Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter Three

By

Cat

Copyright 2000 © Cat

This work is not to be reproduced in any way without the express written Permission of the author.

*****

Jim parked the truck in front of the salon and went inside, looking around for Peter. He spotted him working with a customer and waved to get his attention. Peter leaned down and said something to the woman in his chair and then walked over to where Jim waited.

“Hey Jim, what are you doing here?” Peter asked.

“When do you get your lunch break Pete?” Jim asked.

For a moment Peter looked flustered. “At one o’clock. I can leave when I get done with this customer. About fifteen more minutes.”

“Great, I’ll wait for you over there,” Jim replied, pointing to the row of chairs along one wall.

“Sure, I’ll be out as soon as I’m done.” Peter went back to his station, but he kept checking the seats at the front of the salon as if he couldn’t believe Jim was really there.

Twenty minutes later, Jim watched Peter walk up to the front with his client, chatting and laughing. The woman looked over at Jim, then turned back to Peter saying something that made the younger man laugh and blush. She handed the blonde a tip and then headed out of the salon, giving Jim one more interested look as she went out the door.

“What was that all about?” Jim asked as he walked over to the stylist who was slipping into a white denim jacket to match the white denim pants he wore.

Peter grinned sheepishly; “Well first she wanted to know if you were my boyfriend. When I told her no, then she wanted to know if you were available.”

“And what did you tell her?” Jim asked, giving him a pointed look.

“I told her I didn’t know,” Peter stated as he climbed into the truck. As Jim got in behind the steering wheel, Peter looked at him. “Jim are you sure you want to take me to lunch? You know I’m pretty out. People could get the wrong impression.”

Jim put the key in the ignition, but didn’t start the truck. “I’ve never been all that concerned about what other people think. If they have a problem with me that’s their concern.”

“Okay, I can handle that as long as you’re okay with it. So, why are you taking me out to lunch?” Peter asked, relaxing back into the seat.

“Before we get into that, where would you like to go?” Jim inquired.

“There’s a café about two blocks down. It’s pretty quiet and we could talk there. They make great burgers and I can get a salad. Gotta keep my girlish figure you know,” Peter stated with a grin when Jim ran an inquiring eye over his slender form.

“Great – the café it is then,” Jim said, starting the truck. The drive was silent as Jim maneuvered through traffic. He spotted the café that Peter had told him about and pulled into the parking lot behind the building.

When they were finally seated inside at a corner booth Peter looked at Jim. “Okay I know this isn’t a date, I tried for six months for that. So what did you need to see me about?”

“I need to talk to you about Blair. How long have you two known each other?” Jim asked.

“Nine years give or take a couple of months. I figured after I murdered his hair I’d never see him again, but he came back about a week later to apologize for the way he acted and well, we’ve been friends ever since.” Peter said, stirring artificial sweetener into the iced tea the waitress had brought him.

Jim slowly turned his own glass of coke between his hands, his sensitive touch feeling every hill and valley in the rippled texture of the hard plastic. Finally he looked up at the blonde stylist. “I tried to talk to him last night, but he won’t. This morning he acted like I wasn’t even there. I don’t know what to do to get through to him.”

Peter sighed, “I was hoping he’d talk to you. Look, he doesn’t want to be a cop. The idea of carrying a gun is scaring the hell out of him.”

“That’s fine. I don’t have a problem with that, it’s his life he can do what ever he wants to with it.” Jim replied adamantly.

“That’s just it, Jim, he can’t,” Peter answered back. When Jim looked at him confused, Peter went on. “Ellison, how many people out there are going to hire someone who goes on National Television and denounces themselves as fraud, a liar and a cheat. He’d be lucky to get a job washing dishes.”

“Damn I didn’t even think about that,” Jim breathed.

“Yeah, I get the impression that you don’t think about a lot of things, otherwise Blair wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”

Jim’s head jerked up at the harsh anger in Peter’s voice. “Look I —“

“No you look,” Peter hissed his eyes flashing. “Blair destroyed his life to give you back yours. Then you barely acknowledged it. Sure you worked it out to offer him a job with Police Department, big deal. That doesn’t come close to making up for more than ten years worth of work and dreams down the tube. Not to mention living the rest of his life with the label of a fraud.”

Jim rubbed both hands over his face. “I’d do anything to undo what’s been done.”

“Would you? Would you really do anything?” Peter asked, his voice tight.

“I….” Jim broke off.

“Yeah that’s what I thought.” Seeing Jim’s distraught look, Peter relented. “Look I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for you, when the story broke. But I’m sure there had to have been something that the two of you could have worked out if only you’d tried.”

Jim nodded, “Yeah, that is my fault. I was so angry at first that I wasn’t willing to listen to anything or anyone. Then I started thinking hell it’s out there now, might as well live with it. Anyway it was Blair’s big break, everything he’d been working for. What right did I have to ruin that for him? So what if it was ruining my life? Keeping me from being able to do my job? I’d always sort of known what would happen when he finally turned in the dissertation.”

“No, somehow Blair would have made sure that you were protected,” Peter replied. “He never would have thrown you to the wolves to make a name for himself. That’s not the kind of person he is. I think that’s what hurt him more than anything else, that you would actually believe that of him.”

“I take he must have told you about me then,” Jim stated.

Peter laughed harshly and started to say something but at that moment the waitress brought their lunches and his mouth closed with a snap. Once she was gone he looked Jim in the eye. “No, he never said a word. But I know Blair. If he wrote that paper then every word of it was true. Hell it explained why you always spotted split ends that I missed. But I couldn’t care less about it. What I care about is that…” Peter choked slightly. “That someone I care about, someone I love, is hurting as much as Blair is.”

“Someone you love?” Jim asked hesitantly.

Peter rolled his eyes. “God, how blind are you Ellison? I’ve loved Blair for years.”

“But Blair….”

“I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but if you’re going to be able to help him you need to know. Blair is bisexual. We were lovers right up to the time he met you,” Peter said with a sigh.

“You mean…” Jim broke off as the light began to dawn and he drew in a ragged breath. “He broke it off with you when he met me because….”

“Because he’s in love with you.”

Jim sank back against the seat, feeling like someone had kicked him in the gut. “But he never said a thing. Never let on, not once.”

“Of course not. Mr. Straight Macho cop? No way, in most areas that would be like writing your own death sentence. Hell the only reason I felt I could tell you was because you never treated me like I had some friggin disease, the way most straight guys do. He was just happy to be your friend, your partner,” Peter said stabbing his fork angrily into his salad.

“He’s in love with me,” Jim said softly.

Peter looked up and stared at Jim who had a surprised smile on his face. “Shit, we’ve all been blind haven’t we?”

Jim nodded slightly then sobered. “So what can I do? Right now he won’t even say two words to me.”

Peter laid his fork down and looked at the big detective. “Jim, right now more than anything he just needs a reason to keep going. The only reason he is even thinking about taking the job you all have offered him is because it would mean staying close to you. So how long have you been gay?”

“I’m bisexual. I’ve known since I was in High School. It’s just not something you broadcast when you’re in the Military or…”

“Or a cop.” Peter finished.

“Yeah. So my first move needs to be to let Blair know how I feel about him, and hope he forgives me for being such an asshole. Let him know that no matter what he decides to do, I want him to be a part of my life,” Jim mused more to himself than to Peter. “If you knew that Blair was in love with me, and you love him, why did you hit on me?”

“Because it was safer for me to test the waters for him, especially if you reacted badly. Not that he asked me to. But hell if you’d taken me up on it I could have had two for the price of one,” Peter said with a small grin.

Jim chuckled, “I guess I should have taken you up on the offer. But I was already attracted to Blair by that time. So tell me everything. What does he consider a romantic evening….”

End Chapter Three