“That may be true, but we’ll figure this out, and once we do, we’ll get this guy and that will be the end of it. The fraud and money-laundering will end, and so will a major drug distribution network. All of that will be out of business. Not that it stops it completely, but it means that the traffickers are going to need to rebuild, and that takes time and effort. Either way, we’ll have gotten some bad actors off the street. And you helped with all that.”
“It doesn’t feel like helping. It feels like I’m being a real pain in the butt.” He sighed and sat back.
“You’re not.” Eddie gathered him in his arms and held Marty for a while. Sometimes a case took a long time to bring to a close, while others were solved quickly. It was part of the job. “So, stop worrying. Okay?”
“I’ll do my best,” Marty quipped, and Eddie relaxed, but didn’t let him go. He liked having Marty in his arms.
“You know, sometimes, after a bad day, I used to sit where you are right now and watch to see if Ranier was going to make an appearance. It doesn’t come out all that often, but when it does, it’s something else. Sometimes, I like to think that it’s good luck when that happens.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Oh, it is. Do you know what else is good luck? You.”
“Hardly. I called you because I found something bad at work, and I was being followed.”
Eddie nodded. “That’s true. But you called me. That was the good-luck part, at least for me. The rest of it is incidental. Afterall this time, you called me.” He leaned against Marty. “That was good luck.”
Marty pulled away a little. “Why didn’t you call me when you came back?”
Eddie paused. “I was going to, but I felt like such a failure. I had left to pursue this great dream, only to have it fall to pieces around my feet. And when I decided to try to contact you, I went to see you, and you came out of the house with another guy. I figured you had moved on, and I didn’t want to get in the way if you were happy.”
“I guess I can understand. I dated some guys over the years, but none of them were you. They just didn’t measure up.” He smiled. “You know, I watched all of your movies. The good ones and the not-so-good ones. I even watched that television show you were on.”
Eddie chuckled. “Oh, so that was you. It seems that no one else watched it. They canceled that show so fast, it wasn’t even funny. And after that, no one wanted anything to do with me, so I came back here and did what I should have done in the first place.”
“I have to ask. Does Brian know about your past on-screen?”
“Yeah. The guys I work directly with do. About two years ago, I came into the station and there was a poster pasted on one of the boards. The studio took some stills from my first movie where I play a rough street fighter. One of the guys saw the movie and dug through the credits. I had some scenes where I was shirtless. They printed them up as posters and sold them, and one of the guys had posted one of those on the board.
“They must have thought it funny. But how did you feel about it?” Marty leaned closer. “Though I suppose you knew it would come out eventually.”
“I did, and it was okay. They ribbed me about it for a while, but it faded. I work hard and don’t expect anything special.” He smirked. “Though one of the officers, who now works in Seattle, asked me to sign the poster, and he took it to his wife at the time. Apparently, she was a fan. And I’m the only officer on the force with a Wikipedia page—as well as an entry in IMDB.” There was nothing he could do about any of it. He had made the decision to take the job and done the movies, so he was more than willing to pay the consequences.
Marty nodded. “I have to ask. Did you make a lot of money for what you did?”
“For the first film, I made a small amount. For the others, I made more, and everyone thought I was going to be the next big thing. But it didn’t pan out. I was thinking of getting a house in LA when the television series folded. Until then, I lived in a small apartment in Glendale. So, most of the money I earned, I still have. It’s in retirement accounts and stuff. Though I did use some of it to buy this house.”
The doorbell rang, and he got the pizza and drinks he’d ordered, placing all of it on the coffee table. He got some glasses and napkins, and they ate quickly.
Once they were done, he cleaned up while Marty found a movie, and they spent the evening watching the firstLord of the Ringsmovie with Marty curled up next to him. All Eddie kept thinking was that he could have had years of this if he had made different life decisions.
Eddie steppedout of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Marty stood next to the bed, looking like he was ready to bolt.
“I keep wondering if things are going too fast. I mean, I’m in trouble, you come running, and then I’m sleeping in your bed. All that in, like, four days.”
Eddie slipped his arms around Marty’s waist, his chest pressing against Marty’s back. “You forgot something. I already know you. I know what you like, and I know that you snore at night sometimes.”
“I do not,” Marty retorted, and Eddie nuzzled his ear.
“I know that you like to take things slow and that you want things to be predictable. But nothing about this is predictable, and you and I took things slow before. Remember? I knew you for six weeks before we even kissed, and then it was months before we slept together. We got to know each other back then, and all that is still good. I like baseball and pickles. I read adventure stories, and I remember this place right here.” He nuzzled gently, and Marty whimpered.
“Why do you do that to me?”
“What?” Eddie did it again. “This? I do it because you quiver each and every time. I remember all those things.”
“But why? You know I’m the most boring person there is. You were the exciting one.” He turned in Eddie’s arms. “Do you still play golf?” He curled his upper lip.
“Yes, I do. But I won’t ask you to come with me. I know you don’t like it.” He knew just about everything there was to know about Marty. “You don’t need to worry. Brian and I play golf, and when we do, you and Kerry can get together if you want. He’s a really nice guy.”
