“Seriously, Lance. It’s just a list—it’s not that—”
“You said it yourself, T. You had no idea what to write at first, and now you have four things. So, what kind of job?” He pressed for an answer.
Tanner sighed, recognizing that resistance was futile. Lance watched him push a lone meatball around on his plate as he considered the question.
“One that’s not soul sucking?” he joked, shaking his head. “I always figured when I retired from the Army, I could transition to being a paramedic, or a firefighter, but—I can’t do those jobs anymore.”
Lance didn’t try to bullshit him. After everything Tanner had gone through, he was in no way capable of handling a first responder position or anything connected with emergency services. So that meant going back to the drawing board to look at technical skills that Tanner had acquired before and during his military service.
“Would you consider working as an aircraft mechanic?”
“A mechanic?” Tanner looked puzzled.
“Why not? You told me yourself you used to work on the choppers you flew in the Army, and didn’t you restore that old bike your father got you?”
“I mean, sure, I got the bike up and running again, but I had my dad’s help and—Ididspend way too much time hanging out on the flightline with the aircraft mechanics just to have something to do and ‘cause I was curious,” he admitted, thoughtfully. “I learned lots about routine repairs and maintenance, mostly. Worked on helos and F-15s, but I don’t think my work experience with those guys would be enough to get me a job. I’d probably have to go through special training to be certified,” he mused, looking up at Lance with something new and different shining in his eyes. Was that what hope looked like?
“So? If you were already planning to go to school to become a first responder—why not go to school to become an aircraft mechanic?”
“Yeah sure, but—you wouldn’t mind if that’s what I end up doing for a living? I mean, it isn’t an impressive job title, like lawyer or accountant or—”
“Or like a lawn care salesman? And for the record, mechanics are technical wizards. I barely understand how the radio in my car works— Seriously, T, I couldn’t care less about your job title. As long asyouare happy with your job, then I’m happy, too.”
“What about if I want to be a pornstar?” Tanner asked challengingly.
“Listen, I know I’m new to cock, but I’m pretty sure yours isn’t quite big enough.”
“Hey!” Tanner replied, acting deeply offended as he slapped Lance’s shoulder.
“Seriously, though, if you think about it, now’s the perfect time. You’ll be moving in with me—you won’t have outrageous rent to pay. You can use that big fat government check to pay for school.”
Tanner’s smile was smug as he looked up at Lance.
“Big fat check, huh? Knew you just wanted me for my money.”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t for your cooking skills,” Lance replied in a haughty tone. Tanner punched his shoulder harder this time, making Lance wince and laugh at the same time.
“Jesus, what did I ever do to you? First, you say I lack the proper equipment to make it as a pornstar. Then you say I’m a terrible cook!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically.
“Ah—but you’re great at so many other things—you know, fun things!” Lance replied, leaning closer as he focused on Tanner’s mouth.
“Like?” Tanner’s pulse raced in anticipation of getting a kiss.
Lance smiled and ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
“Well—” he began, with his lips a scant inch away from Tanner’s, “like doing the dishes, for one,” he said, suddenly jumping to his feet. Tanner growled at being left hanging.
Dropping his plate in the sink, Lance laughed at Tanner’s disgruntlement, thoroughly entertained by all that angry muttering. Lance smiled as he began running hot water in the sink, having no intentions of making Tanner do the dishes by himself.
He didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the evening. Not when they fought over whose job it was to dry the dishes, not when they made plans for the weekend, and certainly not when Tanner took him from behind in the shower. If anything, Lance was confident he’d wake up still smiling.
Chapter 18
June had gone by in a flash. Tanner worked hard on his wish list. The first step was getting moved out of his condo and into Lance’s house. It had been relatively painless since most of Tanner’s family had helped with the heavy lifting. No one had been surprised by Tanner’s decision to move in with Lance. In fact, they’d all looked inordinately pleased.
The next item on the list was more time consuming. Tanner researched all the training and certification programs in aircraft mechanics that weren’t too far away. When he toured a few technical training schools, he was told at each one that most of his military training was directly transferrable to his desired degree program. All he had to do was take some refresher courses and pass a series of examinations administered by the FAA. That news alone convinced Tanner that he could do this. So, he gave his two weeks notice to Mark and worked on setting himself up for college. After completing the official enrollment process at A&P Technical College, he was scheduled to start in August. That would allow plenty of time to buy textbooks and re-familiarize himself with aircraft repairs.
The only major hurdle left was the matter of coming out to Lance’s family, and surprisingly enough, it was Tanner’s reluctance that delayed the process. Lance had offered to call his mother several times, but Tanner kept saying it wasn’t the right way to do it. Lance understood, he really did. Both worried about how Lance’s family—especially his mother—might react, but Lance kept saying he just wasn’t sure it was worth the headache. After all, he’d practically raised his brothers while his mother had been busy rebuilding a life for herself. He’d protected his family. He had nothing left to give them, and if they decided that Lance’s choice of life partners was too muchfor them to handle, then—that was out of Lance’s hands. Or so he claimed. Tanner wasn’t so sure it would be quite that simple when the time came to share the news. He hadn’t known Lance for long, but he knew him well enough to recognize he wasn’t the type to find it easy to walk away from anything or anyone he cared about.
