Paid Leave by Hayley B. James

Paid Leave by Hayley B. James

Author:Hayley B. James [James, Hayley B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-04-30T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter 15

BENJI called Neal twice every day but only spoke to him once, for under a minute, when Neal answered at work. The conversation was brief. Neal said hello, Benji said hi, and then a customer entered Beans and Neal had to go. Benji’s other calls went to voice mail after the first ring. Benji couldn’t blame him for being upset. Their lives were too different, and Benji had to figure out what he wanted to do with his and if he had room for Neal at all. He knew he wanted Neal, but keeping him would require some truth on Benji’s part and a drastic change in what he told his friends and colleagues.

Meanwhile, Benji’s life returned to something resembling normal. His lieutenant relinquished his power over assigning him calls, and only one citizen recognized him. By Thursday’s shift, Benji enjoyed putting on his uniform again. It had been so long since he enjoyed working, Benji had started to believe his career had been ruined.

With a good week under his belt, Benji could see through the haze that had haunted him since May and was convinced Neal was worth fighting for. He wouldn’t and couldn’t jump into the deep end, but he could at least ease into the sort of life Neal would lead.

Benji ended his shift Saturday, changed out of his uniform at home, and raced to Neal’s. He let himself in after knocking and walked into a disaster of colorful ribbons and tissue paper folded into flowers. Benji closed the door and peeked into the living room.

“Benji. You’re later than Neal said you’d be.” Kyle approached from the kitchen holding a wineglass. “Want a mimosa?”

“What’s a mimosa?”

“You’re a funny guy.” Kyle settled onto the couch. “Pride parade leftovers.” Kyle held up a coffee packet. Ribbon streamed from one side like a rainbow, and a ribbon at the top held on a business card. “Want one?”

“No, thank you. What are the flowers for?”

“From the float, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Benji muttered.

“I thought Neal could use some color in his house after last week, so I brought over the trash.”

“You’re a good friend.”

“Of course I am. I’m fabulous. Now go away.” Kyle raised his hand to flick his fingers at Benji. “Neal is moping around in the kitchen. If you make him raise his voice, you get a rainbow shoved up your ass.”

Benji smiled at the threat and found Neal organizing a cabinet of coffee. He looked up and sighed when he spotted Benji. “Is it this late already? I meant to text you about Kyle.”

“He mentioned a mimosa.”

“You want one? I’ve had three. I think. I stopped counting after three. That’s the general rule about drinking—you drink three and stop counting. Or is it after two?”

“How strong did you make those drinks?”

“Kyle made them. He’s trying to preserve his body with alcohol.”

“I don’t think it works that way.”

Neal closed the cabinet and faced Benji. “I know it doesn’t, but that doesn’t stop him from trying.”

“So, is Pride over?”

“The parade was today, but Pride is never really over.



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