and said, “But just to set the record straight, I don’t want to be kissed by any other man except you.”
“Music to my ears,” Dax said, as he squeezed Jack’s hand.
“Have you always knows you were gay?” Jack asked.
“I’ve always known, and Dona says the same thing.”
“Dona’s gay too?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, it’s not that uncommon if one twin is gay for the other to be gay too,” Dax said.
“If that’s not proof that being gay is genetics and not a choice, I don’t know what is,” Jack professed.
“I know, right,” Dax said.
Jack had a million questions rolling around in his head. “How was it, growing up being gay?” he asked. “Were you teased a lot in school?”
“When we were younger we didn’t know we were different,” Dax said. “Our parents homeschooled us until we went to college, so luckily we never had to endure any of the teasing and bullying you hear so much about these days. Those poor kids,” he added.
“Obviously it hasn’t affected your adult lives or the way you run your business. Or has it?” Jack asked.
“Don’t get me wrong, Jack, sometimes it’s been tough,” Dax confessed. “I think more so for Dona, being a gay woman in a predominantly male-dominated business, but we try not to take it personally. Some people are just bigots, and that’s never going to change.”
“Is it tough to get people to take you seriously?” Jack asked.
“As a matter of fact, sometimes we’ve been able to use the gay thing to our advantage,” Dax explained. “Because we’re gay, people underestimate us, and that always gives us the upper hand. I have a Masters Degree in Archeology and Dona a Masters in History. We worked our way up by crewing on every expedition we could find and learning everything we could possibly learn from anyone who would teach us. And yeah, I earned a reputation of being a real asshole, but not because I started out that way. We’ve had to work harder than anyone else to achieve the same results—because we’re gay, and because Dona’s a woman. This is a straight man’s business, and they never let us forget it.”
Jack nodded but didn’t say anything, not wanting to interrupt Dax’s story.
“We mostly work with two types of people. The first type is your typical homophobe who writes us off because we’re stupid homosexuals, and how much could we really know about treasure hunting and salvaging? And as I said, we use that to our advantage. That is, until I’ve had enough of playing their game, and then the real asshole in me comes out, and I quickly live up to my reputation.”
“And the second type?” Jack asked.
“The second type is the worst. They pretend to accept us as equals, but do everything to undermine our operation, and stab us in the back at every turn. At least with the homophobes we always know where we stand, and there’s some comfort in that, but with these guys, you never know who to trust, so you trust no one.”
“I imagine that’s tough,” Jack confessed. “Always having to look over your shoulder.”
“It is,” Dax said. “But I earned my reputation because I don’t put up with any bullshit, and I do things my way. If I’m wrong, I take the hit, but thankfully, because I do my homework, and I know my shit, I’m normally right on.”
Jack was developing a newfound respect for Dax and Dona. Their chosen career wasn’t always easy, but they’d kept on course and made their way in the world, and he admired that.
“This is all very enlightening,” Jack said. “But make no mistake about it, my disliking you had nothing to do with your being gay. I really had no idea, but apparently Brad and Mac did and never bothered to tell me.”
“It’s okay, Jack, we get the same shit all the time,” Dax said. “We’re very used to it.”
“I really wasn’t playing games with you, Dax,” Jack said. “It looked like you were challenging me to a pissing contest at every turn, and I never shy
“Music to my ears,” Dax said, as he squeezed Jack’s hand.
“Have you always knows you were gay?” Jack asked.
“I’ve always known, and Dona says the same thing.”
“Dona’s gay too?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, it’s not that uncommon if one twin is gay for the other to be gay too,” Dax said.
“If that’s not proof that being gay is genetics and not a choice, I don’t know what is,” Jack professed.
“I know, right,” Dax said.
Jack had a million questions rolling around in his head. “How was it, growing up being gay?” he asked. “Were you teased a lot in school?”
“When we were younger we didn’t know we were different,” Dax said. “Our parents homeschooled us until we went to college, so luckily we never had to endure any of the teasing and bullying you hear so much about these days. Those poor kids,” he added.
“Obviously it hasn’t affected your adult lives or the way you run your business. Or has it?” Jack asked.
“Don’t get me wrong, Jack, sometimes it’s been tough,” Dax confessed. “I think more so for Dona, being a gay woman in a predominantly male-dominated business, but we try not to take it personally. Some people are just bigots, and that’s never going to change.”
“Is it tough to get people to take you seriously?” Jack asked.
“As a matter of fact, sometimes we’ve been able to use the gay thing to our advantage,” Dax explained. “Because we’re gay, people underestimate us, and that always gives us the upper hand. I have a Masters Degree in Archeology and Dona a Masters in History. We worked our way up by crewing on every expedition we could find and learning everything we could possibly learn from anyone who would teach us. And yeah, I earned a reputation of being a real asshole, but not because I started out that way. We’ve had to work harder than anyone else to achieve the same results—because we’re gay, and because Dona’s a woman. This is a straight man’s business, and they never let us forget it.”
Jack nodded but didn’t say anything, not wanting to interrupt Dax’s story.
“We mostly work with two types of people. The first type is your typical homophobe who writes us off because we’re stupid homosexuals, and how much could we really know about treasure hunting and salvaging? And as I said, we use that to our advantage. That is, until I’ve had enough of playing their game, and then the real asshole in me comes out, and I quickly live up to my reputation.”
“And the second type?” Jack asked.
“The second type is the worst. They pretend to accept us as equals, but do everything to undermine our operation, and stab us in the back at every turn. At least with the homophobes we always know where we stand, and there’s some comfort in that, but with these guys, you never know who to trust, so you trust no one.”
“I imagine that’s tough,” Jack confessed. “Always having to look over your shoulder.”
“It is,” Dax said. “But I earned my reputation because I don’t put up with any bullshit, and I do things my way. If I’m wrong, I take the hit, but thankfully, because I do my homework, and I know my shit, I’m normally right on.”
Jack was developing a newfound respect for Dax and Dona. Their chosen career wasn’t always easy, but they’d kept on course and made their way in the world, and he admired that.
“This is all very enlightening,” Jack said. “But make no mistake about it, my disliking you had nothing to do with your being gay. I really had no idea, but apparently Brad and Mac did and never bothered to tell me.”
“It’s okay, Jack, we get the same shit all the time,” Dax said. “We’re very used to it.”
“I really wasn’t playing games with you, Dax,” Jack said. “It looked like you were challenging me to a pissing contest at every turn, and I never shy
Similar Books
