Tom’s pulse sped up. Bailey’s fingers brushed Tom’s as he took the cardboard cup. He almost expected sparks of electricity at the touch and laughed inwardly at his own foolishness, but it did make him feel somewhat warm inside to be on the receiving end of Bailey’s flirty banter.God, I hope it’s flirting.Time to up the game and see if he was on the right track.
“Aww… shucks. Bet you say that to all the boys,” Tom teased.
Bailey laughed. “I—” Bailey’s phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket to shut off the alarm. He looked up apologetically. “Damn, I’m running late. I’m on the early shift and need to be logged on the phone by seven on the dot.” He fumbled for his wallet and pulled out a five-dollar note.
Tom passed over his change and quickly stamped a coffee card. “Bring this back each visit and every tenth coffee is on the house.” Tom smiled at the ridiculous notion that the lure of free coffee would see Bailey visiting the coffee shop more frequently.
“Thanks, Tom,” Bailey replied with a grin as he shoved the card into his wallet and the coins into his pocket. “See you next time.”
Tom nodded and watched Bailey leave. He paused outside the broad glass window and did something on his phone, then pocketed the device and looked up. Their gazes met through the window and that feeling in the pit of Tom’s stomach made itself known. He forced himself to look away.
But his blue mood had definitely lifted and suddenly the early morning start didn’t seem so bad after all.
* * *
“Did we piss you off last week?”
Tom passed Phil a beer and collapsed onto the couch next to his friend. “When?”
“The other day when we—when I—when we all offered to help you with the renovations to the cafe?”
Tom sighed. “No, I wasn’t upset. I know you guys just want to help, but it’s important to do it myself. I think we’ve beaten this topic to death.”
Phil took a swallow from the bottle of Coopers as he studied Tom. Tom clutched his own beer as he waited. He knew Phil was trying to think of how to proceed. He hoped the decision would be to change the topic, but he knew Phil and therefore knew Phil wouldn’t be giving up easily.One, two, three.
Phil leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “And maybe because we’re your friends we just want to help.”
“Phil—”
“No. If it was one of us, you’d be the first person to offer a hand. You helped John get that job with the law firm—”
“I just heard about the vacancy from an old colleague, and fat lot of good that did. He’s most likely going to be retrenched.”
Phil rolled his eyes. “And you gave Elliot a place to stay when he was out on his arse.”
“That Gerald was a piece of work and I couldn’t have Elliot going back to his parents’ place, not with the way things were.”
“He could have gone to a hotel.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? What sort of friend would I be if I allowed a best mate to stay in a hotel when I had a perfectly good couch for him to sleep on, especially in the state Elliot was in.” Even now it made Tom’s blood boil to think of the bruises on his friend.
John raised a brow. “And what sort of friend would I be if I watched a buddy struggle when it’s perfectly in my capability to offer a hand?”
“I’m not struggling.”
“I’m a skilled carpenter. I’m only offering you my time, just like I’d do for anyone else I cared about. I’m not making a special offer just for you. I’d do it for any of my friends.”
“Phil—”
“And to be perfectly frank, it’s pissing me off that you won’t accept. What is it? Aren’t I good enough? You don’t think I’m up for the job?”
Tom sighed. “You know it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? I seriously don’t understand the do-it-yourself mentality. It doesn’t make you any less of a person to accept help. That’s what makes the world go around.”
Tom collapsed back against the cushions, the wind suddenly knocked from his sails. “I don’t know, Phil. I guess I’ve been focused for so long on doing it all myself that it’s become habit.”
“I know, buddy, I know.” Phil leaned forward and placed a hand on Tom’s thigh, the weight of his touch comforting. “You don’t have to keep paying forever, Tom. No one holds you accountable.”
Tom’s raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“No one who’s important anyway.”
Tom nodded. Logic told him that was true—the people who counted where the three guys who comprised his small circle of friends. Phil, Elliot, and John. They didn’t judge him on his past mistakes. Well, maybe they did but they didn’t hold his mistakes against him. They understood why he’d gotten himself in deep and how hard he’d worked to make amends. They forgave him for his one lapse in judgment. Now if only he could do so himself.
Phil finally let the subject drop. They turned their attention to the Friday night rugby league game and Tom focused on giving Phil a hard time when his beloved Rabbitohs were mightily smashed by Tom’s favourite team, the Sea Eagles. There was nothing like friendly rivalry over supporting different NRL teams to help forget your worries.
