Page 28 of Plentywood
“And you’re telling me Mark said no?” he asked. “The same boy who thinks you walk on water? He told you no?”
“He kisses me, sir. That’s it. I swear to you.”
His head tilted and one nostril scrunched up as if he was trying to determine if he was being hoodwinked by me. “Nothing else?”
“You wanna know why he said he won’t have sex with me until he turns eighteen?” I asked.
“Not really but go ahead.”
“He says if he gave it up before I went to college, I wouldn’t miss him while I was gone, sir. Mark seems to think that what we have isn’t real.”
“Well, good for him,” Mr. Hayes remarked. “And what you have… is it real to you, son?”
“I know I’m officially an adult now, sir, but yesterday and the days before that, I wasn’t. Of course, I tried to talk him into having sex with me. I haven’t had any yet, sir, and I’m desperate.”
“Uhm, you can keep that to yourself, son. My concern is you understanding that Mark is a minor, like you were yesterday, but you are not a minor today,” he explained.
“I know that, sir. You’re worried about my legal exposure, right?”
“How’d you get so smart, son?” he asked.
“I wanna go into law enforcement, sir. I can’t mess up my future by doing wrong.”
Mr. Hayes stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. “But what about college, Hunt? You’re going to have temptations. I expect you to be honest with my son while you’re at school.”
“Mr. Hayes, sir,” I began to explain, turning toward the open door. “Mark showed up at my prom and made me go home. Do you really think he’d let me screw around?”
He laughed out loud. “And you love him?”
“I do, sir. And I’ll never hurt him. I promise you that.”
“Now don’t go making promises you can’t possibly keep, son.”
“Okay, you’re right. I’ll probably hurt him, but I plan to make Mark my husband one day. I plan to be with him forever, sir.”
He gazed at me as my statement settled in. “You,” he began, pointing at me, “are a great young man, Hunter Copeland. I’dbe happy to have you as my own son,” he said, pulling me in for a hug.
“Thank you, sir, but I’m glad you’re not my dad.” He moved me away and looked at me curiously. “Because then I couldn’t marry Mark.”
“Smart ass. Don’t tell Mark we had this chat.”
“I mean it, sir. I’m gonna take care of Mark for the rest of his life. You’ll see.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Benedict
Iignored Agnes’s attempts at speaking with me when she got back to the clinic. Her feeble attempts at playing matchmaker for me and the Sheriff were more obvious than a Kardashian’s need for likes on a social media post.
Even if I were attracted to Sheriff Copeland, he was just Rocco in a different uniform. Same gruff exterior that hid insecurities, in my opinion. Rocco could never deal with the fact that he liked men. His Italian family would never accept it, and he knew they’d never accept a man on his arm at Sunday dinners with his nonna.
As for the Sheriff, sure, I was sad for his loss. And he had a right to be sullen, but his armor was so thick, I doubted he noticed the world around him anymore. I, for one, would not be held hostage by a man again. Rocco with hisdown-lowrequirement, and the Sheriff with his aloof demeanor. Nope. Not going there.
I’d put my year in here and then I’d be free to mingle with my people. Being a young and successful doctor in a bustling city would give me ample opportunity to marry the right man. And by right, I meant successful, connected, confident in his homosexuality, and terrific-looking eye candy for me to be on his arm. The power couple of the city.
My new plan, after being embarrassed in front of the entire town at the diner, was to work a full day, each day, in the clinic,and then stay upstairs in my apartment. Twelve months would go by quickly, and then I could bid them au revoir and be on my merry way to a place that I fit in.
“You gonna walk around the rest of the week looking like your face is a slapped ass?” Agnes asked, standing by my desk after the last patient departed. “So big fucking deal! You and Hunt didn’t hit it off at first. It’s only the first week, doc.”
I looked up at the aggravating old lady with my bestdo not fuck with meglare. “I’m not sure what gave you the idea that I had an interest in the Sheriff, or that I am even gay, but you need to back off, nurse.”
