(22) I am what I am

~ Quinn ~

I noticed the slight hesitation when Blair said he worked at a restaurant and wondered if it was more than that. He definitely had the slender, enticing type of body that made me imagine him working at a fancy club, maybe as a dancer or even a drag queen. But I wasn’t going to push to find out if I was right or not. He seemed tense and I didn’t want to add to it. If San Pierre was correct, this young man had never let anyone try to pick him up. I was almost shocked when he said I could join him.

Damn he was beautiful, almost fey in the good way. He brought out my protective instincts big time.

“Quinn?”

I shook my head, realizing I’d been staring at him. “Yes?”

“I asked what you did.” His face was flushed as if he wasn’t used to someone looking at him the way I’d been and I smiled, trying to ease his tension.

“I’m a cop, a detective actually.”

“Seriously?” He looked at me and then his eyes roved over my body as if assessing the truth of my answer by the way I was build or the clothes I was wearing, or… Hell I didn’t know but when I told him yes I was serious he accepted it. “Like the ones in the movies who go after thieves and murders?” He winced then and looked down at his glass. “That sounded very childish didn’t it?”

“Not at all, and yes that kind, though trust me it’s not nearly as romantic as they portray it on the screen. It’s pretty much drudge work all told.” I reached across to lift his chin so that he’d look at me again, expecting him to pull away. I wanted to reassure him that I didn’t find him childish in the least. “Most people think that’s how cops are, like in the movies.”

When he chewed the corner of his lip before replying I thought it was one of the most endearing things I’d ever seen. “Do you like doing that?” he asked.

“I do actually, yeah. I’ve got a strong protective streak. I suspect it comes from growing up as the oldest of four kids and the only boy.”

“Wow, big family. I’m an only.” Something flashed deep in his eyes, pain and I’d almost swear, fear, for a second and then they were back to normal. “Did you...is your family here?”

“No, back east, that’s where I grew up. How about yours? Well not the ‘here’ part,” I said, chuckling.