Feeling thoroughly miserable, Drake took himself off to the roof of the two-seven’s station house, where he could mope in private without anyone bothering him. It wasn’t like anyone ever came up here anyway, it was too exposed to the weather, which wasn’t the best at this time of year. Smokers usually went downstairs to the parking lot, where there were a few convenient recessed doorways to huddle in, out of the wind. That left the rooftop free for anyone who wanted to mourn their terminal lack of a love life, which basically meant one Drake Parker, the most dumped man in the whole of the twenty-seventh precinct, possibly the whole of the NYPD. He’d spent so much time up here, it was beginning to feel more like home than his apartment did.

Folding his forearms on top of the surrounding wall, he rested his chin on them and stared sightlessly out at nothing in particular. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable position, but what did comfort matter when his already battle-scarred heart had been shattered yet again, by a woman he’d foolishly thought might actually care about him as much as he had for her? Like THAT was ever going to happen. He should be used to this by now, but it still stung like salt being rubbed into a wound that never quite managed to heal before it was torn open again.

Why did he keep doing this to himself? That was what he didn’t understand. Well, that and women, who only seemed to date him in the first place just so they could dump him and tear another strip off his already almost non-existent self-esteem. Every time he saw a pretty face, he started thinking maybe this could be the one, and yet even if he got a date, even if he and the girl dated for a few weeks, or a couple of months, it always ended the same way, with him getting dumped. Again.

‘I’m a perpetual loser,’ Drake thought gloomily. ‘I’m really, seriously never gonna find love, and I don’t know why. I’m not perfect, I know that; I’m more of a fixer-upper, but I’ve got potential, like those rundown houses on property shows. I’m a decent guy, caring and loyal, even romantic, but nobody appreciates me.’

Still contemplating his sad, lonely existence, he was surprised to hear JJ’s voice behind him. He hadn’t even heard the roof access door open.

“Drake? I know you’re up here. What’re you moping about? You weren’t dumped AGAIN, were you?”

‘Way to rub it in, partner,’ Drake thought viciously. ‘Thought I could at least count on you for support.’ He didn’t say that part out loud though. “How about a bit of sympathy here?”

JJ sighed. “It’s just that this happens all the time. I can’t really pretend to be surprised anymore.”

That was the final straw. “Well EXCUSE ME for getting dumped so often!” Drake snapped at his friend. “That’s it, I’m through with women. From now on I’ll live for work!” Which, when he thought about it, was pretty much what he was already doing, even if, up to this point, he’d been trying to pretend otherwise.

All of JJ’s familiar optimism and cheerfulness seemed to melt away in an instant, and the smaller man’s shoulders drooped. “Count me in then, guess I’ll have to do the same.”

“What, you too? What about your precious Dee?”

“Oh please, I’m not blind. The way those two have been acting lately… It’s different somehow. Something must’ve happened between them.”

“Those two? Oh, you mean Dee and Ryo.” Drake hadn’t noticed anything different, but then, he hadn’t been paying much attention, too wrapped up in his own relationship woes. “I dunno, I really can’t tell when it comes to them.”

“That’s because you’re completely blind when it comes to relationships.”

“Oh, thanks for that!” Was that a not-so-subtle dig at him for being such a loser in love?

“I… I never had a chance to begin with.” JJ sounded so… lost that for a moment Drake forgot about his own misery. He’d seldom seen his partner looking so down, disillusioned, defeated.

“Hey, c’mon, don’t beat yourself up about it. That’s not like you.” JJ was the eternal optimist, always happy and smiling, cheering everybody else up.

“You’re so kind…”

“Well, I know how you feel. I’m the grand master of unrequited love, aren’t I?” The number of times he’d been dumped, he ought to be by now. Surely no one knew more about the subject than he did. “But we gotta be there for each other, right? Won’t do to have two sorry bastards moping up here instead of one.” Drake meant it as a kind of solidarity, words of encouragement to lift JJ’s flagging spirits, friends sticking together through thick and thin, but…

Suddenly JJ kissed him, full on the mouth, before babbling something about dinner. Drake didn’t really hear the rest of it, he was still trying to wrap his brain around his friend’s abrupt one-eighty from heartbroken to full of enthusiasm, so the only thing that fully registered was the reference to food, one of Drake’s favourite subjects.

He blinked, confused, as his brain tried to catch up with recent events. ‘What the hell just happened?’

“We really should hurry, or we’ll be late!” JJ was already heading for the stairs. “Come on, Drakey! Are you listening to me?”

Was he? He wasn’t sure. He was hearing JJ’s voice, through the confusion and disorientation, but he wasn’t sure if the words were making sense.

Dinner though… JJ had definitely said something about dinner, and Drake might be heartbroken, not to mention off-balance and completely blindsided by the unexpected lip lock, but he could still eat, especially if JJ was willing to pay.

‘The hell is going on in my life?’ Drake wondered as he turned to follow his partner off the roof. First he’d been mourning the end of yet another relationship, then somehow, out of the blue, JJ was kissing him, and it had felt… Actually, not bad. Quite nice, even. Whether or not JJ had meant anything by it was another matter, but that was something he could figure out later. For now, there was food on offer, and good company, and that was way better than standing around moping on a rooftop. At least JJ was happy to spend time with him, unlike every woman he’d ever met.

Maybe this might be a good time to consider exploring other options…


The End