Epilogue
Dante wiped his hands on his jeans for what felt like the tenth time on the short drive to the brewery.
He hadn’t been there in ages, mostly because he didn’t like turning up to things by himself, and he didn’t like making small talk, and he didn’t like the looks people gave him as if they were remembering what he’d been like when he first returned to Foggy Basin.
Of course, he’d never given them a chance to form a new opinion.
“Are you okay?” Shannon asked.
“Yeah.” It hadn’t been hard to hold Shannon’s hand in Hartsville.
He thought he’d need to gather up his courage to make it happen, but he hadn’t.
Instead, holding Shannon’s hand felt like being able to breathe freely for the first time in far too long.
It was like he’d put down the pack he’d been carrying, been able to roll his shoulders and move on unencumbered.
“Are you sure?”
Dante nodded. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not worried about going in there with you. I’m worried about going in there, period.”
“You know what people are going to think? They’re going to be like, ‘shit, I remember when Dante first came back, and he could hardly fucking walk, and now look at him, he’s running a successful business and he’s dating the hottest paramedic in town.’”
Dante laughed. “True. Okay. I can do this.”
“Yeah, you can…like you said, make one appearance and the town gossip will take care of the rest.”
“And the gossip doesn’t bother you?”
“Apparently there are several competing stories about me, all of them some variation on why I fled LA—one of which implies that I pissed off a gang boss. Which is bullshit, by the way. You help with their injuries, they can clear obstacles.”
Dante lifted his eyebrows. “So you’re friends with the gangsters?”
“No, because their way of dealing with those issues doesn’t align with my personal beliefs no matter how shitty my ex was.” Shannon winked at him. “But I know people who know people if you’ve got issues.”
“I’m beginning to think you encouraged some of this gossip.”
“Me?” Shannon put his hand over his heart and attempted to appear innocent. “But if they’re going to talk shit, I might as well make it interesting.”
“So how worried should I be about what you said about me?”
“I just said I was bringing my landlord…and that he gave me a very good deal on rent.”
Dante groaned. “So now they all think I charge sexual favors, great.”
“I’m pretty sure when they see us holding hands, your reputation will be cleared.” Shannon opened the car door, giving Dante no more time to pull his shit together, which is a good thing, since if he sat there for any longer overthinking, he might lose his nerve.
He got out and walked around, clasping Shannon’s hand before they reached the door.
“I got you,” Shannon said.
That was one thing Dante didn’t worry about. He had someone he could trust with his life, and that was something he’d been missing without even realizing it until Shannon had shown up at his door. He was grateful that he’d let lust get in the way of fear and invited him to stay.
The brewery was already full of people ordering their drinks and snacks and getting sorted at their table. From what he understood, most people were here just for fun, but the firefighters and paramedics had a long-standing rivalry of which this was just another iteration.
Dante was sure people watched them as they walked in. And while he didn’t have the balls to make up stories like Shannon, he also wasn’t going to retreat because he didn’t want to go back to how he had been living. So he kept moving forward until they reached the table.
“You really did it. You got Dante Cutler out in public. How did you do it?”
“I promised him a blow job every day for the next thirty days,” Shannon said without missing a beat.
Heat rushed up Dante’s chest and throat, and for a moment he thought he was going to die. But then everyone laughed, somebody suggested that he was lucky. And then he was being told to sit and was passed a piece of paper and a pencil.
Shannon sat next to him. “I’ll grab a beer in a moment. Do you want any chips or nachos?”
Dante glanced at him. “Either is fine…though I am thinking of holding you to that promise.”
“Oh no, whatever will I do?” Shannon grinned and grabbed a menu.
Dante stared at his boyfriend for a heartbeat, then laughed and shook his head. “Is that what it will take to get you to come to the knife show next month?”
“It might work, but you could also try asking me and seeing how it aligns with my roster, and if any of these guys will trade. Don’t offer them any favors though, as that will piss me off.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. And I already mapped out your roster to my tradeshows.”
“And?”
“And there is a clash, which is why I hadn’t asked.” It didn’t seem fair to put Shannon on the spot like that.
Shannon’s voice was low. “Or I’m an adult and can decide if I want to play swapsies with someone.” He spoke a little louder. “I’m going to get two of the mid strengths and a bowl of loaded fries with extra cheese. You can play nice with my colleagues, so they are more inclined to swap with me.”
That got the others’ attention. “Why does he need a swap?”
Shannon had already slipped away from the table, leaving Dante to fend for himself.
He drew in a breath, knowing that he had to laugh it off or say something.
He opted for the latter, because he was here doing the thing and he needed to press on.
“I have a tradeshow next month in San Diego, and I thought it might be nice if Shannon came with me, but there’s a clash with his roster. ”
Three of them pulled out their phones as if determined to make this trip happen. Okay, that was a good sign.
By the time Shannon came back carrying the beers and a buzzer for the food, the swap had been arranged. Asking wasn’t nearly as hard as he’d expected it to be.
“All sorted,” Dante said as he picked up his beer.
Shannon smiled as if he’d known it would be. He lifted his beer and tapped Dante’s glass. “To moving forward.”
“To moving forward.” He’d much rather live with the nicks and cuts and scars than hide forever.
Thank you for reading Nicks and Cuts, part of Foggy Basin season three.