Page 17 of Tameron

I had no idea what he was talking about. “Why the fuck would I do that? You’re bi, right? Nash told us you were out as bi.”

He nodded.

“So it makes sense you’d be looking for both men and women.”

“Yeah, but Grindr is mostly for hookups. Not for relationships.”

I let out a snorting laugh. “And you thought I’d have a problem with that? Do I look like the no-sex-before-marriage type? Dude, have all the sex you want. You’re single, so what’s the big deal?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

“Why, because I come across as some judgmental dick?” Anger filled me. “I guess I failed your test too, huh?”

Before he could respond, I’d opened the door and was out of his truck, slamming it shut. Fucking asshole. See, that was why I didn’t like him. I always felt like he was judging me…and apparently, I’d been right.

I didn’t need his help. He could go suck a dick for all I cared.

CHAPTER SIX

DAYTON

“Yo, Chief, you got a body back there?”

I spun around to find Anthony staring at me with his brow raised. He was one of the few crew members willing to be so casual with me, only because we’d worked together in the city. He’d moved to the East Coast a few years ago but had come back this way to help his sister after she had kids and her husband was deployed.

It was nice to see a familiar face. It was nice that someone wasn’t treating me like they weren’t sure if I was a bomb waiting to go off. I knew it would take time before the crew knew me well enough to relax, but it was the one thing I hated most about starting with a new team.

Glancing into the SUV, I rolled my eyes and turned back to Tony. “Laundry. Heading over to my parents’ place.”

“Wait. You still take that shit to your mom?”

I flushed. I was a grown adult who had a very nice washer and dryer in my house, but yeah, I still took my laundry to my parents’. It was at my mom’s insistence, of course. She had always hyper-fixated on making sure all her kids got equal treatment. She’d been doing more for Dahlia since she was the only one with kids, so now she was trying to make up for it withDax and me by cooking us meals twice a month and doing our laundry.

As much as I knew how it looked, I didn’t turn her down. My schedule was better, but it was still chaos compared to someone with a nine-to-five, and Dax was the same. He owned his mechanic shop and was still getting on his feet, so he was getting by on a skeleton crew until he was in the black. And it was harder for him because he was Deaf, and the moment people realized that, they usually left to find someone else—who were often more expensive and less skilled than Dax.

But he wasn’t the kind of guy who ever gave up, so letting our mom baby us a little bit was something we both indulged in.

“She also made me cookies this week,” I told him with a sniff.

“Oh fuck, I miss Mama Adams’s cookies,” Tony groaned. “Save me some?”

“If you’re a good boy,” I said with a wink.

He burst into laughter. “It’s a good thing I’m married, Chief, or I’d be climbing your sweet biceps like the tree you pulled your cat out of.”

“Dude,” came another voice. We both spun to see Orrin, the newest rookie on the team, staring at us with wide eyes. He looked younger than he was—twenty-five, but he could easily pass for a teenager if he didn’t shave. He had a mop of dark hair and icy gray-blue eyes. “Is that…I mean…is that a joke?”

Tony shrugged. “Mostly. I had a huge crush on Dayton when we first met, but I got over it when I realized he got bad farts after eating burritos, and that’s his favorite food.”

Orrin’s cheeks flushed. “Oh.”

“Does the fact that we’re both bisexual offend you?” I asked. I kept my tone careful. I wasn’t here to intimidate any of my crew, but I wouldn’t stand for any of that toxic bullshit in my station. Most people assumed it never happened in the Bay Area, but I’d come across it too many times in my career.

I preferred to educate than get nasty back, but I also wasn’t going to take any shit.

“No,” Orrin said in a rush. “N-no. No, I just didn’t…I mean.” He took a fortifying breath. “Sorry. I didn’t know that could be okay.”

Tony gave me a pointed look and walked off as I stepped close to Orrin. There was a beat of silence, and I could feel the tension coming off him in waves. I knew what he wanted to say, but I wouldn’t push him.

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