“Oh, dude! You have a petwhat? That’s friggin’ awesome! My brother and his hubby have a pair of raccoons, speaking of weird pets…” Gannett eyes me. “What weird critters do you have?”
“Uh, nothing.”
“No dog, no cats, noanything?” Gannett asks.
I shake my head. “Brody has been lobbying for a snake though.”
“Oh, no way. Nope. I hope you told him there’d be absolutely no danger noodles in your house.”
I chuckle. “He made a whole slide show for us once about why a nope rope would be the right choice for our family.”
“Aw, man. Hard to argue with a go-getter attitude like that, isn’t it?”
I nod, smirking. “He’s wearing on Lauren, that’s for sure.”
Gannett chuckles, turning to Caleb. “Wait, what’s the name of the woman you’ve been seeing. Didn’t you mention her name was Lauren too?”
Caleb and I exchange a questioning glance at one another before we reply in unison, “Yes.”
Thankfully, Gannett doesn’t inquire about it any further. A thoughtful “Huh…” is all he replies before we come up on our first set of traps.
Once we hit the trap lines, the work is hard, the camaraderie is genuine, and the day goes by in a complete and utter blur. In the down time—while Gannett navigates the open water like the seasoned pro he is, looking for buoys—he keeps coming up with these stupid challenges to pass the time.
Today, we did push ups on the deck. Caleb won and made sure to gloat about it, which I then had to turn around and interpret. That made it super ironic since yours truly came in dead last, of course. Listen, I’ve never been heralded for my athleticism, but I do know how to keep a bench nice and warm, so there’s that.
Now, we’re on our way back to Ternbay, and I’m sitting down at the stern of the boat, letting the wind tousle my hair. The roar of the engine is loud—especially at the helm, where Gannett is—so he’s currently taking a breather from his own non-stop nonsensical chatter.
Caleb sidles up next to me, resting his ass on the same gunwale I’m sitting on. “So, dresses?”
I huff. “Seriously? How’d I know you were going to bring that up at some point.Yes, dresses. I like wearing them, don’t judge.”
“I’m not judging. I was just surprised. Has that always been a thing?”
I nod.
“Even when we were together?”
“Yes.”
His brows furrow. “How come you never told me or wore any then?”
“Because that was a part of me that I wasn’t comfortable sharing. That’s, like, something only Lauren knows about. I never wear that stuff around Brody. And don’t get on my case about being too chickenshit, C, please.”
He bites the inside of his cheek, working it between his teeth for a moment. “I’m sorry I gave you grief about it in the past.”
I shrug. “Water under the bridge, I suppose.”
“Not really. You should be allowed to come out in your own time, on your own terms. More than just being gay too. I mean with the crossdressing. If it makes you happy, then don’t ruin a good thing by getting all worked up worrying about what other people think or feeling like you need to divulge that secret.”
“It does make me very happy. I feel confident in them. I don’t know, like, attractive, I guess.”
“Well, whatever you had on last night did look very good on you, but regardless, you are an attractive man. Dress or no dress.”
I feel my cheeks flame hot. “You probably… shouldn’t say stuff like that,” I croak.
“Why not? It’s true.”
I lick my lips. “Because, Caleb, I still—I…” I trail off, huffing in frustration.
