“That’s a touchy situation, Dane,” Sully finally said.
“Yes, sir, I know it. I also know when you care about someone, you shouldn’t bury those feelings under a bushel, or something like that.” I held out my hand to Chip, who slowly crept closer to thread his fingers into mine. Sable sat at his side, ears perked, as if she too sensed how big this moment was.
“The correct saying is not to hide your light under a bushel basket. It originated from the Bible when Jesus was giving a sermon on the Mount, when he told his disciples they were ‘the light of the world’ and a lamp should be placed on a stand and not under a basket.”
Sully blinked. I smiled and then squeezed Chip’s hand gently. “I knew it was something along those lines. So, this is us. If you feel disciplinary action is required, I fully understand.”
He said nothing for quite some time. “You realize this could be a dicey situation for the department. I’ll make a few callsto get advice on how those above me will view this. It’s not a nothing, Dane, you know that.”
“I do. Whatever Internal Affairs decides will be accepted without argument.”
Sully gave us a long look, exhaled deeply, and rose. “I’ll leave you two to visit then. I’ll keep you informed of what goes down. Know that I’ll do my best to present your case to reflect what a valued member of the station you are.”
“Thank you,” I replied as he gave Chip a nod and left. Chip sat down beside me on the bed, his teeth working his lower lip. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. No more hiding now. That’s a good thing.”
“What if you lose your job?”
“Then I find a new one. It’s easy to find a job. It’s much harder to find a boyfriend.”
I lifted his knuckles to my lips. His eyes flared then grew softer. “I think I’m going to like being your boyfriend.”
“I think I’m going to like being yours too.” He leaned in to kiss me gently, as if he were terrified of harming me. Oh yes, I was going to like being his boyfriend so,somuch.
Chapter 13
Chip
I cursed inwardlywhen the elevator stopped at the fourth floor, the doors opened, and Tim Pegg was standing outside. He was in jeans and a navy fleece with the RFD logo embroidered over the heart, and there was a mark on his forehead from his injury.
“I’m back here for a wound check,” he said as if I needed to know, and I nodded. I’m not sure why he was telling me, and I didn’t like making small talk. At least the fluorescent over our heads held steady on the way down, which was something. Sable was pressed to my side. I was pressed to the wall with Tim, and the smell of someone’s hospital coffee lingered.
The doors opened at the parking level. He gestured for me to go first, so I did, and headed for row C, third from the end, near the southwest column. Tim kept pace with me and stopped a car before mine.
He cleared his throat as he stopped.
“Hey. Chip… can I… can I talk to you for a second?”
I considered saying no. I really did. But Sable was leaning in steadily, not pressed in alarm. Dane was upstairs with a brain that’d hit a brick wall. And Tim’s brain hit that same brick wall right next to him, although not as hard.
I stopped walking. Sable stopped. “Okay,” I said.
“I owe you an apology. I owe Dane one too,” he said. “For… Christ, all of it. The chipmunk shit.”
“Chipmunk?”
“Chip ‘n’ Dale.”
“Like a cabinet?” I was so confused.
“No… I mean… the cartoon, the way I… ” He looked at the ceiling of the parking deck, where some pipe was sweating condensation onto the concrete in slow drips. “I went through the department sensitivity training. Every hour of it. I passed the goddamn quiz at the end. I just… I don’t know if I did it for real. You know? I just sat there. Said the words back.”
I was still trying to understand the chipmunk cabinet reference.
“And then Dane. And then you. And I just… kept on like I always had. Like… ” He shook his head. “I come from the kind of family where being gay is the punchline. My dad and older brother are big football guys. My younger one plays D-One college baseball. Christmas at our house, every other thing out of someone’s mouth is a joke or a… ” He stopped himself and swallowed. “Anyway. I never checked it. I never… I told myself nobody was getting hurt. I told myself Dane was… I don’t know. Soft. Whatever. I told myself I didn’t even like him.”
A car alarm went off two rows over. Sable’s ears flicked and settled. He waited. He started again.
“And then he… ” He made a gesture at his head, at the bandage. “He saved my life. Dove me into a doorway. I’d be hamburger in a body bag if he hadn’t. He’s a good guy. And the people who say the shit I’ve been saying? Fuck those guys. Fuck them. What is wrong with us?”
