Page 20 of Twink Heart

?“How did you do that?”

?He lifted an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk curling over his lips.

?“Ah. Gotcha.”

?“And the puppies weren’t my fault,” he continued, shifting the subject. “I was driving home after work and I found a box of them on the side of the road. Someone had just abandoned them and they looked malnourished already. I couldn’t just leave them there.”

?“Are you kidding me?” I felt the anger rise in my chest, my neck burning. “Someone just dumped them on the side of the road.”

?“Yep. Some of the trashy people around here… they’re awful.”

?“That’s fucking disgusting,” I hissed, ripping a piece of my chicken strip free with my teeth. “Absolutely revolting!”

?James laughed at my sudden show of passion. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that we saved them all, and they all found great homes. One of them even went home with Doc.”

?“Good. No dog deserves that. Especially not a pup.”

?“Agreed.”

?“So… is Doc his real name then?”

?James was perplexed for a moment, then laughed as he realized what I meant. “No. His name is Dr. Keegan.”

?“What’s his first name?”

?“Not a clue. All I know is that he’s single, and he has a dog now.”

?“What?”

?“That’s why I call him Doc,” James smiled, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. “Now everyone at the office calls him that.”

?“Does anyone know his name?”

?“Oh probably.”

?“And he knows you’re gay?”

?That question surprised him. “Yeah. Everyone does. Why?”

?I shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seems kind of personal, I guess. I wouldn’t want to go around having to tell everyone my sexuality all the time. It seems uncomfortable.”

?“Well, you don’t have to,” he replied matter-of-factly.

?“What do you mean?”

?“You dated a woman, right?”

?“Yeah.”

?“Tell me, how many times in your life has anyone assumed you were gay? Asked you about your boyfriend? Or even tried to set you up with another man?”

?“Never,” I replied. “Well, until tonight. Doc thought we were together.”

?“And did you ever sit any of those people down and tell them you were straight?”

?“No…”

?He nodded. “That’s what I mean. People who look and speak like you are assumed straight. You don’t have to inform people of your sexuality because they just assume you’re normal.” He made quotations in the air with his fingers. “People did the same to me until I came out and I have to keep coming out to all the new people I meet so I don’t have to have any awkward conversations about girls I’m not interested in with them.” He took another bite of his food. “It’s just something straight people don’t think about. When you’re the default setting, you don’t have to explain yourself. But when you’re different, people don’t know what to do unless you give them some directions.”

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