“Didn’t finish high school, remember?”
“Sorry. I just thought. Someone like you—”
“A rock star, you mean?”
“I mean someone who’s so easy to get along with, someone so easy to talk to.” Parker’s voice lowered to a whisper as he absently stroked Rafe’s foot. “Someone who notices I don’t like whisky, someone who makes tea.”
He shivered. He wasn’t sure if it was from Parker’s stroking or his words; words that saw past the exterior, saw beyond the front he put on for most of the world. He still wasn’t sure what it was about Parker that made him drop his guard. He cleared his throat, unsure how to respond or if a response was even required.
The song changed to “Close to You” by Burt Bacharach, the guitar in Tommy’s maestro hands filling the room and echoing his thoughts.
“Da, da, da, daaa,” he hummed, “close to you…”
As if sensing the direction Rafe’s thoughts had gone, made more obvious because of the song’s lyrics, Parker nudged closer. Rafe moved closer too, shuffling along until their thighs touched. He placed an arm along the back of the sofa and couldn’t help the smile when Parker interpreted the move as the invitation it was meant to be. He snuggled in against Rafe’s side, his body warm and relaxed.
Rafe closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment—the gentle music, the unexpected peace, and the thoughtful man tucked into his side.
6
He thought it would be awkward; after all, he’d fallen asleep on the sofa next to Rafe, waking in the early hours of the morning to find he’d been drooling on Rafe’s shirt. But Rafe had only hugged him tighter when he’d moved to get up, and he’d enjoyed a few extra minutes wrapped in Rafe’s warm arms, inhaling his scent, before they’d finally, reluctantly—at least on Parker’s part—pulled apart. As tempted as he’d been, he’d declined Rafe’s offer to catch a bit more sleep, this time in a bed, and stay for breakfast, instead hotfooting it out of there, and grabbing an Uber back to Harvey’s place in Darlinghurst. He’d managed to sneak in without being discovered, thankful that Harvey wouldn’t have gotten home until the early hours of the morning and had a propensity to get up late.
After a few hours of dream-filled sleep—images of a certain wild-haired man haunting his subconscious—he’d showered and made his way to the sun-filled kitchen for much needed coffee. Harvey’s espresso machine looked like it belonged in a restaurant, all dials and knobs, and…fuck!Water hissed and sprayed from the milk-frothing nozzle. Parker, all fingers and thumbs, turned a few knobs trying to turn the bloody thing off before he gave himself third-degree burns or flooded the apartment.
“Let me do that before you break the La Marzocca.” Relief filled him as Harvey stumbled into the kitchen and flicked a switch that immediately stopped the hissing. He stroked the side of the stainless steel monstrosity. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here,” he cooed.
Parker laughed. “Jesus Christ, do you want me to leave so you two can have some privacy?”
Harvey raised a brow. “I wouldn’t be giving me and my girl shit if you want a cup of the best coffee in town.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Parker mimed zipping his lips before moving to the small table under the window. Shadows from the gently moving branches of the large jacarandas outside danced over its polished surface, and the view beyond the glass showed it would be a stunning spring day. He sat and faced Harvey, the opportunity too good not to grab on to. “But since you raised the topic, any news on the girl front?”
Harvey looked over his shoulder as he did God knew what with the fancy machine. “It didn’t work out. We wanted different things.”
“Yeah?” Harvey had been on and off dating Jessica for a while now. Parker had thought things might have been over, given she wasn’t at the party last night. “So over for good this time?”
“It’s been over for a while; we just needed to say the words to formalise things.” Harvey placed a large mug in front of Parker, the coffee aroma filling the room and causing him to salivate. “Leaving for this OS trip just hastened things along, I guess.”
“How are you holding up?”
Harvey shrugged. “Like I said, it’s been coming for a while, so I’ve had time to get used to it. But the lack of heartbreak just proved to me that she wasn’t the love of my life. She’s moved on already too, so I don’t think she’s that broken up about the whole thing. We were better suited to friends—the passion wasn’t there, you know? I’m glad she’s found someone who can make her happy.”
“So, back to the dating game for you then?”
“I—ah—”
“Harvey Shaw! Have you met someone already?”
Harvey lifted a brow. “I may have.”
“You’ve been holding out on me!”
“Not holding out. There’s nothing to tell, little bro, not much anyway. It’s early days. I don’t want to jinx things.”
Parker took a sip of coffee, and the flavour danced over his tongue. He had to give Harvey credit, the coffeewasamazing. “Who’s the lucky girl? Or guy?”
“I’m not going to tell you his name. If things work out the way I hope they will, then I’ll say more, but not until then. However, I’ve got a really good feeling. We’ve been chatting a hell of a lot lately, and the connection is there, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Okay.”
