Page 20 of Deck the Fire Halls

I snorted. “I learned their first names... of some of them.”

He laughed. “But this new guy, you learned his name.”

“I did.”

He studied me for a second. “Holy shit, you really do like him.”

I tried to play it cool. “I could like him. If it progressed any further, I could find myself liking him a lot. I dunno what it is about him. He’s certainly not my usual type.”

“Is he married?”

“What? No.”

“And he likes guys?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s all the type you need.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Chuck shoved me toward the kitchen. “Just have some fun. It doesn’t need to be wedding bells and forever.What are the odds that another gay man comes to town? Even if it’s just casual fun, it could still be a good thing, right?”

“Well . . . I guess.”

He sighed as he handed me my empty coffee mug. “I know you want all the bells and whistles, dude. And there’s nothing wrong with that. So he might not be Mr. Right, but Mr. Right Now is still a win, yeah?”

I frowned at him. “Okay, first of all, I’m not that desperate for love that I’d settle for just anyone. And secondly, that’s Doctor Right Now, thank you very much.”

Doug chose that exact moment to walk in, carrying a huge cardboard box. He dumped it on the table. “Speaking of right now. We’re out this afternoon and evening, remember, so I want it done this morning.”

Then he turned the box around to show us the wordsXmas decorationsscrawled across it. He grinned. “Happy December first.”

I loved winter.I loved snow and the holidays, the warm fires, and the idea of having someone to cozy up with in front of them.

Which got me thinking about what Chuck said. Now, I loved Chuck like a brother. And I knew he never meant any harm by what he’d said.

It had stung because it was the truth.

Ididwant to fall in love. I wanted a partner, a lover, someone to share my life with. I wanted what the otherqueer couples in town had—that perfect relationship with someone who accepted them exactly as they were.

Okay, so I was sure they weren’t all perfect.

But I’d come to know Colson Price pretty well this last year. After he’d met Braithe and come out of the closet, figuring we could both use a friend, I’d suggested we hang out and watch some game on TV. We’d become buddies and caught up often.

We actually had a lot in common.

He was a deputy; I was a firefighter. Both gay, both had been alone for a long while. We both loved hockey, and we had the same taste in men.

His partner Braithe was absolutely perfect for him, and I’d been a fool to think I even stood a chance with him. I’d just seen a cute little British twink and thought it was my chance at finally meeting someone in my town...

And Chuck’s words hit a little closer to home.

Because yeah, I was kinda lonely. And desperate for love.

So maybe I needed to hold back the reins a bit with my new neighbor. If I came on too strong, he’d probably run a mile anyway. The thing was, Ihadgone to Rob’s place last night with hopes of something physical eventuating. I mean, if he wanted to get off, I wasn’t going to say no.

But I realized pretty quickly that he was guarded, and whatever had happened back in Seattle had left him in a bad place.

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