Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf Read Free Page B

leather. Why, he wouldn’t be surprised if this thing had a button that could make it fly. It had seat warmers, so why not? His bottom was feeling better already. He’d been thinking he would never feel warm again after an hour in the snow and ice. What a day, what a day.
    He really shouldn’t have taken off in this weather. He knew that. But his job had held him up until closing time last night. Sure, it was a job Kit could have quit, like what were they going to do? Fire him? Except they needed him. It was bad enough he wasn’t working today. But they had known from the beginning Kit couldn’t work Christmas Eve, so they couldn’t blame him. However a deal was a deal, and he had fulfilled what he’d agreed to do, and it had been fun. With all those kids and all? Kit smiled.
    Kit turned to Nick. “So where you heading?” he asked, trying to start a conversation with the man who’d taken him in from the cold.
    “San Francisco,” Nick replied. No other answer.
    Oh well .
    He tried again. “Really? I’ve always wanted to go to San Francisco. Maybe one day. Is it nice?”
    “It’s okay,” the man replied. Again, nothing more.
    “I hear it’s a beautiful city,” Kit tried again.
    “I suppose.”
    Pause. Nothing else. Was Nick a lousy conversationalist, or did he not want to talk? Kit couldn’t imagine not talking for the hours it would take them to get to Terra’s Gate. Well, the weather is pretty poopie. He probably wants to keep his eyes on the road.
    “I’ve always thought it would be a nice place to visit,” he said. “You know…. Because…. Well….”
    “Because it’s what?” Nick didn’t even give him a glance.
    Kit took a deep breath, and a chance. “Gay.” He held his breath.
    Nick shrugged. “I suppose.”
    Okay. He didn’t react badly. Keep going. “I’ve seen pictures. Guys walking around holding hands in broad daylight and everything.”
    “Probably the Castro,” Nick supplied. “But it’s not as gay as it used to be. Thankfully.”
    Thankfully? Sheesh. Was this guy gay or not? The signs were there. The way he held Kit’s eyes without looking away, like straight men did. And Kit had seen Nick glance down at his crotch. Surely Nick knew Kit was gay. Kit had given up trying to hide that fact long ago. His parents had known before he went to kindergarten. Thankfully, they didn’t care. He had friends who’d gone through horrible things because their families couldn’t deal with their sexuality. Axel, his dorm mate, had been kicked out of his own house, and it was only his scholarships that had allowed him to keep going to school and finish his degree. Okay. Frakkin’ fine. One more try!
    “Why thankfully?” Kit asked.
    “Because there is no need for people to broadcast the fact that they’re gay,” Nick snapped in a tone that suggested it wasn’t the first time he’d said such a thing. “I don’t understand it, and I never will. It’s none of anyone’s business what I do in bed and who I take there.”
    Kit swallowed. Nodded. “Well, walking around holding a boyfriend’s hand is hardly broadcasting what you like to do with him in bed.”
    “That’s just the load of bull Spencer used to dish out. My parents don’t walk around in public holding hands and kissing on street corners. Why should I?”
    Then, taking a final chance: “Is Spencer your boyfriend?”
    “Boyfriend!” Nick spat. “I hate that word! Boyfriend! I’m thirty-two years old, not twelve. I have partners , not ‘boyfriends.’ And no. He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my ex.”
    Thirty-two? Dang! And here Kit thought Nick was about forty! This guy must have lived a hard life. Of course, Kit didn’t say any of this out loud. “Oh. I see.” He sighed. “Sorry about that.”
    “Why are you sorry? You didn’t have anything to do with it.”
    Yowza. What was wrong with this guy? He seemed more and more like a jerk. But he had offered Kit a ride. He didn’t have to do that. Maybe I should