Yet through it all, those police lining the street fueled her momentum. She stood ready to fight. Her spine was stiff with indignation. Everyone should have equal rights. As far as she was concerned, every person in Dallas should be out here demanding they all be treated equal.
“You’ve been here all night! What’s your name?” A guy wearing an event badge came up beside her, stopping her chant as he motioned for her to step to the side of the large crowd. Only then did she lower her past-exhausted arms and dig the water bottle from her purse. The relief was audible as the moisture coated her aching throat.
“I’m Chloe Reeves.” Her voice cracked again.
“I’m Jake. Can you be back here in the morning like by eight? We want to organize better for next week,” he yelled loudly to be heard over the others still shouting the rallying cry.
“Yeah, I can be here. I go to OU, but I’m transferring up north because I’m sick of this Southern oppression. People should have rights!” she yelled back adamantly and that caused him to smile big. She’d found a kindred spirit in Jake.
“Good! We need people like you. Go home now and get some rest. We’re about to call it a night. We shut the bars down and got more people here because of the news. It’s what we wanted, but be back here in the morning,” he called out, taking several steps back to his position on the front steps. “We’re meeting right here so they can see us planning while they’re all coming in to work!”
She smiled big, her inner energy filled with pride. She was already moving up to the planning committee. Somehow that validated everything she held dear in her world. This did make a difference tonight. They had given this community something to think about and tomorrow they’d start over again! With a fire burning deep inside her soul, she headed to the small grassy hill that Allison had crashed on hours ago. She’d burned out early and gone on a man hunt. Those didn’t seem the right priorities in something this important to the future of their country. She might have to rethink bringing Allison to future events.
As Chloe scanned the crowd lying on the grass, she spotted Allison on a blanket, curled up next to some guy. She wasn’t certain how she picked one of the only straight men there tonight, but Chloe had never seen the guy before.
“Hey, you!” Allison called out, patting the blanket beside her. Chloe eyed the guy closely because Allison would seriously just think anyone was okay to spend time with. Collapsing on the blanket took her mind off the guy that looked to be pretty normal, at least he styled the swoosh in the front part of his hair correctly.
All thought vanished as she stretched out her tired, aching legs in front of her. She dropped her arms to her sides and closed her eyes. Protesting was exhausting work.
It occurred to her that a gay rally was probably not the best place to pick up girls. She opened her eyes and turned her head toward Allison and the guy, wondering what he was doing here. Maybe he had a gay brother or sister and decided to support them. How cool was that? Man, she wished Chad would turn out gay.
“Chloe, meet Jacob. He has classes with me,” Allison said.
“Hey,” she said, and her voice cracked. “Where’s some water?” Chloe asked, closing her eyes again, less worried about her friend since she knew the guy from school.
“Here you can have mine,” Allison offered, handing hers over. Chloe opened her eyes and propped herself on one elbow to take a long drink.
“Hey, I want you to know your dad’s a pretty cool guy. He’s why I’m here tonight,” Jacob explained, a big grin in place. He stared at Chloe as he said the words, but they made no sense. She looked over at her friend to find out why Allison’s dad, Jack, had all of a sudden become a reason to attend tonight’s rally.
“What did he do to make you come here?” Chloe asked, giggling a little at Allison’s expense, the pain of her body now completely forgotten as they both turned toward Jacob. Allison looked as confused as she felt.
“He’s just a good guy. Him and his boyfriend. They shouldn’t have to hide—” Chloe cut him off in mid-sentence.
“Wait, what? Go back.” Chloe snapped forward as Allison pulled back a little. They both stared at Jacob, but Chloe just knew they were about to get some good dirt on Allison’s family.
“Where did you meet her dad?” Allison asked.
“I wait tables at Five Sixty and got an offsite gig. Your dad was pretty cool. It’s not right they had to have dinner in their room and hide. When I saw them on the news today, I kind of got how wrong and unfair this all is.”
“Why was your dad on the news today?” Chloe asked Allison.
“He wasn’t,” Allison answered very quietly. Jacob started working with his phone, lifting it between the two of them to show her a picture of her family, along with Tristan, Rob, and David on the front page of WilderNation.
“That’s you, right? I recognized you right away tonight. I was going to come over and introduce myself and tell you to thank your dad for the big tip. But then I saw you with Allison and realized you were friends. It’s a small world for sure.”
Two things happened simultaneously. Jacob showed Allison another picture on his phone, and Chloe sat there completely dumbfounded, trying to make sense of Jacob’s words. She watched Allison’s face change as she looked down at his phone. Her eyes widened as she stared at the image.
“Is it Rob or David? I bet David!” Chloe grabbed for the phone as the screen turned dark. She did have a gay man in her life! She’d fight this cause for him. “Turn it back on! Which one is it?” Jacob reached over and tapped the side button. The screen lit up as she grinned from ear to ear and stared down at a picture of her father sitting at a table with Tristan. They were both in profile, talking to each other as Tristan held her dad’s hand on top of the table.