Where The Heart Is: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations story

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“I got over Sharon a long time ago,” he said softly. “Believe me, if I find Mr. or Ms. Right, what happened with Sharon won’t stop me from hanging onto them. I just haven’t found that person yet, that’s all.”
“So it’s got to be true love forever, or no deal?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Pursing her lips, Kerry picked at a loose thread on her long red skirt. “Nothing, I guess. It just seems kind of lonely to me.”
“I date a lot, I get laid a lot, but I still get my own space with no one telling me I can’t have beer and Fritos for breakfast or lay around watching TV in my underwear. That’s not lonely, that’s the best of both worlds.”
He refused to acknowledge the small but growing part of him which longed to wake up every morning with his arms around someone he loved. To spend a lifetime learning that person inside and out. It didn’t seem likely to happen, and he saw no point in mourning something he’d probably never have. Especially since it was his own tendency to hold himself back that kept him from having the kind of relationship he wanted.
Kerry frowned at him, but before she could say anything her cell phone trilled. She shot him a “this conversation isn’t over” look as she fished the phone out of her purse and flipped it open.
“Hey, babe,” she said, eyes sparkling like they always did when she talked to her husband. “We’re on our way back from the Market, are you already home?”
Tuning out his friends’ conversation, Dean stuck his hands in his back pockets and gazed around him. Just ahead, the town’s newest Thai restaurant had its front doors flung open, letting out a spicy, mouthwatering scent. Next door, customers wandered in and out of a bookstore specializing in rare and out-of-print volumes. A wave of lilting violins drifted from the music store across the street.
At the next corner, two young men crossed the street with their arms around each other. The blond tilted up the brunet’s face and kissed him. Dean smiled, the sight bringing a mix of conflicting emotions. Mobile, where he’d been born and raised and still lived, wasn’t a particularly dangerous place for gays, but neither was it a place where a man could kiss another man in public without any thought to the possible consequences.
Sometimes, he really missed the open and accepting attitudes here in Carrboro and neighboring Chapel Hill.
“Well, crap.” Snapping the cell phone closed, Kerry shoved it into her purse. “Ron’s not done yet. He’s got to stay at work until probably midafternoon.”
“Aw, damn.”
“He’s taking a break right now. He’s headed over to The Open Eye. I told him we’d meet him there.”
“Cool.” Dean glanced at the shopping bag hanging from Kerry’s arm. “What about your gelato? It’ll melt.”
She grinned at him. “We’ll go ahead and eat it. It goes great with the organic Sumatran dark roast.”
“Awesome.” Taking Kerry’s hand, Dean led her across the busy street. “Do they still have those chocolate croissants?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Fantastic. I haven’t had one of those in years.”
Laughing, Kerry pushed open the door of Carrboro’s most popular coffee shop. Dean shoved his shades up on top of his head and breathed in the heavenly scents of baked goods and fresh-brewed coffee. It was the smell of college mornings spent huddled over the colorful tables with his friends, discussing classes, music, girls or boys they wanted to get into bed. All the things that seemed so important then, with the world at their feet and all their lives ahead of them.
Time had a way of teaching a person what was truly important, Dean reflected as he and Kerry took their place in line. Friends. Family. Partners. If there was one thing Dean had learned in his life, it was that nothing mattered as much as keeping the people he loved close, and letting them know how much they meant to him. He liked to think he lived by that creed, and that his friends and family knew how he treasured them.
He ignored the empty ache inside for a love like Kerry and Ron shared.
Behind him, the rather shrill tinkle of the bell on the door announced an arrival to the shop. A shoulder clipped Dean’s as someone rushed past the line and straight to the counter, sending Dean stumbling into Kerry. A woman passing on her other side caught her elbow, narrowly preventing a fall.
“Hey, watch it,” Dean called, scowling at the back of the man who’d run into him. “Pregnant