Secrets

Dean McGuiere

Dean McGuiere leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. His hands dangling between them as his deep green eyes examined the chessboard in front of him "how the fuck?" He mumbled.

A soft chuckle across from him caused him to roll his eyes, "ready to admit defeat?"

The comment came from his longtime friend and work partner Ben Ballias. Dean shook his head and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair "whatever man, you know I hate this game anyway."

They were currently sitting in the Ballias' living room winding down from a long shift. Ben had just released the nanny from her duties and challenged him to a game of chess. Just what he needed more things to make his head hurt. As if the double homicide they were assigned this morning wasn't brain wrecking enough.

"So, when do you find out if you're the one who put the bun in Jennifer's oven?" Ben asked causally.

Right, there's that too. He sighed, "any day now I guess, not sure. Her mom is supposed to call me when she goes into labor."

"Your mom still adamant about you marrying her?"

"Yup," Dean sighed again, "she's furious about the whole situation. Bloodline hierarchy and all that bullshit. She's so fixated on social status. You know I heard her mumbling about that marriage agreement I managed to dodge four years ago."

"Ouch," cringed Ben, "it was pure luck that you found out she was a lesbian."

Dean laughed, "yeah but then my dumb-ass decided to have a drunken hook-up with Jennifer Clare."

"Dude! Three and a half years later," scoffed Ben as he picked up the forgotten game on the table. "It's not like you've been screwing every Jane Doe that bats her eyes at you."

Dean sighed and leaned back in the recliner, a high-pitched cry pulled him from his thoughts.

"That's my cue," Ben said as he hopped up from the couch and disappeared up the stairs. A few minutes passed until he returned with a bright-eyed three-month-old.

"You know I should have just done what you and Megan did..." began Dean.

"Nope! we're not going over this again," Ben said as he shook a bottle in one hand gently warming it. "Meg and I got married right out of school because that was the next step in our relationship, and we were ready. That girl from the party could have been a drunken hallucination for all you know."

"We don't know that for sure!" Argued Dean, "just because I'd never seen her before doesn't mean she wasn't real. Lily slapped her dude, explain that!"

Ben sighed, "look for the last few years after every single one of your random hookups or failed 'relationships' we have this conversation and it always ends the same way. You go home and have a drink because the only thing you can remember is her 'goldish' eyes, 'blondish' hair, she danced with you and kissed like a 'goddess'. It's time to move on."

"When I find her, you're going to regret doubting me," Dean said matter of factly before motioning for Ben to hand over the fussy baby. "Give me my godson dude you're burping him wrong."

"I know how to burp my kid," Ben said while rolling his eyes. "If you wanna hold him, just say so. Beer?"

Dean nodded while accepting Chase sitting him upright on his knee.

"Son of a bitch," he heard from the kitchen.

"All good?"

"Yeah, Megan forgot her dinner in the fridge is all," Ben replied walking back into the living room carrying a black lunch tote. "Can you watch him for a bit? I need to run this to her."