Line of Fire by Simone Anderson Page A

overlooked a large man-made pond.
    “Hope you two don’t mind a booth,” Brian O’Shaunessy said, smiling. “You’ll have to sit together, since I don’t want either of you Neanderthals trying to feel up my girl.”
    Hayden shot Brian a dirty look and slid into the booth. Normally Christian preferred a table, but in this case the booth let him sit next to his man without anyone being the wiser. Christian smiled and shook his head and sat down next to Hayden. Slipping his hand under the table, he squeezed Hayden’s thigh. It wasn’t an ideal date. Ideally, there would be dinner and dancing and just the two of them. But they didn’t have ideally because he hadn’t wanted to take their relationship out of the house quite yet. Hell, they could’ve had dinner in the city and dancing at Diversions.
    “Alexa you know Hayden. This is a friend of ours, Christian,” Brian said introducing the full-figured red head sitting next to him.
    “Nice to meet you Alexa,” Christian said, reaching over the table to shake hands with the woman.
    “Nice to meet you Christian. Brian didn’t say two handsome men were joining us,” Alexa said.
    “I didn’t say any handsome men were joining us. I said a couple of friends of mine were joining us. How the hell would I know if they’re handsome or cute or whatever?”
    “They’re handsome, trust me,” Alexa said winking at them.
    The conversation over dinner revolved around mostly mundane topics and the movie they were about to see, with he and Hayden sneaking occasional touches under the table. Beside him, he could feel the tension in Hayden’s body return. Christian blew out a breath. The restaurant was a local favorite, and he’d already seen several people he knew. The date was a mistake. There was no way he could go through with it. He wasn’t ready to have his sex life known to everyone under the sun.
    Movement from the other side of the booth pulled Christian from his thoughts. The waitress was bringing their checks just as Alexa left the table. Christian grabbed both his check and Hayden’s and hung onto them. Putting both bills into one of the black books, he retrieved his credit card from his wallet and slid inside. They hadn’t talked about who was paying for what. But, it was a date, one he’d owed Hayden. The least he could do was pay. Hopefully, the movie would go better.
    Christian looked around the room and reached for Hayden’s hand and entwined their fingers. He wanted to do more, to go further, but he couldn’t bring himself to take the final steps. It wasn’t like a gay club where everyone knew what to expect and judgment was reserved for things other than the gender of the person you slept with. He didn’t mind going out with his boyfriend, he hated that he wasn’t comfortable showing the man he cared about affection.
    Cared about.
    Christian tossed the words around in his head. He cared about Hayden. How much? Was it enough to come out to his teammates for? Was Hayden worth it? Was he the one?
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    Hayden stared out the window as they left the restaurant and turned onto the main road. The drive to the town’s newer of two movie theaters would take twenty minutes give or take, depending on traffic.
    “I’m trying,” Christian said, his voice quiet and strained.
    Logically, Hayden knew that. It still hurt. It still sucked. He still felt like a dirty secret. “I know. It’s not enough. I’m tired of hiding. The team knows I’m gay. I’m not going to throw it anyone’s face, but damn it, I’m not going to hide anymore. I haven’t hidden who I am in ages. The guys I fight with have known since—fuck it, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you keeping me a secret.”
    “I’m not keeping you a secret, I—”
    “Bullshit!” Hayden yelled, turning to face his lover. “You had to make sure no one was looking before you took my hand. Even that looked painful. Like fulfilling an unwanted