack Keegan, is that a proposal I'm hearing? I've barely known you a week."
"Well, I—" Jack stammered, "—not exactly. I mean, we'd need to try things out, get to know each other better. But after spending these last few days with you... I'm not exactly eager to go home alone."
Demarco kissed him—nothing like the hyper-sexualized antics of the past few days, just sweet and substantial. When he pulled back, Jack opened his eyes and said, "I especially don't want to miss out on things like that."
Demarco smiled, seeing that inner youth surface in his face again. "Jack Keegan," he said. "You're not exactly Prince Charming, but you're the closest I've ever come to one."
"We're not getting any younger, D."
"You had me—" Demarco began, then threw his arms up. "—and then you had to go and spoil it!"
Jack smiled, saying nothing. His eyes were infinite and sincere.
"Come here, sweet man. Let's get some more use out of this room while Kip and company catch the bad guy."
