Page 53 of Hearts of Fairlake

"I've been dealing with you for years now," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Just because you're sharing a bed with this one doesn't change much of anything."

I watched her walk off and shook my head. “That's where she's wrong...not that she'll admit it."

"Wrong about what?" Bennett asked, coming to stand next to me.

I looked him over as he stood with that smile that was never too far from his face. He was in uniform, and his blond hair caught the sunlight, making it almost glow. It was funny to think that only a handful of years ago, I wouldn't have looked at him twice just because he was in uniform, and now I was admiring the way he wore his uniform pants so they clung to his butt and the way the sleeves squeezed his biceps.

"You sharing a bed with me changed a whole lot," I said.

"Are you...perving on me right now while being romantic? Or are you perving double?"

"I can perv and be romantic."

"Please do not perv on me."

"Since when do you not want me to perv on you?"

"These pants do not keep a whole lot of secrets, you know that."

I laughed, reaching over to pull him close and kiss him. “You're ridiculous, and yes, before you say it, that is one of the many reasons I love you."

He snorted, pressing himself against me. "I’d love to see that list one day."

It was funny how many people, upon learning our history, asked me if I’d been bi the whole time. I could only tell them I'd never had the slightest inkling that I was remotely into men. And as far as now? Well, I still found women attractive, but I'd never caught myself checking out or being interested in another man...save for the one right here.

It was usually followed by asking how weird it must have been, essentially being straight but still finding myself attracted to a guy, and was it awkward? I always replied, no, it wasn't weird, and it had never been awkward, at least not emotionally. Nothing had ever been awkward between Bennett and me, and just because something new had been thrown into the mix, that hadn't changed in the slightest.

People didn't need to know the exact details, but sex with Bennett came as naturally to me as anything else with Bennett. Sure, I admit it was strange, but it felt completely normal. There was something delightful about how playful, warm, and loving he was in his everyday life. Still, on those nights when I had him to myself, all that 'innocence' disappeared like smoke, and I was sharing a bed with a partner as enthusiastic about sex as he was about anything else.

"I can see the look in your eyes that tells me you might take me up on that offer for a supply closet visit," he said, hastily stepping away from me, probably out of fear that he'd end up getting hard.

"Absolutely not," I told him, knowing full well that a quick round somewhere secret would probably be the best way to work off some of my frustration. "Because now I need to figure out who's been yelling at my guys."

"Huh?" Bennett asked blankly. "What do you mean?"

I explained to him what Phil had told me. “So now I have to find out who's chasing my team off when they're supposed to be working."

Bennett blinked and then sighed. “Come on."

"Huh?"

"Just...come on."

"Okay," I said slowly, glancing over at the firehouse to see my parents hadn't quite managed to pull the kids away. That was probably because, from the looks of it, Colin did not want to let go of Julian, who was holding him. I had to admit that Bennett had a point. It was funny to see someone as big and scary-looking as Julian, bewildered and nervous because a small child had so much affection for him. It was a shame he and Isaiah weren't going to raise kids of their own. Personally, I thought they'd be great parents, but then again, parenting wasn't for everyone.

I followed Bennett into the station, where he marched up to the desk where Ira sat. She was leaning back in her seat, a book in her hand, and she didn't look up when he approached the desk and leaned on it.

"Ira," Bennett said in a low voice. "I know you know I'm here, and ignoring me isn't going to work."

"I'm at the good part," Ira said without looking up.

My eyes widened. “It was you!"

Ira finally looked up from her book to blink at me. “I beg your pardon?"

"You're the one yelling at my men," I said, annoyed now I had the offender in my sights.

"I can't read my book with all that racket," Ira said as if that covered everything.

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