“Your birthday?” the chief said.
Vasquez nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“You were there too?” he said to Brian.
“Yes. It was great. They had the little meatballs on toothpicks. You know I like those, Chief.”
They stood, with Brian and Vasquez still in front, while the chief eyed them all, before his gaze finally settled on Linc. “Don’t be late again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And how is our charitable initiative going?”
“Sir?” Linc swallowed.
“Brian told me we were going to buy a table, yes?”
Vasquez straightened. “Yes, sir.”
He took a small step forward. “Well, I don’t want the wife and me to be sitting on our own. So who else has bought a ticket?”
“Wanda and I will be going, sir,” Vasquez said.
“And Jess and me, as long as she’s up to it,” Brian said. “I asked my brother and his boyfriend, but they’d already bought tickets. So we’ve got four more tickets sir.”
The chief turned his attention to Linc again. “What about you?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Got someone you can bring?”
“I think so, sir?” Linc’s heart thumped in his chest. A lot was happening in his brain all at once, making it hard to answer. The chief hadn’t batted an eye—much—at the mention of Wanda. And Brian’s brother was queer, something Linc hadn’t expected. Maybe Vasquez’s theory of treating everyone as bisexual until proven otherwise had some sense to it after all.
To answer the chief’s question, though, the only person he wanted to come with him was Avery, and that knowledge made his knees weak with fear.
He should have called in sick this morning. Then he could have spent the day in bed with Avery and figured things out more. Except the next steps were all resting on him. He’d promised no more hiding. Avery was out. If Linc wanted to be with him, he’d need to find the courage to do the same. But making promises in the safe haven of Avery’s bed was far easier than in the plain light of day.
He swallowed hard and prayed he was doing a better job of hiding his thoughts than Avery did most days. “I’ll find someone, sir.”
“Good.” The chief nodded and spun on his heel, like that was all he’d wanted to hear. Linc had a date, and everything was right in the world.
He didn’t meet Vasquez or Brian’s eyes until the chief’s office door was closed. Vasquez was smirking. Brian picked up his broom and went to sweep the far side of the bay.
“You okay?” Vasquez asked.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She looked offended. “Well, how do I know? The way the two of you rushed out of the house last night, I assumed you spent the rest of the evening fucking each other’s brains out.”
“Shh,” he hissed.
She rolled her eyes. “Brian’s got a queer family. He doesn’t care. Or were you thinking of bringing someone else to the auction as your date?”
Linc stopped short as she read his mind. “You still don’t get to talk about my love life in public.”
“Oh, so you did get laid. I was starting to think you dropped him off at the front door and then slept in to make us think something happened.”
He glared at her. “Why are you on me about this?”
