Randomly

Chapter 5

Steve parked outside the morgue, lost in his thoughts. He had just made the worst mistake of his life, and he knew it. The problem now was figuring out how to react. He felt both relieved and frustrated to have a case on this Saturday. Not working would have given him time to think and figure out how to get out of this mess, but at the same time, this work emergency gave him a good reason not to respond to Charlie. Charlie, who had sent him a flurry of messages since the previous night, oscillating between worry and anger. Steve would have understood if his lover had been aware of his blunder, but he couldn't see how that could be possible. Charlie was in Romania, and he was in Hawaii.

"Well, what's going on?" Danny asked as he joined Steve, who had been lost in his thoughts.

"Nothing," the soldier replied with a sour mood.

"Nothing? I know it's Saturday, and we weren't supposed to work. Believe me, I'm annoyed too."

"Grace?"

"Yeah, I had to cancel our day together."

"Sorry."

"But that's not the point. You're way more sulky than usual, and your phone won't stop ringing."

Steve had no inclination to confide his feelings to his partner. He liked Danny, saw a budding friendship between them, but talking about Charlie? He had never mentioned his lover to anyone, especially not in the military, where homosexuality was still frowned upon, even more so among the SEALs. He had always kept their relationship a secret. His military friends knew he had someone in his life, but that was it. So, he wasn't quite ready to spill his guts to Danny; he needed to be more comfortable with him first.

The arrival of the governor saved him from having to respond to Danny and diverted the conversation, at least until the evening. The entire team was called in for a murder and the abduction of the daughters of the US ambassador to the Philippines, and they focused their attention on that case. Steve's phone stopped ringing, but he knew it was only due to the time difference, and he was certain that Charlie would try to contact him again once it was morning in Romania.

Indeed, he received another message in the early evening, which he glanced at before entering a nightclub in search of their suspect.

"We need to talk."

He didn't even need to open the message to read it and feel his heart split in two. Charlie was angry with him, that much was certain, and his silence wasn't helping. But he was in the middle of a sensitive investigation where timing was critical. He couldn't afford to waste time now to reassure his lover.

Danny and Steve leaned against the bar of the nightclub, scanning the crowd for their suspect and immediately catching the attention of two very attractive women.

"It seems like we're getting some attention," the inspector commented, gesturing towards the young women who waved at them.

"Focus, please, just focus!" Steve pleaded, not in the right mindset to enjoy being flirted with.

"Wait, let me ask you something..."

"Go ahead."

"Two very beautiful women are checking us out, and you're not reacting at all. Should I check your pulse? Are you alive? Hello?"

Annoyed, Steve left the bar to search for their suspect. Danny was pushing his buttons, and he didn't want to discuss his mistake, especially not in the middle of an investigation.

"Hey, wait, what was with that expression?"

"What expression?"

"Your funeral face! What's wrong with you today?"