Page 55 of Nuts

“Someone’s going to be blessed to have you as a…to have you…you know…to have you as a partner.”

Partner?

It seemed like an odd choice of words. Nonetheless, I liked the point he’d made. “Thank you.”

He took a few more bites, and then lowered his fork. “Can I…can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Are you…do you…” He let out a sigh. “Hold on a minute.”

He seemed nervous, and I wondered just what it was that he was uncomfortable asking me. His eyes fell to the table. After a moment, he looked right at me.

“Are you gay?”

I coughed an unexpected laugh. “Me?”

I’d never thought anyone would suspect I was a lesbian, but now that he mentioned it, I could see why he might conjure up such an idea. I couldn’t help but wonder if such a belief had prevented him from noticing the affection I occasionally tossed in his direction

“Uhhm. No. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m sure not.”

No shit?” he said excitedly. “You like guys?”

“I uhhm. Yeah. I do.”

He nodded. “Okay. I was just wondering.”

His gaze fell to his plate.

I cleared my throat. “Do you like girls?”

The question obviously caught him off guard. He locked eyes with me, and then arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Do you like girls?”

“Fuck yes,” he snapped back.

“I was just wondering. I’ve never seen you bring one home.”

“I’ve never seen you with a guy, either.”

“So, we asked the question for the same reason I guess. Huh?”

“I don’t bring women here because I don’t trust ‘em. To tell you the truth, I don’t trust people.”

I felt privileged, but still had to ask. “Why’d you let me come here?”

The question seemed to bother him. His eyes narrowed slightly. He began to poke at his food. After piercing a piece of chicken with the tines of his fork, he lifted it from his plate and looked at it.

He shifted his eyes to meet mine. “I think I might trust you.”

I trusted him and found it odd that he wouldn’t trust me.

“You think you might?”

“I’m thinking so. Might not seem like a big deal to you, but it’s a big deal to me. So, for what it’s worth, I’m thinking I might trust you.”

I chuckled a light laugh. “I’m thinking I might trust you, too.”