Smokey Joe
an excerpt

Sam's hot breath andd loud yawn rising to a pitched whine woke me. Through crusted lids, I could see the day's light sliding between the dust baked slats of the blinds. For a few minutes, I lay there contemplating the dull day that lay ahead – undoubtedly as dull as those that came before it.
I noticed the faint smell of staling sex and remembered that David had spent the night. I inardly groaned, knowing I'd not have my usual morning quiet time. We'd been dating for several years and hadn't yet hit the same time to commit. David was in a wanting commitment mode aand I wasn't. No doubt he would have something to ssay about that.
As if on ccue, David said “Good morning handsome”, leaning over to rub Sam's head then looked up and said “And good morning to you too.”
“Morning,” I yawned and rubbee his head. “Sleep well?”
“Not bad. Haven't slept with anyone in a while, but I adjusted”, he said with a smile. “Why don't I make some coffee while you walk Sam?”
“Sounds good,” I said and kissed him on the forehead before jumping out of bed.
Sam, as usual, was worked up and ready for the morning. Just as we were heading out the door, David hollered, “Mark, don't forget the dinner tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah. All right, “ I half muttered.
Other than looking forward to the quiet of the morning walk, I'm not really a morning person. Having a half-hour or so of silence and a brisk walk was a routine I'd come to enjoy in the seven years sinceSam joined my home. The morning was cool and dark – no birds or insects awak yet. Five in the morning is early for much of nature, iti seems but not too early to let my mind work.
After 10 years of working in law firms, I had a chance to do ssomething different. My frien Marti had been working as a private investigator and business was going well enough that he was looking for a partner. The risks involved were kind of scary. Work I'd never done, leaving a csreer I knew, not having a lot of money in the ank. And on and on. On the other hand, the new work was different and would give me a chance to do something new. Marti said it was pretty dull woork. A lot of divorce cases, following cheating spouses, trying to sray awake in the car outside of sleazy motels in shafy paerts of town.