I snickered. “Well, as you’ve guessed, based on my pin, I’m also gay.”
“You might’ve been an ally. Or you might, you know…” He did some kind of rolling gesture with his hand then put it back on the steering wheel with the other.
“No, I don’t know.”
“I wondered. You might prefer puppy play with men but otherwise be straight. Or even bisexual. I didn’t want to make the assumption you’re gay.”
I chuckled. “I’m gay. Have known since I was quite young. I figured I was different. And part of me wondered if my dad took off because he sensed that about me.”
Even as I said the words, we crested the hill, and a town came into view. I scanned and tried to take in the vast number of buildings. Most appeared to be houses. Knowing Mount Baker was behind me, clearly these houses had what I understood to bemillion-dollar views. Pretty spectacular. “Which house is yours?”
“I doubt very much that your dad took off because he might’ve sensed you were gay.”
Drat. I hoped he’d forget about my having said that. Moment of vulnerability—I know better.
“Yeah. Right. Of course.”
“My house is sort of in the middle. It’s a cozy three-bedroom plus den older home while the houses you see to the right are much bigger.”
“Lots of windows.”
He chuckled. “Yes. And most of them have air conditioning. I’m warning you now that I don’t. With this heat wave, it’ll be warm. You’ve got a ceiling fan, though. A lot of nights I just sleep naked. Oh crap.”
My eyes shot to the road, assuming some kind of obstruction ahead. When I saw nothing, I considered. “What crap?”
This time, Zahir chuckled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be telling you I sleep naked. I promise to wear shorts.”
“Why?” I scratched my nose as he took an off-ramp.
“Well, politeness. Your bedroom has an ensuite bathroom. The two spare bedrooms share a bathroom and one has to leave the bedroom to get to the bathroom.”
“So you’re thinking I might see you naked.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “You realize I work in a gym? With showers and naked people and stuff? I’m pretty confident there isn’t anything I haven’t seen at some point in my career. Plus years of sports in school.” I shook my head. “Takes a lot to shock me. Unless it’s an issue of modesty—”
“Well, it sort of is.” Zahir took a turn, and soon we were headed over another bridge.
“What the hell?” I grabbed the door as we bumped our way along.
“Yeah, I should’ve warned you. At some point, the city is going to have to repave. I have no idea what the town is waiting for. Have no fear—this is the worst stretch.” He eased us into a stop at a red light. He had his left turn signal on.
“That pavement doesn’t shred tires?”
He shrugged. “I drive it carefully. I think most people do. So, we’re turning onto First Avenue. Like Mission City’s main street.”
“So why don’t they call it Main Street?”
After a moment, he laughed. “Well, that would be logical. First Avenue is just that—the first. I live on Fourth Avenue, to give you a sense of the lay of the land.”
“Okay, got it. That’s up the hill I saw?”
“Yes, exactly.” He turned left. “First Avenue is also part of the highway that runs through town. Much lower speed limit, of course. And there are cops, so be careful.”
“Uh, I don’t intend to drive.”
“Why not? I’ll give you keys so you can get around. I’ll show you how the GPS works. Marty wanted fancy, but I put my foot down said it needed to be simple. I might be tech savvy, but I don’t want to be struggling with things when I’m in the car.” He pulled into a parallel parking space on the left-hand side of the one-way street. “I’m running in to grab the food. Would you like to come?”
