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Holden:No. But I thought it sounded good.
Greg:LOL
Holden:For real, though. If she’s anything like the rest of your family, I’ll be happy to meet her.
Greg sent back a heart emoji.
Greg:I do wish you were still here if only to run interference between me and my mom and sister.
Holden:Are you kidding? I’d be sitting with your dad and a bowl of popcorn watching you suffer.
Greg:I take it all back. I don’t like you at all.
Holden:Seriously?
Greg:No. Of course not.
They continued chatting and bantering until it was time for Holden to board his flight. He promised again that he’d call when he got to DC, and Greg said goodbye to him with a couple of Xs and Os and another heart emoji. Holden smiled all the way onto the plane.
For as much time as Holden spent flying, he’d never really paid that much attention to the flight attendants. Like most people, he listened with half an ear to the safety instructions and took note of the nearest exit—hint: in first class, it was always the main door—and then pretty much tuned them out as he settled into his seat to sleep or work. On this trip, though, he spent a fair amount of time watching them as they got the plane boarded as quickly and efficiently as possible. A seating mix-up was handled easily, an anxious flyer soothed, a bag that was too big for the overhead was deftly handed forward and stowed with the other luggage below, and the flight attendants still smiled and greeted the passengers. The crew worked well together as a team, and it made Holden feel happy that Greg had good coworkers. Even though he had no idea if any of these attendants had ever flown with Greg, it still left him with a warm feeling and a sense of connection to the man he’d left behind in Aspen.
OnMondaymorning,Holdenreported to the Pentagon for his meeting about the sim glitches that were screwing up pilot evaluations. Even though his boss had said the generals weren’t happy, Holden wouldn’t be meeting with any of them. He was several rungs down the ladder and only a tech guy. Even if he was the best tech guy Far Sight had when it came to the F-35, his meeting would be with those at a similar pay grade to his own who would pass on any pertinent information to those who needed to see it.
As part of the team training pilots on the latest the F-35 had to offer, Holden knew the plane’s capabilities inside and out. He knew tactics to evade enemy aircraft but also how those same aircraft could exploit the F-35’s weaknesses and gain a tactical advantage. The modules Far Sight developed for the flight simulators were crucial because they gave the pilots far more hours than they could accrue in the air. It was also far less expensive to crash in a sim than in the real thing when learning a new tactic.
Holden was good at his job and took pride in what he did, but every time he stepped into the Pentagon, he was reminded that it wasn’t until 1995 that Clinton removed restrictions Eisenhower had put in place barring gays and lesbians from receiving top secret clearance. The rationale had been that gay men would be easier to blackmail because they’d want to keep their lifestyle hidden, but those rules failed to consider that a man having an affair or losing money through bad investments or gambling was equally easy to coerce into spying. As far as Holden knew, those vices applied no matter what your orientation, but they hadn’t been considered too dangerous for national security.
With every footstep, he was also reminded that his sexuality, his very existence, was a political football used by the politicians to appeal to voters. Obama had signed an executive order and made it illegal for federal contractors to fire individuals based on their orientation; his successor had rescinded those protections, and now they were back in place. Who knew what the next election was going to bring?
Holden was tired of treating every one of his coworkers as a potential threat and trying to gauge if he was going to be out of work if Far Sight found out he was gay. Up until a week ago, it had been an annoying fact of his life, a trade-off that kept him well paid and would provide for a comfortable retirement during which he would be free to do and be whatever the hell he wanted. But now there was Greg. And Greg had not only become someone Holden wanted to be with, he’d also shown Holden a glimpse of what his life would be like if he didn’t have to hide.
As he prepared to enter the room in which the meeting was being held, Holden squared his shoulders and let the straight-guy persona settle into place. In another hour or so, he would leave this building, get in his rental car, and regain that sense of self he’d found this past week. But for now, it was showtime, and he had a job to do.
Chapter seventeen
Greg
Gregunlockedthedoorto the condo and wheeled his suitcases inside. From the balcony, Darius called out to welcome him, then came sauntering inside wearing nothing but a skimpy Speedo.
“Hey, beautiful, what are you doing back early?” he asked as he came over to give Greg a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He stepped back and pursed his lips as he looked Greg up and down. “Someone needs a drink and then a heart-to-heart it looks like. Name your poison, and I’ll make it while you unpack.”
Tempting as it was to ask for a mimosa, Greg told Darius he was good and headed for his room with his suitcases in tow. Darius followed him and lounged against the doorframe as Greg started to unpack. He’d done laundry right before he left his parents’ place, which meant all his clothes were clean.
“You’re back a week early, and you don’t want a drink? Who are you, and what happened to my friend Greg while he was away?”
Greg paused as he lifted a pair of jeans from his suitcase. It was the pair he’d worn when he took Holden riding, and a smile crossed his face as he remembered how terrified Holden had looked when Greg introduced him to Banshee.
“Oh my God.” Darius’s voice was almost reverent. “You met someone.”
Despite his best efforts, Greg’s smile widened, and his face heated. Of course Darius jumped all over that. He bounced into Greg’s room and sat on Ricky’s bed.
“Dish,” he demanded. “Is this why you’re back early? Is he in LA? How did you meet him? Come on, buttercup, spill the tea. This is the best thing ever. As long as he’s not another asshole, but judging by your expression, it doesn’t look like he is. Babe, you look like you’ve got love written all over you, and it’s about damn time, but I need the deets.”
Greg laughed at his friend’s cajoling and debated briefly whether to tell him about Holden or not. “I guess I do owe you some good news after all the shit I’ve dumped on you,” he said.
“Girl, you do not owe me a good goddamn thing. I’m your friend. I’ll always be there for you, whether it’s bad or good.”
“I know. And thank you.” Greg left his unpacking and crossed the room to pull Darius to his feet so Greg could embrace him. It had been Darius who’d gone with him to the clinic three years before to confirm what they both already knew, and Darius who had held his hand while the doctor talked to him about what being HIV positive meant for his future. While both he and Luis would always be there for Greg, Darius and Micah had been who Greg turned to every time another asshole broke his heart. “And, yes, I met someone.”
