Page 100 of The Long Way Found

Jack leaned back in his chair. "You know what I've been learning lately? That locking it down works great for missions. But it's shit for actual living."

Martinez looked up, surprised.

"I'm not saying you need therapy," Jack continued. "But if it helps, you’re smart to seek it. Don’t let pride get in the way.”

Jack pulled out a sticky note and wrote down a name, then handed it to Martinez. "Dr. Sarah Chen. She works with veterans. Tell her I sent you. She's good."

Martinez took the note, studying it. "You've... seen her?"

Jack hesitated for a moment. "I'm considering it. Feelings are complicated sometimes. I might need help making sense of them.”

Martinez nodded slowly. "Thank you, Sir."

"You wrote a hell of an essay, Martinez. Don't stop there. Do the work. All of it."

After Martinez left, Jack sat at his desk for a long moment, weighing whether he should tell Luke about this right now or let it go. Then he pulled out his phone and typed a message to Luke:

“Told a student (Martinez!) to consider therapy. Felt like a hypocrite. Maybe I should take my own advice.”

Luke's response came back immediately: “It might help.”

Jack stared at the message, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled as the truth settled into him. Not so bad at all.

“Yeah. It might.”

Jack was still sitting there, thinking about his text exchange with Luke, when Professor Morrison appeared at the doorway.

"Garrison! Got a minute?"

Jack looked up. "Sure. What's up?"

Morrison came in and sat without being invited, sprawling in the chair Martinez had just vacated. He held a coffee cup and a faculty newsletter.

"So, the fundraiser this weekend," Morrison said. "That's for your boyfriend's gym, right?"

"Luke's recreation center, yes."

Morrison grinned. "I still can't figure out how you pulled that off."

"Pulled what off?"

"Come on, Garrison. How’d a normal Joe like you get an Adonis like that?”

Jack's jaw tightened. "Morrison⁠—"

"Relax." Morrison held up his hands. "Everybody wants a trophy wife. You’re smart enough for the two of you, right?”

Jack set down his pen carefully and considered mounting a full-blown defense of Luke’s intelligence and credibility. This jackass doesn’t deserve it, he decided.

"Luke's not eye candy, Morrison. He runs a million-dollar operation and helps people live better lives,” Jack said. “Hot people can be smart, you know. There have been studies.”

Silence. Morrison stood, clearly ready to leave.

"Anyway," Morrison said, trying to recover, "I'm looking forward to meeting him this weekend. The fundraiser should be interesting."

"It will be."

After Morrison left, Jack noticed he wasn’t even angry, not at Morrison specifically. The man was thoughtless, not malicious. But at the pattern. The assumption that Jack’s interest would be only in Luke’s looks.