When Opportunity Knocks - 1. Chapter 1

Jett Anderson pulled his SUV into the wide driveway in front of his home. A loud thumping started from the backseat. Jett smiled and grabbed his duffle bag off the passenger seat and stepped out into the cooling late September evening air.

He opened the rear door and was greeted with a soft ‘woof’ and more thumping of a rather enthusiastic tail against the leather seat. He hooked the leash to the big German Shepherd’s collar and said “C’mon Bruce.” The dog jumped down gracefully and stuck by Jett’s side as they made their way along the walkway to the front door. The leash wasn’t really necessary, but it was department regulations anytime the off duty dog was not in a controlled environment.

Once inside, Jett removed Bruce’s custom made Kevlar vest and the dog shook himself happily, fur flying in all directions, and trotted through the open living room into the kitchen, sitting down by the sliding glass door. Jett removed his own Kevlar vest and kicked off his work shoes, leaving them by the door. He moved to his bedroom, unbuckled his utility belt, removed the Glock 22 and secured it in his lock box. The lock box went back into the safe in his closet and the utility belt rested on top, along with the Kevlar. Jett shucked off his uniform and threw it in the laundry basket. Pulling on a pair of old, faded jeans and a sweatshirt he made his way into the kitchen where Bruce waited by the door.

Jett chuckled. The dog knew exactly what he wanted, but because he was so well trained he knew he had to wait patiently. Jett opened the slider and gave the command “Smoosh!’. Instantly the big dog bounded out the door, leapt off the deck and ran over to the scruffy looking black and white furball that belonged to his neighbor.

Jett lived in a nicer, middle class community. The houses were all duplexes and he shared his with Kimberly Miller, a single woman who owned the medium sized mutt his dog was currently chasing around the fenced in yard. She had bought her half of the duplex when the development had first been built in the late 90’s. His half had been through three owners prior to him. They were on a cul-de-sac and shared the largest backyard in the development, due to the location and the fact that their property abutted a protected woodlands area. Beyond the property line was a half mile stretch of meadow that turned into forest. He and Kim often let the two dogs romp in the wide open space, the only time he would break the ‘must be kept on a leash’ rule.

Bruce the German Shepherd was a four year old police dog who specialized in search and rescue. He was also trained to sniff out cadavers or evidence of such. Despite his intimidating looks he was a goof ball at heart. He was smart as a whip too. He knew that the instant his vest went on he went directly into work mode and as soon as it came off and he was given the ‘Smoosh’ command, it was time to be a regular dog. Most of the other trainers used the word “Done” as the command to stop working, but Jett’s lead trainer had his group pick a more nonsense word to differentiate it from all of the other, more serious commands.

They had been a team for three years now. Bruce had spent the first year of his life being fostered by an older, active couple who taught him basic commands and socialized him to all sorts of people. Bruce’s even nature and temperament was a good fit for the search and rescue career track. He wasn’t aggressive enough for beat work or narcotics although he was pretty intimidating when chasing down a suspect. He was good with people and Jett often was invited to bring Bruce to schools for demonstrations. The kids always loved playing hide and seek with the big dog. He was big for his breed, most males were around 80-90 pounds. Bruce topped the scales at 115 and he was taller than all of the other Shepherds in the ranks. Jett worked for the Maryland State Police and had been on the force since he was 20, having graduated from the University of Maryland a year early with a degree in Criminal Justice. He was one of the youngest officers in the K-9 division after his sergeant observed him handling multiple dogs that were involved in a hoarding situation and recommended him for the program. He had a dog growing up and his mom had insisted that if he wanted the dog, then he would be responsible for him. He had learned early on that dogs required a lot of care.

Jett stepped out onto the shared deck that looked out over the backyard. He looked to the right, and sure enough, Kim was there, feet tucked up underneath her on a cushy wicker chair. Jett sat in the matching wicker rocking chair and put his sock clad feet up on the footstool. It was cool enough that Kim had fired up the propane fire pit and he shifted his toes toward the warmth.

“Hey there Jett! You good?” Kim asked with a smile.

“Today was a gold star,” Jett replied. Knowing how difficult police work could be, Kim never asked him how his day was, she merely asked if he was good. On days that went well he always replied with the gold star comment. On really bad days he would tell her that the port-a-potty tipped over. They had been hanging out pretty much since the day he moved in. Theirs was an easy camaraderie and Jett had come to regard his neighbor as sort of an older sister. She never said how old she was, but Jett guessed she was somewhere around forty or so, roughly twelve to fifteen years older than his own twenty-eight.

He reached down to the cooler that was between their chairs and grabbed a beer. Glancing at the label he saw that it was a Jailbreak Brewery orange hefeweizen called Feed the Monkey. He smiled as he flipped the tab, listening to the satisfying pop and hiss of the vacuum seal breaking. He brought the ice cold can up to his lips and his nose immediately picked up the hoppy citrusy scent. The beer had a nice crisp flavor, and went down easy. Jett gave Kim the thumbs up.

“How ‘bout you?” he asked.

Kim replied, “Same shit, different day. I did manage to get my drawings sent over on time, so I guess that’s a plus.”

Kim was an independent illustrator for children’s books. She worked with several authors and publishing companies on a regular basis. She also did the occasional artwork for musicians and their album covers. Jett was usually the first one to see her work and she had shown him her latest illustrations a few days ago. She was super talented, while he could barely draw a stick figure without it looking like a five year old drew it.

“When is the new book due to come out?” Jett inquired.

“It’s scheduled for the first week of December, just in time for Christmas. I don’t envy Joyce, having to go do book signings at that time of year.” Joyce Reynolds was the author and a good friend of Kim’s.

“Bruce won over an entire pre-school today. He went ten for ten,” Jett chuckled. They had chosen ten little four-year olds to go hide so Bruce could do his thing. He found all ten within minutes. Giggles gave away most of them.

“He always does,” Kim smiled. “So any plans for the weekend?” she asked.

“As a matter of fact, I have a date Saturday night,” Jett admitted, thankful the combination of twilight and the heat from the fire pit hid his blush.

“Hmmm, do tell. I need details,” Kim snickered as she pushed for info.

Jett just shook his head at her not-so subtle approach. “His name is Kyle Benton. Dr. Kyle Benton. He’s a vet. He’s the vet actually. The vet for the department. I’ve known him as Bruce’s vet for three years, but our conversations always centered around the dog. Apparently I never pinged his gaydar and he never pinged mine. Anyway, he found out from another handler in a “casual” conversation. So when I brought Bruce in for his check up this week, voila! He asked me out. I gotta admit, I’ve sorta lusted after him since the first time I brought Bruce in. He’s pretty fucking hot.”

Kim laughed. “You’re nothing to sneeze at either Jett.”

Jett just gave her a wry smile and tipped his beer bottle against his lips, the liquid still ice cold as he swallowed. He’d been told before that he was good looking, but he didn’t see it. He thought he was pretty average, except for his height. He was 6’6”. His weight stayed steady, hovering around 215lbs. He worked out or ran three or four days a week and kept in good shape, broad shoulders and a trim waist. He wasn’t bulky, but more like solid mass. His hair was a dark brown and he had blue eyes, an average nose and full lips.

“OK, whatever. I’m looking forward to it. He seems like a really decent guy. He’s good with Bruce too. So what about you? Any hot dates in your weekend plans?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. In the year that he had known Kim, she never mentioned being interested in any kind of relationship. She usually changed the subject so he had no idea if she was straight, gay, or any other identification. Occasionally when the subject had been broached she would get a haunted look in her eyes. Jett figured she had endured something that had left her scarred. He never pressed the issue. If she wanted to talk about it, she would have. Everyone had their secrets. Hell, even he had reasons to be gun shy when it came to serious relationships. During the past ten years the longest one of his only lasted two months.

Kim shot him a snarky look and quipped, “No hot dates. Just shopping. I had to add batteries to my list this morning.”

Jett nearly sprayed his mouthful of beer across the deck. She could be such a sarcastic shit sometimes.

Kim chuckled and then yelled out over the yard. “TATER! STOP DIGGING!”

Tater Tot, a medium size black and white Cocker Spaniel/Beagle/Shih Tzu mix lifted his head, his muzzle covered in freshly unearthed dirt and shook himself off vigorously. Bruce promptly nipped at his butt and Tater took off running, letting the big Shepherd chase him.

Jett and Kim watched the dogs play, a comfortable silence settled over them as they enjoyed their drinks, Jett allowing himself to unwind from the busy day. Their conversation picked up and they spent a pleasant hour discussing baseball. The O’s had ended their season in the basement of their division once again, which really wasn’t a surprise.

The sun had set and twilight had given way to star filled skies and the evening air eventually grew cool enough for them to call it a night. Jett turned off the fire pit and grabbed his empty beer bottles while Kim whistled for Tater. Then whistled again. After the third whistle she rolled her eyes muttering “Four sessions of obedience school and he still ignores me.”

Jett merely spoke firmly, “Bruce, come.” Bruce immediately left his furry friend and loped across the yard to Jett’s side.

Kim looked at the dog and muttered, “Show off.” She was smiling as she said it.

Bruce chuffed and wagged his tail. It hit Tater in the face, as the smaller dog had followed his friend up onto the deck.

“Good night Jett.”

“Good night Kim.”

Jett opened his slider and let Bruce in first. Once inside he rinsed out his beer bottles and put them in the recycle bin. Then he grabbed Bruce’s clean food bowl from the drying rack next to the sink, scooped out a measure of dry food and then added a half can of wet food. Bruce’s diet consisted of top quality, premium dog food that the department gave Jett a stipend for every month.

Jett placed the bowl of food on the floor and stepped back. Bruce sat down automatically and looked up at Jett expectantly. “OK big guy, eat,” Jett said and Bruce immediately started chowing down. He ate his food leisurely, not like some other dogs that scarfed it down in one or two gulps. The dog had manners.

Jett opened his fridge to see what he could scrounge up for his own dinner. He pulled out some leftover chicken and rice and popped it into the microwave. He would need to go to the grocery store soon. Jett liked to spend one of his days off cooking and packing meals into individual containers to freeze. That way he could take out a meal container before he went to bed and it would be thawed out by the following evening. Most nights he was too tired to cook, and he didn’t like to do take out too often. Not only did it get expensive, but the healthy choices were limited.

He sat down at his kitchen table to eat his chicken and rice. He had thrown in some mixed vegetables for good measure. Bruce finished his kibble and trotted into the living room to his crate and laid down on the puffy dog bed that lined the bottom. Soon enough his eyes were shut and occasionally his ears would twitch.

Jett cleaned up when he was done eating and as he sat down on his recliner he heard his phone ping with a text. It was from Kyle. Jett smiled as he read ‘looking forward to Sat. Dinner at Mike’s on the River or Pop’s Chops or somewhere else?’

Jett appreciated that Kyle was giving him a choice of restaurants. Mike’s on the River was a seafood/American food restaurant with a slightly better than casual, but not upscale attitude. Which meant that in the summer you could get away with shorts and a t-shirt on their outside deck, but inside you needed at least a nice pair of jeans, with no holes and a shirt without some kind of slogan on it. Pop’s Chops was a steakhouse and a local favorite. Jett hadn’t had a decent steak in a while so he answered ‘I’m looking forward to it too. Pop’s sounds good. What time?’

A minute later he saw ‘6ish?’ pop up on his screen. He shot back ‘works for me. See ya then!’

Jett was glad that it was Thursday. He worked tomorrow and Saturday and then was off Sunday and Monday. He was toward the lower half of the ladder of seniority at his barracks, but because of Bruce, he got bumped up a few steps. He was able to get the 6am to 3pm shift because most of the places that he visited with Bruce were schools and nursing homes. The downside was that overtime was a given and there had been many occasions where he had been woken up in the middle of the night because a child or elderly person with dementia had wandered off from their home. So far Bruce’s track record was 100% recovery with only three persons having expired before they could be found.

It had been a while since he had been on anything resembling a date. He wasn’t a fan of random hookups and he was getting a little old for the bar scene in his opinion. Grindr had provided him with a few options when he reached the end of his rope, but somehow he felt skeevy after those encounters. He was hoping that things would click with Kyle.

They had known each other in passing for the past three years. His Captain required the dogs to be checked every four months and more often than not Kyle had been the vet that had examined Bruce. His breed was prone to joint problems, especially in the hips. Diabetes, degenerative disc disease and cataracts were also concerns that they looked out for. So far Bruce had passed every physical with flying colors. Jett had admired the handsome vet every time he had seen him. He should’ve bit the bullet and asked him out a while ago, but he really had no clue if Kyle would’ve been interested.

Now he looked at Kyle’s text again and couldn’t help but smile. He really was looking forward to their date.

Jett watched TV for a little bit and then got ready for bed. Bruce went out once more and by eleven o’clock they were both fast asleep. His four-thirty alarm would be sounding off soon enough.

The next couple of days went by quickly. Work was busy and he spent Friday evening back on the deck with Kim for a couple of hours. They needed to get their fix, as soon it would be too cold to linger on the deck, even with a fire pit going. During the last winter they had occasionally spent an evening together in one of their living rooms, but not as often as they spent time outside when the weather was nice.

By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around Jett was more than ready to ditch the uniform and settle into his weekend. Thankfully he was out on time and got home with plenty of time to spare. He changed into shorts and a t-shirt and set off on a run with Bruce. They had been cooped up in the SUV most of the day and they both needed the exercise. They did a five mile loop in just over forty-five minutes.

Jett showered and stood in front of his closet trying to decide what to wear. He finally went with a pair of black jeans that fit his ass just right and a black, fitted long sleeve shirt, over which he pulled a royal blue Henley. He shoved his feet into black ankle boots and grabbed his black leather jacket on his way out. He left his State Trooper SUV in his driveway and hit the key fob for his Chevy Silverado.

The restaurant was a short fifteen minute drive and when he stopped at a light three or four blocks away he looked in his rear mirror and saw Kyle behind him which made him smile. They parked next to each other and Jett took in the sight of the man as he got out of his Ford F250. Kyle was about six inches shorter than him, dark blond hair that was cut short. His shoulders were broad and he was well muscled, but not bulky. They were the kind of muscles that you developed from physical labor, not lifting weights. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a dark blue and green flannel shirt, which had the first few buttons undone, revealing a black t-shirt underneath.

“Hey there! I thought that was you in front of me.” Kyle moved in for a hug and Jett got a noseful of a woodsy scent with something else that must’ve been pure Kyle. He really liked it. He gave a firm squeeze back and instinctively knew that Kyle was taking in his own scent mixed with the leather from his jacket.

Kyle’s smile when they separated was genuine. Jett felt a pull of something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. It made him smile back just as brightly. They headed into the restaurant and Kyle checked in at the hostess stand. He had called ahead as the restaurant was always busy on a Saturday night. They were next in line for a table and only had to wait a few minutes before they were led to a booth and each were handed menus.

Kyle grinned at him across the table and confessed, “I wanted to ask you out for the longest time, but honestly, I thought you were straight. I was so surprised when Dan said that you hadn’t dated any guys in a while.”

Jett chuckled, “I can only imagine how that conversation came about. I guess I should ‘fess up too. I’ve been attracted to you since day one, but I guess my gaydar is busted. You always kept things so professional. I just figured you were either straight or otherwise taken.”

“Actually, I was taken when we first met. My last boyfriend and I broke up about a year ago. He wanted me to completely support him while he ‘tried to find himself’. He had flitted from job to job the entire two and a half years that we dated. The longest single job he kept was maybe three months. Absolutely no ambition other than to find himself a sugar Daddy, which was not going to be me, although it took a little while for me to figure it out. He was a charmer. I don’t mind helping someone out, but they’ve got to show some initiative, you know? Plus I had some stuff going on with my family that was difficult to deal with. I didn’t need a freeloader in my life. Thankfully we hadn’t gotten to the point where we were living together. We just went our separate ways when I told him I wouldn’t support his “quest for inner peace”, Kyle chuckled.

“Sounds like you got out of the way of a train wreck just in time. I hope your family stuff resolved itself ok,” Jett replied.

“It’s been a little rocky, but getting better. It’s hard to trust someone again when they lie to you for a long time, but at least my sister and I have had each other to lean on. We’ve always been tight. What about you? Any siblings?” Kyle deflected the conversation back to Jett.

“Yup. Two sisters and a brother. Twin brother actually, but we’re fraternal, not identical. He’s currently in the Navy serving on an aircraft carrier. Bo is supposed to get leave for Christmas, we haven’t seen him in over a year,” Jett answered.

“Wow! My sister and I are fraternal twins too. What about your sisters? Are they older? Younger?” Kyle inquired.

“They’re both younger. Piper is three years behind us and Skye is a year and a half behind her.” Jett told him.

“Wait. Skye? Piper? Jett? Bo? Hmm, is that his name or a nickname? I sense a little theme going on here,” Kyle’s eyes narrowed mischievously as he dug a little deeper.

They were interrupted by their waitress coming to get their drink order. Kyle suggested splitting a bottle of red and Jett readily agreed. He enjoyed a nice Merlot with steak and that’s what he told Kyle. They both knew what they wanted so placed their dinner order as well. Kyle let Jett order first and he asked for the herb-seared ribeye, medium rare, with a baked potato and side salad.

Kyle smiled again and said “Great minds think alike, I’ll have the same.”

They handed the menus back to the waitress and Kyle immediately quirked an eyebrow, silently prodding Jett to continue the name topic.

Jett looked directly into Kyle’s eyes which were a gorgeous deep honeyed-hazel color. He had a moment of deja-vu, as if he had seen those eyes somewhere before, he just couldn’t place where.

He took the bait and continued, “You’re spot on. Both my parents worked in the aviation field and we all got themed names, Jett, Boeing, Skye and Piper.”

Jett was hoping he wouldn’t ask for middle names, but of course Kyle just had to go there.

“What about middle names? Do those have the same theme? Jett Fuel maybe?” Kyle teased.

Jett laughed. He was enjoying their lighthearted banter. “Rock bands. My parents are 70’s and 80’s rock fans. So we got saddled with Jett Van Halen, Boeing Skynard, Piper Journey, and Skye Metallica. Let’s just say my parents are a little on the crazy side.”

Kyle’s laugh was loud and Jett loved the sound, it was deep and rich. He chuckled right along with him. When Kyle’s laughter died down he said, “That is priceless. What about your parents? Are they still around?”

Jett replied “Yeah, they live in Arnold, so not too far. Bruce and I usually manage Sunday dinner once or twice a month. We really do have a pretty tight knit family. I’ve been lucky.”

Their waitress brought their wine over and poured a glass for each of them. After she left Kyle raised his glass, “To crazy parents, high flying siblings, and new beginnings.”

Jett clinked his glass and kept his eyes glued to Kyle’s as he took a sip of the smooth wine. “Hear, hear.” he said in reply.

It wasn’t long before their meals were brought out, the ribeyes both done to medium rare perfection. Conversation flowed easy and Jett couldn’t ever remember feeling so comfortable with someone right from the start. They shared a lot of common interests and they easily made each other laugh. By the time dinner had ended Jett knew that he had to see Kyle again.

They both declined dessert and Kyle reached for the check, saying that he was the one who asked Jett out so dinner was on him. Jett thanked him graciously.

They walked out together and stood in between the two trucks. Kyle stepped in close and said, “I really enjoyed myself tonight Jett. I don’t want the night to end, but I don’t want to jump into things too quickly either. Part of me wants to take you home and see what happens. Instead, I think I’m just going to kiss you if you’ll let me.”

Jett’s brain had gotten stuck somewhere in between ‘needs the short bus’ and ‘just plain stupid’ at Kyle’s confession. When his wits returned he managed to whisper, “I’m not going to stop you.”

Kyle pressed himself against Jett and tilted his face upward. Jett leaned down to capture the full lips that were offered. His tongue licked along those lush lips and was immediately granted entrance. Goddamn he tasted amazing. Sweet, tangy wine and something that was pure Kyle. Jett let a soft moan ease its way through his vocal cords. He could feel Kyle’s hardness and was sure Kyle could feel him too.

When the kiss finally broke, Jett smiled at Kyle and said, “Wow, as much as I would love to follow you home and see what happens, I think you’re right. We need to take it slow, but not too slow. How would you like to go hiking with Bruce and me tomorrow?”

“As long as I can bring Rosie with us. Bruce is good with other dogs if I remember correctly?”

“Yeah, Rosie is the Golden that’s usually at your clinic right?”

Kyle nodded. “Why don’t we pick you up at ten tomorrow?

“That sounds perfect. I’ll see you then.” Jett replied.

Jett stood by his truck and watched as Kyle pulled out of his parking space and headed toward the exit. Yep, tomorrow sounded perfectly perfect.