Page 92 of Doing Life

He was going to have to look into that. Surely they had cards Lance could function with. They had to. He wasn’t surethat Lance was willing to play with Braille cards, but maybe. How the hell did he know?

“Do they have Braille cards?”

“Huh?” That head tilted the other way.

“Braille cards? The cards for blind people? I want to play fucking cards with you again.”

Lance’s eyebrows lowered, a crease forming between them. “Okay… are you pissed off at me?”

“No. Yeah, maybe. Did you sic Dan on me?”

“Did I do what?”

He scowled. Why would Dan just jump in the middle of his shit like that if Lance hadn’t put him up to it? Because why else would Dan want to talk to him? “Did you sic Dan on me?”

Lance blinked, then blinked again. “I haven’t. I haven’t talked to him that you weren’t right there. I don’t live with them anymore, remember?”

“Yeah, you have a phone.” He didn’t need to be bullshitted.

“People keep reminding me about the damn phone. Like, I don’t know I have a phone.” Lance shook his head. “Seriously. I understand how a phone works. I know how to use the phone. I haven’t talked to Dan. Why are you mad at me?”

“Dan said maybe I should stop being a cop.”

“Oh, fuck him. You want to be a cop, be a cop.” Lance rolled his eyes. “Jesus Christ. Do you think that if I had a problem with you being a cop, I wouldn’t just come out and say it?”

Well, now he felt a little stupid. “It is a dangerous job.”

“Oh, because I don’t know anything about that. God knows you and I have not been in dangerous jobs since the very moment that we met. I’d like to remind you we got blown up by abomb. In wartime. Overseas. Last time I checked, not particularly gentle. What is up with you?” Lance slapped thewater. “I’ve never asked you not to be a cop. I’ve never asked you to be anything, okay? I don’t need you to take care of me. You are happy being a cop, be a fucking cop. I don’t care. You honestly think I have the energy to worry about what you do for yourself as living? I’m trying to figure out how to make one of my own.”

He rolled his eyes too. Great, because now Lance was getting up a head of steam, and he couldn’t even be aggravated about it because it was his own fucking fault. Perfect. “I’m sorry, babe. Dan just stressed me out.”

“Thank you. I’ll tell him to leave you alone if you need me to.” Those lips were so tight they had to hurt.

“I don’t need you to tell Dan to leave me alone. Iama grown-up.”Jesus, Sloan! Shut up.

“Well, thank fuck for that.” Oh, somebody was pissed off at him now. Lance did not like his bubbling time interrupted by seriousness.

“Did I say I was sorry?”

“For which part? Accusing me of gossiping about you with Dan, for not knowing how to use the phone, or for not being able to play cards anymore?”

“Yes. For all of that. Although I am serious about the card thing. I think we should find out if you can play cards.”

“Of course I can play cards. It’s one of the things that Gus has been teaching me. It’s just really slow for me right now, so I’m afraid it would get frustrating, but I’m figuring it out. I’m playing a lot of solitaire during the day.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Lance frowned at him, seeming more hurt now than pissed. “I wouldn’t talk to somebody else about you. If I had a problem with what you did for a living, I’d tell you. You’re the one who can do something about it or not, and I wouldn’t do that. My choices got taken away from me. You think I would take yours?”

Ouch.

Okay, Sloan was going to have to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with himself about this situation. He’d taken his surprise and shock and stress out on Lance—without warning, without reason, and in public. Not only that? This was supposed to be Lance’s reward for his hard work. He’d messed up.

“No. No, I got surprised, and I got fucked up about it, and I jumped down your throat because you’re safe. I’m sorry, babe. It was stupid. I’m an asshole, and I deserve to be beaten.”

Lance snorted softly and shook his head, reaching out for him under the water. “I’ll show you beaten.”

Okay. He took Lance’s hand and held on tight. Okay. Yeah, it was going to be all right.

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