Free Fallout by Ariel Tachna Page A

sight.”
    “Why?” Sambit demanded, not sure why he wasn’t willing to simply give Derek what he wanted. “Why can’t I choose to be discreet rather than combative about something that’s no one’s business but mine and my lover’s?”
    “Because it’s a cowardly betrayal of those of us who are out there fighting for our rights,” Derek spat. “You reap the benefits without taking any of the risks.”
    “I never asked anyone to take any risks for me,” Sambit said. “I didn’t ask for more rights or different treatment or anything other than what I have as a holder of a green card. If I eventually become a citizen, perhaps I will feel differently, but for now, I am more than content as I am.”
    “You don’t want to get married someday?” Derek asked. “Or have the right to let your partner make decisions for you if you’re incapacitated? Or be able to provide health insurance for your partner? Or all the other rights straight couples get the moment they decide to spend their lives together?”
    “I have no partner, as you put it,” Sambit said, “and even if I did, my family would never allow him to make decisions for me. They might consult my wife if I had one, but the decisions would not be hers alone. Families don’t work that way in India.”
    “You don’t live in India.”
    “Not at the moment,” Sambit agreed, “but I don’t know what the future holds. India has many nuclear power plants. I may tire of teaching and decide to return there to work. If I do, this entire conversation will be moot. Even if you get your wish and Texas allows gay marriage, it would not be recognized in India. My partner would have even fewer rights there than he would have here.”
    “And you’re just willing to accept that,” Derek said. “I don’t get people like you. How can you just bend over and let the system fuck you?”
    Sambit sighed. “Must you curse constantly? It doesn’t make your point any more forcefully. Indeed, it undermines your argument, because all I hear is the vulgarity rather than any logic that might be embedded in what you’re saying.”
    “That’s your problem, not mine.”
    “It’s not my problem at all,” Sambit retorted. “I can simply choose to ignore you. If you wish to persuade me, however, you must retain my attention and convince me of your point of view. You have not done that if you lose my attention because of your choice of language.”
    “So why don’t you just walk away?”
    Why don’t I? Sambit had no answer to the question, yet he couldn’t make himself turn around and walk out, and not just because he had nowhere else to go.
    “Because you would take that as a victory as well,” Sambit said finally. “You would congratulate yourself on having driven me off, and I refuse to let you win that way.”
    “Do you really want to turn this into a pissing match?”
    “No.” Sambit already knew he’d lose that battle. “I prefer to turn this into a working relationship that keeps the reactor from melting down and doesn’t turn the control room into a war zone. However, I need a little help to make that happen. I’m happy to meet you halfway, but I can’t do it alone.”
    “Maybe we both need a little more of that yoga.”
    Sambit took that as the olive branch it was, nodding and bending to pet Fido. “You could have picked a less generic name.”
    “I could have left him in the house where I found him.”
    “No, you couldn’t have.” Sambit didn’t know a lot of things about Derek Marshall, but he knew that much. No matter what else, Derek wouldn’t leave someone in danger if he could help. “You don’t have that much cruelty in you. You might leave me, but you wouldn’t leave a dog.”
    “I wouldn’t leave you.” The scowl on Derek’s face amused Sambit. The other man obviously hadn’t intended to say that out loud.
    “Tucker, perhaps?”
    “Tucker for sure, and Jeremiah,” Derek said, crossing his arms defensively. “You annoy