Mixed Signals

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 2 Mixed Signala

MARIE, the girl at the front desk, tittered when Frank walked into the salon. She knew him and knew her chances with him were nil, but that did not stop her. It never stopped anyone. ―Mr. Sheldon! Welcome back!‖ She grinned ear to ear and Frank gave her one of his typical friendly smirks that everyone fell for and yet did not imply ―invitation.‖ He learned young how to keep his distance. ―Didn‘t forget me?‖ ―Oh, never!‖ She tittered again, then pouted. ―But Jane got tied up in a really complicated highlights job and is running late.‖ ―That‘s fine. Let her know I‘m here. I‘ll wait.‖ He tugged at his unruly mop of hair. ―This needs mowing.‖ ―Oh, Mr. Sheldon!‖ She gave him a sappy smile and ran off to the back. Sighing, Frank sat down. His looks could get him bumped to the head of any line, but he did not want to pressure his hairstylist by walking back there and laying on the charm. He just needed a haircut, and he was not on duty at LifeFlight until eight that night, so he could wait. He liked the midtown salon because it did not have any pretensions about being a ―day spa‖ or ―wellness center.‖ It had the kind of friendly vibe that was lacking in all the upscale salons of his youth but was classy enough to hire

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 3 knowledgeable and experienced stylists. Frank had been using Jane for nearly two years now, and he was a creature of habit anyway. ―Dammit.‖ Frank looked over at the guy on the bench with him. He was stocky and a little unkempt in wrinkled khakis and a rumpled polo with coffee stains down the front. He was glaring at his laptop, and Frank assumed that was what had caused the cursing. The guy, who had a curly head of nearly black hair that was chopped and ragged, started punching the keyboard with extreme prejudice, so Frank held his peace. The guy screamed ―geektastic‖ anyway, and Frank knew all too well how poorly socialized that subgenus was in general. Instead, Frank flipped through the pile of fashion magazines, hoping against hope for an old copy of GQ. ―Okay, yeah—no, that‘s not working for me. Think for yourselves, people….‖ Frank looked over again to find the guy was now frowning at his laptop. It was impossible to tell if he was younger or a lot younger than Frank, because he had the soft, pale physique of a lab rat, a type Frank knew intimately and biblically; ―soft‖ was the only reason he ever slept with women, and his last boyfriend had been a cushy biotech engineer with really, really gentle hands. So he only had himself to blame for trying to strike up a conversation. ―Bad day?‖ he asked, keeping his body language neutral because he was not ready to admit to himself that he was hitting on a coffee-stained, hair-challenged geek in the lobby of his favorite salon. The jokes wrote themselves, he thought as he cringed inwardly.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 4 The guy looked up at him with a surprised expression, clearly noting Frank‘s presence for the first time. Frank took the blow to his ego with grace, he thought, at least until the guy spoke. ―You‘re already pretty. Why are you here?‖ ―Uh… thanks?‖ Frank squinted, trying to find a better comeback, but the guy snorted and waved his free hand. ―Don‘t bother trying to be witty, you might hurt yourself.‖ ―Hey!‖ The guy sighed, closing his eyes and turning his face towards the ceiling. It gave Frank a moment to gauge his age better, and he was surprised to realize that he was probably closer to Frank‘s age than he'd thought. The guy sighed again and opened his eyes before speaking. ―Sorry. So very sorry. Okay? Better now?‖ ―Not really.‖ Frank turned toward the guy, crossed his legs and arms simultaneously, and glared at him. ―This how you usually make friends?‖ ―I don‘t usually try to make friends with people like you.‖ Frank bristled. ―Oh? People like me? And what kind of people are those?‖ He knew his glare was intimidating, because no one got out of a career as an officer in the military without practicing being an asshole, but the guy shrugged. ―Beautiful people. You know, with the hair… and the clothes… and the, the… pretty.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 5 Frank blinked. ―The pretty.‖ ―Yes, don‘t even pretend that you don‘t know what I mean. Give me some credit.‖ Frank did know what he meant. Even in his mid-thirties he could make people stop in the middle of the street just to watch him walk, and he knew it. More than once Uncle James the Hollywood almost-producer had told him to go into acting; Frank preferred flying and said so, but no one in his family took him seriously. The worst thing of all was that his good looks were supposed to mean that he did not want to do things like fly or have a career. His personality had always been incidental to his looks, and the thing Frank missed most about being in the Air Force was that being so damn good-looking had been a handicap for a change. ―Yeah, okay.‖ Frank nodded, uncrossing his arms. The guy stared at him. ―Really?‖ ―Yeah?‖ ―Okay then.‖ The guy paused, studying Frank closely. ―Just, you know, people like you are usually… humble about it. ‗Oh no, I‘m totally average!‘‖ the guy falsettoed with a fair imitation of the salon‘s front desk girl. Frank laughed. ―Not my style.‖ ―Oh. Okay. That‘s… new.‖ Then the guy‘s laptop made an annoying pinging sound, making him focus back on the screen again. Frank realized that he did not really exist in the guy‘s world anymore… which kind of disappointed him. ―Hey, what‘s your name?‖ ―What? Who?‖ The guy looked up, confused.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 6 ―You. Name?‖ Frank pointed. ―Dr. Benjamin Kaplan. And no, you can‘t call me ‗Benji‘, it‘s Benjamin. Or Dr. Kaplan. Whatever you‘re, uh, comfortable with.‖ Benjamin looked really uncomfortable himself, his eyes sidling off to his laptop, as if it was some kind of actual escape route. ―Frank Sheldon.‖ He held out his right hand, which Benjamin took suspiciously. ―Nice name.‖ ―Sometimes,‖ Frank sighed, grimacing. He had a beautiful name to go along with his looks, and he hated it: Francis Devonshire Sheldon the Third (technically, after his maternal grandfather, but it was not as if anyone bothered to ask once he got to his last name). It was something that fit in well at his boarding schools but not so much with the Air Force. At least he had managed to get everyone in his units to call him Frank, something he had somehow managed to make stick now he was back to being a civilian again. He did not think he would have minded so much if he had been born a little plain like his younger sister or a little too smart like his older brother. Nancy had gone into politics, because no one expected her to be pretty, and Jeffery had gone into academia because no one else would have him. Francis, though, was pretty—or handsome, depending on his age and how drunk his mother was—and so everyone expected the world of him because he had the name and the looks and charm. Even the dishonorable discharge did not tar his feathers much with the progressive movers and shakers that made

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 7 up his family‘s peers. He was more a cause célèbre, which he milked because it seemed like the right thing to do for a good cause. He had found vicious pleasure in helping repeal the ―Don‘t Ask, Don‘t Tell‖ policy that got him kicked out of his career. He realized that he was still shaking hands with Benjamin, and it was more like holding hands the longer it went on. Benjamin was not giving him the usual starry-eyed expression Frank got in situations like this; instead, Benjamin looked as if he was studying a bug under a lens. Frank gently pulled his hand back. ―Nice to meet you, Benjamin.‖ ―Sure.‖ Benjamin nodded once, then turned back to his laptop. ―Frank Sheldon!‖ Jane burst into the lobby like a whirlwind, pulling Frank up and dragging him to her station. ―What the hell! Your hair‘s a mop!‖ ―Thanks, Jane. Good to see you too.‖ Frank leaned over and gave her a polite peck on the cheek. She batted at him. ―Stop stop stop. First! We wash!‖ Frank was frog-marched to the sinks in the back by one of the interns, a young guy with pink and purple streaks in his hair who flirted mainly by blushing profusely at everything Frank said. Jane shooed the boy off as soon as Frank was settled back in her chair, though. ―I see you were bonding with our resident geek.‖ Jane smirked and snapped her scissors.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 8 ―Not your usual clientele,‖ Frank countered, admitting nothing. Jane nodded, rolling her eyes before starting on his hair. ―He‘s Rachel‘s other brother. Carting her around since ‗the incident‘.‖ Jane air-quoted, and Frank was both unsurprised and dismayed to realize that he knew exactly what she was talking about. Rachel was the newest stylist on staff and had managed to score a DUI on her birthday party a few months earlier. ―The Incident‖ also totaled her car, and it was just dumb luck that no one was hurt—a fact Frank had spoken to her about at some length, including very graphic details on the life flights he usually ran from accident scenes like hers. She had avoided him ever since, but he did not care as long as she learned her lesson. He wondered if she had complained to her brother about him. ―Nice guy.‖ Jane snorted. ―We‘re talking about the same person?‖ ―He‘s helping his sister out. Can‘t be all bad.‖ ―Yeah, I guess. Not like he‘s got a job anyway.‖ Frank knew to let it go. He knew that if he did, Jan would not keep talking about it. He knew that, but some devil was on his shoulder, and he spoke without thinking. ―So what does he do?‖ ―Some kind of website thing. Says he makes money off it, I don‘t know. But what he really does is, get this, design video games!‖ She laughed. Frank grunted noncommittally, hoping he would take his own advice and stop the madness. ―Yeah?‖ he asked, and wondered when he lost all control of his mouth.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 9 ―Hasn‘t sold anything; he says once he does he‘ll be a billionaire. Sure.‖ She laughed again. ―Oh hey, you on duty? I didn‘t think to ask.‖ ―No, not on until eight p.m. tonight. Got the night shift for a few weeks, the usual guy is out on paternity leave.‖ ―Okay, then. Any interesting stories?‖ Frank reviewed the last few life flights he had done over the past month but shook his head. Sometimes—rarely— there was a funny or at least interesting story to tell, but lately everything had been tragic car accidents and fires. Jane grimaced sympathetically; her husband was an EMT, so she understood that sometimes not talking about it was the only way to deal, which was one reason Frank stuck with her. Too many people thought his work was heroic and interesting when it was just a job with a body count. In that sense, he thought it was not very different from being in the military. ―Sorry, let‘s talk about something else,‖ Jane said, looking at him with understanding. They moved on to new restaurants, and Jane grilled him about his (nonexistent) dating life, and Frank volleyed the jokes in all the right places. When he finally walked out, though, Benjamin was not in the lobby anymore, and that was the first time Frank realized he had been looking forward to seeing him again.

―IT‘S admirable, of course….‖ Frank‘s father trailed off, waving around the hand not cradling his whisky. Dr. Sheldon was not much of a social drinker, but Frank noticed

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 10 he seemed to clutch a drink every time they had this discussion. ―Admirable. Sure. Looks good on Nancy‘s press releases, her brother the life-saving pilot and former military hero.‖ His father missed the sarcasm and nodded solemnly. ―Yes. I agree, there are benefits. No doubt. But it‘s hardly… up to your potential.‖ Frank frowned. ―My potential went down in flames with my discharge.‖ ―My god, you still on about that? Son, please, you‘re young; you have at least two more careers left in you.‖ They were sitting in his father‘s den, a large east-facing room with a sizable fireplace that was burning huge logs merrily. It was their main home, the ―family estate‖ that was probably going to Nancy once the old man kicked off, and was best used to intimidate pretty much everybody. Including Frank, although he refused to admit it, squirming on the antique horsehair wing back chair facing his father. At Frank‘s lack of response, his father sipped his drink and tsk-tsked. ―I know it hurt. I know you did your damnedest to stay in the closet, and it‘s a shame our country required that kind of deception of the honorable men and women serving in uniform for so long. But what‘s done is done, Francis. Flying for a hospital network is admirable, I do mean that, but you‘re thirty-four and wasting yourself. Fly on the weekends. Take my money and start a business. Hell, buy a small airline. I don‘t care. I know whatever you do will be… worthwhile.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 11 By which he meant profitable, but Frank was not up to calling him on that after what had to be the most heartfelt speech his father had made since his own wife‘s funeral. ―Dad, I… don‘t really….‖ Frank clutched at his own drink, unsure of where to take the conversation. The truth was that he had been gutted by his discharge, his plans completely derailed in a way that left no room for improvisation. He had decided to become a pilot and Air Force officer when he was ten years old; twenty-five years later, he had no clue what other dreams he might have harbored once.

FRANK was back at the salon within six weeks. He usually let his hair go for at least two months, but his father had told him in no uncertain terms that Frank was to show up at his sister‘s big local political rally looking every inch the Wronged American Hero, and shaggy cowlicks were not acceptable. Frank suspected he was in for another round with Nancy‘s personal makeup assistant as well, and probably a wardrobe call later. As the race heated up for Nancy, Frank knew he was going to be yanked around to every exclusive dinner and all-American rally the family could drag him to without being charged with kidnapping. ―Mr. Sheldon!‖ the front desk girl squealed again, and they went through the usual routine before Frank sat down next to a very hyper-looking Benjamin. ―Picking up Rachel again?‖ Frank asked casually, throwing a winning smile into the mix.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 12 Benjamin peered at him suspiciously. ―She‘s my sister.‖ ―I know.‖ This only made Benjamin more suspicious. ―Well don‘t get any ideas, pretty boy. She‘s only twenty-two.‖ Frank waggled his eyebrows. ―Old enough.‖ The look of horror that crossed Benjamin‘s face was too much for Frank to resist, and he broke down laughing. ―I‘m not interested in your sister, Kaplan.‖ ―I don‘t see why not. She‘s very attractive.‖ Benjamin sniffed in outrage, then turned back to his laptop. ―You‘re a class act.‖ ―I don‘t think it‘s unreasonable to assume a goodlooking man would hit on my sister.‖ Benjamin flapped a hand at him, still focused on the screen. Frank let the comment sit for a minute, then threw it all into play. ―So you think I‘m good-looking?‖ he asked, dropping his voice to a level only Benjamin could hear. Benjamin blushed and stammered for a second, and Frank thought he got a score in. A straight guy would have argued or brushed it off, not get flustered. Not the way Benjamin was rattled, red all the way to the roots of his curls. Frank decided he really wanted to run his fingers through those disorganized, catastrophic curls. ―I… uh… oh my god, are you hitting on me?‖ Benjamin hissed at him. Frank slid back into a casual sprawl on the bench, waited a beat, and nodded. He knew he had this guy in the bag. Or the sack.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 13 Benjamin clutched his laptop to his chest. ―Well forget it! I know your type! Believe me, I‘ve been the brunt of jock jokes before. If I want a pretty lay, I‘ll play it safe and hire a hooker.‖ Frank‘s mouth dropped open and he sat up straight. ―Hooker?‖ ―Oh my god, Benjamin, did you call Mr. Sheldon a hooker?‖ Jane stood at the desk, not quite mute with rage. ―No! He was… I was….‖ ―Take your stupid video game and go wait in the storage room!‖ ―Hell no! The chloride in there could snuff a cow!‖ ―Jane, it was just a misunderstanding—‖ Frank stood up, hoping to smooth the waters. ―No, absolutely not. I‘ve had it with you out here harassing the clients. Go!‖ Benjamin stomped toward the back of the salon, looking more like a gangly teen than a thirty-year-old man. Frank just stared after him as Jane fluttered around. ―I‘m so sorry, Frank, really, he‘s got no social skills and—‖ ―Forget. Just forget it, okay? Haircut. Now.‖ Frank marched over to Jane‘s chair with as much military bluster as he could dredge up. Jane followed after him, mute and horrified, and the haircut that followed was done without further conversation for once. When she finally pulled the cape off, Frank brushed

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 14 himself down and looked straight at her. ―Where‘s the storage room?‖ She pointed, too surprised to ask him why he wanted to know. He walked over and went into the room, which was piled high with boxes of supplies and did smell overwhelmingly of chloride. ―Benjamin?‖ ―Yeah? Oh, it‘s you. Please leave, I don‘t want to be attacked by stylists wielding sharp scissors.‖ ―Look, I just wanted to apologize for—‖ ―You didn‘t do anything. Forget it. Go away.‖ Benjamin rubbed his face, his posture that of a very tired man. The laptop was sitting on a box, and something moved on the screen, causing Frank to glance at it. ―Hey! Proprietary!‖ Benjamin grabbed at the laptop, slamming it shut. ―Like I even understood that.‖ Frank crossed his arms in frustration. He knew he had a chance with this guy, but he kept getting sabotaged at every turn. His luck was usually much more easily coaxed along in these situations. ―Right. Never mind.‖ ―Was it your video game?‖ The suspicious look was back, Benjamin glaring at him with narrow eyes. ―Why don‘t you let me buy you lunch, and tell me about it?‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 15 ―You really are hitting on me,‖ Benjamin said with a flat tone of voice. ―Yes, I really am. Does that bother you or something?‖ ―You‘re beautiful.‖ ―Usually, that works in my favor. You‘re an outlier, here.‖ ―I‘m a thirty-year-old pudgy geek who lives at home. You hitting on me is the outlier.‖ ―You live with your parents?‖ considering that a deal breaker.

Frank

frowned,

―What? No! They… they‘re dead. Rachel and I got the house.‖ ―Oh, I‘m sor—‖ ―Same difference, I suppose, but no, I wouldn‘t live there if they were still alive, I mean, come on. I‘d never get laid. It‘s bad enough with Rachel, thank god for her boyfriend, but it‘s not like I really get many offers… seriously? You‘re hitting on me?‖ ―Seriously, I really am. Can we at least do lunch or something?‖ ―Hmmm. Well, Rachel does have a while yet before her last client is done. Sure.‖ Benjamin gathered up his laptop and stopped abruptly. ―Something cheap. That sub shop up the road?‖ ―Whatever, Kaplan. I‘m hitting on you; I‘ll wine and dine you at a five-star restaurant if that‘s what it takes.‖ ―Right. Sub shop it is.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 16

THEY sat down and unwrapped their subs in silence. Benjamin was completely uninterested in talking, and Frank was waiting for him to break. Eventually he could not take it any longer. ―So you don‘t think I‘m some jock pulling a joke on you?‖ Benjamin rolled his eyes. ―Yes, so collegiate of you.‖ He took another bite of food and chewed slowly, thoughtfully, before swallowing. From the coffee stains on his shirt, Frank had expected him to have bad table manners, but Benjamin ate his food like the adult he was so obviously trying not to be. ―You might be.‖ ―Wow, some faith in humanity there.‖ ―I‘ve mentioned the part where I‘m a thirty-year-old geek who lives in his dead parents‘ house. I left out the ‗flaming queer‘ part in the interest of brevity. What do you honestly think my social life was in college?‖ Frank cocked his head and stared. ―Not so much with the flaming, Kaplan.‖ ―I was a flaming twink, I‘ll have you know. It‘s what got me beat up in high school and pranked on in college. Queers didn‘t want me, I was too geeky; geeks didn‘t trust me because I was too queer.‖ Benjamin shrugged. ―I finally got some meat on me about the time it did me no good.‖ He sighed and looked wistful.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 17 ―So what was your degree in?‖ Frank decided to move the subject to safer waters. ―Computer science; programming, mostly. You?‖ ―Aeronautical engineering. Seemed like a good fit for a pilot.‖ ―Oh. You‘re a pilot?‖ ―Yes.‖ This was the first time Benjamin actually looked impressed, and Frank had a pathetic moment where he considered playing up his military record in order to keep Benjamin‘s interest going. ―That‘s… cool. I always wanted to learn to fly.‖ Frank looked at him over the top of his sandwich. ―Nothing stopping you.‖ Benjamin gave him an incredulous look. ―Do you have any idea how much flight lessons cost? Much less plane rental fees and… and fuel!‖ He waved his hands around. ―I‘m still paying off my sister‘s extremely exclusive stylist academy fees. I think my doctorate cost less.‖ Frank, in fact, had no clue how much flight lessons cost, much less the price of a plane rental. He knew fuel costs far too intimately, on the other hand, so he nodded anyway. ―I mean, I‘ve always wanted to learn, but it clearly wasn‘t a priority. Mom and Dad died right before I got my bachelors, and things kind of went to hell, and I had Rachel to look after. She‘s, uh, eight years younger. So it was… a bit rough.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 18 ―I‘m sorry to hear that.‖ Frank was used to playing sympathetic and compassionate, it was a required skill for anyone whose family was involved in politics at any level, but in this case, he felt genuine emotion behind the gesture. Benjamin gave him a quick, piercing look, then turned back to his sandwich. ―So what do you fly?‖ Chances were slim that Benjamin would have a clue as to what Frank flew, but Frank was curious, so he answered simply, ―EC-145.‖ Benjamin nodded thoughtfully. ―Right, by Eurocopter.‖ Surprised, Frank nodded. ―Doesn‘t fly like a dream, but doesn‘t fall out of the sky either. When it‘s busy I can do four or five flights in one night; the choppers can easily handle the abuse.‖ ―LifeFlight?‖ Frank nodded, but typically, Benjamin was unimpressed. ―I‘m sure being a LifeFlight pilot gets you all sorts of nookie.‖ ―Nookie?‖ ―Right, sex. You know what I mean.‖ ―Honestly, spending most of my workday carting around people on the verge of dying isn‘t much of an aphrodisiac.‖ Frank dropped his sub with a bit more force than he intended. Benjamin looked over at him, his expression guarded. ―Yeah, I can see that would be a downer.‖ ―Kinda.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 19 ―Sorry. I didn‘t mean to… do whatever I did.‖ Frank felt his eyebrows rise. ―‗Whatever you did‘?‖ ―Well, yeah. I tend to upset people without meaning to. Rachel says my brain-to-mouth filter is… uh….‖ ―Nonexistent?‖ Benjamin grimaced but nodded. ―I don‘t mind.‖ ―You don‘t?‖ Frank leaned back in his chair, slouching a bit, and looked off to the side. ―When you‘re good-looking, people tend to tell you what they think you want to hear.‖ ―Most people would love that kind of handicap,‖ Benjamin said, and Frank thought he heard a trace of bitterness there. ―Sure. It‘s great. Until the day you realize you can‘t trust a single thing anyone says.‖ He looked over at Benjamin again to find him wearing a look of complete and utter shock. ―I never thought of that.‖ Frank nodded. ―Most people don‘t.‖ ―That sucks!‖ ―Yeah.‖ ―Although, admittedly, the regular sex probably makes up for it?‖ Benjamin looked hopeful at that, and Frank realized that this was just too easy.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 20 ―Depends. Am I getting lucky here?‖ He eyed Benjamin with his most lecherous gaze, the one that made otherwise upstanding men and women drag him into closets for a quickie. Benjamin shook his head.

FRANK walked away from the sub shop with a vague sense of disquiet. Plenty of times in his past, people had played hard to get. Frank was not immune to the lure of ―the chase,‖ of someone making him work for the payoff, and normally he was up for the challenge if the person in question was smart enough to make things interesting. But it was always with some sort of understanding from the outset that they were playing the game, that the winner would take all, and that Frank was odds-on for winning. Benjamin had turned the conversation back to planes and helicopters and proved very knowledgeable about them in general. He asked Frank for his opinion about the different machines he had flown over the years but did not ask a single question about his military service, keeping the conversation interesting but superficial. There was no game there; Benjamin was not playing hard to get, and other than an objective acknowledgment of Frank‘s looks, he did not seem interested in him physically. The problem for Frank was that usually, when someone was not interested, they were not interested in him at all. Benjamin obviously liked Frank, though. Frank could not decide if he was getting mixed signals or if he was just

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 21 unable to understand Benjamin‘s signals. He figured it was fifty-fifty either way, and most likely meant that he was probably digging around in something he should not even touch.

THE political dinner and rally were as excruciating as expected, and afterward, even Nancy looked like she had been beaten up by microphone-wielding news trolls as she poured doubles for herself, Frank, and her closest staff. Several issues on the plate were hot topics, and every news team for two hundred miles had descended. Even Frank ended up being corralled for mini-interviews no less than four times, and he was grateful that the campaign manager had coached him beforehand on what to say, because otherwise his main comment would have been ―back the fuck off.‖ ―Better you than me,‖ he toasted his sister. She gave him a growl and a frown, then slammed her own drink. ―Get used to it. We‘ve got two more months of this, and you better believe you‘re in for a penny, in for a pound.‖ Frank turned to Nancy‘s personal assistant, Todd. ―When we were kids, she also dressed me up in pinafores and made me play ‗tea time‘.‖ Todd nodded, obviously commiserating, and Nancy threw a paperclip at them. Frank caught it and threw it back, and the Great Paperclip War was starting in earnest when the campaign manager yelped.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 22 ―Oh my god!‖ Everyone stopped and looked at her. She waved them over to her laptop. On the screen, a prominent photo of Frank was topped by the screaming headline, ―Pretty Boy Pilot Saves Sister‘s Campaign!‖ ―That fucker. I hate that guy!‖ Nancy stalked off, kicking a trashcan. Frank read the whole article, which was actually flattering to his sister‘s campaign, other than the torrid headline. Todd pointed that out, and Nancy glared at him. ―I don‘t care. MudzNewz is just a muckraking asshole. Sure, he gives me half-decent press this week, but that doesn‘t make up for that damn ‗exposé‘ he did in June. We‘re still fucking recovering from that.‖ Frank shrugged. ―Buy him off.‖ ―Christ, you sound like Dad.‖ Frank cringed but did not withdraw the comment. Todd shook his head, though. ―Better people have tried. He accepts the bribe, documents it, then outs it. CNN picks it up, and careers are destroyed overnight. No one likes MudzNewz, but you can‘t fight him. He‘s completely fansupported, doesn‘t even accept advertising. There‘s no back door.‖ ―Who is he?‖ Frank asked, and everyone shrugged. ―Some college kid, probably. He claims to be a hacker, and he‘s second only to Wikileaks in ‗procuring‘ classified documents. Even the government has tried to shut him down, but his servers are offshore and his signal can‘t be

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 23 traced. You know he‘s good when the CIA made a blanket offer to hire him if he just stopped publishing.‖ Frank whistled. ―Still, this article isn‘t so bad.‖ ―Because he obviously has a damn crush on you.‖ Nancy pointed accusingly, and Todd laughed. The campaign manager finally spoke up, after lurking in the background of the conversation—Frank could never remember her name anyway. ―Well if that‘s the case, Nancy, your brother needs to be on staff. It would go a long way to making MudzNewz agreeable to your campaign over the next crucial months.‖ Frank stared at her. ―You‘re going to put me on staff because some anonymous news junkie thinks I‘m hot?‖ Nancy grinned like a shark. ―Oh, hell yes.‖

HIS father, unsurprisingly, was not only unsympathetic but actually glowed grandchild.

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―It‘s a good way to break into business again, son. Nothing like a political campaign for networking.‖ Dinner on the estate was usually not a very formal affair anymore, not since Frank‘s mother had died ten years before. They were all sitting in the breakfast room instead, dressed in business casual and only using one fork for the whole meal (the butler still twitched at that, but he was imported from England and prone to excessive formality).

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 24 ―I‘m not trying to break into business, Dad.‖ Frank sighed. ―And I don‘t care. Already my numbers in the polls have gone up, and MudzNewz has done everything short of endorse my campaign,‖ Nancy crowed. Todd, unofficially a member of the family, shook his head in amusement. Frank‘s brother Jeffery was with them for a change, along with his wife Suha and their two daughters. He wiped the youngest girl‘s chin—she was only four—then laughed at Frank. ―Half my undergrad students think you‘re hot, Frank. I think one of them even has a publicity still of you set as her laptop wallpaper. So, hey, man, if you aren‘t going to use that to your advantage, at least let Nancy milk it.‖ Suha sighed and shared a sympathetic look with Frank. She was possibly one of the most gorgeous women Frank had ever met (he tried not to be shallow about it, but he never understood why she bucked her traditional Muslim father‘s wishes in order to marry Frank's slightly odd, average-looking and very non-Muslim brother). She was the only one in the family who really got the frustrations of being outstandingly beautiful, and while they never exactly talked about it, Frank knew she was the only real ally he had at the table. ―He is not public property, Jeff,‖ Suha said, her expression clearly revealing that she knew the argument was pointless but making it anyway for Frank‘s sake. He gave her a grateful smile.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 25 ―No, but he‘s family,‖ Nancy interjected. ―And it‘s not as if he‘s got any other plans in life. So, I get him.‖ Their father laughed. ―Yes, you do, sweetheart. You know we‘d all do anything to help you win. Right, Frank?‖ ―I‘m doing it, aren‘t I? And anyway, I do have plans. I‘m a planning kind of guy.‖ Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him. ―What?‖ His father looked on him kindly, as if humoring him. ―And what are these mysterious plans you‘ve failed to mention every other time we‘ve had a discussion about your future?‖ Jeffery and Nancy abandoned him wholesale to shove food in their mouths and study their wine glasses. Dr. Sheldon on the hunt was not a person any of them wanted to be in the direct path of, even if they were married with kids or running for congress. Frank really did not know what he was saying, he just wanted to derail any plans his father might concoct concerning getting his youngest son into politics, which seemed to be where the conversation was headed with or without him. His brain flailed around while his father stared him down. ―It‘s kind of new.‖ ―Hmmm.‖ ―And maybe a bit… unorthodox.‖ His father just continued staring at him. ―It‘s… uh, a video game.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 26 Jeffrey choked on his wine, while Nancy looked both appalled and shocked. Todd, on the other hand, perked up. ―First person shooter?‖ ―Uh…,‖ Frank started, trying to remember impression of the screen shot on Benjamin‘s laptop.

his

―That‘s quite the departure, Francis.‖ His father‘s voice dripped disbelief. ―Well, a friend of a friend, really, and it‘s something of a breakthrough, and we‘re still in the coding stage….‖ ―Right. Well. Let me know if you need any… help.‖ Frank was pretty sure his father meant ―if you need me to bail your sorry ass out‖ but nodded frantically, and was immensely grateful that just then Jeffery‘s youngest daughter decided to start wailing for the stuffed toy she dropped.

―WHO?‖ Marie blinked at him in surprise. ―Benjamin. Kaplan. Dr. Kaplan, Rachel‘s brother?‖ Frank waved a hand over at the empty waiting area. ―I need to speak with him.‖ ―You do?‖ She kept looking at him with an expression of shock. ―Yes, I do. Where is he? Did Jane stick him in the supply closet again?‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 27 Marie was still having trouble processing his request, so he gave up and walked through to Jane‘s stall. ―Hey handsome! Back so soon?‖ ―Jane, I need to get in touch with Dr. Kaplan.‖ Jane gave him the same surprised look Marie had. ―You do?‖ ―Yes!‖ Frank managed not to stomp his foot in frustration. Jane raised her hands in surrender while her customer gave them both nervous looks. ―Rachel.‖ Jane pointed to the sister, who had just walked out of the back room. Frank zeroed in on his target, and with minimal fuss and only one mildly surprised ―you do?‖ from Rachel, he managed to get Benjamin‘s phone number. He stepped out of the salon to call him. ―What?‖ the annoyed and slightly distracted voice snapped after barely half a ring. ―Benjamin. It‘s Frank. I need a job.‖ There was a long pause, then a sigh. ―You should try modeling. I hear ‗mature‘ men are hot right now.‖ ―For fuck‘s sake, did you just call me old?‖ ―No! That was my professional business advice!‖ ―Well, it sucks.‖ ―Why ask, then?… Hey, how‘d you get my number?‖ ―I want to be a business partner in your video game thing.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 28 ―My ‗video game thing‘. Do you even know what you are talking about?‖ ―Not really, no. That‘s why I want to meet up with you, to talk about it.‖ There was another sigh. ―Seriously, do you ever give up?‖ ―I‘m not hitting on you!‖ Frank yelled, and a woman who was passing by on the sidewalk stepped carefully away from him. ―Okay, look, can we just meet and talk about this? Not at the sub shop,‖ he qualified quickly. ―Not until you explain the sudden interest.‖ Frank could almost see Benjamin leaning back and crossing his arms defensively, which only made him smile. He stopped quickly, realizing that maybe his brain was focusing on the wrong thing. ―Look, it‘s either back your damn video game, or my father is going to start micromanaging my political career.‖ ―You have a political career?‖ ―No! And that‘s kind of the point: I don‘t want one!‖ ―Soooo, you randomly picked helping me develop a video game as a way to look respectable to your old man?‖ The sarcasm dripped from Benjamin‘s voice, and Frank had to admit that when put like that, his idea sounded stupid. He slumped. ―Something like that.‖ ―But you have a career being a dashing, heroic LifeFlight pilot.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 29 Frank sighed. ―It‘s not so much a career as a hobby, at least by family standards. And hey, did you just call me dashing and heroic?‖ Benjamin snorted in his ear. ―Beside the point. Who the hell is your father, anyway?‖ ―You heard of Nancy Sheldon? She‘s running for Congress, and—‖ ―You‘re her brother! Shit! Yeah, I saw your photo. So your dad is Dr. Moneybucks Sheldon, huh?‖ Benjamin whistled. ―No wonder.‖ Frank tried not to groan. ―Kaplan, are you going to help me escape the clutches of the evil billionaire or what?‖ ―Your dad really a billionaire?‖ ―No, but he has an evil streak. Can we meet, or not?‖ ―You know, I had this same crisis when I was, oh, fifteen.‖ ―Kaplan!‖ ―Okay! Okay, fine. You know the coffee shop on Harper Avenue, the one by the drug store? Be there in twenty.‖ Frank hung up and started walking. By the time he got there, Kaplan was ensconced on a lounger chair with a super-size cup of coffee. Frank got his own small, plain cup of regular and sat down in the lounger chair opposite him. ―My game isn‘t some kind of technological breakthrough, if that‘s what you‘re hoping,‖ Kaplan said by way of hello.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 30 ―Oh. I was sort of hoping, actually. But honestly, I‘m not picky.‖ ―Yeah, I got that.‖ Kaplan slurped his coffee, and Frank understood where the coffee stains came from. Kaplan went after his coffee like a hyena, in direct contrast to his fastidious eating technique. It was rather adorable, and Frank cringed when he thought that. ―So what makes it special?‖ Kaplan stared at him for a second before he set his coffee down. ―Despite our old house and my POS car, I‘ve got money. Not a lot, but enough; my website development work pays the bills, so I don‘t need this video game in order to eat.‖ Frank sipped his own coffee. ―Okay.‖ ―What I‘m saying is, this is an act of love for me. It‘s about the story and the characters and the content; I mean, the graphics are important to me, sure; they are to any gamer. But most games have sucky story lines. World of Warcraft isn‘t popular just because it‘s a violent social networking platform. It‘s because people like the worldbuilding and the general story lines, the campaigns.‖ Frank shrugged. ―You can say the same about most popular games.‖ ―And I do. I‘ve played all of them.‖ Frank doubted that was hyperbole, so he just nodded. ―Okay, let me make this simple for you: I don‘t need a backer. I do my own coding and writing and development. You want to help, then I can make you a beta tester, but I

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 31 already have a forum of fellow gamers I trust online to do that.‖ ―Dammit.‖ Frank sighed. It was too good an idea to work anyway, he knew that, but it still hurt to have the rug yanked out after what he had told his father. Now he‘d have to come up with something else and endure his family‘s heckling of his ―failed video game venture.‖ Benjamin gave him a pained look. ―You already told your dad about this, didn‘t you?‖ Frank cringed but nodded. Benjamin looked around the room, but his eyes were not focused, and it was clear that he was lost in thought. Then he slapped his thigh and pointed at Frank. ―Deal.‖ ―Deal what?‖ ―I help you, and you help me!‖ Frank narrowed his eyes. Somehow he knew this was not going the way he wanted. ―How?‖ ―I will be your ‗cover‘ for being a video game entrepreneur, and you! You will pay for and help me with flying lessons.‖ Frank grinned. ―How about I rent the plane and teach you?‖ It was Benjamin‘s turn to look suspicious. ―I‘m a certified flight instructor. You can check my license if you want.‖ Frank could not stop grinning. ―I will, believe me! But… really?‖ Benjamin looked so hopeful that Frank‘s heart nearly broke. Without a doubt, he

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 32 was getting in over his head with the lunatic geek, but he could not stop himself at this point. ―Really. I teach you to fly, and you meet my father with a business plan that has my name on it.‖ Benjamin sniffed. ―If he‘ll sign an NDA.‖ ―He signs those like other people sign credit slips. No problem.‖ They sat in the coffeehouse grinning at each other like fools until Frank convinced himself this was not actually a date and managed to get out with both a promise of meeting later in the week and his dignity relatively intact.

―I HEAR you bought a plane.‖ ―I decided I want something fun to fly on the weekends.‖ Frank piled up more eggs from the serving platter on his plate. ―Helicopters are one thing, but fixed wing….‖ Frank could not stop himself from smiling dreamily. His father nodded. ―It‘s good to have a hobby. Just don‘t crash it.‖ It was his father‘s way of saying, ―I love you; play safe,‖ so Frank smiled. ―I won‘t, I promise.‖ ―Any more news on this… video game?‖ Frank nodded. ―Kaplan has a business plan we‘re finetuning.‖ ―Hmmm.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 33 Frank went in for the kill. ―But neither one of us has an MBA or anything. I thought, maybe, if you wanted to look it over and—‖ ―Absolutely! Of course, I would not miss a chance to help you out, son,‖ his father jumped in, and Frank knew the deal was set, although he waited for the other shoe to drop. His father coughed. ―And if this Dr. Kaplan would like to be in on that consult, I‘d be pleased to meet him.‖ Frank nodded as if he had not thought of that himself. ―Sure, I‘ll ask him. He‘s pretty busy, but this is his baby after all.‖ ―So, what is your initial investment?‖ Frank gave him a number that was roughly equivalent to the price of his new plane. His father did not even blink.

THEY had only gone up once so far, and that was with Frank at the controls. He had given Benjamin a textbook and assigned him some lessons out of it, which made his student snort in derision, but Benjamin did the homework anyway with a speed and precision that made Frank‘s own flight school traumas in the USAF look pathetic. A fact he did not mention. However, he had taken Benjamin up as a ―reward for good behavior‖ (earning him yet another derisive snort), and they had a great time. Benjamin did not ask about the plane, clearly assuming it was rented, which was fine with Frank for the time being. He did not flaunt his trust fund, and in fact rarely used it for anything and preferred keeping

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 34 it out of whatever was happening between him and Benjamin. Not that anything was, or that Benjamin noticed. Frank was in the unusual position of pursuing someone who could care less about his attentions, which was not something he had a lot of practice with. He was used to guaranteed wins or immediate losses, but he refused to admit he was not in play and so met regularly with Benjamin even if it was just for a cup of coffee under the guise of getting ready for this meeting with his father. Totally unnecessary, but he was not going to admit that. Benjamin was yammering on about a programming issue with the game, his jargon thick and heavy. Frank raised a hand to stop him. ―No idea what you are talking about.‖ Benjamin frowned. ―Sorry?‖ ―It‘s okay. You‘re just going on about… computer stuff.‖ ―Hazard of the job.‖ Benjamin smiled smugly at him. ―You know, I meant to ask: why don‘t you have a job?‖ ―Huh?‖ Benjamin slurped some more coffee. ―You have a doctorate. In computer science. You….‖ Frank waved a hand around. ―Why aren‘t I at a university, or working for some big international corporation for a lot of money?‖ Frank nodded. ―Rachel. She‘s eight years younger than me, was a real surprise for Mom and Dad. Then they died ten years ago….‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 35 ―So she was only, what, ten?‖ Benjamin stopped, surprised that Frank remembered Rachel‘s age. ―Yeah, actually, twelve. I was twenty and had another year left on my bachelors. Fortunately the university here has a good program, so I transferred back. I could have sold the house and moved her around while I got my degrees, but I figure, she just lost her parents, so it was better to keep her where things were familiar. Anyway, the CompSci department loved me, gave me a full ride for my doctorate.‖ Benjamin shrugged. ―After that she was graduating high school and enrolling in the stylist academy, and so I… just stuck around. Most job offers I got would have required me to relocate.‖ Frank nodded, understanding Benjamin‘s dilemma. ―Well, what about teaching? The university?‖ ―Yeah, I did that. But let me tell you, academic politics are vicious. And I never got to work on what I wanted; I was pressured to do high-level crap to get published in the journals. It‘s all about prestige, not actual accomplishment. I started taking side jobs, built a few web sites, and worked on my game. After a while it made more sense to do all that full time and quit the teaching gig. I like doing my own thing.‖ ―Good turn you did for Rachel.‖ ―She‘s my sister, my only real family, actually. I mean, no one counts crazy Uncle Larry. Who I think is actually a cousin….‖ Frank laughed. ―I think we have a few of those too.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 36 ―So what‘s up with you? Discharged for conduct unbecoming, so now you live at home and fly helicopters for fun?‖ Frank put down the coffee. ―How‘d you know about the discharge?‖ Benjamin colored bright red for a second, then rallied. ―You really believe I didn‘t Google you after you told me who your father was?‖ Frank blinked. Naturally, given his sister‘s campaign, his whole story was probably an open book online. He sighed. ―Yeah, okay; point.‖ ―And it‘s not like I can escape your sister‘s campaign, it‘s all over the news.‖ ―I don‘t think anyone can escape it.‖ Frank grimaced. ―I like helping her out, but it‘s a drain. I‘m still flying three twelve-hour shifts a week, and that‘s full time plus for a pilot. It takes a lot out of you. But then I‘ve got to run around to all of her dinners and rallies… gah.‖ Frank closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. ―She‘s… ah… a bit of a rebel.‖ Frank nodded, pausing while he collected his thoughts. ―Look, I‘m not voting for her just because she‘s my sister. And if I really disagreed with her platform, I wouldn‘t let the family bully me into helping her. She‘s a good person, and she‘s a damn good manager. She gets things done. Father likes having a politician in the family, but it‘s more than that for her: she‘s a true believer.‖ ―Well, there have been some scandals….‖ Benjamin talked slowly, carefully, staring into his coffee. There was

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 37 something odd about it that Frank could not place, until he did. ―Oh, Christ, that MudzNewz raked up.‖

whole

shitstorm

in

June

that

Benjamin blinked, then colored red again. ―You read MudzNewz?‖ ―I have to, don‘t I? Shit. Look, that was a bad deal, I agree, but Nancy didn‘t know what that guy was doing. She vets her staff, but you can‘t catch every crook, my father would tell you that. She was blindsided by the whole thing. Fuck that MudzNewz, seriously.‖ ―Hey, he‘s just trying to get at the truth.‖ ―I think he‘s trying to get into my pants,‖ Frank barked with a bitter laugh. Benjamin paled. ―What?‖ ―Why the hell do you think I‘m on the campaign staff now? Because apparently Nancy‘s campaign manager thinks MudzNewz has a crush on me. It‘s fucked up. We don‘t even know if this guy is a guy… or hell, even an American. So don‘t ask me to be nice about that fucker, because he nearly derailed my sister‘s career and he‘s the reason I‘m not going to get any sleep for the next six weeks.‖ Benjamin was silent for a long time, looking off to the side. ―That‘s messed up, yeah.‖ ―Glad you agree.‖ Frank sighed, tired of the topic. ―Look, that meeting with Father is in two days. Let‘s talk about that.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 38

BENJAMIN showed up at the headquarters of Sheldon Medical Technologies Corp. dressed in a halfway decent but obviously been-around-the-block suit. His tie was bright blue, sprinkled with images of old biplanes, which made Frank grin. ―Ready?‖ ―No, absolutely not.‖ Benjamin nodded. ―Right then, let‘s do this.‖ Frank hauled Benjamin by his arm into the building, giving security only a passing glance as they walked to the elevators. He used his special key card to get them to the top floor where his father‘s business suite was, then pushed Benjamin out of the door. ―Sheila, how are you?‖ Frank stopped at the receptionist‘s desk, knowing she would buzz his father to let him know they were there. ―Great, Mr. Sheldon. Is this Dr. Kaplan?‖ ―You know who I am?‖ Kaplan suddenly looked panicked. ―Of course! Dr. Sheldon is waiting. Have a great day!‖ Frank did not stick around for more pleasantries and headed off, hauling Benjamin behind him. His father‘s personal secretary, Sally, just flapped a hand at him as they walked past her desk. He had to hand it to his father, the man was smooth and kind and polite. For as much of a shark as he was in business matters, he was a genuinely nice guy, and Frank sometimes forgot that while he was busy butting heads with

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 39 him. His father shook Benjamin‘s hand warmly and invited them to sit at the casual table (as opposed to the more ostentatious board-room table that dominated half the office). ―Thanks for e-mailing me the business plan so I could look it over, Dr. Kaplan.‖ Benjamin nodded, completely mute. ―So, Father, what do you think?‖ Frank chimed in after a moment of silence. That was all it took to set his father into ―business mode.‖ He eviscerated the business plan in the nicest way possible, then produced his own marked-up copy and proceeded to go over it page by page, graph by graph. By page twenty-two, Benjamin rallied and was bouncing questions, waving his hands around to make his point or agree or make his own notes. Frank was impressed by Benjamin‘s business acumen, which, though inexperienced, was pretty thorough. His father did not humor anyone for any reason and would not have bothered to spend his time discussing the business if it had not at least met his own criteria. All in all, it was a total success, and Frank could not wipe the grin off his face as the two other men wrapped things up. His father asked Sally in and handed her the marked-up plan. ―Copies, plus a PDF. E-mail to all parties.‖ She nodded and headed out. ―Dr. Kaplan, you‘ll get a copy before you leave, but I‘m sure Sally will get the electronic version emailed to you this afternoon.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 40 Benjamin finally stopped, blinked, and looked stunned. ―Oh. Thank you. This was… enlightening. I never expected… well, Frank said, of course, but I thought… uh….‖ Frank‘s father gave Benjamin a gentle, benevolent smile, and Frank‘s hackles went up. ―You thought you were just humoring Frank‘s paranoid father,‖ his father laughed, and actually reached over to pat Benjamin’s arm. Frank sat up in the chair, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. ―Well, you said it. Not me.‖ Benjamin grinned. His father laughed again, then motioned at Frank. ―Dr. Kaplan… may I call you Benjamin?‖ Benjamin nodded. ―Of course, sure. Uh, please do.‖ ―I need to speak with Francis privately for a few moments. Family business, nothing for you to worry about.‖ ―‗Francis‘?‖ ―Father….‖ ―I‘m not calling you ‗Frank‘, it makes you sound like a character in a bad sitcom.‖ ―Francis? Really? That‘s your—‖ ―Okay then, thanks, Benji. I‘ll be right out.‖ ―Hey, what‘d I say about that? Don‘t… hey, stop pushing.‖ Frank shut the door in Benjamin‘s outraged face before turning on his father, who was grinning at him. Frank crossed his arms and glared.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 41 ―For chrissake, Francis, I‘m not an idiot. I know what this was.‖ Frank faltered, wondering when his father had seen through their ruse. Probably when Frank never said a damn word about the business plan for the last hour. His father got up and hugged him, though, and laughed again. ―Hell, I did the same thing with your mother‘s father. He terrified me, but I was so in love, and what did a poor medical intern have to offer the socialite daughter of one of the wealthiest manufacturing scions of the East Coast?‖ Frank faltered, having no idea what his father was talking about. ―Uh?‖ ―Exactly! Nothing! So I spent twenty-four hours coming up with a business plan for a new medical device one of my old med school pals was inventing and got my foot in the door that way. Hell, I had no idea the damn thing would turn into my first million; I was just trying to clear the way to ask your mother‘s hand in marriage. You know what a bastard your grandfather could be.‖ Frank‘s jaw dropped. ―Kaplan‘s a good man, Francis. A little… hyper. But damn smart, and that business plan of his might actually go somewhere, not that I know anything about video games. And he adores you, that‘s pretty clear.‖ ―No, wait, that‘s not… I mean….‖ ―Kind of sweet of him to go through all this trouble, really. It‘s not like I‘m some Victorian about my children‘s dating lives. Very romantic, though!‖ His father beamed, and Frank considered jumping out the window to escape. ―So,

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 42 you two have my blessing. Might want to keep it low-key until your sister‘s campaign wraps up, especially since we have no idea how MudzNewz will take the fact that you are seeing someone.‖ ―I‘m… not….‖ His father gave him a long-suffering sigh. ―Enough, Francis. Go away. You have my blessing, and I have work to do. Go enjoy your young man.‖ Struck dumb, Frank nodded and walked out. Benjamin jumped him. ―What was that? Did you father say something about me?‖ Frank stared at Benjamin, completely at a loss. ―He did! He thinks I‘m crazy!‖ ―No. No, that‘s not… it really was some family business. About… about Nancy‘s campaign. Nothing to worry about.‖ Benjamin was not buying it, but Frank offered a celebratory ―training flight,‖ and Benjamin all but dragged him out of the building to the airport. Frank wondered if Benjamin would be half as excited to have sex with him… probably not.

NANCY and Frank looked at each other, then back at Todd, who was pointing at his smart phone. ―You‘re kidding,‖ Nancy said, her expression a bizarre cross between horror and relief. ―No, no, no, I‘m not. And it‘s news. The major networks are stumbling over themselves.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 43 Frank shook his head. ―Because MudzNewz backed off reporting on Nancy‘s campaign?‖ Todd rolled his eyes. He was young and irreverent, which was why Frank liked him… most of the time. ―Because MudzNewz specifically said he has a conflict of interest. That he can‘t report on her campaign. This is the most objective, untouchable news source in the country saying he‘s been compromised, but not how or why. It… it‘s a scandal!‖ Todd gave them both a wild-eyed look and shook his phone at them again. It started ringing, and Todd looked at it as if it would bite. ―Oh crap, CNN!‖ He gave them one last panicstricken look and then ran off to find the campaign manager with the phone still ringing. Nancy turned to Frank. ―What did you do?‖ ―Me? Me? I didn‘t do anything! I‘ve done everything you asked!‖ ―Something! You did something!‖ ―No! No, I did not! And anyway isn‘t this what you wanted, for him to back off?‖ ―Not like this! It makes it look like we paid him off or something!‖ Nancy paced. ―I‘m serious, Frank, what have you done?‖ Frank ground his teeth. ―Nothing.‖ Todd ran back in. ―Holy shit, MSNBC has it as a headline on their website. There‘s all kinds of speculation going on.‖ Nancy grimaced. ―Fuck.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 44

FRANK had to bail on Benjamin for the next two weeks as Nancy‘s campaign battled back against bizarre, unfounded accusations of corruption based on MudzNewz‘s complete cave-in. The irony was that as far as the MudzNewz site was concerned, Nancy‘s campaign did not even exist anymore, while on all the mainstream news outlets it was all that was talked about. The running assumption was that the Sheldon family had somehow bought MudzNewz‘s silence. Even MudzNewz took to running a banner across the top of his site claiming total financial independence and objectivity, but then Fox News speculated that meant it was due to some kind of blackmail scheme by the Sheldons, and the story spiraled even more out of control. By the time Frank walked into the coffee shop again, they were three weeks out from the election, neck-and-neck in the polls with Nancy‘s competition, and he had also covered several more shifts for the pilot out on paternity leave. ―You look terrible.‖ Benjamin looked up at him as if smelling bad meat. Frank crashed into the lounger that he unofficially considered ―his‖ and just nodded. ―That bad, huh?‖ Frank closed his eyes and concentrated on not dropping his cup of coffee. ―I‘ve… uh… been reading the news. Online. About… the thing.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 45 ―Of all the things in the world I do not want to talk about right now, it‘s Nancy‘s campaign.‖ Frank did not even open his eyes. ―Ohhhhkay. How about, I rewrote the business plan, and Charlie thinks it‘s solid.‖ Frank looked up at him. ―Charlie?‖ ―Yeah, your father? He looked it over again and—‖ ―You‘re calling my father ‗Charlie‘?‖ Frank sat up, mildly outraged, or maybe just appalled. ―Yes? I mean, yes. He said I could!‖ Frank only knew three people who called Dr. Sheldon ―Charlie‖; two were old medical school pals of his, and the last one had been Frank‘s mother. If his father ever asked Suha to call him by his name, she had obviously declined. He dropped his face into his hands. ―What? He said I could!‖ Benjamin repeated, sounding like a five–year-old. ―I know, I know. Look… I should come clean here, you need to know.‖ Frank sucked in a deep breath and straightened up. ―That your father thinks we‘re dating? That‘s not exactly a secret.‖ Frank paled, stunned speechless, but Benjamin just waved a hand at him. ―He asked if we were doing a prenup as part of the business arrangement, and when I finished having a stroke, he asked about the honeymoon. He‘s… pretty old-fashioned, for a liberal-minded kind of guy. He wanted to know what church I go to.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 46 ―You don‘t go to church,‖ Frank said, as it was the only thing his brain could process. Other than vague plans to kill his father. ―Well duh.‖ Benjamin pointed at himself. ―Secular Jew! Hello!‖ He stopped and studied Frank for a second. ―You know, for a guy whose sexual orientation is common knowledge at CNN and who hit on me the first time we met in the waiting area of a salon, you‘re acting pretty upset about this.‖ Frank shook his head. ―Because it‘s your father? Hate to break it to you, but he probably guessed you were gay when you got kicked out of the military for cock-sucking.‖ ―Jesus! Kaplan, shut up!‖ Benjamin frowned at him. ―So what‘s the problem?‖ ―Maybe it‘s because my father thinks we are getting married!‖ ―That‘s ridiculous, gay marriage isn‘t legal here. We could immigrate to Canada, maybe….‖ Frank groaned, remembering weeks of hitting on Benjamin unsuccessfully before tacitly giving up, and wondered why Benjamin was being so cavalier about it. ―We‘re not getting married!‖ Benjamin opened his mouth, then shut it so hard his teeth clacked. ―Oh.‖ There was a long silence as they stared at each other before Frank finally broke. ―What?‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 47 ―I thought… well. Forget it.‖ Benjamin began slurping his coffee, but he was bright red and angry. ―You thought what?‖ Frank pressed. ―It doesn‘t matter, because I was wrong, okay?‖ ―About what?‖ If anything, Benjamin went even redder in the face. ―Look, it‘s obvious that the idea of you being gay isn‘t the problem with your father, you just don‘t like him thinking that you‘re with… with me. I get it. I‘m not good enough for the Sheldons. Not good enough for you.‖ Floored, Frank could not even reply. ―I mean, I thought we were kind of moving towards something here, but I guess I was just flattering myself.‖ Frank‘s brain finally engaged. ―You turned me down.‖ He pointed accusingly. ―I wasn‘t going to be a convenient floozy! Then you kept showing up and I thought you were actually interested in me… wouldn‘t be the first time I got the signals wrong.‖ Benjamin deflated in his chair while Frank continued staring at him in surprise. ―I‘m sorry, okay? We can still do the business plan thing, I‘m not a jerk….‖ He leaned over and started packing up while Frank was still putting the pieces together. ―You thought I was courting you?‖ Benjamin stopped and glared at him. ―Courting?‖ Frank grimaced but waved a hand at Benjamin in frustration. ―You know what I mean.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 48 ―Sure, okay, fine. Courting. Yeah. That‘s what I thought. Us lower classes, we call it ‗dating‘.‖ Benjamin continued packing up. Frank paused at that, because looking back over the last few weeks, it did look a lot like they were dating. He got ready to say so, but Benjamin stood up. ―I mean, I get it. You‘re hot and sexy and rich, so why would you hang out with the geeky professional failure?‖ He threw away his coffee cup and set his messenger bag on the chair. ―No hard feelings. I‘ll see you next week.‖ Benjamin moved to leave without further comment. By the time Frank was out of his seat to stop him, Benjamin was turning away from the chairs and toward the front door. Frank grabbed his arm, but Benjamin was so startled by it that he lost his balance and tripped forward. Frank instinctively pulled at him, and when they were steady, but locked faced to face, Frank leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Benjamin‘s lips. They stood motionless like that for a few moments before Benjamin tipped his head and started kissing back, slowly but certainly. Smiling into his kiss, Frank let his tongue sweep out over Benjamin‘s lips, making him groan. They stopped at the sound of applause. Frank pulled back, and Benjamin picked up the things he had let drop to the floor with a sheepish grin as the other coffee house patrons continued clapping and cat calling. Some of them were taking photos with their phones, laughing encouragingly.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 49 ―We‘re leaving,‖ Frank said, trying to look businesslike as he gathered up his trash and threw it away but feeling the flush to his toes. ―I… ah….‖ Benjamin stuttered but followed. ―Okay.‖ ―Your place.‖ ―Rachel‘s at work, yeah, okay.‖ Benjamin still looked stunned, and stopped randomly every few steps to stare at Frank, who finally herded them into his own car—he was willing to drive back to the coffeehouse later to retrieve Benjamin‘s car—and got them on the road. ―Are we…?‖ ―Damn vigorously.

right

we

are,‖

Frank

answered,

nodding

Benjamin grinned, then snapped out directions to his place. It was a nice but not fancy city house that took up most of its lot. The bushes and trees were overgrown and unkempt, but the grass was cut and the exterior was clean, although Frank did not care at all as he bustled Benjamin up the walk to the front door. Benjamin got them inside and suddenly stalled out, looking at Frank with wide eyes. ―Really? Me?‖ Frank rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and pushed Benjamin into the wall as he used his free hand to slam the front door shut behind them. Muscling closer until they were touching all the way down their bodies and Benjamin was starting to pant, Frank leaned in to the shorter man as if to kiss him, but stopped.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 50 ―You‘re the one who thought we were dating.‖ ―Not really, I just thought it was a possibility… you‘re, uh, pretty persistent.‖ Frank nodded. ―Usually. I thought you weren‘t interested at all, though.‖ He breathed out, blowing warm air over Benjamin‘s jaw and making him squirm. ―Oh, interested! Yes, yes, very interested! But, uh… I‘m not really in your league, you noticed that, right?‖ ―Not many people are, my father‘s a multi-millionaire. But just because you don‘t have a lot of money… dammit, I don‘t care about that.‖ Benjamin blinked in confusion. ―I don‘t care about your money!‖ Frank frowned at him. ―Okay, maybe I do a little. Who wouldn‘t? I‘m only human! A human whose hot water heater is old and finicky and needs replacing, and… okay, never mind. I didn‘t mean that.‖ Benjamin flushed and looked off to the side. ―I just mean, you‘re beautiful. And I‘m not so much.‖ Frank pushed in close to kiss him again and sucked on his tongue, going for deep and wet. Benjamin was on board with that idea, grabbing at Frank‘s waist to haul him in even closer. Their groins pressed together, cocks plump and, at least in Frank‘s case, firming up quickly. He rolled his hips, causing Benjamin to gasp into his mouth. It was dead sexy and Frank groaned.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 51 Frank moved to grab Benjamin‘s upper arms, pressing him harder against the wall, and shoved his thigh in between Benjamin‘s legs. Benjamin hauled his head back, looking up at the ceiling. ―Really. Hot.‖ ―Yeah, you are….‖ Frank trailed off, smiling, kissing Benjamin‘s neck lightly and letting up on the pressure between them, allowing Benjamin to decide the pace. Benjamin wrapped his arms around Frank‘s back and pulled him back, rising up on his toes to gain leverage and kissing frantically while trying to talk. ―Ysmph… yes… mmm….‖ His hips stuttered against Frank‘s thigh, his cock hard in his pants. Frank angled up to force Benjamin‘s thigh against his own erection, and they were quickly rutting each other against the wall. Frank shoved himself backwards. ―I am not coming in my pants in the foyer.‖ Benjamin blinked. ―This isn‘t a ‗foyer‘, Trust Fund Boy, it‘s a living room.‖ ―Whatever, genius. Bedroom. Now.‖ Benjamin sprung off the wall and practically jogged to the back of the house. He pulled open a door and entered a small bedroom that looked frozen in time from 1999. Including an early Star Wars: The Phantom Menace poster. Frank stopped to stare at it. ―Look, I didn‘t know the movie was going to suck.‖ Benjamin stood defensively by the bed, which was only a full size and very rumpled.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 52 ―Is this really the room you grew up in?‖ Frank crossed his arms. Benjamin looked uncomfortable. ―The master bedroom was my parents‘. Rachel and I turned it into an entertainment room. Neither one of us could stand the idea of sleeping there….‖ Frank walked over and gave Benjamin a slow, full body hug. Benjamin sighed, leaning into him. ―Sorry, I wasn‘t… can we just pick up where we left off in the foyer?‖ ―The living room,‖ Benjamin snarled with a grin, and then they were kissing again. Frank pushed them back onto the bed, using his longneglected hand-to-hand combat training to control the fall and end up on top. He crawled up Benjamin to straddle his hips. ―That is so hot,‖ Benjamin whined, rubbing his hands over Frank‘s thighs. Frank grinned and started undressing Benjamin, unbuttoning his shirt while sitting on his cock. Benjamin whined some more, closing his eyes and trying to thrust up against Frank. They both still had their jeans on, and there was not much friction to be had, so Frank sat down further, pressing all of his weight on Benjamin‘s hips. ―Fuck! Oh, oh….‖ Benjamin started ripping his shirt off, sitting up a little to let Frank pull him out of it. ―You! You, you, you! Now!‖ Benjamin attacked Frank‘s shirt with more enthusiasm than effectiveness, and by the time it was off, Frank was laughing helplessly.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 53 ―What! Is this funny?‖ A quick shadow of doubt passed through Benjamin‘s eyes, making Frank want to kill the bastard who had ever made him so self-conscious in bed. ―I‘m just having fun.‖ Frank reached out and stroked Benjamin‘s face with a gentle hand. ―After all, since we‘ve been dating so long and everything, I think I should take my time.‖ Benjamin rolled his eyes but moved his hands up Frank‘s chest, then made desperate clutching grabs for him as he moved off and stood up. His hands froze in the air as Frank slowly started unbuttoning his jeans. He stared at Benjamin‘s cock, which was starting to battle its way out of Benjamin‘s jeans, and kept at his slow, measured strip tease. Benjamin‘s eyes went wide and his hands dropped back to the bed while he watched Frank finish undressing. As soon as Frank was moving back towards the bed, Benjamin frantically went for his own pants and had stripped out of them by the time Frank lay down next to him. He waited for the grabbing/pushing/pulling enthusiasm he expected of Benjamin, but instead Benjamin rolled up next to him, shifting slowly so their cocks brushed up against each other, and softly stroked the skin of Frank‘s exposed arm, side, hip, and leg. He rested his head in his hand, propped up on his elbow, so he could see what he was doing. Frank responded by reaching out to run his fingers through Benjamin‘s hair. ―Wanted to do that for a while.‖ ―Oh.‖ Benjamin grinned, running his hand lightly, then heavily, down Frank‘s side, alternating strokes.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 54 ―You know, I‘m okay with us having dated this whole time. Really good with it.‖ Benjamin snorted, then rolled on top of Frank, smashing their cocks together in a hot, full-body-pressure way. Frank groaned and shoved his hips, reaching up with his lips to find Benjamin again. They kissed and adjusted until there was a rocking, steady friction between them. Benjamin pulled out of the kiss with an air-sucking gasp. ―Not really gonna last too long, here. Keep… oh, man… keep your expectations low….‖ ―Mmm-hmmm.‖ Frank nodded, wrapping his hands around Benjamin‘s plump, soft ass cheeks and tightening his grip, snapping his hips up. They were both a little graceless, and lube would have helped—somewhere in his not-lizard brain, Frank was making note of that for future reference—but Benjamin began gasping out short sobs against Frank‘s shoulder and mouthing skin mindlessly, writhing on top of him. Frank‘s orgasm was almost like a cough—it welled up so quickly and unexpectedly inside of him. He let out an explosive breath, his hips stuttering, and felt his come flood out between them, slicking both of them up. Benjamin gasped and braced himself up on his hands, staring down at Frank with a dazed expression that showed just how close he was to coming. ―Yeah, for me… come on, baby, do it….‖ Frank did not let up his grip on Benjamin‘s ass, slamming him down hard enough to bruise his own hips, but Benjamin rode it and him and let out a long, pained moan as he came.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 55 Benjamin collapsed in slow motion as his cock throbbed, emptying out. Frank kept up a steady, rolling motion with his hips to gentle them both through the aftershocks until Benjamin dropped to one side, sliding down on the bed and curling around Frank, mumbling something unintelligible. Frank drew circles on Benjamin‘s back as they shifted into a comfortable position and started to doze. Finally, his brain pieced together what he wanted to say. ―You‘re good enough for me.‖ He kissed Benjamin‘s temple. Benjamin gave him a sloppy, sleepy grin before slipping off to sleep. Frank stayed awake, enjoying the feeling of Benjamin‘s solid body against him and cataloging the numerous perfectly built and painted model planes that lined the shelves on the opposite wall. It was a room that was smaller than his closet at the mansion, but it felt like home.

THREE days later, Frank sat staring at the headline in shock. The photo, an amateur shot that nonetheless looked very clear and crisp, was sitting at the front and center of the web page under the large words ―MudzNewz gets intimate with Sheldon Campaign!‖ The photo was from the kiss Frank had plastered on Benjamin at the coffeehouse, and it looked a lot smoother and practiced than it had felt at the time. Not that Nancy cared. ―You unbelievable—‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 56 ―I didn‘t know! I had no idea! He‘s just… just Benjamin!‖ ―What, you were doing a tonsil inspection on him?‖ ―No! That‘s not what I mean, dammit! He‘s just… he‘s not MudzNewz, he can‘t be.‖ Frank shook his head, still transfixed by the photo. Next to him, Benjamin honestly did not look like much, a little dumpy and a little rumpled, but Frank could not help but think he was adorable as he clutched at Frank‘s shirt in the picture. He was so very screwed. ―Well, Jon Stewart seems to think so, along with every other major news outlet,‖ Todd said unhelpfully from where he was hugging the wall, avoiding Nancy. ―No….‖ Frank continued to be confused. Todd took pity and stepped over, carefully out of Nancy‘s flight path as she paced angrily around the room. ―Apparently someone tried to sell that photo to MudzNewz, who didn‘t offer to buy it but threatened to ruin the guy‘s credit. So instead, the guy shoved it over to a CNN tip line, where it got assigned to some newbie reporter who‘s a little too smart. He started backtracking your guy Dr. Kaplan, and… look, I‘m not saying it‘s a solid case, but given the circumstances about MudzNewz and the campaign and the connections this reporter dug up, it‘s pretty odds-on to be true.‖ Nancy had stopped pacing and was staring at him. ―You really didn‘t know.‖ She said it softly and kindly, her expression full of pity. Frank wanted to hit her for it, but they were not kids anymore, and he suspected his father

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 57 would do more than send him to his room. Instead he groaned and rubbed his face. ―No, I really didn‘t.‖ The campaign manager snorted from where she sat at the computer. ―At least this explains why Mudz backed off a few weeks ago. He just couldn‘t admit he was dating your brother.‖ ―We weren‘t dating then, anyway. This….‖ Frank waved a hand at the incriminating picture. ―This is new. Day before yesterday.‖ There was dead silence for a few moments until Frank looked up and realized that they were all staring at him, waiting for him to make the next move. ―I need to talk to him, don‘t I?‖ Todd nodded with relief. ―At least get the straight story… er, I mean, the real story from the source.‖ Frank rolled his eyes at the fumbled ―correction,‖ and Nancy outright laughed at it. It lightened the mood a little bit, but not the weight pressing down on Frank. His romantic entanglements were usually a lot less romantic and a hell of a lot less entangled. He did not like the way he was feeling about all of this, the sense of betrayal that ate at his gut warring with his genuine affection for the recalcitrant computer programmer who might have just sunk his sister‘s whole campaign.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 58 HE

KNEW the second Benjamin opened the door and stood

there, glaring at him defiantly. ―Shit. It‘s true.‖ Frank slumped against the doorframe. He had used Todd's car to get there in order to shake any press who wanted to see where Frank was going. He had half expected to find a whole slew of reporters camped out on Benjamin‘s front yard, and counted himself lucky that the street was as normal and quiet as the last time he was there. Until Benjamin opened the door. ―The only reason the vultures aren‘t here is that I hacked more than a few government databases to erase my address.‖ Frank stood back up. ―Just now?‖ Benjamin rolled his eyes. ―No, years ago. When I first… started the website. I knew it would bite me on the ass one day, and lo and behold, here is that day.‖ He stepped back and waved Frank in. ―Also, it‘s mostly just local databases, because I‘m not keen on racking up felonies; anyone gets access to the IRS and they‘ll know where to find me.‖ He shut the door, then folded his arms. ―So, did your sister send you down here?‖ ―Why am I the one getting the third degree here? It doesn‘t fucking matter if she sent me here or not; the bigger problem is that you fucking lied to me.‖ Benjamin paled, opening his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. ―You lied to me from the start—you knew who I was the moment I walked into the hair salon and sat down next to you.‖ Frank approached Benjamin, feeling his anger like a

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 59 hot brand on his skin now that Benjamin had all but confessed. He was used to being used—no one as attractive as he was escaped that fate, and he had accepted that a long time ago. Accepted it and hated it; and as he consciously worked to physically intimidate Benjamin into the wall, he let his anger show. He was used to people trading on his looks and his money, and the one time he really let his guard down, it came back to betray not only him but possibly his family as well. Benjamin was shaking his head. ―No! No, I really didn‘t. Of course I looked you up as soon I got home, but no, I swear to you—‖ ―But you knew. When I called about my father, about the business… you knew.‖ Benjamin nodded, looking startled as he realized how much Frank was crowding him. ―You knew, and you used me to get information about my sister. To meet my own damn father!‖ ―What? No!‖ ―You lied to me,‖ Frank repeated, grinding his teeth. ―Not on purpose!‖ Benjamin nearly shouted. Frank snarled at that, but Benjamin found his voice again. ―Okay, maybe a little on purpose. But not because I wanted to lie to you, not because I cared about your sister‘s campaign! I promise! I was just trying to….‖ He trailed off, frowning over Frank‘s shoulder. ―You have no idea what you were trying to do, do you?‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 60 ―I‘m… not used to this. You liked me, you kept talking to me, you gave me flying lessons! That‘s why I backed off covering the campaign!‖ It was true—Benjamin had done that, not that it helped. ―That only made things worse.‖ ―But not on purpose, don‘t you get it?‖ Benjamin yelled, shoving Frank away from him. ―I was trying to make everything okay. I did a bad job of it, okay? I get that! But I never meant… I mean, I just….‖ Frank shouldered past him and sat down on the couch. He stared at the floor, not sure what to make of anything. ―I was trying to save the reputation of something that means a lot to me while dating the one person on earth who could destroy all my hard work.‖ Benjamin sounded defiant, but he slouched over to the ottoman and sat down with the air of a man on the dock waiting for execution. ―At least, I thought we were dating at the time, which we weren‘t, I mean, not until… but it was about us, I swear. I did not give a damn about your sister‘s campaign; I just didn‘t want you thinking….‖ ―That you were using me to get at her.‖ Benjamin nodded. ―I wasn‘t. But there‘s no way I can prove that, is there?‖ Frank shook his head. ―Admitting it from the start would have gone a long way towards that. Why didn‘t you just tell me, asshole?‖ ―Admit it, you would have… I suppose ‗called it off‘ isn‘t the right term.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 61 ―No, I wouldn‘t have, because I didn‘t know back then there was anything to ‗call off‘. Did you purposely look for ways to screw this all up? Dammit.‖ Frank leaned back. ―No!‖ Benjamin looked affronted. ―Well, you did anyway.‖ Benjamin clenched his jaw. ―You have to understand, I started MudzNewz during a nasty local election; the guy in the lead was a homophobe and an anti-Semite, and I couldn‘t just let him win. Especially when a source gave me proof about the guy‘s boy-hooker habit. I totally meant to shut it down after I knocked that asshole out of the running, but suddenly I was getting all these tips from readers about politicians, and when I said I was taking it down anyway, people raised $20,000 to pay for the servers.‖ Frank blinked. ―$20,000?‖ ―Seriously, you do not even know how fanatical some of these people are. I‘ve had two followers leave their estates to MudzNewz in their wills. They are just the ones who actually died; I have no idea how many have done that. The site pulls in about $7,000 a month through individual donations, just from people desperate to make sure I never get swayed by corporate backing. Even after bandwidth costs, I make enough of an annual profit to pay property taxes and insurance for the house.‖ Frank leaned back on the couch, shocked. ―So asking you to shut it down now is….‖ ―Totally not happening.‖ Frank groaned. ―Every news outlet says we bought you.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 62 Benjamin nodded, his expression grim. ―Remember what I said about fanatics? I‘ve been getting death threats from otherwise loyal readers who think the same thing.‖ Frank sat up. ―Death threats?‖ ―Not to get worried about, honestly, mostly just the ‗I hope you die!‘ variety. Which, hey, I get all the time anyway from people who hate the site on principle.‖ They sat quietly for a few moments. Frank was worried about the death threats that Benjamin talked about so cavalierly, but he was still mad too. ―My sister wants me castrated.‖ Benjamin nodded glumly, took a deep breath, then slapped his hands on his thighs. ―So this is it, I guess.‖ Frank stared at him. ―If this is how things go when we‘re, ah, together, imagine the fallout when they find out about the business plan.‖ Visions of being strung up and left for the vultures by his sister danced through Frank‘s head. ―Oh, fuck.‖ ―Right. Look, I already have a plan, so leave it to me.‖ Frank did not like that idea and shook his head. ―Leaving it to you got us in this mess.‖ ―I‘ll just be ‗honest‘, tell everyone that I was… tricking you. Playing you along to get info on the campaign. Everyone will believe it, trust me.‖ Benjamin sighed. ―After all, you did.‖ Frank felt the wind get sucked out of him. ―Did you? Play me?‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 63 Benjamin looked directly at him, his expression grim and stern but his eyes watery. ―No. I didn‘t, and I won‘t. I… you… well, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. While it lasted.‖ Frank‘s stomach twisted, because he could see how Benjamin would believe that having to keep his identity secret and lie to him and risk one of the most important things in his life, just to be with Frank, would count as his ―best thing ever.‖ His anger bled away into disappointment. ―So this is it?‖ Benjamin looked at him, surprised. ―Isn‘t it?‖ Frank got up and walked over to stand in front of Benjamin, then slid down on his knees. ―Your plan sucks.‖ Benjamin eyed him but kept his arms folded over his chest. ―Look, I‘m not happy about it! It‘s the first idea I had, but it‘s not a bad one. Anyway… it‘s not as if you can‘t do better.‖ Frank leaned up and forward on his knees to kiss Benjamin, gently putting his hands on Benjamin‘s thighs for balance. ―What… what was that for?‖ Benjamin shied back. ―Because you mean it. Because you‘d throw yourself under a bus to do the right thing for me. Because…. I just wanted to.‖ Benjamin nodded, his eyes wide and earnest as he leaned forward for another kiss. This time he unwound his arms and gently, hesitantly put his hands on Frank‘s shoulders.

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 64 After a few moments of surprisingly chaste kissing, Frank sat back again. ―So we‘ve established that your ideas suck?‖ ―No. Right now, it‘s our only way out.‖ Benjamin ran his hand through his hair, looking stressed again and refusing to meet Frank‘s eyes. ―And you really can, you know. Do better.‖ ―You think I‘m just going to give you up?‖ ―Uhm… yes?‖ Frank leaned over and rested his forehead on Benjamin‘s thigh. He felt Benjamin awkwardly patting his head. ―No. I‘m not.‖ ―Really? I mean, that‘s great, but….‖ Frank lurched up, grabbed Benjamin, and rolled them both onto the ground, pining Benjamin under him. ―Nancy can handle this; Dad can handle this. We can handle this. Just no more lying to me, ever.‖ ―Never ever ever. Never.‖ Benjamin looked up with a dazed expression, trying to get at Frank‘s lips again. ―No more figuring things out on your own. You‘re a Sheldon now, Benjamin. We solve this together.‖ It took a moment before Benjamin registered what Frank said and stopped trying to kiss him. ―I‘m a what now?‖ Frank grinned. ―Well, we could always just go to Canada.‖

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 65

Epilogue Toronto, CANADA—News of millionaire pilot playboy and former United States Air Force Major Francis Sheldon‘s elopement with software developer Dr. Benjamin Kaplan took the political world by storm when they first flew by private jet (piloted, it is rumored, by Sheldon himself) to Canada to request political asylum last month. Kaplan, founder and publisher of the infamous political muckraking online magazine MudzNewz.net, had apparently been contacted several times by the United States Central Intelligence Agency about shutting down the website and was allegedly in fear of his safety. He cited those circumstances as the reason behind his decision to stop monitoring Senator Nancy Sheldon‘s campaign prior to her election. Several news agencies have discovered evidence suggesting the government was blackmailing Kaplan regarding his relationship with Sheldon in order to curb his website‘s political news coverage, and an investigation has been called for by Sen. Sheldon‘s office. Sheldon, youngest son of medical equipment magnate Dr. Charles Sheldon, commented to reporters recently that he was unaware of Kaplan‘s identity as the owner of MudzNewz.net during their courtship. Kaplan corroborates the statement, but a number of online conspiracy theorists claim that the whole thing was engineered by Dr. Sheldon to distract news coverage from the release of his company‘s

Mixed Signals | Cooper West 66 latest hand-held MRI, although no one can explain the benefit of such subterfuge. Sheldon is taking these events in stride. Caught leaving their apartment in Toronto on their way to private flying lessons for Kaplan at a private air field on the outside of the city, the exiled couple were holding hands and arguing about video games. They refused to answer questions from reporters.

About the Author

COOPER WEST lives in Florida and wishes the weather was more like the Pacific coast, or maybe Hawaii, but is in graduate school to become a sexy librarian so is unable to make that real just yet. West has a cat and a lot of books and spends too much time reading slash fan fic when not riding a bicycle or doing yoga or napping. Visit Cooper at http://www.cooper-west.com. Cooper at [email protected]

Contact

Romance from COOPER WEST

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Mixed Signals ©Copyright Cooper West, 2011 Published by Dreamspinner Press 4760 Preston Road Suite 244-149 Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Cover Art by Catt Ford This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the Publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ Released in the United States of America July 2011 eBook Edition eBook ISBN: 978-1-61581-947-8