Simon’s heart skipped a beat. While he knew that Harlow was likely this kind toward every person he did business with, it was hard not to imagine that he felt something for Simon—that his incredible kindness was a gesture of love. The thought filled Simon with flawed happiness. While the fantasy was everything he wanted, he ached knowing that Harlow would never think of him that way. Their relationship would remain professional until the day Harlow either retired or found someone to replace Simon. They’d never even get to meet.
When Simon didn’t speak, Harlow filled in the silence for him. “If I do happen to need anything else, will you be around?”
“Y-Yeah, of course.” Simon did his best to smile in the hopes that it would shine through in his voice. “I’ll be home all day, available to do whatever you need. Small stuff, big stuff… it’s all good. I’ve gotcha.” The conversation should have stopped there, but Simon’s mouth kept running, his tongue tripping over itself as his nerves kicked in. “So, um, yeah. Yeah, I’ll be here. I hope that… you know… whatever’s going on is okay soon.” Simon equally hoped that he’d stop rambling sometime in the next eventually, but figured that Harlow was much more likely to solve his problem than he was to stop his verbal diarrhea. “I, um, I figure you’ve probably gotta go do your super important… thing.” Simon cleared his throat and stopped pushing his chair from side to side. He squeezed his eyes shut and winced, mentally slapping himself for dragging the conversation on unnecessarily. Harlow had important life things to tend to, and Simon needed to get back and talk with Shep before Jayne blew a gasket. “I’ve, um, I’ve also got a super important thing to tend to. One that’s not going to take me far from the computer, of course. I’m still going to be here… near the computer. Doing super important… stuff.”
“Kid?” Harlow asked plainly.
Simon’s cheeks ignited. “Yes?”
“Thank you for the coordinates, and for all the other computer wizardry that you do. I have to go now, okay?”
“Okay.” It came out as little more than a squeak. “Good luck, H. You’ve got this.”
“Thanks. Talk soon.”
“By—” The call disconnected. “—e.”
With a dramatic sigh, Simon slid the phone off the desk and tabbed out of the call screen window. There was a thin sheen of oil on the screen from when he’d held it to his ear while on his way to his room. Stress sweat. Simon wrinkled his nose and wiped the screen on his sweatpants, then slid it back into his pocket.
Why did he have to be so weird all the time? Weird and hung up on an inaccessible man.
“One day, you’re gonna weird him out enough that he just stops calling,” Simon muttered. He pushed his keyboard aside and folded his arms on the surface it had occupied, then sank down and buried his face in the space he’d created. “He’s gonna find some other, better programmer who’ll hack for him when he needs it whowon’tramble like a goddamn lunatic, and you’re gonna lose your mind with jealousy. You’re going to have an epic-level breakdown. And then what? You’re going to be exactly where you started, except you’ll also be certifiably crazy. Fuck.”
Not that talking to himself was helping his case. In fact, Simon was fairly sure that firmly nudged him intoLooney Tunesterritory.
Hung up on a man he’d never met. So affected by him that he was rambling. To himself. Alone.
Pathetic.
Simon lifted his head, pushed his hair back from his eyes, and sighed to rid himself of the last of his discomfort. Right now, he couldn’t afford to be alone—he had Shep to deal with. It wasn’t like he was living in a fairytale. Harlow wasn’t going to arrive on his white steed, pluck Simon up, and swing him onto the back of his saddle. There were real-world problems to face, and the only Prince Charming that was going to come to Simon’s rescue was himself.
Not that he was particularly charming. Or eloquent. Or princely.
Wrinkling his nose, Simon pushed out of his chair, slotted his glasses back onto his nose, and headed for the bedroom door. Until Harlow called back, he had other matters to attend to. If he couldn’t figure out what was going on with Shep and defuse the situation before Jayne got involved, there was going to be war in the Biernacki household.
So much for a quiet Saturday spent alone with his fantasies.
