Page 68 of Up In Flames
And the thought of having to come out to them individually was equally draining.
“As long as you’re sure you don’t mind.”
Briggs got to his feet and rubbed his hands together. “Sit tight.”
He disappeared in search of everyone else. I’d been hiding in a corner for the past couple of hours, and the guys must have suspected something because no one had come near me. No one but Briggs.
Jonas was the first one through the door. He sat down in the chair Briggs had vacated and bumped his shoulder against mine.
“You’re still gonna cook for us and shit, right? You’re not going to hide away and only cook for the boyfriend now or anything, are you?”
I looked at Jonas and he looked back at me, blinking with his owlish eyes.
“That’s what you care about?”
His smile faltered a bit. “What else would I care about, Dorsey?”
I was too stunned to speak. Of all the scenarios I’d imagined when I thought about people finding out about me, I never imagined acceptance. Begrudging tolerance was as close to a positive reaction as I’d been able to picture.
Jonas threw an arm around me in a side hug and squeezed me tight, the way Briggs had done. “You big dork. We’re happy for you. You’ve seemed different lately. Lighter. Happier. I take it we have Oren to thank for this.”
I managed a nod.
“How is he?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him since he left the office yesterday.”
Jonas looked at me incredulously. “Why are you still here then? Go check on him. Our shift is basically done anyway, and Cap is here. I’ll tell him you had an emergency. Heck, we could hop in the rig and light it up, get you there faster if you’re worried.”
His concern made me feel a little better. “That would be a gross misuse of our position.”
“I like to think of it as a training run.”
Getting to my feet, I glanced at the time. There was still an hour left in my shift, but Jonas shoved me toward the lockers anyway. “Get. Morris is already here because he fucking loves us so much. We won’t be short if you take off.”
Jonas tailed me to the lockers, probably to make sure I was actually going to go.
Briggs must have done his job because I felt everyone’s eyes on me, but not in a bad way. I didn’t blame them for being curious. I’d worked with them for years. Trained with them every week. I cooked for them and drank with them, and never once had I mentioned that I was gay.
Wells gave me a nod. “That’s quite the secret you kept, Dorsey.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I opted for nothing. Wells took it as an invitation to continue.
“If anyone fucks with you, you let me know, okay.”
His show of support gave me a lump in my throat. Giving him a nod, I turned to my locker and pulled it open. Leaving before the end of my shift went against everything I’d ever done, but I needed to see Oren.
I grabbed my wallet from the top shelf and stuffed it in my back pocket. Morris came past me and clapped me on the back. Then Wells. And some of the other guys. It was more than I’d hoped to get, but not less than I needed. I had two more people to tell, and then… I didn’t know what came next, but I knew whatever it was, I wanted Oren by my side.
I drove straight to his building. An occupant saw my firefighter shirt and let me in as they slipped out to head to work. I took the stairs to Oren’s floor. Elevators didn’t generally botherme, but I didn’t want to tempt fate. I was too eager to see him. To make sure he was okay.
I knocked. I don’t know what I expected, but I was met with silence. After a minute or so, I knocked again, but louder. I pressed my ear against the door and listened for any sounds inside.
I gave it another few minutes in case he was in the shower or something, and then I knocked a third time. Impatience had me bouncing my weight from foot to foot.
“Come on, Oren. Open the door.” I said as I knocked a fourth time. “Don’t make me get someone with keys here.”
The doorknob rattled, and then it opened.
